The ''Proverbia Grecorum'' (sometimes ''Parabolae Gregorum'', both meaning "proverbs of the Greeks") is an anonymous

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

collection of

proverb A proverb (from la, proverbium) is a simple and insightful, traditional saying that expresses a perceived truth based on common sense or experience. Proverbs are often metaphorical and use formulaic language. A proverbial phrase or a proverbia ...

s compiled in the seventh or eighth century AD in the

British Isles The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles, ...

, probably in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. Despite the name, it has no known

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

source. It was perhaps designed as a secular complement to the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
'' Book of Proverbs''. Within about a century of its composition, the ''Proverbia'' was being copied in northern Italy, yet all surviving manuscript have an Anglo-Saxon or

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...

connection. Only one complete copy survives, but excerpts (with citations) are found in at least eight other manuscripts. There are seventy-four proverbs, but seven others with no connection to the original work are erroneously attributed to it in various manuscripts.

Transmission

Sedulius Scottus

The original compilation consisted of 74 short proverbs and a prefatory letter. There is one surviving copy of the complete work on folio 246^r–v of the manuscript Kues 52 (now in St. Nikolaus-Hospital in

Bernkastel-Kues Bernkastel-Kues () is a town on the Middle Moselle in the Bernkastel-Wittlich district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is a well-known winegrowing centre. The town is a state-recognized health resort (''Erholungsort''), seat of the ''Ver ...

), where it is part of the ''Collectaneum'' of

Sedulius Scottus Sedulius Scotus or Scottus ( fl. 840–860) was an Irish teacher, Latin grammarian, and scriptural commentator who lived in the 9th century. During the reign of the Emperor Lothair (840–855), he was one of a colony of Irish teachers at Liège. ...

. This manuscript was copied in the Abbey of Saints Eucherius and Matthias in

Trier Trier ( , ; lb, Tréier ), formerly known in English as Trèves ( ;) and Triers (see also names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle in Germany. It lies in a valley between low vine-covered hills of red sandstone in the ...

in the twelfth century... Sedulius quotes from the ''Proverbia'' in several other works. In the same copy of the ''Collectaneum'', there is a

florilegium In medieval Latin, a ' (plural ') was a compilation of excerpts or sententia from other writings and is an offshoot of the commonplacing tradition. The word is from the Latin ''flos'' (flower) and '' legere'' (to gather): literally a gathering of ...

containing 40 statements on virtues and vices, five of which are drawn from the ''Proverbia'' without citation. Sedulius quotes proverb 68 in his ''In Donati artem minorem'' (again without citing the original collection) and several statements closing paralleling the ''Proverbia'' can be found in his ''De rectoribus Christianis''. Among his excerpts of Lactantius' ''

Divinae institutiones ''Institutiones Divinae'' (, ; ''The Divine Institutes'') is the name of a theological work by the Christian Roman philosopher Lactantius, written between AD 303 and 311. Contents Arguably the most important of Lactantius's works, the ''Divin ...

'' (found in the Kues manuscript), he includes a statement that is not attributable to Lactantius nor is found in the ''Proverbia'' but which is derived from Rufinus' translation of

Origen Origen of Alexandria, ''Ōrigénēs''; Origen's Greek name ''Ōrigénēs'' () probably means "child of Horus" (from , "Horus", and , "born"). ( 185 – 253), also known as Origen Adamantius, was an early Christian scholar, ascetic, and theo ...

's ''Homily on Genesis''. Since this statement came to be attributed to the ''Proverbia'' in other works, it provides the only known connection between the ''Proverbia'' and an actual

work, in this case one of the

Greek Fathers The Church Fathers, Early Church Fathers, Christian Fathers, or Fathers of the Church were ancient and influential Christian theologians and writers who established the intellectual and doctrinal foundations of Christianity. The historical per ...

. The attribution of this statement to the ''Proverbia'', however, was made in error and it was not part of the original collection.

Other manuscripts

Besides the works in the Kues manuscript, several other works quote select proverbs attributed to the ''Proverbia Grecorum''. Ten excerpts from the ''Proverbia'' along with some

Old Irish Old Irish, also called Old Gaelic ( sga, Goídelc, Ogham script: ᚌᚑᚔᚇᚓᚂᚉ; ga, Sean-Ghaeilge; gd, Seann-Ghàidhlig; gv, Shenn Yernish or ), is the oldest form of the Goidelic/Gaelic language for which there are extensive writt ...

glosses are found on page 61 of Milan, Ambrosianus F 60 sup, a manuscript from

Bobbio Abbey Bobbio Abbey (Italian: ''Abbazia di San Colombano'') is a monastery founded by Irish Saint Columbanus in 614, around which later grew up the town of Bobbio, in the province of Piacenza, Emilia-Romagna, Italy. It is dedicated to Saint Columbanus. ...

. The main work in this manuscript, ''Excerpta ex patribus'', was probably copied in Ireland in the eighth century before the manuscript was brought to Bobbio, where the proverbs were added. The ten excerpts rely on a different model than that copied by Sedulius. Wallace Lindsay published the Bobbio excerpts and glosses in 1910.. There are also a number of proverbs cited to the ''Proverbia'' that are not found among the original 74 of the Kues manuscript and were, like the quotation from Origen, misattributed to the ''Proverbia'' at a later date. Some of these later misattributed proverbs are derived from Sedulius' ''De rectoribus Christianis''. Ten proverbs attributed to the ''Proverbia'' are found on pages 195–199 of the so-called Norman Anonymous (

shelfmark A shelfmark is a mark in a book or manuscript that denotes the cupboard or bookcase where it is kept as well as the shelf and possibly even its location on the shelf. The closely related term pressmark (from press, meaning cupboard) denotes only t ...

Cambridge, CCC 415) under the title ''De nomine regni''. This was copied in the eleventh or twelfth century in

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

. Only six of the proverbs quoted actually belong to the original ''Proverbia'' collection. One of them that does not is also quoted by the Anglo-Saxon Cathwulf in his letter to

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first ...

around 775. Two

Breton Breton most often refers to: *anything associated with Brittany, and generally ** Breton people ** Breton language, a Southwestern Brittonic Celtic language of the Indo-European language family, spoken in Brittany ** Breton (horse), a breed **Ga ...

manuscripts contain the same six ''Proverbia'' as CCC 415. One was created in Brittany, the other at Fécamp Abbey by a Breton scribe named Maeloc. These three manuscripts—and the theme of the proverbs they contain—suggest a common source in the form of a collection of ''

sententia ''Sententiae'', the nominative plural of the Latin word ''sententia'', are brief moral sayings, such as proverbs, adages, aphorisms, maxims, or apophthegms taken from ancient or popular or other sources, often quoted without context. ''Sententia' ...

e'' on kingship drawn from the ''Proverbia'' and from the chapter "De regno" of the Irish ''

Collectio canonum Hibernensis The ''Collectio canonum Hibernensis'' ( en, Irish Collection of Canon law) (or ''Hib'') is a systematic Latin collection of Continental canon law, scriptural and patristic excerpts, and Irish synodal and penitential decrees. ''Hib'' is thought t ...

''. This hypothetical lost work may have been brought to the continent during the

English Benedictine Reform The English Benedictine Reform or Monastic Reform of the English church in the late tenth century was a religious and intellectual movement in the later Anglo-Saxon period. In the mid-tenth century almost all monasteries were staffed by secular ...

in the 10th century. Four manuscripts of the ''Collectio canonum Hibernensis'' also contain citations of the ''Proverbia Grecorum''. The original "A" recension of this collection of

canon law Canon law (from grc, κανών, , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its members. It is th ...

was compiled in Ireland before 725 with the proverbs, but the editors who created the expanded "B" recension incorporated six proverbs attributed to the ''Proverbia Grecorum''. Only four of these, however, actually belong to the original ''Proverbia''. Three copies of the "B" recension contain all six, while a single late copy of the "A" recension updated with some material from "B" includes one proverb. Four proverbs cited to the ''Proverbia'' are quoted on folio 63^v of the manuscript Munich, Clm. 14096 as additions to a copy of the

Pseudo-Augustinian Pseudo-Augustine is the name given by scholars to the authors, collectively, of works falsely attributed to Augustine of Hippo. Augustine himself in his ''Retractiones'' lists many of his works, while his disciple Possidius tried to provide a compl ...

''Liber de divinis scripturis''. One of these is genuine, but another is in fact a quotation from the prefatory letter. The other two are not from the original ''Proverbia'': one is from ''

Ecclesiasticus The Book of Sirach () or Ecclesiasticus (; abbreviated Ecclus.) is a Jewish work, originally in Hebrew, of ethical teachings, from approximately 200 to 175 BC, written by the Judahite scribe Ben Sira of Jerusalem, on the inspiration of his fa ...

'' 11:2–3 and the other is from the '' Florilegium frisingense''. The manuscript dates to the early ninth century and is of Celtic origin, possibly Irish or Breton, but more likely originating in

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

Circulation

All surviving copies of the ''Proverbia'' have an insular connection and its circulation, even on the continent, seems to have been limited to insular scholars. Evidence for the circulation of the ''Proverbia Grecorum'' in Ireland can be found in the tenth-century poem ''

Saltair na Rann The title ''Saltair na Rann'' ("Psalter of Quatrains") refers to a series of 150 early Middle Irish religious cantos, written in the tenth century—for the most part apparently around 988. The number of the cantos imitates the number of psalms ...

'', which has text paralleling proverb 52. This same text is excerpted in the prologue to the '' Senchas Már''. A later commentary on the ''Senchas Már'' includes a part of proverb 10 with an Irish translation. The ''Proverbia'' were also known in Wales.

Asser Asser (; ; died 909) was a Welsh monk from St David's, Dyfed, who became Bishop of Sherborne in the 890s. About 885 he was asked by Alfred the Great to leave St David's and join the circle of learned men whom Alfred was recruiting for his ...

in his biography of Alfred the Great quotes proverb 20 and possibly several others. He may have laid out Alfred's virtues as king in parallel with the proverb of the eight columns, the same one quoted by Cathwulf.. The colloquy ''

De raris fabulis ''De raris fabulis'' ("On uncommon tales", "On curious tales" or "On rare expressions") is a collection of 23 or 24 short Latin dialogues from 9th- or 10th-century Celtic Britain. The dialogues belong to the genre known as the colloquy. These we ...

'', probably written in Wales or possibly Cornwall, quotes proverb 14. This tradition may depend upon Sedulius. A possible lost manuscript of the ''Proverbia'' may be recorded in the twelfth-century catalogue of the library of Lincoln Cathedral, which mentions a ''Librum Prouerbium Graecorum inutilem'', a useless book of Greek proverbs.

Date

The Bobbio manuscript provides the earliest evidence for the ''Proverbia'' and puts the ''

terminus ante quem ''Terminus post quem'' ("limit after which", sometimes abbreviated to TPQ) and ''terminus ante quem'' ("limit before which", abbreviated to TAQ) specify the known limits of dating for events or items.. A ''terminus post quem'' is the earliest da ...

'' of the collection in the eighth century. It was probably compiled in the late seventh or early eighth century, judging from the style of the prefatory letter. Sigmund Hellmann, the first editor of the collection, concluded that the ''Proverbia'' might have been a translation from a Greek original produced in Ireland in the seventh century. The evidence, however, points to a Latin origin. The

Latinity Latinity (''Latinitas'') is proficiency in Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then kn ...

of the letter is superior to that of the proverbs, which indicates an earlier date for them than the collection as a whole, probably the sixth century.

Authorship

The prefatory letter was once thought to have been written by Sedulius, but the discovery of excerpts from it in the Bobbio manuscript makes this chronologically impossible. The author of the letter and the compiler of the collection are one and the same. The title of the work, ''Proverbia Grecorum'', is his coining. In the letter, he does not claim to have translated his proverbs or taken them from a larger collection, but to have collected them with "unceasing labour". He does not name his addressee, but he advises studying the proverbs alongside the

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts ...

to avoid falling into heresy. His Latinity is good, there is evidence of familiarity with rhetoric and he had a biblical and, to a lesser extent, classical education. The author may have been Irish. Two of his proverbs (61 and 69) may have their origin in

early Irish law Early Irish law, historically referred to as (English: Freeman-ism) or (English: Law of Freemen), also called Brehon law, comprised the statutes which governed everyday life in Early Medieval Ireland. They were partially eclipsed by the Norm ...

. The language used for monasticism—calling a student ''lector'' and a monastery ''civitas''—is distinctly Irish. The prose style of the work is Hiberno-Latin..

Sources

Despite the title, none of the proverbs in the original collection can be shown to have a Greek origin. One (39) does quote three words of Latinized Greek, but these come from

Psalm 118 Psalm 118 is the 118th psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in the English of the King James Version: "O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: because his mercy endureth for ever." The Book of Psalms is part of the third section of the He ...

:15, the Greek of which was known in Ireland. In the prefatory letter, the author claims to have gotten his material "from the wisdom of the Greeks", which may be little more than an idle boast intended to enhance the prestige of the collection. The vocabulary of the ''Proverbia'' suggests the influence of the

Vulgate The Vulgate (; also called (Bible in common tongue), ) is a late-4th-century Latin translation of the Bible. The Vulgate is largely the work of Jerome who, in 382, had been commissioned by Pope Damasus I to revise the Gospels u ...

'' Proverbia Salomonis''. There are, however, many unusual words only some of which can be explained by reference to then existing glossaries, such as the

Abstrusa Glossary The ''Abstrusa Glossary'' is a glossary of Latin from the 7th or 8th century AD.. Typical of such glossaries, it is named after its first lemma, '' abstrusa''.. The ''Abstrusa'' was probably compiled in Gaul, possibly in Aquitaine, since the co ...

and the

Corpus Glossary The Corpus Glossary is one of many Anglo-Saxon glossaries. Alongside many entries which gloss Latin words with simpler Latin words or explanations, it also includes numerous Old English glosses on Latin words, making it one of the oldest extant text ...

. The title ''Proverbia Grecorum'' may be intended to imply that the collection is the secular complement of the ''Proverbia Salomonis''.

Examples of proverbs

There were 74 proverbs in the original collection. Another 8 are attributed to the collection in various sources, including one that is in fact an excerpt of the prefatory letter of the original collection. The following are select translations:

20. he just man builds on a modest foundation and growing in time like a grain of mustard seed gives the increase.ref name=Scharer/> 25. sluggard is like a chisel, useless until hammered.ref name=Wright/> 26. wise man summons wise men to council and does nothing without their advice. But a fool keeps his own counsel and does what he wants on the spur of the moment without anyone's advice.ref name=Wright/> 40. hree ... are terrible: the armed warrior eager for battle; the lion from the cave, when he devours his prey; the wild boar from the wood when he rages against somebody.ref name=Scharer/> 43. he peaceful king distributes bounty with a cheerful countenance and diligently considers every petition, not scorning even the sick and poor among the people.ref name=Wright/>

In Dean Simpson's edition, the proverbs that are not part of the original collection but that came to be attributed to it are proverbs 1 and 2 in the Hatton manuscript, proverbs 1–3 in the Munich manuscript and proverbs 1–3 and 5 in the Cambridge manuscript. Hatton 1 and Cambridge 1 are the same—a proverb on the five periods of kingship also found in the Karlsruhe manuscript and in Sedulius' ''De rectoribus Christianis''—while Munich 3 is an extract from the original prefatory letter. Hatton 2 is the proverb derived from Origen about the six ways the human soul is made in the image of God. Cambridge 2, on the eight columns of the just king's kingdom, is the proverb quoted by Cathwulf and is also found in Sedulius' ''De rectoribus Christianis''. Anton Scharer translates it thus:

2. [Likewise in the proverbs of the Greeks: Eight are the columns that strongly support the kingdom of the just king. The first column is truth in all royal activities, the second column patience in all business, the third munificence in gifts, the fourth persuasiveness and affability in words, the fifth reproof of and grief about the wicked, the sixth friendship and exaltation of the good, the seventh the lightness of tribute imposed on the people, the eighth equity in judgement between rich and poor.]

Munich 1, concerning the wise bee, may be derived from the 7th-century of Audoin (bishop), Audoin. It was also known to Asser.

[Like the most clever bee which collects from all the flowers of the entire earth in her hive so that kings and priests may taste the sweet produce of her labours; as is written in the proverbs of the Greeks: ‘Do not spurn man in his aspect nor despise his stature; short is the bee among the birds of heaven and yet her produce holds the first place in sweetness’.]

Notes

References

{{reflist Wisdom literature Early medieval Latin literature Latin texts of medieval Ireland