Greek Proverbs: April 7

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):

Ἀφ' Ἑστίας ἀρχόμενοι.

Beginning with Hestia.

The preposition ἀπό drops its final vowel before the following vowel, and the aspiration of Ἑστία changes the pi to phi. This saying refers to the appropriate order in which to do things (compare English "begin at the beginning"), based on the fact that sacrifices to the gods began with a sacrifice to Hestia, the goddess of the hearth; honoring Hestia was honoring the fire of the sacrifice itself. You can find out more about Hestia at Wikipedia.

Λύκος ποιμήν.

A wolf (as) shepherd.

Compare the English saying: "the fox guarding the henhouse."

Ἐν νυκτὶ βουλή.
In night (comes) counsel.
In other words: sleep on it; the decision will be clear to you in the morning.
The Greek root νυκτ-, like English night, is from Proto-Indo-European *nókʷts.

Καιρὸν γνῶθι.
Recognize the critical moment.

Another translation might be: "Know the right moment (in which to do something." The word καιρός has a wide range of meanings in Greek; you can read the dictionary entry at Logeion to learn more. The etymology of this important Greek word remains a mystery. The saying is attributed to Pittacus of Mitylene, one of the seven sages of ancient Greece.

Σοφοῖς χρῶ.

Make use of those who are wise.

The form χρῶ is the second-person imperative of χράομαι (those middle imperatives can look sneaky, especially for contract verbs). The adjective σοφός is being used substantively as a noun: (a) wise (man). This is one of the maxims that Stobaeus attributes to the Seven Sages of Greece. From the Greek root σοφ- we get all the soph- words in English philosopher and sophistication.

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

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Greek Proverbs: April 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):

Ἐς κόρακας.

To the crows.

This is an insult: the crows are the crows who feed on the corpses at public executions. So, the idea is to "go hang yourself" — and then the crows will come feast. You can see the phrase used in Aristophanes' Peace.

Συβαριτικὴ τράπεζα.

A Sybaritic table.

This saying referred to an opulent, or exceedingly opulent, banquet table, as Sybaris was one of the wealthiest Greek colonies. It was located on the Italian coast in what is now the region of Calabria; you can find out more at Wikipedia: Sybaris, which includes a section on its cultural legacy.

Ἀπὸ τοῦ ἡλίου μετάστηθι.

Move out of the sunshine.

These are the words famously spoken by the Cynic philosopher Diogenes to Alexander the Great, as reported by Plutarch in his Life of Alexander. Alexander was curious to meet Diogenes and was eager to do him a favor. He found Diogenes lying in the sunshine; all Diogenes wanted from Alexander was for him to stop blocking his sunshine. This famous anecdote has its own Wikipedia article: Diogenes and Alexander.

Ἴδια φύλαττε.

Protect what is yours.

This is one of the Delphic maxims recorded by Stobaeus. The form φύλαττε is Attic; the dictionary form of the verb is φυλάσσω. And yes, English "idiot" is from Greek ἴδιος; details at the Wiktionary.

Προμέρου κύνες.

The dogs of Promerus.

This saying alludes to the legendary death of the playwright Euripdes: as Erasmus explains, Euripides was supposedly torn to pieces by the dogs of Promerus, a royal official who had conceived an enormous hatred for him. Promerus ordered the dogs to attack Euripides, and they did so. Aulus Gellius also reports that Euripides was killed by dogs, although he does not mention the name Promerus.

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

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Greek Proverbs: March 31

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 τῶν φίλων.

Things are shared among friends.

The saying appears in Euripides' Orestes. The Greek uses the genitive, φίλων, to express the idea of possession in common, or sharing. From the adjective κοιν-, we get the word Koine, the "common" dialect of Greece which began to spread during the time of the Roman Empire and was a forerunner of modern Greek today. You can read more at Wikipedia: Koine Greek. Compare the word "vulgate" which comes to English from a similar Latin word.

Γλῶτταν ἴσχε.

Control your tongue.

This is one of the sayings Stobaeus attributes to the Seven Sages; see more at Wikipedia: Delphic maxims. The spelling γλῶτταν is Attic; you also see γλῶσσαν. We get English words from both Greek spellings, including glottal stops and glossary. (But beware: English gloss and glossy are from a Germanic root meaning "glow.")

Τὴν παρεοῦσαν ἄμελγε.

Milk (the cow that is) present. 

The idea is that you should milk the cow (or sheep or goat) that you have; you cannot milk a cow who is not right there at hand. This applies literally to a cow and metaphorically to any situation where you need to make do with whatever it is you actually have available. The advice appears in the bucolic poetry of Theocritus, hence the implied cow (or goat or sheep). The Greek verb ἀμέλγω is related to the English word milk, both deriving from Indo-European h₂melǵ. From the Greek verb πάρειμι comes the noun παρουσία, "presence," which is used as a theological term in English: parousia.

Πρᾶττε ἀμετανοήτως.

Act without regret.

This is another one of the Delphic maxims, with the Attic form of the verb, πρᾶττε, as opposed to πρᾶσσε. The adverb ἀμετανοήτως literally means "not-after-thinking,"  ἀ-μετα-νοή-τως, from μετά-νοια. Sometimes μετάνοια is a positive thing, as when you change your mind, realizing that you have made a mistake. It can also be something with a more negative, painful quality, like regret or repentance, which is the sense here.

Ἐν σκότῳ ὀρχεῖσθαι.

To dance in the dark.

This proverbial expression is also found in Erasmus, who explains that it means to do something which is not witnessed or judged because one cannot see what dancers are doing in the dark. Likewise, it can refer to someone who is doing something at random, without any purpose or reason. The phrase is noted as proverbial, "as they say," in Lucian's Hermotimus:  Ἐν σκότῳ, φασίν, ὀρχοίμεθα, "we would be dancing, as they say, in the dark." The space on which the dancers danced in the Greek theater was called the ὀρχήστρα, from the verb ὀρχεῖσθαι, hence the English word "orchestra," which now refers to the musicians who occupy that space, not dancers.

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

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Greek Proverbs: March 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):

Κτώμενος ἥδου.

Enjoy what you have acquired.

This is one of those Delphic maxims recorded by Stobaeus, and it also fits very nicely with the Buddhist idea of "want what you have" instead of wanting what you don't have. The form here, ἥδου, is a middle imperative; you'll see another form of this verb below.

Ὅμοιον ὁμοίῳ φίλον.

Like likes like.

In Greek, it is literally "a (similar) thing is friendly to a similar thing." The saying appears in Plato's Lysis (τὸ ὅμοιον τῷ ὁμοίῳ φίλον εἶναι) in a debate about whether friendship is more likely among people who are similar or whether people who are similar are prone to envy and resentment, with friendship more naturally occurring between people who are dissimilar. From the Greek root ὁμο- we get the homo- words in English like homogeneous and homonym.

Πηγάσου ταχύτερος.

Swifter than Pegasus.

The adjective ταχύτερος is a comparative form of ταχύς, meaning swift, so it takes a genitive complement: Πηγάσου. For more about the famous winged horse, see Wikipedia: Pegasus.

Ἕνα ἀλλὰ λέοντα.

One, but a lion.

This is the punchline to an Aesop's fable: when the fox rebukes the lioness for having only one cub, this is the lioness's reply. That's why the words are in the accusative: "(I have only) one (cub), but (he is) a lion." In other words, all the offspring of the fox could never equal a single lion. Here are some English versions of the Aesop's fable.

Τὰ Ταντάλου τάλαντα.

The talents of Tantalus.

This saying is about the fabulously wealthy King Tantalus, and the τάλαντα here, or "talents" in English, referred originally to weighing scales, and then came to mean the money that was weighed in the scales. You can find out more about King Tantalus at Wikipedia. In addition to the proverbial talents of Tantalus, there are the famous τάλαντα of the Gospels: Parable of the Talents. This parable is what gave rise to the modern meaning of "talent" in English; you can find out more at the wiktionary: talent. Of course, things did not turn out well at all for King Tantalus, so this saying is a warning, not a blessing.

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

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