Week 34: Proverb and Vocabulary Review

Review Padlet. Here's the Proverb Padlet that contains the contents of the week's posts... and it displays at random each time you load the Padlet! That way you can use it as a randomizing-reviewer for the week. Here's the Padlet embedded:

There's also a Padlet-of-Padlets which has links to all the review padlets, newest to oldest.

Alphabetical Index. 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. I've also updated the complete list of proverbs (there are now 575 total).

• Ἀετὸς μυίας οὐ θηρεύει.
  
• Αἰγιαλῷ λαλεῖς.
  
• Ἄιδεις ὥσπερ εἰς Δῆλον πλέων.
  
• Ἄμμον μετρεῖς.
  
• Ἀντὶ πέρκης σκορπίον.
  
• Ἁπλῶς διαλέγου.
  
• Εἰδὼς σίγα.
  
• Ἕπου χώρας τρόποις.
  
• Ἔρρει τὰ καλά.
  
• Ἡδύ γε σιωπᾶν ἢ λαλεῖν, ἃ μὴ πρέπει.
  
• Κακὰ κέρδεα ἶσ' ἀάτῃσιν.
  
• Καρδία ἐλάφου.
  
• Κατόπιν ἑορτῆς ἥκεις.
  
• Κενὰ κενοὶ βουλεύονται.
  
• Νίκη δ᾽ ἐπαμείβεται ἄνδρας.
  
• Νόμῳ πείθου.
  
• Ὃ ἂν μὴ ἴδῃς μὴ λέγε.
  
• Οὖτις ἐμοί γ' ὄνομα.
  
• Πᾶς γὰρ τὸ οἰκεῖον ἔργον ἀγαπᾷ.
  
• Πόνος ὁ μὴ φοβῶν κράτιστος.
  
• Πρᾶττε δίκαια.
  
• Σοφίαν ζήλου.
  
• Ταῦτα θεῶν ἐν γούνασι κεῖται.
  
• Φίλοις εὐνόει.
  
• Ψυχῆς εἴδωλον ὁ λόγος.
  

Audio. If you would like to do some listening, there is audio for Proverbs 1-500.

And here's a random proverb too:

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Daily Greek Vocabulary Challenge: Nov. 29

I hope all of you in the U.S. are having a nice holiday! I'll be back this weekend with the review post. For today, here are the vocabulary words; it's Group 115. Click on the word to learn more at Logeion:

ἁπλῶς (adverb): simply, plainly 

οὔτις ~ οὔτινος (pronoun): no one, nobody 

ἄν (hypothetical modal particle)

ἀντί (prep.+gen.): instead of 

οὐ (conj.): not

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

Ἁπλῶς διαλέγου.

Οὖτις ἐμοί γ' ὄνομα.

Ὃ ἂν μὴ ἴδῃς μὴ λέγε.

Ἀντὶ πέρκης σκορπίον.

Ἀετὸς μυίας οὐ θηρεύει.

And now, some commentary:

Ἁπλῶς διαλέγου.

Speak simply.

This one of the maxims attributed to the Seven Sages by Stobaeus. The verb διαλέγου is a middle imperative; διαλέγομαι is one of those verbs that has no active forms. The word ἁπλώς is an adverbial form of ἁπλοῦς, which means once-folded (ἁ-πλοῦς), the same etymology as the Latin simplex (sim-plex), which gives us English simple.

Οὖτις ἐμοί γ' ὄνομα.

Nobody is my name.

These are the words famously spoken by Odysseus, when he tells Polyphemus the Cyclops that his name is "nobody," which results in Polyphemus's failed cry for help: Οὖτίς με κτείνει, "Nobody is killing me!" You can read more about this episode from the Odyssey at Wikipedia: Polyphemus.

Ὃ ἂν μὴ ἴδῃς μὴ λέγε.

If you didn't see it, don't say it.

The words are attributed to Solon, one of the Seven Sages; find out more at Wikipedia: Solon. The particle ἂν with the subjunctive ἴδῃς conveys a hypothetical sense.  The verb ἴδῃς (aorist subjunctive) is used with the verb ὁράω, and this aorist stem is from the Indo-European root weyd- which you can see also in Latin video, and the same root also gives English "wise" and "wit" etc. You can read about the Indo-European stem at the wiktionary.

Ἀντὶ πέρκης σκορπίον.

(To give) a scorpion instead of a perch.

The word σκορπίον is in the accusative, which lets you know there is an implied verb. The saying applies to any situation where, instead of a welcome or useful gift (like a perch, something nice to eat), you receive something that is unexpected and dangerous, not what you hoped for at all. Compare this similar idea in the Gospel of Luke: καὶ αἰτήσει ᾠόν, ἐπιδώσει αὐτῶ σκορπίον; "and if he asks for an egg, will he give him a scorpion?" (and see also the Gospel of Matthew).

Ἀετὸς μυίας οὐ θηρεύει.

An eagle does not hunt mice.

The idea is that someone great does not concern themselves with petty trifles, although eagles do in fact eat mice! Even the mighty bald eagle will eat mice if they cannot find better food; find out more: Bald Eagle. The negating οὐ is used with indicative verbs as here, as opposed to the use of μὴ for subjunctive and imperative verbs as above: Ὃ ἂν μὴ ἴδῃς μὴ λέγε.

Odysseus flees the island of Polyphemus

And here's a random proverb too:

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Daily Greek Vocabulary Challenge: Nov. 28

Here are today's vocabulary words; it's Group 114. Click on the word to learn more at Logeion:

οἶδα ~ (perf. only): know (perfect system only) 

πείθω ~ πείσω ~ ἔπεισα: persuade; trust, obey

ἥκω ~ ἥξω ~ ἧξα: come, arrive

φοβέω ~ φοβήσω ~ ἐφόβησα: frighten, terrify

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

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

Εἰδὼς σίγα.

Νόμῳ πείθου.

Κατόπιν ἑορτῆς ἥκεις.

Πόνος ὁ μὴ φοβῶν κράτιστος.

Ταῦτα θεῶν ἐν γούνασι κεῖται.

And now, some commentary:

Εἰδὼς σίγα.

Having learned something, keep it quiet.

These words are attributed to Solon, one of the Seven Sages of Greece; find out more at Wikipedia. The word εἰδὼς is a perfect participle from οἶδα, a verb that only has a perfect system; a good way to see how that works is at the Wiktionary.

Νόμῳ πείθου.

Obey the law.

This is another of the maxims attributed by Stobaeus to the Seven Sages. The word πείθου is a middle imperative from πείθω, and one of the middle meanings of this verb is "obey" (in the sense of listen and obey, trust and obey), and it takes a dative complement: νόμῳ. In terms of etymology, πείθω is cognate with Latin fido, which means it is a cousin of English faith. Here is the Indo-European root: bʰéydʰeti.

Κατόπιν ἑορτῆς ἥκεις.

You have come late to the festival.

This saying is used to mock anyone who has arrived late for a business matter or some other serious purpose. There are also variants of this saying referring to popular Greek festivals: Παναθηναίων κατόπιν ... Πυθίων ὕστερον ἧκες. You can read about the Panthenaean festival and the Pythian games at Wikipedia.

Πόνος ὁ μὴ φοβῶν κράτιστος.

The labor which does not cause fear is best.

These words are spoken by the Chorus in Sophocles's Philoctetes. The verb φοβέω has very different meanings in the active and middle: in the active, as here, it means to frighten or cause fear; in the middle, it means to be afraid.

Ταῦτα θεῶν ἐν γούνασι κεῖται.

These things rest on the knees of the gods.

This can also be translated as "in the lap" of the gods. The words come from Homer's Iliad. Hector is addressing Achilles before their duel, and it is indeed true that the outcome is up to the gods: as Hector then throws his spear at Achilles, Athena turns Hector's spear aside, saving Achilles. R. B. Onians (author of the remarkable book The Origins of European Thought) wrote an essay about this phrase: On the Knees of the Gods.

Achilles fights Hector

And here's a random proverb too:

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Daily Greek Vocabulary Challenge: Nov. 27

Here are today's vocabulary words; it's Group 113. Click on the word to learn more at Logeion:

καλόν ~ καλοῦ (adj. neut.): fine, beautiful 

φίλος ~ φίλου (adj. masc.): dear, friend 

κενός ~ κενοῦ (adj. masc.): empty, ineffectual 

ἴσον ~ ἴσου (adj. neut.): equal, fair 

ἡδύ ~ ἡδέος (adj. neut.): pleasant, sweet

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

Ἔρρει τὰ καλά.

Φίλοις εὐνόει.

Κενὰ κενοὶ βουλεύονται.

Κακὰ κέρδεα ἶσ' ἀάτῃσιν.

Ἡδύ γε σιωπᾶν ἢ λαλεῖν, ἃ μὴ πρέπει.

And now, some commentary:

Ἔρρει τὰ καλά.

The good things are gone.

Here the adjective καλά is being substantively: the good (things). As usual in ancient Greek, the neuter plural subject takes a singular verb. Xenophon reports these as the words of the Spartan Hippocrates announcing the loss of the fleet and the death of his commander Mindarus in battle; the brief letter, intercepted by the Athenians, reads as follows: ἔρρει τὰ κᾶλα. Μίνδαρος ἀπεσσύα. πεινῶντι τὤνδρες. ἀπορίομες τί χρὴ δρᾶν; "The good things (i.e. the ships) are gone. Mindarus is dead. The men are starving. At a loss what to do."

Φίλοις εὐνόει.

Wish your friends well.

This is another of the maxims that Stobaeus attributed to the Seven Sages. The compound verb εὐνοέω ("well-think") takes a dative complement: φίλοις. The form εὐνόει is a contract imperative; the 3rd-person singular indicative would be εὐνοεῖ, with a difference only in the accent mark. The adjective φίλος is often used substantively as a noun, "friend."  

Κενὰ κενοὶ βουλεύονται.

Useless people make useless plans.

The adjective κενός means literally "empty," but it also has a range of metaphorical meanings: fruitless, purposeless, useless, etc. From Greek English has adopted the theological word kenosis, which has a more positive sense of emptying oneself to make room for the divine; to find out more, see Wikipedia: Kenosis. 

Κακὰ κέρδεα ἶσ᾽ ἀάτῃσιν.

Wicked gains are equivalent to losses.

The words come from Hesiod's Works and Days. The adjective ἶσα has lost its final vowel before the following vowel: ἶσα ἀάτῃσιν. The word ἄτη has a wide range of meanings in Greek; see the LSJ dictionary entry. For Ἄτη as the goddess of error and ruin, see Wikipedia: Ate.

Ἡδύ γε σιωπᾶν ἢ λαλεῖν, ἃ μὴ πρέπει.

Sweet it is to keep silent, rather than say things that are inappropriate.

The Greek infinitive is technically a neuter noun, hence the neuter adjective here: ἡδύ σιωπᾶν, "to keep silent is sweet." This is one of the monostichs (one-liners) of Menander; here it is with the iambic meter marked:

Ἡδύ γε | σιω||πᾶν ἢ | λαλεῖν || ἃ μὴ | πρέπει.

modern replica of ancient Greek trireme

And here's a random proverb too:

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Daily Greek Vocabulary Challenge: Nov. 26

Here are today's vocabulary words; it's Group 112. Click on the word to learn more at Logeion:

μετρέω ~ μετρήσω ~ ἐμέτρησα: measure, count 

λαλέω ~ λαλήσω ~ ἐλάλησα: talk, speak 

πράσσω ~ πράξω ~ ἔπραξα: do, manage, practice 

ᾄδω ~ ἀείσομαι ~ ᾖσα: sing 

ἀγαπάω ~ ἀγαπήσω ~ ἠγάπησα: love, be fond of 

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

Ἄμμον μετρεῖς.

Αἰγιαλῷ λαλεῖς.

Πρᾶττε δίκαια.

Ἄιδεις ὥσπερ εἰς Δῆλον πλέων. 

Πᾶς γὰρ τὸ οἰκεῖον ἔργον ἀγαπᾷ.

And now, some commentary:

Ἄμμον μετρεῖς.

You're measuring sand.

This is a proverbial fool's errand; the idea is that you are counting grains of sand... which means you will never stop counting. From the root in Greek μετρ- we get all the meter and -metry words in English, like kilometer and geometry.

Αἰγιαλῷ λαλεῖς.

You're talking to the seashore.

This is another fool's errand: you're talking to the waves pounding against the seashore, i.e. to someone who cannot hear you. You can see the Greek root λαλ- in the -lalia words like glossolalia and echolalia.

Πρᾶττε δίκαια.

Do the right things.

This is one of the maxims that Stobaeus attributes to the Seven Sages. The word πρᾶττε is Attic; you will also see the form πρᾶσσε; the related verbal nouns πρᾶγμα and πρᾶξις give us the English words "pragmatic" and "praxis."

Ἄιδεις ὥσπερ εἰς Δῆλον πλέων. 

You're singing as if sailing to Delos.

This referred to someone who is singing happily or just generally in a good mood. You can read about the island of Delos at Wikipedia, and the article even contains a reference to this proverb! The verb ᾄδω (ἀείδω) is related to the noun ᾠδή, which gives us English "ode."

Πᾶς γὰρ τὸ οἰκεῖον ἔργον ἀγαπᾷ.

Every (artist) loves his own artwork.

The phrase appears in Aristotle. What Aristotle then goes on to say is even more interesting: πᾶς γὰρ τὸ οἰκεῖον ἔργον ἀγαπᾷ μᾶλλον ἢ ἀγαπηθείη ἂν ὑπὸ τοῦ ἔργου ἐμψύχου γενομένου, "every artist loves his own artwork more than he would be loved by that artwork if it were to come to life." That does not bode well for Pygmalion!

Pygmalion

And here's a random proverb too:

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Daily Greek Vocabulary Challenge: Nov. 25

Here are today's vocabulary words; it's Group 111. Click on the word to learn more at Logeion:

σοφία ~ σοφίας (noun f.): wisdom 

καρδία ~ καρδίας (noun f.): heart, mind 

χώρα ~ χώρᾱς (noun f.): land, country 

ψυχή ~ ψυχῆς (noun f.): soul, life 

νίκη ~ νίκης (noun f.): victory 

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

Σοφίαν ζήλου.

Καρδία ἐλάφου.

Ἕπου χώρας τρόποις.

Ψυχῆς εἴδωλον ὁ λόγος.

Νίκη δ᾽ ἐπαμείβεται ἄνδρας.

And now, some commentary:

Σοφίαν ζήλου.

Strive for wisdom.

This is one of the sayings attributed by Stobaeus to the Seven Sages. The verb ζήλου is a middle imperative from the verb ζηλόω, and like many middle verbs it can take a direct object: σοφίαν. From that same root we get both English zealous and jealous. For more about the goddess of wisdom, see Wikipedia: Sophia.

Καρδία ἐλάφου.

The heart of a deer.

This is a saying indicating cowardice, and the words were famously used by Achilles when he taunted Agamemnon in the opening book of the Iliad: "οἰνοβαρές, κυνὸς ὄμματ᾽ ἔχων, κραδίην δ᾽ ἐλάφοιο," "weighed down with wine, having the face of a dog but the heart of a deer," where κραδίη ἐλάφοιο is the Homeric form of καρδία ἐλάφου. Here is the meter marked:

"οἰνοβα~ρές, κυνὸς ὄμματ᾽ ἔ~χων, κραδί~ην δ᾽ ἐλά~φοιο

There is an Aesop's fable about the proverbial cowardice of the deer.

Ἕπου χώρας τρόποις.

Follow the customs of the country.

Compare the English saying "when in Rome, do as the Romans do." The verb ἕπου is another middle imperative, and the verb takes a dative complement: τρόποις. Greek τρόπος gives us English "trope." The Greek word χώρα has an uncertain etymology; the "chor-" words in English like chorus and choreography come from Greek χορός, "dance" (note the omicron), not χώρα (omega).

Ψυχῆς εἴδωλον ὁ λόγος.

Speech is the image of the soul.

The word εἴδωλον can mean a phantom, but it also means any sort of insubstantial image, like an image reflected in a mirror, which is the idea here. The word is derived from the noun εἶδος, which means an image or form (Platonic "form"), from the IE root weyd- meaning "see" (as also in Latin video). From Greek ψυχή we get "psychology" and all the other "psych-" words, and from εἴδωλον we get the word "idol."

Νίκη δ᾽ ἐπαμείβεται ἄνδρας.

Victory alternates between men.

This is another saying from Homer's Iliad. Paris speaks the words to Hector when Hector rebukes him for being a coward. Literally, Nike, the goddess of victory, "barters" men, exchanging one for another; see the uncompounded verb ἀμείβω in the LSJ for the range of meaning. For more about the goddess of Victory, see Wikipedia: Nike.

Nike

And here's a random proverb too:

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Week 33: Proverb and Vocabulary review

Review Padlet. Here's the Proverb Padlet that contains the contents of the week's posts... and it displays at random each time you load the Padlet! That way you can use it as a randomizing-reviewer for the week. Here's the Padlet embedded:

And remember: you can put a Padlet on your phone so you can pop up a proverb at random whenever. There's a free Padlet app you can download if you want, but you don't need the app; you can just save the URL to your phone home screen (that's what I do). It's a fun and easy way to review at random! There's also a randomizing Padlet-of-Padlets.

Alphabetical Index. 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. I've also updated the complete list of proverbs (there are now 550 total!).

• Ἀγαπᾶτε τοὺς ἐχθροὺς ὑμῶν.
  
• Ἀγέλαστος πέτρα.
  
• Ἀδύνατα θηρᾷς.
  
• Ἀλύπως βίου.
  
• Βουλῆς γὰρ ὀρθῆς οὐδὲν ἀσφαλέστερον.
  
• Γῆρας λέοντος κρεῖττον ἀκμαίων νεβρῶν.
  
• Γλυκὺ τὸ φῶς.
  
• Δίκαιος εἶναι μᾶλλον ἢ δοκεῖν θέλε.
  
• Δῶρα πείθειν καὶ θεοὺς λόγος.
  
• Εἰ μὴ δύναιο βοῦν, ἔλαυνε ὄνον.
  
• Εὔχου δυνατά.
  
• Καιρὸς ψυχὴ πράγματος.
  
• Κακίαν μίσει.
  
• Κρῖνε δίκαια.
  
• Κύριε, ἐλέησον.
  
• Μᾶλλον ὁ Φρύξ.
  
• Μὴ κρίνετε, καὶ οὐ μὴ κριθῆτε.
  
• Ὃ γέγραφα γέγραφα.
  
• Οἶκος φίλος, οἶκος ἄριστος.
  
• Οὐδὲν γλύκιον ἧς πατρίδος.
  
• Πλούτει δικαίως.
  
• Πολλοὶ βουκένται, παῦροι δέ τε γῆς ἀροτῆρες.
  
• Τέλος ὅρα μακροῦ βίου.
  
• Τίς γὰρ κατόπτρῳ καὶ τυφλῷ κοινωνία;
  
• Χρόνου φείδου.
  

Audio. If you would like to do some listening, there is audio for Proverbs 1-500.

And here's a random proverb too:

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Daily Greek Vocabulary Challenge: Nov. 22

Here are today's vocabulary words; it's Group 110. Click on the word to learn more at Logeion:

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

ἀδύνατον ~ ἀδυνάτου (adj. neut.): unable, impossible 

δίκαιος ~ δικαίου (adj. masc.): righteous, lawful 

κρεῖσσον ~ κρείσσονος (adj. neut.): stronger, better 

πολύς ~ πολλοῦ (adj. masc.): much, many 

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

Εὔχου δυνατά.

Ἀδύνατα θηρᾷς.

Δίκαιος εἶναι μᾶλλον ἢ δοκεῖν θέλε.

Γῆρας λέοντος κρεῖττον ἀκμαίων νεβρῶν.

Πολλοὶ βουκένται, παῦροι δέ τε γῆς ἀροτῆρες.

And now, some commentary:

Εὔχου δυνατά.

Pray for things that are possible.

The verb εὔχου is a middle imperative from the deponent verb εὔχομαι; like many middle verbs it can still take a direct object: δυνατά, an adjective being used here as a noun, "possible (things)." This is another of the maxims attributed by Stobaeus to the Seven Sages.

Ἄδύνατα θηρᾷς.

You're hunting things that are impossible.

The adjective ἀδύνατα is an alpha-privative form of δυνατά: im-possible; note also the change in stress. The Greek word appears in English rhetorical terminology as adynaton, meaning a hyperbole so extreme as to be impossible. See Wikipedia: Adynaton for examples.

Δίκαιος εἶναι μᾶλλον ἢ δοκεῖν θέλε.

Aspire to be just rather than to appear (to be just).

The idea is to really be just as opposed to merely seeming to be so. The word ἢ can be used with comparatives like μᾶλλον, much like English "than" — μᾶλλον ἢ, "rather than." The saying is found in Teles the Cynic, and the tension between reality and appearance, εἶναι μᾶλλον ἢ δοκεῖν, also figures in Aristotle's Rhetoric.

Γῆρας λέοντος κρεῖττον ἀκμαίων νεβρῶν.

The old age of the lion is more powerful than fawns in their prime.

Here the comparative κρεῖττον is taking a genitive complement: νεβρῶν. The contrast between singular lion and plural fawns strengthens the comparison: all the flourishing young fawns put together do not equal the strength of one old lion. From the same root as Greek ἀκμαῖος we get English acme (Greek ἀκμή), meaning the high point, peak, prime, paragon, etc.

Πολλοὶ βουκένται, παῦροι δέ τε γῆς ἀροτῆρες.

Many are those who goad the oxen, but few are those who plough the earth.

In other words, it's not enough just to go through the motions; you must be skilled and dedicated to accomplish your true goal. The saying is a hexameter:

Πολλοὶ βουκέν~ται, παῦ~ροι δέ τε γῆς ἀρο~τῆρες.
This is a kind of proverbial formula which you saw in a different form previously: Ναρθηκοφόροι μὲν πολλοί, βάκχοι δέ τε παῦροι, "The people carrying the wands of Bacchus are many, but the worshipers of Bacchus are few." (more about the Bacchus proverb). 

ancient Greek marble statue of a lion

And here's a random proverb too:

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Daily Greek Vocabulary Challenge Nov. 21

Here are today's vocabulary words; it's Group 109. Click on the word to learn more at Logeion:

μᾶλλον (adverb): more, rather; better 

δικαίως (adverb): lawfully, justly 

ὅ ~ οὗ (neut. sg. pronoun): that, which 

ὑμεῖς ~ ὑμῶν (2nd pl. pronoun): you 

εἰ (conj.): if 

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

Μᾶλλον ὁ Φρύξ.

Πλούτει δικαίως.

Ὃ γέγραφα γέγραφα.

Ἀγαπᾶτε τοὺς ἐχθροὺς ὑμῶν.

Εἰ μὴ δύναιο βοῦν, ἔλαυνε ὄνον.

And now, some commentary:

Μᾶλλον ὁ Φρύξ.

The Phrygian (has spoken) better.

The Phrygian referred to here is Aesop who, in addition to being the putative composer of hundreds of fables, was a popular folktale figure in ancient Greece and Rome. These words were supposedly spoken by King Croesus, declaring Aesop to have spoken better than the Seven Sages in response to the question Croesus posed about happiness. You can read more about Croesus, including this incident, at Wikipedia: Croesus' Interview with Solon.

Πλούτει δικαίως.

Get rich fairly.

In other words, as you pursue wealth play by the rules, δικαίως, doing what is right. The word πλούτει is an imperative from the contract verb πλου,τέω, from the noun πλοῦτος, meaning wealth, riches, etc. Πλοῦτος is also the name of the Greek god of wealth; find out more at Wikipedia: Plutus.

Ὃ γέγραφα γέγραφα.

That which I have written, I have written.

The words are spoken by Pontius Pilate in the Gospel of John. The story goes that Pilate wrote a sign to hang on the cross of Jesus: Ἰησοῦς ὁ Ναζωραῖος ὁ Βασιλεὺς τῶν ἰουδαίων, Jesus of Nazareth King of the Jews. The Jewish priests objected, but Pilate would not change what he had written. This famous incident has its own article at Wikipedia: Quod scripsi scripsi. You can also find out more at this article: Jesus, King of the Jews.

Ἀγαπᾶτε τοὺς ἐχθροὺς ὑμῶν.

Love your enemies.

This is another Biblical saying, this time from the Gospel of Luke, specifically from the section known as the Sermon on the Plain; you can find out more at Wikipedia: Sermon on the Plain. There is also a Wikipedia article about this saying in particular: Love your enemies.

Εἰ μὴ δύναιο βοῦν, ἔλαυνε ὄνον.

If you cannot (drive) an ox, drive a donkey.

In other words, it's better to plow with an ox if you have it, but if you don't have an ox, then a donkey will do. The verb δύναιο is a present optative, hence the use of μὴ for the negation. 

modern rendering of Pilate's sign

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Daily Greek Vocabulary Challenge: Nov. 20

Here are today's vocabulary words; it's Group 108. Click on the word to learn more at Logeion:

βιόω ~ βιώσομαι ~ ἐβίων: live, pass one's life 

φείδομαι ~ φείσομαι ~ ἐφεισάμην: spare, use sparingly 

ἐλεέω ~ ἐλεήσω ~ ἠλέησα: feel pity, show mercy 

πείθω ~ πείσω ~ ἔπεισα: persuade; trust, obey 

κρίνω ~ κρινέω ~ ἔκρινα: decide, judge 

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

Ἀλύπως βίου.

Χρόνου φείδου.

Κύριε, ἐλέησον.

Μὴ κρίνετε, καὶ οὐ μὴ κριθῆτε.

Δῶρα πείθειν καὶ θεοὺς λόγος.

And now, some commentary:

Ἀλύπως βίου.

Live without grieving.

The word βίου is a verb here, a middle imperative of the contract verb βιόω. Yes, βίου is also the genitive singular of the noun βίος; the two words are from the same root, but they are not the same word. Just like in English, which abounds in homonyms (both homographs and homophones), there are some Greek words which can have the same spelling and pronunciation but which are different words, and you have to figure it out from context. In this context, βίου as noun does not make sense, but βίου as verb does. More about the many different types of homonyms at Wikipedia.

Χρόνου φείδου.

Be sparing of time.

The verb φείδου is another middle imperative; the verb φείδομαι has only middle forms, and it takes a genitive complement: χρόνου. This and the previous saying are from the maxims that Stobaeus attributed to the Seven Sages; see Wikipedia: Delphic maxims for more.

Κύριε, ἐλέησον.

Lord, have mercy.

The word ἐλέησον is a different kind of imperative; this is an aorist imperative from the verb ἐλεέω. The sigma is a clue that you are dealing with an aorist imperative; like most contract verbs, ἐλεέω has a sigmatic aorist: ἠλέησα (stem: ἐλέησ-). This phrase from Christian Greek is also found in Christian Latin: Kyrie eleison, or simply Kyrie. You can find out more at Wikipedia: Kyrie.

Μὴ κρίνετε, καὶ οὐ μὴ κριθῆτε.

Do not judge, and you will not be judged.

The words are from the Gospel of Luke. The full verse reads: καὶ μὴ κρίνετε, καὶ οὐ μὴ κριθῆτε· καὶ μὴ καταδικάζετε, καὶ οὐ μὴ καταδικασθῆτε. ἀπολύετε, καὶ ἀπολυθήσεσθε· — translated in the King James version as: "Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven." Note the emphatic use of οὐ μή for the negative prediction; more about Greek οὐ μή.

Δῶρα πείθειν καὶ θεοὺς λόγος.

The story goes that gifts persuade even the gods.

Note the adverbial use of καί here: even the gods, i.e. [mortals] and gods. The noun λόγος here means something like saying or story, or even simply "it is said," and it introduces indirect statement, with the infinitive πείθειν and an accusative subject, δῶρα. The line comes from Euripides' Medea, when Medea is handing over to Jason the deadly dowry for his new wife, so Medea is actually using this λόγος to lead him into her trap.

Kyrie (Gregorian Chant)

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Daily Greek Vocabulary Challenge: Nov. 19

Here are today's vocabulary words; it's Group 107. Click on the word to learn more at Logeion:

κακία ~ κακίας (noun f.): vice, dishonor 

πέτρα ~ πέτρας (noun f.): rock 

ψυχή ~ ψυχῆς (noun f.): soul, life 

πατρίς ~ πατρίδος (noun f.): fatherland, homeland 

κοινωνία ~ κοινωνίας (noun f.): association, partnership 

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

Κακίαν μίσει.

Ἀγέλαστος πέτρα.

Καιρὸς ψυχὴ πράγματος.

Οὐδὲν γλύκιον ἧς πατρίδος.

Τίς γὰρ κατόπτρῳ καὶ τυφλῷ κοινωνία;

And now, some commentary:

Κακίαν μίσει.

Hate badness.

This is another one of the maxims that Stobaeus attributes to the Seven Sages; see Wikipedia: Delphic maxims. From the root of the noun κακία (and the adjective κακός), we get English words like cacophony. There is an enormous number of Greek words which are built from this root; see the list at Wiktionary.

Ἀγέλαστος πέτρα.

The un-laughing stone.

This refers to the stone at Eleusis on which the grieving Demeter rested while she searched for her daughter Persephone; see Wikipedia: Abduction of Persephone for that story. Note that the alpha-privative adjective ἀ-γέλαστος does not have a distinct feminine form; instead, the feminine and masculine forms are the same. This is true not just for alpha-privatives but for many other compound adjectives as well.

Καιρὸς ψυχὴ πράγματος.

The right moment is the soul of the matter.

In English, we might say "the heart" of the matter, rather than "the soul." For the wide range of meanings of Greek ψυχή, see the LSJ dictionary entry: soul, spirit, life, self, consciousness. The word gives us all the psych- words in English, like psychology, and Psyche is the lover of Eros / Cupid; see Wikipedia: Cupid and Psyche.

Οὐδὲν γλύκιον ἧς πατρίδος.

Nothing is sweeter than one's fatherland.

The word γλύκιον is comparative ("sweeter"), so it takes a genitive complement: πατρίδος. The words appear in Homer's Odyssey, and so echo on throughout Greek literature, quoted by later authors.

For example, here is a line from the Greek Anthology, with "said Odysseus" at the end: ὡς οὐδὲν γλύκιον ἧς πατρίδος, εἶπεν Ὀδυσσεύς. The complete line in the Odyssey includes parents also:

ὣς οὐδὲν γλύκιον ἧς πατρίδος οὐδὲ τοκήων

Here is the meter:

ὣς οὐ~δὲν γλύκι~ον ἧς ~ πατρίδος ~ οὐδὲ το~κήων

Τίς γὰρ κατόπτρῳ καὶ τυφλῷ κοινωνία;

What partnership can there be for a mirror and a blind man?

You will find this saying included in the dictionary entry for κάτοπτρον. Compare the English saying: "A blind man will not thank you for a looking-glass." For more positive proverbs, though, compare this Hausa proverb from Nigeria: "A blind man does not worry over the loss of a looking glass." Plus this one from Sierra Leone: "Don't ask a blind man why he would buy a mirror; he probably has a use for it."

Psyche in a 14th-century Apuleius ms.

And here's a random proverb too:

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Daily Greek Vocabulary Challenge: Nov. 18

Here are today's vocabulary words; it's Group 106. Click on the word to learn more at Logeion:

γλυκύ ~ γλυκέος (adj. neut.): sweet, pleasant 

δίκαιον ~ δικαίου (adj. neut.): just, righteous, lawful 

μακρός ~ μακροῦ (adj. masc.): long 

ἄριστος ~ ἀρίστου (adj. masc.): best, finest 

ὀρθή ~ ὀρθῆς (adj. neut.): straight, (up)right, correct

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

Κρῖνε δίκαια.

Γλυκὺ τὸ φῶς.

Τέλος ὅρα μακροῦ βίου.

Οἶκος φίλος, οἶκος ἄριστος.

Βουλῆς γὰρ ὀρθῆς οὐδὲν ἀσφαλέστερον.

And now, some commentary:

Κρῖνε δίκαια.

Discern what is right.

Notice that the Greek uses the plural adjective as a noun: (the things that are) right. You can also render this as an adverb in English: Judge justly. This is one of the maxims that Stobaeus attributes to the Seven Sages; find out more at Wikipedia: Delphic maxims. You can also find out more about the goddess of justice, Wikipedia: Dike.

Γλυκὺ τὸ φῶς.

Sweet is the light.

The words come from the Biblical book of Ecclesiastes. The full verse reads: γλυκὺ τὸ φῶς καὶ ἀγαθὸν τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς βλέπειν σὺν τὸν ἥλιον, "and it is good for the eyes together to behold the sun." From the root of Greek γλυκ- we get the glyc- words in English like glycerine, and also gluc- words like glucose.

Οἶκος φίλος, οἶκος ἄριστος.

Home is dear, home is best.

Compare the English saying, "East or west, home is best" or "There's no place like home." These words are spoken by the tortoise in the Aesop's fable of Zeus and the tortoise: the tortoise is explaining why she didn't come to Zeus's wedding, and Zeus gets so angry that he condemns the tortoise to carrying her house with her wherever she goes... although for the tortoise, that is more like a reward than a punishment! The fable has its own Wikipedia article: Zeus and the Tortoise.

Τέλος ὅρα μακροῦ βίου.

Look at the end of a long life.

The saying is found in Epicurus, who marks it as a proverbial saying (φωνή ἡ λέγουσα...). The idea is that you cannot pronounce someone happy until the end of their life. Solon discusses this idea with Croesus in their famous dialogue, and Arrian also appropriates the idea in discussing the short life of Alexander the Great: “Perhaps it was also a better fate for him to die at the height of his reputation and when he would be missed by men before he could suffer that common human fate, which is the very thing Solon warned Croesus about: that it is best to look to the end of even a long life (τέλος ὁρᾶν μακροῦ βίου) and never to say openly that some man is fortunate before he is dead.”

Βουλῆς γὰρ ὀρθῆς οὐδὲν ἀσφαλέστερον.

Nothing is more reliable than good advice.

This is one of the monostichs (one-liners) of Menander. Here is the meter marked:

Βουλῆς γὰρ ὀρ || θῆς οὐ | δὲν ἀσ || φαλέ | στερον.

From the root in Greek ὀρθή we get all the orth- words in English like orthodox, orthopedics, etc. The adjective ἀσφαλέστερον, superlative of ἀσφαλές, is an alpha-privative: ἀ-σφαλές, un-falling or un-failing (verb: σφάλλω); compare English "asphalt."

Zeus and the Tortoise

And here's a random proverb too:

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Week 32: Proverb and Vocabulary review

Review Padlet. Here's the Proverb Padlet that contains the contents of the week's posts... and it displays at random each time you load the Padlet! That way you can use it as a randomizing-reviewer for the week. Here's a screenshot of this week's Padlet: Greek Proverbs Week 32. Here's the Padlet embedded, but the  embedded version may not appear in the email.

And remember: you can put a Padlet on your phone so you can pop up a proverb at random whenever. There's a free Padlet app you can download if you want, but you don't need the app; you can just save the URL to your phone home screen (that's what I do). It's a fun and easy way to review at random! There's also a randomizing Padlet-of-Padlets.

Alphabetical Index. 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. I've also updated the complete list of proverbs (there are now 525 total).

• Ἀεργοῖς αἲὲν ἑορτά.
  
• Ἄρχε σεαυτοῦ.
  
• Γονεῖς αἰδοῦ.
  
• Ἕνα ἀλλὰ λέοντα.
  
• Ἐπὶ δυοῖν ἀγκυραῖν ὁρμεῖ.
  
• Ἔχθρας διάλυε.
  
• Ζεὺς πάντων ἐφορᾷ τέλος.
  
• Ἡ γὰρ τυραννὶς ἀδικίας μήτηρ ἔφυ.
  
• Θυμοῦ κράτει.
  
• Κακὸν δῶρον, ἴσον ζημίᾳ.
  
• Κρῆτες ἀεὶ ψεῦσται.
  
• Μανθάνων μὴ κάμνε.
  
• Μὴ εἰς τὴν αὔριον ἀναβάλλου.
  
• Νοῦν ἡγεμόνα ποιοῦ.
  
• Ὁ ἄδικος οὐ λανθάνει τοὺς θεούς.
  
• Πᾶν ἐστὶ ἄνθρωπος συμφορή.
  
• Πᾶν τὸ ἐρχόμενον ματαιότης.
  
• Πλέον ἥμισυ παντός.
  
• Προτέρα πάντων ἔκτισται σοφία.
  
• Σαοὺλ Σαούλ, τί με διώκεις;
  
• Σεαυτὸν αἰδοῦ.
  
• Στιγμὴ χρόνου πᾶς ἐστιν ὁ βίος.
  
• Φίλος πιστὸς σκέπη κραταιά.
  
• Φίλος πιστὸς φάρμακον ζωῆς.
  
• Χρυσὸς ὁ ἀφανὴς τύραννος.
  

Audio. If you would like to do some listening, there is audio for Proverbs 1-500.

And here's a random proverb too:

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Daily Greek Vocabulary Challenge: Nov. 15

Here are today's vocabulary words; it's Group 105, and that's the last of the new proverbs for this week (I'll have a review post on Sunday). Click on the word to learn more at Logeion:

γονεύς ~ γονέως (noun m.): father, parent 

ἡγεμὼν ~ ἡγεμόνος (noun m.): leader, guide, chief 

τέλος ~ τέλους (noun n.): end, completion, goal 

δῶρον ~ δώρου (noun n.): gift 

χρόνος ~ χρόνου (noun m.): time 

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

Γονεῖς αἰδοῦ.

Νοῦν ἡγεμόνα ποιοῦ.

Ζεὺς πάντων ἐφορᾷ τέλος.

Κακὸν δῶρον, ἴσον ζημίᾳ.

Στιγμὴ χρόνου πᾶς ἐστιν ὁ βίος.

And now, some commentary:

Γονεῖς αἰδοῦ.

Respect your parents.

This is one of the maxims of the Seven Sages as recorded by Stobaeus: Delphic Maxims. About the middle imperative αἰδοῦ, see yesterday's post: Σεαυτὸν αἰδοῦ. The noun γονεύς is derived from the root of the verb γίγνομαι, which is the middle form means "be born" (compare Latin "gigno").

Νοῦν ἡγεμόνα ποιοῦ.

Make your mind your leader.

These words are attributed to Solon by Diogenes Laertius; you can read more about Solon at Wikipedia.

The verb ποιοῦ here is also a middle imperative, and from the Greek ἡγεμὼν, we get English hegemony. This always reminds me of the opening lines of the Buddha's Dhammapada: "Mind precedes thoughts, mind is their chief, their quality is made by mind..."

Ζεὺς πάντων ἐφορᾷ τέλος.

Zeus looks upon the end of all things.

This is another of the sayings attributed to Solon. The verb ἐφορᾷ is a compound of ἐπι and ὁρᾷ: the iota drops before the following vowel, and then the pi aspirates, resulting in the compound ἐφορᾷ. For more about the etymology of Zeus's name, which has Διός as its genitive form, see Wikipedia. The word τέλος has enormous range of meaning as you can see in the LSJ dictionary entry; the English word "end" has a similar range of meaning. From this Greek word we get English teleology.

Κακὸν δῶρον ἴσον ζημίᾳ.

A bad gift is the same as a loss.

You can see the Greek δῶρον in the name Theodore. From the root of the adjective ἴσο- we get the iso- words in English like isometer and isosceles (Greek ἰσο-σκελής, equal-legged).

Στιγμὴ χρόνου πᾶς ἐστιν ὁ βίος.

A whole life is (just) a moment of time.

The words comes from Plutarch's essay on education (although it should be noted that Plutarch puts these words into the mouths of flatterers urging the hedonism of the here-and-now as opposed to delayed gratification). The word στίγμα in Greek is literally a prick, a point, a mark, and thus it also comes to mean tattoo in Greek (compare the use of stigma in English). So, the idea here is a prick of time, a single point of time, a moment. From Greek χρόνος we get all the chron- words in English like chronicle and chronology.

Zeus

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Daily Greek Vocabulary Challenge: Nov. 14

Here are today's vocabulary words; it's Group 104. Click on the word to learn more at Logeion:

σεαυτοῦ (pronoun): yourself (gen.) 

σεαυτόν (pronoun): yourself (acc.) 

ἀεὶ (adverb): always 

ἐπὶ (prep.+dat.): on, upon 

εἰς (prep.+acc.): to, into 

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

Ἄρχε σεαυτοῦ.

Σεαυτὸν αἰδοῦ.

Κρῆτες ἀεὶ ψεῦσται.

Ἐπὶ δυοῖν ἀγκυραῖν ὁρμεῖ.

Μὴ εἰς τὴν αὔριον ἀναβάλλου.

And now, some commentary:

Ἄρχε σεαυτοῦ.

Have control over yourself.

The verb ἄρχω takes a genitive complement: σεαυτοῦ. This is one of the maxims of the Seven Sages as recorded by Stobaeus; find out more at Wikipedia: Delphic Maxims.

Σεαυτὸν αἰδοῦ.

Have respect for yourself.

Here you see the pronoun in accusative form; compare the genitive form in the previous item (as a reflexive pronoun agreeing with the subject of the main verb, it has no nominative case). The form αἰδοῦ is a middle imperative from the verb αἰδέομαι. It can mean "feel shame," but especially when it takes a direct object, as here, it has the sense of "feel fear, awe," and thus to venerate or respect. The noun αἰδώς also covers that same range of meaning, from shame and fear to awe and respect.

Κρῆτες ἀεὶ ψεῦσται.

Cretans are always liars. 

From the same root in Greek ψεῦστ- we get the pseud- words in English, like pseudonym. This saying is related to the famous paradox associated with the philosopher Epimenides: Epimenides was a Cretan who said: "All Cretans are liars." You can find out more at Wikipedia: Epimenides Paradox. The fact that the statement uses a noun, ψεῦσται, instead of a verb offers one way to escape the paradox: even if Cretans are always liars, i.e. they do tell lies, it does not mean they are always lying, i.e. telling a lie whenever they speak.

Ἐπὶ δυοῖν ἀγκυραῖν ὁρμεῖ.

He is moored upon two anchors.

You can see the dual number here: δυοῖν ἀγκυραῖν; the plural would be ἀγκύραις. As Erasmus explains, this saying refers to something especially stable and secure because you have cast one anchor from the prow and one from the stern. Note these two similar verbs with quite opposite meanings: ὁρμέω, to be moored or lie at anchor, as in this saying, from the noun ὅρμος, a chain or collar, also a harbor or haven, as opposed to ὁρμάω, to set in motion or rush, from the noun ὁρμή, an assault or rush, also violence, appetite (which gives us English hormone). And yes, we get English anchor from the Greek ἄγκυρα.

Μὴ εἰς τὴν αὔριον ἀναβάλλου.

Don't postpone until tomorrow.

Like αἰδοῦ above, ἀναβάλλου here is a middle imperative (hence the negating μή). The word αὔριον, which means "tomorrow" (more specifically, at dawn tomorrow) is technically an adverb but it often functions like a feminine noun (i.e. ἡμέρα), hence the prepositional phrase: εἰς τὴν αὔριον.

Epimenides of Crete

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Daily Greek Vocabulary Challenge: Nov. 13

Here are today's vocabulary words; it's Group 103. Click on the word to learn more at Logeion:

κρατέω ~ κρατήσω ~ ἐκράτησα: rule over, conquer 

μανθάνω ~ μαθήσομαι ~ ἔμαθον: learn, understand 

διώκω ~ διώξω ~ ἐδίωξα: chase, pursue 

ἔρχομαι ~ ἐλεύσομαι ~ ἧλθον: come, go 

λανθάνω ~ λήσω ~ ἔλαθον: escape notice; forget 

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

Θυμοῦ κράτει.

Μανθάνων μὴ κάμνε.

Σαοὺλ Σαούλ, τί με διώκεις;

Πᾶν τὸ ἐρχόμενον ματαιότης.

Ὁ ἄδικος οὐ λανθάνει τοὺς θεούς.

And now, some commentary:

Θυμοῦ κράτει.

Master your emotions.

The Greek word θυμός covers a whole range of emotions, as you can see in the LSJ dictionary entry, so I just opted for "emotions" as the translation, even though it is singular in Greek; another translation could be: "Control your anger."  The verb κρατέω takes a genitive complement: θυμοῦ. The verb is formed from the noun κράτος, meaning "strength, power," etc., and you can see that same root in the -cracy words in English like democracy, aristocracy, bureaucracy, etc.

Μανθάνων μὴ κάμνε.

Don't get tired of learning.

The negative μή is used moods other than the indicative, which means the imperative as here, the subjunctive, etc. Literally, "as you are learning (participle), don't get tired (imperative)." The root of the verb μανθάνω is μαθ- as in English words like polymath and mathematics.

Σαοὺλ Σαούλ, τί με διώκεις;

Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?

This is from the famous "road to Damascus" moment in the Biblical Book of Acts when Saul (later Paul) has a vision of Jesus in which Jesus rebukes him with these words; the King James version reads "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?" You can find out more about this famous Biblical scene at Wikipedia: Conversion of Paul. The Greek verb διώκω can means simply "chase" or "pursue," but it also has a legal meaning of "prosecute" or "persecute," which is the meaning in this context.

Πᾶν τὸ ἐρχόμενον ματαιότης.

Everything that is to come is foolishness.

This is from the Biblical Book of Ecclesiastes. I've personally been feeling the special relevance of this one lately! King James reads "all that cometh is vanity," but "vanity" here does not mean vain self-regard; instead, it means emptiness, pointlessness. The Greek root word μάτη means "folly, foolishness," and the adjective μάταιος means "foolish, pointless," hence ματαιότης is "foolishness, pointlessness."

Ὁ ἄδικος οὐ λανθάνει τοὺς θεούς.

The unjust person does not escape the gods.

The word ἄδικος is an alpha-privative, ἄ-δικος. The word "escape" here means to "escape the notice of," i.e. the gods see the person who is unjust; he cannot escape their judgment.

Conversion of Saul
(the gold letters in Latin read: Saule, Saule, quid me persequeris?)

And here's a random proverb too:

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