Greek Vocabulary Challenge: Jan. 18

Here are today's vocabulary words; it's Group 136. Click on the word to learn more at Logeion:

φιλόσοφος ~ φιλοσόφου (adj. m/f.): lover of wisdom 

πλούσιος ~ πλουσίου (adj. masc.): wealthy, rich 

μόνος ~ μόνου (adj. masc.): alone, only 

ἰσχυρόν ~ ἰσχυροῦ (adj. neut.): strong, violent 

κρείσσων ~ κρείσσονος (adj. fem.): stronger, better 

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

Φιλόσοφος γίνου.

Ἀεὶ γεωργὸς εἰς νέωτα πλούσιος.

Τοῦτ' ἐστὶ τὸ ζῆν μὴ σεαυτῷ ζῆν μόνῳ.

Ἰσχυρὸν ὄχλος ἐστίν, οὐκ ἔχει δὲ νοῦν.

Γνώμη δὲ κρείσσων ἐστίν ἢ ῥώμη χερῶν.

And now, some commentary:

Φιλόσοφος γίνου.

Be a lover of wisdom.

This is another of the maxims of the Seven Sages recorded by Stobaeus; for more, see Wikipedia: Delphic maxims. Like many compound adjectives, there is not a distinctive feminine form; φιλόσοφος is both masculine and feminine, depending on context. It is often used substantively as a noun, which is the origin of our "philosopher" in English.

Ἀεὶ γεωργὸς εἰς νέωτα πλούσιος.

The farmer is always rich next year.

As Erasmus explains, this saying can refer literally to farmers, but it can also apply to all kinds of speculators who put their hopes in a future harvest, literal or metaphorical.  The adjective πλούσιος is from the noun πλοῦτος, "wealth," and Πλοῦτος was also a god. You can find out more at Wikipedia: Plutus.

Τοῦτ' ἐστὶ τὸ ζῆν μὴ σεαυτῷ ζῆν μόνῳ.

This is what living is: not living for oneself alone.

This is one of the monostichs of Menander, and so it is in iambic verse:

Τοῦτ' ἐσ-τὶ τὸ || ζῆν μὴ σεαυ||τῷ ζῆν μόνῳ.

Ἰσχυρὸν ὄχλος ἐστίν, οὐκ ἔχει δὲ νοῦν.

The crowd is powerful, but it doesn't have a mind.

And this is another one of Menander's monostichs in iambic verse:

Ἰσχυ-ρὸν ὄχ||λος ἐσ-τίν, οὐκ || ἔχει δὲ νοῦν.

Γνώμη δὲ κρείσσων ἐστίν ἢ ῥώμη χερῶν.

Thought is stronger than the power of hands.

This is a fragment of the tragic poet Agathon; his plays are lost, only a few titles and fragments having survived, but Agathon appears as a character in the writings of both Plato and Aristophanes. You can find out more at Wikipedia: Agathon. Here he appears in a painting that depicts Plato's Symposium, greeting Alcibiades:

And here's a random proverb and a random LOLCat too :

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