Regular Verbs in Ω: Middle Voice

1a. Θεόκριτος: not the Theocritus the poet, but Theocritus of Chios, a sophist and public speaker of the fourth century BC. The verb συγγράφει, also, shows that the poet is not meant, as this verb applies only to prose composition.

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. Source: Stobaeus, Anthologium 3.21.10.

1b. αἰσχύνεο: "respect." Ionic form = αἰσχύνου, 2nd sing. pres. imperat. mid. > αἰσχύνω. 

1c. οὐκ ἄμισθον, etc.: order: τὸ εὐ ποιεῖν οὐκ (ἔστιν) ἄμισθον.

κἂν μὴ παραχρῆμα, etc.: "even if a return for the kindness does not at the moment show itself."

κἂν:  = καὶ ἂν by crasis.

φαίνηται: 3rd sing. pres. subj. mid. > φαίνω.

1d. διὰ αἰσχρὰν αἰτίαν: "from some disgraceful cause."

ὄνειδος: "is a reproach," "source of shame," "humiliation." 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. ptc. act. > ὑποχωρέω.

οὐκ, ἔφη, φεύγειν: "said he was not fleeing" (G. 578).

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," neuter participle used as a substantive (LSJ συμφέρω A.II.3.b).

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. πότε ἤρξατο: "when he began." 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. 

2b. μέμνησο: "remember," 2nd sing. perf. imperat. pass. > μιμνήσκω, taken in a middle sense.

ὅτι σὺ … ἤρξω: "that you began," 2nd sing. 1st aor. ind. mid. > ἄρχω.

ηὔξατο … ἔχειν: " wished he had," 3rd sing. 1st aor. ind. mid. > εὔχομαι.

2d. φίλῳ ὄντι: "who was a friend of his," literally, "being a friend."

ἐχαρίσατο: 3rd sing. 1st aor. ind. mid. > χαρίζω.

3a. λόγισαι πρὸ ἔργου: "think before action," 2nd sing. 1st aor. mid. imperat. > λογίζω.

3b. Διογένης πρὸς τὸν, etc.: "When some one first shook a beam at him and then shouted 'Look out,' Diogenes struck the man with his staff and added 'Look out.'” (trans. R.D. Hicks). Source: Diogenes Laertius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers 6.66.

δοκός: any large beam or post, the bar of a gate, or a roof beam. 

φύλαξαι: 2nd sing. 1st aor. mid. imperat. > φυλάσσω.

πλήξας: 1st aor. ptc. act. > πλήσσω.

3c. περὶ: + acc., "towards," "concerning," "with regard to" (LSJ περί C.I.3).

οἵους ἂν εὔξαιο: "as you would wish," 2nd sing. aor. mid. opt. > εὔχομαι. 

3d. ἡ Ἰνάχου: "the daughter of Inachus," supply θυγάτηρ.

μεταμορφωθεῖσα: "after having been transformed," aor. ptc. 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 "Bos-porus," from βοῦς + πόρος, i.e. "the passage of the cow."

3e. σχολαστικὸς: "the student," the sterotypical butt of jokes preserved in the ancient Greek joke collection Philogelos, from which this sentence is drawn. Possible English translations could include "egghead," or "braniac."

κολυμβᾶν: "to swim" > κολυμβάω.

παρὰ μικρὸν: "almost." Literally, "by the side of little."

ἐπνίγη: "drowned," 3rd sing. 2nd aor. ind. pass. > πνίγω.

ὤμοσεν: 3rd sing. 1st aor. ind. act. > ὄμνυμι.

μὴ ἅψασθαι: "not 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. 

4a. φασὶ: "they say," 3rd pl. pres. ind. act. > φημί, the normal expression when introducing unsourced traditional anecdotes or traditions.

ἀραμένην: "having lifted," 1st aor. ptc. mid. > αἴρω.

καθ’ ἡμέραν: "daily" (LSJ κατά B.II.2).

λαθεῖν βοῦν φέρουσαν: "insensibly carried it when an ox," i.e. advancing little by 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 (S. 2096).

4b. διὰ τοῦ σταδίου μέσου: "through the middle of the race course," i.e. along its whole length, which was 125 paces, or 600 feet.

4c. ὁ … καταγωνισάμενος: "who conquered" > καταγωνίζομαι. 

5a. 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 waves and danger," literally, "took me out for themselves" (which is the force of the middle voice). κυμάτων and κινδύνου are genitives  governed by ἐκ in ἐξείλοντο.

ἐξείλοντο: 3rd pl. 2nd aor. ind. mid. > ἐξαιρέω.

τρέψομαι: "I will turn," 1st fut. mid. > τρέπω.

καὶ βαδιοῦμαι, etc.: "and will go about in the country, dwelling there," Attic fut. mid. = βαδίσομαι > βαδίζω (G. 346, S. 539).

5b. τὸν ἥλιον ἐπισκιάζεσθαι: "that the sun was shaded," i.e. typically was shaded, inf. pass. > ἐπισκιάζω (σκιά = "shadow").

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.  > μάχομαι (Attic contracted fut., S. 539).

5c. ὄψοιτο: "he would see," 3rd sing. fut. opt. mid. > ὄπτομαι.