ψέγω ~ ψέξω ~ ἔψεξα (verb): blame, find fault
φθονέω ~ φθονήσομαι ~ ἐφθόνησα (verb): envy, be jealous
ἐργάζομαι ~ ἐργάσομαι ~ εἰργασάμην (verb): work at, make
πρέπω ~ πρέψω ~ πρέψω (verb): be fitting, appropriate
ψεύδω ~ ψεύσω ~ ἔψευσα (verb): lie, falsify
These are the proverbs (and there are always more proverbs at the blog):
Ψέγε μηδένα.
Φθόνει μηδενί.
Τὰ δειλὰ κέρδη πημονὰς ἐργάζεται.
Σιγᾶν ἄμεινον ἢ λαλεῖν ἃ μὴ πρέπει.
Πολλ' ἐλπίδες ψεύδουσι καὶ λόγοι βροτούς.
And now, some commentary:
Ψέγε μηδένα.
Blame no one.
This is one of the so-called Delphic maxims attributed to the Seven Sages by Stobaeus. The word μηδείς is a compound of μη and εἷς, no-one, parallel to οὐδείς. The οὐ form is used for indicative statements, while the μη form is used for imperatives (as here: ψέγε), subjunctives, etc.
Φθόνει μηδενί.
Envy no one.
Note again the use of μηδείς with the imperative φθόνει, corresponding to the use of οὐδείς in the indicative. The verb φθονέω takes a dative complement, μηδενί. This is another one of the Delphic maxims.
Τὰ δειλὰ κέρδη πημονὰς ἐργάζεται.
Vile profits cause calamities.
The words come from Sophocles' Antigone, at the end of Creon's tirade against the evils of money. Although Greek κέρδος came to mean "profit" or "gain," it originally meant "craft" or "skill" and it continued to have the meaning of "craftiness," especially in the negative sense of "wiles" or "mischief." See Logeion for more details.
Σιγᾶν ἄμεινον ἢ λαλεῖν ἃ μὴ πρέπει.
To be silent is better than to say things that are not appropriate.
The Greek infinitive, σιγᾶν, is a neuter noun, hence the neuter adjective, ἄμεινον (the masculine form is ἀμείνων). This is one of Menander's monostichs; here is the iambic meter marked:
Σιγᾶν ἄμει||νον ἢ λαλεῖν || ἃ μὴ πρέπει.
Πολλ' ἐλπίδες ψεύδουσι καὶ λόγοι βροτούς.
Hopes and words deceive mortal men in many ways.
The word πολλ' is πολλά, with the final vowel falling out before the following vowel (apocope).
This is a fragment from Euripides' Protesilaus. The meter is iambic:
Πολλ' ἐλ~πίδες || ψεύδου~σι καὶ || λόγοι ~ βροτούς.
And here's a random proverb and a random LOLCat too:
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