Greek Proverbs: May 21

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):

Λαγὼν _______.

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Λαγὼν καθεύδων.

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Ἰχθύων _______.

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Ἰχθύων βίος.

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_______ ἐν νεφέλαις.

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Ἀετὸς ἐν νεφέλαις.

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_______ ἀπέχου.

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Ἀλλοτρίων ἀπέχου.

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_______ φύλαττε.

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Φιλίαν φύλαττε.

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Λαγὼν καθεύδων.

A sleeping rabbit.

According to the ancients (see Dio Chrysostom, for example), rabbits slept with their eyes open. So the idea of this proverb is that appearances can be deceiving: the rabbit is sleeping, but you don't realize it because of those wide open eyes.

Ἰχθύων βίος.

The lifestyle of fish.

This saying is shorthand for when powerful people take advantage of weaker people, just as big fish devour the little fish. It is sometimes called "the Law of Fish" in English, or "the Law of the Jungle." You can see this proverbial usage in Polybius: τὸν λεγόμενον τῶν ἰχθύων βίον, with τὸν λεγόμενον indicating the proverbial status of the phrase. 

Ἀετὸς ἐν νεφέλαις.

An eagle in the clouds.

This saying can be applied to several different situations: to something lofty and great, especially if it excels others, and also to something that is difficult or even impossible to obtain. You can see Erasmus's Adagia for a variety of Greek citations.

Ἀλλοτρίων ἀπέχου.

Keep away from other people's things.

Note the middle imperative: "keep (yourself) away." This is another of the so-called Delphic maxims recorded by Stobaeus; find out more here at Wikipedia.

Φιλίαν φύλαττε.

Preserve friendship.

The nice word-play in the Greek doesn't come through in the English, alas. This is another one of the sayings recorded in the Delphic Maxims of Stobaeus. You see the Attic form of the verb φυλάσσ-. You can see the root of this Greek verb in English "prophylactic." For the related noun φύλαξ, see below.

Λαγὼν _______.

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Λαγὼν καθεύδων.

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Ἰχθύων _______.

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Ἰχθύων βίος.

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_______ ἐν νεφέλαις.

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Ἀετὸς ἐν νεφέλαις.

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_______ ἀπέχου.

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Ἀλλοτρίων ἀπέχου.

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_______ φύλαττε.

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Φιλίαν φύλαττε.

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

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Greek Proverbs: May 19

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):

______ ἐν ῥόδοις.

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Κύων ἐν ῥόδοις.

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Πλούτῳ ______.

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Πλούτῳ ἀπίστει.

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______ ποῖ πορεύῃ;

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Γλῶσσα ποῖ πορεύῃ;

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Ἐκ ______ στόματος.

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Ἐκ λύκου στόματος.

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Ἡφαίστειος ______.

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Ἡφαίστειος δεσμός.

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Κύων ἐν ῥόδοις.

A dog in the roses.

The idea here is incongruity, and also disparaging the dog: not only does a dog have nothing to do with roses, but a dog supposedly has no way to appreciate the roses either. (Dogs don't get a lot of respect in Greek proverbs.)

Πλούτῳ ἀπίστει.

Put no faith in wealth.

This is one of the so-called Delphic maxims recorded by Stobaeus. The verb ἀπίστει is an alpha-privative: ἀ-πίστει. The noun πλοῦτος is also the name of the god of wealth (as in English "plutocracy," like we have now in this country, alas); find out more at Wikipedia: Plutus.

Γλῶσσα ποῖ πορεύῃ;

Tongue, where are you going?

This proverb invokes the idea that the tongue (words, language) can be a force for good or a force for evil. Here is the saying in full as it appears in the Greek proverb collections: γλῶσσα, ποῖ πορεύῃ; πόλιν ἀνορθώσουσα καὶ πόλιν καταστρέψουσα; "Tongue, where are you going? To build the city up or to tear it down?"

Ἐκ λύκου στόματος.

From the mouth of the wolf.

As Erasmus explains, this refers to an unexpectedly good outcome because someone in the mouth of the wolf does not expect to escape alive. Compare the English saying "from the jaws of death." Erasmus cites a similar passage from Horace, hoedus ereptus lupo, "a kid snatched from the wolf," and Erasmus also suggests a connection to the Aesopic fable about the crane (or heron) and the wolf, where the crane kindly but foolishly offers to get a bone out of the wolf's throat and is lucky to escape alive.

Ἡφαίστειος δεσμός.

The Hephaestean bond.

Erasmus provides a very cool-sounding Latin version of the Greek: Vulcanium vinculum (Vulcan was the Roman name for the god Hephaestus). The saying alludes to the famous incident in the Iliad when Hephaestus forged a chain-link net to bind his wife Aphrodite in bed with her lover Ares; you can read about this story at Wikipedia: Hephaestus and Aphrodite.

______ ἐν ῥόδοις.

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Κύων ἐν ῥόδοις.

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Πλούτῳ ______.

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Πλούτῳ ἀπίστει.

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______ ποῖ πορεύῃ;

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Γλῶσσα ποῖ πορεύῃ;

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Ἐκ ______ στόματος.

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Ἐκ λύκου στόματος.

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Ἡφαίστειος ______.

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Ἡφαίστειος δεσμός.

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

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Greek Proverbs: May 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):

Εἰς ______ σπείρεις.

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Εἰς ὕδωρ σπείρεις.

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______ τὸν οὐρανόν.

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Ἄτλας τὸν οὐρανόν.

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Μὴ ______ μάχαιραν.

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Μὴ παιδὶ μάχαιραν.

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Οἱ φῶρες τὴν ______.

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Οἱ φῶρες τὴν βοήν.

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Πάντα πλήρη ______.

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Πάντα πλήρη θεῶν.

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Εἰς ὕδωρ σπείρεις.

You're sowing in water.

This is a fool's errand: seed should be planted in the earth, not water. In particular, this refers to someone doing favors for a person who is not going to ever return the favor. Compare a version in Theognis where someone is foolishly sowing seed in the hoar-salt sea: σπείρειν πόντον ἁλὸς πολιῆς.

Ἄτλας τὸν οὐρανόν.

Atlas (holds up) the sky.

In this saying, the Greek can let the nominative and accusative cases convey the meaning, with the verb being implied but not stated; that's harder to do in English.  After the Titanomachy (the war between the Titans and the Olympians, which the Titans lost), Atlas the Titan was condemned to forever hold the heavens upon his shoulders; you can read more at Wikipedia: Atlas. At one point, Atlas did get Heracles to take on the burden instead, promising that if Heracles would hold up the sky, he would retrieve the apples that grew in the garden of the his daughters, the Hesperides. However, when Atlas returned with the apples, Heracles then tricked him into holding up the heavens again, which Atlas is presumably doing unto this day. As Erasmus explains, the proverb thus refers to people who get involved with powerful, dangerous people and thus bring trouble upon themselves, as in the story of Atlas and Heracles. 

It is from the name of this Titan that we get the English word "atlas" as in a collection of maps of the world; more about the etymology of "atlas" in English.

Μὴ παιδὶ μάχαιραν.

Do not (give) a knife to a child.

The verb is implied by the content of the nominative and dative nouns and the negative μή which is used with commands. As with the English word "child," the Greek word παῖς can refer to a girl or a boy; this is known as common gender. Find out more: Gender Diversity in Greek and Latin Grammar.

Οἱ φῶρες τὴν βοήν.

Thieves (fear) the outcry.

As Erasmus explains, the saying can refer not just to thieves but to any guilty person who is acutely aware of their own guilt and fearful of being found out. This is another example of a proverb where the verb is implied by the cases of the nouns. From the noun βοή comes the Greek contract verb βοάω.

Πάντα πλήρη θεῶν.

All things are full of the gods.

This is a saying attributed to Thales and which is cited by both Plato and Aristotle among others. You can read more about Thales at Wikipedia.

Εἰς ______ σπείρεις.

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Εἰς ὕδωρ σπείρεις.

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______ τὸν οὐρανόν.

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Ἄτλας τὸν οὐρανόν.

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Μὴ ______ μάχαιραν.

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Μὴ παιδὶ μάχαιραν.

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Οἱ φῶρες τὴν ______.

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Οἱ φῶρες τὴν βοήν.

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Πάντα πλήρη ______.

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Πάντα πλήρη θεῶν.

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

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Greek Proverbs: May 12

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):

Ἄρχε ______.

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Ἄρχε σεαυτοῦ.

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Πρᾶττε ______.

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Πρᾶττε δίκαια.

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______ ἀπίστει.

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Πλούτῳ ἀπίστει.

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______ φοβοῦ.

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Δόλον φοβοῦ.

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______ πόκαι.

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Ὄνου πόκαι.

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Ἄρχε σεαυτοῦ.

Have control over yourself.

The verb ἄρχω takes a genitive complement: σεαυτοῦ. This is one of the maxims of the Seven Sages as recorded by Stobaeus; find out more at Wikipedia: Delphic Maxims.

Πρᾶττε δίκαια.

Do the right things.

This is another one of the maxims that Stobaeus attributes to the Seven Sages. The word πρᾶττε is Attic; you will also see the form πρᾶσσε; the related verbal nouns πρᾶγμα and πρᾶξις give us the English words "pragmatic" and "praxis."

Πλούτῳ ἀπίστει.

Put no faith in wealth.

Yet another one of the so-called Delphic maxims recorded by Stobaeus. The verb ἀπίστει is an alpha-privative: ἀ-πίστει. The noun πλοῦτος is also the name of the god of wealth; find out more at Wikipedia: Plutus.

Δόλον φοβοῦ.

Fear deceit.

Don't let φοβοῦ fool you; it's the imperative form of a contract deponent verb, middle voice (φοβέομαι), and it's also from Stobaeus.

Ὄνου πόκαι.

Wool from a donkey.

This is another one of those proverbial fool's errands: you get wool from a sheep, not from a donkey. The word "wool" is usually masculine, πόκος, but the feminine appears persists in this saying. You've seen a variation on this saying in an earlier post with the masculine form: Ὄνου πόκους ζητεῖς.

Ἄρχε ______.

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Ἄρχε σεαυτοῦ.

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Πρᾶττε ______.

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Πρᾶττε δίκαια.

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______ ἀπίστει.

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Πλούτῳ ἀπίστει.

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______ φοβοῦ.

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Δόλον φοβοῦ.

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______ πόκαι.

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Ὄνου πόκαι.

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

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