Daily Greek Vocabulary Challenge: Oct. 16

Here are today's vocabulary words; it's Group 98. Click on the word to learn more at Logeion:

διώκω ~ διώξω ~ ἐδίωξα: chase, pursue 

λαμβάνω ~ λήψομαι ~ ἔλαβον: take, seize 

σῴζω ~ σώσω ~ ἔσωσα: save, rescue, keep 

βλέπω ~ βλέψομαι ~ ἔβλεψα: look at, see 

κλύω ~ (no fut.) ~ ἔκλυον: hear, perceive 

These are the proverbs (and there are always more proverbs at the blog):

Δόξαν δίωκε.

Δός τι καὶ λάβε τι.

Ἡ εὐλάβεια σῴζει πάντα.

Ὀφθαλμοὺς ἔχοντες, οὐ βλέπετε;

Κλύει δὲ καὶ πρόσωθεν ὢν θεός.

And now, some commentary:

Δόξαν δίωκε.

Pursue glory.

This is one of the maxims attributed to the Seven Sages as recorded by Stobaeus. The word δόξα has a wide range of meaning in Greek; the specific meaning of "glory" became important for Christianity, as in English doxology.

Δός τι καὶ λάβε τι.

Give something and receive something.

Compare the English saying, "Give and take." The Greek phrase appears in a dialogue formerly attributed to Plato but now considered spurious; you can find out more at Wikipedia: Axiochus. In that dialogue, it is paired with a similar saying you saw last month in this blog post: Ἁ δὲ χεὶρ τὰν χεῖρα νίζει, "One hand washes another."

Ἡ εὐλάβεια σῴζει πάντα.

Caution saves all things.

The saying appears in Aristophanes' Birds. The saying also appears in the LSJ dictionary entry for the word εὐλάβεια. From the Greek verb σῴζω comes the noun σωτήρ, "savior," as in the English word soteriology, the study of salvation.

Ὀφθαλμοὺς ἔχοντες, οὐ βλέπετε;

Having eyes, do you not see?

The words come from the Gospel of Mark when Jesus is rebuking his followers for their lack of faith and understanding. You saw a related passage from Mark last month in this blog post: Ὦτα ἔχοντες, οὐκ ἀκούετε; "Having ears, do you not hear?"

Κλύει καὶ πρόσωθεν ὢν Θεός.

Being a goddess, she hears, even from afar.

The noun Θεός is common gender, both masculine and feminine, but here it is feminine: goddess, based on the context. The words come from Aeschylus' Eumenides; Orestes is speaking of Athena. The word καὶ is being used adverbially here: even from afar, καὶ πρόσωθεν.

Athena

And here's a random proverb too:

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