iuvenis ego Mileto profectus
[As] a young man I set out from Miletus
ad spectaculum Olympicum
for the Olympic Games,
cum haec etiam loca ... visitare cuperem
since I also wanted to visit these areas
provinciae clarae
of the famous province
peragrata tota Thessalia
Having travelled through the whole of Thessaly
Larissam perveni
I arrived at Larissa
ac dum urbem pererrans
And while wandering through the city
tenuato viatico
with my travelling allowance diminished
fomenta quaero*
I was looking for remedies
paupertati meae
for my poverty
senem conspicio*
I caught sight of an old man
medio in foro
in the middle of the forum
insistebat lapidem
He was standing on a stone
magnaque voce praedicabat
and was proclaiming in a loud voice
si quis ... vellet
[that] if anyone was willing
mortuum custodire
to guard a dead man
magnum praemium accepturum esse
he would receive a great reward
et ... inquam
And I said
cuidam praetereunti
to a certain somebody passing by
"quid hoc ... audio?"
"what's this I hear?"
"hic mortui solent aufugere?"
"Do the dead usually run away around here?
"tace," respondit ille
"Be quiet," he replied
"nam puer ... es"
"For you are a boy"
"et satis peregrinus"
"and a mere stranger"
"meritoque nescis in Thessalis te esse"
"and naturally you don't know [that] you are in Thessaly"
"ubi sagae ora mortuorum semper demorsicant"
"where witches always bite pieces out of the faces of the dead"
"quae sunt illis artis magicae supplementa"
"which are extra-ingredients for them in their magic art"
contra ego ... inquam
In reply I said
"quali custodela ... opus est?"
"What sort of protection is needed?"
"iam primum" respondit ille
"To begin with" he replied
"totam noctem eximie vigilandum est"
"the whole night you must stay fully awake"
"apertis et inconivis oculis"
"with eyes open and sleepless"
"semper in cadaver intentis"
"directed always at the corpse"
"nec acies usquam devertenda est"
"Your glance must not be turned away anywhere else"
"cum illae pessimae sagae"
"since those very wicked witches"
"latenter arrepant"
"creep up secretly"
"forma in quodvis animal conversa"
"with their shape changed into any kind of animal"
"nam ... induunt"
"for they take the form of"
"et aves et canes et mures"
"both birds, and dogs and mice"
"immo vero etiam muscas"
"and indeed even flies"