- Source
- Herodotus. Godley, Alfred Denis, editor. Cambridge, MA; London: Harvard University Press; William Heinemann, Ltd., 1920-1925 (printing).
- Translation
- AI-generated (gemini-3.5-flash) — machine translation; may contain errors
- Languages
- 日本語 · English · 简体中文 · 한국어
- CTS URN
- urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:1.42.1-1.42.2
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-28
Adrastus responds to Croesus's request, stating that although his misfortune would normally make him decline such a task, he will accept it to repay his debt of gratitude and promises to return the son safely.
ἀμείβεται ὁ Ἄδρηστος ὦ βασιλεῦ, ἄλλως μὲν ἔγωγε ἂν οὐκ ἤια1 ἐς ἄεθλον τοιόνδε· οὔτε γὰρ συμφορῇ τοιῇδε κεχρημένον2 οἰκός ἐστι ἐς ὁμήλικας εὖ πρήσσοντας ἰέναι, οὔτε τὸ βούλεσθαι πάρα, πολλαχῇ τε ἂν ἶσχον ἐμεωυτόν.
Adrastus answered: “O King, otherwise I for my part would not have gone to such an enterprise; for it is not fitting for one who has suffered such a misfortune to go among his well-to-do peers, nor does the desire to do so present itself, and for many reasons I would have held myself back.
νῦν δέ, ἐπείτε σὺ σπεύδεις καὶ δεῖ τοί χαρίζεσθαι, ὀφείλω γάρ σε ἀμείβεσθαι χρηστοῖσἰ, ποιέειν εἰμὶ ἕτοιμος ταῦτα, παῖδα τε σόν, τὸν διακελεύεαι3 φυλάσσειν, ἀπήμονα τοῦ φυλάσσοντος εἵνεκεν4 προσδόκα τοι ἀπονοστήσειν.
But now, since you are eager and I must gratify you—for I ought to repay you with good—I am ready to do this. And as for your son, whom you command me to guard, expect him, as far as his guardian is concerned, to return home safe and sound.”
- 1.42.1ἄλλως μὲν ἔγωγε ἂν οὐκ ἤια
The adverb ἄλλως (otherwise) functions as a protasis (equivalent to 'if it were not so'), and the imperfect ἤια (1st person singular imperfect of εἶμι) with ἂν expresses a past contrafactual statement (past unreal condition). The subsequent ἂν ἶσχον is likewise a contrafactual imperfect with ἂν.
- 1.42.1συμφορῇ τοιῇδε κεχρημένον
The perfect middle-passive participle κεχρημένον (accusative) from χράομαι (to experience, suffer) acts as the subject accusative of the infinitive ἰέναι, which is governed by the impersonal construction οἰκός ἐστι (it is fitting).
- 1.42.2διακελεύεαι
The uncontracted Ionic form of the 2nd person singular present middle, equivalent to the Attic διακελεύῃ or διακελεύει.
- 1.42.2τοῦ φυλάσσοντος εἵνεκεν
The preposition (postposition) εἵνεκεν (as far as ... is concerned) governs the genitive of the substantivized participle τοῦ φυλάσσοντος (the guard). It means 'as far as the guardian is concerned,' emphasizing that no harm will come to the boy due to any negligence on the part of the guard.