First Declension

The First Declension: Goodell 65–72.

1a.  ἡ μέθη, etc.: "intoxication is a minor madness," i.e., a minor kind of madness. The expression ἡ μέθη means, more literally, "the (state) of intoxication." μέθη declines like νίκη.

μικρὰ: nom. sing. fem. > μικρός. 

ἐστίν: 3rd sing. pres. ind. > εἰμί, to be.

1b.  πολλάκις βραχεῖα ἡδονὴ, etc.: "short-lived pleasure often begets long-lived sorrow."

βραχεῖα: nom. sing. fem. > βραχύς. 

μακρὰν: acc. sing. fem. > μακρός, agreeing with λύπην. 

τίκτει: 3rd sing. pres. ind. act. > τίκτω.

1c.  φίλει: "love," 2nd sing. pres. imperat. act. > φιλέω. 

τὴν παιδείαν: "instruction," i.e., the receiving of instruction; more literally, "the culture of boyhood." παιδεία declines like ἡμέρα.

φρόνησιν: acc. sing. > φρόνησις, "practical wisdom." 

τέχνην: "the exercise of skill," i.e., the skillful exercise of the talents that are given us.

1d.  Βίων: Bion of Borysthenes, the Greek cynical philosopher of the 4th and 3rd centuries B.C.

ἔλεγε: "used to say," 3rd sing. imperf. ind. act. > λέγω. 

τὴν φιλαργυρίαν εἶναι, etc.: The accusative with the infinitive. "That the love of money was the parent city of every evil," i.e., that all evils came from it as so many colonies from a parent city. The Greeks called a parent city, from which colonies were led forth, μητρόπολις. 

εἶναι: inf. > εἰμί. 

πάσης: gen. sing. fem. > πᾶς.

1e.  ἐργάζεται: "causes," 3rd sing. pres. ind. > ἐργάζομαι. 

ἄλλ’: for ἀλλὰ, "but." The final vowel is cut off by apostrophe (G. 32-34). The adverb ἀλλά has the accent on the last syllable; the adjective ἄλλα (neut. pl. > ἄλλος) on the first. 

1f.  χωρὶς ὁμιλίας: "without social converse." χωρίς, an adverb denoting want or deprivation, governs the genitive. 

οὐδὲν ἡδονῆς: "no pleasure," i.e., nothing attractive, literally, "nothing of pleasure." An adjective in the neuter, governing the genitive. 

οὐδὲν: acc. sing. neut. > οὐδείς. 

ἔχει: 3rd sing. pres. ind. act. > ἔχω.

2a.  αἱ κτήσεις τῆς ἀρετῆς: "the acquisitions of virtue," i.e., the things acquired by virtuous practices. 

κτήσεις: nom. pl. > κτῆσις. Declines like πῆχυς, πήχεως, ὁ.

τῆς ἀρετῆς: The article here, combined with ἀρετῆς, indicates "the (particular course of moral conduct, which men call) virtue. 

μόναι: nom. pl. fem. > μόνος.

βέβαιαί: nom. pl. fem. > βέβαιος. The second, or final, accent on βέβαιαί comes from the enclitic εἰσιν which follows.

εἰσιν: 3rd pl. pres. ind. > εἰμί, "to be."

Ἡ παιδεία: "mental culture," i.e., a good education; more literally, "the training of boyhood."

2b.  ἐν μὲν ταῖς εὐτυχίαις, etc.: "in prosperous circumstances indeed"; more literally, so as to give its proper force to the article, "in the prosperous concerns of life." The particles μέν and δέ are always opposed to each other, and mark opposite clauses in a sentence. The particle μέν is seldom translated, as our English word "indeed" is generally too strong to express its meaning. The particle δέ, on the other hand, is usually rendered "but."

2c.  πασῶν: gen. pl. fem. > πᾶς. 

ἡ εὐσέβεια: "piety," more literally, "the (moral feeling) piety." To be taken first in translating.

2d.  προσήκει: "it becomes." Taken impersonally, and governing the dative. 

τοῖς ἀθληταῖς: "athletes," more literally, "the (class) athletes." The article here points to a particular class of persons. 

γυμνάζειν: pres. inf. act. > γυμνάζω.

2e.  κλεινότατον: superlative of κλεινός, and agreeing, in the neuter, with ἄγαλμα. 

ἦν: "there was," 3rd sing. imperf. ind. > εἰμί. 

Διὸς: "of Zeus," gen. > Ζεύς. 

Φειδίου: gen. > Φειδίας. Phidias was a sculptor and architect, most renowned for his sculpture of Zeus at Olympia, one of the seven wonders of the world.

2f.  παρέλαβεν: "received," 3rd sing. 2nd aor. ind. act. > παραλαμβάνω, "to take or receive from another," i.e., to receive, in the present case, by the right of succession.

2g.  ὁ Λίνος: "the poet Linus."

2h.  Ἰωνικὴ: nom. sing. fem. > Ἰωνικός. 

ἤρξατο ἀπὸ: "began from," i.e., commenced with, as its founder

ἤρξατο: 3rd sing. 1st aor. ind. mid. > ἄρχω. 

Ἰταλικὴ: nom. sing. fem. > Ἰταλικός.

3a.  Πίστεως καὶ Τέρμονος, etc.: "erected a temple to Faith and to Terminus," i.e., a temple to each, not one to both conjointly. (Dionysius of Halicarnassus, 2.74 ff.) The goddess Faith is better known by her Latin name of Fides. The god Terminus presided over boundaries and landmarks. The student will note the change of idiom from the Greek to the English; literally, "a temple of Faith," etc. 

ἱδρύσατο: 3rd sing. 1st aor. ind. mid. > ἱδρύω. The verb here carries with it the idea of consecrating as well as of erecting. 

3b.  ἡ Νέα Καρχηδὼν: "New Carthage," literally, "the New Carthage." This was a city of Spain, now Cartagena. 

Νέα: nom. sing. fem. > νέος. 

Ἀσδρούβα: Doric gen., from Ἀσδρούβας. So in the next line we have Ἀννίβα, the genitive of Ἀννίβας.

τοῦ δεξαμένου: "who succeeded." The article, with a participle, is to be translated by the relative with the indicative

δεξαμένου: gen. sing. masc. 1st aor. ptc. mid. > δέχομαι. Asdrubal succeeded Barcas in the government of Spain, which country had been conquered by the Carthaginians. The more usual name of Barcas, in history, is Hamilcar. 

πατέρα: accus. sing. > πατήρ.

3c.  Τὸ τάλαντον τὸ Βαβυλώνιον: "the Babylonian talent." Literally, "the talent (which is) the Babylonian (one)." The article is often repeated, as in the present instance, with the adjective, when the latter follows its noun, for the sake of distinctness or emphasis. 

Ἀττικὰς: acc. plur. fem. > Ἀττικός. 

δύναται: "is worth." This signification of δύναμαι arises from the primitive meaning of the verb (δύνω or δύω being the root), namely, "to go into," "to undergo," "to avail" etc. Hence, there is no need of understanding here any verb in the infinitive, for δύναται to govern.

3d.  Σουνίου: gen. sing. > Σούνιον. 

Ἀθηνᾶς Σουνιάδος: "of the Sunian Athena." So called from the promontory on which her temple stood.