Greek Proverbs Research Articles

Sokoban percolation on the Bethe lattice

Abstract `With persistence, a drop of water hollows out the stone' goes the ancient Greek proverb. Yet, canonical percolation models do not account for interactions between a moving tracer and its environment. Recently, we have introduced the Sokoban model, which differs from this convention by allowing a tracer to push single obstacles that block its path. To test how this newfound ability affects percolation, we hereby consider a Bethe lattice on which obstacles are scattered randomly and ask for the probability that the Sokoban percolates through this lattice, i.e., escapes to infinity. We present an exact solution to this problem and determine the escape probability as a function of obstacle density. Similar to regular percolation, we show that the escape probability undergoes a second-order phase transition. We exactly determine the critical obstacle density at which this transition occurs and show that it is higher than that of a tracer without obstacle-pushing abilities. Our findings assert that pushing facilitates percolation on the Bethe lattice, as intuitively expected. This result, however, sharply contrasts with our previous findings on the 2D square lattice, where the Sokoban cannot escape even at obstacle densities well below the regular percolation threshold. This indicates that the presence of a regular percolation transition does not guarantee a percolation transition for a pushy tracer. The stark contrast between the Bethe and 2D lattices also highlights the significant impact of network topology on the effects of obstacle pushing and underscores the necessity for a more comprehensive understanding of percolation phenomena in systems with tracer-media interactions.

Who am I?

The ancient Greek proverb “know yourself” has always led Western scholars to interpret and argue “me”, and Lacan is undoubtedly one of the leaders. He followed in the footsteps of Freud's psychoanalysis and pioneered a new approach to interpreting and arguing about the subject through linguistic dimensions of psychoanalysis. He proposed the theory of the order of the subject's spirit at three levels: reality, imagination, and symbolism, and the establishment of these three realms relies on language. The concept of subject is also a topic that many thinkers cannot avoid in the context of the East, especially originating from Mencius and inheriting the mind studies of Lu Jiuyuan and Wang Yangming. Whether it is”irrational beyond the heart “or”the human heart is human nature “, it all indicates Wang Yangming's enthusiasm for finding himself. Although the subject is not a familiar word in the Eastern context, upon closer examination, it is not difficult to find that the subject refers to either “ self “or ”me “in a certain situation. The discussion on” me “in Yangming's psychology implies the path of why I am myself, Both can find one-to-one correspondence in Lacan's three orders, so there are similarities in their theories and they can interpret each other, but at the same time, differences in speculation lead to differences between the two.

The Ancient Greek Roots of Human Rights

The Ancient Greek Roots of Human Rights

Morphological and thematic convergences between the Greek proverbs and the proverbs of the Pomaks of Xanthi

Morphological and thematic convergences between the Greek proverbs and the proverbs of the Pomaks of Xanthi

ЕМОЦІЙНО-ОЦІННА ХАРАКТЕРИСТИКА ПРОФЕСІЙ І ВИДІВ ДІЯЛЬНОСТІ В ДАВНЬОГРЕЦЬКИХ ПАРЕМІЯХ

The results of ancient Greek phraseological units study, which represent the emotional and evaluative characteristics of different professions and activities by ancient Greeks, are presented. 138 ancient Greek phraseological units were analyzed, which include lexemes of the semantic field "professions and activities" (in particular, those that denote the object, result, tool, place of (professional) activity, as well as people's proper names – representatives of a profession that have become a precedent). The lexemes of the semantic subgroups "musical art", "judiciary", "poetic art" have been found to have the highest phraseological productivity, "military affairs", "philosophy", "criminal activity", "medicine" and "sports" have the lowest one. It is important to emphasize that the core lexemes in the analyzed proverbs do not have an evaluative component in their semantics, but in the structure of phraseological units represent a socially fixed assessment or certain social stereotypes due to previous historical experience and cultural preconditions. Quite often stereotypical ideas of the ancient Greek linguistic and cultural community about the representatives of a certain profession or type of activity and their assessment depending on their place of residence or origin are verbalized in phraseological units. Quantitative analysis of phraseological units by type of axiological component revealed a significant advantage of proverbs with a negative connotation over positively or neutrally marked units. Professions and activities in the ancient Greek proverbs are evaluated in two aspects: the relationship between the subject and activity (matching skills, abilities of the subject of activity, effectiveness and benefit to society from the work performed) and personal characteristics of the subject of activity those that are associated in ethnic consciousness with representatives of certain professions and activities, that affect the quality and performance of work (such as mental abilities, taciturnity, truthfulness, ambition, greed, etc.).

La coleccion de proverbios griegos del manuscrito Escorialensis X.I.13

[Collection of Proverbs in the Manuscript Escorialensis X-I-13] The article offers a study and collation of the compilation of ancient Greek proverbs preserved on ff. 247-249v of the manuscript Escorialensis X.I.13. This is one of the versions preserved of the compilation by Gregory of Cyprus (c. 1240-1290). In addition to its possible textual contributions, it is of special interest for two reasons: it is the oldest manuscript preserving Gregory’s paroemiographical compilation and it is most likely an autograph of Gregory himself, as Inmaculada Pérez Martín has argued with good arguments. The text of the Escorialensis is compared with other versions of the same collection, especially with the one presented by the also unpublished collection of the Parisinus 2720 and with the three recensions edited in the Corpus Paroemiographorum Graecorum.

THE TERMINOLOGY FOR BEAUTY IN THEILIADAND THEODYSSEY

An ancient Greek proverb declares: ‘beautiful things are difficult’. One obvious difficulty arises from their almost limitless variety: sights, sounds, people, natural phenomena, man-made objects and abstract ideas may all bebeautiful, but what do these things have in common? It is not just beauty's breadth of application, then, that makes it difficult, but the way in which its meaning varies depending on context. The beauty of a child may mean something quite different from the beauty of an old and wizened face, let alone the beauty of a supermodel. In common parlance,beautifulmay be used as a general term of approbation alongside others likelovelyorfine, while in academic discourse, the wordbeautyhas a life of its own: since the emergence of aesthetics as an independent discipline in the mid eighteenth century, beauty has been constantly theorized and responded to in different ways that have laden the term with its own peculiar historical baggage. And although some of these philosophical reflections on beauty may have trickled into the common cultural consciousness, in general they seem a far cry from beauty's most ubiquitous incarnation in modern Western society, in the cosmetics industry; to put it another way, if you go into a beauty salon in search of a Kantian ideal of disinterested contemplation, I suspect you will be disappointed.

ОСОБЛИВОСТІ ДАВНЬОГРЕЦЬКИХ ФРАЗЕОЛОГІЗМІВ ІЗ КОМПОНЕНТОМ-ДЕНДРОНІМОМ

The article represents the results of ancient Greek proverbs’ with dendronym component peculiarities research (with tree species name, name of a part or a fruit of a tree and their derivates). On the basis of their linguocultural and semantic analysis the characteristics of their inner form were described. On this ground an assertion was made that dendronym FIG TREE has the greatest potential for proverb forming in ancient Greek language. The existence of different lexemes in ancient Greek language for certain types and parts of this tree designation attests the wide extent of this tree and its parts usage in everyday life of Hellenes. The proverbs containing dendronym OAK are also quite numerous, while dendronyms APPLE TREE, OLIVE TREE, MYRTLE TREE, LAUREL, MULBERRY TREE, PINE TREE, MASTIK TREE, THORN TREE, POMEGRANATE TREE, CORK TREE and PEAR TREE are used much less often. Such quantitative asymmetry is caused by the peculiarities of their everyday usage by Hellenes. The largest group consists of FU, in which the specific name of the tree (and not part of the tree or fruit) is used. The study of inner form of ancient Greek FU with the dendronym component allowed to determine the cognitive mechanisms of the secondary meaning formation. 62 % FU are formed on the basis of metaphorization (on models “specific → abstract”, “plant → human”, “plant → object”, “object → object”). An equally large group consists of proverbs with a dendronym component, based on metaftonimy, a complex cognitive mechanism of metaphor and metonymy combination (the type “metonymy within metaphor” is much more productive than the type “metaphor within metonymy”). The least numerous are FU formed on the basis of metonymy. The analysis of semantics of ancient Greek FU with the dendronym component made it possible to distinguish the following types of FU motivational basis: the physical characteristics of trees, their parts and fruits, associated with the experience of their practical usage; the practice of using trees, their parts and fruits in various rituals and customs; a historical event in which a certain tree or its part was involved; characteristics of tree parts and fruits concerning their consumption as food; the mention of trees in myths and legends.

ВЕРБАЛІЗАЦІЯ МІЗОГІНІСТИЧНИХ УЯВЛЕНЬ У ДАВНЬОГРЕЦЬКИХ ПАРЕМІЯХ

The article deals with Ancient Greek aphorisms and gnomes representing the notion of woman, with a particular focus on the proverbs with misogynistic meaning. As a result of our analysis, it was found out that out of four thousand Ancient Greek proverbs under study only sixty-five units verbalize the notion of woman, making up 1.6% of the total count. Some of these proverbs represent the idea of female character, while others are related to the social role of women as wives. It is determined that the proverbs under study reveal the misogynistic perception of woman through the prism of a masculine point of view. The proverbs convey the idea of feminine nature’s imperfection and the deficiency of feminine character. Women come across as unrestrained, talkative, treacherous, insidious, cunning, vindictive, greedy, that is, as ones who constantly threaten the mental balance and the possessions of their husbands. “Woman” and “femininity” are envisaged as attributes of defective character traits. As a result of the analysis of the lingual material, it was concluded that the negative features attributed to the female nature are trickery, deceitfulness, frivolity, vengeance, authoritativeness, fierceness, talkativeness, intrusiveness, envy, laziness, cowardice, greed, vulgarity, indecision, shamelessness, temptation, boastfulness, unfairness and inability to manage the household. Only a small number of the proverbs under study convey the idea of marriage and the role of women as wives and mistresses of the house. Marriage is only a forced act for a man, which has as a purpose the birth of rightful citizens of the polis. Therefore, a woman in Ancient Greek lingual model of the world appears as καλὸν κακόν “good / necessary evil” in view of her role in procreation. The study reveals that the origins of misogynistic ideas can be traced back to mythical Pandora, who was considered to be responsible for the inception of the world’s evil and suffering of humanity. Misogynistic notions are also common in fiction, as well as philosophical and medical literature of Ancient Greece. In the works of Aristotle and Hippocrates, the inequality of women and men is substantiated. A woman is seen as inferior to man, which is allegedly evident in the mental nature of each, as well as the structure of their bodies and even their role in the childbirth.

Parenthood and Partnerhood in the Context of Involuntary Childlessness and Assisted Reproduction in Greece

Ta en oiko mi en dimo is a popular Greek proverb meaning that whatever happens at household [ oikos] should not be exposed into public [ dimos]. In the Greek cultural context sexuality, reproduction, family relations belong to the realm of private domesticity. In this paper we trace the way women and men in Greece resituate themselves towards their reproductive desires and decisions, towards medicalized reproduction and towards each other, when in the context of involuntary childlessness, infertility and ART use, reproduction moves outside the body and the private sphere of the household and becomes part of the public sphere exemplified in state laws, doctor's decisions, hospital laboratories, IVF forums. Drawing from the research project (In)FERCIT and based on 130 semi-structured interviews of both women and men the paper explores the shifts related to parenting, the imagining and making of a family, the couple, in the context of neoliberal reproductive potentialities. Which relationships and practices change through the ongoing challenges of infertility and the experience of ART? What is kept within the couple and what is shared with others (family members, friends, strangers, experts)? What is the significance of reproductive socialities in managing the demands of infertility within an ever-increasing intensification of parenthood? How does this challenging context reinforces or weakens the couple's relationship, their reproductive agency and desire? Finally we explore how proper parenthood but also proper partnerhood are constructed in Greece following local demands regarding family making and localized medicalization of reproduction.

РЕПРЕЗЕНТАЦИЯ ФОЛЬКЛОРНОЙ КАРТИНЫ МИРЫ В ЯЗЫКОВОМ СОЗНАНИИ БИЛИНГВОВ (НА МАТЕРИАЛЕ ПАРЕМИОЛОГИЧЕСКИХ ЕДИНИЦ ТЕМАТИЧЕСКОЙ ГРУППЫ «ВРЕМЯ»)

Paremiological units - proverbs and sayings - as one of the most ancient genres of the folk literature, represent language elements, verbalizing the concepts which have been formed in the nations’ consciousness and therefore reflecting the national peculiarities of the conceptualization of the world. Thereby the value system of the simultaneous bilinguals - people learning two languages from birth - is of special interest.The given article represents the results of the lingua-cultural analysis of Russian and Greek proverbs and sayings within the thematic group “Time” and describes the study of the national-cultural specificity of the folklore picture of the world of Russian-Greek bilinguals living in Cyprus, based on the experiment aimed at the detection of the capability to understand Russian and Greek paremiological units by the bilingual children of 12-15 years old.

Acts 9:1–9, 22:6–11, 26:12–18: Paul and Ezekiel

(ProQuest: ... denotes non-US-ASCII text omitted.)In his speech before King Herod Agrippa II, narrates, for the third time in Acts, the story of his call or conversion (26:12-18). When dealing with this account, modern critical commentators typically concern themselves with its relationship the two other reports of the apostle's vision (Acts 9:1-9, 22:6-11), with the Greek proverb that lies behind hurts for kick against the goads (26:14), and with questions about the historicity of attendant events (e.g., How could Luke have known what Festus and Agrippa said each other in private?). Exegetes also, if only in passing, often call attention several reminiscences of the LXX. Acts 26:16 ( ... on your [NRSV]) agrees exactly with Ezek 2:1.1 Acts 26:18 ( ... , to open their eyes so that they may turn from [NRSV]) echoes Isa 42:7 ( ... to open the eyes that are blind, bring out ... from the prison those who sit in darkness [NRSV]) and 16 ( ... will turn the before them into [NRSV]).2 And Acts 26:17 ( ... will rescue from your people and from the Gentiles-to whom I am sending you [NRSV]) alludes Jer 1:8 (... am with deliver you [NRSV]) and 19 ( ... ).3The use of Isaiah is readily explicable. In Acts, is like the servant of Deutero-Isaiah: he is light the nations (Isa 42:6).4 As and Barnabas declare in Acts 13:46-47: We are now turning the gentiles. so the Lord has commanded us, saying, 'I have set be a light for the gentiles, so that may bring salvation the ends of the earth' (cf. Isa 49:6). The allusion Jer 1 similarly makes sense. Jeremiah, like Isaiah's servant, was also appointed be prophet the nations (Jer 1:5), and his prophetic mission brought him persecution, making for another parallel with (cf. esp. Acts 26:17). What, however, might be the motivation for cutting and pasting a phrase from Ezekiel? That is the topic of this essay.I. PREVIOUS WORKMost of the secondary literature is not very helpful here. Many exegetes fail even note the parallel with Ezekiel.5 An equal number cite it without offering comment.6 A few observe that Luke here adds biblical language or color;7 oth- ers-more helpfully-that his use of Ezekiel's call depict Paul's call makes the latter a prophet like the former.8 There is also, however, the view that the perfect word-for-word correlation between Acts 26:16 and Ezek 2:1 is simply a coincidence.9 In this case, the parallel is a phantom. It means nothing.The interesting discussions of the relationship between Acts 26:12-18 and Ezekiel known me appear not in the commentaries but in an article by Gilles Quispel and in Alan Segal's monograph the Convert.10 Unfortunately, their proposals, while suggestive, remain brief and undeveloped. Perhaps it is understandable that their work is not yet reflected in the commentary tradition.According Quispel, story of on the Damascus Road contains some very clear allusions the visionary experience of Ezekiel11 While Quispel does not cite chapter and verse, he clearly has Acts 26 in mind when he goes on write, Paul fell earth and heard a voice saying stand upon his feet because he is be sent ... exactly as Ezekiel did To this he adds one more parallel: whereas Ezekiel was dumbfounded, was blinded after his vision12 Quispel then draws his conclusion: For those familiar with the meaning and purpose of such hints in ancient literature, there cannot be the slightest doubt that the author of Acts is paralleling the vocation of Ezekiel and the vocation of St. Paul. As the kabod appeared the prophet in Babylonia in 593 B.C., so the kabod appeared Saul near Damascus in A.D. 32.13Segal-whose debt Quispel in this connection is unclear14-is like-minded. In his judgment, the most provocative parallel Luke's account of Paul's conversion is the commissioning of the prophet Ezekiel. …

On inter-species co-evolution and the impact of human self-perception on conceptions of nature

correspondence ISSN 1948-6596 On inter-species co-evolution and the impact of human self-perception on conceptions of nature Gnothi seauton [Know thyself] – Ancient Greek proverb The story begins at dawn on the cliffs of the Porto Conte National Park in Sardinia (Italy), trying to catch a first glimpse of their winged resident, the rock dove (Columba livia). It will take many morn- ings, and much patience, until dusk to satisfacto- rily observe the birds. However, it soon became evident that the initial idea to get closer to the rock doves for behavioral observations was illu- sionary. The ensuing frustration gradually turned into astonishment: how could such a cryptic ani- mal as the rock dove evolve into one the most common species among humans, the urban pi- geon? One would promptly answer that toler- ance for humans was selected during the rock dove’s domestication, making modern feral pi- geons (domestics’ descendants) so well adapted to human proximity. However, given the species’ rocky and inaccessible habitat, it stands to reason that humans were only able to come close to the birds, and subsequently to domesticate them, when rock doves first moved towards humans and fed on their agricultural fields (Johnston and Janiga 1995). Rock doves’ synanthropic foraging behavior seems hence to be a condition preceding their domestication. Reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) attracted by human urine and coming close to human settlements, thus initiating the process of their domestication (Digard 1988), may constitute a similar example. The most famous, however, are wolves (Canis lupus), coming out from their con- cealment in order to scavenge on human refuse and thus providing the starting point for their se- lective breeding and the emergence of the dog species. Domestication, in the sense of human benefits from non-human animals (Delort 1984, Clutton-Brock 1994, Baratay 2009), constitutes only one side of a larger reciprocity bond between humans and their surrounding animals, the latter taking advantage of humans before and after (through being fed) their domestication. This sym- biosis between humans and animals represents a major factor in evolution 1 since the reciprocity relates not only to the mutual benefit provided by humans and by animals to each other. Indeed, this reciprocal relation is further anchored in the mu- tual impact humans and animals had on the evolu- tion of one another. On one side there is the emergence of new animal species in the course of natural history. On the other is the shaping of the human species itself and the development of most of what is considered today as human civilization, since animal domestication and food production were accompanied by changes in human settle- ment patterns, demography, social organization and technology (Crabtree 1993). This is not a novel idea. According to Wilson (1984), humans evolved the way they are through their affiliation with other species, which constitute the matrix in which the human mind originated and is perma- nently rooted. Similarly, Shepard (1978, 1993) ar- gued that interactions with animals and sustained contact with nature were fundamental to the de- velopment of human cognition. Having spent most of our natural and social history interacting with other species through hunting and gathering ac- tivities, humans are evolutionarily dependent on these for proper emotional and psychological growth and development. One could hypothesize that this symbiotic co-evolution may have influenced current classifi- cations of animals according to their (more or less explicit) uses for humans (at least in Western soci- ety) and commercial potential: animals as prod- ucts, company, and recently also the observation of “wild” animals as a means to escape the rou- tine of modern life. In return, the relatively nega- tive image of feral animals in public opinion, which are commonly thought to benefit from hu- mans without giving anything in return, could be interpreted as the reaction to the breaking of the 1 As early as 1902, in his book Mutual Aid: A Factor of Evolution, P. Kropotkin already had proposed cooperation among animals of the same or different species as a survival mechanism instead of the conception of exclusive competition. frontiers of biogeography 6.3, 2014 — © 2014 the authors; journal compilation © 2014 The International Biogeography Society

PYRRHA AND PRIENE: A NOTE ON PLUTARCH'S CONVIVIUM SEPTEM SAPIENTIUM 146E–F

In Plutarch's Convivium septem sapientium (CSS) a narration of the banquet proper is preceded by an account of the walk to the banquet of three of the participants: Thales, Diocles and Niloxenus, a messenger of the Egyptian pharaoh Amasis. Upon learning that Niloxenus brings a letter from Amasis to Bias, Thales says with laughter: εἴ τι κακὸν αὖθις εἰς Πριήνην· διαλύσει γὰρ Βίας, ὡς διέλυσεν αὐτὸς τὸ πρῶτον (CSS 146E–F: ‘if it is something bad – to Priene again! For Bias will solve it, just as he solved the first one’). Scholars have noticed that Thales’ words echo a Greek proverb, transmitted in Zenobius’ collection: εἴ τι κακὸν εἰς Πύρραν, ‘if it is something bad – to Pyrrha’. However, the purpose of Plutarch's reference to this particular proverb has thus far remained unclear. The aim of this contribution is to shed light on Thales’ words by examining the meaning of the Pyrrha proverb and suggesting an interpretation which explains the function of Plutarch's allusion to it.

Words Matter: The Importance of the Language We Use

Journal of Palliative MedicineVol. 14, No. 2 Letters to the EditorWords Matter: The Importance of the Language We UseStephen LibenStephen LibenSearch for more papers by this authorPublished Online:12 Feb 2011https://doi.org/10.1089/jpm.2010.0276AboutSectionsView articleView Full TextPDF/EPUB ToolsPermissionsDownload CitationsTrack CitationsAdd to favorites Back To Publication ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditEmail View article"Words Matter: The Importance of the Language We Use." , 14(2), p. 128FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsCited byA Linguistic Model of Communication Types in Palliative Medicine: Effects of Multidrug-Resistant Organisms Colonization or Infection and Isolation Measures in End of Life on Family Caregivers' Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices Joachim Peters, Natalie Dykes, Maria Heckel, and Christoph Ostgathe27 November 2019 | Journal of Palliative Medicine, Vol. 22, No. 12Peculiarities of Ancient Greek Proverbs with Dendronym ComponentStudia Linguistica, No. 13 Volume 14Issue 2Feb 2011 InformationCopyright 2011, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.To cite this article:Stephen Liben.Words Matter: The Importance of the Language We Use.Journal of Palliative Medicine.Feb 2011.128-128.http://doi.org/10.1089/jpm.2010.0276Published in Volume: 14 Issue 2: February 12, 2011PDF download

“Lemnos deeds” in the Byzantine literature: Two examples

Herodotus speaks about an event from the ancient history that took place on Lemnos in the 7th century B.C. (VI, 137-138). It is when the Pelasgians killed the Athenian women, whom they had kidnapped beforehand and brought to the island, together with their children. The father of the history inaugurated the term ?Lemnos deeds? which was later also used by the tragedy playwright Aeschylus. This term, with its extremely negative connotation, continued to be used in the Byzantine period. The work makes reference to two examples from the late Byzantine literature. The first relates to the famous historian Nikephoros Gregoras and his voluminous ?Roman History? written in mid 14th century, and the second one to Mazaris, author of the satirical text about the voyage to the underworld, written at the beginning of the 15th century. Both Byzantine authors used this phrase in the most appropriate manner, which had also found its place with every reason in the collections of ancient Greek proverbs.

Nikolaos Lazaridis: Wisdom in loose form. The language of Egyptian and Greek proverbs in collections of the Hellenistic and Roman periods.

Nikolaos Lazaridis: Wisdom in loose form. The language of Egyptian and Greek proverbs in collections of the Hellenistic and Roman periods. Leiden/Boston: Brill 2007. XVI, 317 S. (Mnemosyne Suppl. 287.) 119 €.

Wisdom in Loose Form: The Language of Egyptian and Greek Proverbs in Collections of the Hellenistic and Roman Periods

Wisdom in Loose Form: The Language of Egyptian and Greek Proverbs in Collections of the Hellenistic and Roman Periods

(N.) Lazaridis Wisdom in Loose Form. The Language of Egyptian and Greek Proverbs in Collections of the Hellenistic and Roman Periods. (Mnemosyne Supplementum 287.) Pp. xvi + 317. Leiden and Boston: Brill, 2007. Cased, €119, US$167. ISBN: 978-90-04-16058-3.

(N.) Lazaridis Wisdom in Loose Form. The Language of Egyptian and Greek Proverbs in Collections of the Hellenistic and Roman Periods. (Mnemosyne Supplementum 287.) Pp. xvi + 317. Leiden and Boston: Brill, 2007. Cased, €119, US$167. ISBN: 978-90-04-16058-3. - Volume 59 Issue 2

“Win but do not overwin” – The History of a Proverb from the Sententiae Menandri, and a Classical Allusion in St. Paul′s Epistle to the Romans

Abstract This paper traces the history and meaning of the Greek proverb “Win but do not overwin”, first documented in Maurice′s Strategicon (590s) and cited thereafter in various contexts in Byzantine military and historical literature. The earliest manifestation of this proverb is identified as a verse of iambic trimeters preserved in the Γνῶμαι Μενάνδρου or Sententiae Menandri, witnessed in both the manuscript tradition and a fragmentary specimen inscribed on a fifth-/sixth-century ostracon. Older scholarship denied the antiquity of this monostichos on linguistic and metrical grounds, but it is shown that there is no impediment to a possible origin in Attic drama, even if date and authorship remain elusive. Recognition of an additional prose variant in Socrates′ Historia Ecclesiastica points to a wider proverbial currency by the beginning of the fifth century at the latest. The study concludes with the conjecture that St. Paul may have had this proverb in mind when he wrote Epistle to the Romans, adducing arguments based on eccentric vocabulary and evidence for Paul′s limited acquaintance with moralising pagan literature.