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Βουλῆς γὰρ ὀρθῆς οὐδὲν ἀσφαλέστερον.

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Βουλῆς γὰρ ὀρθῆς οὐδὲν ἀσφαλέστερον.

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Nothing is more reliable than good advice.

This is one of the monostichs (one-liners) of Menander. Here is the meter marked:

Βουλῆς γὰρ ὀρ || θῆς οὐ | δὲν ἀσ || φαλέ | στερον.

From the root in Greek ὀρθή we get all the orth- words in English like orthodox, orthopedics, etc. The adjective ἀσφαλέστερον, superlative of ἀσφαλές, is an alpha-privative: ἀ-σφαλές, un-falling or un-failing (verb: σφάλλω); compare English "asphalt."

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Τέλος ὅρα μακροῦ βίου.

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Τέλος ὅρα μακροῦ βίου.

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Look at the end of a long life.

The saying is found in Epicurus, who marks it as a proverbial saying (φωνή ἡ λέγουσα...). The idea is that you cannot pronounce someone happy until the end of their life. Solon discusses this idea with Croesus in their famous dialogue, and Arrian also appropriates the idea in discussing the short life of Alexander the Great: “Perhaps it was also a better fate for him to die at the height of his reputation and when he would be missed by men before he could suffer that common human fate, which is the very thing Solon warned Croesus about: that it is best to look to the end of even a long life (τέλος ὁρᾶν μακροῦ βίου) and never to say openly that some man is fortunate before he is dead.”

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Οἶκος φίλος, οἶκος ἄριστος.

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Οἶκος φίλος, οἶκος ἄριστος.

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Home is dear, home is best.

Compare the English saying, "East or west, home is best" or "There's no place like home." These words are spoken by the tortoise in the Aesop's fable of Zeus and the tortoise: the tortoise is explaining why she didn't come to Zeus's wedding, and Zeus gets so angry that he condemns the tortoise to carrying her house with her wherever she goes... although for the tortoise, that is more like a reward than a punishment! The fable has its own Wikipedia article: Zeus and the Tortoise.

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Γλυκὺ τὸ φῶς.

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Γλυκὺ τὸ φῶς.

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Sweet is the light.

The words come from the Biblical book of Ecclesiastes. The full verse reads: γλυκὺ τὸ φῶς καὶ ἀγαθὸν τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς βλέπειν σὺν τὸν ἥλιον, "and it is good for the eyes together to behold the sun." From the root of Greek γλυκ- we get the glyc- words in English like glycerine, and also gluc- words like glucose.

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Κρῖνε δίκαια.

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Κρῖνε δίκαια.

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Discern what is right.

Notice that the Greek uses the plural adjective as a noun: (the things that are) right. You can also render this as an adverb in English: Judge justly. This is one of the maxims that Stobaeus attributes to the Seven Sages; find out more at Wikipedia: Delphic maxims. You can also find out more about the goddess of justice, Wikipedia: Dike.

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Τίς γὰρ κατόπτρῳ καὶ τυφλῷ κοινωνία;

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Τίς γὰρ κατόπτρῳ καὶ τυφλῷ κοινωνία;

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What partnership can there be for a mirror and a blind man?

You will find this saying included in the dictionary entry for κάτοπτρον. Compare the English saying: "A blind man will not thank you for a looking-glass." For more positive proverbs, though, compare this Hausa proverb from Nigeria: "A blind man does not worry over the loss of a looking glass." Plus this one from Sierra Leone: "Don't ask a blind man why he would buy a mirror; he probably has a use for it."

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Οὐδὲν γλύκιον ἧς πατρίδος.

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Οὐδὲν γλύκιον ἧς πατρίδος.

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Nothing is sweeter than one's fatherland.

The word γλύκιον is comparative ("sweeter"), so it takes a genitive complement: πατρίδος. The words appear in Homer's Odyssey, and so echo on throughout Greek literature, quoted by later authors.

For example, here is a line from the Greek Anthology, with "said Odysseus" at the end: ὡς οὐδὲν γλύκιον ἧς πατρίδος, εἶπεν Ὀδυσσεύς. The complete line in the Odyssey includes parents also:

ὣς οὐδὲν γλύκιον ἧς πατρίδος οὐδὲ τοκήων

Here is the meter:

ὣς οὐ~δὲν γλύκι~ον ἧς ~ πατρίδος ~ οὐδὲ το~κήων

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Καιρὸς ψυχὴ πράγματος.

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Καιρὸς ψυχὴ πράγματος.

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The right moment is the soul of the matter.

In English, we might say "the heart" of the matter, rather than "the soul." For the wide range of meanings of Greek ψυχή, see the LSJ dictionary entry: soul, spirit, life, self, consciousness. The word gives us all the psych- words in English, like psychology, and Psyche is the lover of Eros / Cupid; see Wikipedia: Cupid and Psyche.

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Ἀγέλαστος πέτρα.

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Ἀγέλαστος πέτρα.

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The un-laughing stone.

This refers to the stone at Eleusis on which the grieving Demeter rested while she searched for her daughter Persephone; see Wikipedia: Abduction of Persephone for that story. Note that the alpha-privative adjective ἀ-γέλαστος does not have a distinct feminine form; instead, the feminine and masculine forms are the same. This is true not just for alpha-privatives but for many other compound adjectives as well.

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Κακίαν μίσει.

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Κακίαν μίσει.

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Hate badness.

This is another one of the maxims that Stobaeus attributes to the Seven Sages; see Wikipedia: Delphic maxims. From the root of the noun κακία (and the adjective κακός), we get English words like cacophony. There is an enormous number of Greek words which are built from this root; see the list at Wiktionary.

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Δῶρα πείθειν καὶ θεοὺς λόγος.

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Δῶρα πείθειν καὶ θεοὺς λόγος.

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The story goes that gifts persuade even the gods.

Note the adverbial use of καί here: even the gods, i.e. [mortals] and gods. The noun λόγος here means something like saying or story, or even simply "it is said," and it introduces indirect statement, with the infinitive πείθειν and an accusative subject, δῶρα. The line comes from Euripides' Medea, when Medea is handing over to Jason the deadly dowry for his new wife, so Medea is actually using this λόγος to lead him into her trap.

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Μὴ κρίνετε, καὶ οὐ μὴ κριθῆτε.

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Μὴ κρίνετε, καὶ οὐ μὴ κριθῆτε.

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Do not judge, and you will not be judged.

The words are from the Gospel of Luke. The full verse reads: καὶ μὴ κρίνετε, καὶ οὐ μὴ κριθῆτε· καὶ μὴ καταδικάζετε, καὶ οὐ μὴ καταδικασθῆτε. ἀπολύετε, καὶ ἀπολυθήσεσθε· — translated in the King James version as: "Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven." Note the emphatic use of οὐ μή for the negative prediction; more about Greek οὐ μή.

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Κύριε, ἐλέησον.

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Κύριε, ἐλέησον.

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Lord, have mercy.

The word ἐλέησον is a different kind of imperative; this is an aorist imperative from the verb ἐλεέω. The sigma is a clue that you are dealing with an aorist imperative; like most contract verbs, ἐλεέω has a sigmatic aorist: ἠλέησα (stem: ἐλέησ-). This phrase from Christian Greek is also found in Christian Latin: Kyrie eleison, or simply Kyrie. You can find out more at Wikipedia: Kyrie.

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Χρόνου φείδου.

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Χρόνου φείδου.

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Be sparing of time.

The verb φείδου is another middle imperative; the verb φείδομαι has only middle forms, and it takes a genitive complement: χρόνου. This and the previous saying are from the maxims that Stobaeus attributed to the Seven Sages; see Wikipedia: Delphic maxims for more.

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Ἀλύπως βίου.

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Ἀλύπως βίου.

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Live without grieving.

The word βίου is a verb here, a middle imperative of the contract verb βιόω. Yes, βίου is also the genitive singular of the noun βίος; the two words are from the same root, but they are not the same word. Just like in English, which abounds in homonyms (both homographs and homophones), there are some Greek words which can have the same spelling and pronunciation but which are different words, and you have to figure it out from context. In this context, βίου as noun does not make sense, but βίου as verb does. More about the many different types of homonyms at Wikipedia.

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Εἰ μὴ δύναιο βοῦν, ἔλαυνε ὄνον.

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Εἰ μὴ δύναιο βοῦν, ἔλαυνε ὄνον.

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If you cannot (drive) an ox, drive a donkey.

In other words, it's better to plow with an ox if you have it, but if you don't have an ox, then a donkey will do. The verb δύναιο is a present optative, hence the use of μὴ for the negation.

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Ἀγαπᾶτε τοὺς ἐχθροὺς ὑμῶν.

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Ἀγαπᾶτε τοὺς ἐχθροὺς ὑμῶν.

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Love your enemies.

This is another Biblical saying, this time from the Gospel of Luke, specifically from the section known as the Sermon on the Plain; you can find out more at Wikipedia: Sermon on the Plain. There is also a Wikipedia article about this saying in particular: Love your enemies.

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Ὃ γέγραφα γέγραφα.

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Ὃ γέγραφα γέγραφα.

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That which I have written, I have written.

The words are spoken by Pontius Pilate in the Gospel of John. The story goes that Pilate wrote a sign to hang on the cross of Jesus: Ἰησοῦς ὁ Ναζωραῖος ὁ Βασιλεὺς τῶν ἰουδαίων, Jesus of Nazareth King of the Jews. The Jewish priests objected, but Pilate would not change what he had written. This famous incident has its own article at Wikipedia: Quod scripsi scripsi. You can also find out more at this article: Jesus, King of the Jews.

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Πλούτει δικαίως.

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Πλούτει δικαίως.

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Get rich fairly.

In other words, as you pursue wealth play by the rules, δικαίως, doing what is right. The word πλούτει is an imperative from the contract verb πλου,τέω, from the noun πλοῦτος, meaning wealth, riches, etc. Πλοῦτος is also the name of the Greek god of wealth; find out more at Wikipedia: Plutus.

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Μᾶλλον ὁ Φρύξ.

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Μᾶλλον ὁ Φρύξ.

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The Phrygian (has spoken) better.

The Phrygian referred to here is Aesop who, in addition to being the putative composer of hundreds of fables, was a popular folktale figure in ancient Greece and Rome. These words were supposedly spoken by King Croesus, declaring Aesop to have spoken better than the Seven Sages in response to the question Croesus posed about happiness. You can read more about Croesus, including this incident, at Wikipedia: Croesus' Interview with Solon.

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Πολλοὶ βουκένται, παῦροι δέ τε γῆς ἀροτῆρες.

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Πολλοὶ βουκένται, παῦροι δέ τε γῆς ἀροτῆρες.

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Many are those who goad the oxen, but few are those who plough the earth.

In other words, it's not enough just to go through the motions; you must be skilled and dedicated to accomplish your true goal. The saying is a hexameter:

Πολλοὶ βουκέν~ται, παῦ~ροι δέ τε γῆς ἀρο~τῆρες.
This is a kind of proverbial formula which you saw in a different form previously: Ναρθηκοφόροι μὲν πολλοί, βάκχοι δέ τε παῦροι, "The people carrying the wands of Bacchus are many, but the worshipers of Bacchus are few." (more about the Bacchus proverb).

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Γῆρας λέοντος κρεῖττον ἀκμαίων νεβρῶν.

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Γῆρας λέοντος κρεῖττον ἀκμαίων νεβρῶν.

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The old age of the lion is more powerful than fawns in their prime.

Here the comparative κρεῖττον is taking a genitive complement: νεβρῶν. The contrast between singular lion and plural fawns strengthens the comparison: all the flourishing young fawns put together do not equal the strength of one old lion. From the same root as Greek ἀκμαῖος we get English acme (Greek ἀκμή), meaning the high point, peak, prime, paragon, etc.

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Δίκαιος εἶναι μᾶλλον ἢ δοκεῖν θέλε.

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Δίκαιος εἶναι μᾶλλον ἢ δοκεῖν θέλε.

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Aspire to be just rather than to appear (to be just).

The idea is to really be just as opposed to merely seeming to be so. The word ἢ can be used with comparatives like μᾶλλον, much like English "than" — μᾶλλον ἢ, "rather than." The saying is found in Teles the Cynic, and the tension between reality and appearance, εἶναι μᾶλλον ἢ δοκεῖν, also figures in Aristotle's Rhetoric.

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Ἄδύνατα θηρᾷς.

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Ἄδύνατα θηρᾷς.

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You're hunting things that are impossible.

The adjective ἀδύνατα is an alpha-privative form of δυνατά: im-possible; note also the change in stress. The Greek word appears in English rhetorical terminology as adynaton, meaning a hyperbole so extreme as to be impossible. See Wikipedia: Adynaton for examples.

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Εὔχου δυνατά.

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Εὔχου δυνατά.

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Pray for things that are possible.

The verb εὔχου is a middle imperative from the deponent verb εὔχομαι; like many middle verbs it can still take a direct object: δυνατά, an adjective being used here as a noun, "possible (things)." This is another of the maxims attributed by Stobaeus to the Seven Sages.

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