[B-Greek] Cherry Tree?
Carl Conrad
cwconrad2 at mac.com
Mon Jul 20 14:39:22 EDT 2009
Proverbs have a way of getting around the world and emerging in
different languages in different guises. That thought opens the
possibility, however, remote, that the proverb in question is a
Hellenic variant of the one that English-speakers know as, "A bird in
hand is worth two in the bush." Se non è vero, è ben trovato.
cwc
On Jul 20, 2009, at 2:50 AM, Richard Ghilardi wrote:
> Hello Folks,
>
> In his collection of ancient Greek proverbs appropriately titled,
> ARXAIES
> ELLHNIKES PAROIMIES, D. S. Baker has the following:
>
> MIA LOXNH OU TREFEI DYO ERIQAKOYS.
> MIA KERASIA DEN TREFEI DYO KISSES. (DHMOTIKH)
> One cherry tree will not hold two jays.
>
> Baker says that this proverb is anonymous.
> The English appears to be an accurate translation of the Modern Greek.
> But I don't see how either of them could be a translation of the
> ancient
> tongue. The verbs are all correct. Both Greeks are present and the
> English is future, but that's OK in rendering proverbs. The problem is
> with the subject and object.
>
> First of all, LOXNH is not to be found in LSJ. Is this a Greek word?
> What
> does it mean? The Greek for 'cherry tree' is, of course, KERASEA and
> KERASIA or KERASOS and KERASION. Does LOXNH exist in some other Greek
> lexicon?
>
> Secondly, ERIQAKOS doesn't mean 'jay' or KISSA. LSJ defines it as
> 'robin-redbreast' 'Erithacus rubecula', an entirely different species.
>
> Can anyone explain to me what's going on here?
>
> Yours in His grace,
>
> Richard Ghilardi - qodeshlayhvh at juno.com
> West Haven, Connecticut USA
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