ISB ~ Titus 1 v12

Cretans are … gluttons:A quotation from the Cretan poet Epimenides, who lived in the sixth century B.C. He was revered as a prophet by several writers in antiquity (not necessarily by Paul). Cretans were so noted for untruthful-ness that the verb “to Cretanize” meant “to lie or cheat” in Greek literature. Paul apparently thinks their infamous reputation is justified, for he declares that the poet’s proverb is still “true” in his own day (1:13). Paul cites another quotation from Epimenides in Acts 17:28.

• One who is learned in Sacred Scripture accepts the truth wherever he finds it. This is why Paul, on several occasions, refers to the sayings of pagans. It does not follow that all their teaching is approved, but what is good is drawn out and retained. For truth comes from the Holy Spirit, no matter who speaks it (St. Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Titus 1, 3).