Section 1 & 2

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"