Greek Vocabulary Challenge: Feb. 27

Here are today's vocabulary words; it's Group 147. You may have seen these proverbs if you've been here for a while, but the vocabulary focus is new. Click on the word to learn more at Logeion:

ἀλλά (conj.): but 

ἐπὶ (prep.+acc.): on, upon 

ἥτις ~ ἧστινος (pronoun): whoever, whatever 

ἄγαν (adverb): very much, too much 

κακῶς (adverb): badly 

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

Ἕνα ἀλλὰ λέοντα.

Ἐπ' ἀμφότερα καθεύδεις τὰ ὦτα.

῾Ηδονὴν φεῦγε, ἥτις λύπην τίκτει. 

Μηδὲν ἄγαν, καιρῷ πάντα πρόσεστι καλά.

Οὐ χρείαν ἔχουσιν οἱ ἰσχύοντες ἰατροῦ ἀλλ᾽ οἱ κακῶς ἔχοντες.

And now, some commentary:

Ἕνα ἀλλὰ λέοντα.

One, but a lion.

This is the punchline to an Aesop's fable: when the fox rebukes the lioness for having only one cub, this is the lioness's reply. That's why the words are in the accusative: "(I have only) one (cub), but (he is) a lion." In other words, all the offspring of the fox could never equal a single lion. Here are some English versions of the Aesop's fable, and this was one of the first Greek fables I shared here: Λέαινα καὶ ἀλώπηξ.

Ἐπ' ἀμφότερα καθεύδεις τὰ ὦτα.

You're sleeping on both ears.

This means to be sleeping deeply; compare the English saying "to sleep like a log." The idea is that you are in such a comfortable and secure situation that you don't need to keep an ear open for danger while you sleep. Greek ἐπὶ shows up in many English words such as "epidermis" and "epidemic."

῾Ηδονὴν φεῦγε, ἥτις λύπην τίκτει. 

Flee any pleasure which produces grief.

This is a saying attributed to Solon. The pronoun ἥτις gives the sense of "whichever, whoever," so that's why I said "any pleasure" in the translation, shifting that sense of "whatever" to the noun instead of the pronoun. From Greek ἡδονή we get English "hedonism."

Μηδὲν ἄγαν, καιρῷ πάντα πρόσεστι καλά.

Nothing in excess; all things are good in the right measure.

Diogenes Laertius attributes these words to Chilon of Sparta; you can find out more about Chilon at Wikipedia; like Solon, Chilon was considered to be one of the Seven Sages of ancient Greece. You can also find this saying shortened to simply: Μηδὲν ἄγαν. The μη in μηδὲν gives it the sense of an imperative, as μη is the negating word for non-indicative moods: (do) nothing in excess.

Οὐ χρείαν ἔχουσιν οἱ ἰσχύοντες ἰατροῦ ἀλλ᾽ οἱ κακῶς ἔχοντες.

Those who are strong have no need of a doctor but those who are not well (do need a doctor).

The words are spoken by Jesus in the Gospel of Mark in response to those who rebuke him for associating with sinners and other low-lifes. He explains the metaphorical application in the second half of the verse: οὐκ ἦλθον καλέσαι δικαίους ἀλλὰ ἁμαρτωλούς, "I have come to call not those who are righteous, but whose who have done wrong." The saying also appears in the Gospel of Matthew, and in a slightly different form in Luke: οὐ χρείαν ἔχουσιν οἱ ὑγιαίνοντες ἰατροῦ ἀλλὰ οἱ κακῶς ἔχοντες.

The Lioness and the Fox

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

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