Lectitō › Fabulae Faciles › Fabulae Faciles: The Argonauts
Fabulae Faciles 59
The golden fleece
Ritchie, Fabulae Faciles: The Argonauts. Latin text with a sentence-by-sentence English translation, notes and vocabulary.
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Read in Lectitō59.1Iāsōn igitur cum calceum āmissum nūllō modō recipere posset, ūnō pede nūdō in rēgiam pervēnit.
So Jason, since he could in no way get back the lost shoe, arrived at the palace with one foot bare.
59.2Quem cum Peliās vīdisset, subitō timōre adfectus est; intellēxit enim hunc esse hominem quem ōrāculum dēmōnstrāvisset.
When Pelias saw him, he was suddenly seized with fear; for he understood that this was the man whom the oracle had pointed out.
Note. Quem: a relative pronoun at the start of a sentence connects it to the one before: 'and when Pelias saw him'.
59.3Hoc igitur cōnsilium iniit.
So he formed this plan.
59.4Rēx erat quīdam Aeētēs, quī regnum Colchidis illō tempore obtinēbat.
There was a certain king Aeetes, who at that time ruled the kingdom of Colchis.
59.5Huic commissum erat vellus illud aureum quod Phrixus ōlim ibi relīquerat.
To him had been entrusted that famous golden fleece which Phrixus had once left there.
59.6Cōnstituit igitur Peliās Iāsonī negōtium dare ut hōc vellere potīrētur; cum enim rēs esset magnī perīculī, eum in itinere peritūrum esse spērābat.
So Pelias decided to give Jason the task of getting possession of this fleece; for since the undertaking was very dangerous, he hoped that he would die on the journey.
Note. hōc vellere potīrētur: potior takes the ablative. peritūrum esse: future infinitive, 'that he would die'.
59.7Iāsonem igitur ad sē arcessīvit, et eum cohortātus quid fierī vellet docuit.
So he summoned Jason to him and, after encouraging him, told him what he wanted done.
Note. quid fierī vellet: 'what he wanted to be done', an indirect question.
59.8Ille etsī intellegēbat rem esse difficillimam, negōtium libenter suscēpit.
Jason, although he understood that the task was very difficult, gladly undertook it.
Vocabulary
| igitur, conj. | therefore |
| cum, conj. | when, while, after; since; although |
| calceus, -ī, m. | shoe |
| āmittō, -mittere, -mīsī, -missus | send away, lose |
| nūllus, -a, -um | not any, none, no |
| modus, -ī, m. | way, manner |
| recipiō, -cipere, -cēpī, -ceptus | take or get back, recover; sē recipere, to betake oneself, withdraw; to collect oneself, recover |
| possum, posse, potuī | be able, have power, can |
| ūnus, -a, -um | one; only, alone |
| pēs, pedis, m. | foot |
| nūdus, -a, -um | naked, bare |
| in, prep. with acc. and abl. | with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on |
| rēgia, -ae, f. | palace |
| perveniō, -venīre, -vēnī, -ventus | come through, come, arrive, reach |
| quī, quae, quod, rel. pron. | who, which |
| videō, vidēre, vīdī, vīsus | see; pass., seem |
| subitō, adv. | unexpectedly, suddenly |
| timor, -ōris, m. | fear |
| adficiō, -ficere, -fēcī, -fectus | do to, move, affect; visit, afflict |
| sum, esse, fuī, futūrus | be |
| intellegō, -legere, -lēxī, -lēctus | perceive, understand |
| enim, conj. | for |
| hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron. | this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter |
| homō, hominis, m. | man |
| ōrāculum, -ī, n. | oracle |
| dēmōnstrō, -mōnstrāre, -mōnstrāvī, -mōnstrātus | point out, show; make known |
| cōnsilium, -ī, n. | advice; plan, design, purpose; prudence |
| ineō, -īre, -iī, -itus | go into, enter; adopt |
| rēx, rēgis, m. | king |
| quīdam, quaedam, quoddam, indef. pron. | a certain, certain |
| regnum, -ī, n. | royal power, rule, throne; kingdom, realm |
| ille, illa, illud, dem. pron. | that; he, she, it, they; ille ... hīc, see hīc |
| tempus, temporis, n. | time, season |
| obtineō, -tinēre, -tinuī, -tentus | hold |
| committō, -mittere, -mīsī, -missus | send together; commit, intrust; expose; proelium committere, to join battle |
| vellus, velleris, n. | fleece |
| aureus, -a, -um | of gold, golden |
| ōlim, adv. | once upon a time, once, formerly, of old |
| ibi, adv. | in that place, there |
| relinquō, -linquere, -līquī, -lictus | leave behind, leave |
| cōnstituō, -stituere, -stituī, -stitūtus | set together or up; appoint; determine |
| negōtium, -ī, n. | business, matter; task, trouble, difficulty |
| dō, dare, dedī, datus | give |
| ut, conj. | as; when; that; ita ut, as |
| potior, -īrī, -ītus | become master of, get possession of |
| rēs, reī, f. | thing, matter, affair, circumstance, situation; rē vērā, in truth, in fact, really |
| magnus, -a, -um | large, big, great, mighty; loud |
| perīculum, -ī, n. | danger, peril, risk |
| is, ea, id, dem. pron. | this, that; he, she, it, they |
| iter, itineris, n. | a going, journey, march; iter facere, to journey, march |
| pereō, -īre, -ii, -itūrus | pass away, perish |
| spērō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | hope |
| ad, prep. with acc. | to, toward; at, near; for |
| suī, sibi, sē or sēsē, reflexive pron. | himself, herself, itself, themselves |
| arcessō, -ere, -īvī, -ītus | call, summon, fetch |
| et, conj. | and; et ... et, both ... and |
| cohortor, -hortārī, -hortātus | encourage, exhort |
| quis, quid, interrog. pron. | who? which? what? |
| fīō, fierī, factus sum | be done or made, become, happen |
| volō, velle, voluī | wish |
| doceo, -ēre, -uī, -tus | teach, explain |
| etsī, conj. | even if, although |
| difficilis, -e | not easy, difficult |
| libenter, adv. | willingly, gladly |
| suscipiō, -cipere, -cēpī, -ceptus | undertake |