Editing Cleobulus (section)

==Extant fragments==
Cleobulus apparently wrote lyric poems, as well as riddles in verse. Diogenes Laërtius also ascribes to him the inscription on the tomb of [[Midas]], of which [[Homer]] was considered by others to have been the author:<ref>comp. Plut. ''Phaedr.'' p. 264</ref>
<poem style="margin-left:2em">
I am a brazen maiden lying here
Upon the tomb of Midas. And as long
As water flows, as trees are green with leaves,
As the sun shines and eke the silver moon,
As long as rivers flow, and billows roar,
So long will I upon this much wept tomb,
Tell passers by, "Midas lies buried here."
</poem>

The [[Suda]] mentions him, and farther down, his daughter Cleobulina. An epigram of his is in the [[Palatine Anthology]] (VII, 153), and in another place records two epigrams together as "One of Homer, or of Cleobulus", without specifying which is the latter's. French scholar Pierre Waltz analyzed the problem in the ''Anthologie Grecque''<ref>Pierre Waltz, ‘’Anthologie Grecque’’, ed. Les Belles Lettres, Paris, 1960, v.IV, pp. 119.</ref> Likewise an [[wikt:enigma#English|enigma]] is attributed to him is recorded in the Palatine Anthology (XIV).

Many sayings were attributed to Cleobulus:<ref>Diogenes Laërtius, i. 89-93; Suda, ''Kleoboulos''; Clement of Alexandria, ''Stromata'', i. 14</ref>
*"Ignorance and talkativeness bear the chief sway among men."
*"Cherish not a thought."
*"Do not be [[wikt:fickle|fickle]], or ungrateful."
*"Be fond of hearing rather than of talking."
*"Be fond of learning rather than unwilling to learn."
*"Seek virtue and [[eschew]] vice."
*"Be superior to pleasure."
*"Instruct one's children."
*"Be ready for reconciliation after quarrels."
*"Avoid injustice."
*"Do nothing by force."
*"Moderation is the best thing."