ε4009Ἐχῖνος τὸν τόκον ἀναβάλλῃ
a hedgehog would postpone childbirth
[sc. This proverbial phrase] is said in reference to things which, if postponed, become worse. For terrestrial hedgehogs seem, when being poked on, to hold back childbirth, then later [sc. when troubled] by harsher…
Ἐχῖνος τὸν τόκον ἀναβάλλῃ· λέγεται ἐφ' ὧν τὸ ἀναβάλλεσθαι πρὸς χείρονος γίνεται. καὶ γὰρ οἱ χερσαῖοι ἐχῖνοι δοκοῦσι κεντούμενοι ἀνέχειν τὸν τόκον, εἶθ' ὕστερον ὑπὸ τραχυτέρων τῶν…