Xenophon of Ephesus, An Ephesian Tale 2.1.4 · 2.1.4
He swears by his chastity
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Ἀλλʼ οὐ μὰ τὴν μέχρις ἄρτι σωφροσύνην ἐκ παιδός μοι σύντροφον, οὐκ ἂν ἐμαυτὸν ὑποθείην Κορύμβῳ· τεθνήξομαι δὲ πρότερον καὶ φανοῦμαι νεκρὸς σώφρων.
"But no, by my chastity, my companion from childhood until now, I would not submit myself to Corymbus. I will die first, and be found a chaste corpse."
Word by word
The setting
Book 2, chapter 1. Habrocomes answers his own question.
A note on this passage
μά is the particle of an oath, usually followed by a god's name: μὰ Δία, "by Zeus." Habrocomes swears by his own σωφροσύνη, "chastity," and calls it his σύντροφος, a word for a child raised in the same household. The vow ends on σώφρων, "chaste," the word of his complaint in 2.1.3, now set beside νεκρός, "corpse."
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