Greek Proverbs: July 16

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):

Δὶς καὶ ______ τὸ καλόν.

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Δὶς καὶ τρὶς τὸ καλόν.

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Πάντα γὰρ ______ καλά.

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Πάντα γὰρ καιρῷ καλά.

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Αὐτοὶ ______ ἐσθίετε.

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Αὐτοὶ χελώνας ἐσθίετε.

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Κοσκίνῳ ______ ἀντλεῖς.

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Κοσκίνῳ ὕδωρ ἀντλεῖς.

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______ ἀνὴρ μακρόβιος.

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Κακὸς ἀνὴρ μακρόβιος.

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Δὶς καὶ τρὶς τὸ καλόν.

Two times and three times (repeat what is) good.

The idea is that if something is good, once is not enough: repeat it again, and then again — two times and three. You can find this proverbial saying in Plato. Here's a rhyming version in English: That which seemeth well, 'tis well twice and also thrice to tell. The saying is often applied to things that are well said, but I like to think of having second and third helpings of food that is good to eat!

Πάντα γὰρ καιρῷ καλά.

All things (are) good at the right moment.

These words come from Sophocles's Oedipus the King, in a dialogue between Oedipus and Creon near the end of the play. Here and elsewhere I have not tried to translate the Greek particle γὰρ, although it shows up often in proverbs and sayings, providing a link between the saying and the context to which it is to be applied.

Αὐτοὶ χελώνας ἐσθίετε.

Eat the turtles yourselves!

A fuller form of the saying is Αὐτοὶ χελώνας ἐσθίεθ᾿ οἵπερ εἵλετε, "Eat the turtles yourselves, you who caught them." This is from a story about Hermes and some fishermen, as Erasmus explains: the fishermen had caught more turtles than they could eat, so when Hermes came by, they offered him some turtles to eat, but he realized their hospitality was not sincere, just convenient, so he told them to eat the turtles themselves. 

Κοσκίνῳ ὕδωρ ἀντλεῖς.

You're drawing water with a sieve.

This is a fool's errand: you can scoop all you want, but the sieve is not going to hold the water. Compare a similar saying you saw earlier: Κοσκίνῳ ὕδωρ φέρει, "He's carrying water in a sieve." The original meaning of the verb ἀντλέω is to bale bilgewater; the noun ἄντλος means bilgewater.

Κακὸς ἀνὴρ μακρόβιος.

The wicked man lives a long time.

Compare the English saying, "Only the good die young." (Or the less well-known English saying, "A creaking door hangs long on its hinges.") You can see the Greek root κακ- in the English word "cacophony," and English "macrobiotic" is from μακρό-βιος.

Δὶς καὶ ______ τὸ καλόν.

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Δὶς καὶ τρὶς τὸ καλόν.

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Πάντα γὰρ ______ καλά.

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Πάντα γὰρ καιρῷ καλά.

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Αὐτοὶ ______ ἐσθίετε.

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Αὐτοὶ χελώνας ἐσθίετε.

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Κοσκίνῳ ______ ἀντλεῖς.

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Κοσκίνῳ ὕδωρ ἀντλεῖς.

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______ ἀνὴρ μακρόβιος.

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Κακὸς ἀνὴρ μακρόβιος.

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

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Greek Proverbs: July 14

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):

_______ ἄνδρα δείκνυσιν.

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Ἀρχὴ ἄνδρα δείκνυσιν.

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Φέρει καὶ _______ γάλα.

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Φέρει καὶ ὄρνις γάλα.

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Ἅμαξα τὸν _______ ἕλκει.

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Ἅμαξα τὸν βοῦν ἕλκει.

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Ὃ ἂν μὴ ἴδῃς μὴ _______.

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Ὃ ἂν μὴ ἴδῃς μὴ λέγε.

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Ἐὶ καὶ _______ ἐμνήσθης.

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Ἐὶ καὶ λύκου ἐμνήσθης.

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Ἀρχὴ ἄνδρα δείκνυσιν. 

Rule reveals the man.

In other words, when you put someone in charge of something (ἀρχή is the notion of being "first" and then, by extension, it means the power that comes from being at the head of something, being in charge; see next saying), you see what kind of man he is. This is one of the sayings attributed to Pittacus, who was one of the Seven Sages; you can find out more at Wikipedia: Pittacus of Mytilene.

Ἐὶ καὶ λύκου ἐμνήσθης.

If you even mention the wolf.

This is the Greek equivalent of the English saying, "speak of the devil," i.e. "speak of the devil, and he will appear," but with the wolf instead of the devil: "if you even mention the wolf (he will come)." About the καὶ: this is an adverbial καὶ, "even," which implies the idea of summoning the wolf. In other words, "if you summon the wolf, of course he will come; but if you even mention the wolf... he will come!" As Erasmus explains, the saying is used when someone turns up or something happens unexpectedly after being mentioned in conversation, just as we use "speak of the devil" in English today. The Latin equivalent was lupus in fabula or lupus in sermone, which both mean "the wolf in conversation."

Φέρει καὶ ὄρνις γάλα.

Even a chicken gives milk.

This refers to a land of supernatural abundance: in that magical land, even a chicken gives milk, not just eggs. Compare the English saying, "Rare as hens' teeth." You can also find this idea expressed simply as ὀρνίθων γάλα, "hens' milk," referring to something implausible or even absurd.

Ἅμαξα τὸν βοῦν ἕλκει.

The cart is pulling the ox.

Compare the English saying: "Don't put the cart before the horse."

Ὃ ἂν μὴ ἴδῃς μὴ λέγε.

If you didn't see it, don't say it.

The words are attributed to Solon, one of the Seven Sages; find out more at Wikipedia: Solon. The particle ἂν with the subjunctive ἴδῃς conveys a hypothetical sense.  The verb ἴδῃς (aorist subjunctive) is used with the verb ὁράω, and this aorist stem is from the Indo-European root weyd- which you can see also in Latin video, and the same root also gives English "wise" and "wit" etc. You can read about the Indo-European stem at the wiktionary.

_______ ἄνδρα δείκνυσιν.

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Ἀρχὴ ἄνδρα δείκνυσιν.

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Φέρει καὶ _______ γάλα.

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Φέρει καὶ ὄρνις γάλα.

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Ἅμαξα τὸν _______ ἕλκει.

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Ἅμαξα τὸν βοῦν ἕλκει.

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Ὃ ἂν μὴ ἴδῃς μὴ _______.

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Ὃ ἂν μὴ ἴδῃς μὴ λέγε.

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Ἐὶ καὶ _______ ἐμνήσθης.

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Ἐὶ καὶ λύκου ἐμνήσθης.

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

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Greek Proverbs: July 9

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):

Πλέον ______ παντός.

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Πλέον ἥμισυ παντός.

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Ἔργου ______ οἱ λόγοι.

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Ἔργου σκιὰ οἱ λόγοι.

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Ταντάλειοι ______.

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Ταντάλειοι τιμωρίαι.

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______ πόκους ζητεῖς.

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Ὄνου πόκους ζητεῖς.

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Πυθίων ______ ἧκες.

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Πυθίων ὕστερον ἧκες.

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Πλέον ἥμισυ παντός.

The half is greater than the whole.

The Greek saying was used to refer to someone who would risk losing what they have in order to gain something more; compare the English saying, "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush." The adjective πλέον is comparative, so it takes a genitive complement: παντός. From the root in Greek ἥμισυ we get the hemi- words in English like hemisphere.

Ἔργου σκιὰ οἱ λόγοι.

Words (are) the shadow of the deed.

You can see the Greek root εργ- in English words like energy and ergonomic. Meanwhile, the word σκιὰ is lurking in the English word "squirrel," as the squirrel was called σκίουρος in Greek: σκιά-οὐρά, shadow-tail, thanks to the way its big busy tail is like an umbrella! (Meanwhile, "umbrella" is from the Latin word for shadow: umbra.)

Ταντάλειοι τιμωρίαι.

Tantalean punishments.

This proverbial phrase refers to the punishments that Tantalus suffered for the various crimes he committed against the gods, including an attempt to feed them the flesh of his son, Pelops. You can find out more at Wikipedia: Tantalus' Savage Banquet. Tantalus was then punished in the underworld by seeing fruit that he could never eat and water that he could never drink, which is the origin of the English word "tantalize."

Ὄνου πόκους ζητεῖς.

You're looking for wool from a donkey.

This is another proverbial fool's errand: you get wool from a sheep, not from a donkey. Compare the proverbial English "hen's teeth." The saying appears in Aristophanes' The Frogs, where Charon, the boatman, asks: τίς εἰς τοῦ Λήθης πεδίον, τίς εἰς ὄνου πόκας; "Who's for the plain of Lethe? Who's for the donkey's wool?" In this context, the "donkey's wool" is not just a fool's errand, but instead is an ultimate "nowhere," the annihilation that awaits all Charon's passengers. 

Πυθίων ὕστερον ἧκες.

You came late for the Pythian Games.

This is a proverbial saying for being late to an event. The Pythian Games were held every four years, as were the other Panhellenic Games, including the Olympics. So, if you showed up late for the Pythian Games, you would have four years to wait! You can read more at Wikipedia: Pythian Games. Erasmus provides some other similar expressions: Κατόπιν τῆς ἑορτῆς, "late to the party," and Παναθηναίων κατόπιν, "late for the Panathenaea festival."

Πλέον ______ παντός.

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Πλέον ἥμισυ παντός.

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Ἔργου ______ οἱ λόγοι.

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Ἔργου σκιὰ οἱ λόγοι.

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Ταντάλειοι ______.

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Ταντάλειοι τιμωρίαι.

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______ πόκους ζητεῖς.

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Ὄνου πόκους ζητεῖς.

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Πυθίων ______ ἧκες.

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Πυθίων ὕστερον ἧκες.

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

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Greek Proverbs July 7

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):

Ἀφροδίτῃ ______ τέθυκεν.

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Ἀφροδίτῃ ὗν τέθυκεν.

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Ἀεὶ τὰ ______ βελτίω.

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Ἀεὶ τὰ πέρυσι βελτίω.

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Ἀπὸ ______ ἐφ᾽ ἵππους.

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Ἀπὸ ὄνων ἐφ᾽ ἵππους.

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Εἶς ἀνὴρ ______ ἀνήρ.

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Εἶς ἀνὴρ οὐδεὶς ἀνήρ.

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Ἀντὶ πέρκης ______.

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Ἀντὶ πέρκης σκορπίον.

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Ἀεὶ τὰ πέρυσι βελτίω.

The things of yesteryear (are) always better.

The word βελτίω is neuter plural, although you can also find the expected form βελτίονα; the dictionary form (masculine singular) is βελτίων, and it is used as the comparative form of ἀγαθός: better.

Ἀπὸ ὄνων ἐφ᾽ ἵππους.

From donkeys to horses.

This refers to someone whose life changes for the better: donkeys pulled the carts of poor people, while the rich relied on horses instead. There are many English words which feature the Greek ἀπό, such as apostate and apostle.

Εἶς ἀνὴρ οὐδεὶς ἀνήρ.

One man (is) no man.

The idea is that you cannot do anything alone, so one man is really no better than nobody at all. This saying is a good way to remember how the words εἶς, "one" and οὐδεὶς "not-one" — οὐ-εὶς — are related. In this proverb, οὐδείς is being used adjectivally, modifying ἀνήρ; see today's final proverb for the same word being used substantively as a noun, meaning "nobody." The Greek saying is the motto of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity.

Ἀντὶ πέρκης σκορπίον.

(To give) a scorpion instead of a perch.

The word σκορπίον is in the accusative, which lets you know there is an implied verb. The saying applies to any situation where, instead of a welcome or useful gift (like a perch, something nice to eat), you receive something that is unexpected and dangerous, not what you hoped for at all. Compare this similar idea in the Gospel of Luke: καὶ αἰτήσει ᾠόν, ἐπιδώσει αὐτῶ σκορπίον; "and if he asks for an egg, will he give him a scorpion?" (and see also the Gospel of Matthew).

Ἀφροδίτῃ ὗν τέθυκεν.

He's offered a pig to Aphrodite.

Offering a pig to Aphrodite would be a very foolish thing to do because Aphrodite has no fondness for pigs or any members of the pig family, especially after her lover Adonis was slain by a wild boar. Metaphorically, then, this saying refers to someone acting inappropriately.

Ἀφροδίτῃ ______ τέθυκεν.

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Ἀφροδίτῃ ὗν τέθυκεν.

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Ἀεὶ τὰ ______ βελτίω.

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Ἀεὶ τὰ πέρυσι βελτίω.

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Ἀπὸ ______ ἐφ᾽ ἵππους.

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Ἀπὸ ὄνων ἐφ᾽ ἵππους.

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Εἶς ἀνὴρ ______ ἀνήρ.

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Εἶς ἀνὴρ οὐδεὶς ἀνήρ.

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Ἀντὶ πέρκης ______.

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Ἀντὶ πέρκης σκορπίον.

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

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