μηδείς ~ μηδενός (adj. masc.): no one, nobody
βέλτιον ~ βελτίονος (adj. neut.): better
καινόν ~ καινοῦ (adj. neut.): new, strange
κρεῖσσον ~ κρείσσονος (adj. neut.): stronger, better
μικρά ~ μικρᾶς (adj. fem.): small, little
These are the proverbs (and there are always more proverbs at the blog):
Ψέγε μηδένα.
Ἀεὶ τὰ πέρυσι βελτίω.
Ἀεὶ Λιβύη φέρει τι καινόν.
Κρεῖττον σιωπᾶν ἐστιν ἢ λαλεῖν μάτην.
Μικρά γε πρόφασίς ἐστι τοῦ πρᾶξαι κακῶς.
And now, some commentary:
Ψέγε μηδένα.
Blame no one.
This is another one of the maxims attributed to the Seven Sages by Stobaeus. The word μηδείς is a compound of μη and εἷς, no-one, parallel to οὐδείς. The οὐ form is used for indicative statements, while the μη form is used for imperatives (as here), subjunctives, etc.
Ἀεὶ τὰ πέρυσι βελτίω.
The things of yesteryear (are) always better.
The word βελτίω is neuter plural, although you can also find the form βελτίονα; the dictionary form is βελτίων, which is used as the comparative form of ἀγαθός: better.
Ἀεὶ Λιβύη φέρει τι καινόν.
Always Libya brings something new.
The words come from Aristotle's History of Animals, and Aristotle labels the saying a παροιμία, a proverb: λέγεται δέ τις παροιμία, ὅτι “ἀεὶ Λιβύη φέρει τι καινόν.” Aristotle cites the saying in the context of exotic animals beyond Europe; the word Λιβύη referred to the entire northern part of Africa west of the Nile; you can find out more at Wikipedia: Ancient Libya. The Latin version of this saying is widely used: Ex Africa semper aliquid novi, "There is alway something new out of Africa."
Κρεῖττον σιωπᾶν ἐστιν ἢ λαλεῖν μάτην.
To be silent is more powerful than to speak foolishly.
The Greek infinitive is a neuter noun, hence the neuter adjective: κρεῖττον. This is the Attic form; the dictionary for is κρεῖσσον, the comparative form of κρατύ, powerful. The adverb μάτην is formed from the noun μάτη, which means "folly, foolishness." This is one of the monostichs (one-liners) of Menander; here is the meter marked:
Κρεῖττον | σιω||πᾶν ἐσ|τιν ἢ || λαλεῖν μάτην.
Μικρά γε πρόφασίς ἐστι τοῦ πρᾶξαι κακῶς.
Small indeed is the excuse for doing evil.
Note the article τοῦ with the infinitive; the Greek infinitive is a neuter noun but it does not decline, so the article provides the grammatical information you need to understand its role in the sentence: doing evil has only a small excuses, needs only a small excuse, etc. From the root in μικρ- we get all the micro words in English like microscope and microphone.
And here's a random proverb too:
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