Aetos is giving you fantastic advice and feedback here and I am absolutely not going to tread on his toes. A bit of light relief instead: I saw this image today about Canadian social distancing and it reminded me of the picture of Δικαιόπολις and the δοῦλος above - remember to stay one βοῦς apart at all times, people! 
Thank you, Sean for reminding us that we do this for fun! Believe it or not, I took my first aeroplane ride in a town called Caribou, just a little ways south of the Canadian border in the state of Maine. Many years later, I had a friend that landed there by mistake, albeit an honest one. He learned a lot.
Chapter 2B
Vocabulary
ὁ μὲν οὖν Δικαιόπολις ἐλαύνει τοὺς βοῦς, ὁ δὲ Ξανθίας ὄπισθεν βαδίζει καὶ φέρει τὸ ἄροτρον.
Rough translation: on the one hand so/then Dikaiopolis he drives the oxen, on the other hand Xanthias behind he walks/goes and he carries the plow.
Final translation: So Dikaiopolis drives the oxen on the one hand, on the other hand Xanthias walks behind and carries the plow.
δι ᾿ ὀλιγου δὲ ὁ Δικαιόπολις εἰσάγει τοὺς βοῦς εἰς τὸν ἀγρὸν καὶ βλέπει πρὸς τὸν δοῦλον· ὁ δὲ Ξανθίας οὐ παρεστιν· βραδέως γὰρ βαίνει.
Rough translation: soon and/but Dikaiopolis he leads in/takes in the oxen to/into the field and he looks/sees towards the slave; and/but Xanthias not present/here/there; slowly he walks/steps/goes.
Final translation: And soon Dikaiopolis leads in the oxen into the field and looks towards the slave; but Xanthias is not present; for he walks slowly.
ὁ οὖν Δικαιόπολις καλεῖ αὐτὸν καὶ λέγει· “σπεῦδε, ὦ Χανθια, καὶ φέρε μοι τὸ ἄροτρον.”
Rough translation: so/then Dikaiopolis he calls him and he says; “Hurry, Xanthias, and carry me the plow.”
Final translation: So Dikaiopolis calls him and says; “Hurry, Xanthias, and carry the plow to me.”
ὁ δὲ Ξανθίας λέγει· “ἀλλ᾿ ἤδη σπεύδω, ὦ δέσποτα· τί οὕτω χαλεπὸς εἶ;” βραδέως δὲ φέρει τὸ ἄροτρον πρὸς αὐτόν.
Rough translation: and/but Xanthias says; “But already/now hurry, o master; why so/be hard you are?” slowly and/but carry the plow towards him.
Final translation: And Xanthias says “But I am already hurrying, o master; why are you so harsh?” and slowly carries the plow towards him.
ὁ οὖν Δικαιὀπολις ἄγει τοὺς βοῦς ὑπὸ τὸ ζυγὸν καὶ προσάπτει τὸ ἄροτρον.
Rough translation: so/then Dikaiopolis he leads the oxen under the yoke and attaches the plow.
Final translation: Then Dikaiopolis leads the oxen under the yoke and attaches the plow.
ἔπειτα δὲ πρὸς τὸν δοϋλον βλέπει· ὁδὲ Ξανθίας οὐ πάρεστιν· κατθεύδει γὰρ ὑπὸ τῷ δένδρῳ.
Rough translation: then/thereafter and/but towards the slave he looks/sees; and/but Xanthias not present/here/there; he sleeps for under the tree.
Final translation: Then he looks towards the slave; but Xanthias is not there; for he sleeps under the tree.
ὁ οὖν Δικαιόπολις καλεῖ αὐτὸν καὶ λέγει·“ἐλθὲ δεῦρο, ὦ κατάρατε. μὴ κάθευδε ἀλλὰ συλλάμβανε. φέρε γὰρ τὸ σπέρμα καὶ ὄπισθεν βαδιζε.”
Rough translation: so/then Dikaiopolis he calls him and says; “Come here, you cursed creature. Don’t sleep but help. Carry for the seen and behind/at the back walks/goes.”
Final translation: So Dikaiopolis calls him and says “Come here, you cursed creature. Don’t sleep but help. Carry the seend and walk behind.”
ὁ νὲν οὖν δοῦλος τὸ σπέρμα λαμβάνει καὶ ακολουθεῖ, ὁ δὲ δεσπότης καλεῖ τὴν Δήμητρα καὶ λεγει· “ἵλεως ἴθι, ὦ Δήμητερ, καὶ πλήθυνε τὸ σπέρμα.”
Rough translation: on the one hand so/then the slave the seed he takes and follows, on the other hand the master he calls Demeter and he says; “gracious be, o Demeter, and multiply the seed.”
Final translation: Then on the one hand the slave takes the seed and follows, on the other hand the master calls Demeter and says; “Be gracious, o Demeter, and multiply the seed.”
ἔπειτα δὲ τὸ κέντρον λαμβάνει καὶ κεντεῖ τοὺς βοῦς καὶ λέγει “σπεύδετε, ὦ βόες· ἕλκετε τὸ ἄροτρον καὶ ἀροῦτε τὸν ἀγρόν.”
Rough translation: then/thereafter and/but the goad he takes and goads the oxen and says “Hurry, oxes; drag the plow and plow the field.”
Final translation: And then he takes the goad and he goads the oxen and says “Hurry, oxes; drag the plow and plow the field.”
All in all, good job! You’ve understood the reading selection 100%! In terms of translation, you could polish the English a little bit more and to do that, remember that just as you don’t have to necessarily translate every English word into Greek (remember how we write “he is carrying” in Greek?), there may be words in a Greek sentence that don’t need to be translated into English. A good example of this is the μεν…δε construction. While there are times when you do translate it as “on the one hand…on the other hand”, there are other times when you don’t have to. For example, the sentence I just wrote “While there are times………….…..,there are other times” would use the μἐν ………δέ construction in Greek. If we take that first sentence, “ὁ μὲν οὖν Δικαιόπολις ἐλαύνει τοὺς βοῦς, ὁ δὲ Ξανθίας ὄπισθεν βαδίζει καὶ φέρει τὸ ἄροτρον.”, you could just as easily leave the OTOH expression out altogether and the sentence would still get across all of the meaning. “So Dikaiopolis drives the oxen, Xanthias walks behind and carries the plow.” The key concept is that these are two different languages, different not only in vocabulary, but in grammar and syntax as well. If there happens to be a 1 to 1 correspondence between English and Greek words in a sentence, it’s probably just as much by accident as anything else.
How much should you be concerned with coming up with a finely polished translation? Well, there’s considerable debate about that aspect of learning other languages. My own view is that so long as your translation shows that you understand how the words fit together in the sentence and that it clearly shows the full sense, then that should suffice. Does it have to be worthy of publication in the next classics journal? No.
You’re going to hear the expression “idiomatic English” quite a lot, which does bring up a important point. Your final translation should at least be grammatically correct in English and sound natural. For me anyway, that’s enough polish!
Word Building
Deduce the meaning of the following compound verbs:
Looks good. Note in the instructions that it says when a compound has a special meaning, it will be given in the vocabulary list. The first word, προσφέρει, which can be deduced as meaning “carries to”, can also mean “offer”, “add to”, “bring to”, “address”, “contribute”, “pay” and has a few other meanings. The point is that you may find that the meaning you deduce from the compound may not quite fit the context of what you’re reading, but there may be a word which is a logical extension of the original meaning that does. Although right now you’re being supplied with the possible meanings you need for a word, bear In mind that there may be other, more specific meanings for those words later on. A good habit to develop will be to check the words whose meanings you are “deducing” in your vocabulary or later on in a dictionary or lexicon. Being able to deduce meaning is worthwhile, because it’ll help you remember. It’s also important to confirm your deduction!
Hope you’re feeling better!
Exercise 2d looks good.
Exercise 2e:
Well. That’s what I get for trying to rush answers and thinking I already memorized the endings right.
Exercise 2z
Translate the following pairs of sentences:
ὁ δοῦλος οὐκ ἔστιν ᾿Αθηναῖος. = The slave is not Athenian.
Xanthias is not strong. = ὁ Ξανθιας οὐκ ισχυρός.
ὁ Δικαιόπολις εκβαίνει ἐκ τοῦ οἴκου καὶ καλεῖ τὸν δοῦλον. = Dikaipolis walks out of the house and calls the slave.
The slave hurries to the field and carries the plow. = ὁ δοῦλός σπεῦδει πρὸς τὸν ἀγρὸν καὶ φέρεο τπ` ἄροτρον.
ὁ δοῦλος οὐ συλλαμβάνει ἀλλὰ καθεύδει ὑπὸ τῷ δένδρῳ. = The slave doesn’t help but sleeps under the tree.
The man is not working but walking to the house. = ὀ ἄνθρωπος οὐ πόνεῖ ἀλλὰ βαίνει πρὸς τὸν οἶκον.
εἴσελθε εἰς τὸν οἶκον, ὦ Ξανθία, καὶ φέρε τὸν σῖτον. = Come into the house, Xanthias, and carry the food.
Come, slave, and lead in the oxen. = ἐλθὲ, ὁ δοῦλε, εἰσάγε τοὺς βοῦς.
μὴ πόνει, ὦ Ξανθία, ἀλλὰ ἐλθὲ δεῦρο. = Don’t work, Xanthias, but come here.
Don’t sleep, man, but work in the field. = μὴ καθεύδει, ὁ ἄνθρωπος, ἀλλὰ πόνει ἐν τὸν ἀγρὸν.
Hi Malo,
There are a number of accent and breathing marks that need to be corrected. Before we look at the translations, see if you can find and correct these items. While you’re composing your answers, it’s easy to miss these, so it’s important to go back over your work and check. Back when I was at college, we still used the 3 accent and 2 breathing marks even in modern Greek, so one had to be careful (especially writing with a pen!). I had an acquaintance who used to wait until she had finished writing whatever she was going to write (sometimes it would be a letter to a friend several pages long) and then go back and add the marks!
ὁ δοῦλος οὐκ ἔστιν ᾿Αθηναῖος. = The slave is not Athenian.
Xanthias is not strong. = ὁ Ξανθίας οὐκ ἔστιν ἰσχυρός.
ὁ Δικαιόπολις ἐκβαίνει ἐκ τοῦ οἴκου καὶ καλεῖ τὸν δοῦλον. = Dikaipolis walks out of the house and calls the slave.
The slave hurries to the field and carries the plow. = ὁ δοῦλός σπεύδει πρὸς τὸν ἀγρὸν καὶ φέρει τὸ ἄροτρον.
ὁ δοῦλος οὐ συλλαμβάνει ἀλλὰ καθεύδει ὑπὸ τῷ δένδρῳ. = The slave doesn’t help but sleeps under the tree.
The man is not working but walking to the house. = ὀ ἄνθρωπος οὐ πόνει ἀλλὰ βαίνει πρὸς τὸν οἶκον.
εἴσελθε εἰς τὸν οἶκον, ὦ Ξανθία, καὶ φέρε τὸν σῖτον. = Come into the house, Xanthias, and carry the food.
Come, slave, and lead in the oxen. = ἐλθὲ, ὁ δουλε, εἰσάγε τοὺς βοῦς.
μὴ πόνει, ὦ Ξανθία, ἀλλὰ ἐλθὲ δεῦρο. = Don’t work, Xanthias, but come here.
Don’t sleep, man, but work in the field. = μὴ καθεύδει, ὁ ἄνθρωπος, ἀλλὰ πόνει ἐν τὸν ἀγρὸν.
I…I can’t see what’s wrong with ὁ ἄνθρωπος. I checked and I’m already using the same breathing and accent as the book. What did I get wrong here?
Better! Now correct these:
1.Ξανθιας
2. εκβαίνει
τπ` ἄροτρον.
3. πόνεῖ
4. ὁ δοῦλε, εἰσάγε
5. ὁ ἄνθρωπος, ἐν τὸν ἀγρὸν
You may not see the problem with εἰσάγε and ἐν τὸν ἀγρὸν, but we’ll talk about that later. See if you can fix the rest.
…correct the accent and breathing or correct because I should use another word, or both?
And the ekbainei in #2 belongs to the sentence I should translate into English. So…huh? Did I mistype? Checking.
You’re using the right words -just correct the accents and breathing and any obvious typos. Yes, εκβαινει is from the Greek to English sentence, so it was just a typo; but without looking at the book, see if you can write it correctly!
Ok. That got messed up.
I thought I posted a new post when instead what happened was I was unknowingly editing the answer post I made earlier. I’ll make a new post later on if I still got it wrong.
And…I still don’t get what’s wrong with the breathing of ὁ ἄνθρωπος. Was what I got wrong writing the definite article too?
I see that you corrected the original answers. That’s fine-saves you a little typing! No need to retype. Now let’s talk about sentences 4 and 5. There are several items:
ὁ δοῦλε, - you correctly used the vocative case. What one-letter word do we usually place before a noun in the vocative case?
ὁ ἄνθρωπος* - “Don’t sleep, man…” What case should you use here for ‘man’ ?
O.K., now here are two items which you may not have picked up on the Reference Grammar:
Sentence 4: ὦ
Sentence 5: ὦ ἄνθρωπε
εἴσαγε
ἐν τῷ αγρῷ
Perfect! Keep up the good work!
Ο ΔΟΥΛΟΖ
ὁ αὐτουργὸς σπεύδει εἰς τὸν ἀγρὸν καὶ καλεῖ τὸν δοῦλον.
Rough translation: The farmer he hurries into the field and he calls the slave.
Final translation: The farmer hurries into the field and calls the slave.
ὁ δὲ δοῦλος οὐ πάρεστιν· καθεύδει γὰρ ὑπὸ τῷ δένδρῳ.
Rough translation: and/but the slave not present/here/there; he sleeps for under the tree.
Final translation: But the salve is not there; for he sleeps under the tree.
ὁ οὖν δεσπότης βαδίζει πρὸς αὐτὸν καὶ λέγει· "ἐλθὲ δεῦρο, ὦ δοῦλε ἀργέ καὶ πόνει.
Rough translation: so/then the master walks/goes towards him and says “come here, slave lazy and work.”
Final translation: So the master walks towards him and says “Come here, lazy slave and work.”
ὁ οὖν δοῦλος βαδίζει πρὸς αὐτὸν καὶ λέγει· "μὴ χαλεπὸς ἴσθι, ὦ δέσποτα· ἤδη γὰρ πάρειμι ἐγὼ καὶ φέρω σοι τὸ ἄροτρον.
Rough translation: So/the the slave walks/goes towards him and says “don’t be hard, o master; already for I am here I and I carry to you the plow.”
Final translation: So the slave walks towards him and says “Don’t be harsh, master; I’m already here and I carried the plow to you.”
ὁ οὖν δεσπότης λέγει· "σπεῦδε, ὦ Ξανθία· μικρὸς μὲν γὰρ ἐστιν ὁ ἀγρός, μακρὸς δὲ ὁ πόνος
Rough translation: So/then the master says “Hurry, o Xanthias; small on the one hand for the field, large on the other hand the work.”
Final translation: So the master says “Hurry Xanthias; For the field is small, but the work long.”
What is the farmer doing?
The farmer went into the field to call the slave.
What is the slave doing?
The slave was sleeping under a tree.
When told to come and help, what does the slave do?
The slave comes to the master, carrying the plow.
Why is the slave urged to hurry?
Because there is a lot of work to be done.
Exercise 2h
Translate into Greek. When you need to use μέν and another postpositive together, always use μέν before the other postpositive.
2.And (use δέ, post positive) then he calls the slave and says: "Don’t work any longer (μηκέτἰ) but come here and take the plow.
ὅδε δέ καλεῖ ὁ δοῦλος καὶ λέγει “μηκετι ἀλλὰ ἐλθὴ δεῦρο καὶ λάμβανε τὸν ἄροτρον.”
“For I (use personal pronoun) on the one hand am driving the oxen to the house, you (σύ) on the other hand carry the plow.”
“ἐγὼ γὰρ μέν ἐλαύνω τοὺς βοῦς πρὸς τὸν οἶκον, σύ δέ φέρε τὸν ἄροτρον.”
So on the one hand Dicaeopolis drives the oxen out of the field, and on the other hand the salve takes the plow and carries it towards the house.
ὁ μὲν Δικαιόπολις ἐλαύνει τοὺς βοῦς ἐκ τοῦ αγροῦ, ὁ δοῦλος δέ λαμβάνε τὸν ἄροτρον καὶ φέρει πρὸς τὸν οἶκον.
Well…how bad is my translation into Attic?
Also, I laughed at learning of the word meketi.. If it really means don’t work any longer, then the Philippines’ financial center would laugh at the idea that somewhere some word that sounds close to the name of the city means not working any longer or retired.
Your translation of the story is good. The only correction I’d make is translating this part:
ἤδη γὰρ πάρειμι ἐγὼ καὶ φέρω σοι τὸ ἄροτρον.
Note that φέρω is the present tense, so in this instance you’d want to use present tense of ‘bring’. A nice translation for this thought would be " For I’m here already and I’m bringing you the plow."
The answers to the comprehension questions are mostly correct. Strictly speaking, I would phrase the answers in the present tense as they’re being asked in the present tense. In the first sentence, the farmer isn’t just going-he’s hurrying. Otherwise, looks good.
Now let’s look at the English-Greek translation exercise (in my edition it’s 2g):
All in all, not bad! I can tell you’re trying!