Daily Greek Vocabulary Review: July 1

Today marks the start of a 10-week review, looking back over all 70 groups of proverbs (in random order) that we have done so far. Repetition is the key to learning, and it's also what proverbs are all about too: proverbs and sayings are meant to be repeated over and over again. As the saying goes: Δὶς καὶ τρὶς τὸ καλόν! Plus, several people have told me it was hard keeping up with all the proverbs over the past 12 weeks. So, this review will hopefully give everybody a chance to catch up, including people who may have started participating only recently.

Here's how it will work: each day for the next 10 weeks, I'll post a group of proverbs here with a link back to the earlier post so you can review the vocabulary, translation, and commentary. I'll also include the audio here, plus a link to a review worksheet that includes the proverbs for the current day plus the two previous days. I hope you will enjoy seeing the proverbs again this way!

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Today's proverbs are from GROUP 21; use that link to review the vocabulary, English translation, and commentary. Before you click and look at the English, see which proverbs you can understand on your own without any English prompting!

1. Δὶς κράμβη θάνατος.
2. Ὄφιν ἐν τῷ κόλπῳ τρέφεις.
3. Ἰατρὲ, θεράπευσον σεαυτόν.
4. Ἀνδρῶν ἡρώων τέκνα πήματα.
5. Μὴ μοῦ τοὺς κύκλους τάραττε.

Here's the worksheet for Groups 21-70-69, plus the answer key (from the worksheet folder), and here's the audio at SoundCloud.

Laura Gibbs · Greek Proverbs: 021

mosaic showing Archimedes and the soldier

 

And here's a random proverb too: 

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Week 12: Proverb and Vocabulary Review

There is now audio for all the proverb groups, going back to Group 1. Having all the audio, plus this nice round number of 70 proverb groups, I've decided to start an overall review; I'll have more to say about that in Monday's email. For now, here is the Week 12 review!

New this week: rolling-review worksheets to practice the vocabulary in the most recent 3 sets of proverbs. 

As usual, last week I posted some Quia activities for reviewing the eleventh week of proverbs and vocabulary, plus noun and verb forms review; see the first week's review post for an explanation of how to use Quia activities, and you can find all my Quia materials here. This week, I created the same activities for the Week 12 proverbs: Proverbs, Vocabulary, Vocabulary with Parts, plus Verb Practice and Noun Practice.

Here's the updated widget showing a random proverb, and I've also updated the alphabetical index of all the proverbs so far: 350... which is why I decided it would be good to do a systematic review before moving on to more new proverbs. :-) 

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If you want to review this week's posts, here they are: Week 12 link. The audio is now embedded in each blog post, and you can also listen to the audio for each group (and for all the groups) at SoundCloud, and you can find links to all the groups with the playlist embedded here too. 

Laura Gibbs · Greek Vocabulary with Proverbs

Finally, here is the list of all of this week's proverbs, alphabetized and linked back to the blog post so that you can access the English translation and commentary as needed. Enjoy!

• Ἀνόητος νεοττὸς ἑκὼν δείκνυσι τὴν ἑαυτοῦ νοσσιάν.
  
• Βλέπων πεπαίδευμ' εἰς τὰ τῶν ἄλλων κακά.
  
• Γῆ εἶ καὶ εἰς γῆν ἀπελεύσῃ.
  
• Δὶς ἐξαμαρτεῖν ταὐτὸν οὐκ ἀνδρὸς σοφοῦ.
  
• Δόσις δ᾿ ὀλίγη τε φίλη τε.
  
• Ἢ μύρμηξ ἢ κάμηλος.
  
• Καθὼς θέλετε ἵνα ποιῶσιν ὑμῖν οἱ ἄνθρωποι, ποιεῖτε αὐτοῖς ὁμοίως.
  
• Καὶ γνώσεσθε τὴν ἀλήθειαν καὶ ἡ ἀλήθεια ἐλευθερώσει ὑμᾶς.
  
• Καὶ ἔπλασεν ὁ θεὸς τὸν ἄνθρωπον χοῦν ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς.
  
• Καιρὸς τοῦ κόψασθαι καὶ καιρὸς τοῦ ὀρχήσασθαι.
  
• Κούφη γῆ τοῦτον καλύπτοι.
  
• Ξυρεῖν ἐπιχειρεῖν λέοντα.
  
• Ὅμοιος ὁμοίῳ.
  
• Οὐδεὶς βάλλει οἶνον νέον εἰς ἀσκοὺς παλαιούς.
  
• Οὐκ ἔστιν προφήτης ἄτιμος εἰ μὴ ἐν τῇ πατρίδι αὐτοῦ.
  
• Οὔκουν ἂν ἐκφύγοι γε τὴν πεπρωμένην.
  
• Οὔποτε ποιήσεις τὸν καρκίνον ὀρθὰ βαδίζειν.
  
• Ὀφθαλμοὶ τῶν ὤτων ἀκριβέστεροι μάρτυρες.
  
• Παρὰ ποταμὸν φρέαρ ὀρύττει.
  
• Πρότερον χελώνη παραδραμεῖται δασύποδα.
  
• Πυθίων ὕστερον ἧκες.
  
• Τὰς κύνας ὁ ἔλαφος ἕλκοι.
  
• Τὸ μὴ χεῖρον βέλτιστον.
  
• Τὸ σιγᾶν τὴν ἀλήθειαν χρυσόν ἐστι θάπτειν.
  
• Ψυχρὸν ἐν κόλπῳ ποικίλον εἶχες ὄφιν.
  

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70: or, late, beside, certainly not, likewise

Here are today's vocabulary words! Click on the word to learn more at Logeion, and there's also a study tips post. I'm also creating worksheets now, reviewing the most recent 3 groups of proverbs; here's the sheet for Groups #68-69-70 with the worksheet key.

1. ἤ (conj.): or; either...or...
2. ὕστερον (adverb): later, too late
3. παρά (prep.+acc.): beside, near, by
4. οὔκουν (adverb): certainly not
5. ὁμοίως (adverb): likewise, the same

And here are today's proverbs and sayings:

Ἢ μύρμηξ ἢ κάμηλος.

Πυθίων ὕστερον ἧκες.

Παρὰ ποταμὸν φρέαρ ὀρύττει.

Οὔκουν ἂν ἐκφύγοι γε τὴν πεπρωμένην. 

Καθὼς θέλετε ἵνα ποιῶσιν ὑμῖν οἱ ἄνθρωποι, ποιεῖτε αὐτοῖς ὁμοίως.

Listen at SoundCloud.

Laura Gibbs · Greek Proverbs: 070

Plus some commentary:

Ἤ μύρμηξ ἢ κάμηλος.

Either an ant or a camel.

This proverbial expression was used to refer to two things that are different in every way (size, shape, habits, etc.). The saying appears in Lucian's Saturnalia, where Lucian indicates it is a proverb: μύρμηξ ἢ κάμηλος, ὡς ἡ παροιμία φησί, "as the proverb says." Compare the English saying "apples and oranges," although apples and oranges certainly seem more similar than ants and camels! You can find out more at Wikipedia: Apples and Oranges which features similar sayings from many cultures.

Πυθίων ὕστερον ἧκες.

You came late for the Pythian Games.

This is a proverbial saying for being late to an event. The Pythian Games were held every four years, as were the other Panhellenic Games, including the Olympics. So, if you showed up late for the Pythian Games, you would have four years to wait! You can read more at Wikipedia: Pythian Games. Erasmus provides some other similar expressions: Κατόπιν τῆς ἑορτῆς, "late to the party," and Παναθηναίων κατόπιν, "late for the Panathenaea festival."

Παρὰ ποταμὸν φρέαρ ὀρύττει.

(Someone) is digging a well next to a river.

This is a proverbially foolish thing to do: if you are next to a river, you have access to water already; you don't need to dig a well. Erasmus compares this Greek proverb to a Latin proverb: In silvam ligna ferre, "to carry wood into the forest." You can see the Greek παρα- in many English para- compound words.

Οὔκουν ἂν ἐκφύγοι γε τὴν πεπρωμένην. 

He certainly cannot escape destiny.

The words come from Aeschylus' Prometheus Bound, referring to Zeus: Prometheus tells the Chorus that Zeus has less power than the Fates, Μοῖραι, and the Furies, Ἐρινύες, because even Zeus cannot escape destiny. The meter is iambic trimeter:

Οὔκουν - ἂν ἐκ—φύγοι - γε τὴν — πεπρω-μένην. 

The word οὔκουν is a compound: οὐκ-οὖν.

Καθὼς θέλετε ἵνα ποιῶσιν ὑμῖν οἱ ἄνθρωποι, ποιεῖτε αὐτοῖς ὁμοίως.

As you want for people to do to you, do to them the same.

The words are from the Gospel of Luke, and the same idea is found in the Gospel of Matthew. This is sometimes called the "Golden Rule," specifically, the "positive form" of that rule; you can find out more at Wikipedia: Golden Rule. The adverb ὁμοίως is formed from the adjective that you saw earlier this week in this saying: Ὅμοιος ὁμοίῳ.

Here is a photo of the stadium at Delphi, where the Pythian Games were held:

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69: try, drag, bury, form, set free

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. I'm also creating worksheets now, reviewing the most recent 3 groups of proverbs; here's the sheet for Groups 67-68-69 with the worksheet key.

1. ἐπιχειρέω ~ ἐπιχειρήσω ~ ἐπεχείρησα: attempt, try 
2. ἕλκω ~ ἕλξω ~ εἵλκυσα: drag, draw; tear down
3. θάπτω ~ θάψω ~ ἔθαψα: bury, entomb
4. πλάσσω ~ πλάσω ~ ἔπλασα: form, mold, shape
5. ἐλευθερόω ~ ἐλευθερώσω ~ ἠλευθέρωσα: free, set free 

Here are today's proverbs and sayings:

Ξυρεῖν ἐπιχειρεῖν λέοντα.

Τὰς κύνας ὁ ἔλαφος ἕλκοι. 

Τὸ σιγᾶν τὴν ἀλήθειαν χρυσόν ἐστι θάπτειν.

Καὶ ἔπλασεν ὁ θεὸς τὸν ἄνθρωπον χοῦν ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς.

Καὶ γνώσεσθε τὴν ἀλήθειαν καὶ ἡ ἀλήθεια ἐλευθερώσει ὑμᾶς.

 

Listen at SoundCloud.

Laura Gibbs · Greek Proverbs: 069

Plus some commentary:

Ξυρεῖν ἐπιχειρεῖν λέοντα.

To attempt to shave a lion.

This proverbial saying appears in Plato's Republic, referring to a very hazardous and risky venture: anybody who has had to shave their pet cat's matted fur knows all about this! The verb "to attempt," ἐπιχειρεῖν, has χειρ, "hand" as its root, so it literally means to put your hand to something, ἐπι-χειρ-εῖν. You will be lucky to get that hand back intact if you really are shaving a lion! You can find additional citations and parallels in Erasmus.

Τὰς κύνας ὁ ἔλαφος ἕλκοι. 

Let the deer drag down the dogs!

The optative verb expresses the hypothetical and even absurd quality of the situation: in a hunt it is the dogs who should drag down the deer, not the other way around. The saying comes from the poet Theocritus, and in the original poem, for the purposes of meter, ὁ ἔλαφος is contracted as ὥλαφος. Here is an English translation of this section of the poem which contains a whole series of paradoxical sayings:

Bear violets now ye briers, ye thistles violets too;

Daffodilly may hang on the juniper, and all things go askew;

Pines may grow figs now Daphnis dies, and hind tear hound if she will,

And the sweet nightingale be outsung i ’ the dale by the scritch-owl from the hill.

Τὸ σιγᾶν τὴν ἀλήθειαν χρυσόν ἐστι θάπτειν.

To keep the truth silent is to put gold in a tomb.

You can see here how the Greek infinitive really is a neuter noun, accompanied here by the neuter definite article: τὸ σιγᾶν. The verb θάπτειν can simply mean "to bury," but it also has strong connotations of burying in the sense of the burial of the dead, i.e. conducting funeral rites. The related Greek noun τάφος can refer either to a tomb or to the funeral ritual itself. From that Greek noun we get English words like epitaph and cenotaph.

Καὶ ἔπλασεν ὁ θεὸς τὸν ἄνθρωπον χοῦν ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς.

And God molded the dust of the earth (into) the person.

This verse from the Biblical Book of Genesis came up in a commentary earlier this week, so I thought I would include it in today's post. In Hebrew the word for person is ‘âdâm (אדם), hence the name "Adam" for the person fashioned by God, a word-play that is lost in Greek. Just imagine if they were Anthropos and Eve, instead of Adam and Eve! From the root of Greek πλάσ- we get words like plasma and plastic in English.

Καὶ γνώσεσθε τὴν ἀλήθειαν καὶ ἡ ἀλήθεια ἐλευθερώσει ὑμᾶς.

And you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.

The saying comes from the Gospel of John. On the widespread use of this Bible verse as a motto, see Wikipedia: The truth will set you free. I know someone who has created what Wolfgang Mieder would call an "antiproverb" from this famous Bible verse: "Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make ye mad."

Here is an illustration of God creating the ἄθρωπος as shown in a 15th-century Bible manuscript:

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68: light, frozen, same, accurate, new

Here are today's vocabulary words; they are adjectives, shown here in the nominative and genitive singular plus gender, along with a brief definition. Click on the word to learn more at Logeion, and there's also a study tips post. I'm also creating worksheets now, reviewing the most recent 3 groups of proverbs; here's the sheet for Groups 66-67-68 with the worksheet key.

1. κούφη ~ κούφης (adj. fem.): light, nimble 

2. ψυχρός ~ ψυχροῦ (adj. masc.): cold, frozen 

3. ταὐτόν ~ ταὐτοῦ (adj. neut.): the same, selfsame 

4. ἀκριβής ~ ἀκριβοῦς (adj. masc.): accurate, precise 

5. νέος ~ νέου (adj. masc.): young, new 

Here are the proverbs and sayings:

Κούφη γῆ τοῦτον καλύπτοι.

Ψυχρὸν ἐν κόλπῳ ποικίλον εἶχες ὄφιν.

Δὶς ἐξαμαρτεῖν ταὐτὸν οὐκ ἀνδρὸς σοφοῦ.

Ὀφθαλμοὶ τῶν ὤτων ἀκριβέστεροι μάρτυρες.

Οὐδεὶς βάλλει οἶνον νέον εἰς ἀσκοὺς παλαιούς.

Listen at SoundCloud.

Laura Gibbs · Greek Proverbs: 068

Plus some commentary:

Κούφη γῆ τοῦτον καλύπτοι.

May the earth cover him lightly.

This is a Greek epitaph; the earth referred to here is the earth of the grave. The adjective κούφη can mean light in the sense of quick or nimble, and it can also mean light in the sense of easy, not heavy, which is the meaning here. The verb καλύπτοι is in the optative mood. You can see the Greek root καλύπτ- in the word apocalypse, which means "uncovering" in Greek, as in the title of the Book of Revelation in the Bible with its apocalyptic contents.

Ψυχρὸν ἐν κόλπῳ ποικίλον εἶχες ὄφιν.

You kept a frozen speckled snake in your bosom.

The saying appears in one of the elegies of Theognis, a sixth-century poet; the word ποικίλον, "speckled," is included here for poetic rather than proverbial purposes. There is an Aesop's fable that tells the story: on a cold winter day, a man picks up a snake that is stiff with cold; he puts it inside his cloak to warm it, and when the snake thaws, it bites the man and he dies. In other versions, the man takes the snake home and warms it by the fire; the snake them rises up and attacks the man and his family (see illustration below).

Δὶς ἐξαμαρτεῖν ταὐτὸν οὐκ ἀνδρὸς σοφοῦ.

A wise man does not make the same mistake twice.

Literally, "To twice mistake the same (thing) is not of a wise man." Note the internal breathing mark, which indicates that this is a contraction; you will see both ταὐτό and ταὐτόν (as here) used for the neuter form. The saying is another one of the "one-liners" of Menander in iambic verse:

Δὶς ἐξ-αμαρ—τεῖν ταὐ-τὸν οὐκ — ἀνδρὸς - σοφοῦ.

From Greek ταὐτο- we get English tautology.

Ὀφθαλμοὶ τῶν ὤτων ἀκριβέστεροι μάρτυρες.

The eyes are more accurate witnesses than the ears.

In other words, you can believe what you see for yourself; you cannot always believe what others tell you, a.k.a. hearsay. The adjective ἀκριβέστεροι is comparative, so it takes a genitive complement: "than the ears," τῶν ὤτων.

Οὐδεὶς βάλλει οἶνον νέον εἰς ἀσκοὺς παλαιούς.

No one puts new wine into old wine-skins.

The saying comes from a parable in the Gospel of Luke, and it also appears in Matthew and in Mark. You can find out more about this parable at Wikipedia: New Wine into Old Wineskins. You can see the Greek root νέο- in all the neo- words in English, like neonatal and neologism. And yes, this is also where the chemical element neon gets its name, plus there's Neo, of course, from the Matrix. :-)

Here is Walter Crane's illustration for Aesop's fable about the frozen snake:

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67: depart, educate, walk, mourn, show

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. I'm also creating worksheets now, reviewing the most recent 3 groups of proverbs; here's the sheet for Groups 65-66-67 with the worksheet key.

1. ἀπέρχομαι ~ ἀπελεύσομαι ~ ἀπῆλθον: go away, depart 

2. παιδεύω ~ παιδεύσω ~ ἐπαίδευσα: educate, teach 

3. βαδίζω ~ βαδιέομαι ~ ἐβάδισα: walk, go 

4. κόπτω ~ κόψω ~ ἔκοψα: strike, beat; mourn 

5. δείκνυμι ~ δείξω ~ ἔδειξα: show, point out 

 

Here are the proverbs and sayings:

Γῆ εἶ καὶ εἰς γῆν ἀπελεύσῃ.

Βλέπων πεπαίδευμ' εἰς τὰ τῶν ἄλλων κακά. 

Οὔποτε ποιήσεις τὸν καρκίνον ὀρθὰ βαδίζειν. 

Καιρὸς τοῦ κόψασθαι καὶ καιρὸς τοῦ ὀρχήσασθαι.

Ἀνόητος νεοττὸς ἑκὼν δείκνυσι τὴν ἑαυτοῦ νοσσιάν. 

Listen at SoundCloud.

Laura Gibbs · Greek Proverbs: 067

Plus some commentary:

Γῆ εἶ καὶ εἰς γῆν ἀπελεύσῃ.

Earth you are, and to the earth you will depart.

The passage is from the Biblical Book of Genesis; in the King James version, it reads: "Dust thou art, and unto dust thou shalt return." God originally molded Adam from the soil or dust of the earth, χοῦν ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς; here is that verse in Genesis: ἔπλασεν ὁ θεὸς τὸν ἄνθρωπον χοῦν ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς. Note that the future and aorist parts of the verb ἀπέρχομαι (ἀπο-έρχομαι) are formed from different roots: ἀπ-ελεύσομαι and ἀπ-ῆλθον.

Βλέπων πεπαίδευμ' εἰς τὰ τῶν ἄλλων κακά. 

I have educated myself by observing others' mistakes.

The full form of the verb is πεπαίδευμαι, and it is a perfect verb with a nominal root: παῖς, "child." In the active, it means to teach or educate, while in the middle it means to learn. Another version reads: Βλέπων πεπαίδευμ' εἰς τὰ τῶν πολλῶν κακά, with πολλῶν, "of many," instead of ἄλλων, "of others." This is another one of the iambic one-liners of Menander:

Βλέπων - πεπαί—δευμ' εἰς - τὰ τῶν — ἄλλων - κακά. 

Οὔποτε ποιήσεις τὸν καρκίνον ὀρθὰ βαδίζειν. 

You will never make the crab walk straight.

This proverb is found in Aristophanes' Peace. There is an Aesop's fable related to this proverb: when a parent crab tells the child to walk straight, the child replies, "Show me how!" — and of course the parent cannot walk straight either. From the Greek root ὀρθ- we get all the ortho- words in English.

Καιρὸς τοῦ κόψασθαι καὶ καιρὸς τοῦ ὀρχήσασθαι.

There is a time to mourn and a time to dance.

The verb κόψασθαι literally means to beat or strike; in this context, it means to beat one's breast in mourning. The words come from a famous passage in the Biblical Book of Ecclesiastes. You saw another verse from this passage last week: Καιρὸς τοῦ κλαῦσαι καὶ καιρὸς τοῦ γελάσαι. For information about the Hebrew words that the Greek words of the Septuagint are translating, see Wikipedia: Ecclesiastes 3.

Ἀνόητος νεοττὸς ἑκὼν δείκνυσι τὴν ἑαυτοῦ νοσσιάν.

The foolish chick willingly points out its own nest. 

This proverb seems to belong to a fable, but the fable has not survived; at least I do not know of a story that connects to this elegant little proverb. Just who did the chick lead to the nest...? A fox? A weasel? We can be sure that nothing good happened as a result, and the message for humans is clear: don't be like the foolish chick and give away information that might do you harm!

Here is Arthur Rackham's illustration of Aesop's fable about the crabs:

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66: same, worse, little, first, without honor

Here are today's vocabulary words; they are adjectives shown in the nominative and genitive singular plus gender, along with a brief definition. Click on the word to learn more at Logeion, and there's also a study tips post. I'm also creating worksheets now, reviewing the most recent 3 groups of proverbs; here's the sheet for Groups 65-66-67 with the worksheet key.

1. ὅμοιος ~ ὁμοίου (adj. masc.): the same, like

2. χεῖρον ~ χείρονος (adj. neut.): worse, inferior
3. ὀλίγη ~ ὀλίγης (adj. fem.): little; few

4. πρότερον ~ προτέρου (adj. neut.): first, before
5. ἄτιμος ~ ἀτίμου (adj. masc.): without honor

Here are the proverbs and sayings:

Ὅμοιος ὁμοίῳ.

Τὸ μὴ χεῖρον βέλτιστον.

Δόσις δ᾿ ὀλίγη τε φίλη τε.

Πρότερον χελώνη παραδραμεῖται δασύποδα.

Οὐκ ἔστιν προφήτης ἄτιμος εἰ μὴ ἐν τῇ πατρίδι αὐτοῦ. 

Listen at SoundCloud.

Laura Gibbs · Greek Proverbs: 066

Plus some commentary:

Ὅμοιος ὁμοίῳ.

Like to like.

This is a widely used ancient Greek saying; in Plato's Gorgias, Socrates calls it an old and wise saying. An expanded version including a verb is: Ὅμοιος ὁμοίῳ ἀεὶ πελάζει, "Like always approaches to like."  Compare the English saying "birds of a feather (stick together)" or "a man is known by the company he keeps." The Greek root ὁμοιο- shows up in English words like homeostasis and homeopathic.

Τὸ μὴ χεῖρον βέλτιστον.

Whatever (is) not worse (is) best.

This is the ancient Greek version of "the lesser of two evils," i.e. the best choice, βέλτιστον, is the option that is not the worse one, μὴ χεῖρον... even if it is bad, that's okay, as long as the other choice is the worse one. The μὴ gives it a hypothetical sense: what(ever) is not worse, μὴ χεῖρον. The adjective χεῖρον is a comparative ("worse"), while βέλτιστον is a superlative ("best").

Δόσις δ᾿ ὀλίγη τε φίλη τε.

A gift, small (but) welcome.

The words appear twice in Homer's Odyssey. First, in Book 6, when Nausicaa offers hospitality to Odysseus, and again in Book 14, when Eumaeus welcomes Odysseus in Ithaca. The saying offers an apology for not having a bigger gift to offer; the idea is that a gift, although small, is given gladly and should be welcome. You can see the Greek root ὀλίγ- in oligopoly and oligarchy.

Πρότερον χελώνη παραδραμεῖται δασύποδα.

A tortoise would sooner outrun a rabbit.

The rabbit is proverbially fast and the tortoise is proverbially slow, so the saying refers to an impossible event, something that is even more unlikely than the tortoise beating the rabbit in a race; compare the English saying, "when hell freezes over." Of course, there is an Aesop's fable in which the tortoise does beat the rabbit in a race... but that is all the fault of the foolish rabbit who stopped to take a nap; the tortoise was not going any faster than usual! The neuter adjective πρότερον is being used adverbially, as often in Greek.

Οὐκ ἔστιν προφήτης ἄτιμος εἰ μὴ ἐν τῇ πατρίδι αὐτοῦ.

A prophet is not without honor except in his own homeland.

The words come from the Gospel of Mark; the full statement is: οὐκ ἔστιν προφήτης ἄτιμος εἰ μὴ ἐν τῇ πατρίδι αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐν τοῖς συγγενεῦσιν αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐν τῇ οἰκίᾳ αὐτοῦ, adding "and among his relatives and in his own house" at the end. The Gospel of Matthew features a similar saying: οὐκ ἔστιν προφήτης ἄτιμος εἰ μὴ ἐν τῇ πατρίδι καὶ ἐν τῇ οἰκίᾳ αὐτοῦ. You saw the version in the Gospel of Luke in an earlier blog post: Οὐδεὶς προφήτης δεκτός ἐστιν ἐν τῇ πατρίδι αὐτοῦ. 

Here is an illustration for Aesop's fable about that foolish rabbit:

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Week 11: Proverb and Vocabulary Review

I've now added audio to all the posts for the past week; see playlist below, and the audio is also embedded in each post!

Last week I posted some Quia activities for reviewing the tenth week of proverbs and vocabulary, plus noun and verb forms review; see the first week's review post for an explanation of how to use Quia activities, and you can find all my Quia materials here.

This week, I created the same activities for the Week 11 proverbs: Proverbs, Vocabulary, Vocabulary with Parts, plus Verb Practice and Noun Practice.

Here's the updated widget showing a random proverb, and I've also updated the alphabetical index of all the proverbs so far (325!).

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If you want to review this week's posts, here they are: #61 - #62 - #63 - #64 - #65. You can also see them all on one page using the Week 11 link. The audio is now embedded in each blog post, and you can also listen to the audio for each group at SoundCloud:

Laura Gibbs · Greek Vocabulary with Proverbs

Finally, here is the list of all of this week's proverbs, alphabetized and linked back to the blog post so that you can access the English translation and commentary as needed. Enjoy!

• Βοῦς ἕβδομος.
  
• Γάμος Αἰγύπτου.
  
• Δράσαντι παθεῖν.
  
• Ἐν σκότῳ ὀρχεῖσθαι.
  
• Ἐπὶ ξυροῦ ἀκμῆς.
  
• Ἔργου σκιὰ οἱ λόγοι.
  
• Θᾶσος ἀγαθῶν.
  
• Καιρὸς τοῦ κλαῦσαι καὶ καιρὸς τοῦ γελάσαι.
  
• Κοινὰ τὰ φίλων.
  
• Μακάριοι οἱ πτωχοί, ὅτι ὑμετέρα ἐστὶν ἡ βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ.
  
• Μίδου χρήματα.
  
• Μνήμην καμήλου.
  
• Νεκρὸς κεῖται βδέων.
  
• Ὁ δὲ ὄφις ἦν φρονιμώτατος πάντων τῶν θηρίων τῶν ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς.
  
• Ὁ ἔχων δύο χιτῶνας μεταδότω τῷ μὴ ἔχοντι.
  
• Ὄνος λύρας ἢκουε καὶ σάλπιγγος ὗς.
  
• Οὐ νυκτὶ πλεῖς.
  
• Οὐ τοῖς κούφοις ὁ δρόμος καὶ οὐ τοῖς δυνατοῖς ὁ πόλεμος.
  
• Οὐ χρείαν ἔχουσιν οἱ ἰσχύοντες ἰατροῦ ἀλλ᾽ οἱ κακῶς ἔχοντες.
  
• Πάντα δυνατὰ τῷ πιστεύοντι.
  
• Πολλαὶ μὲν θνητοίς γλῶσσαι, μία δ' ἀθανάτοισιν.
  
• Πολλοὶ δὲ ἔσονται πρῶτοι ἔσχατοι καὶ ἔσχατοι πρῶτοι.
  
• Πῶς δύναται Σατανᾶς Σατανᾶν ἐκβάλλειν;
  
• Χρύσεα χαλκείων.
  
• Ὠκεῖαι χάριτες γλυκερώτεραι.
  

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65: seventh, dear, possible, immortal, wise

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

1. ἕβδομος ~ ἑβδόμου (adj. masc.): seventh 

2. φίλος ~ φίλου (adj. masc.): dear; friend 

3. δυνατόν ~ δυνατοῦ (adj. neut.): powerful, possible 

4. ἀθάνατος ~ ἀθανάτου (adj. masc.): immortal; god 

5. φρόνιμος ~ φρονίμου (adj. masc.): sensible, wise 

 

Here are the proverbs and sayings:

Βοῦς ἕβδομος.

Κοινὰ τὰ φίλων.

Πάντα δυνατὰ τῷ πιστεύοντι.

Πολλαὶ μὲν θνητοίς γλῶσσαι, μία δ' ἀθανάτοισιν.

Ὁ δὲ ὄφις ἦν φρονιμώτατος πάντων τῶν θηρίων τῶν ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς.

 

Listen at SoundCloud.

Laura Gibbs · Greek Proverbs: 065

Plus some commentary:

Βοῦς ἕβδομος.

The seventh ox.

This proverb refers to someone or something that is stupid or useless. Erasmus explains that the ox in the proverb is not a real ox; instead, the ox was just a fake ox made out of flour paste. When an animal sacrifice of seven animals was required — sheep, pig, goat, cow, hen, goose, and ox — people who did not have the resources to offer all seven would offer this ox made of flour paste instead; hence the proverbial "seventh ox."

Κοινὰ τὰ φίλων.

Friends have things in common.

Literally, the things of friends are common; in other words, "what's mine is yours, and what's yours in mine." This is the very first item in Erasmus's adages. Erasmus cites a wide variety of Greek sources for this popular saying, including Euripides' Orestes; the saying appears in a conversation between Orestes and his dear friend Pylades. The adjective φίλος is being used substantively, as a noun: "friend." From this same root in Greek we get all the phil- words in English.

Πάντα δυνατὰ τῷ πιστεύοντι.

All (things) are possible for someone who believes.

The words come from the Gospel of Mark; Jesus is encouraging the father of a boy suffering from demonic possession. You can find out more at Wikipedia: Exorcising a boy possessed by a demon. From the root of Greek δυνα- we get English words like "dynamic" and "dynamo."

Πολλαὶ μὲν θνητοίς γλῶσσαι, μία δ' ἀθανάτοισιν.

Mortals have many languages, but the immortals (have only) one.

The datives — θνητοῖς and ἀθανάτοισιν — are used here to express possession. The adjective ἀθάνατος is an alpha-privative: ἀ-θάνατος, "not-mortal," i.e. "immortal." This was the motto of Bagster & Sons, a publishing company famous for its production of polyglot Bibles in the early 19th century. They also had a version of the motto in Latin: multae terricolis linguae, caelestibus una.

Ὁ δὲ ὄφις ἦν φρονιμώτατος πάντων τῶν θηρίων τῶν ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς.

And the snake was more wise than all the animals on the earth.

The words come from the Book of Genesis; this is the snake who is going to tempt Eve into eating the forbidden fruit. The adjective φρονιμώτατος is the superlative form of φρόνιμος, but it is being used here in Septuagint Greek as a comparative adjective, "more wise," with a genitive complement: "more wise than all the animals."

This is Michelangelo's depiction of the serpent with Adam and Eve:

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64: sail, do, act, throw out, weep

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. πλέω ~ πλεύσομαι ~ ἔπλευσα: sail, swim, float 

2. δράω ~ δράσω ~ ἔδρασα: do, act 

3. κεῖμαι ~ κείσομαι (no aorist): lie, be placed 

4. ἐκβάλλω ~ ἐκβαλέω ~ ἐξέβαλον: throw out, depose 

5. κλαίω ~ κλαιήσω ~ ἔκλαυσα: weep, lament 

 

Here are the proverbs and sayings:

Οὐ νυκτὶ πλεῖς.

Δράσαντι παθεῖν.

Νεκρὸς κεῖται βδέων.

Πῶς δύναται Σατανᾶς Σατανᾶν ἐκβάλλειν;

Καιρὸς τοῦ κλαῦσαι καὶ καιρὸς τοῦ γελάσαι.

Listen at SoundCloud.

Laura Gibbs · Greek Proverbs: 064

Plus some commentary:

Οὐ νυκτὶ πλεῖς.

You are not sailing at night.

This refers to the fact that it is the night which gives you a way to steer your ship, using the stars. To be sailing by day, not by night, means to be doing something in a haphazard way without a sense of direction. As Erasmus notes, however, the saying also appears in the proverb collections without the negative — νυκτὶ πλεῖς, "you're sailing by night" — with the same negative meaning as sailing in the dark can be dangerous too because of rocks and shoals of coastlines. Traveling by sea is dangerous at any time! (The Greek were not very adventurous navigators.)

Δράσαντι παθεῖν.

It is for the doer to suffer (the consequences).

This is from a choral passage in Aeschylus's Libation Bearers about justice and atonement. The preceding line reads: ἀντὶ δὲ πληγῆς φονίας, φονίαν

πληγὴν τινέτω, "for a death blow, a death blow must be paid."

Νεκρὸς κεῖται βδέων.

The dead man lies there, farting.

The saying is used to refer to someone who attempts to do something but who has no idea what they are doing. There are folktales around the world about tricksters pretending to be dead who betray themselves by coughing or farting or yawning, etc., and I wonder if the saying might allude to a folktale of that type. The Greek word for farting, βδέων, is from the Indo-European root *pesd/*perd, which is also the origin of English "fart."

Πῶς δύναται Σατανᾶς Σατανᾶν ἐκβάλλειν;

How can Satan cast out Satan?

The words are from the Gospel of Mark; the scribes have accused Jesus of using Satanic powers in order to perform exorcisms, but Jesus rejects this interpretation with a rhetorical question. In other words, Satan cannot cast out Satan. The same scene also occurs in the Gospel of Matthew. For more about Jesus and exorcism, see Wikipedia: Miracles of Jesus: Exorcisms.

Καιρὸς τοῦ κλαῦσαι καὶ καιρὸς τοῦ γελάσαι.

(There is a) season of weeping and a season of laughing.

This is from a famous passage in the Biblical Book of Ecclesiastes. The long list begins with this opening verse: τοῖς πᾶσιν χρόνος καὶ καιρὸς τῷ παντὶ πράγματι ὑπὸ τὸν οὐρανόν, "For all (things), there is a time, and there is a season for each thing under heaven." For information about the Hebrew words that the Greek words of the Septuagint are translating, see Wikipedia: Ecclesiastes 3.

This is not an exorcism scene; instead, it shows Jesus rebuking Satan's temptation (painting by Duccio di Buoninsegna):

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63: marriage, memory, deed, pig, need

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

1. γάμος ~ γάμου (noun m.): wedding, marriage 

2. μνήμη ~ μνήμης (noun f.): memory 

3. ἔργον ~ ἔργου (noun n.): deed, work 
4. ὗς ~ ὑός (noun c.): pig, swine 

5. χρεία ~ χρείας (noun f.): need, want 

Here are the proverbs and sayings:

Γάμος Αἰγύπτου.

Μνήμην καμήλου.

Ἔργου σκιὰ οἱ λόγοι.

Ὄνος λύρας ἢκουε καὶ σάλπιγγος ὗς.

Οὐ χρείαν ἔχουσιν οἱ ἰσχύοντες ἰατροῦ ἀλλ᾽ οἱ κακῶς ἔχοντες.

Listen at SoundCloud.

Laura Gibbs · Greek Proverbs: 063

Plus some commentary:

Γάμος Αἰγύπτου.

The marriage of Aegyptus.

This saying appears in Erasmus, who explains that it refer to a disastrous event, alluding to the marriage of the 50 sons of Aegyptus to the 50 daughters of Danaus, or Danaids; 49 of the 50  daughters of Danaus murdered their husbands on that wedding night. Find out more at Wikipedia: Danaids. You can see the root γαμ- in English words like monogamy and gamete.

Μνήμην καμήλου.

(He has) the memory of a camel.

The Greeks believed that the camel had a good memory. A related proverb states: μνησικακία καμήλου, "the camel's remembrance of wrongs" (μνησι-κακία), i.e. the camel remembers any person who has treated it badly and will seek revenge. You can see the root μνημ- in the name Μνημοσύνη, the Greek goddess of memory: Wikipedia: Mnemosyne.

Ἔργου σκιὰ οἱ λόγοι.

Words (are) the shadow of the deed.

You can see the Greek root εργ- in English words like energy and ergonomic. Meanwhile, the word σκιὰ is lurking in the English word "squirrel," as the squirrel was called σκίουρος in Greek: σκιά-οὐρά, shadow-tail, thanks to the way its big busy tail is like an umbrella! (And "umbrella" is from the Latin word for shadow: umbra.)

Ὄνος λύρας ἢκουε καὶ σάλπιγγος ὗς.

The donkey listened to the lyre, and the pig to the trumpet.

This is a mocking proverb, as the Greeks supposed that neither the donkey nor the pig had any real appreciation of music. You saw a version of this saying about just the donkey in an earlier post: Ὄνος λύρας ἀκούων κινεῖ τὰ ὦτα. Note that the verb ἀκούω takes a genitive complement (λύρας...σάλπιγγος...); find out more at the Logeion entry for ἀκούω.

Οὐ χρείαν ἔχουσιν οἱ ἰσχύοντες ἰατροῦ ἀλλ᾽ οἱ κακῶς ἔχοντες.

Those who are strong have no need of a doctor but those who are not well (do need a doctor).

The words are spoken by Jesus in the Gospel of Mark in response to those who rebuke him for associating with sinners and other low-lifes. He explains the metaphorical application in the second half of the verse: οὐκ ἦλθον καλέσαι δικαίους ἀλλὰ ἁμαρτωλούς, "I have come to call not those who are righteous, but whose who have done wrong." The saying also appears in the Gospel of Matthew, and in a slightly different form in Luke: οὐ χρείαν ἔχουσιν οἱ ὑγιαίνοντες ἰατροῦ ἀλλὰ οἱ κακῶς ἔχοντες.

The Danaids were famously punished in the afterlife by being condemned to forever draw water with pots that had holes in them; here is Waterhouse's painting of the Danaids' punishment:

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62: money, edge, darkness, garment, kingdom

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

1. χρῆμα ~ χρήματος (noun n.): property, money 
2. ἀκμή ~ ἀκμῆς (noun f.): edge, point, tip

3. σκότος ~ σκότου (noun m.): darkness, gloom 
4. χιτών ~ χιτῶνος (noun m.): tunic, garment 
5. βασιλεία ~ βασιλείας (noun f.): kingdom, dominion 

Here are the proverbs and sayings:

Μίδου χρήματα.

Ἐπὶ ξυροῦ ἀκμῆς.

Ἐν σκότῳ ὀρχεῖσθαι.

Ὁ ἔχων δύο χιτῶνας μεταδότω τῷ μὴ ἔχοντι.

Μακάριοι οἱ πτωχοί, ὅτι ὑμετέρα ἐστὶν ἡ βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ. 

Listen at SoundCloud.

Laura Gibbs · Greek Proverbs: 062

Plus some commentary:

Μίδου χρήματα.

The wealth of Midas.

King Midas was legendary for his wealth, but the "touch of gold" came at a terrible price; you can read the story at Wikipedia: Midas. Erasmus cites some other Greek sayings about the proverbially wealthy Midas: Μίδου πλοῦτος, "the riches of Midas" and Μίδου πλουσιώτερος, "richer than Midas."

Ἐπὶ ξυροῦ ἀκμῆς.

Upon the razor's edge.

This works just like "razor's edge" in English, the idea being that something balanced upon the very thin edge of a razor is teetering dangerously between failure or success. As Erasmus explains, this proverbial saying can already be found in Homer's Iliad, and you can find out more in this article online: On a Razor’s Edge” (Il. 10.173): Iliadic Images of Imbalance and Uncertainty. English has borrowed the Greek word ἀκμή as "acme," referring to the high point or tip of something, rather than the edge.

Ἐν σκότῳ ὀρχεῖσθαι.

To dance in the dark.

This proverbial expression is also found in Erasmus, who explains that it means to do something which is not witnessed or judged because one cannot see what dancers are doing in the dark. Likewise, it can refer to someone who is doing something at random, without any purpose or reason. The phrase is noted as proverbial, "as they say," in Lucian's Hermotimus:  Ἐν σκότῳ, φασίν, ὀρχοίμεθα, "we would be dancing, as they say, in the dark." The space on which the dancers danced in the Greek theater was called the ὀρχήστρα, from the verb ὀρχεῖσθαι, hence the English word "orchestra," which now refers to the musicians who occupy that space, not dancers.

Ὁ ἔχων δύο χιτῶνας μεταδότω τῷ μὴ ἔχοντι.

Let the one who has two garments give to the one who has none.

The words come from the Gospel of Luke. The second part of the verse urges the same with regard to food: καὶ ὁ ἔχων βρώματα ὁμοίως ποιείτω, "and let the one who has food do the same." Note the third-person imperatives: μεταδότω and ποιείτω.

Μακάριοι οἱ πτωχοί, ὅτι ὑμετέρα ἐστὶν ἡ βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ.

Blessed are (you who are) poor, because the kingdom of god will be yours.

These words also come from the Gospel of Luke. This is the first of the four "beatitudes," in which Jesus blesses the people who are poor, who are hungry, who are grieving, and who are hated. You can find out more at Wikipedia: Beatitudes. From the root βασιλ- in βασιλεία, we get English words like basil and basilica.

Here is Midas's daughter turned to gold by Walter Crane:

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61: good, bronze, sweet, first, swift

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

1. ἀγαθόν ~ ἀγαθοῦ (adj. n.): good 

2. χάλκεον ~ χαλκέου (adj. n.): copper, bronze 

3. γλυκεῖα ~ γλυκείας (adj. f.): sweet, delightful

4. πρῶτος ~ πρώτου (adj. m.): first, foremost

5. κοῦφος ~ κούφου (adj. m.): nimble, swift 

 

Here are the proverbs and sayings:

Θᾶσος ἀγαθῶν.

Χρύσεα χαλκείων.

Ὠκεῖαι χάριτες γλυκερώτεραι.

Πολλοὶ δὲ ἔσονται πρῶτοι ἔσχατοι καὶ ἔσχατοι πρῶτοι.

Οὐ τοῖς κούφοις ὁ δρόμος καὶ οὐ τοῖς δυνατοῖς ὁ πόλεμος.

Listen at SoundCloud.

Laura Gibbs · Greek Proverbs: 061

Plus some commentary:

Θᾶσος ἀγαθῶν.

A Thasos of good (things).

Thasos is a Greek island, and it became proverbial for abundance and prosperity. You can read more about the actual island of Thasos at Wikipedia. The island was especially known for wine production and, in mythology, it was the home to Staphylos, one of the sons of Ariadne and Dionysus, the god of wine.

Χρύσεα χαλκείων.

Golden things (in exchange for) bronze.

The spelling χαλκείων is epic, and comes from an episode in Homer's Iliad, when Glaucus foolishly traded his golden armor for the bronze armor of Diomedes. But it's not really Glaucus's fault; Zeus made him lose his mind: φρένας ἐξέλετο Ζεύς, "Zeus took away his wits." You can read more at Wikipedia: Glaucus, and Plato invokes this as a proverbial saying in The Symposium. For the Greek root χρυσ- in English, see "chrysanthemum," golden-flower.

Ὠκεῖαι χάριτες γλυκερώτεραι.

Swifts thanks (are) sweetest.

This is a line from an elegant little epigram in the Greek Anthology: "Swift thanks are sweetest, and when slow, every thank-you is empty and should not be called thanks." In Greek, χάρις means both grace (as in the famous mythological Graces) but also gratitude; compare the way we "say grace" in English, i.e. "say thanks," as also in Spanish gracias.

Important note: despite the "ch" in the spelling, English "charity" does not come from Greek χάρις. Instead, it comes from Latin caritas, which was used to render Greek ἀγάπη in 1 Corinthians 13: πίστις, ἐλπίς, ἀγάπη, i.e. "faith, hope, love (charity)." English inherited the "ch" in the spelling of "charity" from the French charité (compare French charme from Latin carmen).

Πολλοὶ δὲ ἔσονται πρῶτοι ἔσχατοι καὶ ἔσχατοι πρῶτοι.

Many (who are) first will be last, and last will be first.

This paradoxical pronouncement by Jesus comes from the Gospel of Mark, and it can be found also in Luke, and in Matthew (twice in Matthew, in fact). You can see Greek πρῶτ- in a multitude of English words like proton and prototype.

Οὐ τοῖς κούφοις ὁ δρόμος καὶ οὐ τοῖς δυνατοῖς ὁ πόλεμος.

The race (is) not to the swift and the battle (is) not to the mighty.

This saying comes from the Biblical Book of Ecclesiastes, and here is the entire verse as rendered in the King James version:

I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.

You can see Greek δρόμ- in English words like palindrome and hippodrome.

Here are Glaucus and Diomedes exchanging armor; Glaucus is on the right:

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