Ἔχει καὶ ἡ ______ σπλῆνα.
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Ἔχει καὶ ἡ μυῖα σπλῆνα.______ παῖδες οἱ γέροντες.
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Δὶς παῖδες οἱ γέροντες.Ἀρχὴ σοφίας ______ θεοῦ.
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Ἀρχὴ σοφίας φόβος θεοῦ.Ἀξία ἡ ______ τοῦ θρόνου.
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Ἀξία ἡ κύων τοῦ θρόνου.______ μῦν οὐχ ἁλίσκει.
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Ἐλέφας μῦν οὐχ ἁλίσκει.Ἔχει καὶ ἡ μυῖα σπλῆνα.
Even the fly has its spleen.
The idea is that even though it is little, the fly can have a big temper. The spleen was the home of angry emotions; compare English "splenetic," meaning irritable, peevish, spiteful, habitually angry. Compare also a similar saying about the tiny ant that you saw in a previous post: Ἔχει καὶ χολὴν ὁ μύρμηξ.
Δὶς παῖδες οἱ γέροντες.
Old men are twice children.
The idea is that as people become old, they become like children again, not understanding the things happening around them, no longer in control, etc. The saying appears in Aristophanes's The Clouds. You can see the Greek γέρων in English gerontology, and it is related to the noun γῆρας, "old age," which you have seen in other proverbs previously: Γῆρας διδάσκει πάντα and Τιθωνοῦ γῆρας.
Ἀρχὴ σοφίας φόβος θεοῦ.
The beginning of wisdom is the fear of God.
The saying comes from the Biblical Book of Proverbs. The Greek word ἀρχὴ has a wide range of meaning: it can mean first in terms of time (as in English "archaic") and it can also refer to first in status, hence authority, command, etc. (as in English words like archangel and other arch- words).
Ἀξία ἡ κύων τοῦ θρόνου.
A dog worthy of a throne!
This is a mocking, ironical saying, as the Greeks did not hold dogs in high regard. A dog does not deserve any kind of throne, so this saying applies to a situation when someone has been elevated to a position of honor that they do not deserve. From the Greek root in ἄξιος we get the English word axiom.
Ἐλέφας μῦν οὐχ ἁλίσκει.
An elephant doesn't catch a mouse.
In other words: don't sweat the small stuff. If you are an elephant, the mouse is not worth your time and attention! This saying made its way into Erasmus's Adagia. A variation: Ἐλέφας μῦν οὐκ ἀλεγίζει, "An elephant doesn't trouble himself about a mouse."
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Ἔχει καὶ ἡ μυῖα σπλῆνα.______ παῖδες οἱ γέροντες.
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Δὶς παῖδες οἱ γέροντες.Ἀρχὴ σοφίας ______ θεοῦ.
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Ἀρχὴ σοφίας φόβος θεοῦ.Ἀξία ἡ ______ τοῦ θρόνου.
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Ἀξία ἡ κύων τοῦ θρόνου.______ μῦν οὐχ ἁλίσκει.
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Ἐλέφας μῦν οὐχ ἁλίσκει.
And to finish up, here's a random proverb and a random LOLCat too:
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