Ὅσα μῦς ἐν πίσσῃ
as many as a mouse in pitch
Translated by David Whitehead5 Oct 2001Vetting: high5 revisions
Translation
The proverb is applied to those who have won with great effort.1 But it does not [come] from the creature [of this name]; rather, Mys ["Mouse"] was an athlete from Taras.2 This man was a competitor at Olympia3 and took on many opponents; he received many blows and won with difficulty. This Mys, a boxer, won one victory in his 100 Olympiads.4
Greek original · Adler’s text
Ὅσα μῦς ἐν πίσσῃ· εἴρηται ἡ παροιμία ἐπὶ τῶν μετὰ πολλοῦ κόπου νενικηκότων. οὐκ ἀπὸ τοῦ ζῴου δέ, ἀλλὰ Μῦς ἐγένετο ἀθλητὴς Ταραντῖνος. οὗτος ἐν Πίσσῃ ἀγωνιζόμενος καὶ πρὸς πολλοὺς ἔχων ἀγωνιστάς, πολλὰς λαβὼν πληγὰς μόλις ἐνίκησεν. οὗτος ὁ Μῦς πύκτης ὢν ἐπὶ ταῖς ρʹ ὀλυμπιάσι μίαν ἐνίκησεν.
Betacode
*(/osa mu=s e)n pi/ssh|: ei)/rhtai h( paroimi/a e)pi\ tw=n meta\ pollou= ko/pou nenikhko/twn. ou)k a)po\ tou= zw/|ou de/, a)lla\ *mu=s e)ge/neto a)qlhth\s *taranti=nos. ou(=tos e)n *pi/ssh| a)gwnizo/menos kai\ pro\s pollou\s e)/xwn a)gwnista/s, polla\s labw\n plhga\s mo/lis e)ni/khsen. ou(=tos o( *mu=s pu/kths w)\n e)pi\ tai=s r# o)lumpia/si mi/an e)ni/khsen.
Notes (4)
- 1cf. mu 1477. ↩
- 2(cf. already, in brief, mu 1466.) Taras/Tarentum was a Spartan foundation in S Italy (tau 112). ↩
- 3The Greek says Pissa, which -- more usually as Pisa -- was an alternative name for the locale of Olympia; hence the ambiguity with pitch, lower-case
pi/ssa . ↩ - 4This must be an awkward or corrupt way of saying 'at the 100th Olympiad', i.e. 380 BCE. ↩
Linked from2 entries
- μ1466ΜῦςMys, mouseProper name, of a boxer. It also means a kind of small creature.
- μ1477Μῦς πίσσης γεύεταιa mouse is tasting pitch[sc. A proverbial saying] in reference to those just ending [something] with an effort. Also [sc. attested is] "as many as a mouse in pitch", from Mys the Tarentine, who ended poorly at the Olympics.
Neighbouring entries
Revision history5 revisions · last 29 Jul 2013
- another keyword; tweaking — David Whitehead
- another note — David Whitehead
- augmented n.3; another keyword — David Whitehead
- x-ref — David Whitehead
- set status — Catharine Roth
- Translated — David Whitehead