Greek Proverbs: Jan. 27

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):

Δικτύῳ ἄνεμον θηρᾶς.

You're hunting the wind with a net.
This is a proverbial fool's errand, because you cannot catch the wind in a net!

Λαγὼς καθεύδων.

The sleeping hare.

This saying also appears in Erasmus, who explains that it refers to a deception: the hare sleeps with its eyes open, or so the ancient Greeks and Romans supposed, fooling people into thinking it was awake. More about this folk tradition: Lagophthalmos or Hare Eye: An Etymologic Eye Opener.

Καρδία ἐλάφου.

The heart of a deer.

This is a saying indicating cowardice, and the words were famously used by Achilles when he taunted Agamemnon in the opening book of the Iliad: "οἰνοβαρές, κυνὸς ὄμματ᾽ ἔχων, κραδίην δ᾽ ἐλάφοιο," "weighed down with wine, having the face of a dog but the heart of a deer," where κραδίη ἐλάφοιο is the Homeric form of καρδία ἐλάφου. Here is the meter marked:

"οἰνοβα~ρές, κυνὸς ὄμματ᾽ ἔ~χων, κραδί~ην δ᾽ ἐλά~φοιο

There is an Aesop's fable about the proverbial cowardice of the deer.

ᾨὸν τίλλεις.

You're plucking an egg.

In other words: you are wasting your time! Unlike a bird, which can be plucked, a bird's egg is completely smooth; there is nothing to pluck. This is another proverbial adynaton (impossibility).

Τα παθήματα μαθήματα.

Sufferings (are) lessons.

The play on words in the Greek is lost in the English, alas, but it can be replicated in Latin: "Nocumentum, documentum." Both the words πάθημα and μάθημα are nouns formed from verbs: πάσχω, experience or suffer, and μανθάνω, learn, the idea being that to undergo some experience, especially a negative experience, teaches you a lesson. From the Greek root in πάθημα we get the English word empathy and from μάθημα, mathematics.

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

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Greek Proverbs: January 22

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):

Μίδου χρήματα.

The wealth of Midas.

King Midas was legendary for his wealth, but the "touch of gold" came at a terrible price; you can read the story at Wikipedia: Midas. Erasmus cites some other Greek sayings about the proverbially wealthy Midas: Μίδου πλοῦτος, "the riches of Midas" and Μίδου πλουσιώτερος, "richer than Midas."

Εἰς κόρακας.

To the crows.

Compare the English saying, "Go hang yourself" or just "Go hang." Why crows? The idea is that you want the person to die and for their corpse to be left unburied, a feast for crows. Unlike other prepositions which take different cases with different meanings, εἰς takes only the accusative case. Even so, the preposition still covers a huge range of meaning, as you can see at Logeion.

Ἐν οἴνῳ ἀλήθεια.

In wine (there is) truth.

Wine loosens people's tongues and, under the influence of the wine, they speak the truth, saying things they would not admit when they are sober. Compare the famous Latin saying, "In vino veritas."

Ἔγνω δὲ θὴρ θῆρα.

One beast recognized another.

This is a proverb cited by Aristotle in his Rhetoric, referring to how two wicked persons ally themselves to one another, and this saying is cited in the LSJ dictionary entry for θήρ. Aristotle quotes the saying using the aorist, ἔγνω, while Erasmus quotes a version using the perfect, ἔγνωκε: "One beast knows another;" compare the use of οἶδα, a perfect verb with present meaning.

Πίθηκος ἐν πορφύραι.

A monkey in royal robes.

The saying refers to someone putting on airs and making a ridiculous impression. Literally, the robes are purple, referring to Tyrian purple, a dye that was extremely expensive and eventually became associated with royalty, so much so that "the purple" could refer to the kingship itself, and the word "porphyrogeniture" referred to the way that sons born after their father became king would inherit the throne, even over the claims of older siblings. You can find out more at Wikipedia: Born in the purple.

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

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Greek Proverbs: Jan 20

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):

 

Γονεῖς αἰδοῦ.

Respect your parents.

This is one of the maxims of the Seven Sages as recorded by Stobaeus: Delphic Maxims. About the middle imperative αἰδοῦ, see this post: Σεαυτὸν αἰδοῦ. The noun γονεύς is derived from the root of the verb γίγνομαι, which is the middle form means "be born" (compare Latin gigno).

Ὅρα τὸ μέλλον.

See the future.

The verb μέλλω means "about to happen," so the participle, τὸ μέλλον, means that which is about to happen, the future, or destiny. This is another of the so-called Delphic maxims recorded by Stobaeus.

Οὐδὲ Ἡρακλῆς πρὸς δύο.

Not even Heracles (fights) against two.

In other words: don't pick a fight where your enemies outnumber you. The saying appears in a fragment of the archaic poet Archilochus. Meanwhile, you can read about the exploits of the hero Hercules at Wikipedia: Heracles.

Ἑστίαν τίμα.

Honor Hestia / the hearth-fire.

Yet another one of the so-called Delphic maxims recorded by Stobaeus. As usual, the maxim takes the form of an imperative: τίμα (uncontracted form: τίμαε).  Compare another saying about the goddess of the hearth that you saw in a previous post: Ἀφ' Ἑστίας ἀρχόμενοι. You can read about both Hestia and Vesta (Roman hearth-goddess) at Wikipedia.

Γλυκὺς ἀπείρῳ πόλεμος.

War (is) sweet to the inexperienced (person).

By implication, the person with experience of war knows that it is anything but sweet. From the root of γλυκύς, we get medical terms like hypoglycemia, "low blood sugar," in English.

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

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Greek Proverbs: January 15

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):

Χυτρεοῦς θεός.

A clay god.

This proverbial phrase refers to a god who is useless, not worthy of worship and unable to come to your aid. The adjective χυτρεοῦς is from the noun, χύτρα, a clay pot used for cooking. 

Μανθάνων μὴ κάμνε.

Don't get tired of learning.

The negative μή is used moods other than the indicative, which means the imperative as here, the subjunctive, etc. Literally, "as you are learning (participle), don't get tired (imperative)." The root of the verb μανθάνω is μαθ- as in English words like polymath and mathematics.

Ἐξ ἴσου δίδου πᾶσιν.

Give to all equally.

Plutarch includes these words in his Sayings of the Spartans, attributing the saying to Agesilaus the Great in the context of wine-drinking: εἰ μὲν πολὺς οἶνός ἐστι’ παρεσκευασμένος, ὅσον ἕκαστος αἰτεῖ: εἰ δὲ ὀλίγος, ἐξ ἴσου δίδου πᾶσιν, "If much wine has been provided, give as much as each one asks, but if there is only a little wine, give to all equally." You can see the Greek root ἴσο- in English isotope and in isosceles triangles.

Κύκνειον μέλος.

Swan song.

The legend of the song that the swan (supposedly) sings just before it dies, having spent the rest of its life in silence, has its own article at Wikipedia: Swan song. (I'll just mention here in passing a wonderful community organization here in Austin where I live: Swan Song: Musical Last Wishes brings musicians to the homes of hospice patients in order to perform for them; I learned about it because a jazz trio came and did a performance for my father.)

Ἡ εὐλάβεια σῴζει πάντα.

Caution saves all things.

The saying appears in Aristophanes' Birds. The saying also appears in the LSJ dictionary entry for the word εὐλάβεια. From the Greek verb σῴζω comes the noun σωτήρ, "savior," as in the English word soteriology, the study of salvation.

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

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