“What is the most ancient? God, for He is unbegotten.”
— Thales of MiletusReported in Diogenes Laertius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers 1.35 among the sayings of the Seven Sages; approximate English rendering
Commentary
This answer, preserved by Diogenes Laertius in a collection of sayings attributed to Thales, is one of several short replies to questions about the world and human life. The reasoning that God is the most ancient because He is unbegotten reflects a philosophical concern with unoriginated being that later Greek thinkers developed. A. A. Long, in his work on the early Greek sages, notes that such sayings were compiled in the Hellenistic period and that their attribution to Thales is uncertain. G. S. Kirk, J. E. Raven, and M. Schofield caution that the chreiai of the Seven Sages circulated widely and were often attached to famous names. Charles Kahn argues that the idea of an unbegotten principle corresponds to the Milesian search for an arche that is neither created nor destroyed. Jonathan Barnes observes that the saying's form resembles the question-and-answer format of later wisdom literature, which suggests a secondary origin. Richard McKirahan notes that the answer combines the cosmological and theological registers that would later separate. The English is an approximation, and the Greek in Diogenes Laertius should be checked before quotation.
Commentary
This answer, preserved by Diogenes Laertius in a collection of sayings attributed to Thales, is one of several short replies to questions about the world and human life. The reasoning that God is the most ancient because He is unbegotten reflects a philosophical concern with unoriginated being that later Greek thinkers developed. A. A. Long, in his work on the early Greek sages, notes that such sayings were compiled in the Hellenistic period and that their attribution to Thales is uncertain. G. S. Kirk, J. E. Raven, and M. Schofield caution that the chreiai of the Seven Sages circulated widely and were often attached to famous names. Charles Kahn argues that the idea of an unbegotten principle corresponds to the Milesian search for an arche that is neither created nor destroyed. Jonathan Barnes observes that the saying's form resembles the question-and-answer format of later wisdom literature, which suggests a secondary origin. Richard McKirahan notes that the answer combines the cosmological and theological registers that would later separate. The English is an approximation, and the Greek in Diogenes Laertius should be checked before quotation.