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Democritus

Fragments

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Democritus: A person shows good judgement if he is not grieved by what he does not have, but is pleased with what he does have. The desire for more destroys what one has, as with the dog in Aesop's fable. Democritus: Someone who contends with a superior ends up with a bad reputation.⁠ One should recognize that human life is feeble and short and heaped up with all sorts of evils and disasters, so as to aim at moderate acquisition and measure one's trouble against what is necessary. Democritus: Helplessness on the part of all is worse than the helpless of each individual; for there is left no hope of assistance.

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Compare Proverbs 23:4 and Democritus, Fragments and LXX Proverbs 23:4

Hebrew Bible · Classical · Septuagint

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Summary

The Greek Septuagint translation of Proverbs 23 warns the poor not to “stretch themselves out” to match the rich. It uses a rare word found in Democritus, suggesting the translator was influenced by Greek philosophy.

Passages

Proverbs 23:4

Hebrew Bible
3 Do not crave that ruler’s delicacies, for that food is deceptive. 4 Do not wear yourself out to become rich; be wise enough to restrain yourself. 5 When you gaze upon riches, they are gone, for they surely make wings for themselves and fly off into the sky like an eagle!
600–201 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Proverbs

Democritus, Fragments

Classical
Democritus: A person shows good judgement if he is not grieved by what he does not have, but is pleased with what he does have. The desire for more destroys what one has, as with the dog in Aesop's fable. Democritus: Someone who contends with a superior ends up with a bad reputation. One should recognize that human life is feeble and short and heaped up with all sorts of evils and disasters, so as to aim at moderate acquisition and measure one's trouble against what is necessary. Democritus: Helplessness on the part of all is worse than the helpless of each individual; for there is left no hope of assistance.
400 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Democritus, Fragments

LXX Proverbs 23:4

Septuagint
3 But if you are very insatiable, do not desire his provisions; for these belong to a false life. 4 If you are poor, do not stretch yourself out alongside a rich man; but refrain yourself in your wisdom. 5 If you should fix your eye upon him, he will disappear; for wings like an eagle's are prepared for him, and he returns to the house of his master.
100–1 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in LXX Proverbs

References

"... LXX Proverbs 23:4 ... μὴ παρεκτείνου πένης ὢν πλουσίῳ, “if you are poor, do not compare yourself with a rich man” ... the middle imperative παρεκτείνου (literally “stretch yourself out alongside”) here means “measure yourself with” or “compare yourself with”. It is a relatively rare meaning of the verb, and finds a striking parallel in one of the fragments of the Presocratic philosopher Democritus, which reads τελευτᾶι γὰρ ἐς κακοδοξίην [κακὴν] ὁ παρεκτεινόμενος τῶι κρέσσονι, “for he who compares himself with a more powerful man ends up in notoriety” (Demokritos B 238). It is not impossible that the Proverbs translator is here alluding to this fragment ..."
Albert M. Wolters, Septuagint Commentary Series: Proverbs (Leiden: Brill, 2020), 225.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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Proverbs 23:4 and Democritus, Fragments and LXX Proverbs 23:4

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