Chapter 6

ἐμψυχήϊον: Ionic for ἔμψυχον.

ἢ: "or rather." Unlike the common use of ἤ to introduce an alternative question, this is signaling a more specific question that also suggests an answer to the previous question (S. 2860 and S. 2657).

ἱροί: Ionic for ἱεροί.

θωυμαστὴ: Ionic for θαυμαστή.

αὐτέων: Ionic for αὐτῶν.

τὸ πᾶν: "completely, altogether" (adverbial use of the neuter adj.). See S. 1607 on the adverbial accusative and S. 1609 specifically on the adv. acc. for expressing measure and degree.

ἤν: a contraction of ἐάν (which is itself a contraction of εἰ ἄν) which always governs the subjunctive.

ἐόντα, ὄψεαι: more uncontracted Ionic forms (for Attic ὄντα and ὄψει respectively).

ἀνδρείοισι μορίοισιν: -οισι(ν) is Ionic for -οις and Lucian uses this Ionic dative plural throughout this scene with the Pythagorean. The "manly sections" refers to male genitalia (see μόριον LSJ A.II.2).

ἐμφερέα: Ionic for ἐμφερῆ.

ἑψηθέντα: Aor. pass. part., n. pl. acc. from ἕψω, boil.

ἑψηθέντα δὲ ἢν ἀφῇς ἐς τὴν σεληναίην νυξὶν μεμετρημενῇσιν: "and if you boil and then send forth (the bean) to the moon for/during a measured number of nights." As often happens in Greek in a sentence with two actions, one is expressed with a participle and the other with a verb whereas English would typically use two conjugated verbs. The aorist tense of the participle ἑψηθέντα suggests that the act of boiling the bean happened before putting it before the moon(light). While the accusative is the usual case used to express extent of time or space, the dative can be used in such statements although it is usually accompanied by the preposition ἐν (apparently the presence of the quantifying μεμετρημενῇσιν obviates the need for ἐν). See S. 1542c for this uncommon way of expressing extent of time. It is possible that this is an unusual alternative to the common genitive of time within which (see S. 1447a and in particular S. 1543 where Smyth notes that the dative and genitive cases can be "sometimes employed with only a slight difference"). If this is to be preferred, then Pythagoras is here saying that one sends forth the bean during any of the nights measured or counted out for this purpose.

σεληναίην: poetic for σελήνην. The adjective σεληναῖος, -α, -ον means "lighted by the moon" and it is possible that Lucian uses this poetic variation on σελήνη to suggest both the moon and the light associated with it.

μεμετρημένῃσιν: Perf. pass. part. fem. dat. pl. from μετρέω.

τὸ δὲ μέζον: "and what's more." μέζον is Ionic for μεῖζον and here the neuter adjective is being used as a substantive and essentially adverbially. See S. 1023 on neuter adj. as substantive and S. 1153 on the role of the definite article in making an adj. substantival.

Ἀθηναίοισι νόμος: " the custom for the Athenians (is), i.e. “it is an Athenian custom to . . .”

αἱρέεσθαι: Ionic for αἱρεῖσθαι.

ἀπόδυθι: Ιntrans. 2nd aor. imper. of ἀποδύω.

Ἡράκλεις: voc. sg. of ὁ Ἡρακλῆς used as an interjection.

ὥστε ὠνήσομαι: ὥστε with a finite verb indicates an actually occurring result of the main clause (actual result clause: S. 2251 and S. 2258).

πόσου: gen. of price: S. 1372.

δέκα μνῶν: "for 10 minae" (gen. of price: S. 1372). A mina is a common unit of weight and currency and equals 100 drachmai or 1/60 of a talent.

ἔχω τοσούτου λαβών: "I will take him for that much." The present tense can be used for the future when describing something certain or immediate (S. 1879). τοσούτου is a neut. adj. functioning as a substantive and it is another gen. of price.

τοῦ ὠνησαμένου τοὔνομα: "the name of the buyer" (τοὔνομα is crasis for τὸ ὄνομα).

τῶν ἀμφὶ Κρότωνα καὶ Τάραντα καὶ ταύτῃ Ἑλλάδα: "of those around Croton and Tarentum and the part of Greece there." τῶν is partitive gen. dependent on τις and the definite article makes the prepositional phrase into a substantive (see S. 1153c). ταύτῃ is functioning adverbially as "here" (technically a dat. fem. adj. with an omitted substantive such as γῇ: see S. 1527c).

ἐώνηνται κατὰ κοινόν: "have purchased him jointly." The verb is a 3rd pl. perf. mid. indic. from ὠνέομαι and κατὰ κοινόν is an idiom meaning "jointly, in common." The three hundred buyers presumably refer to the famous religious brotherhood or philosophical school of Pythagoras (see, for instance, Iamblichus' life of Pythagoras for an account of the school).

ἀπαγέτωσαν: "Let them take (him) away,” 3rd pl. pres. imper. act. (S. 466c.). As Smyth notes, the ending -τωσαν (in place of the usual -οντων) begins to appear in Greek prose after Thucydides but can be also found in Euripides as well as in inscriptions after 300 BCE.