ἀμύνω ~ ἀμυνῶ ~ ἤμυνα: ward off, defend against
ὀφείλω ~ ὀφειλήσω ~ ὠφείλησα: owe, be obliged
κάθημαι ~ καθήσομαι ~ καθεζόμην: be seated, sit
εἰμί ~ ἔσομαι (no aorist be): exist
θέλω ~ θελήσω ~ ἐθέλησα: be willing, wish
Ὕβριν ἀμύνου.
Βροτοῖς ἅπασι κατθανεῖν ὀφείλεται.
Ὄνοι δ` ἀπωτέρω κάθηνται τῆς λύρας.
Ἀνελεύθεροι γάρ εἰσιν οἱ φιλάργυροι.
Θεοῦ θέλοντος, κἂν ἐπὶ ῥιπὸς πλέοις.
And now, some commentary:
Ὕβριν ἀμύνου.
Defend yourself against hubris.
This is one of those Delphic maxims preserved in Stobaeus. The verb ἀμύνου is one of those sneaky middle imperatives (from ἀμύνω), and yes, it takes an accusative: ὕβριν, which I left untranslated. You can read about the many meaning of Greek ὕβρις at Logeion.
Βροτοῖς ἅπασι κατθανεῖν ὀφείλεται.
All mortals are obliged to die away.
The line appears in Euripides' Alcestis, spoken by Heracles, who has arrived at Admetus's house while he is in mourning for Alcestis. You can find out more about the play at Wikipedia: Alcestis (play).
So, that's means it's iambic:
Βροτοῖς | ἅπα||σι κατ|θανεῖν || ὀφεί|λεται.
Ὄνοι δ` ἀπωτέρω κάθηνται τῆς λύρας.
The donkeys sit far from the lyre.
This is yet another one of those proverbs about donkeys as failed musicians / appreciators of music. This one is found in Cratinus, the Athenian comic playwright whose work, alas, has survived only in fragments, although in his time he was as famous as Aristophanes; more at Wikipedia: Cratinus.
It's iambic:
Ὄνοι | δ` ἀπω||τέρω | κάθην||ται τῆς | λύρας.
Other donkeys and lyres from previous posts:
Ὄνος λύρας ἀκούων κινεῖ τὰ ὦτα.
The donkey listening to the lyre moves his ears.
Τί γὰρ κοινὸν λύρᾳ καὶ ὄνῳ;
What does a donkey have in common with a lyre?
Παρ᾿ ὄνῳ λυρίζεις.
You're making music for a donkey.
Ὄνος λύρας ἢκουε καὶ σάλπιγγος ὗς.
The donkey listened to the lyre, and the pig to the trumpet.
Ἀνελεύθεροι γάρ εἰσιν οἱ φιλάργυροι.
Men who love money are not free.
The word ἀνελεύθεροι is one of those alpha-privatives (the nun is inserted before the following vowel): ἀν-ελεύθεροι, not-free, i.e. slaves. The adjective φιλάργυροι is a cool compound: lovers-of-silver, i.e. lovers of money. This is one of the monostichs from Menander (New Comedy now, not Old), so that means it's iambic:
Ἀνελεύ|θεροι || γάρ εἰ|σιν οἱ || φιλάρ|γυροι.
Θεοῦ θέλοντος, κἂν ἐπὶ ῥιπὸς πλέοις.
If God is willing, you can even sail on a wicker mat.
This proverb is preserved for us by Plutarch, and it was also part of Euripides' Thyestes, which has survived only in fragments. And yes, it's the day of iambic proverbs apparently:
Θεοῦ | θέλον||τος, κἂν | ἐπὶ || ῥιπὸς | πλέοις.
And here's a random proverb and a random LOLCat too :
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