§3.29.1βραχὺ δὲ τούτων ἀπέχοντες Ἀκριδοφάγοι κατοικοῦσι τὰ συνορίζοντα πρὸς τὴν ἔρημον, ἄνθρωποι μικρότεροι μὲν τῶν ἄλλων, ἰσχνοὶ δὲ τοῖς ὄγκοις, μέλανες δὲ καθʼ ὑπερβολήν.
Living a short distance from these, the Akridophagoi inhabit the regions bordering on the desert, people who are smaller than others, thin in their bodily frame, and exceedingly black.
κατὰ γὰρ τὴν ἐαρινὴν ὥραν παρʼ αὐτοῖς ζέφυροι καὶ λίβες παμμεγέθεις ἐκριπτοῦσιν ἐκ τῆς ἐρήμου πλῆθος ἀκρίδων ἀμύθητον, τοῖς τε μεγέθεσι διαλλάττον καὶ τῇ χρόᾳ τοῦ πτερώματος εἰδεχθὲς καὶ ῥυπαρόν.
For during the spring season very violent west and southwest winds blow from the desert an unspeakable multitude of locusts, which differ in their size and are ugly and filthy in the color of their wings.
§3.29.2ἐκ τούτου δαψιλεῖς τροφὰς ἔχουσιν ἅπαντα τὸν βίον, ἰδιοτρόπως αὐτῶν ποιούμενοι τὴν θήραν.
From this they have abundant food all their life, making their capture of them in a peculiar manner.
παρὰ γὰρ τὴν χώραν αὐτῶν ἐπὶ πολλοὺς σταδίους παρήκει χαράδρα βάθος ἔχουσα καὶ πλάτος ἀξιόλογον· ταύτην πληροῦσιν ἀγρίας ὕλης, οὔσης ἀφθόνου κατὰ τὴν χώραν· ἔπειθʼ ὅταν τῶν προειρημένων ἀνέμων πνεόντων προσφέρηται τὰ νέφη τῶν ἀκρίδων, καταδιελόμενοι πάντα τὸν τῆς χαράδρας τόπον πυροῦσι τὸν ἐν αὐτῇ χόρτον.
For along their country for many stades there extends a ravine having a remarkable depth and width; this they fill with wild brushwood, which is abundant in the country; and then, when the aforementioned winds blow and the clouds of locusts approach, they divide among themselves the whole area of the ravine and set fire to the grass within it.
§3.29.3ἐγειρομένου δὲ καπνοῦ πολλοῦ καὶ δριμέος, αἱ μὲν ἀκρίδες ὑπερπετόμεναι τὴν χαράδραν, καὶ διὰ τὴν τοῦ καπνοῦ δριμύτητα πνιγόμεναι, καταπίπτουσιν ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν ὀλίγον διαπετασθεῖσαι τόπον, τῆς δὲ τούτων ἀπωλείας ἐπὶ πλείονας ἡμέρας γινομένης μεγάλοι διανίστανται σωροί·
When much and pungent smoke rises, the locusts flying over the ravine, being choked by the pungency of the smoke, fall to the ground after flying over only a short space, and as this destruction of them goes on for several days, great heaps are raised.
καὶ τῆς χώρας ἐχούσης ἁλμυρίδα πολλήν, πάντες προσφέρουσι ταύτην ἀθρόοις τοῖς σωροῖς, καὶ διατήξαντες οἰκείως ποιοῦσι τήν τε γεῦσιν πρόσφορον καὶ τὸν ἀποθησαυρισμὸν πολυχρόνιον.
Since the country has much salt-crust, all the people apply this to the piled-up heaps, and by blending it thoroughly they render the taste palatable and the preservation long-lasting.
§3.29.4ἡ μὲν οὖν διατροφὴ τούτοις παραχρῆμα καὶ τὸν ὕστερον χρόνον ἀπὸ τούτων τῶν ζῴων ὑπάρχει· οὔτε γὰρ κτηνοτροφοῦσιν οὔτε θαλάττης ἐγγὺς οἰκοῦσιν οὔτε ἄλλης ἐπικουρίας οὐδεμιᾶς τυγχάνουσι·
Thus their nourishment, both for the present and for the future, is provided from these creatures; for they neither breed cattle nor dwell near the sea, nor do they enjoy any other assistance.
τοῖς δὲ σώμασιν ὄντες κοῦφοι καὶ τοῖς ποσὶν ὀξύτατοι βραχύβιοι παντελῶς εἰσιν, ὡς ἂν τῶν πολυχρονιωτάτων παρʼ αὐτοῖς οὐχ ὑπερβαλλόντων ἔτη τετταράκοντα.
Being light in their bodies and extremely swift on their feet, they are completely short-lived, so that the longest-lived among them do not exceed forty years of age.
§3.29.5τὸ δὲ τοῦ βίου τέλος οὐ μόνον παράδοξον ἔχουσιν, ἀλλὰ καὶ πάντων ἀκληρότατον.
But the end of their life is not only strange, but also the most wretched of all.
ὅταν γὰρ πλησιάζῃ τὸ γῆρας, ἐμφύονται τοῖς σώμασι πτερωτοὶ φθεῖρες οὐ μόνον διάφοροι τοῖς εἴδεσιν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ταῖς ἰδέαις ἄγριοι καὶ παντελῶς εἰδεχθεῖς.
For when old age approaches, there breed in their bodies winged lice which are not only diverse in their shapes, but also savage and completely hideous in their appearance.
§3.29.6ἀρξάμενον δὲ τὸ κακὸν ἀπὸ τῆς γαστρὸς καὶ τοῦ θώρακος ἐπινέμεται πάντα τὸν ὄγκον ἐν ὀλίγῳ χρόνῳ.
This evil, starting from the belly and the chest, spreads over the whole body in a short time.
ὁ δὲ πάσχων τὸ μὲν πρῶτον ὡς ὑπὸ ψώρας τινὸς ἐρεθιζόμενος μετρίως ὀδαξᾶσθαι φιλοτιμεῖται, μεμιγμένην ἔχοντος τοῦ πάθους ἀλγηδόσι τὴν χαράν· μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα ἀεὶ μᾶλλον τῶν ἐγγενομένων θηρίων εἰς τὴν ἐπιφάνειαν ἐκπιπτόντων συνεκχεῖται πλῆθος ἰχῶρος λεπτοῦ, τὴν δριμύτητα παντελῶς ἔχοντος ἀνυπομόνητον.
The sufferer at first, as though irritated by some scabies, is eager to scratch himself moderately, the disease having a pleasure mixed with pains; but after this, as the beasts that have bred within break out more and more to the surface, a multitude of thin ichor flows out, having a pungency that is completely unbearable.
§3.29.7διόπερ ὁ συνεχόμενος τῷ πάθει βιαιότερον ἀμύττει τοῖς ὄνυξι, στεναγμοὺς μεγάλους προϊέμενος.
Therefore the person afflicted by the disease scratches himself more violently with his nails, uttering great groans.
κατὰ δὲ τὰς τῶν χειρῶν ἐξελκώσεις τοσοῦτο πλῆθος ἐκπίπτει τῶν ἑρπετῶν ὥστε μηδὲν ἀνύειν τοὺς ἀπολέγοντας, ὡς ἂν ἄλλων ἐπʼ ἄλλοις ἐκφαινομένων καθάπερ ἔκ τινος ἀγγείου πολλαχῶς κατατετρημένου.
At the ulcerations made by his hands, so great a multitude of the crawling creatures falls out that those who pick them off accomplish nothing, since others appear after others, just as if from some vessel pierced with many holes.
οὗτοι μὲν οὖν εἰς τοιαύτην διάλυσιν τοῦ σώματος καταστρέφουσι τὸν βίον δυστυχῶς, εἴτε διὰ τὴν ἰδιότητα τῆς τροφῆς εἴτε διὰ τὸν ἀέρα τοιαύτης τυγχάνοντες περιπετείας.
Thus these people unfortunately end their lives in such a dissolution of the body, meeting with such a calamity either because of the peculiar nature of their food or because of the air.