45: lifestyle, voice, life, reply, grief

Here are today's vocabulary words; they are feminine nouns in the nominative and genitive, along with a brief definition. Click on the word to learn more at Logeion, and there's also a study tips post.

1. δίαιτα ~ διαίτης (fem.): way of life, lifestyle

2. φωνή ~ φωνῆς (fem.): voice, sound

3. ψυχή ~ ψυχῆς (fem.): soul, life

4. ἀπόκρισις ~ ἀποκρίσεως (fem.): reply, answer

5. λύπη ~ λύπης (fem.): pain, grief

Here are the proverbs and sayings:

Ἄλλος βίος, ἄλλη δίαιτα.

Φωνὴ βοῶντος ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ.

Ψυχῆς γὰρ οὐδέν ἐστι τιμιώτερον.

Ἡ γὰρ σιωπὴ τοῖς σοφοῖσιν ἀπόκρισις.

Λύπης δὲ πάσης γίγνεται ἰατρὸς χρόνος. 

Listen at SoundCloud.

Laura Gibbs · Greek Proverbs: 045

Plus some commentary:

Ἄλλος βίος, ἄλλη δίαιτα.

A different life, a different lifestyle.

As Erasmus explains, this saying applies to people whose life circumstances have changed, and whose lifestyle then changes accordingly. The word δίαιτα is the origin of the English word diet.

Φωνὴ βοῶντος ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ.

The voice of one shouting in the desert.

These words appear in all four Gospels — Mark, Matthew, Luke, and John — referring to John the Baptist, echoing the prophet Isaiah. The word φωνὴ (as in English telephone, etc.) is a feminine noun of the first declension, while the word ἔρημος (as in English hermit, etc.) is a feminine noun of the second declension.

Ψυχῆς γὰρ οὐδέν ἐστι τιμιώτερον.

There is nothing more precious than life.

The words are spoken by Alcestis in Euripides' play of the same name. The word ψυχή can refer to the soul, a life-force that persists after death, and it can also be used to refer to life itself; see the extensive Logeion dictionary entry for more. For more about Alcestis, see this earlier blog post: Ἀλκήστιδος ἀνδρεία.

Ἡ γὰρ σιωπὴ τοῖς σοφοῖσιν ἀπόκρισις.

For those who are wise, silence (is) a response.

This is a fragment from Euripides, and it also appears in the monostichs of Menander along with other ancient sources. The line is in iambic verse; I've used hyphens and n-dashes to separate the iambic elements:

Ἡ γὰρ - σιω–πὴ τοῖς - σοφοῖ–σιν ἀπ'-κρισις. 

The syncopation of ἀπ' is how I prefer to read that resolution of two shorts for the long, but that might just be me; it sounds good to me when read that way. :-)

Λύπης δὲ πάσης γίγνεται ἰατρὸς χρόνος.

Time is the doctor for every grief.

Compare the English saying, "Time heals all wounds." The line is from Diphilus, a contemporary of Menander and writer of comedies. It is also iambic:

Λύπης - δὲ πά–σης γίγ-νεται – ἰατρὸς - χρόνος.

Here is a depiction of John the Baptist preaching in the desert and baptizing in the river:

Here's a close-up of the scroll; it says "μετανοεῖτε, ἤγγικεν γὰρ ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν," "think twice, for the kingdom of heaven has drawn near."

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