§5.18.1παράδοξον δέ τι καὶ κατὰ τοὺς γάμους νόμιμον παρʼ αὐτοῖς ἐστιν· ἐν γὰρ ταῖς κατὰ τοὺς γάμους εὐωχίαις οἰκείων τε καὶ φίλων κατὰ τὴν ἡλικίαν ὁ πρῶτος ἀεὶ καὶ ὁ δεύτερος καὶ οἱ λοιποὶ κατὰ τὸ ἑξῆς μίσγονται ταῖς νύμφαις ἀνὰ μέρος, ἐσχάτου τοῦ νυμφίου τυγχάνοντος ταύτης τῆς τιμῆς.
And there is also a certain strange custom among them regarding marriages; for in the feasts during the marriages, of the relatives and friends, always the first according to age, and the second, and the rest in order, mingle with the brides in turn, with the bridegroom obtaining this honor last.
§5.18.2ἴδιον δέ τι ποιοῦσι καὶ παντελῶς ἐξηλλαγμένον περὶ τὰς τῶν τετελευτηκότων ταφάς· συγκόψαντες γὰρ ξύλοις τὰ μέλη τοῦ σώματος εἰς ἀγγεῖον ἐμβάλλουσι καὶ λίθους δαψιλεῖς ἐπιτιθέασιν.
And they do something peculiar and completely extraordinary concerning the burials of the deceased; for having broken the limbs of the body with wooden clubs, they cast them into a vessel and place abundant stones upon it.
§5.18.3ὁπλισμὸς δʼ ἐστὶν αὐτοῖς τρεῖς σφενδόναι, καὶ τούτων μίαν μὲν περὶ τὴν κεφαλὴν ἔχουσιν, ἄλλην δὲ περὶ τὴν γαστέρα, τρίτην δʼ ἐν ταῖς χερσί.
And their armament consists of three slings, and of these they have one around the head, another around the belly, and the third in their hands.
κατὰ δὲ τὰς πολεμικὰς χρείας βάλλουσι λίθους πολὺ μείζους τῶν ἄλλων οὕτως εὐτόνως, ὥστε δοκεῖν τὸ βληθὲν ἀπό τινος καταπέλτου φέρεσθαι· διὸ καὶ κατὰ τὰς τειχομαχίας ἐν ταῖς προσβολαῖς τύπτοντες τοὺς ἐπὶ τῶν ἐπάλξεων ἐφεστῶτας κατατραυματίζουσιν, ἐν δὲ ταῖς παρατάξεσι τούς τε θυρεοὺς καὶ τὰ κράνη καὶ πᾶν σκεπαστήριον ὅπλον συντρίβουσι.
And in military needs, they throw stones much larger than others so vigorously that the missile seems to be carried as if from some catapult; wherefore also in siege-warfares, striking in the assaults those standing upon the breastworks, they wound them severely, and in pitched battles, they shatter both the shields and the helmets and every protective weapon.
§5.18.4κατὰ δὲ τὴν εὐστοχίαν οὕτως ἀκριβεῖς εἰσιν, ὥστε κατὰ τὸ πλεῖστον μὴ ἁμαρτάνειν τοῦ προκειμένου σκοποῦ.
And in accuracy of aim they are so precise that for the most part they do not miss the target set before them.
αἴτιαι δὲ τούτων αἱ συνεχεῖς ἐκ παίδων μελέται, καθʼ ἃς ὑπὸ τῶν μητέρων ἀναγκάζονται παῖδες ὄντες σφενδονᾶν· προκειμένου γὰρ σκοποῦ κατά τι ξύλον ἠρτημένου ἄρτου, οὐ πρότερον δίδοται τῷ μελετῶντι φαγεῖν, ἕως ἂν τυχὼν τοῦ ἄρτου συγχωρούμενον λάβῃ παρὰ τῆς μητρὸς καταφαγεῖν τοῦτον.
And the cause of these is the continuous training from childhood, in which they are compelled by their mothers to sling while they are children; for when a loaf of bread is hung from a piece of wood and set before them as a target, it is not given to the one practicing to eat beforehand, until, having hit the bread, he receives permission from his mother to consume it.