Greek Reading: Fables 31

Today's fables are from Potts and Darnell's Aditus Faciliores Graeci and from Colton's Greek Reader, both of which have notes for the stories and a vocabulary in the back and are available at the Internet Archive. The joke is from Rushbrooke's First Greek Reader, also at the Internet Archive, and with a dictionary in the back.

So, here are the stories in Greek, then segmented, and then interwoven with English. The titles are linked to the Internet Archive page.

Λύχνος ἐλαίου πλήρης 

Λύχνος ποτέ τις ἐλαίου πλήρης λαμπρότατα ἔλαμπε, καὶ ὀγκωθεὶς μέγαλα ἐκόμπει. ὡς δὲ αὐτὸν οἱ παριόντες ἐθαύμαζον, εἶπεν αὐτοῖς, ἰδοῦ, πολῖται. ἐγὼ γὰρ λαμπρότερός εἰμι τῆς σελήνης καὶ τῶν ἀστέρων. εἰπόντος δὲ αὐτοῦ ταῦτα, ἄνεμος ἰσχυρὸς ἐπιγενόμενος κατέσβεσεν αὐτῷ τὴν φλόγα. τῶν δὲ παρόντων τις ἀνῆψεν αὐτὸν λέγων, μή μεγαλαύχει. σεαυτῷ γὰρ καλὸς εἶναι δοκεῖς. ὅμως δὲ σμικρά σε ῥιπὴ ἄνεμου ἀποσβέσας ἀποκτείνει. οἱ δὲ ἀστέρες εἰσίν ἀθάνατοι, καὶ ἐς ἀεὶ λάμψουσιν.

Λύχνος ποτέ τις 

ἐλαίου πλήρης 

λαμπρότατα ἔλαμπε, 

καὶ ὀγκωθεὶς μέγαλα ἐκόμπει. 

ὡς δὲ αὐτὸν 

οἱ παριόντες ἐθαύμαζον, 

εἶπεν αὐτοῖς, 

ἰδοῦ, πολῖται. 

ἐγὼ γὰρ λαμπρότερός εἰμι 

τῆς σελήνης καὶ τῶν ἀστέρων. 

εἰπόντος δὲ αὐτοῦ ταῦτα,

ἄνεμος ἰσχυρὸς ἐπιγενόμενος 

κατέσβεσεν αὐτῷ τὴν φλόγα. 

τῶν δὲ παρόντων τις 

ἀνῆψεν αὐτὸν λέγων, 

μή μεγαλαύχει. 

σεαυτῷ γὰρ 

καλὸς εἶναι δοκεῖς. 

ὅμως δὲ 

σμικρά σε ῥιπὴ ἄνεμου ἀποσβέσας ἀποκτείνει. 

οἱ δὲ ἀστέρες εἰσίν ἀθάνατοι, 

καὶ ἐς ἀεὶ λάμψουσιν.

Λύχνος ποτέ τις  ...  Once upon a time a lamp

ἐλαίου πλήρης  ...  full of oil 

λαμπρότατα ἔλαμπε  ...  shone very brightly, 

καὶ ὀγκωθεὶς  ... and puffed up with pride

μέγαλα ἐκόμπει  ...  he boasted loudly.

ὡς δὲ οἱ παριόντες  ...  as the bystanders

ἐθαύμαζον αὐτὸν  ... looked at him in wonder,

εἶπεν αὐτοῖς  ...  he said to them:

ἰδοῦ, πολῖται  ...  Behold, citizens,

ἐγὼ γὰρ λαμπρότερός εἰμι  ...  for I am brighter 

τῆς σελήνης καὶ τῶν ἀστέρων  ...  the the moon and stars. 

εἰπόντος δὲ αὐτοῦ ταῦτα  ...  As the lamp said these things,

ἄνεμος ἰσχυρὸς ἐπιγενόμενος  ...  a strong wind arose 

κατέσβεσεν αὐτῷ τὴν φλόγα  ...  and extinguished his flame. 

τῶν δὲ παρόντων τις  ...  One of the bystanders 

ἀνῆψεν αὐτὸν λέγων  ...  relit the lamp and said, 

μή μεγαλαύχει  ...  Don't boast! 

σεαυτῷ γὰρ  ... While to yourself

καλὸς εἶναι δοκεῖς  ...  you seem to be good, 

ὅμως δὲ  ...  nevertheless

σμικρά ῥιπὴ ἄνεμου  ...  a small puff of wind 

σε ἀποσβέσας ἀποκτείνει  ...  can put you out and kill you.

οἱ δὲ ἀστέρες εἰσίν ἀθάνατοι  ...  But the stars are immortal, 

καὶ ἐς ἀεὶ λάμψουσιν  ...  and they shine for eternity.

oil lamp

Ἀλώπηξ καὶ βότρυες 

(you saw another version of this fable earlier)

Ἀλώπηξ λιμώττουσα, ὡς ἐθεάσατο ἐπί τινα ἀναδενδράδα βότρυας κρεμαμενους, ἠβουλήθη αὐτῶν περιγενέσθαι, καὶ οὐκ ἐδύνατο· ἀπαλλαττομένη δὲ πρὸς ἑαυτὴν εἶπεν· Ὄμφακές εἰσιν.

Ἀλώπηξ λιμώττουσα, 

ὡς ἐθεάσατο 

ἐπί τινα ἀναδενδράδα 

βότρυας κρεμαμενους, 

ἠβουλήθη αὐτῶν περιγενέσθαι, 

καὶ οὐκ ἐδύνατο· 

ἀπαλλαττομένη δὲ 

πρὸς ἑαυτὴν εἶπεν· 

Ὄμφακές εἰσιν.

Ἀλώπηξ λιμώττουσα  ...  A hungry fox

ὡς ἐθεάσατο  ...  when she saw

βότρυας κρεμαμενους  ...  grape clusters hanging 

ἐπί τινα ἀναδενδράδα  ...  upon a vine trained up a tree, 

ἠβουλήθη αὐτῶν περιγενέσθαι  ...  wanted to reach them, 

καὶ οὐκ ἐδύνατο  ...  but was not able to do so. 

ἀπαλλαττομένη δὲ  ...  Going away

πρὸς ἑαυτὴν εἶπεν  ...  she said to herself: 

Ὄμφακές εἰσιν  ...  They were not ripe.

the fox and the grapes

Σχολαστικὸς καὶ ὄνος 

Σχολαστικός τις ἐθέλων τὸν ὄνον αὐτοῦ διδάξαι μὴ τρώγειν, οὐ παρέβαλεν αὐτῷ χόρτον. ἀποθανόντος δὲ τοῦ ὄνου λιμῷ ἔλεγε, Μεγάλα ἐζημιώθην· ὅτε γὰρ ἔμαθε μὴ τρώγειν, τότε ἀπέθανεν.

Σχολαστικός τις ἐθέλων

τὸν ὄνον αὐτοῦ διδάξαι 

μὴ τρώγειν, 

οὐ παρέβαλεν αὐτῷ χόρτον. 

ἀποθανόντος δὲ τοῦ ὄνου λιμῷ 

ἔλεγε, 

Μεγάλα ἐζημιώθην· 

ὅτε γὰρ ἔμαθε μὴ τρώγειν, 

τότε ἀπέθανεν.

Σχολαστικός τις ἐθέλων  ...  A certain dunce wanted

τὸν ὄνον αὐτοῦ διδάξαι  ...  to teach his donkey

μὴ τρώγειν  ...  to go without eating,

οὐ παρέβαλεν αὐτῷ χόρτον  ...  and didn't give him good. 

ἀποθανόντος δὲ τοῦ ὄνου λιμῷ  ...  The donkey died of hunger

ἔλεγε  ...  and he said:

Μεγάλα ἐζημιώθην  ...  What a terrible loss for me! 

ὅτε γὰρ ἔμαθε μὴ τρώγειν  ...  Just when he'd learned not to eat,

τότε ἀπέθανεν  ...  he died.

donkey-headed drinking vessel

And here's a random proverb and a random LOLCat too :

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Greek Vocabulary Challenge: March 8

Here are today's vocabulary words; it's Group 149. These are sayings you may have seen before but with a new word focus. Click on the word to learn more at Logeion:

ἔρις ~ ἔριδος  (noun f.): strife, quarrel 

χθών ~ χθονός (noun f.): earth, land 

εὐχή ~ εὐχῆς  (noun f.): prayer, vow 

προφήτης ~ προφήτου (noun m.): prophet 

δρόμος ~ δρόμου (noun m.): race, running

These are the proverbs (and there are always more proverbs at the blog):

Ἔριν μίσει.

Ἅπασα δὲ χθὼν ἀνδρὶ γενναίῳ πατρίς.

Ἔργα νέων, βουλαὶ δὲ μέσων, εὐχαὶ δὲ γερόντων.

Οὐδεὶς προφήτης δεκτός ἐστιν ἐν τῇ πατρίδι αὐτοῦ.

Οὐ τοῖς κούφοις ὁ δρόμος καὶ οὐ τοῖς δυνατοῖς ὁ πόλεμος.

And now, some commentary:

Ἔριν μίσει.

Hate strife.

Don't let μίσει fool you: that's the imperative form of an -εω contract verb! From the Greek root  μίσ- we get English words like misanthrope and misogyny. Meanwhile, for more about strife personified as a goddess, Ἔρις, see Wikipedia: Eris.

Ἅπασα δὲ χθὼν ἀνδρὶ γενναίῳ πατρίς.

Every land is a homeland to a noble man.

In other words, if you are a worthy person, you can live anywhere in the world as if it were your native land. The words are a fragment from a lost play by Euripides as quoted by the Roman Stoic philosopher Musonius Rufus in an essay about why exile should not be considered a bad thing (Musonius himself was exiled to the island of Gyara by the emperor Nero). A fuller version of the passage from Euripides reads: Ἅπας μὲν ἀὴρ αἰετῷ περάσιμος· ἅπασα δὲ χθὼν ἀνδρὶ γενναίῳ πατρίς, "All air can be crossed by the eagle; every land..." From Greek χθὼν we get the -chthon- words in English like chthonic and autochthonous.

Ἔργα νέων, βουλαὶ δὲ μέσων, εὐχαὶ δὲ γερόντων.

Deeds (are) for the young, plans for the middle-aged, and prayers for the old.

This is one of the fragments of Hesiod, and there is a hilarious story in Strabo about Athenodorus Cananites which features a parody of this saying which replaces εὐχαὶ with a different word: ἔργα νέων, βουλαὶ δὲ μέσων, πορδαὶ δὲ γερόντων — the word πορδή means "fart" (and, yes, the Greek and English words are both from the same Indo-European root!). You can read the whole story in Strabo here; just click on "load" to see the English translation side by side with Strabo in Greek.

Οὐκ ἔστιν προφήτης ἄτιμος εἰ μὴ ἐν τῇ πατρίδι αὐτοῦ.

A prophet is not without honor except in his own homeland.

The words come from the Gospel of Mark; the full statement is: οὐκ ἔστιν προφήτης ἄτιμος εἰ μὴ ἐν τῇ πατρίδι αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐν τοῖς συγγενεῦσιν αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐν τῇ οἰκίᾳ αὐτοῦ, adding "and among his relatives and in his own house" at the end. The Gospel of Matthew features a similar saying: οὐκ ἔστιν προφήτης ἄτιμος εἰ μὴ ἐν τῇ πατρίδι καὶ ἐν τῇ οἰκίᾳ αὐτοῦ. You saw the version in the Gospel of Luke in an earlier blog post: Οὐδεὶς προφήτης δεκτός ἐστιν ἐν τῇ πατρίδι αὐτοῦ. Of course English "prophet" is from the Greek προφήτης.

Οὐ τοῖς κούφοις ὁ δρόμος καὶ οὐ τοῖς δυνατοῖς ὁ πόλεμος.

The race (is) not to the swift and the battle (is) not to the mighty.

This saying comes from the Biblical Book of Ecclesiastes, and here is the entire verse as rendered in the King James version:

I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.

You can see Greek δρόμ- in English words like palindrome and hippodrome.

Eris

And here's a random proverb and a random LOLCat too :

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Greek Reading: Fables 30

Today's fables are from Potts and Darnell's Aditus Faciliores Graeci and from Colton's Greek Reader, both of which have notes for the stories and a vocabulary in the back and are available at the Internet Archive. The joke is from Rushbrooke's First Greek Reader, also at the Internet Archive, and with a dictionary in the back.

So, here are the stories in Greek, then segmented, and then interwoven with English. The titles are linked to the Internet Archive page.

Ἄνθρωπὸς καὶ ἀλώπηξ

Ἄνθρωπός τίς ποτε ἀλώπεκα ἑλὼν, λίνον τι προσέδησε τῇ κέρκῳ αὐτοῦ καὶ ἧψεν αὐτό. οὕτω δὲ αφῆκεν. δαίμων δὲ τις ὀργισθεὶς ὡδήγησε τὴν ἀλώπεκα ἐς τὴν ἄρουραν αὐτοῦ τοῦ ἀφέντος τὴν ἀλώπεκα. ἡ δὲ τῇ φλογὶ τοῦ λίνου ἀνῆψεν αὐτοῦ τὸν σῖτον ἔτι ακμάζοντα. οὕτω πολλὴν τὴν ζημίαν τῆς ὠμότητος ἀπέτισεν.

Ἄνθρωπός τίς ποτε 

ἀλώπεκα ἑλὼν, 

λίνον τι προσέδησε 

τῇ κέρκῳ αὐτοῦ 

καὶ ἧψεν αὐτό. 

οὕτω δὲ αφῆκεν. 

δαίμων δὲ τις ὀργισθεὶς 

ὡδήγησε τὴν ἀλώπεκα 

ἐς τὴν ἄρουραν 

αὐτοῦ τοῦ ἀφέντος τὴν ἀλώπεκα. 

ἡ δὲ 

τῇ φλογὶ τοῦ λίνου 

ἀνῆψεν αὐτοῦ τὸν σῖτον 

ἔτι ακμάζοντα. 

οὕτω πολλὴν τὴν ζημίαν 

τῆς ὠμότητος 

ἀπέτισεν.

Ἄνθρωπός τίς ποτε  ... A man once

ἀλώπεκα ἑλὼν  ... caught a fox  

λίνον τι προσέδησε  ... and tied a flax rope 

τῇ κέρκῳ αὐτοῦ  ... onto the fox's tail 

καὶ ἧψεν αὐτό  ... and set it on fire. 

οὕτω δὲ αφῆκεν  ... then he let the fox loose. 

δαίμων δὲ τις ὀργισθεὶς  ... A god got angry

ὡδήγησε τὴν ἀλώπεκα  ... and guided the fox 

ἐς τὴν ἄρουραν αὐτοῦ  ... to the field of the man

τοῦ ἀφέντος τὴν ἀλώπεκα  ... who had let the fox go. 

ἡ δὲ  ... And the fox 

τῇ φλογὶ τοῦ λίνου  ... with the fire of the flax 

ἀνῆψεν αὐτοῦ τὸν σῖτον  ... burnt up his grain 

ἔτι ακμάζοντα  ... that was still ripening (in the field). 

οὕτω ἀπέτισεν  ... thus he paid

πολλὴν τὴν ζημίαν  ... a great penalty

τῆς ὠμότητος  ... for his cruelty. 

Firefox logo

Παῖς καὶ Τύχη

(a shorter version of a fable you saw from another reader earlier)

Ἐγγὺς φρέατος παῖς τις ἐκοιμᾶτο. Ἐπιστᾶσα δὲ αὐτῷ ἡ Τύχη ἐβόα, Ἀνάστα καὶ ἄπελθε ἐντεῦθεν, μὴ πως κάτωθεν τοῦ φρέατος πέσὴς, καὶ ἐμὲ τὴν Τύχην καταμέμψωνται πάντες.

Ἐγγὺς φρέατος 

παῖς τις ἐκοιμᾶτο. 

Ἐπιστᾶσα δὲ αὐτῷ 

ἡ Τύχη ἐβόα,

Ἀνάστα 

καὶ ἄπελθε ἐντεῦθεν, 

μὴ πως κάτωθεν τοῦ φρέατος πέσὴς, 

καὶ ἐμὲ τὴν Τύχην 

καταμέμψωνται πάντες.

Ἐγγὺς φρέατος  ... Beside a well

παῖς τις ἐκοιμᾶτο  ... a child fell asleep. 

Ἐπιστᾶσα δὲ αὐτῷ  ... Standing beside him 

ἡ Τύχη ἐβόα  ... Lady Luck shouted,

Ἀνάστα  ... Get up 

καὶ ἄπελθε ἐντεῦθεν  ... and go away from here 

μὴ πως πέσὴς  ... lest you fall 

κάτωθεν τοῦ φρέατος  ... down into the well, 

καὶ καταμέμψωνται πάντες  ... and everybody blame

ἐμὲ τὴν Τύχην  ... me, Lady Luck. 

Fortune and the Schoolboy

Σχολαστικὸς καὶ πώγων

Σχολαστικός τις ἀκούσας τινῶν εἰπόντων ὅτι,  ̔Ο πώγων σου ἤδη ἔρχεται, ἀπῆλθεν εἰς τὴν πύλην καὶ ἐξεδέχετο αὐτόν. Ἕτερος δὲ τὴν πρόφασιν ἐρωτήσας καὶ γνούς, Εἰκότως, ἔφη, μωροὶ καλούμεθα· πόθεν γὰρ οἶσθα εἰ διὰ τῆς ἑτέρας πύλης οὐκ ἔρχεται;

Σχολαστικός τις ἀκούσας 

τινῶν εἰπόντων ὅτι, 

 ̔Ο πώγων σου ἤδη ἔρχεται, 

ἀπῆλθεν εἰς τὴν πύλην 

καὶ ἐξεδέχετο αὐτόν. 

Ἕτερος δὲ 

τὴν πρόφασιν ἐρωτήσας 

καὶ γνούς, 

Εἰκότως, ἔφη, μωροὶ καλούμεθα· 

πόθεν γὰρ οἶσθα 

εἰ διὰ τῆς ἑτέρας πύλης οὐκ ἔρχεται;

Σχολαστικός τις ἀκούσας  ...  A certain dunce

τινῶν εἰπόντων ὅτι  ...  heard people telling him that 

 ̔Ο πώγων σου ἤδη ἔρχεται  ...  "Your beard is coming soon."

ἀπῆλθεν εἰς τὴν πύλην  ...  He went to the city gate

καὶ ἐξεδέχετο αὐτόν  ...  and waited for his beard.

Ἕτερος δὲ  ...  Another dunce

τὴν πρόφασιν ἐρωτήσας  ...  asked what he was doing 

καὶ γνούς ἔφη  ...  and when he found out, said,

Εἰκότως μωροὶ καλούμεθα  ...  It's right that we're called idiots!

πόθεν γὰρ οἶσθα  ...  For how do you know 

εἰ οὐκ ἔρχεται  ...  that it's not coming

διὰ τῆς ἑτέρας πύλης  ...  through the other gate?

Greek terracotta of bearded man

And here's a random proverb and a random LOLCat too :

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Proverbs Slideshow/Crossword: March 6

For today, it's a new review slideshow for Groups 137, 138, and 139. Here's the post with the details about how the slideshows work, and there's a random cat at the bottom of the post! Plus more cats.

The slideshow is embedded in the blog post, and you can also access today's slideshow directly, full-sized view. And remember: each time you see the English translation on a slide, you can click to access the original blog post with the notes for each proverb.

There's also a crossword puzzle PDF that you can print; here's a screenshot of the key. :-)

These are the proverbs, linked back to their blog post:

1. Ἁμαρτάνων μετανόει.
   
2. Ἅπας μὲν ἀὴρ αἰετῷ περάσιμος.
   
3. Αὐτοὶ χελώνας ἔσθεθ᾿ οἵπερ εἵλετε.
   
4. Δεῖ φέρειν τὰ τῶν θεῶν.
   
5. Δὶς καὶ τρὶς τὸ καλόν.
   
6. Ἴδια φύλαττε.
   
7. Καθὼς ἡ μήτηρ καὶ ἡ θυγάτηρ.
   
8. Λέων τὴν τρίχα, ὄνος τὸν βίον.
   
9. Οὐδὲ Ἡρακλῆς πρὸς δύο.
   
10. Οὐδεὶς γὰρ ὃν φοβεῖται φιλεῖ.
    
11. Σὺν Ἀθηνᾷ καὶ χεῖρας κίνει.
    
12. Τὸ γὰρ γράμμα ἀποκτέινει, τὸ δὲ πνεῦμα ζῳοποιεῖ.
    
13. Τὸ μὲν πνεῦμα πρόθυμον, ἡ δὲ σὰρξ ἀσθενής.
    
14. Φωνὴ βοῶντος ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ.
    
15. Ὤδινεν ὄρος, εἶτα μῦν ἀπέτεκεν.

And here's a random proverb and a random LOLCat too :

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