Chapter 1

Preparations are made for an auction of philosophical ways of life, with Zeus acting as the slave-dealer, and Hermes and the herald or auctioneer.

σὺ μὲν: “you,” addressing a nameless slave or functionary, answered by σὺ δέ below (addressing another nameless person), and σὺ δέ again, addressing Hermes, who acts as the auctioneer. Jupiter is being portrayed as an imperious boss, ordering his subordinates around in preparation for the arrival of the customers.

διατίθει: Imperative pres. 2 sing. act. τίθημι (and its compounds) show present imperative forms as if from τιθέω. This is regular, and seen in other -μι verbs as well (Smyth 746b).      

ἑξῆς: adv. "in a row."      

τοὺς βίους: > βίος ὁ, manner of life, way of living. In this work Lucian uses this term to refer to the philosophical schools and their associated ways of living.  Hermes will be bringing out philosophers to explain and justify their particular philosophies of life. 

ὡς: with Final Clauses ὡς, "that, in order that," is normally used with the subj. after primary tenses of the indic., and with the opt. after the past tenses. Rarely the future indicative is used, as it is here.  See S. 2203 for this construction, which is more common in poetry and more frequently introduced by ὅπως.

φανοῦνται: deponent future indicative from φαίνομαι.

ὅτι πλείστους: "as many as possible (sc. potential buyers)." For the strengthening force of ὅτι with a superlative (adjective or adverb), see S. 1086. 

ἐπάξονται: future middle indicative (> ἐπάγω), parallel to φανοῦνται.

συγκάλει: imperative, "call together." Second person contract verb imperatives can be easily distinguished from 3rd singular active indicative counterparts by the placement of the accent: συγκαλεῖ vs. συγκάλει. Remember that contract verb accents are easily explained by their corresponding uncontracted forms. If the accent on the uncontracted form lands on the site of contraction, then a circumflex is used: the uncontracted indicative καλέει becomes καλεῖ when contracted. If the accent on the uncontracted form extends back past the site of contraction, then the accent is an acute: the uncontracted imperative συγκάλεε becomes συγκάλει when contracted.

ἀγαθῇ τύχῃ: "With good fortune," a frequent expression introducing requests, prayers, and good wishes. For the dative (of accompanying circumstances) see S. 1527a.    

παρεῖναι: "come forward" (LSJ s.v. πάρειμι  IV), acc. + infin., in parody of judicial style in the announcement of decrees. Translate as a third-person imperative, "let the buyers come forward." See S. 2013c for the infinitive being used in place of a third-person imperative in legal contexts.

πρὸς: to, at (of place, after verbs of motion; LSJ C.1.1).  

βίους φιλοσόφους: "philosophical ways of life." the noun ὁ φιλόσοφος ("lover of wisdom") is here being used as an adjective ("philosophical, loving knowledge"; see LSJ II).    

τὸ παραυτίκα: "at the moment, immediately." For the article with an adverb as a way to imply a contrast or distinction, see S. 1102b (cf. S. 1111 for adverbial expressions using the article).   

εἰ δὲ τις...μὴ ἔχει τἀργύριον καταβαλέσθαι, εἰς νέωτα ἐκτίσει: "on the chance that someone is not able to pay the money, he will pay in full within a year."  εἰ (+ indic.) can express the motive for the action of the apodosis (S. 2354).  μή is to be expected here as a protasis is a subordinate clause conveying something that is being imagined or hypothesized (S. 2286; cf. S. 2705). Beaupère ad loc. suggests that the text should read ἔχοι and points out that the majority of MSS have this form instead of the indicative ἔχει. If this is correct, then we have a mixed conditional of the sort that Lucian uses on occasion (for more detail, see Beaupère ad loc.).  

καταβαλέσθαι: > καταβάλλω  pay down, pay (LSJ II.4).      

εἰς νέωτα: = εἰς ἐνιαυτόν "within a year." (LSJ s.v. εἰς II.2). For the article omitted with adverbial expressions of time, see S. 1127.

ἐκτίσει: > ἐκτίνω.     

καταστήσας ἐγγυητήν: "after establishing someone as a guarantor," i.e. someone who will offer security for the payment and be liable in the event that the debt goes unpaid.

πολλοὶ συνίασιν etc.: this line is spoken to Hermes confidentially, in a lower tone of voice, urging him to get the auction started.

συνίασιν: pres. act. indic. 3rd pl. > σύνειμι, (εἶμι ibo) go or come together, assemble.

ὥστε χρή μὴ διατρίβειν: "and so we must not waste time..." the ὥστε clause here contains the main thought of the sentence and is only loosely connected to the main verb of the sentence. In this kind of clause, ὥστε is used to indicate the next stage in an action and is not introducing a full result clause (S. 2255; cf. S. 2262). The use of μή to negate the infinitive here is presumably due to the similarity of this to a result clause expressing an anticipated action (S. 2260).

κατέχειν αὐτούς: "detain them, make them wait" (LSJ s.v. κατέχω Α.Ι.c.).