Laertius, in opposition to the general account, ascribes the celebrated αὐτὸς εφα to Pythagoras Zacynthus. Suidas, who with the most ascribes it to the Samian Pythagoras, says that it meant “God has said,” as he professed to have received his doctrines from God.
{"author":"Historical editor/translator (individual note author unspecified)","date_end":1885,"date_label":"1885 (historical English edition; transcription printing date uncertain)","date_start":1885,"edition_year":1885,"edition_year_basis":"Original ANF-II Buffalo title and copyright1885; exact physical printing underlying Wikisource transcription not established","id":"ws-library-full-note:527c4709b88415bc3370:cite_note-57","is_genuine_commentary_verified":false,"license_url":"https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Wikisource:Reusing_Wikisource_content","original_source_credit_names":["William Wilson","A. Cleveland Coxe"],"public_import_allowed":true,"publication_location":"source-library","record_type":"editorial-footnote","references":[],"rights_approved":true,"section":"Book 2, Historical editorial footnote, editorial note cite_note-57","semantic_kind_reviewed":false,"source_context":["These points being demonstrated, let us recur again to our discourse on faith. Well, with the fullest demonstration, Plato proves, that there is need of faith everywhere, celebrating peace at the same time: “For no man will ever be trusty and sound in seditions without entire virtue. There are numbers of mercenaries full of fight, and willing to die in war; but, with a very few exceptions, the most of them are desperadoes and villains, insolent and senseless.” If these observations are right, “every legislator who is even of slight use, will, in making his laws, have an eye to the greatest virtue. Such is fidelity,” which we need at all times, both in peace and in war, and in all the rest of our life, for it appears to embrace the other virtues. “But the best thing is neither war nor sedition, for the necessity of these is to be deprecated. But peace with one another and kindly feeling are what is best.” From these remarks the greatest prayer evidently is to have peace, according to Plato. And faith is the greatest mother of the virtues. Accordingly it is rightly said in Solomon, “Wisdom is in the mouth of the faithful. Since also Xenocrates, in his book on “Intelligence,” says “that wisdom is the knowledge of first causes and of intellectual essence.” He considers intelligence as twofold, practical and theoretical, which latter is human wisdom. Consequently wisdom is intelligence, but all intelligence is not wisdom. And it has been shown, that the knowledge of the first cause of the universe is of faith, but is not demonstration. For it were strange that the followers of the Samian Pythagoras, rejecting demonstrations of subjects of question, should regard the bare ipse dixit as ground of belief; and that this expression alone sufficed for the confirmation of what they heard, while those devoted to the contemplation of the truth, presuming to disbelieve the trustworthy Teacher, God the only Saviour, should demand of Him tests of His utterances. But He says, “He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.” And who is he? Let Epicharmus say:—"],"source_library_url":"/library/527c4709b88415bc3370/#ws-library-full-note:527c4709b88415bc3370:cite_note-57","source_url":"https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Ante-Nicene_Fathers/Volume_II/CLEMENT_OF_ALEXANDRIA/The_Stromata,_or_Miscellanies/Book_II#cite_note-57","translator":"William Wilson (Edinburgh translation); A. Cleveland Coxe (American revision and editorial material)","verification":{"proof_file":"raw/review/clement-library-note-batch-0071/proof-records.jsonl","proof_file_sha256":"687c3c8972ebe4671719f556737dd8ea680311740bb5a34d9d4fbbab551aea27","proof_record_id":"ws-library-full-note:527c4709b88415bc3370:cite_note-57"},"verified":true,"work":"The Stromata, or Miscellanies","work_id":"ws-anf2-clement-stromata"}