Greek Reading: Fables 43

Today's fable and also the jokes come from Colton's Greek Reader, which has notes for the stories and a vocabulary in the back; the book is available at the Internet Archive. 

So, here are the stories in Greek, then segmented, and then interwoven with English. The titles are linked to the Internet Archive page.

Μύρμηξ καὶ τέττιξ

Ψύχος καὶ χειμὼν κατ' Ὀλύμπου· μύρμηξ δὲ πολλὰς συνάξας τροφὰς ἐν ἀμητοῖς, ἐν ἰδίοις οἴκοις ἀπέθηκε· τέττιξ δὲ ἐπὶ τρώγλης ἐνδύνας ἐξέπνεε τῇ πείνῃ, λιμῷ κατεχόμενος καὶ ψύχει πολλῷ. Ἐδέετο δὲ τοῦ μύρμκηος τροφῆς μεταδοῦναι, ὅπως καὶ αὐτὸς γευσάμενός τινος σωθείη. Ὁ μύρμηξ δὲ πρὸς αὐτον, Ποῦ, φησὶν, ἦς τῷ θέρει; πῶς δ' οὐ συνῆξας τροφὰς ἐν ἀμητῷ; Ὁ δὲ τέττιξ, Ἦιδον, καὶ ἔτερπον τοὺς ὁδοιποροῦντας. Ὁ δὲ μύρμηξ γέλωτι πολλῳ καταχέας ἔφη· Οὐκοῦν χειμῶνος ὀρχοῦ.

Ψύχος καὶ χειμὼν κατ' Ὀλύμπου· 

μύρμηξ δὲ 

πολλὰς συνάξας τροφὰς 

ἐν ἀμητοῖς, 

ἐν ἰδίοις οἴκοις ἀπέθηκε· 

τέττιξ δὲ 

ἐπὶ τρώγλης ἐνδύνας 

ἐξέπνεε τῇ πείνῃ, 

λιμῷ κατεχόμενος καὶ ψύχει πολλῷ. 

Ἐδέετο δὲ τοῦ μύρμκηος 

τροφῆς μεταδοῦναι, 

ὅπως καὶ αὐτὸς γευσάμενός τινος σωθείη. 

Ὁ μύρμηξ δὲ πρὸς αὐτον, 

Ποῦ, φησὶν, ἦς τῷ θέρει; 

πῶς δ' οὐ συνῆξας τροφὰς ἐν ἀμητῷ; 

Ὁ δὲ τέττιξ, 

ᾞδον, 

καὶ ἔτερπον τοὺς ὁδοιποροῦντας. 

Ὁ δὲ μύρμηξ 

γέλωτι πολλῳ καταχέας ἔφη· 

Οὐκοῦν χειμῶνος ὀρχοῦ.

Ψύχος καὶ χειμὼν  ...  Frost and winter storm 

κατ' Ὀλύμπου  ...  came down from Olympus, 

μύρμηξ δὲ  ...  but the ant 

πολλὰς συνάξας τροφὰς  ...  had gathered a lot of food 

ἐν ἀμητοῖς  ...  during the harvest, 

ἐν ἰδίοις οἴκοις ἀπέθηκε  ...  and stored it in his home, 

τέττιξ δὲ  ...  but the grasshopper

ἐπὶ τρώγλης ἐνδύνας  ...  squeezed into a hole

ἐξέπνεε τῇ πείνῃ  ...  was dying of hunger 

κατεχόμενος  ...  gripped by 

λιμῷ καὶ ψύχει πολλῷ  ...  severe famine and frost. 

Ἐδέετο δὲ τοῦ μύρμκηος  ...  He begged the ant

τροφῆς μεταδοῦναι  ...  to give him some food, 

γευσάμενός τινος  ...  having a taste of something

ὅπως καὶ αὐτὸς σωθείη  ...  he too could survive.

Ὁ μύρμηξ δὲ πρὸς αὐτον φησὶν  ...  The ant said to him, 

Ποῦ ἦς τῷ θέρει  ...  Where were you during the summer?

πῶς δ' οὐ συνῆξας τροφὰς  ...  How did you not gather food

ἐν ἀμητῷ  ...  during the harvest? 

Ὁ δὲ τέττιξ  ...  The grasshopper said, 

ᾞδον  ...  I was singing, 

καὶ ἔτερπον  ...  and I delighted  

τοὺς ὁδοιποροῦντας  ...  passersby. 

Ὁ δὲ μύρμηξ ἔφη ...  The ant said, 

γέλωτι πολλῳ καταχέας  ...  bursting with laughter, 

Οὐκοῦν χειμῶνος ὀρχοῦ  ...  So dance during the winter!

Grandville's illustration for La Fontaine

Σχολαστικὸς ἰατρῷ συναντήσας

Σχολαστικὸς, ἰατρῷ συναντήσας, Συγχώρησόν μοι, εἶπε, καὶ μή μοι μέμψῃ, ὅτι οὐκ ἐνόσησα.

Σχολαστικὸς, 

ἰατρῷ συναντήσας, 

Συγχώρησόν μοι, εἶπε, 

καὶ μή μοι μέμψῃ, 

ὅτι οὐκ ἐνόσησα.

Σχολαστικὸς  ...  A dunce 

ἰατρῷ συναντήσας  ...  ran into his doctor 

εἶπε  ...  and said,

Συγχώρησόν μοι  ...  Forgive me, 

καὶ μή μοι μέμψῃ  ...  and don't blame me; 

ὅτι οὐκ ἐνόσησα  ...  the fact is: I haven't been sick.

Σχολαστικὸς οἰκίαν πωλῶν

Σχολαστικὸς, οἰκίαν πωλῶν, λίθον ἀπ' αὐτῆς εἰς δεῖγμα περιέφερε.

Σχολαστικὸς, 

οἰκίαν πωλῶν, 

λίθον ἀπ' αὐτῆς 

εἰς δεῖγμα περιέφερε.

Σχολαστικὸς  ...  A dunce

οἰκίαν πωλῶν  ...  who was selling a house 

περιέφερε  ...  carried around  

λίθον ἀπ' αὐτῆς  ...  a stone from the house 

εἰς δεῖγμα  ...  as a sample.

another version:

Σχολαστικὸς ἰατρῷ συναντήσας ὑπὸ τοίχου ἐκρύβη. Τινὸς δὲ πυθομένου τὴν αἰτίαν, ἔφη· Καιρὸν ἔχω μὴ ἀσθενήσας, καὶ αἰχύνομαι εἰς ὄψιν ἐλθεῖν τοῦ ἰατροῦ.

Σχολαστικὸς 

ἰατρῷ συναντήσας 

ὑπὸ τοίχου ἐκρύβη. 

Τινὸς δὲ πυθομένου τὴν αἰτίαν

ἔφη· 

Καιρὸν ἔχω μὴ ἀσθενήσας, 

καὶ αἰχύνομαι 

εἰς ὄψιν ἐλθεῖν τοῦ ἰατροῦ.

Σχολαστικὸς  ... A dunce 

ἰατρῷ συναντήσας  ... running into his doctor 

ὑπὸ τοίχου ἐκρύβη  ... hid behind a wall. 

Τινὸς δὲ πυθομένου τὴν αἰτίαν  ... Someone asked why

ἔφη  ... and the dunce said,

Καιρὸν ἔχω ...  Things are going well for me,

μὴ ἀσθενήσας  ...  not having been sick, 

καὶ αἰχύνομαι  ... and I'm ashamed 

εἰς ὄψιν ἐλθεῖν τοῦ ἰατροῦ  ... for my doctor to see me.

ancient Greek physician

And here's a random proverb and a random LOLCat too :

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Crossword Puzzle 16-17-18

The proverbs for today come from back in Group 16, Group 17, and Group 18; you can visit those blog posts for the translations and more information. 

• Ἄγει δὲ πρὸς φῶς τὴν ἀλήθειαν χρόνος.
  
• Ἀεὶ ὁ θεὸς γεωμετρεῖ.
  
• Ἀλώπηξ τὸν βοῦν ἐλαύνει.
  
• Δὶς καὶ τρὶς τὸ καλόν.
  
• Μὴ κίνει κακὸν εὖ κείμενον.
  
• Μὴ λόγους ἀντ᾽ ἀλφίτων.
  
• Μισῶ μνήμονα συμπότην.
  
• Ὁ ψεύστης οὐ πιστεύεται.
  
• Ὄρος ὄρει οὐ μίγνυται, ἄνθρωπος δ᾽ ἀνθρώπῳ.
  
• Οὐκ αὖθις ἀλώπηξ πάγαις.
  
• Οὔποθ' ὕδωρ καὶ πῦρ συμμείξεται.
  
• Πέτρας σπείρεις.
  
• Σπεῦδε βραδέως.
  
• Τέφραν φεύγων, εἰς ἀνθρακιὰν ἔπεσεν.
  
• Χελιδόνα οἰκίαι μὴ δέχου.
  

As a kind of game-review, I've made something easier than the jumbles: it's the proverbs with all the spaces removed... see how it goes when you add the spaces back! 

Α ε ι ο θ ε ο σ γ ε ω μ ε τ ρ ε ι.
Μ η λ ο γ ο υ σ α ν τ α λ φ ι τ ω ν.
Α γ ε ι δ ε π ρ ο σ φ ω σ τ η ν α λ η θ ε ι α ν χ ρ ο ν ο ς.
Ο υ κ α υ θ ι σ α λ ω π η ξ π α γ α ι ς.
Χ ε λ ι δ ο ν α ο ι κ ι α ι μ η δ ε χ ο υ.
Δ ι σ κ α ι τ ρ ι σ τ ο κ α λ ο ν.
Α λ ω π η ξ τ ο ν β ο υ ν ε λ α υ ν ε ι.
Μ η κ ι ν ε ι κ α κ ο ν ε υ κ ε ι μ ε ν ο ν.
Ο ρ ο σ ο ρ ε ι ο υ μ ι γ ν υ τ α ι α ν θ ρ ω π ο σ δ α ν θ ρ ω π ῳ.
Μ ι σ ω μ ν η μ ο ν α σ υ μ π ο τ η ν.
Τ ε φ ρ α ν φ ε υ γ ω ν ε ι σ α ν θ ρ α κ ι α ν ε π ε σ ε ν.
Ο ψ ε υ σ τ η σ ο υ π ι σ τ ε υ ε τ α ι.
Π έ τ ρ α σ σ π ε ι ρ ε ι ς.
σ π ε υ δ ε β ρ α δ ε ω ς.
Ο υ π ο θ υ δ ω ρ κ α ι π υ ρ σ υ μ μ ε ι ξ ε τ α ι

I've also made a crossword as usual based on a missing word from each proverb: printable Crossword PDF. I've pasted in screenshots below so you can see what the crossword looks like:

And here's a random proverb and a random LOLCat too :

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Greek Reading: Fables 42

Today's fable and also the joke come from Colton's Greek Reader, which has notes for the stories and a vocabulary in the back; the book is available at the Internet Archive. 

So, here are the stories in Greek, then segmented, and then interwoven with English. The titles are linked to the Internet Archive page.

Λύκος καὶ γραῦς 

Λύκος λιμώττων περιῄει ζητῶν ἑαυτῷ τροφήν. Γενόμενος δὲ κατά τινα τόπον, ἤκουσε παιδίου κλαυθμυρίζοντος, καὶ γραὸς ἀπειλουμένης, καὶ λεγούσης αὐτῷ. Παῦσαι τοῦ κλαίειν, μήπως τῇ ὥρᾳ ταύτῃ ἐπιδω σε τῷ λύκῳ. Οἰόμενος δὲ ὁ λύκος, ὅτι ἀληθεύει ἡ γραῦς, ἵστατο ἐπὶ πολλὴν ὥραν ἐκδεχόμενος. Ὡς δὲ ἑσπέρα κατέλαβεν, ἀκούει πάλιν τῆς γραὸς κολακευούσης τὸ παιδίον, καὶ λεγούσης αὐτῷ· Ἐὰν ἔλθῃ ἐνταῦθα ὁ λύκος, ὦ τέκνον, φονεύσομεν αὐτόν. Τούτων ἀκούσας ὁ λύκος, ὡς οὐδὲν τοῖς λόγοις ἀκόλουθον ἦν, ἀπηλλάττετο λέγων· Ἐν ταύτῃ τῇ ἐπαύλει ἄλλα μὲν λέγουσιν, ἄλλα δὲ ποιοῦσιν.

Λύκος λιμώττων περιῄει 

ζητῶν ἑαυτῷ τροφήν. 

Γενόμενος δὲ κατά τινα τόπον, 

ἤκουσε παιδίου κλαυθμυρίζοντος, 

καὶ γραὸς ἀπειλουμένης 

καὶ λεγούσης αὐτῷ. 

Παῦσαι τοῦ κλαίειν, 

μήπως τῇ ὥρᾳ ταύτῃ 

ἐπιδω σε τῷ λύκῳ. 

Οἰόμενος δὲ ὁ λύκος

ὅτι ἀληθεύει ἡ γραῦς, 

ἵστατο ἐπὶ πολλὴν ὥραν 

ἐκδεχόμενος. 

Ὡς δὲ ἑσπέρα κατέλαβεν, 

ἀκούει πάλιν τῆς γραὸς 

κολακευούσης τὸ παιδίον

καὶ λεγούσης αὐτῷ· 

Ἐὰν ἔλθῃ ἐνταῦθα ὁ λύκος, 

ὦ τέκνον, 

φονεύσομεν αὐτόν. 

Τούτων ἀκούσας ὁ λύκος, 

ὡς οὐδὲν τοῖς λόγοις ἀκόλουθον ἦν, 

ἀπηλλάττετο λέγων· 

Ἐν ταύτῃ τῇ ἐπαύλει 

ἄλλα μὲν λέγουσιν, 

ἄλλα δὲ ποιοῦσιν.

Λύκος λιμώττων περιῄει  ...  A hungry wolf prowled around

ζητῶν ἑαυτῷ τροφήν  ...  looking for something he could eat. 

Γενόμενος δὲ κατά τινα τόπον  ...  He came to a certain place

ἤκουσε παιδίου κλαυθμυρίζοντος  ...  and heard a an infant crying, 

καὶ γραὸς ἀπειλουμένης  ...  and an old woman threatening him

καὶ λεγούσης αὐτῷ  ...  and saying to him,

Παῦσαι τοῦ κλαίειν  ...  Stop that crying,

μήπως τῇ ὥρᾳ ταύτῃ  ...  or else at this very moment 

ἐπιδω σε τῷ λύκῳ  ...  I'll hand you over to the wolf. 

Οἰόμενος δὲ ὁ λύκος  ...  The wolf supposed

ὅτι ἀληθεύει ἡ γραῦς  ...  the old woman was telling the truth, 

ἵστατο ἐπὶ πολλὴν ὥραν  ...  and stood there a long time 

ἐκδεχόμενος  ...  expecting (to get the baby). 

Ὡς δὲ ἑσπέρα κατέλαβεν  ...  When evening came on, 

ἀκούει πάλιν τῆς γραὸς  ...  he heard the old woman again

κολακευούσης τὸ παιδίον  ...  now soothing the child

καὶ λεγούσης αὐτῷ  ...  and saying to him, 

Ἐὰν ἔλθῃ ἐνταῦθα ὁ λύκος  ...  If the wolf comes here, 

ὦ τέκνον  ...  my child, 

φονεύσομεν αὐτόν  ...  we'll kill him. 

Τούτων ἀκούσας ὁ λύκος  ...  When the wolf heard this, 

ὡς οὐδὲν  ...  there being nothing

τοῖς λόγοις ἀκόλουθον ἦν  ...  consistent about her words,

ἀπηλλάττετο λέγων  ...  he went away, saying, 

Ἐν ταύτῃ τῇ ἐπαύλει  ...  In this dwelling, 

ἄλλα μὲν λέγουσιν  ...  they say one thing, 

ἄλλα δὲ ποιοῦσιν  ...  and do another.

from Barlow's Aesop

Ἔμαθον ὅτι ἀπέθανες...

Σχολαστικὸς σχολαστικῷ συναντήσας εἶπεν· Ἔμαθον ὅτι ἀπέθανες· κἀκεῖνος, Ἀλλ' ὁρᾷς με ἔτι, ἔφη, ζῶντα. Καὶ ὁ σχολαστικὸς, Καὶ μὴν ὁ εἰπων μοι πολλῷ σου ἀξιοπιστότερος ὑπάρχει.

Σχολαστικὸς 

σχολαστικῷ συναντήσας 

εἶπεν· 

Ἔμαθον ὅτι ἀπέθανες· 

κἀκεῖνος, 

Ἀλλ' ὁρᾷς με ἔτι, ἔφη, ζῶντα. 

Καὶ ὁ σχολαστικὸς, 

Καὶ μὴν ὁ εἰπων μοι 

πολλῷ σου ἀξιοπιστότερος 

ὑπάρχει.

Σχολαστικὸς  ... One dunce

σχολαστικῷ συναντήσας  ... met another dunce 

εἶπεν  ... and said,

Ἔμαθον ὅτι ἀπέθανες  ... I heard you were dead! 

κἀκεῖνος ἔφη  ... And the other said,

Ἀλλ' ὁρᾷς με ἔτι ζῶντα  ... But you can see I'm still alive.

Καὶ ὁ σχολαστικὸς  ... And the dunce said,

Καὶ μὴν ὁ εἰπων μοι ὑπάρχει  ... But the one who told me is

πολλῷ σου ἀξιοπιστότερος  ... much more reliable than you. 

And here's a random proverb and a random LOLCat too :

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Greek Vocabulary Challenge: April 3

Here are today's vocabulary words; this is Group 156. Click on the word to learn more at Logeion:

εὐεργεσία ~ εὐεργεσίας (noun f.): good deed, kindness 

ἀγών ~ ἀγῶνος (noun m.): contest, struggle 

ἔπος ~ ἔπους (noun n.): word, poetry 

φύσις ~ φύσεως (noun f.): nature 

ἐλπίς ~ ἐλπίδος (noun f.): hope, expectation 

These are the proverbs (and there are always more proverbs at the blog):

Εὐεργεσίας τίμα.

Ἀγὼν οὐ δέχεται σκήψεις.

Οἴνου κατίοντος, ἐπιπλέουσιν ἔπεα.

Πᾶν γὰρ τὸ πολὺ πολέμιον τῇ φύσει.

Πολλ' ἐλπίδες ψεύδουσι καὶ λόγοι βροτούς.

And now, some commentary:

Εὐεργεσίας τίμα.

Honor good deeds.

This is another one of the Delphic maxims recorded by Stobaeus. The noun εὐεργεσία is a compound: εὐ-εργεσία, "well-doing, good deed, kindness." Εὐεργεσία was also personified as a goddess; her Roman equivalent was Liberalitas.

Ἀγὼν οὐ δέχεται σκήψεις.

A contest does not admit excuses.

In other words, once you have agreed to engage in a context, you cannot back out. From Greek ἀγών we get English "agonistic." Meanwhile, the noun σκῆψις is from the verb σκήπτω, which literally means to "lean on, be propped on" (as in English "sceptre"), and by metaphorical extension, "pretend, allege, make an excuse." 

Οἴνου κατίοντος, ἐπιπλέουσιν ἔπεα.

As the wine goes down, words come pouring forth.

This is a variation on the idea of Ἐν οἴνῳ ἀλήθεια, "In wine, truth," and Οἶνος καὶ παῖδες ἀληθεῖς, "Wine and children are truthful," i.e. people say things as a result of drinking wine that they would otherwise not reveal. Compare also Κάτοπτρον εἴδους χαλκός ἐστ'· οἶνος δὲ νοῦ, "Bronze is a mirror of the face, wine of the mind." From Greek ἔπος we get English "epic."

Πᾶν γὰρ τὸ πολὺ πολέμιον τῇ φύσει.

Everything in excess is inimical to nature.

This is from the "Aphorisms" which form part of the Hippocratic Corpus; you can find out more at Wikipedia: Hippocrates. When you remember that φύσει was pronounced with an aspirated p (p-husei), you can see the appeal of this saying with the p sound repeated four times! The word φύσις has an enormous range of meaning as you can see in the LSJ online.

Πολλ' ἐλπίδες ψεύδουσι καὶ λόγοι βροτούς.

Hopes and words deceive mortal men in many ways.

The word πολλ' is πολλά, with the final vowel falling out before the following vowel (apocope).

This is a fragment from Euripides' Protesilaus. The meter is iambic:

Πολλ' ἐλ~πίδες || ψεύδου~σι καὶ || λόγοι ~ βροτούς.

And here is an ancient coin showing Protesilaus; you can read his story at Wikipedia.

And here's a random proverb and a random LOLCat too :

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