Greek Reading: Fables 46

Today's fable comes from Abbott's Easy Greek Reader, and the jokes come from Colton's Greek Reader. Both books are 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.

Γαλῆ

(Abbot titles this  fable"Cat" because the Greeks kepts weasels as mousers, much like we keep cats, but the fable is definitely not about a cat: it's about a weasel!)

Γαλῆ εἰσελθοῦσα εἰς χαλκέως ἐργαστήριον, τὴν ἐκεῖ κειμένην ῥίνην περιέλειχε. Συνέβη δὲ ἐκτριβομένης τῆς γλώσσης πολὺ αἷμα φέρεσθαι. Ἡ δὲ ἐτέρπετο, ὑπονοῦσά τι τοῦ σιδήρου ἀφαιρεῖσθαι, μέχρι παντελῶς ἀπέβαλε τὴν γλῶσσαν.

Γαλῆ εἰσελθοῦσα 

εἰς χαλκέως ἐργαστήριον, 

τὴν ἐκεῖ κειμένην ῥίνην 

περιέλειχε. 

Συνέβη δὲ 

ἐκτριβομένης τῆς γλώσσης 

πολὺ αἷμα φέρεσθαι. 

Ἡ δὲ ἐτέρπετο, 

ὑπονοῦσά 

τι τοῦ σιδήρου ἀφαιρεῖσθαι, 

μέχρι παντελῶς 

ἀπέβαλε τὴν γλῶσσαν.

Γαλῆ εἰσελθοῦσα  ... A weasel went into

εἰς χαλκέως ἐργαστήριον  ... a metalwork shop, 

περιέλειχε  ... and she licked all around

τὴν ῥίνην  ... an iron file 

ἐκεῖ κειμένην  ... that was lying there. 

Συνέβη δὲ  ... It happened that 

ἐκτριβομένης τῆς γλώσσης  ... as her tongue wore away

πολὺ αἷμα φέρεσθαι  ... lots of blood flowed. 

Ἡ δὲ ἐτέρπετο  ... She was delighted 

ὑπονοῦσά  ... supposing 

τι τοῦ σιδήρου ἀφαιρεῖσθαι  ... the blood came from the iron, 

μέχρι παντελῶς  ... until she completely 

ἀπέβαλε τὴν γλῶσσαν  ... wore away her tongue.

I don't have an illustration of the weasel and the file, but there is another version of this fable with a viper and a file, so here's one of those illustrations:

viper and file

Σχολαστικὸς καὶ οἶνος

Σχολαστικὸς ἀμιναῖαν ἔχων, ἐσφράγισεν αὐτήν. Τοῦ δὲ δούλου κάτωθεν τρήσαντος, καὶ τὸν οἶνον αἴροντος, ἐθαύμαζεν ὅτι, τῶν σημάντρων σώων ὄντων, ὁ οἶνος ἐλαττοῦτο. Ἕτερος δὲ εἶπεν, Ὅρα μὴ κάτωθεν ἀφῃρέθη. Ὁ δὲ, Ἀμαθέστατε, εἶπεν, οὐ τὸ κάτωθεν λείπει, ἀλλὰ τὸ ἄνωθεν μέρος.

Σχολαστικὸς 

ἀμιναῖαν ἔχων, 

ἐσφράγισεν αὐτήν. 

Τοῦ δὲ δούλου 

κάτωθεν τρήσαντος, 

καὶ τὸν οἶνον αἴροντος, 

ἐθαύμαζεν 

ὅτι τῶν σημάντρων 

σώων ὄντων, 

ὁ οἶνος ἐλαττοῦτο. 

Ἕτερος δὲ εἶπεν, 

Ὅρα μὴ κάτωθεν ἀφῃρέθη. 

Ὁ δὲ, 

Ἀμαθέστατε, εἶπεν, 

οὐ τὸ κάτωθεν λείπει, 

ἀλλὰ τὸ ἄνωθεν μέρος.

Σχολαστικὸς  ...  A dunce

ἀμιναῖαν ἔχων  ...  had some Falernian wine, 

ἐσφράγισεν αὐτήν  ...  and sealed it. 

Τοῦ δὲ δούλου  ...  One of the dunce's slaves 

κάτωθεν τρήσαντος  ...  made a hole in the bottom, 

καὶ τὸν οἶνον αἴροντος  ...  and took the wine. 

ἐθαύμαζεν  ...  The dunce was baffled

ὅτι τῶν σημάντρων  ...  since the jar seals 

σώων ὄντων  ...  were not broken, 

ὁ οἶνος ἐλαττοῦτο  ...  but the wine was going down. 

Ἕτερος δὲ εἶπεν  ...  Another man said, 

Ὅρα μὴ ἀφῃρέθη  ...  See if the wine isn't being taken

κάτωθεν  ...  from down below.

Ὁ δὲ εἶπεν  ...  And the dunce said, 

Ἀμαθέστατε,  ...  You idiot! 

οὐ τὸ κάτωθεν λείπει  ...  The wine is not missing below; 

ἀλλὰ τὸ ἄνωθεν μέρος  ...  it's the part on top that's gone.

ancient Greek wine jar

Σχολαστικοῦ υἱὸς

Σχολαστικοῦ υἱὸς, ὑπὸ τοῦ πατρὸς εἰς πόλεμον ἐκπεμπόμενος, ὑπέσχετο ἑνὸς τῶν ἐχθρῶν κεφαλὴν ἀγαγεῖν. Ὁ δὲ ἔφη· Εὔχομαι, καὶ χωρὶς κεφαλῆς σε ἐλθόντα, μόνον ὑγιῆ ὄντα ἰδεῖν καὶ εὐφρανθῆναι.

Σχολαστικοῦ υἱὸς, 

ὑπὸ τοῦ πατρὸς 

εἰς πόλεμον ἐκπεμπόμενος, 

ὑπέσχετο 

ἑνὸς τῶν ἐχθρῶν κεφαλὴν ἀγαγεῖν. 

Ὁ δὲ ἔφη· 

Εὔχομαι, 

καὶ χωρὶς κεφαλῆς σε ἐλθόντα, 

μόνον ὑγιῆ ὄντα ἰδεῖν 

καὶ εὐφρανθῆναι.

Σχολαστικοῦ υἱὸς  ...  The son of a dunce, 

εἰς πόλεμον ἐκπεμπόμενος  ...  sent off to war 

ὑπὸ τοῦ πατρὸς  ...  by his father,

ὑπέσχετο  ...  promised 

κεφαλὴν ἀγαγεῖν  ...  to bring back the head

ἑνὸς τῶν ἐχθρῶν  ...  of one of his enemies.

Ὁ δὲ ἔφη  ...  The dunce said, 

Εὔχομαι  ...  I hope that

ἰδεῖν καὶ εὐφρανθῆναι  ...  I can rejoice seeing

σε ἐλθόντα  ...  you come back

καὶ χωρὶς κεφαλῆς  ...  even without a head, 

μόνον ὑγιῆ ὄντα  ... so long as you are healthy.

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

---

---

---

Click here to subscribe/unsubscribe to the email list.

---

Greek Vocabulary Challenge: April 12

Here are today's vocabulary words; it's Group 158. Click on the word to learn more at Logeion:

υἱός ~ υἱοῦ (noun m.): son 

ὥρα ~ ὥρας (noun f.): time, season, hour 

φρήν ~ φρενός (noun f.): midriff; heart, mind 

βασιλεία ~ βασιλείας (noun f.): kingdom, kingship, reign 

εὐσέβεια ~ εὐσεβείας (noun f.): reverence, piety 

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

Ἡ σοφία υἱοὺς αὐτῆς ἀνύψωσεν.

Ὥρα τὰ πάντα τοῦ βίου κρίνει καλῶς.

Ἡ γλωσσ' ὀμωμοχ' ἡ δὲ φρὴν ανώμοτος.

Βασίλεια δ' εἰκών ἐστιν ἔμψυχος θεοῦ.

Ὑπὲρ εὐσεβείας καὶ λάλει καὶ μάνθανε.

And now, some commentary:

Ἡ σοφία υἱοὺς αὐτῆς ἀνύψωσεν.

Wisdom has raised up her sons.

The words are from the Biblical Book of Sirach. The noun σοφία is personified here as a mother; you can read more about the religious traditions of Sophia at Wikipedia. For the Jewish tradition, see Wikipedia: Chokmah.

Ὥρα τὰ πάντα τοῦ βίου κρίνει καλῶς.

Time judges fairly everything in life.

This is another one of those monostichs of Menander; here is the meter marked:

Ὥρα | τὰ πάν||τα τοῦ | βίου || κρίνει | καλῶς.

Compare other optimistic sayings that you've seen about the passage of time, like this one from a previous post: Χρόνος τὰ κρυπτὰ πάντα ἐς φάος ἄγει. The Horai were personified as goddesses both of natural order and also of natural justice; you can find out more at Wikipedia: Horae. You can see Greek ὥρα in English "horoscope." 

Ἡ γλωσσ' ὀμωμοχ' ἡ δὲ φρὴν ανώμοτος.

The tongue has sworn, but the heart is unsworn.

The words are spoken by Hippolytus in Euripides' play of the same name. The meter is thus iambic:

Ἡ γλωσ|σ' ὀμω||μοχ' ἡ | δὲ φρὴν || ανώ|μοτος.

You can see Greek φρήν in English "frenetic" (and thus also "frantic").

Βασίλεια δ' εἰκών ἐστιν ἔμψυχος θεοῦ.

The kingship is a living icon of God.

This is another of the monostichs of Menander, so it is also iambic:

Βασίλει|α δ' εἰ||κών ἐσ|τιν ἔμ||ψυχος | θεοῦ.

The word βασιλεία can refer to kingdom in the sense of a domain, but it can also refer to "kingship" in the sense of the king's rule, or even the king himself. You can see the root βασιλ- in the names Basil, Vassily, etc.

Ὑπὲρ εὐσεβείας καὶ λάλει καὶ μάνθανε.

Both speak and learn with reverence.

Another iambic monostich!

Ὑπὲρ εὐ|σεβεί||ας καὶ | λάλει || καὶ μάν| θανε.

The two imperatives provide a nice opportunity to compare the difference accentuation of imperatives: μάνθανε is the accent for an -ω verb, while λάλει is the accent for a contract -εω verb. You can see the εὐσεβ- root in the name Eusebius, and the σεβ- root in Sebastian.

Hippolytus and Phaedra

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

---

---

---

Click here to subscribe/unsubscribe to the email list.

---

Greek Reading: Fables 45

Today's fable and also the joke come from Colton's Greek Reader, which has notes for the stories and a vocabulary in the back; the book 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.

Μύρμηξ καὶ κάνθαρος 

Θέρους ὥρᾳ μύρμηξ, περιπατῶν κατὰ τὴν ἄρουραν, πυροὺς καὶ κριθὰς συνέλεγεν, ἀποθησαυριζόμενος ἑαυτῷ τροφὴν εἰς τὸν χειμῶνα. Κάνθρος δὲ τοῦτον θεασάμενος ἐθαύμασεν ὡς ἐπιπονώτατον, εἴγε παρ' αὐτὸν τὸν καιρὸν μοχθεῖ, παρ' ὃν τὰ ἄλλα ζῶα πόνων ἀφέμενα ἐν ῥᾳστώνῃ διάγουσιν. Ὁ δὲ τότε μὲν ἡσύχασεν. Ὕστερον δὲ, ὡς χειμὼν ἀνέστη, καὶ ἡ κόπρος ὕετο τῷ ὅμβρῳ κλυσθεῖσα, ἧκεν ὁ κάνθαρος πρὸς αὐτὸν λιμώττων, καὶ τροφῆς μεταλαβεῖν ἐδέετο. Ὁ δὲ πρὸς αὐτὸν ἔφη· Ὦ κάνθαρε, ἀλλ' εἰ τότε ἐπόνεις, ὅτε με μοχθοῦντα ὠνείδιζες, οὐκ ἂν νῦν τροφῆς ἐπεδέου.

Θέρους ὥρᾳ μύρμηξ, 

περιπατῶν κατὰ τὴν ἄρουραν, 

πυροὺς καὶ κριθὰς συνέλεγεν, 

ἀποθησαυριζόμενος ἑαυτῷ τροφὴν 

εἰς τὸν χειμῶνα. 

Κάνθρος δὲ 

τοῦτον θεασάμενος 

ἐθαύμασεν 

ὡς ἐπιπονώτατον, 

εἴγε παρ' αὐτὸν τὸν καιρὸν 

μοχθεῖ, 

παρ' ὃν 

τὰ ἄλλα ζῶα 

πόνων ἀφέμενα 

ἐν ῥᾳστώνῃ διάγουσιν. 

Ὁ δὲ τότε μὲν ἡσύχασεν. 

Ὕστερον δὲ, 

ὡς χειμὼν ἀνέστη, 

καὶ ἡ κόπρος ὕετο 

τῷ ὅμβρῳ κλυσθεῖσα, 

ἧκεν ὁ κάνθαρος 

πρὸς αὐτὸν λιμώττων, 

καὶ τροφῆς μεταλαβεῖν ἐδέετο. 

Ὁ δὲ πρὸς αὐτὸν ἔφη· 

Ὦ κάνθαρε, 

ἀλλ' εἰ τότε ἐπόνεις, 

ὅτε με μοχθοῦντα ὠνείδιζες, 

οὐκ ἂν νῦν τροφῆς ἐπεδέου.

Θέρους ὥρᾳ μύρμηξ  ...  During summertime, the ant

περιπατῶν κατὰ τὴν ἄρουραν  ...  going around the farm fields

πυροὺς καὶ κριθὰς συνέλεγεν  ...  gathered wheat and barley

ἀποθησαυριζόμενος ἑαυτῷ τροφὴν  ...  stored away food for himself 

εἰς τὸν χειμῶνα  ...  for winter. 

Κάνθρος δὲ  ...  But the beetle, 

τοῦτον θεασάμενος  ...  seeing the ant, 

ἐθαύμασεν  ...  was baffled

ὡς ἐπιπονώτατον  ...  at how incredibly hard-working he was, 

εἴγε παρ' αὐτὸν τὸν καιρὸν  ...  since during that time 

μοχθεῖ  ...  the ant toiled away,

παρ' ὃν  ...  while 

τὰ ἄλλα ζῶα  ...  the other animals 

πόνων ἀφέμενα  ...  set aside their work  

ἐν ῥᾳστώνῃ διάγουσιν  ...  passed the time in leisure. 

Ὁ δὲ τότε μὲν ἡσύχασεν  ...  So the beetle rested at that time, 

Ὕστερον δὲ  ...  but later,

ὡς χειμὼν ἀνέστη  ...  when winter came, 

καὶ ἡ κόπρος ὕετο  ...  and the dung washed away,

τῷ ὅμβρῳ κλυσθεῖσα  ...  drenched by the rain, 

ἧκεν ὁ κάνθαρος  ...  and the beetle came, 

λιμώττων  ... starving,

πρὸς αὐτὸν  ...  to the ant 

καὶ ἐδέετο  ...  and begged him

τροφῆς μεταλαβεῖν  ...  to share his food. 

Ὁ δὲ πρὸς αὐτὸν ἔφη  ...  But he said to him, 

Ὦ κάνθαρε  ...  O Beetle, 

ἀλλ' εἰ τότε ἐπόνεις  ...  if you had labored back then, 

ὅτε με ὠνείδιζες  ...  when you reproached me

μοχθοῦντα  ...  while I was toiling away,

οὐκ ἂν νῦν τροφῆς ἐπεδέου  ...  you wouldn't lack food now.

Greco-Phoenician ring with scarab

Σχολαστικὸς καὶ τὰ βιβλία αὑτοῦ

Σχολαστικὸς ἀπορῶν δαπανημάτων τὰ βιβλία αὑτοῦ ἐπίπρασκε, καὶ γράφων πρὸς τὸν πατέρα ἔλεγε· Σύγχαιρε ἡμῖν, πάτερ· ἤδη γὰρ ἡμᾶς τὰ βιβλία τρέφει.

Σχολαστικὸς 

ἀπορῶν δαπανημάτων 

τὰ βιβλία αὑτοῦ ἐπίπρασκε, 

καὶ γράφων πρὸς τὸν πατέρα 

ἔλεγε· 

Σύγχαιρε ἡμῖν, πάτερ· 

ἤδη γὰρ ἡμᾶς τὰ βιβλία τρέφει.

Σχολαστικὸς  ...  The dunce,

ἀπορῶν δαπανημάτων  ...  being short of money, 

τὰ βιβλία αὑτοῦ ἐπίπρασκε  ...  sold his books, 

καὶ γράφων πρὸς τὸν πατέρα  ...  and wrote to his father, 

ἔλεγε  ...  saying, 

Σύγχαιρε ἡμῖν, πάτερ  ...  Congratulate us, Dad! 

ἤδη γὰρ τὰ βιβλία  ... Those books are finally

ἡμᾶς τρέφει  ... doing us some good!

(Greek τρέφει means nourish, sustain, educate)

teacher and student

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

---

---

---

Click here to subscribe/unsubscribe to the email list.

---

Proverbs Slideshow/Crossword: April 10

For today, it's a new review slideshow for Groups 146, 147 and 148. 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.

There's also a crossword puzzle PDF that you can print; here's a screenshot of the puzzle and key. :-)

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

1. Ἐν ὄρφνῃ δραπέτης μέγα σθένει.
2. Ἕνα ἀλλὰ λέοντα.
   
3. Ἐπ' ἀμφότερα καθεύδεις τὰ ὦτα.
   
4. ῾Ηδονὴν φεῦγε, ἥτις λύπην τίκτει.
5. Μὴ γίνου θρασὺς ἐν γλώσσῃ σου.
   
6. Μηδὲν ἄγαν, καιρῷ πάντα πρόσεστι καλά.
   
7. Νεώτερον δίδασκε.
   
8. Οἱ μεγάλοι κλέπται τὸν μικρὸν ἀπάγουσι.
   
9. Ὅσια κρῖνε.
   
10. Οὐ χρείαν ἔχουσιν οἱ ἰσχύοντες ἰατροῦ ἀλλ᾽ οἱ κακῶς ἔχοντες.
    
11. Ὄφιν τρέφειν καὶ πονηρὸν εὐεργετεῖν ταὐτόν ἐστιν.
    
12. Πάντα πλήρη θεῶν.
    
13. Πρεσβύτερον αἰδοῦ.
    
14. Τέχνη δ' ἀνάγκης ἀσθενεστέρα μακρῷ.
    
15. Ὑπὸ τῆς ἀνάγκης πάντα δουλοῦται ταχύ.

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

---

---

---

Click here to subscribe/unsubscribe to the email list.

---