1. γιγνώσκω ~ γνώσομαι ~ ἔγνων: know
2. ὁράω ~ ὄψομαι ~ εἶδον: see, look
3. πίνω ~ πίομαι ~ ἔπιον: drink
4. ἁλίσκω ~ ἁλώσομαι ~ ἑάλων: catch, seize
5. δαμάζω ~ δαμάσω ~ ἐδάμασα: subdue, lay low
Here are the proverbs and sayings:
Εἷς ἀνὴρ οὐ πάνθ᾽ ὁρᾷ.
Οἱ διψῶντες σιωπῇ πίνουσι.
Ἐλέφας μῦν οὐχ ἁλίσκει.
Πολλαῖς πληγαῖς δρῦς δαμάζεται.
Plus some commentary:
Γνῶθι σεαυτόν.
Know yourself.
You can read about this Delphic maxim at Wikipedia: Know thyself. You will also find this form of the saying: Γνῶθι σαυτόν, as in the Roman mosaic below.
Εἷς ἀνὴρ οὐ πάνθ᾽ ὁρᾷ.
One man does not see all things.
The final alpha of πάντα elides before the following vowel, and because the following vowel is aspirated, πάντ' becomes πάνθ᾽. The saying is from Euripides's Phoenician Women.
Οἱ διψῶντες σιωπῇ πίνουσι.
Those who are thirsty drink in silence.
The word διψῶντες is a participle from the verb διψάω; compare the English word dipsomaniac. The idea is that when someone really needs something, they will be completely focused on that thing. Total absorption; no chit-chat.
Ἐλέφας μῦν οὐχ ἁλίσκει.
An elephant doesn't catch a mouse.
In other words: don't sweat the small stuff. If you are an elephant, the mouse is not worth your time and attention! This saying made its way into Erasmus's Adagia. A variation: Ἐλέφας μῦν οὐκ ἀλεγίζει, "An elephant doesn't trouble himself about a mouse."
Πολλαῖς πληγαῖς δρῦς δαμάζεται.
By many blows (of the axe), the oak tree is toppled.
In other words: if you have a big task in front of you, be persistent! You are not going to get the job done all at once. This is a good saying for language learners too: Greek is learned one word at a time. :-)
The image in this Roman mosaic focuses the Greek saying "Γνῶθι σεαυτόν" on the idea of death, making it into a kind of "memento mori" (for more about that Latin saying, see Wikipedia: Memento Mori).
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