Aesopic Proverbs: Oct. 25

Here are today's Aesopic proverbs; it's Group 202. Click on the word to learn more at Logeion:

ἵστημι ~ στήσω ~ ἔστην (verb): stand 

ἄνθρωπος ~ ἀνθρώπου (noun m.): person, human being

καλέω ~ καλέσω ~ ἐκάλεσα (verb): call 

φοβέω ~ φοβήσω ~ ἐφόβησα (verb): frighten, terrify 

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

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

Ὕδωρ ἱστάμενον ὄζει.

Πάντα ὁ ἄνθρωπος καὶ οὐδὲν ὁ ἄνθρωπος.

βέλτιον ὁψιμαθῆ μᾶλλον ἢ ἀμαθῆ σε καλεῖσθαι.

Ὁ δηχθεὶς ὑπὸ ὄφεως καὶ τὸ σχοινίον φοβεῖται.

Κύων ἀναπεσὼν εἰς φάτνην αὐτός τε οὐκ ἐσθίει τῷ τε ὄνῳ ἐμποδίζει.

And now, some commentary:

Ὕδωρ ἱστάμενον ὄζει.

Standing water stinks.

This is literally true, and metaphorically it refers to something "stagnant" (a person, a situation) that gets worse and worse as time goes by. The English word "stagnant" can be used in the same way, literally or metaphorically.

Πάντα ὁ ἄνθρωπος καὶ οὐδὲν ὁ ἄνθρωπος.

A person is everything and a person is nothing.

This is a typically paradoxical Aesopic proverb: the statements contradict one another, but they are nevertheless both true, depending on the context. For example, consider the way that people live as if they were going to live forever, but in fact at any moment they might die, bringing their life to a sudden nothing.

βέλτιον ὁψιμαθῆ μᾶλλον ἢ ἀμαθῆ σε καλεῖσθαι.

It is better for you to be called a late-learner than to be called ignorant.

I like this "better late than never" saying that is specifically about learning, especially in the Greek with the parallel words: being a late learner, ὀψι-μαθής, as opposed to ἀ-μαθής, without learning.

Ὁ δηχθεὶς ὑπὸ ὄφεως καὶ τὸ σχοινίον φοβεῖται.

Someone bitten by a snake fears even a rope.

This type of saying is found in many different cultures with many different dangerous/harmless items. An English version is "Scalded cats fear even cold water." I recently learned a Japanese one too: 呉牛月に喘ぐ, gogyū tsuki-ni aegu, "The water buffalo pants at the moon" i.e. as if it were hot as the sun. (I've been learning Japanese via haiku and proverbs; there are many fabulous Japanese proverbs of course!)

Κύων ἀναπεσὼν εἰς φάτνην αὐτός τε οὐκ ἐσθίει τῷ τε ὄνῳ ἐμποδίζει.

The dog, having settled into the manger, does not eat but blocks the donkey.

This is the famous "dog in the manger" which entered into many European languages via the Latin Aesopic tradition, so it was fun to find it attested here in this Aesopic proverb, which is itself a kind of story in miniature. I don't think I've seen a version with a donkey before; I expect cattle, as in this illustration by Barlow:

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

---

---

---

Click here to subscribe/unsubscribe to the email list.

---