§1.1Οἴκοι τὰ Μιλήσια: ἐπὶ τῶν ὅποι μὴ προςήκει τὴν τρυφὴν ἐπιδεικνυμένων.
"At home, the affairs of Miletus": said of those who display luxury where it is not appropriate.
Ἀρισταγόρας ὁ Μιλήσιος ἐλθών ποτε εἰς Λακεδαίμονα ἠξίου βοηθεῖν τοῖς Ἴωσι πολεμουμένοις ὑπὸ Περσῶν· ἐδημηγόρει δὲ ἐσθῆτα ἔχων πολυτελῆ καὶ τὴν ἄλλην τρυφὴν τὴν Ἰωνικήν· εἶπεν οὖν τις πρὸς αὐτὸν τῶν Ἐφόρων, Οἴκοι τὰ Μιλήσια. §1.2Αἱ Χάρητος ὑποσχέσεις: ἐπὶ τῶν προχείρως ἐπαγγελλομένων.
Aristagoras the Milesian, having once come to Lacedaemon, requested them to aid the Ionians who were being hard pressed in war by the Persians; and he made public speeches while wearing luxurious clothing and other Ionian luxury; therefore one of the Ephors said to him, "At home, the affairs of Miletus." "The promises of Chares": said of those who make promises readily.
Χάρης γὰρ στρατηγὸς Ἀθηναῖος προχείρως πολλὰ ἐπηγγείλατο.
For Chares, an Athenian general, readily promised many things.
§1.3Ὀπισαμβώ: ἐπὶ τῶν ἐπὶ τὸ χεῖρον ἐν τοῖς πράγμασι προβαινόντων ἀεί· παρὰ τὸ ὀπίσω βαίνειν. §1.4Εὐδαίμων ὁ Κορίνθιος **: κώμη ἐστὶ πλησίον τῆς Κορίνθου ** κατάφυτος· ὡς τῶν ἐν τῇ κώμῃ ὁμολογούντων μὲν Κόρινθον εἶναι εὐδαίμονα, αἱρουμένων δὲ ἥττονα κώμην ἔχειν.
"Opisambo": said of those who always proceed toward the worse in affairs; from "stepping backward." "The prosperous Corinthian": it is a well-planted village near Corinth; as those in the village, while admitting that Corinth is prosperous, prefer to hold a lesser village.
§1.5Τυδεὺς ἐκ συφορβίου: ἐπὶ τῶν ἀπαιδεύτων.
"Tydeus from the pigsty": said of the uneducated.
Οἰνεὺς τὴν θυγατέρα Ἱππονόου Περίβοιαν ἐβιάσατο· γνοὺς δὲ αὐτὴν ἔγκυον οὖσαν ὁ πατὴρ συφορβοῖς παρέδωκε μετὰ τοῦ γενομένου παιδίου Τυδέως.
Oeneus raped Periboea, the daughter of Hipponous; and when her father learned that she was pregnant, he delivered her to swineherds together with the child Tydeus who was born.
§1.6Κλειτοριάζεις: ἐπὶ τῶν παιδεραστούντων.
"You play the Cleitorian": said of pederasts.
§1.7Τί σοι ὁ Ἀπόλλων ἐκιθάρισεν; ἤγουν, τί ἐμαντεύσατο;
"What did Apollo play on the lyre for you?": namely, what oracle did he give?
§1.8Κεστρεὺς νηστεύει: ἐπὶ τῶν δικαιοπραγούντων μὲν, οὐδὲν δὲ πλέον ἐκ τῆς δικαιοσύνης ἐπιφερομένων.
"The mullet fasts": said of those who act justly but gain nothing more from their justice.
ὁ γὰρ κεστρεὺς τῶν ἄλλων ἰχθύων ἀλληλοφαγούντων μόνος ἀπέχεται τῆς σαρκοφαγίας, ἐσθίων ἰλύν.
For the mullet, alone among the other fish that eat one another, abstains from meat-eating, eating mud.
§1.9Βοιωτοῖς μαντεύσειας: αὕτη κατάρα τίς ἐστί.
"May you prophesy to Boeotians": this is a kind of curse.
μαντευομένοις γὰρ τοῖς Θηβαίοις περὶ πολέμου ἀνεῖλεν ἡ Πυθία νίκην αὐτοῖς ἀσεβήσασιν ἔσεσθαι· εἷς δὲ τῶν θεωρῶν ἁρπάσας τὴν προφῆτιν Μυρτίλαν ἐνέβαλεν εἰς θέρμοῦ παρακείμενον λέβητα.
For when the Thebans sought an oracle about war, the Pythia declared that victory would belong to them if they committed an impiety; but one of the envoys seized the prophetess Myrtila and threw her into a nearby hot cauldron.
ἄλλοι φασὶ, Θηβαίοις πολεμοῦσι Βόμβρος μάντις πλείους ἔφη νικήσεσθαι, εἰ προθύσαιεν τῶν ἡγεμόνων ἕνα· οἱ δὲ ἀποκτείναντες τὸν Βόμβρον ἐνίκησαν.
Others say that when the Thebans were at war, the seer Bombrus said they would defeat more of the enemy if they sacrificed one of their leaders beforehand; but they killed Bombrus and won.
§1.10Πλείους τῶν Καλλικυρίων: Καλλικυρίων ποτὲ πλῆθος ἐπῴκησε τὰς Συρακούσας οὕτω πολλοὶ, ὥςτε καὶ τοὺς προτέρους οἰκήτορας ἐκβαλεῖν.
"More than the Kallykyrioi": a multitude of Kallykyrioi once settled in Syracuse in such numbers that they even expelled the former inhabitants.
Κέλμις ἐν σιδήρῳ: ἐπὶ τῶν σφόδρα ἑαυτοῖς πιστευσάντων, ὅτι ἰσχυροὶ καὶ δυρχείρωτοι πεφύκασι.
"Kelmis in iron": said of those who trust too much in themselves, believing they are naturally strong and hard to overcome.
§1.11Κέλμις γάρ τις ἐν Ἴδῃ στεῤῥότατον σίδηρον ἐργαζόμενος.
For a certain Kelmis on Ida was working very hard iron.
§1.12Ὁ Κερκυραῖος μαστιγούμενος ἅμα αὐτὸν † ἠργολάβησαὶ: αἱ μάστιγες αἱ Κερκυραῖαι λέγονται διάφοροι εἶναι παρὰ τὰς ἄλλας.
"The Corcyraean while being whipped at the same time †...†": the Corcyraean whips are said to be different from others.
§1.13Ἵππῳ γηράσκοντι τὰ μείονα κύκλ’ ἐπίβαλλε: ἐπὶ τῶν διὰ γῆρας δεομένων ῥᾳστώνης τινὸς καὶ ἀναπαύλης.
"Put smaller tracks on an aging horse": said of those who, due to old age, need some ease and rest.
§1.14Πόλεις παίζομεν: πόλις εἶδος ἐστὶ παιδιᾶς πεττευτικῆς.
"We are playing cities": "city" is a kind of game played with pebbles.
§1.15Ἄριστα χωλὸς οἰφεῖ: αἱ Ἀμαζόνες τοὺς γενομένους ἄρσενας ἐπήρουν, ἢ σκέλος ἢ χεῖρα περιελόμεναι· πολεμοῦντες δὲ πρὸς αὐτὰς οἱ Σκύθαι καὶ βουλόμενοι πρὸς αὐτὰς σπείσασθαι ἔλεγον, ὅτι συνέσονται τοῖς Σκύθαις εἰς γάμον ἀπηρώτοις καὶ μὴ λελωβημένοις.
"The lame man copulates best": the Amazons used to maim the males who were born, removing either a leg or an arm; but the Scythians, fighting against them and wishing to make a treaty with them, said that they would mate with Scythians for marriage who were unmaimed and not mutilated.
ἀποκριναμένη δὲ πρὸς αὐτοὺς ἡ Ἀντιάνειρα ἡγεμὼν τῶν Ἀμαζόνων εἶπεν· Ἄριστα χωλὸς οἰφεῖ. §1.16Ἔφυγον κακὸν, εὗρον ἄμεινον: ἐπὶ τῶν μεταβολὴν ἐν ἑαυτοῖς κρείττονα οἰωνιζομένων.
But Antianeira, the leader of the Amazons, replying to them said: "The lame man copulates best." "I fled the bad, I found the better": said of those who augur for themselves a better change.
Ἀθήνησι γὰρ ἐν τοῖς γάμοις ἔθος ἦν ἀμφιθαλῆ παῖδα ἀκάνθας μετὰ δρυΐνων καρπῶν στέφεσθαι, καὶ λίκνον ἄρτων πλήρη περιφέροντα λέγειν, Ἔφυγον κακὸν, εὗρον ἄμεινον. Ἐσήμαινον δὲ ὡς ἀπεώσαντο μὲν τὴν ἀγρίαν καὶ παλαιὰν δίαιταν, εὑρήκασι δὲ τὴν ἥμερον τροφήν.
For in Athens, during weddings, it was the custom for a boy with both parents living to be crowned with thorns together with oak acorns, and carrying a cradle full of loaves of bread, to say, "I fled the bad, I found the better." And they indicated that they had rejected the wild and ancient lifestyle, and had found civilized nourishment.
§1.17Μυκόνιος γείτων: ἐπὶ τῶν διαβεβλημένων ἐπὶ γλισχρότητι καὶ μικροπρεπείᾳ, παρὰ τὴν μικρότητα τῆς νήσου καὶ εὐτέλειαν, τῆς Μυκόνου.
"A Myconian neighbor": said of those defamed for stinginess and pettiness, on account of the smallness and cheapness of the island, Myconos.
§1.18Τὸ σκαμβὸν ξύλον οὐδέποτε ὀρθοῦν: ἐπὶ τῶν πειρωμένων διάστροφα ξύλα κατευθύνειν.
"Never straighten crooked wood": said of those who try to direct distorted wood.
§1.19Ὁ παῖς τὸν κρύσταλλον: ἐπὶ τῶν μὴ κατέχειν δυναμένων, μήτε μεθεῖναι βουλομένων.
"The boy and the ice": said of those who are unable to hold onto something, yet are unwilling to let go.
§1.20Τὸν ἵππον ὁ Σκύθης: ἐπὶ τῶν κρύφα τινὸς ἐφιεμένων, φανερῶς δὲ ἀπωθουμένων καὶ διαπτυόντων αὐτό.
"The Scythian and the horse": said of those who secretly desire something, but openly reject and spit upon it.
§1.21Ἡράκλειος ψώρα: ἡ τῶν Ἡρακλείων λουτρῶν δεομένη πρὸς θεραπείαν· ἡ γὰρ Ἀθηνᾶ τῷ Ἡρακλεῖ πολλαχοῦ ἀνῆκε θερμὰ λουτρά.
"Heraclean itch": that which needs the Heraclean baths for cure; for Athena produced hot baths for Heracles in many places.
§1.22Οὐκ ἔστι δούλων πόλις: διὰ τὸ σπάνιον εἴρηται.
"There is no city of slaves": said on account of its rarity.