Aesopic Proverbs: October 11

Here are today's Aesopic proverbs; it's Group 196. Click on the word to learn more at Logeion:

ἐάν (conj.):   if, if perhaps 

ἐσθίω ~ φάγομαι ~ ἔφαγον (verb): eat, devour 

Ἑρμῆς ~ Ἑρμοῦ (noun m.):  Hermes 

βάλλω ~ βαλέω ~ ἔβαλον (verb): throw, cast 

οὐδαμῶς (adverb): in no way 

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

Κοχλίας, ἐὰν ὀπτηθῇ, τρύζει.

Φαγέτω με λέων καὶ μὴ ἀλωπηξ.

Ζητῶν Ἑρμῆν γλύψαι, Κέρκωπα ἐγλυψα.

῾Ο πέπερι ἔχων καὶ εἰς φακὸν βάλλει.

῎Οφις τὸ δέρμα ἀποδύεται, τὴν γνώμην δὲ οὐδαμῶς.

And now, some commentary:

Κοχλίας, ἐὰν ὀπτηθῇ, τρύζει.

A snail, if roasted, mutters.

The idea is that snails are normally unprotesting creatures who never make a sound, but in extreme circumstances they will mutter in protest. So too with a human being who is normally unprotesting: if you push them hard enough, they will eventually complain. Compare the Aesop's fable where a boy mocks the snails as he cooks them.

Φαγέτω με λέων καὶ μὴ ἀλωπηξ.

Let a lion eat me, and not a fox.

Lions and foxes are two of the most prominent characters in Aesop's fables. The idea here is that it would be better to fall victim to a valiant opponent (the lion) as opposed to being tricked by somone sneaky (the fox). The form φαγέτω is a third-person aorist imperative.

Ζητῶν Ἑρμῆν γλύψαι, Κέρκωπα ἐγλυψα.

Seeking to carve a Hermes, I carved a Kerkops.

The Kercopes were mythological mischief-makers; you can read about their antics at Wikipedia: Cercopes. The Cercopes were also associated with monkeys (Ovid tells the story of Zeus turning the Cercopes into monkeys), which is probably the idea here: instead of a god, I ended up with a monkey.

῾Ο πέπερι ἔχων καὶ εἰς φακὸν βάλλει.

Someone who has pepper can put it on his lentils.

Pepper was a rarity, not something you would squander on a food as common as lentils. For another lentil saying in the Aesopic proverbs, see the previous post: Κἂν εὐτυχήσας τῆς φακῆς μνημόνευε.

῎Οφις τὸ δέρμα ἀποδύεται, τὴν γνώμην δὲ οὐδαμῶς.

A snake sheds its skin, but its disposition not at all.

In Greek, there is a special word for the snake's shed skin, λεβηρίς, and you saw that word in an earlier post: Κενότερος λεβηρίδος.

Tempesta's illustration of Ovid's Metamorphoses:
Zeus turning the Cercopes into monkeys

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

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