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).
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).
And here's a random proverb too:
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