Greek Proverbs: April 28

Here are today's Greek proverbs with LOLCats! These are repeats of previous proverbs, but now with illustrations (and there are always more proverbs at the blog)... 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:

Ξυρεῖς ______.

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λέοντα

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Κρῖνε ______.

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δίκαια

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______ βραδέως.

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Σπεῦδε

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Εὔχου ______.

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δυνατά

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______ χαρίζου.

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Ἔχων

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Ξυρεῖς λέοντα.

You are shaving the lion.

This is a proverbial expression to warn someone that they are doing something that is dangerous. In Plato's Republic it appears in this form: ξυρεῖν ἐπιχειρεῖν λέοντα, "to attempt to shave the lion," literally putting your hand (ἐπι-χειρεῖν) to the task of shaving the lion. Compare the English saying, "to beard the lion in his own den," which similarly refers to a dangerous undertaking.

Κρῖνε δίκαια.

Discern what is right.

Notice that the Greek uses the plural adjective as a noun: (the things that are) right. You can also render this as an adverb in English: Judge justly. This is one of the maxims that Stobaeus attributes to the Seven Sages; find out more at Wikipedia: Delphic maxims. You can also find out more about the goddess of justice, Wikipedia: Dike.

Σπεῦδε βραδέως.

Hurry up slowly.

In other words: don't be slow, but don't be too fast either! This phrase became popular as a Latin saying, which has its own Wikipedia article: Festina lente. Compare a similarly paradoxical English saying: "More haste, less speed."

Εὔχου δυνατά.

Pray for things that are possible.

The verb εὔχου is a middle imperative from the deponent verb εὔχομαι; like many middle verbs it can still take a direct object: δυνατά, an adjective being used here as a noun, "possible (things)." This is another of the maxims attributed by Stobaeus to the Seven Sages.

Ἔχων χαρίζου.

If you have something, give it cheerfully.

Of course, Greek has managed to say all that with a participle and a verb; these so-called Delphic maxims are always pithy! The verb χαρίζου is one of those middle imperatives.

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Ξυρεῖς ______.

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λέοντα

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Κρῖνε ______.

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δίκαια

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______ βραδέως.

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Σπεῦδε

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Εὔχου ______.

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δυνατά

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______ χαρίζου.

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Ἔχων

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

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Greek Proverbs: April 25

Here are today's Greek proverbs with LOLCats! These are repeats of previous proverbs, but now with illustrations (and there are always more proverbs at the blog)... 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:

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Αἲξ ______.

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θάλασσαν

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Ὑφορῶ ______.

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μηδένα

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Γλυκὺ τὸ ______.

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φῶς

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Εὐτυχία ______.

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πολύφιλος

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Ἕνα ἀλλὰ ______.

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λέοντα

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Αἲξ θάλασσαν.

The goat (sees) the sea.

The idea is that the goat is amazed by the sea, and looks at it with fascination because it is something entirely new. Goats live in mountains and valleys; they do not often get to see the sea, so the saying is used to refer to someone who is staring in amazement at something they have not seen before.

Ὑφορῶ μηδένα.

Do not regard anyone with suspicion.

The verb ὑφοράω is a compound of οράω: ὑπο+ὁράω (the vowel drops, and the aspiration changes the pi to phi). Literally, it means to look at from below, but metaphorically it means to look at someone with suspicion or jealousy, which is the meaning here. Because it is an imperative, it takes the form μηδένα rather than the form οὐδένα that is used with indicative verbs. This is one of the maxims attributed by Stobaeus to the Seven Sages.

Γλυκὺ τὸ φῶς.

Sweet is the light.

The words come from the Biblical book of Ecclesiastes. The full verse reads: γλυκὺ τὸ φῶς καὶ ἀγαθὸν τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς βλέπειν σὺν τὸν ἥλιον, "and it is good for the eyes together to behold the sun." From the root of Greek γλυκ- we get the glyc- words in English like glycerine, and also gluc- words like glucose.

Εὐτυχία πολύφιλος.

Good luck has many friends.

In other words: when you're rich, successful, etc., you have many friends, but if you lose your good fortune, you will lose your friends too. The word εὐτυχία is a compound: εὐ-τυχία. You can read about the goddess of fortune at Wikipedia: Tyche. Like many compound adjectives, πολύφιλος is both feminine and masculine; it does not have a distinct feminine form.

Ἕνα ἀλλὰ λέοντα.

One, but a lion.

This is the punchline to an Aesop's fable: when the fox rebukes the lioness for having only one cub, this is the lioness's reply. That's why the words are in the accusative: "(I have only) one (cub), but (he is) a lion." In other words, all the offspring of the fox could never equal a single lion. Here are some English versions of the Aesop's fable, and this was one of the first Greek fables I shared here: Λέαινα καὶ ἀλώπηξ.

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Αἲξ ______.

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θάλασσαν

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Ὑφορῶ ______.

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μηδένα

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Γλυκὺ τὸ ______.

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φῶς

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Εὐτυχία ______.

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πολύφιλος

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Ἕνα ἀλλὰ ______.

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λέοντα

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

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Greek Proverbs: April 20 with quiz

Here are today's Greek proverbs with LOLCats! These are repeats of previous proverbs from last week because I want to test something new, which is a kind of pre-test/post-test self-check quiz. Let me know what you think! I'm putting it up here at the top to see if you recognize any of these to begin with, and then I'll repeat the quiz at the bottom so you can see what you learned! 

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Μακραὶ ______ χεῖρες.

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Μακραὶ τυράννων χεῖρες.

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______ ἔφαγες.

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Λωτοῦ ἔφαγες.

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______ εἰδώς.

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Λέγε εἰδώς.

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Ὅμοιος ______.

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Ὅμοιος ὁμοίῳ.

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Ἥλιξ ἥλικα ______.

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Ἥλιξ ἥλικα τέρπει.

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And now here are the sayings:

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."

Λωτοῦ ἔφαγες.

You've eaten from the lotus.

In other words, you're high! After eating the narcotic lotus, you're lost in a cloud of forgetfulness, not doing the things you should. The mythological "lotus-eaters" (λωτοφάγοι) forgot everything, even their homes and families. You can find out more at Wikipedia: Lotus-Eaters.

Λέγε εἰδώς.

Speak what you know.

Literally, "having come to know something, speak." The word εἰδώς is the perfect active participle of οἶδα. This is another one of the sayings attributed to the Seven Sages; see more at Wikipedia: Delphic maxims.

Ὅμοιος ὁμοίῳ.

Like to like.

This is a widely used ancient Greek saying; in Plato's Gorgias, Socrates calls it an old and wise saying. An expanded version including a verb is: Ὅμοιος ὁμοίῳ ἀεὶ πελάζει, "Like always approaches to like."  Compare the English saying "birds of a feather (stick together)" or "a man is known by the company he keeps." The Greek root ὁμοιο- shows up in English words like homeostasis and homeopathic.

Ἥλιξ ἥλικα τέρπει.

People of the same age enjoy (each other's company).

Literally, "same-age delights in same-age." This saying appears in Aristotle's Eudemian Ethics in a discussion of friendship, and he marks the expression as proverbial with the word λέγεται, "it is said that" — λέγεται ἥλιξ ἥλικα τέρπει. You can see the root τερπ in the names Εὐτέρπη, the muse of music, and Τερψιχόρη, the muse of dancing. And note, Greek ἥλιξ is not the origin of English "helix," which instead comes from Greek ἕλιξ, meaning "something twisted, a spiral."

Now try the quiz again:

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Μακραὶ ______ χεῖρες.

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Μακραὶ τυράννων χεῖρες.

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______ ἔφαγες.

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Λωτοῦ ἔφαγες.

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______ εἰδώς.

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Λέγε εἰδώς.

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Ὅμοιος ______.

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Ὅμοιος ὁμοίῳ.

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Ἥλιξ ἥλικα ______.

reveal/hide answer

Ἥλιξ ἥλικα τέρπει.

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

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Greek Proverbs: April 16

Here are today's Greek proverbs with LOLCats! These are repeats of previous proverbs, but now with illustrations (and there are always more proverbs at the blog):

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."

Λωτοῦ ἔφαγες.

You've eaten from the lotus.

In other words, you're high! After eating the narcotic lotus, you're lost in a cloud of forgetfulness, not doing the things you should. The mythological "lotus-eaters" (λωτοφάγοι) forgot everything, even their homes and families. You can find out more at Wikipedia: Lotus-Eaters.

Λέγε εἰδώς.

Speak what you know.

Literally, "having come to know something, speak." The word εἰδώς is the perfect active participle of οἶδα. This is another one of the sayings attributed to the Seven Sages; see more at Wikipedia: Delphic maxims.

Ὅμοιος ὁμοίῳ.

Like to like.

This is a widely used ancient Greek saying; in Plato's Gorgias, Socrates calls it an old and wise saying. An expanded version including a verb is: Ὅμοιος ὁμοίῳ ἀεὶ πελάζει, "Like always approaches to like."  Compare the English saying "birds of a feather (stick together)" or "a man is known by the company he keeps." The Greek root ὁμοιο- shows up in English words like homeostasis and homeopathic.

Ἥλιξ ἥλικα τέρπει.

People of the same age enjoy (each other's company).

Literally, "same-age delights in same-age." This saying appears in Aristotle's Eudemian Ethics in a discussion of friendship, and he marks the expression as proverbial with the word λέγεται, "it is said that" — λέγεται ἥλιξ ἥλικα τέρπει. You can see the root τερπ in the names Εὐτέρπη, the muse of music, and Τερψιχόρη, the muse of dancing. And note, Greek ἥλιξ is not the origin of English "helix," which instead comes from Greek ἕλιξ, meaning "something twisted, a spiral."

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

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