§9.1.1αἱ μὲν οὖν ἐπιφανέσταται πράξεις τῶν ὑπὸ τῆς προειρημένης ὀλυμπιάδος περιληφθεισῶν καὶ τοῦ τετραετοῦς διαστήματος, ὅ φαμεν δεῖν ὀλυμπιάδα νομίζειν, εἰσὶν αὗται· περὶ ὧν ἡμεῖς ἐν δυσὶ βυβλίοις πειρασόμεθα ποιεῖσθαι τὴν ἐξήγησιν.
These, then, are the most famous deeds among those encompassed by the aforementioned Olympiad and the four-year interval which we say we must consider an Olympiad; concerning which we shall try to make our exposition in two books.
§9.1.2οὐκ ἀγνοῶ δὲ διότι συμβαίνει τὴν πραγματείαν ἡμῶν ἔχειν αὐστηρόν τι καὶ πρὸς ἓν γένος ἀκροατῶν οἰκειοῦσθαι καὶ κρίνεσθαι διὰ τὸ μονοειδὲς τῆς συντάξεως.
But I am not unaware that it happens that our work has something austere about it and is suited to, and judged by, only one class of hearers on account of the uniform character of its composition.
§9.1.3οἱ μὲν γὰρ ἄλλοι συγγραφεῖς σχεδὸν ἅπαντες, εἰ δὲ μή γʼ, οἱ πλείους, πᾶσι τοῖς τῆς ἱστορίας μέρεσι χρώμενοι πολλοὺς ἐφέλκονται πρὸς ἔντευξιν τῶν ὑπομνημάτων.
For almost all other writers, or at least the majority of them, employing all the parts of history, attract many to the reading of their memoirs.
§9.1.4τὸν μὲν γὰρ φιλήκοον ὁ γενεαλογικὸς τρόπος ἐπισπᾶται, τὸν δὲ πολυπράγμονα καὶ περιττὸν ὁ περὶ τὰς ἀποικίας καὶ κτίσεις καὶ συγγενείας, καθά που καὶ παρʼ Ἐφόρῳ λέγεται, τὸν δὲ πολιτικὸν ὁ περὶ τὰς πράξεις τῶν ἐθνῶν καὶ πόλεων καὶ δυναστῶν.
For the inquisitive listener is drawn by the genealogical style, the curious and painstaking student by the account of colonies, foundations of cities, and relationships, as is indeed said somewhere by Ephorus, and the statesman by the narrative of the deeds of nations, cities, and rulers.
§9.1.5ἐφʼ ὃν ἡμεῖς ψιλῶς κατηντηκότες καὶ περὶ τοῦτον πεποιημένοι τὴν ὅλην τάξιν, πρὸς ἓν μέν τι γένος, ὡς προεῖπον, οἰκείως ἡρμόσμεθα, τῷ δὲ πλείονι μέρει τῶν ἀκροατῶν ἀψυχαγώγητον παρεσκευάκαμεν τὴν ἀνάγνωσιν.
Having confined ourselves solely to this latter and having made our entire arrangement about it, we have, as I said before, adapted ourselves fittingly to one class, but for the majority of readers we have made the reading unattractive.
§9.1.6τίνος δὲ χάριν τἄλλα μέρη τῆς ἱστορίας ἀποδοκιμάσαντες αὐτὰ τὰ κατὰ τὰς πράξεις προειλάμεθα γράφειν, ἐν ἑτέροις ἡμῖν εἴρηται διὰ πλειόνων, κεφαλαιωδῶς γε μὴν οὐδὲν ἐπέχει καὶ νῦν ἐμφάσεως χάριν ὑπομνῆσαι τοὺς ἀκούοντας.
Now, for what reason we rejected the other parts of history and chose to write only of actual deeds, has been explained by us elsewhere at greater length; nevertheless, there is no harm in reminding our hearers of it summarily even now, for the sake of emphasis.