Daily Greek Vocabulary Challenge: Dec. 11

Here are today's vocabulary words; it's Group 123. Click on the word to learn more at Logeion:

ἀγαθός ~ ἀγαθοῦ (adj. masc.): good 

μηδείς ~ μηδενός (adj. masc.): no one, nobody 

ἀφανές ~ ἀφανοῦς (adj. neut.): invisible, unseen 

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

ἕκαστον ~ ἑκάστου (adj. neut.): each, all 

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

Ἀγαθοὺς τίμα.

Φθόνει μηδενί.

Τὰ ἀφανῆ τοῖς φανεροῖς τεκμαίρου.

Ὑφ' ἡδονῆς ὁ φρόνιμος οὐχ ἁλίσκεται.

Ἕκαστον γὰρ δένδρον ἐκ τοῦ ἰδίου καρποῦ γινώσκεται.

And now, some commentary:

Ἀγαθοὺς τίμα.

Honor good (men).

This is one of the sayings attributed by Stobaeus to the Seven Sages; more at Wikipedia: Delphic maxims. From the root in Greek ἀγαθ- we get the English name Agatha. 

Φθόνει μηδενί.

Envy no one.

Note the use of μηδείς with the imperative φθόνει, corresponding to the use of οὐδείς in the indicative. The verb φθονέω takes a dative complement, μηδενί. The verb This is another one of the Delphic maxims.

Τὰ ἀφανῆ τοῖς φανεροῖς τεκμαίρου.

Infer unseen things by means of visible things.

The word τεκμαίρου is a middle imperative, and it takes a direct object: ἀφανῆ, the neuter plural of ἀφανές, an alpha-privative adjective (ἀ-φανές). This is one of the sayings attributed to Solon; you can read more about Solon at Wikipedia.

Ὑφ' ἡδονῆς ὁ φρόνιμος οὐχ ἁλίσκεται.

The wise man is not ensnared by pleasure.

This is one of the one-liners (monostichs) of Menander. The word ὑπό loses its vowel before the following vowel, and the aspiration of ἡδονῆς turns the pi to a phi: ὑφ' ἡδονῆς. Likewise the οὐ becomes οὐκ before the following vowel, and the aspiration of ἁλίσκεται changes the kappa to a chi: οὐχ ἁλίσκεται.

Ἕκαστον γὰρ δένδρον ἐκ τοῦ ἰδίου καρποῦ γινώσκεται.

Each tree is known by its own fruit.

The words come from the Gospel of Luke. You can find out more about this part of Luke at Wikipedia: Sermon on the Plain. In addition, this saying has an article of its own at Wikipedia: The Tree and its Fruits.

Solon in an Islamic miniature (13th century)

And here's a random proverb too:

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