4: difficult, big, none, none, all

Here are today's vocabulary words; they are neuter adjectives with the nominative and genitive singular, along with a brief definition. Remember that adjectives can be used substantively, i.e. as nouns, and that is often the case in proverbs, as you will see below. Click on the word to learn more at Logeion. (Study tips here.)

1. χαλεπόν ~ χαλεποῦ (n.): difficult, harsh

2. μέγα ~ μεγάλου (n.): big

3. οὐδὲν ~ οὐδενός (n.): none, nothing (οὐ)

4. μηδέν ~ μηδενός (n.): none, nothing (μή)

5. πᾶν ~ παντός (n.): all, every

Here are the proverbs and sayings:

Χαλεπὰ τὰ καλά.

Μέγα βιβλίον μέγα κακόν.

Ἓν οἶδα — ὅτι οὐδὲν οἶδα.

Μηδὲν ἄγαν.

Πάντα ῥεῖ.  

Listen at SoundCloud:

Laura Gibbs · Greek Proverbs: 004

Plus some commentary:

Χαλεπὰ τὰ καλά.

Excellent (things are) difficult (to achieve).

The adjective καλά is being used substantively here: "excellent things." You can find these words in Plato, who refers to it as a proverb, παροιμία.

Μέγα βιβλίον μέγα κακόν.

A big book (is) a big evil.
So wrote the poet Callimachus, in defense of short poetry as opposed to epics. The adjective κακόν is being used substantively: an evil (thing).

Ἓν οἶδα — ὅτι οὐδὲν οἶδα.

I know one (thing)  — that I know nothing.

This is the so-called "Socratic paradox." You can find out more at Wikipedia: I know that I know nothing. Both ἕν and οὐδὲν are being used substantively: one (thing) and not one (thing).

Μηδὲν ἄγαν.

Nothing to excess.

Note the specific form of "nothing" used here: μηδέν as opposed to οὐδέν (see previous saying). The word μή is used for negative imperatives, which gives this proverb the force of a negative imperative even though no verb is expressed: don't talk too much, don't eat too much, don't sleep too much, etc. etc. — μηδὲν ἄγαν.

Πάντα ῥεῖ.  

Everything flows.

Note that the neuter plural takes a singular verb, as is the rule in Greek: πάντα (everything = literally, all things) ῥεῖ. Another translation might be: "All things are in flux," or "All situations are fluid." The idea is attributed to the pre-Socratic philosopher Heraclitus.

ancient coin depicting Heraclitus

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3: opportunity, child, battle, city, necessity

Here are today's vocabulary words; they are nouns with the nominative and genitive plus gender, along with a brief definition. Click on the word to learn more at Logeion. (Study tips here.)

1. καιρός ~ καιρoῦ (n.) moment, opportunity
2. παῖς ~ παιδός (c.) child (boy or girl)
3. πόλεμος ~ πολέμου (m.) war, battle
4. πόλις ~ πόλεως (f.) city

5. ἀνάγκη ~ ἀνάγκης (f.) necessity

Here are the proverbs and sayings:

Καιρὸν γνῶθι.

Μὴ παιδὶ μάχαιραν.

Μετὰ πόλεμον, ἡ συμμαχία.

Μεγάλη πόλις, μεγάλη ἐρημία.  

Ἀνάγκῃ δ' οὐδὲ θεοὶ μάχονται.

Listen at SoundCloud:

Laura Gibbs · Greek Proverbs: 003

Plus some commentary:

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.

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.

Μετὰ πόλεμον, ἡ συμμαχία.

After the battle (is over), the allies (arrive).

In other words, you need allied forces to show up before the battle, not afterwards when it's too late to do any good. Compare the English saying: "Closing the barn door after the horse has bolted."

Μεγάλη πόλις, μεγάλη ἐρημία.
Big city, big desert. 

The words are quoted by Strabo, describing the city of Megalopolis ("Big City") in Arcadia which had been devastated by frequent wars, playing on the name of the city. Over time, the words came to be used proverbially, referring to something big in size but empty of meaning or value; see Erasmus's Adagia.

Ἀνάγκῃ δ' οὐδὲ θεοὶ μάχονται.
Not even the gods fight against Necessity.

You can read about Ananke at Wikipedia. The saying comes from Plato's Protagoras, quoting Simonides of Ceos.

Here is a modern depiction of Ananke and the Three Moirai (Fates):

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2: stone, beginning, lion, luck, Muse

Here are today's vocabulary words; they are nouns with the nominative and genitive plus gender, along with a brief definition. Click on the word to learn more at Logeion. (Study tips here.)

1. λίθος ~ λίθου (m.): stone

2. ἀρχή ~ ἀρχῆς (f.): beginning

3. λέων ~ λέοντος (m.): lion

4. τύχη ~ τύχης (f.): luck, chance

5. Μοῦσα ~ Μούσης (f.): Muse

Here are the proverbs and sayings:

Λίθον ἕψεις.

Ἀρχὴ ἥμισυ παντός.

Ἐξ ὄνυχος τὸν λέοντα.

Τύχη δ' ἀρετῆς ἀναίτιος.

Ἀνεῳγμέναι Μουσῶν θύραι.

Listen at SoundCloud:

Laura Gibbs · Greek Proverbs: 002

Plus some commentary:

Λίθον ἕψεις.
You're boiling a stone.
In other words: you're wasting your time. No matter how long you boil a stone, it stays a stone. You can see this root in "paleolithic," the Old Stone Age.

Ἀρχὴ ἥμισυ παντός.
The beginning (is) half of the whole.

In other words: the key to finishing anything is just to get started. Compare the English saying: "Well begun is half done." Things that are "archaic" existed from the beginning of time.

Ἐξ ὄνυχος τὸν λέοντα.

By the claw (you know) the lion.

The idea is that you can recognize someone by a specific trait or feature, although it might be very small; a lion is very big, but his claw is very small. Plus lions, like other cats, often keep their claws hidden... you might not recognize the lion until it is too late!

Τύχη δ' ἀρετῆς ἀναίτιος.

Luck (is) not the cause of excellence.

Literally: Luck is not-cause, ἀναίτιος, of excellence; alpha-privative adjectives like ἀναίτιος do not have a distinctive feminine form. In other words: you don't achieve excellence just by being lucky; you have to work for it. You can read about the goddess of luck at Wikipedia: Tyche. 

Ἀνεῳγμέναι Μουσῶν θύραι.

The doors of the Muses (are) open.

In other words: everyone has access to the arts; it is not a private privilege. You can find out more about these goddesses at Wikipedia: Muses.

Muses / 2nd century C.E.

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1: knot, night, god, sleep, justice

These are today's vocabulary words; they are nouns with the nominative and genitive singular plus gender, along with a brief definition. Click on the word to learn more at Logeion. (Study tips here.)

1. δεσμός ~ δεσμοῦ (m.): bond, knot.

2. νύξ ~ νυκτός (f.): night.

3. θεός ~ θεοῦ (c.): god, goddess.

4. ὕπνος ~ ὕπνου (f.): sleep.

5. δίκη ~ δίκης (f.): justice.

Here are the proverbs and sayings:

Γόρδιος δεσμός.

Ἐν νυκτὶ βουλή.

Ἀπὸ μηχανῆς θεός.

Ὕπνος δὲ πάσης ἐστὶν ὑγιεία νόσου.

Δίκη δίκην τίκτει, καὶ βλάβη βλάβην.

Listen at SoundCloud:

Laura Gibbs · Greek Proverbs: 001

Plus some commentary:

Γόρδιος δεσμός.
The Gordian knot.
You can read about Alexander the Great and the "knot of Gordium" at Wikipedia: Gordian Knot. The word δεσμός refers to any kind of bond or tie, literal and metaphorical; it can also mean a binding spell or charm.

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.

Ἀπὸ μηχανῆς θεός. 
God from the machine.
This is better known in its Latin form: Deus ex machina. The machine in question is the crane used in ancient Greek theater to lower a god onto the stage, and the phrase refers to some unexpected event; find out more at Wikipedia: Deus ex machina. From Greek θεός we get English theology, the name Theo, and many other words.

Ὕπνος δὲ πάσης ἐστὶν ὑγιεία νόσου. 
Sleep is a cure for every illness.
Literally: Sleep is the health of every illness. This is one of the monostichs of Menander. You can read about the god of sleep at Wikipedia: Hypnos.

Δίκη δίκην τίκτει, καὶ βλάβη βλάβην. 
Justice breeds justice, and harm (breeds) harm. 
You can read about the goddess of justice at Wikipedia: Dike.

You can see the word δίκη in the Greek name Eurydice, the wife of Orpheus.

Here's Alexander cutting the Gordian knot in a fresco by Domenico Creti:

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Daily Greek Vocabulary Challenge

Words in context. Vocabulary is one of the most challenging tasks you will face in studying ancient Greek. I believe that words are best learned in context, so I will be featuring 5 Greek vocabulary words each day, and each word will be illustrated by a proverb or saying.

Reading the proverbs. Each blog post will start with the 5 Greek vocabulary words, following by the 5 proverbs. Then, you will find the proverbs with an English translation and commentary at the bottom of the post. Here's a suggestion for how to use the material:

• read through the vocabulary items OUT LOUD, and if you are curious about a word, look it up in the Logeion dictionary using the link provided
• read through the 5 proverbs OUT LOUD to see what you can understand
• read through the English translation and notes, and if you are curious you can explore some of the links there too
• then read through the proverbs again OUT LOUD to make sure you understand each one

Reading out loud. The more you can read out loud, the better! You learn words with your ears, not your eyes. Language is all about listening and speaking. No, you are probably not going to speak ancient Greek. But if you really want to learn how to read the language, you need to listen, and listening to yourself read out loud is how you can do that. So you should always — always — read out loud.

Memorizing proverbs. Rather than just memorizing the vocabulary, see if you can also memorize the proverbs. If you are a beginning Greek student, memorizing 5 proverbs every day might be too much, so just pick the proverb or saying you like best to memorize! 

Slow and steady. If there are 5 words each day, 6 days per week (plus a review day), that's about 1500 words in one year. That's a pretty respectable reading vocabulary.

The words. To choose the vocabulary, I am limiting the selection to words ranked in the top 2000 based on the Logeion dictionary listing. 

The proverbs and sayings. Scholars were already collecting Greek proverbs and sayings in the ancient world, and modern scholars have continued that tradition, so there are literally tens of thousands (myriads!) of proverbs and sayings to choose from.

Verbs. For each verb, I will supply the present, future, and aorist forms, which are traditionally treated as the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd principal parts. That is plenty to memorize! Verb meanings often vary between the active and middle forms, so I would urge you to explore the dictionary entries for each verb to get a sense of its range of meaning.

Nouns. For each noun, I will supply the nominative and genitive singular forms, along with the gender. If you know those parts of a noun, you are good to go!

Adjectives. I like to treat the feminine, masculine, and neuter forms of adjectives as separate words. So, just like for nouns, I will supply the nominative and genitive singular forms of the adjective, along with the gender. If you study the adjectives separately, gender by gender, that makes it much easier to recognize all the forms.

Flashcards at Quia.com. At the end of each week, I will make a Quia flashcard deck that you can use to practice and review the words and proverbs for that week. I'll update this post with some notes about how to use Quia when the first card deck is ready.

Blog posts + email. I will be publishing the 5 words/proverbs each day at this blog, and you can also sign up for a daily email. You can subscribe (and unsubscribe) using this subscription form.