''Loci Communes'' is a compilation of ''

sententiae ''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. ''Sententi ...

'' or moral sentences written by Greek monk Antonius Melissa (c. 11th century). It is similar to another '' Loci communes'', by an anonymous author and misattributed to

Maximus Confessor Maximus the Confessor (), also spelled Maximos, otherwise known as Maximus the Theologian and Maximus of Constantinople ( – 13 August 662), was a Christian monk, theologian, and scholar. In his early life, Maximus was a civil servant, and an ...

. Both works contain extracts from the early Christian fathers, and also contain quotations from earlier Jewish and pagan authors. The two works have often been printed together, and have often been printed at the end of the editions of

Stobaeus Joannes Stobaeus (; ; 5th-century AD), from Stobi in Macedonia (Roman province), Macedonia, was the compiler of a valuable series of extracts from Greek authors. The work was originally divided into two volumes containing two books each. The tw ...

. Nothing is known about the author. The surname traditionally applied to Antonius, ''Melissa'' ("the Bee"), seems to have been, in fact, the original title of his compilation.Ezra Abbot, (2008), ''The Authorship of the Fourth Gospel: And Other Critical Essays'', page 300

References

Byzantine literature {{lit-stub