παρά (prep.+acc.): beside, near, by
ἄρτι (adverb): just now
μέν (particle): on the one hand... (but we all know particles are really untranslatable, right?)
σήμερον (adverb): today
πάλιν (adverb): back, again
Κολοιὸς παρὰ κολοιόν.
Ἄρτι μῦς πίττης γεύεται.
Πάταξον μέν, ἄκουσον δέ.
Ἐμοὶ ἐχθὲς καί σοὶ σήμερον.
Ἀνδρὸς δὲ ψυχὴ πάλιν ἐλθεῖν οὔτε λεϊστὴ οὔθ᾽ ἑλετή.
And now, some commentary:
Κολοιὸς παρὰ κολοιόν.
Jackdaw (sits) next to jackdaw.
Compare the English saying, "Birds of a feather flock together." The LSJ entry for κολοιός cites this proverb, along with several other sayings about jackdaws.
Ἄρτι μῦς πίττης γεύεται.
The mouse has just now had a taste of the pitch.
The verb γεύεται takes a genitive complement: πίττης. The saying is used by Demosthenes, and it alludes to a mousetrap in which the mouse is lured and trapped in sticky pitch. In other words: someone has just made a fatal mistake, one from which they cannot escape. The proverb appears in the LSJ entry for μῦς.
Πάταξον μέν, ἄκουσον δέ.
Hit me, but listen!
The words are from Plutarch's Life of Themistocles. The situation is that Eurybiades is about to hit Themistocles with his staff while they are arguing about whether the navy should retreat or stay to fight the Persians; Themistocles wins the argument. You can read about the career of Themistocles at Wikipedia, and you can also read about Eurybiades.
Ἐμοὶ ἐχθὲς καί σοὶ σήμερον.
Yesterday (it came) for me, and today for you.
The saying comes from the Biblical Book of Sirach, and the "it" implied here is death, as if the dead were speaking to the living: death came for me already, and it is coming for you today. You can also find the saying in Latin, Mihi heri, et tibi hodie ("For me yesterday, and for you today"), and this Latin variation was a common funerary inscription: Hodie mihi, cras tibi ("For me today, for you tomorrow").
Ἀνδρὸς δὲ ψυχὴ πάλιν ἐλθεῖν οὔτε λεϊστὴ οὔθ᾽ ἑλετή.
The soul of a man cannot return again either by snatching or grabbing.
The words are from Homer's Iliad; Achilles is reflecting on his own mortality. For thoughts about "οὔτε λεϊστὴ οὔθ᾽ ἑλετή," see Gregory Nagy's essay on The Hesiodic Suitors of Helen. Even better: you can hear Nagy reading this passage in Greek here: Homer, Iliad 9.307–429 (this verse is at 8:39 in the recording).
And here's a random proverb too:
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