1a. Θεόκριτος ἐρωτηθεὶς, διὰ τί οὐ συγγράφει, ὅτι, εἶπεν, ὡς μὲν βούλομαι, οὐ δύναμαι, ὡς δὲ δύναμαι, οὐ βούλομαι.
1b. πάντων μάλιστα σαυτὸν αἰσχύνεο.
1c. οὐκ ἄμισθον τὸ εὖ ποιεῖν, κἂν μὴ παραχρῆμα τῆς εὐεργεσίας ἡ ἀντίδοσις φαίνηται.
1d. οὐ τὸ πένεσθαι αἰσχρὸν, ἀλλὰ τὸ διὰ αἰσχρὰν αἰτίαν πένεσθαι, ὄνειδος.
1e. τὸν ὀργιζόμενον νόμιζε τοῦ μαινομένου χρόνῳ διαφέρειν.
1f. Ἀντίγονος ὑποχωρῶν ποτε τοῖς πολεμίοις ἐπερχομένοις, οὐκ, ἔφη, φεύγειν, ἀλλὰ διώκειν τὸ συμφέρον ὀπίσω κείμενον.
1g. οἱ πάλαι Ἀθηναῖοι ἁλουργῆ ἠμπείχοντο ἱμάτια, ποικίλους δὲ ἐνέδυνον χιτῶνας.
1h. ἐρωτήσαντός τινος τὸν Ἀνταλκίδαν, πῶς ἄν τις μάλιστα ἀρέσκοι τοῖς ἀνθρώποις; εἰ ἥδιστα μὲν, ἔφη, αὐτοῖς διαλέγοιτο, ὠφελιμώτατα δὲ προσφέροιτο.
2a. Δημώναξ ἐρωτηθεὶς, πότε ἤρξατο φιλοσοφεῖν, ὅτε, ἔφη, καταγιγνώσκειν ἐμαυτοῦ ἠρξάμην.
2b. Ἀρίστιππος ἔφη πρὸς τὸν ἀδελφὸν, μέμνησο, ὅτι τῆς μὲν διαστάσεως σὺ ἤρξω, τῆς δὲ διαλύσεως ἐγώ.
2c. Φιλόξενος, ὁ γαστρίμαργος, ἐπιμεμφόμενος τὴν φύσιν, ηὔξατο γεράνου τὴν φάρυγγα ἔχειν.
2d. Κῦρος, ὁ μέγας, Πυθάρχῳ τῷ Κυζικηνῷ, φίλῷ ὄντι, ἐχαρίσατο ἑπτὰ πόλεις.
3a. λόγισαι πρὸ ἔργου.
3b. Διογένης πρὸς τὸν ἐνσείσαντα αὐτῷ δοκὸν, εἶτα εἰπόντα, φύλαξαι, πλήξας αὐτὸν τῇ βακτηρίᾳ, εἶπε, φύλαξαι.
3c. τοιοῦτος γίγνου περὶ τοὺς γονεῖς, οἵους ἂν εὔξαιο περὶ σεαυτὸν γενέσθαι τοὺς σεαυτοῦ παῖδας.
3d. λέγεται Ἰὼ, ἡ Ἰνάχου, εἰς βοῦν μεταμορφωθεῖσα, τὸν Βόσπορον νήξασθαι καὶ δοῦναι τῷ πορθμῷ τὸ ὄνομα.
3e. σχολαστικὸς κολυμβᾶν βουλόμενος, παρὰ μικρὸν ἐπνίγη· ὤμοσεν οὖν μὴ ἅψασθαι ὕδατος, ἐὰν μὴ πρῶτον μάθῃ κολυμβᾶν.
4a. γραῦν τινά φασι μόσχον μικρὸν ἀραμένην, καὶ τοῦτο καθ’ ἡμέραν ποιοῦσαν, λαθεῖν βοῦν φέρουσαν.
4b. Μίλων, ὁ ἐκ Κρότωνος ἀθλητὴς, ταῦρον ἀράμενος, ἔφερε διὰ τοῦ σταδίου μέσου.
4c. Λεύκουλλος, ὁ Ῥωμαίων στρατηγὸς, ὁ τὸν Μιθραδάτην καὶ Τιγράνην καταγωνισάμενος, πρῶτος διεκόμισεν εἰς Ἰταλίαν τὸν κέρασον.
5a. ἐπειδὴ θεοὶ σωτῆρες κυμάτων καὶ κινδύνου ἐμὲ ἐξείλοντο, ἐπ’ ἐργασίαν τρέψομαι, καὶ βαδιοῦμαι ἐν τῷ ἀγρῷ διατρίβων.
5b. Λεωνίδης, ἀκούσας τὸν ἥλιον ἐπισκιάζεσθαι τοῖς Περσῶν τοξεύμασι, χάριεν, ἔφη, ὅτι καὶ ὑπὸ σκιᾷ μαχούμεθα.
5c. Θεόκριτος ἐρωτηθεὶς ὑπὸ ἀδολέσχου, ὅπου αὐτὸν αὔριον ὄψοιτο; ἔφη, ὅπου ἐγὼ σὲ οὐκ ὄψομαι.
notes
1a. Θεόκριτος: Not the poet, but a sophist and public speaker. The verb συγγράφει, also, shows that the poet is not meant, as this verb applies only to prose composition.
ὅτι: not to be translated; equivalent merely to quotation marks in English.
ὡς μὲν βούλομαι, etc.: “I cannot write as I wish, and I do not wish to write as I can.” With βούλομαι and δύναμαι supply συγγράφειν.
1b. αἰσχύνεο: Ionic form > αἰσχύνου; 2nd sing. pres. imperat. mid. > αἰσχύνω.
1c. οὐκ ἄμισθον, etc.: the order is, τὸ εὐ ποιεῖν οὐκ (ἔστιν) ἄμισθον.
κἂν μὴ παραχρῆμα, etc.: “even though a return for the kindness do not at the moment show itself.”
κἂν: = καὶ ἂν.
φαίνηται: 3rd sing. pres. subj. mid. > φαίνω.
1d. διὰ αἰσχρὰν αἰτίαν: “from some disgraceful cause."
ὄνειδος: “is a reproach," supply ἐστί.
1e. τὸν ὀργιζόμενον νόμιζε, etc.: “think that the angry man differs from the madman only as regards continuance of time,” i. e., his madness is as great, but only of shorter duration, literally, “that he who is angry differs from him that is mad,” etc.
1f. ὑποχωρῶν ποτε, etc.: “when retreating on one occasion before the advancing foe,” more literally, "when yielding once to enemies coming on.”
ὑποχωρῶν: pres. part. act. > ὑποχωρέω.
οὐκ, ἔφη, φεύγειν: “said he was not fleeing,” οὐκ ἔφη is equivalent here to the Latin negabat.
ἀλλὰ διώκειν, etc.: “but was pursuing an advantage lying in his rear,” meaning, that he yielded now, only in order to gain an advantage afterward.
τὸ συμφέρον: literally, “that which was advantageous.”
1g. οἱ πάλαι Ἀθηναῖοι: “the early Athenians.” An adverb placed like πάλαι, between the article and noun, is to be rendered frequently by an adjective. In fact, however, ὄντες is understood.
ἠμπείχοντο: "used to array themselves in,” 3d pl. imperf. indic. mid. > ἀμπέχω, with a double augment.
1h. πῶς ἄν τις, etc.: “how one might please men most.”
εἰ ἥδιστα μὲν ἔφη, etc.: “if, he replied, in conversing with them he should say what is most pleasing, and (in acting) should bear himself towards them in the most useful manner,” more literally, “if he should converse with them most pleasantly, and bear himself most usefully.” The adjectives ἥδιστα and ὠφελιμώτατα are to be construed adverbially; with προσφέροιτο supply αὐτοῖς.
2a. Γεγόναμεν: “we have been born,” 1st pl. perf. ind. mid. > γίνομαι.
γενέσθαι: “to exist,” 2nd aor. inf. mid. > γίνομαι.
2b. Ἔοικεν: "is like,” 3rd sing. perf. ind. mid. >εἴκω.
2c. κατὰ τὴν ῥάχιν κύρτωμα, etc.: “have on the back a swelling like a camel,” i. e., like a camel’s; as if the Greek had been, παρεμφερὲς τῷ τῆς καμήλου κυρτώματι.
2d. Δεδοίκασιν: “fear,” 3rd pl. perf. ind. mid. > δείδω.
οὐ τοσοῦτον: “not so much.”
ὅσον: "as."
2e. Οὐκ ἀκήκοας: “have you not heard,” 2nd sing. perf. mid. > ἀκούω, with Attic reduplication.
ὄντες ἄνθρωποι τὸ παλαιὸν: “being formerly men."
τὸ παλαιὸν: may be more literally rendered “of old."
μετέβαλον: “changed,” i. e., were transformed; 3rd pl. 2nd aor. ind. act. > μεταβάλλω, translated here as if intransitive, but having in reality ἑαυτούς understood.
2f. ἐγρηγορότος ἐνύπνιον: "is the dream of one awake,” i. e., is a waking dream.
ἐγρηγορότος: gen. sing. perf. part. mid. > ἐγείρω.
3a. πότε ἤρξατο: “when he began.”
ἤρξατο: 3rd sing. 1st aor. ind. mid. > ἄρχω.
καταγιγνώσκειν ἐμαυτοῦ: to sit in judgment on myself.” more literally, “to decide against myself,” i. e., against my own foolish or evil propensities.
3b. μέμνησο: “remember,” 2nd sing. perf. imperat. pass. > μιμνήσκω, and taken in a middle sense.
ὅτι σὺ … ἤρξω: “that you did begin,” 2nd sing. 1st aor. ind. mid. > ἄρχω.
ηὔξατο … ἔχειν: “ wished he had,” 3rd sing. 1st aor. ind. mid. > εὔχομαι.
3d. φίλῳ ὄντι: “who was a friend of his,” literally, “being a friend.”
ἐχαρίσατο: 3rd sing. 1st aor. ind. mid. > χαρίζω.
4a. Λόγισαι πρὸ ἔργου: “reflect before action,” 2nd sing. 1st aor. imperat. mid. > λογίζω.
4b. Διογένης πρὸς τὸν, etc.: “unto a person who had staggered him with a blow from a beam, and who cried out thereupon, ‘take care,’ Diogenes, having struck him with his staff, replied, ‘take care.’ ” More literally, “unto the person who had,” etc.
φύλαξαι: 2nd sing. 1st aor. imperat. mid. > φυλάσσω.
πλήξας: 1st aor. part. act. > πλήσσω.
4c. περὶ: “towards."
οἵους ἂν εὔξαιο, etc.: “as you would wish.”
4d. ἡ Ἰνάχου: “the daughter of Inachus," supply θυγάτηρ.
μεταμορφωθεῖσα: “after having been transformed,” 1st aor. part. pass. > μεταμορφόω.
νήξασθαι: “to have swam across,” 1st aor. inf. mid. > νήχομαι.
δοῦναι … τὸ ὄνομα: “to have given its name.” The meaning is, that the passage or strait was called Bosporus, from βοῦς and πόρος, i. e., the passage of the cow.
4e. παρὰ μικρὸν: “almost,” literally, "by the side of little."
ἐπνίγη: 3rd sing. 2nd aor. ind. pass. > πνίγω
ὤμοσεν: 3rd sing. 1st aor. ind. act. > ὄμνυμι.
μὴ ἅψασθαι: “never to touch” 1st aor. inf. mid. > ἅπτω, partitive gen.
ἐὰν μὴ πρῶτον μάθῃ: “unless he shall first have learned,” 3rd sing. 2nd aor. subj. act. > μανθάνω.
5a. φασὶ: “they say,” 3rd pl. pres. ind. act. > φημί.
ἀραμένην: “having lifted,” 1st aor. part. mid. > αἴρω.
καθ’ ἡμέραν: "daily."
λαθεῖν βοῦν φέρουσαν: “insensibly carried it when an ox,” i. e., advancing by little and little, carried it at last when it had become an ox, literally, “escaped her own observation carrying an ox,” i. e., the increase in the animal’s weight was so imperceptible to her, from the daily custom of lifting it, that she at last carried it when grown into an ox, without perceiving that this required any unusual exertion of strength.
λαθεῖν: 2nd aor. infin. act. > λανθάνω, very often rendered adverbially when joined with a participle, as in the present instance.
5b. διὰ τοῦ σταδίου μέσου: “through the middle of the race course," i. e., along its whole length, which was 125 paces, or 600 feet,
5c. ὁ … καταγωνισάμενος: “who conquered.”
6a. θεοὶ σωτῆρες: “preserving deities,” literally, “gods, preservers.” One of the nouns becomes an adjective in translation.
κυμάτων καὶ κινδύνου, etc.: “have in their own good pleasure rescued me from billows and danger,” literally, “took me out for themselves,” the force of the middle voice; κυμάτων and κινδύνου are governed by ἐκ in ἐξείλοντο.
ἐξείλοντο: 3rd pl. 2nd aor. ind. mid. > ἐξαιρέω.
τρέψομαι: “I will turn me,” 1st fut. mid. > τρέπω.
καὶ βαδιοῦμαι, etc.: “and will go about in the country, dwelling there,” Attic fut. mid. > βαδίσομαι > βαδίζω.
6b. τὸν ἥλιον ἐπισκιάζεσθαι: “that the sun was shaded,” i. e, was wont to be.
ἐπισκιάζεσθαι: imperf. inf. pass. > ἐπισκιάζω.
χάριεν: “it is good news" literally, “it is a fine thing"; supply ἐστί.
ὅτι καὶ, etc: “since we will even,” etc.
μαχούμεθα: 2nd fut. mid. (Attic contracted fut.) > μάχομαι.
6c. ὄψοιτο: “he should see,” 3rd sing. 1st fut. opt. mid. > ὄπτομαι.