50: afraid, rich, alone, treasure, neighbor

Here are today's vocabulary words; they are masculine nouns and adjectives, shown 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. δειλός ~ δειλοῦ (adj. masc.): cowardly, afraid 

2. πλούσιος ~ πλουσίου (adj. masc.): wealthy, rich 

3. μόνος ~ μόνου (adj. masc.): alone, only 

4. θησαυρός ~ θησαυροῦ (noun masc.): treasure, store 

5. πλησίος ~ πλησίου (adj. masc.): nearby, neighboring 

Here are the proverbs and sayings:

Τί δειλοί ἐστε; Οὔπω ἔχετε πίστιν;

Τοῖς πλουσίοις πολλὰ παραμύθια.

Ἐγὼ γὰρ εἰμὶ τῶν ἐμῶν ἐμὸς μόνος.

Θησαυρός ἐστι τοῦ βίου τὰ πράγματα.

Ἀγαπήσεις τὸν πλησίον σου ὡς σεαυτόν. 

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Laura Gibbs · Greek Proverbs: 050

Plus some commentary:

Τί δειλοί ἐστε; Οὔπω ἔχετε πίστιν;

Why are you fearful? Have you no faith at all?

The words are from the Gospel of Mark. When the disciples of Jesus are sailing and a storm blows up, he thus rebukes them and then walks on the water. You can find out more about this Bible story at Wikipedia: Jesus walking on water.

Τοῖς πλουσίοις πολλὰ παραμύθια.

The rich have many consolations.

The words come from Plato's Republic, where it is labeled as proverbial, "they say," φασιν: τοῖς γὰρ πλουσίοις πολλὰ παραμύθιά φασιν εἶναι. The topic under discussion is old age, the idea being that if one has money, old age is not so bad. The adjective πλούσιος is from the noun πλοῦτος, meaning "wealth" or "riches," and as in the name of the god of wealth; find out more at Wikipedia: Plutus. Here the adjective is being used substantively (i.e. as a noun): πλούσιος = rich (man).

Ἐγὼ γὰρ εἰμὶ τῶν ἐμῶν ἐμὸς μόνος.

I alone am mine of mine own.

In other words: I am the only one of my friends that I can truly rely on. The words are preserved in a fragment of the Greek comic writer Apollodorus, clearly imitated in Terence (who brought the style of Greek New Comedy to Roman theater); here is Terence: Nam ego meorum solus sum meus. You can find out more at Wikipedia: Greek New Comedy. From Greek μόνο, we get all the mono- words in English like monopoly, monogamy, etc.

Θησαυρός ἐστι τοῦ βίου τὰ πράγματα.

The treasure of (your) life are (your) deeds.

From Greek θησαυρός we get both treasure and thesaurus in English. This is another of the monostichs of Menander; here is the iambic meter (hyphens and dashes separating the iambic elements):

Θησαυ-ρός ἐσ—τι τοῦ - βίου — τὰ πράγ-ματα.

Ἀγαπήσεις τὸν πλησίον σου ὡς σεαυτόν. 

You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

The words come from the Gospel of Mark, echoing the Book of Leviticus. The commandment to "love thy neighbor" is an example of what is generally called the "golden rule" or the "great commandment," and you can find out more at Wikipedia: Golden Rule. Here the adjective is being used substantively: πλησίος = neighbor(ing).

Here is an illustration of Jesus walking on the water from an Armenian illuminated manuscript:

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