Pangur Bán
Deconstructed
Here's another supporter of creative - building stonehenge or monuments is a hammer sink, and stonehenge can cripple your early expansion, costing you a prime city site that the AI settles while you're building it. The cheap library is also a huge bonus for CRE civs - you can whip them cheaply in 3-4 different cities and run scientists to quickly get great people. Try Pericles with 3-4 decent early food sites and you'll see exactly how awesome CRE can be.
I'd still like to see the math. I think I'll schedule a game with Catherine though rather than Pericles, as I would otherwise attribute all success to the phil trait.
I would much prefer an early academy, or to bulb philosophy for a powerful trade chip (and also religion).
Even if you started as Gandhi?