Greek Proverbs

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):

Ὁ _____ οὐκ ἔχει πηδάλια.

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Ὁ οἶνος οὐκ ἔχει πηδάλια.

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_____ ὁ ἀφανὴς τύραννος.

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Χρυσὸς ὁ ἀφανὴς τύραννος.

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Ἁ δὲ _____ την χεῖρα νίζει.

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Ἁ δὲ χεὶρ την χεῖρα νίζει.

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Τὴν αὑτοῦ _____ δέδοικεν.

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Τὴν αὑτοῦ σκιὰν δέδοικεν.

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Φωνὴ βοῶντος ἐν τῇ _____.

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Φωνὴ βοῶντος ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ.

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Ὁ οἶνος οὐκ ἔχει πηδάλια.

Wine has no oars.

In other words, when you drink, you lose control of yourself, just as you cannot control a ship without oars. Metaphorically, the word πηδάλια could also be used to mean the reins of a horse: ἱππικὰ πηδάλια. From Greek οἶνος we get the words oenophile and oenology.

Χρυσὸς ὁ ἀφανὴς τύραννος.

Gold is the invisible tyrant.

The adjective ἀφανὴς is an alpha-privative: ἀ-φανὴς, in-visible. From Greek τύραννος, we get English "tyrant." The etymology of the Greek word is obscure; here are some possible etymologies.

Ἁ δὲ χεὶρ την χεῖρα νίζει.

The hand washes the hand.

Compare the English saying, "One hand washes the other." The saying appears in a fragment of the comic writer Epicharmus. The complete verse line explains the meaning of the saying: Ἡ δὲ χεὶρ τὴν χεῖρα κνίζει, δός τι καὶ λάβοις τι, "give something and you'll get something." Another version of the saying in Greek cited by Erasmus is Χεὶρ χεῖρα νίπτει, δάκτυλός τε δάκτυλον, "Hand washes hand, and finger (washes) finger." From the Greek word χείρ we get the English word "chiropractor."

Τὴν αὑτοῦ σκιὰν δέδοικεν.

He fears his own shadow.

The words are from a fragment of Aristophanes, and of course we use the same phrase in English, "to be afraid of your own shadow." Erasmus cites the phrase with a different verb: Τὴν αὑτοῦ σκιὰν φοβεῖσθαι (φοβέω is also one of today's verbs). Plato uses the phrase in the Phaedo, where he labels it as a saying: τὸ λεγόμενον.

Φωνὴ βοῶντος ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ.

The voice of one shouting in the desert.

These words appear in all four Gospels — Mark, Matthew, Luke, and John — referring to John the Baptist, echoing the prophet Isaiah. The word φωνὴ (as in English telephone, etc.) is a feminine noun of the first declension, while the word ἔρημος (as in English hermit, etc.) is a feminine noun of the second declension.

Ὁ _____ οὐκ ἔχει πηδάλια.

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Ὁ οἶνος οὐκ ἔχει πηδάλια.

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_____ ὁ ἀφανὴς τύραννος.

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Χρυσὸς ὁ ἀφανὴς τύραννος.

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Ἁ δὲ _____ την χεῖρα νίζει.

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Ἁ δὲ χεὶρ την χεῖρα νίζει.

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Τὴν αὑτοῦ _____ δέδοικεν.

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Τὴν αὑτοῦ σκιὰν δέδοικεν.

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Φωνὴ βοῶντος ἐν τῇ _____.

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Φωνὴ βοῶντος ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ.

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

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Greek Proverbs: September 3

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):

Παθὼν δέ τε ______ ἔγνω.

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Παθὼν δέ τε νήπιος ἔγνω.

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Δειλότερος εἶ τῶν ______.

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Δειλότερος εἶ τῶν λαγωῶν.

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______ θάλασσαν ἐρίζει.

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Ποταμὸς θάλασσαν ἐρίζει.

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Φάρμακον ὀργῆς ὁ ______.

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Φάρμακον ὀργῆς ὁ χρόνος.

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Ἐκτὸς πηλοῦ ______ ἔχεις.

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Ἐκτὸς πηλοῦ πόδας ἔχεις.

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Παθὼν δέ τε νήπιος ἔγνω.

Even the fool learns by experience.

The words come from Hesiod's Works and Days. Compare Homer's Iliad: Ρεχθέν δε τε νήπιος έγνω. The word νήπιος can mean a child, someone young, but it can also mean childish, foolish, silly, etc., as in this saying. The idea here is that a more wise person might use reasoning instead without suffering "the school of hard knocks" as we say in English; that English saying even has its own Wikipedia article: School of Hard Knocks.

Δειλότερος εἶ τῶν λαγωῶν.

You are more cowardly than the rabbits.

There is an Aesop's fable about the proverbial cowardice of rabbits, but in the Aesop's fable, the rabbits are comforted by the fact that the frogs are even more scared than they are; here's that fable in Greek: Λαγωοὶ καὶ βάτραχοι.

Ποταμὸς θάλασσαν ἐρίζει.

A river is contending with the sea.

In other words, someone is pretending to be much greater than he is, as if any river could rival a sea. Erasmus cites a version in the second person: Ποταμὸς θαλάττῃ ἐρίζεις, "You, a river, are contending with the sea." The verb ἐρίζει is from the noun ἔρις, meaning "strife" or "contention." For the personified Goddess of Strife, see Wikipedia: Eris.

Φάρμακον ὀργῆς ὁ χρόνος.

Time is a remedy for anger.

From Greek φάρμακον we get the English word pharmacy. This Greek word was also made famous in modern times thanks to its use by the French philosopher Derrida; see more at Wikipedia: Pharmakon.

Ἐκτὸς πηλοῦ πόδας ἔχεις. 

You've got your feet outside of the mud.

This means you're in a good position, not likely to slip and slide into some kind of disaster. The word ἐκτός can be used as a preposition with the genitive, as here, and it can also be used as an adverb. You can see this root in English "ectoplasm." You can see Greek πούς in English "podium."

Παθὼν δέ τε ______ ἔγνω.

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Παθὼν δέ τε νήπιος ἔγνω.

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Δειλότερος εἶ τῶν ______.

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Δειλότερος εἶ τῶν λαγωῶν.

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______ θάλασσαν ἐρίζει.

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Ποταμὸς θάλασσαν ἐρίζει.

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Φάρμακον ὀργῆς ὁ ______.

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Φάρμακον ὀργῆς ὁ χρόνος.

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Ἐκτὸς πηλοῦ ______ ἔχεις.

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Ἐκτὸς πηλοῦ πόδας ἔχεις.

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

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Greek Proverbs: September 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):

______ δ' ἀρετῆς ἀναίτιος.

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Τύχη δ' ἀρετῆς ἀναίτιος.

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Παντὶ αἰτοῦντί σε ______.

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Παντὶ αἰτοῦντί σε δίδου.

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Ἓν οἶδα — ὅτι ______ οἶδα.

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Ἓν οἶδα — ὅτι οὐδὲν οἶδα.

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______ νήχεσθαι διδάσκεις.

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Ἰχθὺν νήχεσθαι διδάσκεις.

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Ἐν ______ κυσὶ μάχεσθαι.

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Ἐν φρέατι κυσὶ μάχεσθαι.

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Τύχη δ' ἀρετῆς ἀναίτιος.

Luck (is) not the cause of excellence.

Literally: Luck is not-cause, ἀναίτιος, of excellence. Alpha-privative adjectives like ἀναίτιος do not have a distinctive feminine form. In other words: you don't achieve excellence just by being lucky; you have to work for it. You can read about the goddess of luck at Wikipedia: Tyche. 

Παντὶ αἰτοῦντί σε δίδου.

Give to each person who asks you.

The words come from the Gospel of Luke, and you can find out more at Wikipedia: Sermon on the Plain (not the same as Sermon on the Mount in Matthew).

Ἓν οἶδα — ὅτι οὐδὲν οἶδα.

I know one (thing)  — that I know nothing.

This is the so-called "Socratic paradox." You can find out more at Wikipedia: I know that I know nothing. Both ἕν and οὐδὲν are being used substantively: one (thing) and not one (thing).

Ἰχθὺν νήχεσθαι διδάσκεις.

You're teaching a fish to swim.

This is a proverbial fool's errand: fish know how to swim already; you don't have to teach them. Compare a similar saying: Ἀετὸν ἵπτασθαι διδάσκεις, "You're teaching an eagle to fly." From the root in the verb διδάσκω, we get English words like didactic, autodidact, etc.

Ἐν φρέατι κυσὶ μάχεσθαι. 

To fight with dogs in a well.

This is used to refer to a quarrel or disagreement (μάχεσθαι) with disreputable, quarrelsome people (κυσὶ) in a situation from which you cannot extricate yourself (ἐν φρέατι). There a variation using a less well-known verb:  Ἐν φρέατι κυνομαχεῖν (κυνο-μαχέω, "fight with dogs").

______ δ' ἀρετῆς ἀναίτιος.

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Τύχη δ' ἀρετῆς ἀναίτιος.

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Παντὶ αἰτοῦντί σε ______.

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Παντὶ αἰτοῦντί σε δίδου.

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Ἓν οἶδα — ὅτι ______ οἶδα.

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Ἓν οἶδα — ὅτι οὐδὲν οἶδα.

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______ νήχεσθαι διδάσκεις.

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Ἰχθὺν νήχεσθαι διδάσκεις.

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Ἐν ______ κυσὶ μάχεσθαι.

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Ἐν φρέατι κυσὶ μάχεσθαι.

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

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Greek Proverbs: August 27

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):

Ἐλέφαντα ἐκ _____ ποιεῖς.

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Ἐλέφαντα ἐκ μυίας ποιεῖς.

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_____ ἔχοντες οὐκ ἀκούετε;

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Ὦτα ἔχοντες οὐκ ἀκούετε;

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Πάταξον μέν, _____ δέ.

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Πάταξον μέν, ἄκουσον δέ.

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Πολλὰ καινὰ τοῦ _____.

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Πολλὰ καινὰ τοῦ πολέμου.

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Μητὲ _____, μητὲ μελίσσας.

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Μητὲ μέλι, μητὲ μελίσσας.

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Ἐλέφαντα ἐκ μυίας ποιεῖς.

You're making an elephant out of a fly.

Compare the English saying: "You're making a mountain out of a molehill." This Greek saying appears in Erasmus's Adagia.

Ὦτα ἔχοντες οὐκ ἀκούετε;

Having ears, do you not hear?

The words come from the Gospel of Mark when Jesus is rebuking his disciples for their lack of understanding. He also invokes the eyes and sight: ὀφθαλμοὺς ἔχοντες οὐ βλέπετε; καὶ ὦτα ἔχοντες οὐκ ἀκούετε; "Having eyes, do you not see?"

Πάταξον μέν, ἄκουσον δέ.

Hit me, but listen!

The words are from Plutarch's Life of Themistocles. The situation is that Eurybiades is about to hit Themistocles with his staff while they are arguing about whether the navy should retreat or stay to fight the Persians; Themistocles wins the argument. You can read about the career of Themistocles at Wikipedia, and you can also read about Eurybiades.

Πολλὰ καινὰ τοῦ πολέμου.

War brings many strange things.

Bentley includes this Greek saying in his Dissertation upon the Epistles of Phalaris, applying the saying quite wittily to the strange anachronistic contradictions he discovers in the process of debunking the letters and attributing them not to the 6th century B.C.E. but to the 2nd century C.E.

Μητὲ μέλι, μητὲ μελίσσας.

Neither the honey, nor the bees.

From the Greek μέλισσα we get the name Melissa. The words are adapted from the poet Sappho: Μήτ᾿ ἐμοὶ μέλι, μήτε μέλιττα, "for me neither the honey, nor the bee." For Sappho, no doubt, the sweetness and sting referred to the sweetness and sting of love. You can read about her at Wikipedia: Sappho.

Ἐλέφαντα ἐκ _____ ποιεῖς.

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Ἐλέφαντα ἐκ μυίας ποιεῖς.

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_____ ἔχοντες οὐκ ἀκούετε;

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Ὦτα ἔχοντες οὐκ ἀκούετε;

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Πάταξον μέν, _____ δέ.

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Πάταξον μέν, ἄκουσον δέ.

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Πολλὰ καινὰ τοῦ _____.

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Πολλὰ καινὰ τοῦ πολέμου.

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Μητὲ _____, μητὲ μελίσσας.

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Μητὲ μέλι, μητὲ μελίσσας.

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

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