Tuesday, February 25, 2025

Greek Reading: Fables 26

Today's fables are from Potts and Darnell's Aditus Faciliores Graeci and from Colton's Greek Reader, both of which have notes for the stories and a vocabulary in the back and are available at the Internet Archive. The joke is from Rushbrooke's First Greek Reader, also at the Internet Archive, and with a dictionary in the back.

So, here are the stories in Greek, then segmented, and then interwoven with English. The titles are linked to the Internet Archive page.



Ἐργάτης τίς ποτε ὑπ' ἀγνοίας ἐγγὺς φρέατος ἐκάθευδεν. ἡ δὲ Τύχη αὐτῷ ἐπιστᾶσα εἶπεν, οὗτος, ἐξεγείρου. οὐ θέλω σε ἐς τὸ φρέαρ πεσεῖν. ἐγὼ γὰρ κακῶς ἀκούω καὶ κακὴν φήμην λαμβάνω, ὅποτάν τις τῇ ἑαυτοῦ ἀγνοίᾳ καὶ αἰτίᾳ δυστυχῇ ἢ πταίῃ.

Ἐργάτης τίς ποτε 
ὑπ' ἀγνοίας 
ἐγγὺς φρέατος ἐκάθευδεν. 
ἡ δὲ Τύχη αὐτῷ ἐπιστᾶσα εἶπεν, 
οὗτος, ἐξεγείρου. 
οὐ θέλω σε ἐς τὸ φρέαρ πεσεῖν. 
ἐγὼ γὰρ κακῶς ἀκούω 
καὶ κακὴν φήμην λαμβάνω, 
ὅποτάν τις 
τῇ ἑαυτοῦ ἀγνοίᾳ καὶ αἰτίᾳ 
δυστυχῇ ἢ πταίῃ.

Ἐργάτης τίς ποτε  ... A workman once 
ὑπ' ἀγνοίας  ... through ignorance 
ἐγγὺς φρέατος ἐκάθευδεν  ... fell asleep by a well. 
ἡ δὲ Τύχη  ... The goddess Tyche (Fortune, Luck) 
αὐτῷ ἐπιστᾶσα εἶπεν  ... stood over him and said, 
οὗτος, ἐξεγείρου  ... Hey you, get up! 
οὐ θέλω σε πεσεῖν  ... I don't want you to fall
ἐς τὸ φρέαρ  ... into the well. 
ἐγὼ γὰρ κακῶς ἀκούω  ... I hear bad (things said of me)
καὶ κακὴν φήμην λαμβάνω  ... and I get a bad report
ὅποτάν τις  ... whenever someone
τῇ ἑαυτοῦ ἀγνοίᾳ ... through his own ignorance 
καὶ αἰτίᾳ  ... and fault
δυστυχῇ ἢ πταίῃ  ...  suffers misfortune or stumbles.



Ὄρνιθά τις πάνυ καλλίστην εἶχεν, ἥτις ἔτικτεν ἀεὶ χρυσᾶ ὠά. Ὁ δὲ νομίσας ἔνδον χρυσὸν ὑπάρχειν, σφάξας παρευθὺς, εὗρεν αὐτὴν ὥσπερ καὶ αἱ λοιπαὶ τυγχάνουσιν ὄρνιθες. Καὶ πλοῦτον εὑρηκέναι νομίσας, ἀπεστερήθη καὶ τοῦ μικροῦ τούτου κέρδους. 

Ὄρνιθά τις πάνυ καλλίστην εἶχεν, 
ἥτις ἔτικτεν ἀεὶ χρυσᾶ ὠά. 
Ὁ δὲ νομίσας 
ἔνδον χρυσὸν ὑπάρχειν, 
σφάξας παρευθὺς, 
εὗρεν αὐτὴν 
ὥσπερ καὶ αἱ λοιπαὶ τυγχάνουσιν ὄρνιθες. 
Καὶ πλοῦτον εὑρηκέναι νομίσας, 
ἀπεστερήθη καὶ τοῦ μικροῦ τούτου κέρδους. 

τις εἶχεν  ...  a certain man had
ὄρνιθα πάνυ καλλίστην  ...  a most beautiful bird
ἥτις ἔτικτεν ἀεὶ  ...  who always laid 
χρυσᾶ ὠά  ...  golden eggs. 
Ὁ δὲ νομίσας  ...  But he got the idea 
ἔνδον χρυσὸν ὑπάρχειν  ...  that there was gold inside, 
σφάξας παρευθὺς  ...  so he promptly killed (the bird), 
εὗρεν αὐτὴν  ...  and found her
ὥσπερ καὶ αἱ λοιπαὶ ὄρνιθες  ...  just like the other birds 
τυγχάνουσιν  ...  happened to be. 
Καὶ νομίσας  ...  And having thought
πλοῦτον εὑρηκέναι  ...  he would find wealth, 
ἀπεστερήθη  ...  he was deprived 
καὶ τοῦ μικροῦ τούτου κέρδους  ...  of that little profit. 

(although golden eggs sound like more than a little profit!)


Οὐκ ἔγνως ἐκεῖνον, ᾧ ὁ ἑταῖρος ἀποδημῶν ἔγραψεν ἵνα βιβλία ἀγοράσῃ; ὁ δὲ ἀμελήσας, ἐπανελθόντι αὐτῷ ἀπαντήσας· Τὴν περὶ τῶν βιβλίων ἐπιστολὴν, ἔφη, ἣν ἀπέστειλας, οὐκ ἐδεξάμην.

Οὐκ ἔγνως ἐκεῖνον, 
ᾧ ὁ ἑταῖρος ἀποδημῶν 
ἔγραψεν 
ἵνα βιβλία ἀγοράσῃ; 
ὁ δὲ ἀμελήσας, 
ἐπανελθόντι αὐτῷ ἀπαντήσας· 
Τὴν περὶ τῶν βιβλίων ἐπιστολὴν, 
ἔφη, 
ἣν ἀπέστειλας, 
οὐκ ἐδεξάμην.

Οὐκ ἔγνως ἐκεῖνον;  ... Don't you know that (dunce):
ὁ ἑταῖρος ἀποδημῶν  ...  his friend, while away from home,
ᾧ ἔγραψεν  ... wrote to him 
ἵνα βιβλία ἀγοράσῃ   ... to buy (some) books.
ὁ δὲ ἀμελήσας  ... But he forgot, 
αὐτῷ ἀπαντήσας  ... and when he ran into his friend 
ἐπανελθόντι  ... who had come back home, 
ἔφη  ... he said,
Τὴν ἐπιστολὴν  ... That letter
περὶ τῶν βιβλίων  ... about the books
ἣν ἀπέστειλας  ...  which you sent me —
οὐκ ἐδεξάμην  ... I didn't receive it!

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




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