Ἀσκὸν δέρειν
to flay a wine-skin
Translated by Jennifer Benedict30 Mar 2002Vetting: high6 revisions
Translation
[sc. A proverbial saying] in reference to those who volunteer to do something excessively. [He means] to flay my skin into a wine-skin. In order for it to be believed that he is abiding by the prescriptions, he added more than they had ordered and he says that he thinks nothing of his skin being flayed. For one who volunteers to undergo greater things would easily endure the lesser.1
Greek original · Adler’s text
Ἀσκὸν δέρειν· ἐπὶ τῶν καθ' ὑπερβολὴν ἐπαγγελλομένων πράττειν τι. τὸ δέρμα μου εἰς ἀσκὸν ἐκδερματίζειν. ὑπὲρ τοῦ πιστευθῆναι αὐτὸν ἐμμένειν τοῖς ὑποκειμένοις, προσέθηκε πλέον ἢ ἐκεῖνοι ἐπέταξαν καὶ λέγει καταφρονεῖν ἐκδερομένου τοῦ δέρματος. ὁ γὰρ τὰ μείζω ἐπαγγελλόμενος ὑπομένειν εὐχερῶς ἂν τὰ ἥττονα ὑπενέγκοι.