Daily Greek Vocabulary Challenge: Dec. 18

Here are today's vocabulary words; it's Group 128. Click on the word to learn more at Logeion:

μηδείς ~ μηδενός (adj. masc.): none, nothing (μη) 

ἀμφότερον ~ ἀμφοτέρου (adj. neut.): both of two; either 

οὐδέν ~ οὐδενός (adj. neut.): none, nothing

νέος ~ νέου (adj. masc.): young, new 

πλεῖστον ~ πλείστου (adj. neut.): the most, very many 

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

Ὑφορῶ μηδένα.

Ἐπ' ἀμφότερα καθεύδεις τὰ ὦτα.

Οὐδὲν γίγνεται ἐκ τοῦ μὴ ὄντος.

Ὅν οἱ θεοὶ φιλοῦσιν ἀποθνῄσκει νέος.

Κακὰ πλεῖστα πόλει δυσνομία παρέχει.

And now, some commentary:

Ὑφορῶ μηδένα.

Do not regard anyone with suspicion.

The verb ὑφοράω is a compound of οράω: ὑπο+ὁράω (the vowel drops, and the aspiration changes the pi to phi). Literally, it means to look at from below, but metaphorically it means to look at someone with suspicion or jealousy, which is the meaning here. Because it is an imperative, it takes the form μηδένα rather than the form οὐδένα that is used with indicative verbs. This is another of the maxims attributed by Stobaeus to the Seven Sages.

Ἐπ' ἀμφότερα καθεύδεις τὰ ὦτα.

You're sleeping on both ears.

This means to be sleeping deeply; compare the English saying "to sleep like a log." The idea is that you are in such a comfortable and secure situation that you don't need to keep an ear open for danger while you sleep. The Greek determiner ἄμφω means "both," and the adjective ἀμφότερος means "each of two, both." You can see this root in amphitheater. 

Οὐδὲν γίγνεται ἐκ τοῦ μὴ ὄντος.

Nothing can come from that which is not.

This is a saying of the philosopher Epicurus, who maintained that for creation to take place, there must be pre-existing matter. You can also find the idea stated thus: οὐδὲν ἐξ οὐδενός. For a discussion of this topic, see the Wikipedia articles: Creatio ex materia and the opposing view: Creatio ex nihilo, which affirms that matter did not pre-exist God, who indeed created something from nothing.

Κακὰ πλεῖστα πόλει δυσνομία παρέχει.

Bad laws produce the most evils for a city.

The adjective πλεῖστον is the superlative form of πολύ. The noun δυσνομία is a compound, δυσ-νομία, meaning bad governance, bad laws, or lawlessness. This is one of the sayings attributed to Solon. This line comes from a long elegiac fragment which you can read here: Justice and the City.

Ὅν οἱ θεοὶ φιλοῦσιν ἀποθνῄσκει νέος.

Whom the gods love dies young.

The adjective νέος can mean new or fresh, and with regard to humans or other animals, as here, it means young. You can see this Greek root in many English words, such as neophyte and neolithic. This is one of the lines of the comic poet Menander; here is the meter marked:

Ὅν οἱ | θεοὶ || φιλοῦ|σιν ἀπο||θνῄσκει | νέος.

(You can often read a three-syllable element in an iambic line as syncopated: ἀπ'θνῄσκει.)

(the poet Menander)

And here's a random proverb too:

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Daily Greek Vocabulary Challenge: Dec. 17

Here are today's vocabulary words; it's Group 127. Click on the word to learn more at Logeion:

ἀρετή ~ ἀρετῆς (noun f.): excellence, virtue 

πόλεμος ~ πολέμου (noun m.): war, battle 

θάλασσα ~ θαλάσσης (noun f.): sea 

ῥῆμα ~ ῥήματος (noun n.): word, subject matter 

οἶκος ~ οἴκου (noun m.): house, household 

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

Ἐπαίνει ἀρετήν.

Ἄδακρυς πόλεμος.

Θάλαττα, θάλαττα.

Ῥήματα ἀντί ἀλφίτων.

Μὴ ἴσθι ὡς λέων ἐν τῷ οἴκῳ σου.

And now, some commentary:

Ἐπαίνει ἀρετήν.

Praise excellence.

This is another one of the maxims that Stobaeus attributed to the Seven Sages. The verb ἐπαινέω is a contract verb (ἐπ-αινέω), so ἐπαίνει is an imperative (the 3rd-person indicative would be ἐπαινεῖ, with the same spelling but different accent). There is a word in English, aretology, the study of virtue, derived from Greek ἀρετή.

Ἄδακρυς πόλεμος.

A war without tears.

The word ἄδακρυς is an alphaprivate: ἄ-δακρυς, without-tears. The phrase refers to people who face great danger and risk yet achieve perfect success, victory without tears. From the root of Greek πόλεμος, we get the word polemical. The Greek name Ptolemy also comes from this root; see more at Wikipedia: Ptolemy.

Θάλαττα! θάλαττα! 

The sea! The sea!

This was the cry of Cyrus's army of Greek mercenaries who had been stranded in Persia and finally reached the Black Sea after a two-year, 3000-mile journey; the story is told in Xenophon's Anabasis. It features the Attic pronunciation: θάλαττα instead of θάλασσα. The phrase has its own Wikipedia article: Thalatta! Thalatta!

Ῥήματα ἀντί ἀλφίτων.

Words in place of barley.

The implication is that words cannot fill your stomach the way barley can; talk is a poor substitute for food when you are hungry. Compare the English saying, "Fine words butter no parsnips." The root in Greek ῥῆμα is the same root you see in ῥήτωρ, and thus also in English rhetoric.

Μὴ ἴσθι ὡς λέων ἐν τῷ οἴκῳ σου.

Do not be like a lion in your home.

The idea is to treat your family and other members of your household kindly, not like a wild beast. This saying comes from the Biblical Book of Sirach. The word ἴσθι is the imperative of εἰμί (most forms of this verb are irregular). From the root in Greek οἶκος we get English words like economy and ecology.

(route of the 10,000 Greek mercenaries)

And here's a random proverb too:

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Daily Greek Vocabulary Challenge: Dec. 16

Here are today's vocabulary words; it's Group 126. Click on the word to learn more at Logeion:

νομίζω ~ νομιέω ~ ἐνόμισα: think, consider, regard 

βαδίζω ~ βαδιέομαι ~ ἐβάδισα: walk, go 

πάρειμι ~ παρέσομαι (no aorist): present, stand by, help 

λαγχάνω ~ λήξομαι ~ ἔλαχον: obtain by lot 

πίπτω ~ πεσοῦμαι ~ ἔπεσον: fall, fall down 

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

Τύχην νόμιζε.

Ἄνευ ξύλου μὴ βάδιζε.

Ἀδελφὸς ἀνδρὶ παρείη.

Πενία δὲ τὴν σοφίαν ἔλαχε.

Ἀεὶ γὰρ εὖ πίπτουσιν οἱ Διὸς κύβοι.

And now, some commentary:

Τύχην νόμιζε.

Recognize (your good) luck.

In other words: it's not just enough to be lucky; you need to be aware of luck when it arrives. This is another one of the maxims attributed by Stobaeus to the Seven Sages. For more about the goddess of Luck, Τύχη, see Wikipedia: Tyche.

Πενία δὲ τὴν σοφίαν ἔλαχε.

Poverty brings wisdom.

The idea is that the hardships of poverty teach wisdom, i.e. you learn a lot in the School of Hard Knocks as we say in English. For related sayings in both Greek and Latin, see Erasmus. Here's one that you saw in an earlier blog post: Λιμὸς δὲ πολλῶν γίγνεται διδάσκαλος.

Ἄνευ ξύλου μὴ βάδιζε.

Do not walk without a cudgel.

The word ξύλον means wood and things made of wood; the sense here is a club or cudgel. In other words, don't walk about defenseless. The saying is attributed to Cleomenes, one of the Spartan leaders in the war against the Persians.

Ἀδελφὸς ἀνδρὶ παρείη.

Let a brother come to a man's aid.

The words appear in Plato's Republic, and he labels the words a saying: τὸ λεγόμενον. The word πάρειμι can just mean to be present, to be next to something, but it can also have the sense of standing by and helping, which is the meaning here. You can also consult Erasmus for more Greek sayings similar to this one.

Ἀεὶ γὰρ εὖ πίπτουσιν οἱ Διὸς κύβοι.

The dice of Zeus always fall well.

In other words, Zeus is always lucky when gambling at dice. The proverb was used to apply to people who were supernaturally lucky. It's an iambic verse:

Ἀεὶ | γὰρ εὖ || πίπτου|σιν οἱ || Διὸς | κύβοι.

The Greek word κύβος means a cube (yes, it's the origin of English "cube" although the etymology of the Greek word remains mysterious), and in this context it means cubical dice. You can read about the history of dice, including their use in ancient Greece and Rome, at Wikipedia: Dice.

(a Roman die, made of lead)

And here's a random proverb too:

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Week 36 Proverb and Vocabulary Review

Review Padlet. Here's a link to the Proverb Padlet that contains the contents of the week's posts... and it displays at random each time you load the Padlet! That way you can use it as a randomizing-reviewer for the week.

And remember: you can put a Padlet on your phone so you can pop up a proverb at random whenever. There's a free Padlet app you can download if you want, but you don't need the app; you can just save the URL to your phone home screen. You can also access all the Padlets here: Padlet-of-Padlets.

Alphabetical Index. Plus here is the list of all of this week's proverbs, alphabetized and linked back to the blog post so that you can access the English translation and commentary as needed. I've also updated the complete list of proverbs (there are now 620 total).

• Ἀγαθοὺς τίμα.
  
• Ἄλλο γλαὺξ, ἄλλο κορώνη φθέγγεται.
  
• Ἀνδρὸς δὲ ψυχὴ πάλιν ἐλθεῖν οὔτε λεϊστὴ οὔθ᾽ ἑλετή.
  
• Ἀπὸ τοῦ ἡλίου μετάστηθι.
  
• Ἄρτι μῦς πίττης γεύεται.
  
• Διὰ Θεῶν πόλιν νεμόμεθ' ἀδάματον.
  
• Ἕκαστον γὰρ δένδρον ἐκ τοῦ ἰδίου καρποῦ γινώσκεται.
  
• Ἐμοὶ ἐχθὲς καί σοὶ σήμερον.
  
• Ἡδύ τοι σωθέντα μεμνῆσθαι πόνων.
  
• Ἰατρὲ, θεράπευσον σεαυτόν.
  
• Κακίας ἀπέχου.
  
• Κολοιὸς παρὰ κολοιόν.
  
• Λέγε εἰδώς.
  
• Νόμος καὶ χώρα.
  
• Νῦν αὖτέ με μοῖρα κιχάνει.
  
• Ὁ ἔχων δύο χιτῶνας μεταδότω τῷ μὴ ἔχοντι.
  
• Παθὼν δέ τε νήπιος ἔγνω.
  
• Πάταξον μέν, ἄκουσον δέ.
  
• Πολλοὶ στρατηγοὶ Καρίαν ἀπώλεσαν.
  
• Σκιὰ ἀντὶ τοῦ σώματος.
  
• Τὰ ἀφανῆ τοῖς φανεροῖς τεκμαίρου.
  
• Τὸ μέλλον οὐδεὶς ἐκφύγοι.
  
• Τὸ φῶς ἡλίῳ δανείζεις.
  
• Ὑφ' ἡδονῆς ὁ φρόνιμος οὐχ ἁλίσκεται.
  
• Φθόνει μηδενί.
  

Audio. If you would like to do some listening, there is audio for Proverbs 1-500.

And here's a random proverb too:

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Daily Greek Vocabulary Challenge: Dec. 13

Here are today's vocabulary words; it's Group 125. These are proverbs you may have seen before (weeks ago), but this time I am featuring different vocabulary items. Click on the word to learn more at Logeion:

δανείζω ~ δανείσω ~ ἐδάνεισα: lend 

μεθίστημι ~ μεταστήσω ~ μετέστην: change, remove 

ἐκφεύγω ~ ἐκφεύξομαι ~ ἐξέφυγον: escape, flee 

θεραπεύω ~ θεραπεύσω ~ ἐθεράπευσα: attend, heal 

μεταδίδωμι ~ μεταδώσω ~ μετέδωκα: distribute, share 

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

Τὸ φῶς ἡλίῳ δανείζεις.

Τὸ μέλλον οὐδεὶς ἐκφύγοι.

Ἰατρὲ, θεράπευσον σεαυτόν.

Ἀπὸ τοῦ ἡλίου μετάστηθι.

Ὁ ἔχων δύο χιτῶνας μεταδότω τῷ μὴ ἔχοντι.

And now, some commentary:

Τὸ φῶς ἡλίῳ δανείζεις.
You're loaning light to the sun.
This is a proverb about acting both foolishly and presumptuously: the sun doesn't need any light from you! From Greek φωτο- we get a huge number of English photo- words, and from ἥλιος we get English helium and also heliotrope. For more about the sun god Ἥλιος, see Wikipedia: Helios.

Ἀπὸ τοῦ ἡλίου μετάστηθι.
Move out of the sunshine.
These are the words famously spoken by the Cynic philosopher Diogenes to Alexander the Great, as reported by Plutarch in his Life of Alexander. Alexander was curious to meet Diogenes and was eager to do him a favor. He found Diogenes lying in the sunshine; all Diogenes wanted from Alexander was for him to stop blocking his sunshine. This famous anecdote has its own Wikipedia article: Diogenes and Alexander.

Τὸ μέλλον οὐδεὶς ἐκφύγοι.
No one can escape what is coming.
The verb ἐκφύγοι is in the optative mood, expressing potential: people might wish to escape what is coming, but nobody can escape, οὐδεὶς ἐκφύγοι. The participial phrase τὸ μέλλον means "that which is coming," i.e. the future, fate, destiny, etc.

Ἰατρὲ, θεράπευσον σεαυτόν.
Physician, heal yourself.
This famous saying has an article of its own at Wikipedia: Physician, heal thyself. It comes from the Gospel of Luke. There is also an Aesop's fable with a similar moral: The Frog Physician. The form θεράπευσον is an aorist imperative.

Ὁ ἔχων δύο χιτῶνας μεταδότω τῷ μὴ ἔχοντι.
Let the one who has two garments give to the one who has none.
The words also come from the Gospel of Luke. The second part of the verse urges the same with regard to food: καὶ ὁ ἔχων βρώματα ὁμοίως ποιείτω, "and let the one who has food do the same." Note the third-person imperatives: μεταδότω and ποιείτω.

Diogenes and Alexander

And here's a random proverb too:

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Daily Greek Vocabulary Challenge: Dec. 12

Here are today's vocabulary words; it's Group 124. Click on the word to learn more at Logeion:

παρά (prep.+acc.): beside, near, by 

ἄρτι (adverb): just now 

μέν (particle): on the one hand... (but we all know particles are really untranslatable, right?)

σήμερον (adverb): today 

πάλιν (adverb): back, again 

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

Κολοιὸς παρὰ κολοιόν.

Ἄρτι μῦς πίττης γεύεται.

Πάταξον μέν, ἄκουσον δέ.

Ἐμοὶ ἐχθὲς καί σοὶ σήμερον.

Ἀνδρὸς δὲ ψυχὴ πάλιν ἐλθεῖν οὔτε λεϊστὴ οὔθ᾽ ἑλετή.

And now, some commentary:

Κολοιὸς παρὰ κολοιόν.

Jackdaw (sits) next to jackdaw.

Compare the English saying, "Birds of a feather flock together." The LSJ entry for κολοιός cites this proverb, along with several other sayings about jackdaws.

Ἄρτι μῦς πίττης γεύεται.

The mouse is now tasting the pitch.

The verb γεύεται takes a genitive complement (have a taste "of"): πίττης. The saying is used by Demosthenes, and it alludes to a mousetrap in which the mouse is lured and trapped in sticky pitch. In other words: someone has just made a fatal mistake, one from which they cannot escape. The proverb appears in the LSJ entry for μῦς.

Πάταξον μέν, ἄκουσον δέ.

Hit me, but listen!

The words are from Plutarch's Life of Themistocles. The situation is that Eurybiades is about to hit Themistocles with his staff while they are arguing about whether the navy should retreat or stay to fight the Persians; Themistocles wins the argument. You can read about the career of Themistocles at Wikipedia, and you can also read about Eurybiades.

Ἐμοὶ ἐχθὲς καί σοὶ σήμερον.

Yesterday (it came) for me, and today for you.

The saying comes from the Biblical Book of Sirach, and the "it" implied here is death, as if the dead were speaking to the living: death came for me already, and it is coming for you today. You can also find the saying in Latin, Mihi heri, et tibi hodie ("For me yesterday, and for you today"), and this Latin variation was a common funerary inscription: Hodie mihi, cras tibi ("For me today, for you tomorrow").

Ἀνδρὸς δὲ ψυχὴ πάλιν ἐλθεῖν οὔτε λεϊστὴ οὔθ᾽ ἑλετή.

The soul of a man cannot return again either by snatching or grabbing.

The words are from Homer's Iliad; Achilles is reflecting on his own mortality. For thoughts about "οὔτε λεϊστὴ οὔθ᾽ ἑλετή," see Gregory Nagy's essay on The Hesiodic Suitors of Helen. Even better: you can hear Nagy reading this passage in Greek here: Homer, Iliad 9.307–429 (this verse is at 8:39 in the recording).

Hodie michi, cras tibi (medieval Latin spelling)

And here's a random proverb too:

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Daily Greek Vocabulary Challenge: Dec. 11

Here are today's vocabulary words; it's Group 123. Click on the word to learn more at Logeion:

ἀγαθός ~ ἀγαθοῦ (adj. masc.): good 

μηδείς ~ μηδενός (adj. masc.): no one, nobody 

ἀφανές ~ ἀφανοῦς (adj. neut.): invisible, unseen 

φρόνιμος ~ φρονίμου (adj. masc.): sensible, wise 

ἕκαστον ~ ἑκάστου (adj. neut.): each, all 

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

Ἀγαθοὺς τίμα.

Φθόνει μηδενί.

Τὰ ἀφανῆ τοῖς φανεροῖς τεκμαίρου.

Ὑφ' ἡδονῆς ὁ φρόνιμος οὐχ ἁλίσκεται.

Ἕκαστον γὰρ δένδρον ἐκ τοῦ ἰδίου καρποῦ γινώσκεται.

And now, some commentary:

Ἀγαθοὺς τίμα.

Honor good (men).

This is one of the sayings attributed by Stobaeus to the Seven Sages; more at Wikipedia: Delphic maxims. From the root in Greek ἀγαθ- we get the English name Agatha. 

Φθόνει μηδενί.

Envy no one.

Note the use of μηδείς with the imperative φθόνει, corresponding to the use of οὐδείς in the indicative. The verb φθονέω takes a dative complement, μηδενί. This is another one of the Delphic maxims.

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.

Ὑφ' ἡδονῆς ὁ φρόνιμος οὐχ ἁλίσκεται.

The wise man is not ensnared by pleasure.

This is one of the one-liners (monostichs) of Menander. The word ὑπό loses its vowel before the following vowel, and the aspiration of ἡδονῆς turns the pi to a phi: ὑφ' ἡδονῆς. Likewise the οὐ becomes οὐκ before the following vowel, and the aspiration of ἁλίσκεται changes the kappa to a chi: οὐχ ἁλίσκεται.

Ἕκαστον γὰρ δένδρον ἐκ τοῦ ἰδίου καρποῦ γινώσκεται.

Each tree is known by its own fruit.

The words come from the Gospel of Luke. You can find out more about this part of Luke at Wikipedia: Sermon on the Plain. In addition, this saying has an article of its own at Wikipedia: The Tree and its Fruits.

Solon in an Islamic miniature (13th century)

And here's a random proverb too:

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