thumbnail|100px|The creator, Erasmus
Apophthegmatum opus is a translation of Plutarch's Apophthegmata by Erasmus of Rotterdam, a collection of apophthegms from classical antiquity. Many classical apophthegms repeated ideas of Socrates, Plato, and Alexander the Great. According to Speroni, Apophthegmatum opus is one of "the most monumental collections of classical apophthegms… ever assembled…" Here are a few samples of Erasmus' apophthegms:
<blockquote>While on the march with his army one winter, Alexander the Great was sitting by a campfire, watching the army as it marched by. He noticed an old warrior shivering from the cold, trying to find a place near the fire. Alexander bade the man sit in his own chair, saying, "If you had been born a Persian, it would cost you your head to sit in the king's chair, but you are a Macedonian, not a Persian. Sit."</blockquote>
<blockquote>Metellus once accused Cicero of having caused more people to die through his personal testimony than he had saved through his representing them in court. Cicero responded, "Indeed, for my integrity exceeds my eloquence."