Lectitō › Fabulae Faciles › Fabulae Faciles: The Argonauts
Fabulae Faciles 57
The wicked uncle
Ritchie, Fabulae Faciles: The Argonauts. Latin text with a sentence-by-sentence English translation, notes and vocabulary.
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Read in Lectitō57.1Erant ōlim in Thessaliā duo frātrēs, quōrum alter Aesōn, Peliās alter appellābātur.
There were once in Thessaly two brothers, one of whom was called Aeson, the other Pelias.
Note. quōrum alter … alter: 'of whom one … the other'.
57.2Aesōn prīmō regnum obtinuerat; at post paucōs annōs Peliās regnī cupiditāte adductus nōn modo frātrem suum expulit, sed etiam in animō habēbat Iāsonem, Aesonis fīlium, interficere.
Aeson had held the kingdom at first; but after a few years Pelias, led on by desire for the throne, not only drove out his brother but also had it in mind to kill Jason, Aeson's son.
Note. in animō habēbat: 'had it in mind', 'intended', followed by an infinitive.
57.3Quīdam tamen ex amīcīs Aesonis, ubi sententiam Peliae cognōvērunt, puerum ē tantō perīculō ēripere cōnstituērunt.
But some of Aeson's friends, when they learned Pelias' intention, decided to rescue the boy from so great a danger.
57.4Noctū igitur Iāsonem ex urbe abstulērunt, et cum posterō diē ad rēgem rediissent, eī renūntiāvērunt puerum mortuum esse.
So by night they carried Jason away from the city, and when they had returned to the king the next day, they reported to him that the boy was dead.
Note. renūntiāvērunt puerum mortuum esse: indirect statement, 'reported that the boy was dead'.
57.5Peliās cum hoc audīvisset, etsī rē vērā magnum gaudium percipiēbat, speciem tamen dolōris praebuit et quae causa esset mortis quaesīvit.
When Pelias heard this, although in reality he felt great joy, he put on a show of grief and asked what the cause of death was.
Note. quae causa esset mortis: an indirect question, so its verb is subjunctive.
57.6Illī autem cum bene intellegerent dolōrem eius falsum esse, nesciō quam fābulam dē morte puerī finxērunt.
They, however, since they understood well that his grief was false, made up some story or other about the boy's death.
Note. nesciō quam fābulam: 'I-know-not-what story', that is, 'some story or other'.
Vocabulary
| sum, esse, fuī, futūrus | be |
| ōlim, adv. | once upon a time, once, formerly, of old |
| in, prep. with acc. and abl. | with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on |
| duo, -ae, -o, plur. adj. | two |
| frāter, frātris, m. | brother |
| quī, quae, quod, rel. pron. | who, which |
| alter, -era, -erum | one or the other (of two); another, second |
| appellō, -pellāre, -pellāvī, -pellātus | call, name |
| prīmō, adv. | at first |
| regnum, -ī, n. | royal power, rule, throne; kingdom, realm |
| obtineō, -tinēre, -tinuī, -tentus | hold |
| at, conj. | but |
| post, adv. | after, later; prep. with acc., after, behind |
| paucī, -ae, -a, plur. adj. | few |
| annus, -ī, m. | year |
| cupiditās, -tātis, f. | desire, longing, eagerness |
| addūcō, -dūcere, -dūxī, -ductus | lead to, bring, take; induce, influence |
| nōn, adv. | not |
| modo, adv. | only |
| suus, -a, -um | his, her, its, or their own; his, her, its, their |
| expellō, -pellere, -pulī, -pulsus | drive out, expel |
| sed, conj. | but |
| etiam, adv. | and now, also, too, even |
| animus, -ī, m. | mind; heart; spirit, courage |
| habeō, -ēre, -uī, -itus | have, hold; consider |
| fīlius, -ī, m. | son |
| interficiō, -ficere, -fēcī, -fectus | put out of the way, kill |
| quīdam, quaedam, quoddam, indef. pron. | a certain, certain |
| tamen, adv. | however, yet, nevertheless |
| ex, ē (prep. + abl.) | out of, from; of (ē only before consonants) |
| amīcus, -ī, m. | friend |
| ubi, adv. | where; conj., when |
| sententia, -ae, f. | opinion; purpose |
| cognōscō, -gnōscere, -gnōvī, -gnitus | find out, learn; in tenses of completed action, have found out, know |
| puer, puerī, m. | boy |
| tantus, -a, -um | so great or much |
| perīculum, -ī, n. | danger, peril, risk |
| ēripiō, -ripere, -ripuī, -reptus | snatch out or away, rescue |
| cōnstituō, -stituere, -stituī, -stitūtus | set together or up; appoint; determine |
| noctū, adv. | at or by night |
| igitur, conj. | therefore |
| urbs, urbis, f. | city |
| auferō, auferre, abstulī, ablātus | bear away, carry off |
| et, conj. | and; et ... et, both ... and |
| cum, conj. | when, while, after; since; although |
| posterus, -a, -um | following, next |
| diēs, -ēī, m. and f. | day |
| ad, prep. with acc. | to, toward; at, near; for |
| rēx, rēgis, m. | king |
| redeō, -īre, -iī, -itus | go back, return |
| is, ea, id, dem. pron. | this, that; he, she, it, they |
| renūntiō, -nūntiāre, -nūntiāvī, -nūntiātus | bring back word, report, announce |
| mortuus, -a, -um | dead |
| hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron. | this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter |
| audiō, -īre, -īvī, -ītus | hear; listen or attend to |
| etsī, conj. | even if, although |
| rēs, reī, f. | thing, matter, affair, circumstance, situation; rē vērā, in truth, in fact, really |
| vērus, -a, -um | true; rē vērā, in truth, in fact |
| magnus, -a, -um | large, big, great, mighty; loud |
| gaudium, -ī, n. | gladness, joy |
| percipiō, -cipere, -cēpī, -ceptus | feel |
| speciēs, -ēī, f. | sight, appearance, shape |
| dolor, -ōris, m. | pain, grief; anger |
| praebeō, -ēre, -uī, -itus | hold forth, supply, furnish, give; show, present, exhibit |
| quī, quae, quod, interrog. pron. adj. | what? |
| causa, -ae, f. | cause, reason; abl. causā, for the sake of |
| mors, mortīs, f. | death |
| quaerō, quaerere, quaesīvī, quaesītus | seek; ask, inquire |
| ille, illa, illud, dem. pron. | that; he, she, it, they; ille ... hīc, see hīc |
| autem, conj. | moreover; but, however; now |
| bene, adv. | well; successfully |
| intellegō, -legere, -lēxī, -lēctus | perceive, understand |
| falsus, -a, -um | feigned, pretended, false |
| nesciō, -scīre, -scīvī | not know, be ignorant; nesciō quis, I know not who, some one or other (nesciō is thus used with other interrogative words also) |
| fābula, -ae, f. | story |
| dē, prep, with abl. | down from, from, out of; about, concerning, of |
| fingō, fingere, finxī, fictus | invent, make up |