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[Menander] Protector,[1] historian; [the one] who says about himself: "my father was Euphratas, who came from Byzantium; he was a man of very little literary education. Herodotus, my brother, began to train for the law but then lost his enthusiasm for it; but I myself thought that I ought not to dissociate myself from the law but should persevere to the end of my labours -- and as far as I was able, I got there. But I made little use of my professional qualification: for I had no wish either to plead court-cases or to inhabit the Royal Stoa and impress the passers-by with how cleverly I could speak. Conseqently I abandoned my studies and chose a path of ease and idleness. What appealed to me was the rowdiness of the "colours" and the excitement of the horse-races, and especially pantomimic dancing. I even tried my hand at wrestling, and my voyage took me to such heights of folly that I not only lost my cloak but was also stripped, along with it, of common sense and everything else that makes life honourable. When Maurice assumed the imperial power,[2] he was extremely caring toward his subjects and, besides, a lover of culture, especially poetry and history; so he spent most of the night on such pursuits and, consequently, offered monetary incentives to stimulate the sluggish in intellect. At that time I myself was disillusioned and frustrated at having no means, and I was thinking that I ought to stop drifting stupidly around; so, in order not to fritter away my life entirely, I made a start on this history, beginning after the death of Agathias[3] and making my starting-point [the end] of his history."

Menandros, protiktôr, historikos: hos legei peri heautou: emoi patêr Euphratas ek Buzantiou hormômenos ên: houtos dê oun hêkista tês tôn logôn meteilêchei paideias. Hêrodotos men oun homognios de moi tês pros ton nomon apogeusamenos paideias eita aphêniase tês peri tauta spoudês: all' egôge outi chrênai ôiomên mê kai nomois homilêsai kai es telos hikesthai tôn ponôn: kai dê aphikomên, hôs moi hupêrche dunaton. hêkista de echrêsamên têi epangeliai tou epitêdeumatos: ou gar moi thumêres ên agônizesthai dikas oute mên en têi basileiôi stoai thamizein kai deinotêti logôn tas tôn entunchanontôn oikeiousthai phrontidas. kai ta spoudaia toigaroun pareis kai ta cheirista helomenos, kechênôs perienostoun. kai moi katathumioi êsan hoi te thoruboi tôn chrômatôn kai hoi hamillêtêrioi tôn hippôn agônes, eti ge mên kai hê pantomimos orchêsis. ou mên alla kai palaistrais enapeduomên kai es tosouton exôkeila aphrosunês, hôs kai ton phainolên apodusasthai, sunapodusasthai de autôi kai to nouneches, kai allo ho ti es biou aglaïsma. epei de Maurikios to basileion diedêsato kratos, touto men promêthestata echôn es tous hupêkoous, touto de kai mousôn erastês poiêmatôn te kai historias hêdista epaïôn, hôs kai to polu tês nuktos meros katanaliskein peri tas toiautas phrontidas kai parorman enteuthen kai oxunein tois chrêmasi tous ambluterous ton logismon, agapêtôs en tôi tote egôge aluôn kai dusanaschetôn tôi mê ta deonta echein, analogizomenos ên, hôs ou chreôn anonêta me perinostein, hôs t' an oun mê diapantos kenembatoiên, hôrmêthên epi tênde tên sungraphên arxasthai meta tên apobiôsin Agathiou kai tês historias poiêsasthai tên archên.

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