νέα ~ νέας (adj. fem.): young, new
μία ~ μιᾶς (adj. fem.): one, single
ἀξία ~ αξίας (adj. fem.): worthy, deserving
ἅπασα ~ ἁπάσης (adj. fem.): all, every
ἀγαθή ~ ἀγαθῆς (adj. fem.): good
These are the proverbs (and there are always more proverbs at the blog):
Νέα χελιδών.
Μία μάστιξ πάντας ἐλαύνει.
Ἀξία ἡ κύων τοῦ βρώματος.
Ἅπασα δὲ χθὼν ἀνδρὶ γενναίῳ πατρίς.
Φάγε ἐν εὐφροσύνῃ ἄρτον σου καὶ πίε ἐν καρδίᾳ ἀγαθῇ οἶνόν σου.
And now, some commentary:
Νέα χελιδών.
A new swallow.
The swallow was the proverbial herald of spring, and so the new swallow referred to the advent of springtime (see Aristophanes' Knights). In connection with this saying, Erasmus cites an ancient song from Rhodes: Ἦλθε, ἦλθε χελιδών, καλὰς ὧρας ἄγουσα καὶ καλοὺς ἐνιαυτούς, "Come, come, swallow, bringing good seasons and good times." This Greek folk song even has its own article at Wikipedia: Swallow song of Rhodes. From the same Greek root in νέα, we get all the neo- words in English like neolithic, neologism, etc.
Μία μάστιξ πάντας ἐλαύνει.
One whip drives them all.
This proverb depends on the contrast between the single whip, μία, and πάντας, all whom the whip drives, i.e. πάντας βόες, all the cattle (or all the human slaves). Erasmus explains that the saying can also be used to refer to work that is going well, nearly running of its own accord, so that only a single nudge is needed to keep things moving along. He also suggests that the single whip could refer to a shared motivation that drives people's actions, such as love, hate, a desire for gain, etc. Note that the feminine μία looks quite different than the masculine and neuter forms, εἷς and ἕν.
Ἀξία ἡ κύων τοῦ βρώματος.
The dog is worthy of food.
The Greeks did not hold dogs in high regard, so this saying referred to some lowly person who was not worthy of dignity or honors, but who was not altogether worthless and thus did deserve at least to be fed. Note that while the word κύων is common gender in Greek, this saying characterizes the dog as feminine: ἡ κύων. The adjective ἀξία takes a genitive complement: τοῦ βρώματος.
Ἅπασα δὲ χθὼν ἀνδρὶ γενναίῳ πατρίς.
Every land is a homeland to a noble man.
In other words, if you are a worthy person, you can lay live anywhere in the world as if it were your native land. The words are a fragment from a lost play by Euripides as quoted by the Roman Stoic philosopher Musonius Rufus in an essay about exile and why exile should not be considered a bad thing (Musonius himself was sent exiled to the island of Gyara by the emperor Nero). A fuller version of the passage from Euripides reads: Ἅπας μὲν ἀὴρ αἰετῷ περάσιμος· ἅπασα δὲ χθὼν ἀνδρὶ γενναίῳ πατρίς, "All air can be crossed by the eagle; every land..." From Greek χθὼν we get the -chthon- words in English like chthonic and autochthonic.
Φάγε ἐν εὐφροσύνῃ ἄρτον σου καὶ πίε ἐν καρδίᾳ ἀγαθῇ οἶνόν σου.
Eat your bread in gladness and drink your wine with a good heart.
The words are from the Biblical Book of Ecclesiastes. From the Greek ἀγαθή we get the name Agatha, as in Saint Agatha of Sicily; for more about the name, see Wikipedia: Agatha.
And here's a random proverb too:
