Greek Proverbs: August 11

Here are today's Greek proverbs with LOLCats! These are repeats of previous proverbs, but now with illustrations... and with a quiz too! See how you do on the questions up top, and then try them again down below after you've read through the proverbs (the quiz results display only at the blog, not in the email):

Οὐ γνῶσις, ἀλλὰ ______.

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Οὐ γνῶσις, ἀλλὰ πρᾶξις.

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Καὶ ______ ποιῶν πρόσεχε.

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Καὶ καλὸν ποιῶν πρόσεχε.

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Εἰς ______ τοξεύεις.

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Εἰς οὐρανὸν τοξεύεις.

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Μέγα βιβλίον μέγα ______.

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Μέγα βιβλίον μέγα κακόν.

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Ἔνεστι κἀν ______ χολή.

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Ἔνεστι κἀν μύρμηκι χολή.

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Οὐ γνῶσις, ἀλλὰ πρᾶξις.

Not knowledge, but action.

For example, it's not enough to read a book about swimming; if you want to learn to swim, you need to get in the water and swim. The saying is adapted from Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics: τὸ τέλος ἐστὶν οὐ γνῶσις ἀλλὰ πρᾶξις, "the goal is not knowledge, but action." The Greek word πρᾶξις has been adopted into English as praxis, and γνῶσις as gnosis.

Καὶ καλὸν ποιῶν πρόσεχε.

Even doing good, take care.

This saying reminds us that the outcomes of all actions are unforeseen: good deeds should lead to good outcomes, but be careful — you cannot take good outcomes for granted.

Εἰς οὐρανὸν τοξεύεις.

You're shooting an arrow at the sky.

This Greek saying appears as part of a delightful list of ἀδύνατα, "impossibilities," sometimes included as part of Plutarch's Moralia, and it also appears in the ancient Greek proverb collections. Of course, there is no way you can hit the sky with an arrow, so this is a fool's errand. Even worse, the arrow can fall back down and hit you. Compare the saying in the Biblical book of Ecclesiasticus:  "If one cast a stone on high, it will fall upon his own head." Compare also a saying you saw in an earlier blog post: Εἰς οὐρανὸν πτύεις.

Μέγα βιβλίον μέγα κακόν.

A big book (is) a big evil.
So wrote the poet Callimachus, in defense of short poetry as opposed to epics. The adjective κακόν is being used substantively: an evil (thing).

Ἔνεστι κἀν μύρμηκι χολή.

There is bile even in the ant.

In other words, even though it is tiny, the ant has a temper! As Erasmus explains, the proverb warns that even a "small" enemy can be dangerous. The word κἀν is a contraction: καὶ ἐν (the breathing mark inside the word is a clue to the contraction). The bile, χολή, was one of the four humors of the body in Greek medicine: blood, phlegm, black bile, and yellow bile. The yellow bile was associated with anger, hence the English word choleric. You can find out more at Wikipedia: Four temperaments. The black bile, µέλαινα χολή, gave rise to melancholy.

Οὐ γνῶσις, ἀλλὰ ______.

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Οὐ γνῶσις, ἀλλὰ πρᾶξις.

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Καὶ ______ ποιῶν πρόσεχε.

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Καὶ καλὸν ποιῶν πρόσεχε.

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Εἰς ______ τοξεύεις.

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Εἰς οὐρανὸν τοξεύεις.

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Μέγα βιβλίον μέγα ______.

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Μέγα βιβλίον μέγα κακόν.

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Ἔνεστι κἀν ______ χολή.

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Ἔνεστι κἀν μύρμηκι χολή.

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And to finish up, here's a random proverb and a random LOLCat too:

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Greek Proverbs: August 6

Here are today's Greek proverbs with LOLCats! These are repeats of previous proverbs, but now with illustrations... and with a quiz too! See how you do on the questions up top, and then try them again down below after you've read through the proverbs (the quiz results display only at the blog, not in the email):

Τὸ τῆς Ἀμαλθείας ______.

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Τὸ τῆς Ἀμαλθείας κέρας.

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______ πάντων ἐφορᾷ τέλος.

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Ζεὺς πάντων ἐφορᾷ τέλος.

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Ἔσω ______ καὶ ἔξω ἀλώπηξ.

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Ἔσω λέων καὶ ἔξω ἀλώπηξ.

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______ οἶκον οὐ τρέφει.

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Κάλλος οἶκον οὐ τρέφει.

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Τῶν ὤτων ἔχω τὸν ______.

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Τῶν ὤτων ἔχω τὸν λύκον.

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Τὸ τῆς Ἀμαλθείας κέρας.

The horn of Amaltheia.

This saying refers to a mythological "horn of plenty." Amaltheia was the foster-mother of the baby Zeus, whom his mother had to conceal from his father, and in some traditions, she was imagined to be a goat. When baby Zeus accidentally broke off one of her horns, the horn became a magical "horn of plenty" pouring forth food and drink in abundance. You can find out more at Wikipedia: Amalthea and Wikipedia: Cornucopia. The Greek κέρας gives us the scientific term keratin, the protein found in horns, nails, claws, hooves, etc.

Ζεὺς πάντων ἐφορᾷ τέλος.

Zeus oversses the outcome of all things.

This is another of the sayings attributed to Solon. The verb ἐφορᾷ is a compound of ἐπι and ὁρᾷ: the iota drops before the following vowel, and then the pi aspirates, resulting in the compound ἐφορᾷ. For more about the etymology of Zeus's name, which has Διός as its genitive form, see Wikipedia. The word τέλος has enormous range of meaning as you can see in the LSJ dictionary entry; the English word "end" has a similar range of meaning. From this Greek word we get English teleology.

῎Εσω λέων καὶ ἔξω ἀλώπηξ.

Inside, a lion — and outside, a fox.

The opposition between lion and fox is often found in Greek proverbs, and it is also a character opposition often found in Aesop's fables. The ἑρμηνεία (interpretation) that accompanies this proverb says "Mixing wickedness (fox) with audacity (lion), you seem to show what you are not and to hide what you happen to be." (The inclusion of these little interpretations is one of the distinctive features of the proverb collection attributed to Aesop.)

Κάλλος οἶκον οὐ τρέφει.

Beauty does not nourish the household.

The noun κάλλος, "beauty," stands here for the beautiful woman: someone might have married for beauty, but this proverb advocates for wives with skills needed to take care of the household.

Τῶν ὤτων ἔχω τὸν λύκον.  
I've got the wolf by the ears.

This refers to a no-win situation: it's dangerous to hold on, but it's also dangerous to let go! From this Greek root ὠτ- we get the English word otologist, an ear-doctor.

Τὸ τῆς Ἀμαλθείας ______.

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Τὸ τῆς Ἀμαλθείας κέρας.

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______ πάντων ἐφορᾷ τέλος.

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Ζεὺς πάντων ἐφορᾷ τέλος.

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Ἔσω ______ καὶ ἔξω ἀλώπηξ.

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Ἔσω λέων καὶ ἔξω ἀλώπηξ.

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______ οἶκον οὐ τρέφει.

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Κάλλος οἶκον οὐ τρέφει.

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Τῶν ὤτων ἔχω τὸν ______.

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Τῶν ὤτων ἔχω τὸν λύκον.

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And to finish up, here's a random proverb and a random LOLCat too:

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Greek Proverbs: August 4

Here are today's Greek proverbs with LOLCats! These are repeats of previous proverbs, but now with illustrations... and with a quiz too! See how you do on the questions up top, and then try them again down below after you've read through the proverbs (the quiz results display only at the blog, not in the email):

_______ οὐ δωροδοκεῖται.

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Ἀλώπηξ οὐ δωροδοκεῖται.

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_______ κρεῶν ἐπιθυμεῖ.

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Δασύπους κρεῶν ἐπιθυμεῖ.

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Ἄλλος _______, ἄλλη δίαιτα.

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Ἄλλος βίος, ἄλλη δίαιτα.

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Ἄρτι _______ πίττης γεύεται.

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Ἄρτι μῦς πίττης γεύεται.

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_______ τυράννων χεῖρες.

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Μακραὶ τυράννων χεῖρες.

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Ἀλώπηξ οὐ δωροδοκεῖται.

A fox cannot be bribed.

The idea here is that foxes are sneaky. They would no doubt gladly accept your gifts, but that does not mean they will change their behavior. If you offer the fox a chicken to stay away from the henhouse, the fox will take the chicken... and still raid the henhouse! So, be careful if you are going to bribe someone: you don't want to bribe someone who is like the fox.

Δασύπους κρεῶν ἐπιθυμεῖ.

The rabbit craves meat.

On one level, the saying refers to something absurd and inappropriate: rabbits are herbivores, not carnivores. In a more subtle way, however, the saying refers a different absurdity: asking someone else for something that you already possess in abundance. Rabbits are hunted for meat; rabbits are meat, so a rabbit does not need to seek meat elsewhere! The word δασύπους is a nickname for the rabbit or hare: δασυ-πους, hairy-foot.

Ἄλλος βίος, ἄλλη δίαιτα.

A different life, a different lifestyle.

This has a simple literal meaning: different people have different lifestyles. In addition, as Erasmus explains, this saying applies to people whose life circumstances have changed (suddenly prosperous, or the opposite), and whose lifestyle then changes accordingly. The word δίαιτα is the origin of the English word diet.

Ἄρτι μῦς πίττης γεύεται.

The mouse is now tasting the pitch.

The verb γεύεται takes a genitive complement (have a taste "of"): πίττης. The saying is used by Demosthenes, and it alludes to a mousetrap in which the mouse is lured and trapped in sticky pitch. In other words: someone has just made a fatal mistake, one from which they cannot escape. The proverb appears in the LSJ entry for μῦς.

Μακραὶ τυράννων χεῖρες.

Long (are) the hands of tyrants.

Compare the English proverb, "Kings have long arms." In other words, kings, tyrants, etc. can exert their dangerous power at a distance. And yes, the English word "tyrant" comes from the Greek. Compare an expanded version in Benjamin Franklin's Poor Richard's Almanac: "Kings have long Arms, but Misfortune longer: Let none think themselves out of her Reach."

_______ οὐ δωροδοκεῖται.

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Ἀλώπηξ οὐ δωροδοκεῖται.

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_______ κρεῶν ἐπιθυμεῖ.

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Δασύπους κρεῶν ἐπιθυμεῖ.

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Ἄλλος _______, ἄλλη δίαιτα.

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Ἄλλος βίος, ἄλλη δίαιτα.

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Ἄρτι _______ πίττης γεύεται.

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Ἄρτι μῦς πίττης γεύεται.

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_______ τυράννων χεῖρες.

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Μακραὶ τυράννων χεῖρες.

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And to finish up, here's a random proverb and a random LOLCat too:

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Greek Proverbs: August 1

Here are today's Greek proverbs with LOLCats! These are repeats of previous proverbs, but now with illustrations... and with a quiz too! See how you do on the questions up top, and then try them again down below after you've read through the proverbs (the quiz results display only at the blog, not in the email):

____ διὰ πάντα τελευτᾷ.

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Θεὸς διὰ πάντα τελευτᾷ.

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Δεῖ φέρειν τὰ τῶν ____.

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Δεῖ φέρειν τὰ τῶν θεῶν.

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____ μυίας οὐ θηρεύει.

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Ἀετὸς μυίας οὐ θηρεύει.

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Μὴ ____ ἀντ᾽ ἀλφίτων.

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Μὴ λόγους ἀντ᾽ ἀλφίτων.

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____ κενοὶ βουλεύονται.

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Κενὰ κενοὶ βουλεύονται.

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Θεὸς διὰ πάντα τελευτᾷ.

God brings all things to completion.

The words come from Homer's Iliad, when Agamemnon is basically blaming Zeus for his quarrel with Achilles. The word διὰ is not a preposition here; instead, it is functioning as an adverb; later, these adverbs attached themselves to the verbs as prefixes (δια-τελευτάω), but they were more free-floating in Homer. This is called tmesis, "cutting" of the verb; you can read more at Wikipedia: Tmesis. The root of the verb is τέλος, meaning the end or outcome, and you can see that Greek root in English teleology.

Δεῖ φέρειν τὰ τῶν θεῶν.

It is necessary to endure the things of the gods.

In other words: you must endure the things that are sent by the gods; that is your fate, your destiny. The saying is found in Euripides' Phoenician Women.

Ἀετὸς μυίας οὐ θηρεύει.

An eagle does not hunt mice.

The idea is that someone great does not concern themselves with petty trifles, although eagles do in fact eat mice! Even the mighty bald eagle will eat mice if they cannot find better food.

The negating οὐ is used with indicative verbs as here, as opposed to the use of μὴ for subjunctive and imperative verbs as in the next saying.

Μὴ λόγους ἀντ᾽ ἀλφίτων.

Don't (offer) words in place of barley.

The idea is that when someone is hungry, words will not satisfy that hunger; instead of offering kind words and generous promises, you need to provide actual help by providing actual food. The negative μή manages to convey the force of a negative imperative, even though the saying does have an explicit verb.

Κενὰ κενοὶ βουλεύονται.

Useless people make useless plans.

The adjective κενός means literally "empty," but it also has a range of metaphorical meanings: fruitless, purposeless, useless, etc. From Greek English has adopted the theological word kenosis, which has a more positive sense of emptying oneself to make room for the divine; to find out more, see Wikipedia: Kenosis. 

____ διὰ πάντα τελευτᾷ.

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Θεὸς διὰ πάντα τελευτᾷ.

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Δεῖ φέρειν τὰ τῶν ____.

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Δεῖ φέρειν τὰ τῶν θεῶν.

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____ μυίας οὐ θηρεύει.

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Ἀετὸς μυίας οὐ θηρεύει.

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Μὴ ____ ἀντ᾽ ἀλφίτων.

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Μὴ λόγους ἀντ᾽ ἀλφίτων.

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____ κενοὶ βουλεύονται.

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Κενὰ κενοὶ βουλεύονται.

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And to finish up, here's a random proverb and a random LOLCat too:

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