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Ὁ νοῦς γὰρ ἡμῶν ἐστιν ἐν ἑκάστῳ θεός.

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Ὁ νοῦς γὰρ ἡμῶν ἐστιν ἐν ἑκάστῳ θεός.

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The mind (is) a god in each of us.

This is a fragment from a lost play by Euripides, and the idea is invoked by the Emperor Julian in his essay addressed To the Uneducated Cynics, who refers both to the mind and to λόγος as a god in each of us, something that links us to the divine. This Julian is known both as Julian the Apostate (as he renounced Christianity and was the last pagan emperor), but also as Julian the Philosopher. He was a prolific author, and you can see a list of his works at Wikipedia: Julian.

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Γέρων ἀλώπηξ οὐχ ἁλίσχεται.

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Γέρων ἀλώπηξ οὐχ ἁλίσχεται.

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An old fox can't be trapped.

Of course, foxes are sly and hard to catch at any age; the force of this proverb is that a fox who has lived to enjoy her old age has no doubt escaped many a trap and is not likely to fall into a trap now. Compare a similar saying about the old mouse: Γέρων δὲ καὶ μῦς οὐχ ἁλισκεται πάγῃ. From the root in Greek γέρων we get English gerontology.

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Μικρὸς ἡλίκος Μόλων.

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Μικρὸς ἡλίκος Μόλων.

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As small as Molon.

Here μικρός means small in stature, i.e. short. The words come from Aristophanes' Frogs. According to the ancient commentators, the words are ironic; Molon was actually a very tall actor, so the speaker — Dionysus — is joking when he invokes Molon in this way: παίζει· ἔστι γὰρ μεγαλόσωμος ὁ Μόλων, "he's joking, for Molon is a big man." However, the commentaries also note that there was a notorious thief named Molon who was, in fact, very short. So, we would need to talk to Aristophanes himself to be sure just how this one works!

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Ὅμοιον ὁμοίῳ φίλον.

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Ὅμοιον ὁμοίῳ φίλον.

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Like likes like.

In Greek, it is literally "a (similar) thing is friendly to a similar thing." The saying appears in Plato's Lysis (τὸ ὅμοιον τῷ ὁμοίῳ φίλον εἶναι) in a debate about whether friendship is more likely among people who are similar or whether people who are similar are prone to envy and resentment, with friendship more naturally occurring between people who are dissimilar. From the Greek root ὁμο- we get the homo- words in English like homogeneous and homonym.

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Σοφοῖς χρῶ.

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Σοφοῖς χρῶ.

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Make use of those who are wise.

The form χρῶ is the second-person imperative of χράομαι (those middle imperatives can look sneaky, especially for contract verbs). The adjective σοφός is being used substantively as a noun: (a) wise (man). This is one of the maxims that Stobaeus attributes to the Seven Sages of Greece. From the Greek root σοφ- we get all the soph- words in English philosopher and sophistication.

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Κάτοπτρον εἴδους χαλκός ἐστ'· οἶνος δὲ νοῦ.

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Κάτοπτρον εἴδους χαλκός ἐστ'· οἶνος δὲ νοῦ.

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Bronze is a mirror of the face, wine of the mind.

This is an unattributed fragment of Aeschylus that is recorded in Athenaeus' Deipnosophistae. You can read about bronze mirrors at Wikipedia. (The earliest glass mirrors made with silver-mercury amalgams date to around 500 C.E.) Here's an Etruscan bronze mirror showing the Judgment of Paris.

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Λάβετε, τοῦτό ἐστιν τὸ σῶμά μου.

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Λάβετε, τοῦτό ἐστιν τὸ σῶμά μου.

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Take: this is my body.

These words come from The Gospel of Mark; see similar versions in Luke and Matthew.  Jesus is offering bread to his disciples at the Last Supper; you can find out more at Wikipedia: Last Supper. From Greek σῶμα, we get English somatic.

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Ἱματίῳ πῦρ περιστέλλεις.

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Ἱματίῳ πῦρ περιστέλλεις.

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You're wrapping fire in your cloak.

As Erasmus explains, this is like "nursing a viper in your bosom," i.e. you are keeping something close to you (fire) that will lead to your own destruction. The word himation is sometimes used in English when writing about ancient Greek clothing.

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Ὑπὲρ κάρα πτύεις.

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Ὑπὲρ κάρα πτύεις.

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You're spitting over your head.

Needless to say, spitting up over your own head is not a good idea; that spit is going to come right back at you. Compare the English saying: "spitting into the wind." From the word κάρα comes the diminutive κρανίον, meaning the upper part of the head or skull, which gives us the English word cranium.

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Μεγαρέων δάκρυα.

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Μεγαρέων δάκρυα.

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The tears of the Megareans.

This is like the phrase "crocodile tears," referring to feigned tears; see this earlier post. As Erasmus reports, ancient sources provide different explanations for the origin of the saying about Megarean tears. For example, supposedly Megara abounded in garlic, and people wept when cooking with raw garlic. In another story, there was a funeral for a princess of Megara at which there were many hired mourners, weeping theatrically but not from any real grief. Regardless of the origin of the saying, its meaning is the same: tears without sadness.

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Κλύει καὶ πρόσωθεν ὢν Θεός.

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Κλύει καὶ πρόσωθεν ὢν Θεός.

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Being a goddess, she hears, even from afar.

The noun Θεός is common gender, both masculine and feminine, but here it is feminine: goddess, based on the context. The words come from Aeschylus' Eumenides; Orestes is speaking of Athena. The word καὶ is being used adverbially here: even from afar, καὶ πρόσωθεν.

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Ὀφθαλμοὺς ἔχοντες, οὐ βλέπετε;

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Ὀφθαλμοὺς ἔχοντες, οὐ βλέπετε;

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Having eyes, do you not see?

The words come from the Gospel of Mark when Jesus is rebuking his followers for their lack of faith and understanding. You saw a related passage from Mark last month in this blog post: Ὦτα ἔχοντες, οὐκ ἀκούετε; "Having ears, do you not hear?"

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Ἡ εὐλάβεια σῴζει πάντα.

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Ἡ εὐλάβεια σῴζει πάντα.

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Caution saves all things.

The saying appears in Aristophanes' Birds. The saying also appears in the LSJ dictionary entry for the word εὐλάβεια. From the Greek verb σῴζω comes the noun σωτήρ, "savior," as in the English word soteriology, the study of salvation.

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Δός τι καὶ λάβε τι.

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Δός τι καὶ λάβε τι.

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Give something and receive something.

Compare the English saying, "Give and take." The Greek phrase appears in a dialogue formerly attributed to Plato but now considered spurious; you can find out more at Wikipedia: Axiochus. In that dialogue, it is paired with a similar saying you saw last month in this blog post: Ἁ δὲ χεὶρ τὰν χεῖρα νίζει, "One hand washes another."

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Δόξαν δίωκε.

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Δόξαν δίωκε.

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Pursue glory.

This is one of the maxims attributed to the Seven Sages as recorded by Stobaeus. The word δόξα has a wide range of meaning in Greek; the specific meaning of "glory" became important for Christianity, as in English doxology.

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Μηδὲν ἄγαν, καιρῷ πάντα πρόσεστι καλά.

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Μηδὲν ἄγαν, καιρῷ πάντα πρόσεστι καλά.

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Nothing in excess; all things are good in the right measure.

Diogenes Laertius attributes these words to Chilon of Sparta; you can find out more about Chilon at Wikipedia; he was considered to be one of the Seven Sages of ancient Greece. The word καιρός often means the right time or the critical moment, but it can also refer to measure or proportion, which best suits the context of this saying.

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Πολλοὶ μαθηταὶ κρείττονες διδασκάλων.

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Πολλοὶ μαθηταὶ κρείττονες διδασκάλων.

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Many students are greater than (their) teachers.

This Greek proverb actually appears in Henry Fielding's Tom Jones: "I remember my old schoolmaster, who was a prodigious great scholar, used often to say, Polly matete cry town is my daskalon. The English of which, he told us, was, That a child may sometimes teach his grandmother to suck eggs." Thanks to Michael Gilleland for that citation!

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Ψυχῆς νοσούσης ἐστὶ φάρμακον λόγος.

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Ψυχῆς νοσούσης ἐστὶ φάρμακον λόγος.

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Speech is a remedy for an ailing spirit.

The saying is one of Menander's monostichs (one-liners) in iambic verse:

Ψυχῆς | νοσού || σης ἐσ|τὶ φάρ || μακον | λόγος.

From the root in Greek φάρμακ- we get English words like pharmacy.

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Κοσκίνῳ ὕδωρ ἀντλεῖς.

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Κοσκίνῳ ὕδωρ ἀντλεῖς.

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You're drawing water with a sieve.

This is a fool's errand: you can scoop all you want, but the sieve is not going to hold the water. Compare a similar saying you saw last month: Κοσκίνῳ ὕδωρ φέρει, "He's carrying water in a sieve." The original meaning of the verb ἀντλέω is to bale bilgewater; the noun ἄντλος means bilgewater.

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Ὕβριν μίσει.

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Ὕβριν μίσει.

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Hate violence.

This is another of the maxims attributed to the Seven Sages by Stobaeus. The word μίσει is an imperative from the contract verb μισέω. The word ὕβρις is sometimes used in English: hubris. It means violence in Greek, but with particular connotations of insolence and pride, and it also has sexual connotations. You can find out more at Wikipedia: Hubris.

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Μικρά γε πρόφασίς ἐστι τοῦ πρᾶξαι κακῶς.

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Μικρά γε πρόφασίς ἐστι τοῦ πρᾶξαι κακῶς.

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Small indeed is the excuse for doing evil.

Note the article τοῦ with the infinitive; the Greek infinitive is a neuter noun but it does not decline, so the article provides the grammatical information you need to understand its role in the sentence: doing evil has only a small excuses, needs only a small excuse, etc. From the root in μικρ- we get all the micro words in English like microscope and microphone.

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Κρεῖττον σιωπᾶν ἐστιν ἢ λαλεῖν μάτην.

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Κρεῖττον σιωπᾶν ἐστιν ἢ λαλεῖν μάτην.

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To be silent is more powerful than to speak foolishly.

The Greek infinitive is a neuter noun, hence the neuter adjective: κρεῖττον. This is the Attic form of κρεῖσσον, and it is the comparative of κρατύ, powerful. The adverb μάτην is formed from the noun μάτη, which means "folly, foolishness." This is one of the monostichs (one-liners) of Menander; here is the meter marked:

Κρεῖττον | σιω||πᾶν ἐσ|τιν ἢ || λαλεῖν μάτην.

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Ἀεὶ Λιβύη φέρει τι καινόν.

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Ἀεὶ Λιβύη φέρει τι καινόν.

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Always Libya brings something new.

The words come from Aristotle's History of Animals, and Aristotle labels the saying a παροιμία, a proverb: λέγεται δέ τις παροιμία, ὅτι “ἀεὶ Λιβύη φέρει τι καινόν.” Aristotle cites the saying in the context of exotic animals from beyond Europe; the word Λιβύη referred to the entire northern part of Africa west of the Nile; you can find out more at Wikipedia: Ancient Libya. The Latin version of this saying is widely used: Ex Africa semper aliquid novi, "There is always something new out of Africa."

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Ἀεὶ τὰ πέρυσι βελτίω.

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Ἀεὶ τὰ πέρυσι βελτίω.

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The things of yesteryear (are) always better.

The word βελτίω is neuter plural, although you can also find the expected form βελτίονα; the dictionary form (masculine singular) is βελτίων, and it is used as the comparative form of ἀγαθός: better.

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Ψέγε μηδένα.

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Ψέγε μηδένα.

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Blame no one.

This is another one of the maxims attributed to the Seven Sages by Stobaeus. The word μηδείς is a compound of μη and εἷς, no-one, parallel to οὐδείς. The οὐ form is used for indicative statements, while the μη form is used for imperatives (as here), subjunctives, etc.

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