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):

Ῥεχθὲν δέ τε ______ ἔγνω.

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Ῥεχθὲν δέ τε νήπιος ἔγνω.

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______ οἰκίαι μὴ δέχου.

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Χελιδόνα οἰκίαι μὴ δέχου.

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______ καὶ παῖδες ἀληθεῖς.

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Οἶνος καὶ παῖδες ἀληθεῖς.

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Ξυρεῖν ἐπιχειρεῖν ______.

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Ξυρεῖν ἐπιχειρεῖν λέοντα.

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Μικρὸν ______ μέγα ἀγαθόν.

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Μικρὸν κακὸν μέγα ἀγαθόν.

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Ῥεχθὲν δέ τε νήπιος ἔγνω.

When something is done, even a fool knows it.

This saying appears already in Homer's Iliad: Menelaus is protecting Patroclus's fallen body, and he uses these words to rebuke the Trojan Euphorbus, but Euphorbus does not retreat, and Menelaus kills him. Plato also includes this saying in the Symposium, labeling it a παροιμία, a proverb. The idea is that a wise man can anticipate trouble in advance and avoid it, but the fool rushes in, recognizing the danger only after it has befallen him, Euphorbus being one such fool.

Χελιδόνα οἰκίαι μὴ δέχου.

Do not receive a swallow in your house.

The saying is attributed to Pythagoras, who was not alone in regarding the swallow as a bird of ill omen, but the swallow could also be a good omen. For an overview of the swallow as a bird who could be regarded as both an ill omen and a good omen, see J. G. Frazer: Swallows in the House.

Οἶνος καὶ παῖδες ἀληθεῖς.

Wine and children (are) truthful.

You can find this saying in Plato's Symposium. Compare a similar saying that you saw in an earlier blog post: Ἐν οἴνῳ ἀλήθεια. You can see Greek παῖδες in English pedagogy.

Ξυρεῖν ἐπιχειρεῖν λέοντα.

To attempt to shave a lion.

This proverbial saying appears in Plato's Republic, referring to a very hazardous and risky venture: anybody who has had to shave their pet cat's matted fur knows all about this! The verb "to attempt," ἐπιχειρεῖν, has χειρ, "hand" as its root, so it literally means to put your hand to something, ἐπι-χειρ-εῖν. You will be lucky to get that hand back intact if you really are shaving a lion! You can find additional citations and parallels in Erasmus.

Μικρὸν κακὸν μέγα ἀγαθόν.

A small evil (is) a great good.

Paradoxical but true; compare the English saying about choosing "the lesser of two evils." This saying is also a good way to remember the unexpected ending of the adjective μέγα: just like μικρόν, κακόν and ἀγαθόν, μέγα is neuter singular. From Greek μικρόν we get all the micro- words, of which there are many in English; you can use OneLook to see them all.

Ῥεχθὲν δέ τε ______ ἔγνω.

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Ῥεχθὲν δέ τε νήπιος ἔγνω.

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______ οἰκίαι μὴ δέχου.

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Χελιδόνα οἰκίαι μὴ δέχου.

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______ καὶ παῖδες ἀληθεῖς.

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Οἶνος καὶ παῖδες ἀληθεῖς.

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Ξυρεῖν ἐπιχειρεῖν ______.

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Ξυρεῖν ἐπιχειρεῖν λέοντα.

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Μικρὸν ______ μέγα ἀγαθόν.

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Μικρὸν κακὸν μέγα ἀγαθόν.

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

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Greek Proverbs: September 8

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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