Lectitō › Fabulae Faciles › Fabulae Faciles: The Argonauts
Fabulae Faciles 68
Medea's ointment
Ritchie, Fabulae Faciles: The Argonauts. Latin text with a sentence-by-sentence English translation, notes and vocabulary.
Tap any word for its meaning and grammar, save words to review, and track your reading.
Read in Lectitō68.1Mēdēa, rēgis fīlia, Iāsonem adamāvit, et ubi audīvit eum tantum perīculum subitūrum esse, rem aegrē ferēbat.
Medea, the king's daughter, fell in love with Jason, and when she heard that he was going to face so great a danger, she was distressed.
68.2Intellegēbat enim patrem suum hunc labōrem prōposuisse eō ipsō cōnsiliō, ut Iāsōn morerētur.
For she understood that her father had set this labor for the very purpose that Jason should die.
68.3Quae cum ita essent, Mēdēa, quae summam scientiam medicīnae habēbat, hoc cōnsilium iniit.
Things being so, Medea, who had the greatest knowledge of medicine, formed this plan.
68.4Mediā nocte īnsciente patre ex urbe ēvāsit, et postquam in montīs fīnitimōs vēnit, herbās quāsdam carpsit; tum sūcō expressō unguentum parāvit quod vī suā corpus aleret nervōsque cōnfirmāret.
In the middle of the night, without her father's knowledge, she slipped out of the city, and after she came to the neighbouring mountains she gathered certain herbs; then, pressing out the juice, she prepared an ointment that by its power would strengthen the body and toughen the sinews.
Note. īnsciente patre: ablative absolute, 'without her father knowing'. quod … aleret: a relative clause of purpose, 'to strengthen'.
68.5Hōc factō Iāsonī unguentum dedit; praecēpit autem ut eō diē quō istī labōrēs cōnficiendī essent corpus suum et arma māne oblineret.
When this was done she gave the ointment to Jason; and she told him that on the day on which those labors were to be completed he should smear his body and his armor early in the morning.
68.6Iāsōn etsī paene omnibus hominibus magnitūdine et vīribus corporis antecellēbat (vīta enim omnis in vēnātiōnibus atque in studiō reī mīlitāris cōnsūmēbātur), tamen hoc cōnsilium nōn neglegendum esse cēnsēbat.
Although Jason surpassed almost all men in size and bodily strength (for his whole life had been spent in hunting and in the study of warfare), he still thought that this advice should not be ignored.
Note. nōn neglegendum esse: 'ought not to be neglected'; the gerundive expresses obligation.
Vocabulary
| rēx, rēgis, m. | king |
| fīlia, -ae, f. | daughter |
| adamō, -amāre, -amāvī, -amātus | feel love for, fall in love with |
| et, conj. | and; et ... et, both ... and |
| ubi, adv. | where; conj., when |
| audiō, -īre, -īvī, -ītus | hear; listen or attend to |
| is, ea, id, dem. pron. | this, that; he, she, it, they |
| tantus, -a, -um | so great or much |
| perīculum, -ī, n. | danger, peril, risk |
| subeō, -īre, -iī, -itus | go under; undergo, submit to, sustain, bear, endure |
| sum, esse, fuī, futūrus | be |
| rēs, reī, f. | thing, matter, affair, circumstance, situation; rē vērā, in truth, in fact, really |
| aegrē, adv. | ill, with difficulty |
| ferō, ferre, tulī, lātus | bear, bring |
| intellegō, -legere, -lēxī, -lēctus | perceive, understand |
| enim, conj. | for |
| pater, patris, m. | father |
| suus, -a, -um | his, her, its, or their own; his, her, its, their |
| hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron. | this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter |
| labor, -ōris, m. | labor, toil |
| prōpōnō, -pōnere, -posuī, -positus | put or set before, offer, propose; set forth, say |
| ipse, ipsa, ipsum, intensive pron. | self, himself, herself, itself, themselves; often to be rendered by very |
| cōnsilium, -ī, n. | advice; plan, design, purpose; prudence |
| ut, conj. | as; when; that; ita ut, as |
| morior, morī, mortuus | die |
| quī, quae, quod, rel. pron. | who, which |
| cum, conj. | when, while, after; since; although |
| ita, adv. | in this manner, thus, so; ita ut, as |
| summus, -a, -um | uppermost, highest, greatest |
| scientia, -ae, f. | knowledge, skill |
| medicīna, -ae, f. | art of healing, medicine |
| habeō, -ēre, -uī, -itus | have, hold; consider |
| ineō, -īre, -iī, -itus | go into, enter; adopt |
| medius, -a, -um | mid, middle |
| nox, noctis, f. | night |
| īnsciēns, -scientis, adj. | unknowing, unaware |
| ex, ē (prep. + abl.) | out of, from; of (ē only before consonants) |
| urbs, urbis, f. | city |
| ēvādō, -vādere, -vāsī, -vāsus | go forth, get away, escape |
| postquam, conj. | later than, after, when |
| in, prep. with acc. and abl. | with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on |
| mōns, montis, m. | mountain |
| fīnitimus, -a, -um | neighboring, adjoining |
| veniō, venīre, vēnī, ventus | come |
| herba, -ae, f. | herb, plant |
| quīdam, quaedam, quoddam, indef. pron. | a certain, certain |
| carpō, -ere, -sī, -tus | pluck |
| tum, adv. | then, at that time |
| sūcus, -ī, m. | juice |
| exprimō, -primere, -pressī, -pressus | press out |
| unguentum, -ī, n. | ointment |
| parō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | make ready, prepare |
| vīs, vīs, f. | violence, force; virtue, potency, efficacy; plur. vīrēs, -ium, strength; omnibus vīribus, with all one's strength, with might and main |
| corpus, corporis, n. | body |
| alō, -ere, -uī, -tus | nourish |
| nervus, -ī, m. | sinew, muscle |
| que, enclitic conj. | and |
| cōnfirmō, -firmāre, -firmāvī, -firmātus | strengthen, establish; declare, assert |
| faciō, facere, fēcī, factus | make, do; iter facere, see iter |
| dō, dare, dedī, datus | give |
| praecipiō, -cipere, -cēpī, -ceptus | take beforehand, anticipate; order, charge |
| autem, conj. | moreover; but, however; now |
| diēs, -ēī, m. and f. | day |
| iste, ista, istud, dem. pron. | that of yours, that |
| cōnficiō, -ficere, -fēcī, -fectus | make or do completely, complete, finish, accomplish, make; wear out |
| arma, -ōrum, n. plur. | arms, weapons |
| māne, adv. | in the morning, early in the morning |
| oblinō, -linere, -lēvī, -litus | daub over, smear |
| etsī, conj. | even if, although |
| paene, adv. | almost, nearly |
| omnis, -e | all, every |
| homō, hominis, m. | man |
| magnitūdō, -tūdinis, f. | greatness, size |
| antecellō, -cellere | surpass, excel |
| vīta, -ae, f. | life |
| vēnātiō, -ōnis, f. | hunting |
| atque, ac (conj.) | and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants) |
| studium, -ī, n. | eagerness, zeal; study, pursuit |
| mīlitāris, -e | military, warlike; rēs mīlitāris, art of war, warfare |
| cōnsūmō, -sūmere, -sūmpsī, -sūmptus | take completely, use up, consume, spend |
| tamen, adv. | however, yet, nevertheless |
| nōn, adv. | not |
| neglegō, -legere, -lēxī, -lēctus | disregard, neglect |
| cēnseō, cēnsēre, cēnsuī, cēnsus | think, believe, consider |