Chares of Mytilene Sentences in Greek
The Sentences attributed to Chares of Mytilene is a minor collection of ethical maxims belonging to the ancient genre of gnomic literature. The work survives only in five fragmentary prose passages, which offer conventional advice on virtuous living. These sayings exhort the reader to perform noble and just deeds, honor the gods and one's parents, control one's temper, speak truthfully, and master the tongue. The author, Chares of Mytilene, is an otherwise obscure figure absent from standard classical testimonia, and the work possesses no established historical or biographical context. Its transmission is extremely limited, with no known manuscript tradition or clear source of preservation beyond the extant fragments. The principal significance of the Sentences lies in its status as an example of the pervasive gnomic tradition, demonstrating the production of such practical philosophical wisdom even by authors of whom no other record remains.
| 1 | ΧΑΡΗΤΟΣ ΓΝΩΜΑΙ τὰ κ]αλὰ καὶ δίκαι[α δρᾶν ] . δόξα ἀγήρα[τος ]σι, παῖ, πατρὸς γερ[αιτέρου. ]ῳ σωφρονεστέρ[ῳ ἔλπιζε τιμῶν το ⸥ ὺς θεοὺς πράξειν ⸤ καλῶς. |
| 1 | ἐ] μποιεῖν τὸν Ἡρα[κλῆ γονεῖς ἀεὶ θεοῖσιν ἐ/ξ ἴσου σέβου. [ ὀργὴν ἑταίρων καὶ ⸥ φίλων πειρῶ φ̣έ̣ ⸤ ρειν ] ω̣ν μὴ κακῶνγ̣ι̣[ ἔργων πονηρῶν ⸥ χεῖρ’{α} ἐλευθέ ⸤ ραν ἔχε. ] ... μὴ πρ[άσ]σ̣ε̣ι̣[ν] κακ[ῶς. ] . α . ἠδικημένος ]ε̣ὐμαρέστερος ] . ι̣σ̣θ̣ηναι κακο̣[ . ] ]τὰ ψευδῆ λέγειν ]τἀληθῆ λέγων ]ν̣ τοῖς φίλοισιν εὐμαρῶ[ς μὴ τοὺς κακοὺ ⸥ ς οἴκτειρε πράσσοντας̣ ⸤ κακῶς βέ] βαιος ἠτυχηκότι ὀργῆς ἕκατι κρυ ⸥ π〈τ〉ὰ μὴ ἐκ̣φά{ι}ν〈ῃ〉ς φίλο ⸤ υ ] οιου προμηθίας γλώσσης μάλιστα ⸥ π ⸤ αντ ⸥ αχοῦ πειρῶ κρατ ⸤ εῖν, ὃ καὶ γέροντι κα ⸥ ὶ ν ⸤ έω ⸥ ι τιμὴν φέρει. ἡ γλῶσσα σιγὴν κ ⸥ α̣ι̣ρ̣ ⸤ ί ⸥ α̣ν̣ κεκτημένη. |
| 2 | ] . [ ] .... θ̣υμοῦ λαβεῖν ] ....... βλάβην φέρει ] ... [ . ] . [ . ]ἀ̣ν̣θ̣ρ̣ώ̣π̣ους ἔχειν̣ ] .... ιη νομίζεται ]ν ἐκφοβούμενο[ς ] .. θῶν τύχῃ ] . ἐκφ[ ... ]υς ὅλων ] .. συν̣τ̣ε̣λεῖ τύχη λύσιν πονηρῶ[ν ἐσθλοῖσι δαίμων[ . φηνελ̣ε̣[ . ]ι . ητ[ μόνη[ κ[ρ]ήνη γὰρ[ ἢ μὴ λέγε ἐν [ .. ]η[ μηθενὸς αμ[ ὁ μὴ λέγων[ [ . ] . μ[ . ] η χαρι[ βλαπ[τ πλουτο . [ [ . ] . [ . ]ε̣σ̣μα̣[ [ . ] . [ . ] .. τ . [ [ . ] . [ . ]αδ .. [ [ . ] . [ . ] ... η[ [μ]η[δ]ὲ̣ν̣ π̣ο̣ι̣εῖν[ [ . ] .. [ ἐ]ξυβρί[ζ]ει[ [ . ]α . [ .. ] ευχευσ[ [ . ] . [ ...... ] ω[ ... [ ........ ]παει[ [ ........ ]δεῖ φρε[ [ ........ ] . καὶ[ [ ........ ]σ̣ο̣ρει̣[ [ ........ ]ε . [ [ ........ ]ινε[ [ ........ ]ρ . [ δαπάνην ἄκαιρον μηδαμῶς προσίεσο, γαστρὸς δὲ πειρῶ πᾶσαν ἡνίαν κρατεῖν. μόνη γὰρ ὧν πέπονθεν οὐκ ἔχει χάριν, ἀεὶ δὲ τοῦ δέοντος ἐνδεῖται πλέον. |
| 2 | ὅστις δὲ γαστρὸς μὴ κρατεῖν ἐπίσταται, οὗτος τὰ πλείω τῶν κακῶν ἔχει κακά. |
| 3 | μὴ φθόνει τοῖς εὐτυχοῦσι, μὴ δοκῇς εἶναι κακός. |