The Pseudepicharmea is a collection of sententious verses falsely attributed to the Sicilian comic poet Epicharmus of Syracuse, an early 5th-century BCE founder of comic drama. The eight surviving fragments, written in Doric Greek, present philosophical maxims on ethics and the divine but are considered spurious by modern scholarship. Their content addresses several philosophical themes, including the omnipotence of the gods and the frailty of humanity, ethical ideals of moderation and self-control, the nature of the soul as a divine element, and reflections on cosmic order and stability. The work survives only through quotation by later authors, primarily the 5th-century CE anthologist Stobaeus, with other sources including Clement of Alexandria and Platonic scholia. The maintained Doric dialect imitates Epicharmus’s genuine style, but the hexameter verse form and philosophical content reveal its pseudonymous nature. The fragments exemplify the Hellenistic practice of pseudepigraphy, where new philosophical ideas were authorized by attachment to venerable names. They significantly shaped Epicharmus’s posthumous reputation as a sage, which ultimately overshadowed his legacy as a comic playwright in later antiquity.
Epicharmus of Syracuse Fragments of Pseudepicharmea in Greek in PDF
Epicharmus of Syracuse Fragments of Pseudepicharmea in Greek in MD
| 86-91 tit | Pseudepicharmea |
| 86 | τεῖδ’ ἔνεστι πολλὰ καὶ παν[τ]οῖα, τοῖς χρήσαιό κα ποτὶ φίλον, ποτ’ ἐχθρόν, ἐν δίκαι λέγων, ἐν ἁλίαι, ποτὶ πονηρόν, ποτὶ καλόν τε κἀγαθόν, ποτὶ ξένον, ποτὶ δύσηριν, ποτὶ πάροινον, ποτὶ βάναυσον, αἴτε τις ἄλλ’ ἔχει κακόν τι, καὶ τούτοισι κέντρα τεῖδ’ ἔνο. ἐν δὲ καὶ γνῶμαι σοφαὶ τεῖδ’, αἷσιν α[ἰ] πίθοιτό τις, δεξιώτερός τε κ’ εἴη βελτίων τ’ ἐς πά[ν]τ’ ἀνήρ. κο]ὔτι πολλὰ δεῖ λέγ[ε]ιν, ἀλλ’ ἓμ μόνον [τ]ούτων ἔπος ποττὸ πρᾶγμα ποτιφέροντα τῶνδ’ ἀε[ὶ] τὸ συμφέρον. αἰτίαν γὰρ ἦχον ὡς ἄλλως μὲν εἴην [δ]εξιός, μακρολόγος δὲ κοὐ δυναίμαν ἐμ β[ρ]αχεῖ γνώμα[c λέγ]ειν. ταῦτα δὴ ’γὼν εἰσακούσας συντίθημι τὰν Τέχναν τάνδ’, ὅ[π]ως εἴπηι τις· ‘Ἐπίχαρμος σοφός τις ἐγένετο, πολλὰ δ’ εἶ]π’ ἀστεῖα καὶ παντοῖα καθ’ ἓν [ἔπος] λέγων πεῖραν] αὐταυτοῦ διδοὺς ὡς καὶ β[ραχ ....... ]ε μαθὼν ἅπας ἀνὴρ φαν[ήσεται σοφός ...... ] . ήσει ποτ’ οὐδὲν ἔπος απ[ ........ ]οντα λυπήσει τι τῶνδ[ ........ ]τρ[ .. ]α δρῶντα τοῖσδ[ ............ ]ορητε πολυμαθη[ ....... ]ων[ .. ]ρτ[ .. ]ἐρῶ δὲ καὶ τ[ ..... ]ιτε τούτοις γα κακα[ ... ]χειν[ ἄλλος ἄ]λλωι γὰρ [γ]έγαθε κοὔτι ταυ[ ........ ]ε πάντα δεῖ τάδ’ ὡς ε[ ........ ἔ]πειτα δ’ ἐν καιρῶι λε[ .............. ]ειμα βραχυσοι[ — — — — — — — — — — — — |
| 87 | — — — — — — — — — ...... ]στι πρὸς το[ ....... ]ω δυστει[ ... ]ι[ .... ]εστι χρηστ[ . ] . [ .. ]ευ[ ἐνικαλύπτεται τὸ φαῦλον[ εἰς τὸ συντυχεῖν ἀηδής ἐστιν ο[ ευτροπος ἀνθρώποισι δαίμων π[ .... ] . οι καὶ ὀρθῶς βραβεῦσαι διανε[ .... ]νους ἐξηπάτηκεν ἄδικος οι[ .... ] .. εσις πονηρὰ περὶ πονηρῶ[ν πραγμάτων ....... ] .. [ .. ] .. [ . ]νις ἔτι ν[ ... ]ιπ . [ ............. ] . π[ο]νηραυδ[ — — — — — — — — — — ]υλα[ ] . επι[ ]θεραπ[ ]νοστεν[ ]ιδεσενπ[ ] . εσστι[ — — — — — — — ]ην ]ος ]ν ] — — — — — σπ[ ‵ — ′ου[ ‵ — ′φα[ ‵ — ′σφ[ ‵ — ′εα[ — — — — — — — — — ]ι ποιεῖθ’ αὑτῶι φ . [ ]εν δὲ τοῖς φαυλ[ ] . c χορός ἐστι τα . [ ]ται πᾶσιν ις[ ]ις ὁ πόλεμος ..... [ ]τον πόλεσι κευρε[ ] . ιν σουτι ..... [ ]ι . αιφ .... ρουο . [ ] . νεις φόβον . [ ] . [ — — — — — — ]απος[ ]λιπα[ ] . α . [ .. ] . α .. αιμ .. [ ] . κτημ ... ] . εστατει ]c βαθύς μ’ ὁρῶ — — — — — — — — ]α[ ]ινεμπ[ ] .. [ — — — |
| 88 | ὥς τ’ ἐμὶν δοκ[εῖ ἀλλ’ ἁπλῶς τ[ |
| 89 (tit) | ΕΠΙΧΑΡΜΟΥ ‵ — ′ ]τις δυστυχῶν βίον τ’ ἔχων ] . τε κἀγαθὸν ψυχᾶι διδῶι ]ν οὔτι φάσω μακάριον μ]ᾶλλον χρημάτων ἄλλωι τε[λεῖν |
| 90 (tit) | ΕΠ]ΙΧΑΡΜΟ[Υ τοὺς τρόπους χείρω γυναῖ]κά φαμ’ ἐγὼ τῶν θηρ[ίων εἶμεν. ὅστις γ]ὰρ λέοντι σῖτον ἢ ποτὸν φ[έρει ἢ κυσὶν Μολοσσικοῖς[ιν θ[ῆρε]c αἰκάλλοντι το[ῖ]σι[ν εὖ ποιεῦσιν εὐμενεῖς. ἁ γυνὰ δὲ τὸν τρέφοντα [πρᾶτον εἴθισται δακεῖν. ‵ — ′ |
| 91a | ταλεας γάρ ἐσθ’ ὁ φρόνιμος· ὡς δὲ τοῦθ’ οὕτως ἔχει, χῶρος οἰκία τυραννὶς πλοῦτος ἰσχὺς καλλονὰ ἄφρονος ἀνθρώπου τυχόντα καταγέλαστα γίνεται. |
| 91b | ‵ — ′ἁδοναὶ δ’ εἰσὶν βροτοῖσιν ἀνόσιοι λαιστήριοι· καταπεπόντισται γὰρ εὐθὺς ἁδοναῖς ἀνὴρ ἁλούς. ‵ — ′ |