---
title: Epigram
title_greek: Ἐπίγραμμα
author: Pseudo-Lucian
eul_wid: qeu-ag
eul_aid: qeu
canonical: "https://eulogikon.org/works/pseudo-lucian-epigrams-qeu-ag"
period: Roman
dialect: Atticizing
domain: Oratory
format: Oration
license: "https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/"
---

# Epigram

*Ἐπίγραμμα*

**Author:** Pseudo-Lucian

**eul_wid:** `qeu-ag` · [HTML page](https://eulogikon.org/works/pseudo-lucian-epigrams-qeu-ag)

The Epigram is a brief Greek poem spuriously attributed to Lucian of Samosata, hence its conventional designation to Pseudo-Lucian. A polished composition likely in elegiac couplets, it is preserved within the larger manuscript corpus of Lucian's works. Modern scholarship regards it as inauthentic, a later pseudepigraphical addition from the Imperial Roman era. The poem itself exemplifies the fluidity of ancient authorship, being a deliberate imitation attributed to a renowned satirist. It adheres to the core epigrammatic characteristic of conciseness, aiming for a sharp, pointed conclusion on the folly of human wisdom. The text survives within the extensive medieval manuscript tradition of Lucian's works, where authentic and spurious texts were transmitted together. Its preservation illustrates the common compositional practice of expanding an author's corpus through imitation. While the epigram holds no major independent literary influence, it is significant for understanding the reception and imitation of Lucian's style, serving as a concrete example of pseudepigraphical practices in later Greek literary culture.

## Text

### 1

Εἰς τὴν ἑαυτοῦ βίβλον.

### 2

Λουκιανὸς τάδ’ ἔγραψα παλαιά τε μωρά τε εἰδώς, μωρὰ γὰρ ἀνθρώποις καὶ τὰ δοκοῦντα σοφά. οὐδὲν ἐν ἀνθρώποισι διακριδόν ἐστι νόημα, ἀλλ’ ὃ σὺ θαυμάζεις, τοῦθ’ ἑτέροισι γέλως.

## License and provenance

Eulogikon publishes public-domain Greek texts in cleaned, structured, readable form and makes no copyright claim over that preparation (Public Domain Mark 1.0, https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/). Cite as `eul_wid: qeu-ag`.