Greek Proverbs: March 10

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):

Κοινὰ τὰ φίλων.

Friends have things in common.

Literally, the things of friends are common; in other words, "what's mine is yours, and what's yours in mine." This is the very first item in Erasmus's adages. Erasmus cites a wide variety of Greek sources for this popular saying, including Euripides' Orestes; the saying appears in a conversation between Orestes and his dear friend Pylades. The adjective φίλος is being used substantively, as a noun: "friend." From this same root in Greek we get all the phil- words in English.

Βοιώτιος νοῦς.

The mind of a Boeotian.

This proverbial saying referred to someone who was ignorant or stupid; such was the reputation of people from Boeotia, a region in central Greece. You could also find the sentiment expressed in this form: Ἡ Βοιωτία ὗς, a Boeotian pig. The Greek phrase lives on in French, where the insulting term béotien means someone who is a country bumpkin, unsophisticated (compare the English use of "philistine," lower-case p).

Ἡρακλῆς καὶ πίθηκος.

Heracles and an ape.

The saying is about things that cannot be compared, much like the English saying "apples and oranges." Lucian uses these words to denounce contemporary philosophers in The Fisherman, where he also includes the absurd comparison of a vulture to a nightingale (νῦν δὲ θᾶττον ἂν γὺψ ἀηδόνα μιμήσαιτο ἢ οὗτοι φιλοσόφους).

Πάθει μάθος.

Wisdom (is acquired) by means of suffering.

The words are spoken by the chorus in Aeschylus's Agamemnon, where the word μάθος is a poetic equivalent to μάθησις, "learning, the getting of knowledge, wisdom." The word πάθος (from the verb πάσχω) can simply mean "experience," but it can also have the negative connotation of "suffering." Given that the chorus then goes on to speak about πόνος, "hard work, toil," I opted for "suffering" in the English translation. In addition, Greek πάθος can also mean "emotion, passion," which is the sense it has taken on in the English word pathos, and also in compounds like sympathy and empathy. Compare a saying from an earlier blog post: Τα παθήματα μαθήματα.

Ὅσια κρῖνε.

Choose the things that are holy.

This is one of the Delphic maxims recorded by Stobaeus. The verb κρίνω has a wide range of meaning; often it means "decide," but here, with a direct object, it means something more like "pick out, choose." Note also the circumflex accent for this imperative form: κρῖνε.

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

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Greek Proverbs: March 5

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):

Αἰγιαλῷ λαλεῖς.

You're talking to the seashore.

This is a proverbial fool's errand: you're talking to the waves pounding against the seashore, i.e. to someone who cannot hear you. You can see the Greek root λαλ- in the -lalia words like glossolalia and echolalia.

Ὄφιν θάλπεις.

You're warming a snake.

In English we warn people about the threat posed by a snake or viper in one's bosom, i.e. a dangerous person to whom you are close, but this Greek proverb alludes specifically to the Aesop's fable about the foolish man who found a snake half-frozen in the snow; feeling sorry for the snake, he warmed it in his cloak (or by his fireside), but when the snake revived, it bit him!

Ἄνθρωπος μέτρον.

Man (is) the measure.

The words are a fragment of the pre-Socratic philosopher Protagoras, who argued for philosophical relativism: what a person subjectively perceives is the measure of their reality. It is sometimes cited as Ἄνθρωπος μέτρον ἁπάντων, "Man (is) the measure of all things." You can see the Greek μέτρον in English metronome.

Ἐς πόδας ἐκ κεφαλῆς.

To the feet from the head.

Or, as we might say in English: "from head to foot" or "from head to toe" — although the Greek makes more sense than the English, referring to feet in the plural. The phrase is found already in Homer's Iliad, referring to Patroclus' body being prepared for his funeral. From the Greek κεφαλ- we get all the -cephal- words in English like encephalitis and cephalopod.

Ὃ γέγραφα γέγραφα.

That which I have written, I have written.

The words are spoken by Pontius Pilate in the Gospel of John. The story goes that Pilate wrote a sign to hang on the cross of Jesus: Ἰησοῦς ὁ Ναζωραῖος ὁ Βασιλεὺς τῶν ἰουδαίων, Jesus of Nazareth King of the Jews. The Jewish priests objected, but Pilate would not change what he had written. This famous incident has its own article at Wikipedia: Quod scripsi scripsi. You can also find out more at this article: Jesus, King of the Jews.

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

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Greek Proverbs: March 3

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):

Σεαυτὸν αἰδοῦ.

Have respect for yourself.

The form αἰδοῦ is a middle imperative from the verb αἰδέομαι. It can mean "feel shame," but especially when it takes a direct object, as here, it has the sense of "feel fear, awe," and thus to venerate or respect. The noun αἰδώς also covers that same range of meaning, from shame and fear to awe and respect.

Ἀεργοῖς αἲὲν ἑορτά.

For lazy (people), (it's) always a holiday.

The saying is reported in one of the idylls of Theocritus; you can find out more at Wikipedia: Idyll 15. The adjective ἀεργός is an alpha-privative: ἀ-εργός, not-working, and it is being used substantively here: lazy people.

Ζητεῖτε καὶ εὑρήσετε.

Seek, and you will find.

The words are from the Sermon on the Mount in the Gospel of Matthew; find out more at Wikipedia: Matthew 7:7-8.

Οὐ νυκτὶ πλεῖς.

You are not sailing at night.

This refers to the fact that it is the night which gives you a way to steer your ship, using the stars. To be sailing by day, not by night, means to be doing something in a haphazard way without a sense of direction. As Erasmus notes, however, the saying also appears in the proverb collections without the negative — νυκτὶ πλεῖς, "you're sailing by night" — with the same negative meaning, as sailing in the dark can be dangerous too because of rocks and shoals of coastlines. Traveling by sea is dangerous at any time! (The Greek were not very adventurous navigators.)

Δεύτερος πλοῦς.

The second (way of) sailing.

This referred to sailing by the power of rowing, rather than with the wind. Obviously, it's more work — but you still get there, so the saying refers to a next-best route to success, one that might take more effort on your part. You can see the Greek root of δεύτερος in Deuteronomy, the "second book of the law" in the Hebrew Bible; see Wikipedia: Deuteronomy.

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

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Greek Proverbs: Feb. 26

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):

Λέοντα νύσσεις.

You're poking the lion.

More specifically, the verb means to poke something with a sharp stick. Obviously this is NOT something you want to do to a lion. Compare the English saying, "Poke the bear."

Ἔχθρας διάλυε.

Dissolve hatreds.

In other words, put a stop to them, break them up, let them go. This is one of the maxims attributed to the Seven Sages as reported in Stobaeus. The Greek verb διαλύω is at the root of the English word dialysis.

Φίλοις εὐνόει.

Wish your friends well.

This is another of the maxims that Stobaeus attributed to the Seven Sages. The compound verb εὐνοέω ("well-think") takes a dative complement: φίλοις. The form εὐνόει is a contract imperative; the 3rd-person singular indicative would be εὐνοεῖ, with a difference only in the accent mark. The adjective φίλος is often used substantively as a noun, "friend."  

Ἅπας ἐχῖνος τραχύς.

The whole hedgehog is prickly.

As Erasmus explains, this saying refers to a person who is "prickly" by analogy to the prickly hedgehog. In the same way that there is no un-prickly part of a hedgehog that allows you to safely pick it up, so too there are some people who are impossible to deal with no matter what you try to do: they are completely prickly. From the same root in Greek τραχύς we get English trachea, so-called because of the windpipe's bumpy cartilage.

Ἐν τριόδῳ εἰμί.

I'm at a crossroads.

This metaphor works in English as it does in Greek: it means you have to decide which way to go or, more generally, you have to decide what you are going to do. The Greek compound of three-roads intersecting (τρί-οδος) is reflected in the Latin trivium (tri-vium), which gives us English "trivial." 

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

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