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 φέ ρειν ] ων μὴ κακῶνγι[ ἔργων πονηρῶν χεῖρ’{α} ἐλευθέ ραν ἔχε. ] ... μὴ πρ[άσ]σει[ν] κακ[ῶς. ] . α . ἠδικημένος ]εὐμαρέστερος ] . ισθηναι κακο[ . ] ]τὰ ψευδῆ λέγειν ]τἀληθῆ λέγων ]ν τοῖς φίλοισιν εὐμαρῶ[ς μὴ τοὺς κακοὺ ς οἴκτειρε πράσσοντας κακῶς βέ] βαιος ἠτυχηκότι ὀργῆς ἕκατι κρυ π〈τ〉ὰ μὴ ἐκφά{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 αιρ ί αν κεκτημένη. |
| 2 | ] . [ ] .... θυμοῦ λαβεῖν ] ....... βλάβην φέρει ] ... [ . ] . [ . ]ἀνθρώπους ἔχειν ] .... ιη νομίζεται ]ν ἐκφοβούμενο[ς ] .. θῶν τύχῃ ] . ἐκφ[ ... ]υς ὅλων ] .. συντελεῖ τύχη λύσιν πονηρῶ[ν ἐσθλοῖσι δαίμων[ . φηνελε[ . ]ι . ητ[ μόνη[ κ[ρ]ήνη γὰρ[ ἢ μὴ λέγε ἐν [ .. ]η[ μηθενὸς αμ[ ὁ μὴ λέγων[ [ . ] . μ[ . ] η χαρι[ βλαπ[τ πλουτο . [ [ . ] . [ . ]εσμα[ [ . ] . [ . ] .. τ . [ [ . ] . [ . ]αδ .. [ [ . ] . [ . ] ... η[ [μ]η[δ]ὲν ποιεῖν[ [ . ] .. [ ἐ]ξυβρί[ζ]ει[ [ . ]α . [ .. ] ευχευσ[ [ . ] . [ ...... ] ω[ ... [ ........ ]παει[ [ ........ ]δεῖ φρε[ [ ........ ] . καὶ[ [ ........ ]σορει[ [ ........ ]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. |