Sophia Scriptura

Miscellanies 1.14.61

Clement of Alexandria · Miscellanies · ca. 198–203 · Alexandria · Read in context

Summary: The famous sayings of the Seven Sages and their disputed authors are listed; Pythagoras was the first to call himself a philosopher.

Greek text · Stählin 2:38–39

πάλιν αὖ Χίλωνι τῷ Λακεδαιμονίῳ ἀναφέρουσι τὸ μηδὲν ἄγαν· Στράτων δὲ ἐν τῷ περὶ εὑρημάτων Σωδάμῳ τῷ Τεγεάτῃ προσάπτει τὸ ἀπόφθεγμα, Δίδυμος δὲ Σόλωνι αὐτὸ ἀνατίθησιν, ὥσπερ ἀμέλει Κλεοβούλῳ τὸ μέτρον ἄριστον. τὸ δʼ ἐγγύα, πάρα δʼ ἄτα Κλεομένης μὲν ἐν τῷ περὶ Ἡσιόδου Ὁμήρῳ φησὶ προειρῆσθαι διὰ τούτων· δειλαί τοι δειλῶν γε καὶ ἐγγύαι ἐγγυάασθαι· οἳ δὲ περὶ Ἀριστοτέλη Χίλωνος αὐτὸ νομίζουσι, Δίδυμος δὲ Θαλοῦ φησιν εἶναι τὴν παραίνεσιν. ἔπειτα ἑξῆς τὸ πάντες ἄνθρωποι κακοὶ ἢ οἱ πλεῖστοι τῶν ἀνθρώπων κακοὶ (διχῶς γὰρ ἐκφέρεται τὸ αὐτὸ ἀπόφθεγμα) οἱ περὶ Σωτάδαν τὸν Βυζάντιον Βίαντος λέγουσιν εἶναι, καὶ τὸ μελέτη πάντα καθαιρεῖ Περιάνδρου τυγχάνειν βούλονται, ὁμοίως δὲ τὴν γνῶθι καιρὸν παραίνεσιν Πιττακοῦ καθεστάναι. ὁ μὲν οὖν Σόλων Ἀθηναίοις, Πιττακὸς δὲ Μιτυληναίοις ἐνομοθέτησαν. ὀψὲ δὲ Πυθαγόρας ὁ Φερεκύδου γνώριμος φιλόσοφον ἑαυτὸν πρῶτος ἀνηγόρευσεν.

English · Claude translation

Again, they attribute “Nothing in excess” to Chilon of Sparta; Strato in his work On Inventions attaches the saying to Sodamus of Tegea, and Didymus assigns it to Solon, as indeed “Measure is best” to Cleobulus. “Give surety, and ruin is near” Cleomenes in his work on Hesiod says was said earlier by Homer in these words: “Poor are the sureties even for the poor to be given.” Aristotle's followers think it Chilon's, and Didymus says the advice is Thales'. Next, “All men are bad” or “Most men are bad” (for the same saying is given in two ways), the followers of Sotades of Byzantium say is Bias's; and “Practice masters everything” they wish to be Periander's; likewise the advice “Know the right moment” to be Pittacus's. Solon gave laws to the Athenians, Pittacus to the Mitylenaeans. Later Pythagoras, the pupil of Pherecydes, was the first to call himself a philosopher.

About this passage

Source
Stählin 2:38–39 · Otto Stählin, ed., Clemens Alexandrinus, vol. 2, Stromata Buch I–VI, GCS 15 (Leipzig: Hinrichs, 1906); vol. 3, Stromata Buch VII und VIII, GCS 17 (Leipzig: Hinrichs, 1909) · Greek text: Otto Stählin, Clemens Alexandrinus 2–3 (GCS 15, 17, 1906–1909), digitized by the Perseus Digital Library, CC BY-SA 4.0
Text
As printed in Stählin, GCS 15, 17. Manuscript variants and the editor's apparatus are not reproduced; no textual problem is noted in this passage.
Translation
Claude translation (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 · Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Stählin (1906–1909); made independently of existing English translations.
Compare
Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 2 (1885) (an older public-domain English translation, whole volume at CCEL; checked against ours only after ours was made) · Book 3 is left partly untranslated (in Latin) there.
Extrabiblical texts
  • Homer, Od. 8.351 (Homer, Odyssey) · quotation, high confidence
Topics
Scripture and canon

Notes

Translation notes

  • The Homer line is Odyssey 8.351.

Cite this passage

Clement of Alexandria, Strom. 1.14.61 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-stromata/1/14/61/).

Plain text
Clement of Alexandria, Strom. 1.14.61 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-stromata/1/14/61/).

Download citation:BibTeX ·RIS (Zotero, EndNote)

Whole work:BibTeX ·RIS ·Markdown text

Report an error in this passage