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Πολλοὶ στρατηγοὶ Καρίαν ἀπώλεσαν.

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Πολλοὶ στρατηγοὶ Καρίαν ἀπώλεσαν.

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Many generals destroyed Karia.

Compare the more peaceful English saying: "Too many cooks spoil the soup."  You can read about Caria, a region in western Anatolia, at Wikipedia: Caria. From Greek στρατηγός (a compound of στρατός and ἄγω), we get English strategy.

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Νῦν αὖτέ με μοῖρα κιχάνει.

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Νῦν αὖτέ με μοῖρα κιχάνει.

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Now again my fate overtakes me.

The words are from Homer's Iliad; Hector is speaking, aware that he is about to die. The word μοῖρα means a lot or portion, but it also means fate: the lot in life apportioned to you by the gods. The plural, Μοῖραι, were the Fates; you can read more about these goddesses at Wikipedia: Moirai.

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Σκιὰ ἀντὶ τοῦ σώματος.

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Σκιὰ ἀντὶ τοῦ σώματος.

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A shadow instead of a body.

This saying was applied to people who might appear to be powerful but who have no power at all, like a shadow. From the root of Greek σῶμα we get English somatic.

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Νόμος καὶ χώρα.

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Νόμος καὶ χώρα.

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Law and region.

This saying refers to the idea that each region has its own laws. Compare a saying in this earlier blog post: Ἕπου χώρας τρόποις. You can see the root of Greek νόμ- in the English word economy, which is from Greek οἰκονομία, οἰκο-νομία.

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Κακίας ἀπέχου.

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Κακίας ἀπέχου.

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Keep away from wickedness.

The verb ἀπέχου is a middle imperative, and it takes a genitive complement: κακίας. This is one of the sayings of the Seven Sages reported by Stobaeus.

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Ἄλλο γλαὺξ, ἄλλο κορώνη φθέγγεται.

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Ἄλλο γλαὺξ, ἄλλο κορώνη φθέγγεται.

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The owl says one thing, the crow another.

The saying is used to refer to differences of opinion, or any kind of stark contrast. The root of the verb φθέγγομαι appears in English words like diphthong and apothegm.

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Διὰ Θεῶν πόλιν νεμόμεθ' ἀδάματον.

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Διὰ Θεῶν πόλιν νεμόμεθ' ἀδάματον.

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By means of the gods we inhabit a city that is unconquered.

The words come from Aeschylus's Seven Against Thebes. The verb here is νεμόμεθα, and the final vowel drops out before the following vowel. The word ἀδάματον is feminine accusative; alpha-privative adjectives regularly do not have a distinctive feminine form.

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Ἡδύ τοι σωθέντα μεμνῆσθαι πόνων. 

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Ἡδύ τοι σωθέντα μεμνῆσθαι πόνων. 

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Indeed it is sweet for the one who has been saved to remember his sufferings.

This line is a fragment of Euripides, cited by Aristotle. The word σωθέντα is an aorist passive participle, masculine accusative, serving as the subject of the infinitive μεμνῆσθαι, which takes a genitive complement: πόνων. You can see a collection of related sayings here: Pleasure at Pain in the Past.

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Παθὼν δέ τε νήπιος ἔγνω.

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Παθὼν δέ τε νήπιος ἔγνω.

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Even the fool learns by experience.

The words come from Hesiod's Works and Days. Compare Homer's Iliad: Ρεχθέν δε τε νήπιος έγνω. The word νήπιος can mean a child, someone young, but it can also mean childish, foolish, silly, etc., as in this saying. The idea here is that a more wise person might use reasoning instead without suffering "the school of hard knocks" as we say in English; that English saying even has its own Wikipedia article: School of Hard Knocks.

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Λέγε εἰδώς.

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Λέγε εἰδώς.

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Speak what you know.

Literally, "having come to know something, speak." The word εἰδώς is the perfect active participle of οἶδα. This is another one of the sayings attributed to the Seven Sages; see more at Wikipedia: Delphic maxims.

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Ἕκαστον γὰρ δένδρον ἐκ τοῦ ἰδίου καρποῦ γινώσκεται.

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Ἕκαστον γὰρ δένδρον ἐκ τοῦ ἰδίου καρποῦ γινώσκεται.

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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.

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Ὑφ' ἡδονῆς ὁ φρόνιμος οὐχ ἁλίσκεται.

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Ὑφ' ἡδονῆς ὁ φρόνιμος οὐχ ἁλίσκεται.

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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.

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Τὰ ἀφανῆ τοῖς φανεροῖς τεκμαίρου.

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Τὰ ἀφανῆ τοῖς φανεροῖς τεκμαίρου.

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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.

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Φθόνει μηδενί.

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Φθόνει μηδενί.

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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. The verb This is another one of the Delphic maxims.

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Ἀγαθοὺς τίμα.

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Ἀγαθοὺς τίμα.

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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.

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Ἀνδρὸς δὲ ψυχὴ πάλιν ἐλθεῖν οὔτε λεϊστὴ οὔθ᾽ ἑλετή.

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Ἀνδρὸς δὲ ψυχὴ πάλιν ἐλθεῖν οὔτε λεϊστὴ οὔθ᾽ ἑλετή.

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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).

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Ἐμοὶ ἐχθὲς καί σοὶ σήμερον.

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Ἐμοὶ ἐχθὲς καί σοὶ σήμερον.

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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").

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Πάταξον μέν, ἄκουσον δέ.

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Πάταξον μέν, ἄκουσον δέ.

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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.

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Ἄρτι μῦς πίττης γεύεται.

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Ἄρτι μῦς πίττης γεύεται.

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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.

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Κολοιὸς παρὰ κολοιόν.

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Κολοιὸς παρὰ κολοιόν.

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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.

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Ὁ ἔχων δύο χιτῶνας μεταδότω τῷ μὴ ἔχοντι.

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Ὁ ἔχων δύο χιτῶνας μεταδότω τῷ μὴ ἔχοντι.

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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.

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Ἰατρὲ, θεράπευσον σεαυτόν.

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Ἰατρὲ, θεράπευσον σεαυτόν.

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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.

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Τὸ μέλλον οὐδεὶς ἐκφύγοι.

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Τὸ μέλλον οὐδεὶς ἐκφύγοι.

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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.

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Ἀπὸ τοῦ ἡλίου μετάστηθι.

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Ἀπὸ τοῦ ἡλίου μετάστηθι.

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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.

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Τὸ φῶς ἡλίῳ δανείζεις.

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Τὸ φῶς ἡλίῳ δανείζεις.

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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.

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