χείρ ~ χειρὸς (noun f.): hand
γράμμα ~ γράμματος (noun n.): letter, writing
νεκρός ~ νεκροῦ (noun m.): corpse, dead man
πῦρ ~ πυρός (noun n.): fire
βασιλεύς ~ βασιλέως (noun m.): king, chief
Λημνίᾳ χειρί
Ἐφέσια γράμματα.
Μὴ νεκρῶν θήκας κίνει.
Μαχαίρᾳ μὴ πῦρ σκαλεύειν.
Εἷς κοίρανος ἔστω, εἷς βασιλεύς.
And now, some commentary:
Λημνίᾳ χειρί
By the hand of Lemnos.
This is a mythological proverb, alluding to the outrageous crime committed by the women of Lemnos when they murdered all the men on the island of Lemnos (the one exception was Hypsipyle, who saved her father Thoas). Supposedly this was because the men were refusing to have sex with them (at least, that's what the male sources say!). So, by extension, the saying applies to any kind of extreme criminality. You can read more about the women of Lemnos at Wikipedia: The Lemnian Crime.
Ἐφέσια γράμματα.
Ephesian letters.
This refers to meaningless words with magical power that were inscribed on the famous statue of Artemis at Ephesus. The words in and of themselves were "senseless" (ἄσημα ὀνόματα), but they supposedly offered supernatural protection to the person who could pronounce them correctly. You can find out more at Wikipedia: Ephesia Grammata. Compare the English phrase "mumbo jumbo" and other "gibberish."
Μὴ νεκρῶν θήκας κίνει.
Do not disturb the graves of the dead.
This is a saying found in Theophrastus, and it can be applied metaphorically to anything that is "dead and buried" and is best left undisturbed. Don't go digging it up again! Note the accentuation on κίνει, which alerts you that it is the imperative, along with μὴ as a clue that you are not dealing with an indicative verb (κινεῖ would be the 3rd-person indicative).
Μαχαίρᾳ μὴ πῦρ σκαλεύειν.
Don't poke the fire with a knife.
This is one of the so-called Pythagorean sayings recorded by Diogenes Laertius, and it means you should not provoke (poke with a sword) a person who is already angry (fire). This time you see μὴ used with the infinitive to express a general prohibition.
Εἷς κοίρανος ἔστω, εἷς βασιλεύς.
Let there be one leader, one king.
The words are from Homer's Iliad. The words are spoken by Odysseus as he rebukes a common soldier's protest who is unhappy with Agamemnon: οὐκ ἀγαθὸν πολυκοιρανίη: εἷς κοίρανος ἔστω, εἷς βασιλεύς: "Rule-by-many is not a good thing: let there be one leader, one king."
And here's a random proverb and a random LOLCat too:
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