Greek Reading: Fables 15

Today's stories are from Turner's Easy Latin and Greek Passages, available at the Internet Archive. You can use the linked titles to access the book, and it occasionally has some notes on the individual stories.

Here are the stories, presented in Greek, segmented, and then interwoven with English.

Λέων καὶ βάτραχος

Λέων ἀκούσας ποτὲ βατράχου μέγα βοῶντος, πρὸς τὴν φωνὴν ἐπεστράφη, νομίζων μέγα τι ζῶον εἶναι· χρόνον δὲ μικρὸν προσμείνας, ὡς εἶδεν αὐτὸν προελθόντα ἐκ τῆς λίμνης, προσελθών αὐτὸν κατεπάτησεν.

Λέων 

ἀκούσας ποτὲ βατράχου 

μέγα βοῶντος, 

πρὸς τὴν φωνὴν ἐπεστράφη, 

νομίζων μέγα τι ζῶον εἶναι· 

χρόνον δὲ μικρὸν προσμείνας, 

ὡς εἶδεν αὐτὸν 

προελθόντα ἐκ τῆς λίμνης, 

προσελθών αὐτὸν κατεπάτησεν.

Λέων  ... A lion

ἀκούσας ποτὲ βατράχου  ... once heard a frog

μέγα βοῶντος  ... croaking loudly 

πρὸς τὴν φωνὴν ἐπεστράφη  ... and turned towards the sound, 

νομίζων μέγα τι ζῶον εἶναι  ... thinking it was some big animal — 

χρόνον δὲ μικρὸν προσμείνας  ... but waiting a short time, 

ὡς εἶδεν αὐτὸν  ... when he saw it (the frog) 

προελθόντα ἐκ τῆς λίμνης  ... approaching from out of the swamp, 

προσελθών αὐτὸν κατεπάτησεν  ... he approached and squashed it.

Lion and Frog

Λέων καὶ ὄνος καὶ ἀλώπηξ

Λέων καὶ ὄνος καὶ ἀλώπηξ, κοινωνίαν ποιησάμενοι, ἐξῆλθον πρὸς ἄγραν. πολλῆς οὖν θήρας συλληφθείσης, προσέταξεν ὁ λέων τῷ ὄνῳ διελεῖν αὐτοῖς· ὁ δὲ τρεῖς μερίδας ἴσας ποιησάμενος, ἐκλέξασθαι αὐτοὺς ἐκέλευε. καὶ ὁ λέων ὀργισθεὶς τὸν ὄνον κατέφαγεν· εἶτα τῇ ἀλώπεκι μερίζειν ἐκέλευσεν. ἡ δ' εἰς μίαν μερίδα πάντα σωρεύσασα, ἑαυτῇ μικρόν τι μέρος κατέλιπεν. καὶ ὁ λέων πρὸς αὐτὴν, Τίς σε, ὦ Βελτίστη, διαιρεῖν οὕτως ἐδίδαξεν· ἡ δ' εἶπε, Ἡ τοῦ ὄνου συμφορά.

Λέων καὶ ὄνος καὶ ἀλώπηξ, 

κοινωνίαν ποιησάμενοι, 

ἐξῆλθον πρὸς ἄγραν. 

πολλῆς οὖν θήρας συλληφθείσης, 

προσέταξεν ὁ λέων τῷ ὄνῳ 

διελεῖν αὐτοῖς· 

ὁ δὲ τρεῖς μερίδας ἴσας ποιησάμενος, 

ἐκλέξασθαι αὐτοὺς ἐκέλευε. 

καὶ ὁ λέων ὀργισθεὶς 

τὸν ὄνον κατέφαγεν· 

εἶτα τῇ ἀλώπεκι μερίζειν ἐκέλευσεν. 

ἡ δ' εἰς μίαν μερίδα πάντα σωρεύσασα, 

ἑαυτῇ μικρόν τι μέρος κατέλιπεν. 

καὶ ὁ λέων πρὸς αὐτὴν, 

Τίς σε, ὦ Βελτίστη, διαιρεῖν οὕτως ἐδίδαξεν·

ἡ δ' εἶπε, 

Ἡ τοῦ ὄνου συμφορά.

Λέων καὶ ὄνος καὶ ἀλώπηξ  ...  A lion, a donkey, and a fox, 

κοινωνίαν ποιησάμενοι  ...  having made a partnership, 

ἐξῆλθον πρὸς ἄγραν  ...  went out hunting. 

πολλῆς οὖν θήρας συλληφθείσης  ...  They caught much game,  

προσέταξεν ὁ λέων τῷ ὄνῳ  ...  and the lion ordered the donkey

διελεῖν αὐτοῖς  ...  to divide it up for them — 

ὁ δὲ τρεῖς μερίδας ἴσας ποιησάμενος  ...  he made 3 equal parts, 

ἐκλέξασθαι αὐτοὺς ἐκέλευε  ...  and ordered them to choose. 

καὶ ὁ λέων ὀργισθεὶς  ...  And the lion, who got angry,

τὸν ὄνον κατέφαγεν  ...  ate the donkey — 

εἶτα ἐκέλευσεν τῇ ἀλώπεκι  ...  then ordered the fox

μερίζειν  ... to make the division.

ἡ δ' πάντα σωρεύσασα  ...  she heaped it all up

εἰς μίαν μερίδα  ...  into one portion,

ἑαυτῇ μικρόν τι μέρος κατέλιπεν  ...  leaving a tiny bit for herself. 

καὶ ὁ λέων πρὸς αὐτὴν  ...  And the lion (said) to her, 

ὦ Βελτίστη, τίς σε ἐδίδαξεν  ...  My good fox, who taught you

διαιρεῖν οὕτως  ...  to divide this way? 

ἡ δ' εἶπε  ...  And she said, 

Ἡ τοῦ ὄνου συμφορά  ...  The misfortune of the donkey.

Lion, Donkey, and Fox

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

---

---

---

Click here to subscribe/unsubscribe to the email list.

---

Greek Vocabulary Challenge: Jan. 31

Here are today's vocabulary words; it's Group 140. Click on the word to learn more at Logeion:

εὐτυχία ~ εὐτυχίας (noun f.): good luck, success 

βίος ~ βίου (noun m.): life, lifestyle 

χρῆμα ~ χρήματος (noun n.): property, money 

κίνδυνος ~ κινδύνου (noun m.): danger, hazard, risk 

ζυγόν ~ ζυγοῦ (noun n.): yoke 

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

Εὐτυχίαν εὔχου.

Ὁ βίος  τρόχος, ἄστατος ὄλβος.

Μὴ ἔπεχε ἐπὶ χρήμασιν ἀδίκοις.

Πᾶσίν τοι κίνδυνος ἐπ᾽ ἔργμασιν.

Ἐγὼ δὲ καὶ σὺ ταὐτὸν ἕλκομεν ζυγόν.

And now, some commentary:

Εὐτυχίαν εὔχου.

Pray for success.

This is one of the "Delphic maxims" recorded by Stobaeus. The word εὐτυχία is literally εὐ-τυχία, "good luck, good fortune," and it also means success. Notice that the act of praying, εὔχομαι, is one of those middle verbs that takes a direct object (εὔχου is a middle imperative).

Ὁ βίος τρόχος, ἄστατος ὄλβος.

Life is a wheel, and wealth is unstable.

This is a saying found in Pseudo-Phocylides, whose sayings are hexameter lines. This saying is the second part of a hexameter, following the caesura:

κοινὰ πάθη πάντων· ὁ βίος  τρόχος, ἄστατος ὄλβος.

The first part reads: Suffering is common to all.

Here is the meter marked:

κοινὰ πά|θη πάν|των ~ ὁ βί|ος  τρόχος | ἄστατος | ὄλβος

You can find out more at Wikipedia: Pseudo-Phocylides.

Μὴ ἔπεχε ἐπὶ χρήμασιν ἀδίκοις.

Do not grasp at ill-gotten goods. 

This is from the Biblical Book of Sirach; find out more at Wikipedia: Ecclesiasticus. The verse goes on to explain why: μὴ ἔπεχε ἐπὶ χρήμασιν ἀδίκοις οὐδὲν γὰρ ὠφελήσει σε ἐν ἡμέρᾳ ἐπαγωγῆς ... in the King James version: Set not thine heart upon goods unjustly gotten, for they shall not profit thee in the day of calamity.

Πᾶσίν τοι κίνδυνος ἐπ᾽ ἔργμασιν.

There is risk in every sort of business.

The words come from Solon; you can see a collection of his fragments here. The words are the start of a hexameter line in an elegiac couplet: Πᾶσίν | τοι κίν|δυνος ἐπ᾽ | ἔργμασιν... You can find out more about this Greek politician and philosopher at Wikipedia: Solon.

Ἐγὼ δὲ καὶ σὺ ταὐτὸν ἕλκομεν ζυγόν.

You and I are dragging the same yoke.

The metaphor is two oxen who are yoked together, so this saying refers to a situation of two people stuck in a situation together, with no way to go but forward, like oxen under the same yoke. The line is in iambic verse:

Ἐγὼ | δὲ καὶ || σὺ ταὐ|τὸν ἕλ||κομεν | ζυγόν.

ancient Greek terracotta: yoked oxen

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

---

---

---

Click here to subscribe/unsubscribe to the email list.

---

Greek Proverb Review: Jan. 30

For today, it's a new review slideshow for Groups 128, 129, and 130. Here's the post with the details about how the slideshows work, and there's a random cat at the bottom of the post! Plus more cats.

The slideshow is embedded in the blog post, and you can also access today's slideshow directly, full-sized view. And remember: each time you see the English translation on a slide, you can click to access the original blog post with the notes for each proverb.

These are the proverbs, linked back to their blog posts:

• Ἀνδρῶν ἡρώων τέκνα πήματα.
  
• Ἀνεῳγμέναι Μουσῶν θύραι.
  
• Ἄνω κάτω πάντα.
  
• Ἀπὸ μηχανῆς θεός.
  
• Ἀφ' Ἑστίας ἀρχόμενοι.
  
• Δικαίως κτῶ.
  
• Ἐπ' ἀμφότερα καθεύδεις τὰ ὦτα.
  
• Κακὰ πλεῖστα πόλει δυσνομία παρέχει.
  
• Ὅν οἱ θεοὶ φιλοῦσιν ἀποθνῄσκει νέος.
  
• Οὐδὲν γίγνεται ἐκ τοῦ μὴ ὄντος.
  
• Σίδηρον πλεῖν διδάσκεις.
  
• Σύροι πρὸς Φοίνικας.
  
• Τὸ Ἱππάρχου τειχίον.
  
• Ὑφορῶ μηδένα.
  
• Χρυσὸς ὁ ἀφανὴς τύραννος.

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

---

---

---

Click here to subscribe/unsubscribe to the email list.

---

Greek Reading: Fables 14

Today's story (it's just one story today because it's like a two-parter, as you will see) is from Turner's Easy Latin and Greek Passages, available at the Internet Archive. You can use the linked title to access the book.

So, here's the story, presented in Greek, segmented, and then interwoven with English.

Κώνωψ καὶ λέω

Κώνωψ πρὸς λέοντα ἐλθὼν, "Οὐδε φοβοῦμαί σε, οὐδὲ δυνατώτερός μου εἶ. τί γὰρ σοί ἐστιν ἡ δύναμις; ὅτὶ ξύεις τοῖς ὄνυξι, καὶ δάκνεις ὀδοῦσι· τοῦτο καὶ γυνή, τῷ ἀνδρὶ μαχομένη, ποιεῖ. ἐγὼ δὲ λίαν εἰμὶ σου ἰσχυρότερος. εἰ δὲ θέλεις, ἔλθωμεν καὶ εἰς πόλεμον." καὶ σαλπίσας, ὁ κώνωψ ἐνεπήγετο, δάκνων τὰ περὶ τὰς ῥίνας αὐτοῦ ἄτριχα πρόσωπα. ὁ δὲ λέων τοι ἰδίοις ὄνυξι κατέλυεν ἑαυτόν, ἕως  οὗ ἠγανάκτησεν.

ὁ κώνωψ δὲ νικήσας τὸν λέοντα καὶ ἐπινίκιον ᾄσας ἔπτατο. ἀράχνης δὲ δεσμῷ ἐμπλακείς, ἐσθιόμενος ἀπωδύρετο, ὅτι μεγίστοις πολεμῶν, ὑπ’ εὐτελοῦς ζώου, τῆς ἀράχνης, ἀπώλετο.

Κώνωψ πρὸς λέοντα ἐλθὼν, 

"Οὐδε φοβοῦμαί σε, 

οὐδὲ δυνατώτερός μου εἶ. 

τί γὰρ σοί ἐστιν ἡ δύναμις; 

ὅτὶ ξύεις τοῖς ὄνυξι, 

καὶ δάκνεις ὀδοῦσι· 

τοῦτο καὶ γυνή, 

τῷ ἀνδρὶ μαχομένη, 

ποιεῖ. 

ἐγὼ δὲ 

λίαν εἰμὶ σου ἰσχυρότερος. 

εἰ δὲ θέλεις, 

ἔλθωμεν καὶ εἰς πόλεμον." 

καὶ σαλπίσας, 

ὁ κώνωψ ἐνεπήγετο, 

δάκνων 

τὰ περὶ τὰς ῥίνας αὐτοῦ ἄτριχα πρόσωπα. 

ὁ δὲ λέων 

τοι ἰδίοις ὄνυξι κατέλυεν ἑαυτόν, 

ἕως  οὗ ἠγανάκτησεν.

ὁ κώνωψ δὲ 

νικήσας τὸν λέοντα 

καὶ ἐπινίκιον ᾄσας 

ἔπτατο. 

ἀράχνης δὲ δεσμῷ ἐμπλακείς, 

ἐσθιόμενος ἀπωδύρετο, 

ὅτι μεγίστοις πολεμῶν 

ὑπ’ εὐτελοῦς ζώου,

τῆς ἀράχνης, ἀπώλετο.

Κώνωψ πρὸς λέοντα ἐλθὼν  ... A gnat came to a lion, 

"Οὐδε φοβοῦμαί σε  ... (and said) "I don't fear you, 

οὐδὲ δυνατώτερός μου εἶ  ... and you're not stronger than me. 

τί γὰρ σοί ἐστιν ἡ δύναμις  ... What can you do? 

ὅτὶ ξύεις τοῖς ὄνυξι  ... you scratch with your claws, 

καὶ δάκνεις ὀδοῦσι  ... and bite with your teeth — 

τοῦτο καὶ γυνή ποιεῖ  ... even a woman does this, 

τῷ ἀνδρὶ μαχομένη  ... fighting with her husband, 

ἐγὼ δὲ  ... But I 

λίαν εἰμὶ σου ἰσχυρότερος  ... am far stronger than you. 

εἰ δὲ θέλεις  ... If you want, 

ἔλθωμεν καὶ εἰς πόλεμον  ... let's also go to war!" 

καὶ ὁ κώνωψ σαλπίσας  ... And the gnat, trumpeting,

ἐνεπήγετο  ... stung (the lion), 

δάκνων πρόσωπα ... biting his face

τὰ ἄτριχα  ...  where it didn't have any fur

περὶ τὰς ῥίνας αὐτοῦ  ... around his nostrils. 

ὁ δὲ λέων  ... And the lion 

τοι ἰδίοις ὄνυξι κατέλυεν  ... turned his own claws 

ἑαυτόν  ...  against himself 

ἕως οὗ ἠγανάκτησεν  ... until it hurt.

ὁ κώνωψ δὲ  ... And the gnat, 

νικήσας τὸν λέοντα  ... having defeated the lion 

καὶ ἐπινίκιον ᾄσας  ... sang his victory song 

ἔπτατο  ... and flew away. 

ἀράχνης δὲ δεσμῷ ἐμπλακείς  ... But entangled in a spiderweb, 

ἐσθιόμενος ἀπωδύρετο ὅτι   ... and being eaten, he lamented 

μεγίστοις πολεμῶν  ... that a warrior against the most powerful

ἀπώλετο  ...  was destroyed

ὑπ’ εὐτελοῦς ζώου  ... by a paltry creature, 

τῆς ἀράχνης  ...  the spider.

from Grandville's La Fontaine

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

---

---

---

Click here to subscribe/unsubscribe to the email list.

---

Greek Vocabulary Challenge: Jan. 28

Here are today's vocabulary words, Group 139; the sayings may be familiar from past posts, but now there are new words to focus on. Click on the word to learn more at Logeion:

ἔρημος ~ ἐρήμου (noun f.): desert 

θρίξ ~ τριχός (noun f.): hair, fur 

ἀήρ ~ ἀέρος (noun m.): air 

σάρξ ~ σαρκός (noun f.): flesh, meat 

πνεῦμα ~ πνεύματος (noun n.): breath, spirit 

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

Φωνὴ βοῶντος ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ.

Λέων τὴν τρίχα, ὄνος τόν βίον.

Ἅπας μὲν ἀὴρ αἰετῷ περάσιμος.

Τὸ μὲν πνεῦμα πρόθυμον ἡ δὲ σὰρξ ἀσθενής.

Τὸ γὰρ γράμμα ἀποκτέινει, τὸ δὲ πνεῦμα ζῳοποιεῖ.

And now, some commentary:

Φωνὴ βοῶντος ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ.

The voice of one shouting in the desert.

These words appear in all four Gospels — Mark, Matthew, Luke, and John — referring to John the Baptist, echoing the prophet Isaiah. The word φωνὴ (as in English telephone, etc.) is a feminine noun of the first declension, while the word ἔρημος (as in English hermit, etc.) is a feminine noun of the second declension.

Λέων τὴν τρίχα, ὄνος τὸν βίον.

A lion (judging by its) fur, a donkey (by its) lifestyle.

This saying alludes to the famous Aesop's fable about the donkey in the lion skin: it looks like a lion, but it acts like a donkey. However, in his note to this proverb Apostolius reports a different story about a man who found a lion cub and raised it. The man then used the lion to draw a wagon; hence the proverb. The story has a sad ending: when people saw the lion acting in this shameful and undignified way, they killed it. Of course, things don't turn out well for the donkey in the lion-skin either! You can see the root τρίχ- in trichotillomania.

Ἅπας μὲν ἀὴρ αἰετῷ περάσιμος.

All the sky is open to the eagle.

This is a fragment from the "Phaethon" of Euripides, and the following line of the fragment reads: ἅπασα δὲ χθὼν ἀνδρὶ γενναίῳ πατρίς, "all the earth is a fatherland for a noble man," which is a saying discussed in an earlier blog post. Greek ἀὴρ gives us English "air."

Τὸ μὲν πνεῦμα πρόθυμον ἡ δὲ σὰρξ ἀσθενής.

The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.

The words are from the Gospel of Mark, when Jesus rebukes Peter for falling asleep in the Garden of Gethsemane. The words also appear in the Gospel of Matthew. In the adjective πρόθυμον, you can see the word θυμός, which has a wide range of meaning in Greek: spirit, desire, will, courage, anger; see Logeion for more. You can see σὰρξ in English words like "sarcoma" and "sarcophagus."

Τὸ γὰρ γράμμα ἀποκτέινει, τὸ δὲ πνεῦμα ζῳοποιεῖ.

The letter kills, but the spirit creates life.

The words come from 2 Corinthians in the Bible. You can find out more about the enduring and broad significance of this Biblical phrase in the Wikipedia article: Letter and spirit of the law. From the root of Greek πνεῦμα, we get English words like "pneumatic" and "pneumonia."

Walter Crane's Aesop

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

---

---

---

Click here to subscribe/unsubscribe to the email list.

---

Greek Reading: Fables 13

Today's stories are from Smith's Initia Graeca and Turner's Easy Latin and Greek Passages, both of which are available at the Internet Archive. You can use the linked titles to access the books; Smith's book has a dictionary in the back, and Turner has notes on the individual stories.

Here are the stories, presented in Greek, segmented, and then interwoven with English.

Ἵππος καὶ ὄνος 

Ἄνθρωπός τις εἶχεν ἵππον καὶ ὄνον. Ὁδευόντων δέ, ἐν τῇ ὁδῷ εἶπεν ὁ ὄνος τῷ ἵππῳ· ἆρον ἐκ τοῦ ἐμοῦ βάρους, εἰ θέλεις εἶναι με σῶν. Ὁ δὲ οὐκ ἐπείσθη· ὁ δὲ ὄνος πεσὼν ἐκ τοῦ κόπου ἐτελεύτησα. Τοῦ δὲ δεσπότου πάντα ἐπιθέντος αὐτῷ καὶ αὐτὴν τὴν τοῦ ὄνου δοράν, θρηνῶν ὁ ἵππος ἐβόα· οἰμοι τῷ παναθλίῳ, τί μοι συνέβη τῷ ταλαιπώρῳ· μὴ θελήσας γὰρ μικρὸν βάρος λαβεῖν, ἰδοὺ ἅπαντα βαστάζω, καὶ τὸ δέρμα.

Ἄνθρωπός τις 

εἶχεν ἵππον καὶ ὄνον. 

Ὁδευόντων δέ, 

ἐν τῇ ὁδῷ εἶπεν ὁ ὄνος τῷ ἵππῳ· 

ἆρον ἐκ τοῦ ἐμοῦ βάρους, 

εἰ θέλεις εἶναι με σῶν. 

Ὁ δὲ οὐκ ἐπείσθη· 

ὁ δὲ ὄνος 

πεσὼν ἐκ τοῦ κόπου 

ἐτελεύτησα. 

Τοῦ δὲ δεσπότου πάντα ἐπιθέντος αὐτῷ 

καὶ αὐτὴν τὴν τοῦ ὄνου δοράν, 

θρηνῶν ὁ ἵππος ἐβόα· 

οἰμοι τῷ παναθλίῳ, 

τί μοι συνέβη τῷ ταλαιπώρῳ· 

μὴ θελήσας γὰρ 

μικρὸν βάρος λαβεῖν, 

ἰδοὺ 

ἅπαντα βαστάζω, καὶ τὸ δέρμα.

Ἄνθρωπός τις  ...  A certain person

εἶχεν ἵππον καὶ ὄνον  ...  had a horse and a donkey. 

Ὁδευόντων δέ  ...  As they were making a journey, 

ἐν τῇ ὁδῷ  ...  along the way

εἶπεν ὁ ὄνος τῷ ἵππῳ  ...  the donkey said to the horse, 

ἆρον ἐκ τοῦ ἐμοῦ βάρους  ...  Take some of my load, 

εἰ θέλεις εἶναι με σῶν  ...  if you want me to survive. 

Ὁ δὲ οὐκ ἐπείσθη  ...  But (the horse) was not persuaded· 

ὁ δὲ ὄνος  ...  And the donkey, 

πεσὼν ἐκ τοῦ κόπου  ...  collapsing from the toil, 

ἐτελεύτησα ...  died. 

Τοῦ δὲ δεσπότου  ...  Their owner

πάντα ἐπιθέντος αὐτῷ  ...  put all (the burdens) on the horse

καὶ αὐτὴν τὴν τοῦ ὄνου δοράν  ...  including the donkey's skin, 

θρηνῶν ὁ ἵππος ἐβόα  ...  and the horse, wailing, shouted,  

οἰμοι τῷ παναθλίῳ  ...  Woe is me, completely wretched, 

τί μοι συνέβη τῷ ταλαιπώρῳ ... what's happened to miserable me?  

μὴ θελήσας γὰρ  ...  Because I did not want

μικρὸν βάρος λαβεῖν  ...  to accept a small burden, 

ἰδοὺ  ...  behold:

ἅπαντα βαστάζω  ...  I am carrying everything, 

καὶ τὸ δέρμα  ...  even the skin.

The Horse and the Donkey

Βάτραχοι δύο

Βάτραχοι δύο ξηρανθείσης τῆς λίμνης, ἐν ᾗ κατῴκουν περιῄεσαν ξητοῦντες ποῦ καταμεῖναι. καὶ ἐλθόντες εἰς φρέαρ βαθὺ καὶ ἰδόντες τὸ ὕδωρ, ὁ μὲν εἷς συνεβούλευεν, ἵνα πηδήσωσι εὐθὺς κάτω· ὁ δ᾿ ἕτερος εἶπεν, Ἐὰν οὖν τοῦτο ξηρανθὴ, πῶς δυνησόμεθα ἀναβῆναι;

Βάτραχοι δύο  ...  Two frogs,

ξηρανθείσης τῆς λίμνης  ...  when the pool dried up 

ἐν ᾗ κατῴκουν  ...  where they lived,

περιῄεσαν  ...  they went around 

ξητοῦντες ποῦ καταμεῖναι  ...  looking where they could live. 

καὶ ἐλθόντες εἰς φρέαρ βαθὺ  ...  And coming to a deep well 

καὶ ἰδόντες τὸ ὕδωρ  ...  and seeing the water, 

ὁ μὲν εἷς συνεβούλευεν  ...  one advised 

ἵνα πηδήσωσι εὐθὺς κάτω  ...  that they leap down right away, 

ὁ δ᾿ ἕτερος εἶπεν  ...  and the other said, 

Ἐὰν οὖν τοῦτο ξηρανθὴ  ...  If this were to dry up, 

πῶς δυνησόμεθα ἀναβῆναι  ...  how will we manage to get out?

The Two Frogs

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

---

---

---

Click here to subscribe/unsubscribe to the email list.

---