Greek Reading: Fables 57

Both the fable and the joke below come from Abbott's Easy Greek Reader which is available at the Internet Archive. 

So, here are the stories in Greek, then segmented, and then interwoven with English. The titles are linked to the Internet Archive page.

Γεωργός καὶ παῖδες

(another version of this story)

Ἀνὴρ γεωργὸς μέλλων τελευτᾶν καὶ βουλόμενος τοὺς αὑτοῦ παῖδας ἐμπείρους ποιῆσαι τῆς γεωργίας, μετακαλεσάμενος αὐτούς, ἔφη· τεκνία μου, ἐν ἑνί μου τῶν ἀμπελώνων θησαυρὸς ἀπόκειται. Οἱ δὲ μετὰ τὴν αὐτοῦ τελευτὴν ὕννας τε καὶ δικέλλας λαβόντες πᾶσαν αὑτῶν τὴν γεωργίαν ὤρυξαν, καὶ τὸν μὲν θησαυρὸν οὐχ εὗρον, ἡ δὲ ἄμπελος πολλαπλασίονα τὴν φορὰν αὐτοῖς ἀντεδίδου.

Ἀνὴρ γεωργὸς 

μέλλων τελευτᾶν 

καὶ βουλόμενος 

τοὺς αὑτοῦ παῖδας 

ἐμπείρους ποιῆσαι 

τῆς γεωργίας, 

μετακαλεσάμενος αὐτούς, 

ἔφη· 

τεκνία μου, 

ἐν ἑνί μου τῶν ἀμπελώνων 

θησαυρὸς ἀπόκειται. 

Οἱ δὲ 

μετὰ τὴν αὐτοῦ τελευτὴν 

ὕννας τε καὶ δικέλλας λαβόντες 

πᾶσαν αὑτῶν τὴν γεωργίαν 

ὤρυξαν, 

καὶ τὸν μὲν θησαυρὸν οὐχ εὗρον, 

ἡ δὲ ἄμπελος 

πολλαπλασίονα τὴν φορὰν 

αὐτοῖς ἀντεδίδου.

Ἀνὴρ γεωργὸς  ...  A farmer 

μέλλων τελευτᾶν  ...  who was about to die 

καὶ βουλόμενος  ...  wanted 

ποιῆσαι τοὺς αὑτοῦ παῖδας  ...  to make his children

ἐμπείρους τῆς γεωργίας  ...  experienced in farming, 

μετακαλεσάμενος αὐτούς  ...  so he summoned them, 

ἔφη  ...  and said, 

τεκνία μου  ...  My children, 

ἐν ἑνί μου τῶν ἀμπελώνων  ...  in one of my vineyards

θησαυρὸς ἀπόκειται  ...  a treasure is buried. 

Οἱ δὲ  ...  And his sons, 

μετὰ τὴν αὐτοῦ τελευτὴν  ...  after his death, 

ὕννας τε καὶ δικέλλας λαβόντες  ...  took plows and hoes 

ὤρυξαν  ...  and dug up

πᾶσαν αὑτῶν τὴν γεωργίαν  ...  the whole farm.

καὶ τὸν μὲν θησαυρὸν οὐχ εὗρον  ...  They found no treasure

ἡ δὲ ἄμπελος  ...  but the vineyard 

αὐτοῖς ἀντεδίδου  ...  repaid them with

πολλαπλασίονα τὴν φορὰν  ...  a multiplied crop.

Medici Aesop

Ἀλεκτόρων δύο

(another version of this story)

Ἀλεκτρυόνες συμπεσόντες ἀλλήλοις, ὡς νόμος εἶχεν, ἐμάχοντο. Καὶ ὁ μὲν νικηθείς, κλίνῃ ὑποδύς, ἀπεκρύπτετο· ὁ δὲ νενικηκὼς ἐπί στέγους ἀρθείς, ἀνέκραγε μέγιστον, τὴν νίκην κατάδηλον ἐξ ᾠδῆς  ἐργαζόμενος. Καὶ καταπτὰς ἀετὸς τοῦτον ἁρπάζει λαβών.

Ἀλεκτρυόνες 

συμπεσόντες ἀλλήλοις, 

ὡς νόμος εἶχεν, 

ἐμάχοντο. 

Καὶ ὁ μὲν νικηθείς, 

κλίνῃ ὑποδύς, 

ἀπεκρύπτετο· 

ὁ δὲ νενικηκὼς 

ἐπί στέγους ἀρθείς, 

ἀνέκραγε μέγιστον, 

τὴν νίκην κατάδηλον 

ἐξ ᾠδῆς  ἐργαζόμενος. 

Καὶ καταπτὰς ἀετὸς 

τοῦτον ἁρπάζει λαβών.

Ἀλεκτρυόνες  ...  Roosters

συμπεσόντες ἀλλήλοις  ...  attacked each other, 

ὡς νόμος εἶχεν  ...  as is their custom, 

ἐμάχοντο  ...  and fought. 

Καὶ ὁ μὲν νικηθείς  ...  And the loser, 

κλίνῃ ὑποδύς  ...  went under the bench 

ἀπεκρύπτετο  ...  and hid, 

ὁ δὲ νενικηκὼς  ...  while the winner 

ἐπί στέγους ἀρθείς  ...  rose up to the rooftop, 

ἀνέκραγε μέγιστον  ...  and shouted loudly

ἐργαζόμενος τὴν νίκην κατάδηλον  ...  making his victory clear

ἐξ ᾠδῆς  ...  with his song.

Καὶ καταπτὰς ἀετὸς  ...  So an eagle swooped down,

τοῦτον ἁρπάζει λαβών  ...  grabbed him, and carried him off.

Grandville illustration

Σχολαστικὸς καὶ οἰκία

Σχολαστικὸς οἰκίαν πριάμενος, εἶτα διὰ τῆς θυρίδος παρακύψας ἠρώτα τοὺς παρερχομένους εἰ πρέπει αὐτῷ οἰκία. 

Σχολαστικὸς 

οἰκίαν πριάμενος, 

εἶτα διὰ τῆς θυρίδος 

παρακύψας 

ἠρώτα τοὺς παρερχομένους 

εἰ πρέπει αὐτῷ οἰκία. 

Σχολαστικὸς 

οἰκίαν πριάμενος, 

εἶτα παρακύψας  

διὰ τῆς θυρίδος 

ἠρώτα τοὺς παρερχομένους 

εἰ πρέπει αὐτῷ οἰκία. 

Σχολαστικὸς  ...  A dunce

οἰκίαν πριάμενος  ...  bought a house, 

εἶτα παρακύψας  ...  and then leaned   

διὰ τῆς θυρίδος  ...  out the window

ἠρώτα  ...  and kept asking

τοὺς παρερχομένους  ...  people passing by

εἰ πρέπει αὐτῷ οἰκία  ...  if it looked good on him. 

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

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Crossword Puzzle 25-26-27

The proverbs for today come from back in Groups 25, 26, and 27; you can visit those blog posts for the translations and more information. 

• Ἄλλοι μὲν κάμον, ἄλλοι δ᾽ ὤναντο.
  
• Ἄνθρακες ὁ θησαυρὸς πέφηνεν.
  
• Ἐὰν μὴ πάθῃς, οὐ μὴ μάθῃς.
  
• Εἰς κόρακας.
  
• Ἐκ τοῦ ὁρᾶν γίγνεται τὸ ἐρᾶν.
  
• Ἐν πυρὶ βέβηκας.
  
• Ἐν ψύλλας δήξει θεὸν ἐπικαλεῖται.
  
• Κακὸν ἐπὶ κακῷ.
  
• Μεταξὺ τοῦ ἄκμονος καὶ σφύρας.
  
• Μωρὸς σιωπᾶν οὐ δύναται.
  
• Περὶ ὄνου σκιᾶς.
  
• Τὰ πάντα ῥεῖ καὶ οὐδὲν μένει.
  
• Τὴν παρεοῦσαν ἄμελγε.
  
• Τὸ μέλλον οὐδεὶς ἐκφύγοι.
  
• Ὑπὸ παντὶ λίθῳ σκορπίος.
  

Here are the sayings without spaces: see if you can find the word breaks!

ε ι σ κ ο ρ α κ α ς.

κ α κ ο ν ε π ι κ α κ ῳ.

ε ν π υ ρ ι β ε β η κ α ς.

π ε ρ ι ο ν ο υ σ κ ι α ς.

τ η ν π α ρ ε ο υ σ α ν α μ ε λ γ ε.

μ ω ρ ο σ σ ι ω π α ν ο υ δ υ ν α τ α ι.

υ π ο π α ν τ ι λ ι θ ῳ σ κ ο ρ π ι ο ς.

τ ο μ ε λ λ ο ν ο υ δ ε ι σ ε κ φ υ γ ο ι.

ε α ν μ η π α θ ῃ σ ο υ μ η μ α θ ῃ ς.

α ν θ ρ α κ ε σ ο θ η σ α υ ρ ο σ π ε φ η ν ε ν.

ε κ τ ο υ ο ρ α ν γ ι γ ν ε τ α ι τ ο ε ρ α ν.

τ α π α ν τ α ρ ε ι κ α ι ο υ δ ε ν μ ε ν ε ι.

And here's the crossword puzzle based on a missing word from each proverb: printable Crossword PDF. I've pasted in screenshots below so you can see what the crossword looks like:

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

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Greek Reading: Fables 56

Both the fable and the joke below come from Abbott's Easy Greek Reader which is available at the Internet Archive. 

So, here are the stories in Greek, then segmented, and then interwoven with English. The titles are linked to the Internet Archive page.

Μύες δύο

Μῦς ἀρουραῖος ἀστικῷ γίνεται φίλος μυὶ, καὶ τὴν φιλίαν πιστούμενος πρῶτος εἰς ἀγρὸν τὸν ἀστικὸν παρελάμιβανε, καὶ ξενίαν αὐτῷ παρετίθει καὶ τράπεζαν, ἃ φέρειν οἶδε τοῖς ἐνοικοῦσιν ἀγρόν. Ἀμειβόμενος δὲ τὴν ξενίαν ὁ ἀστικὸς εἰς ἄστυ τὸν ἀρουραῖον ἐκόμιζε, καὶ εἰς ἀνδρὸς εὐπόρου παρελάμβανε οἶκον. Ὡς δὲ τῶν ὄντων ἤδη προσάπτεσθαι ἤθελον, προσιών τις ἀνέκοπτε· καὶ τοσαυτάκις τῆς ἐν τοῖς ὄψοις ἀπηλαύνοντο πείρας, ὁσάκις ἐπειρῶντο μεταλαμβάνειν. Καὶ τελευταῖον ὁ ἀρουραῖος "ἄπειμι" ἔφη, "τὴν ἐν ἀγροῖς προτιμῶν μετριότητα τῆς ἐν ἄστει τρυφῆς."

Μῦς ἀρουραῖος 

ἀστικῷ γίνεται φίλος μυὶ, 

καὶ τὴν φιλίαν πιστούμενος 

πρῶτος εἰς ἀγρὸν 

τὸν ἀστικὸν παρελάμβανε, 

καὶ ξενίαν αὐτῷ παρετίθει 

καὶ τράπεζαν, 

ἃ φέρειν οἶδε τοῖς ἐνοικοῦσιν ἀγρόν. 

Ἀμειβόμενος δὲ τὴν ξενίαν 

ὁ ἀστικὸς 

εἰς ἄστυ τὸν ἀρουραῖον ἐκόμιζε, 

καὶ εἰς ἀνδρὸς εὐπόρου παρελάμβανεν οἶκον. 

Ὡς δὲ τῶν ὄντων ἤδη 

προσάπτεσθαι ἤθελον, 

προσιών τις ἀνέκοπτε· 

καὶ τοσαυτάκις 

τῆς ἐν τοῖς ὄψοις ἀπηλαύνοντο πείρας, 

ὁσάκις ἐπειρῶντο μεταλαμβάνειν. 

Καὶ τελευταῖον ὁ ἀρουραῖος 

"ἄπειμι" ἔφη, "τὴν ἐν ἀγροῖς 

προτιμῶν μετριότητα 

τῆς ἐν ἄστει τρυφῆς."

Μῦς ἀρουραῖος  ...  A country mouse

γίνεται φίλος ἀστικῷ μυὶ  ...  befriended a city mouse, 

καὶ τὴν φιλίαν πιστούμενος  ...  and to affirm the friendship 

πρῶτος παρελάμβανε  ...  he went first in inviting

τὸν ἀστικὸν  ...  the city mouse

εἰς ἀγρὸν  ...  to the countryside.

καὶ ξενίαν αὐτῷ παρετίθει  ...  He offered both hospitality

καὶ τράπεζαν  ...  and a dining board, 

ἃ οἶδε  ...  the things which he knew

φέρειν ἀγρόν  ...  the countryside had to offer

τοῖς ἐνοικοῦσιν  ...  to its inhabitants.

Ἀμειβόμενος δὲ τὴν ξενίαν  ...  Returning the hospitality, 

ὁ ἀστικὸς  ...  the city mouse

τὸν ἀρουραῖον ἐκόμιζε  ...  led the country mouse

εἰς ἄστυ  ...  to the city,

καὶ παρελάμβανεν  ...  and brought him to

εἰς οἶκον ἀνδρὸς εὐπόρου  ...  a wealthy man's home

Ὡς δὲ ἤδη ἤθελον  ...  But just when they wanted 

τῶν ὄντων προσάπτεσθαι  ...  to lay hold of the stuff,

προσιών τις  ...  someone came in 

ἀνέκοπτε  ...  and stopped them, 

καὶ τοσαυτάκις ἀπηλαύνοντο  ...  being driven away

τῆς ἐν τοῖς ὄψοις πείρας  ...  from trying the foodstuffs, 

ὁσάκις  ...  whenever

ἐπειρῶντο μεταλαμβάνειν  ...  they tried to partake. 

Καὶ τελευταῖον  ...  And finally

ὁ ἀρουραῖος ἔφη  ...  the country mouse said:

ἄπειμι  ...  I'm leaving!

προτιμῶν  ...  I prefer

μετριότητα τὴν ἐν ἀγροῖς  ...  modesty in the countryside 

τῆς ἐν ἄστει τρυφῆς  ...  to luxury in the city.

illustration by Conde

Σχολαστικὸς καὶ διδάσκαλος 

Σχολαστικὸς ἐκκομίσας τὸν υἱόν, ἀπαντήσας τῷ διδασκάλῳ αὐτοῦ, σύγγνωθι, ἔφη, ὅτι οὐκ ἦλθεν ὁ υἱός μου εἰς τὴν σχολήν· ἀπέθανε γάρ.

Σχολαστικὸς 

ἐκκομίσας τὸν υἱόν, 

ἀπαντήσας 

τῷ διδασκάλῳ αὐτοῦ, 

ἔφη, 

σύγγνωθι

ὅτι οὐκ ἦλθεν ὁ υἱός μου 

εἰς τὴν σχολήν,

ἀπέθανε γάρ.

Σχολαστικὸς  ...  The dunce

ἐκκομίσας τὸν υἱόν  ...  had just buried his son, 

ἀπαντήσας  ...  and then ran into 

τῷ διδασκάλῳ αὐτοῦ  ...  his son's schoolteacher.

ἔφη  ...  He said: 

σύγγνωθι  ...  My apologies for

ὅτι οὐκ ἦλθεν ὁ υἱός μου  ...  my son not coming 

εἰς τὴν σχολήν  ...  to school;

ἀπέθανε γάρ  ...  it's because he died.

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

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Greek Vocabulary Challenge: May 6

Here are today's vocabulary words; it's Group 164. Click on the word to learn more at Logeion:

ἀκρόν ~ ἀκροῦ (adj. neut.): topmost, top 

βέβαιον ~ βεβαίου (adj. neut.): firm, steady 

φανερόν ~ φανεροῦ (adj. neut.): visible 

ἀνόητος ~ ἀνοήτου (adj. masc.): foolish, senseless 

ταὐτόν ~ ταὐτοῦ (adj. neut.): the same, selfsame 

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

Ἀκρὸν λάβε, καὶ μέσον ἕξεις. 

Βέβαιον οὐδέν ἐστιν ἐν θνητῷ βίῳ.

Τὰ ἀφανῆ τοῖς φανεροῖς τεκμαίρου.

Ἀνόητος νεοττὸς ἑκὼν δείκνυσι τὴν ἑαυτοῦ νοσσιάν.

Ὄφιν τρέφειν καὶ πονηρὸν εὐεργετεῖν ταὐτόν ἐστιν.

And now, some commentary:

Ἀκρὸν λάβε, καὶ μέσον ἕξεις. 

Grab the top, and you'll get the middle.

In other words: it's a good thing to plan big because, even if your plan falls short, you'll still end up with something! Some sources attribute this to the Delphic oracle; find out more at Wikipedia: Delphic maxims. This saying is a good way to remember the future stem of ἔχω: ἕξω (note the rough breathing). You can see the ἀκρό- root in English "acrophobia."

Βέβαιον οὐδέν ἐστιν ἐν θνητῷ βίῳ.

Nothing is lasting in this mortal life.

The contrast between dying and living is much stronger in the Greek:  θνητῷ βίῳ, the life subject to death. This is another of the iambic monostichs of Menander. Here is the meter marked:

Βέβαι|ον οὐ||δέν ἐσ|τιν ἐν || θνητῷ | βίῳ.

Τὰ ἀφανῆ τοῖς φανεροῖς τεκμαίρου.

Infer unseen things by means of visible things.

The word τεκμαίρου is a middle imperative, and it takes a direct object: ἀφανῆ, the neuter plural of ἀφανές, an alpha-privative adjective (ἀ-φανές). This is one of the sayings attributed to Solon; you can read more about Solon at Wikipedia.

Ἀνόητος νεοττὸς ἑκὼν δείκνυσι τὴν ἑαυτοῦ νοσσιάν.

The foolish chick willingly points out its own nest. 

The adjective ἀνόητος is another alpha-privative: ἀ-νόητος. This proverb seems to belong to a fable, but the fable has not survived; at least I do not know of a story that connects to this elegant little proverb. Just who did the chick lead to the nest...? A fox? A weasel? We can be sure that nothing good happened as a result, and the message for humans is clear: don't be like the foolish chick and give away information that might do you harm! 

Ὄφιν τρέφειν καὶ πονηρὸν εὐεργετεῖν ταὐτόν ἐστιν.

To nourish a snake and to assist an evildoer is the same thing.

Compare another saying you've seen before about nursing a snake: Ὄφιν ἐν τῷ κόλπῳ τρέφεις, "You're nursing a snake in your bosom." That snake is going to bite you sooner or later, just as the evildoer is going to do evil. There's an Aesop's fable on the danger of doing favors for snakes.

Aesop's fable about the man and the snake

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

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