Tuesday, May 28, 2024

52: be in, withdraw, forgive, go, make

Here are today's vocabulary words; they are verbs with present, future, and aorist stems, plus a brief definition. (If you are just beginning Greek and have not studied the future or aorist stems yet, you can just focus on the present stem.) Click on the word to learn more at Logeion, and there's also a study tips post.

1. ἔνειμι ~ ἐνέσομαι (no aorist): be in, be present 
2. ὑπάγω ~ ὑπάξω ~ ὑπήγαγον: go, go away, withdraw 
3. ἀπολύω ~ ἀπολύσω ~ ἀπέλυσα: release, set free, forgive
4. πορεύω ~ πορεύσομαι ~ ἐπορευσάμην: carry; go, go away
5. τεύχω ~ τεύξω ~ ἔτευξα: make, build 

Here are the proverbs and sayings:

Ἔνεστι κἀν μύρμηκι χολή.

Ὕπαγε ὀπίσω μου, Σατανᾶ.

Ἀπολύετε, καὶ ἀπολυθήσεσθε.

Γενεὰ πορεύεται καὶ γενεὰ ἔρχεται.

Οἷ γ᾽ αὐτῷ κακὰ τεύχει ἀνὴρ ἄλλῳ κακὰ τεύχων. 

Plus some commentary:

Ἔνεστι κἀν μύρμηκι χολή.
There is bile even in the ant.
In other words, even though it is tiny, the ant has a temper! As Erasmus explains, the proverb warns that even a "small" enemy can be dangerous. The word κἀν is a contraction: καὶ ἐν (the breathing mark inside the word is a clue to the contraction). The bile, χολή, was one of the four humors of the body in Greek medicine: blood, phlegm, black bile, and yellow bile. The yellow bile was associated with anger, hence the English word choleric. You can find out more at Wikipedia: Four temperaments. The black bile, µέλαινα χολή, gave rise to melancholy.

Ὕπαγε ὀπίσω μου, Σατανᾶ.
Get behind me, Satan.
The words are from the Gospel of Mark, when Jesus rebukes Peter, a scene that is repeated in the Gospel of Matthew. The phrase later became part of the Catholic ritual of exorcism; see Wikipedia: Get Behind Me, Satan and also Wikipedia; Vade Retro, Satana.

Ἀπολύετε, καὶ ἀπολυθήσεσθε.
Forgive, and you will be forgiven.
The words are from the Gospel of Luke.
The complete verse has three parallel statements: καὶ μὴ κρίνετε, καὶ οὐ μὴ κριθῆτε· καὶ μὴ καταδικάζετε, καὶ οὐ μὴ καταδικασθῆτε. ἀπολύετε, καὶ ἀπολυθήσεσθε, "Do not judge, and you will not be judge; do not not condemn, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven."

Γενεὰ πορεύεται καὶ γενεὰ ἔρχεται.
A generation goes and a generation comes.
The words are from the Biblical Book of Ecclesiastes. The complete verse reads: γενεὰ πορεύεται καὶ γενεὰ ἔρχεται καὶ ἡ γῆ εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα ἕστηκεν, "and the earth abides forever." The Greek word γενεά is from the Indo-European root, *ǵenh₁, "produce, give birth," thus related to English "kin."

Οἷ γ᾽ αὐτῷ κακὰ τεύχει ἀνὴρ ἄλλῳ κακὰ τεύχων.
The man working evil against another works evil against himself.
The words are from Hesiod's Works and Days. Hesiod goes on to say in the next line: ἡ δὲ κακὴ βουλὴ τῷ βουλεύσαντι κακίστη, "the evil plan is most evil for the planner." Hesiod's poem is in dactylic hexameter; I've used dashes here to separate the feet:
Οἷ γ᾽ αὐ-τῷ κακὰ - τεύχει ἀ-νὴρ ἄλ-λῳ κακὰ - τεύχων
[note the long vowel before hiatus in this dactyl: ...τεύχει ἀ...]


Here is Tissot's painting of Jesus rebuking Peter:






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