Ὄνος ἄγει _____.
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Ὄνος ἄγει μυστήρια.Εἰς _____ γράφειν.
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Εἰς τέφραν γράφειν._____ κνήμης ἔγγιον.
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Γόνυ κνήμης ἔγγιον.Ἐξ _____ παρακύψεως,
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Ἐξ ὄνου παρακύψεως,Ἢ μύρμηξ ἢ _____.
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Ἢ μύρμηξ ἢ κάμηλος.Ὄνος ἄγει μυστήρια.
A donkey carries the holy things.
This joking proverb becomes a fable in Aesop: when the people along the way bow down to worship the religious procession, the donkey thinks they are worshiping him... until the donkey-driver corrects him with the whip.
Εἰς τέφραν γράφειν.
To write in the ashes.
This means to do something that will not last. You need to write in stone if you want something to last, not in ashes which will soon blow away. Compare a similar saying: εἰς ὕδωρ γράφειν, "to write in the water." From the same Greek verb γράφειν comes the Greek noun γράμμα, plus all the English "graph" words.
Γόνυ κνήμης ἔγγιον.
The knee is closer than the shin.
As Erasmus explains, this saying refers to situations where there is a close allegiance — for example, a cousin — but an allegiance even closer: your brother. Forced to choose, you would choose to help your brother over cousin, just as the knee is closer (to your heart) than your shin. It can also be used to refer to self-interest. The proverbial saying appears in Aristotle and in Athenaeus. Greek γόνυ is cognate with English knee.
Ἐξ ὄνου παρακύψεως.
Because of a donkey's peeking.
This is a proverb about how a tiny action can lead to disastrous consequences, and it can also be used to refer to a frivolous lawsuit. The proverb is based on a story about a donkey who out of curiosity stuck his nose into the window of a shop; this scared some birds in the shop, and, in their frenzy, the birds then broke all the clay pots in the shop. The owner of the shop then took the donkey's owner to court on a charge of "the donkey's peeping."
Ἤ μύρμηξ ἢ κάμηλος.
Either an ant or a camel.
This proverbial expression was used to refer to two things that are different in every way (size, shape, habits, etc.). The saying appears in Lucian's Saturnalia, where Lucian indicates it is a proverb: μύρμηξ ἢ κάμηλος, ὡς ἡ παροιμία φησί, "as the proverb says." Compare the English saying "apples and oranges," although apples and oranges certainly seem more similar than ants and camels! You can find out more at Wikipedia: Apples and Oranges which features similar sayings from many cultures.
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Ὄνος ἄγει μυστήρια.Εἰς _____ γράφειν.
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Εἰς τέφραν γράφειν._____ κνήμης ἔγγιον.
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Γόνυ κνήμης ἔγγιον.Ἐξ _____ παρακύψεως,
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Ἐξ ὄνου παρακύψεως,Ἢ μύρμηξ ἢ _____.
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Ἢ μύρμηξ ἢ κάμηλος.
And to finish up, here's a random proverb and a random LOLCat too:
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