Lectitō › Fabulae Faciles › Fabulae Faciles: The Argonauts
Fabulae Faciles 69
Sowing the dragon's teeth
Ritchie, Fabulae Faciles: The Argonauts. Latin text with a sentence-by-sentence English translation, notes and vocabulary.
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Read in Lectitō69.1Ubi is diēs vēnit quem rēx ad arandum agrum ēdīxerat, Iāsōn ortā lūce cum sociīs ad locum cōnstitūtum sē contulit.
When the day came which the king had named for ploughing the field, Jason went at dawn with his companions to the appointed place.
Note. ortā lūce: 'when daylight had risen', 'at dawn'.
69.2Ibi stabulum ingēns repperit, in quō taurī erant inclūsī; tum portīs apertīs taurōs in lūcem trāxit, et summā cum difficultāte iugum imposuit.
There he found a huge stall, in which the bulls were shut up; then, opening the doors, he dragged the bulls out into the light and with the greatest difficulty put the yoke on them.
69.3At Aeētēs cum vidēret taurōs nihil contrā Iāsonem valēre, magnopere mīrātus est; nesciēbat enim fīliam suam auxilium eī dedisse.
But Aeetes, when he saw that the bulls had no power against Jason, was greatly amazed; for he did not know that his daughter had given him help.
69.4Tum Iāsōn omnibus aspicientibus agrum arāre coepit, quā in rē tantam dīligentiam praebuit ut ante merīdiem tōtum opus cōnfēcerit.
Then, with everyone watching, Jason began to plough the field, and in this he showed such diligence that he finished the whole work before midday.
Note. ut … cōnfēcerit: a result clause; the perfect subjunctive stresses that the work was actually finished.
69.5Hōc factō ad locum ubi rēx sedēbat adiit et dentīs dracōnis postulāvit; quōs ubi accēpit, in agrum quem arāverat magnā cum dīligentiā sparsit.
When this was done he went to the place where the king was sitting and asked for the dragon's teeth; and when he received them, he scattered them with great care over the field he had ploughed.
69.6Hōrum autem dentium nātūra erat tālis ut in eō locō ubi sēmentēs factae essent virī armātī mīrō quōdam modō gignerentur.
Now the nature of these teeth was such that in the place where they had been sown, armed men sprang up in some wonderful way.
Note. tālis ut: 'such that', followed by a result clause.
Vocabulary
| ubi, adv. | where; conj., when |
| is, ea, id, dem. pron. | this, that; he, she, it, they |
| diēs, -ēī, m. and f. | day |
| veniō, venīre, vēnī, ventus | come |
| quī, quae, quod, rel. pron. | who, which |
| rēx, rēgis, m. | king |
| ad, prep. with acc. | to, toward; at, near; for |
| arō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | plow |
| ager, agri, m. | field, land |
| ēdīcō, -dīcere, -dīxī, -dictus | declare, proclaim, appoint |
| orior, -īrī, -tus | arise, come forth, spring up; ortā lūce, at dawn |
| lūx, lūcis, f. | light |
| cum, prep, with abl. | with |
| socius, -ī, m. | companion, comrade, ally |
| locus, -ī, m., plur. loca, -orum, n. | place, situation |
| cōnstituō, -stituere, -stituī, -stitūtus | set together or up; appoint; determine |
| suī, sibi, sē or sēsē, reflexive pron. | himself, herself, itself, themselves |
| cōnferō, cōnferre, contulī, conlātus | bring together; grant, confer; sē cōnferre, to betake oneself, make one's way |
| ibi, adv. | in that place, there |
| stabulum, -ī, n. | standing-place, stall, stable, inclosure |
| ingēns, -gentis, adj. | huge, vast |
| reperiō, reperīre, repperī, repertus | find, discover |
| in, prep. with acc. and abl. | with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on |
| taurus, -ī, m. | bull |
| sum, esse, fuī, futūrus | be |
| inclūdō, -clūdere, -clūsī, -clūsus | shut up in, inclose, imprison |
| tum, adv. | then, at that time |
| porta, -ae, f. | gate; door |
| aperiō, -īre, -uī, -tus | open |
| trahō, trahere, trāxī, trāctus | draw, drag |
| et, conj. | and; et ... et, both ... and |
| summus, -a, -um | uppermost, highest, greatest |
| difficultas, -tātis, f. | difficulty |
| iugum, -ī, n. | yoke |
| impōnō, -pōnere, -posuī, -positus | place or lay upon, impose; embark |
| at, conj. | but |
| cum, conj. | when, while, after; since; although |
| videō, vidēre, vīdī, vīsus | see; pass., seem |
| nihil, n., indecl. | nothing |
| contrā, prep, with acc. | against, contrary to |
| valeō, -ēre, -uī, -itūrus | be strong or effectual, have effect, prevail |
| magnopere, adv. | greatly, very much, exceedingly; earnestly |
| mīror, -ārī, -ātus | wonder, wonder at |
| 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) |
| enim, conj. | for |
| fīlia, -ae, f. | daughter |
| suus, -a, -um | his, her, its, or their own; his, her, its, their |
| auxilium, -ī, n. | help, aid |
| dō, dare, dedī, datus | give |
| omnis, -e | all, every |
| aspiciō, -spicere, -spēxī, -spectus | look at or on, behold |
| coepī, coepisse, coeptus (used in tenses of completed action) | have begun, began |
| rēs, reī, f. | thing, matter, affair, circumstance, situation; rē vērā, in truth, in fact, really |
| tantus, -a, -um | so great or much |
| dīligentia, -ae, f. | care, diligence, industry |
| praebeō, -ēre, -uī, -itus | hold forth, supply, furnish, give; show, present, exhibit |
| ut, conj. | as; when; that; ita ut, as |
| ante, prep, with acc. and adv. | before |
| merīdiēs, -ēī, m. | midday, noon; south |
| tōtus, -a, -um | all the, the whole or entire |
| opus, operis, n. | work, task |
| cōnficiō, -ficere, -fēcī, -fectus | make or do completely, complete, finish, accomplish, make; wear out |
| hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron. | this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter |
| faciō, facere, fēcī, factus | make, do; iter facere, see iter |
| sedeō, sedēre, sēdī, sessus | sit |
| adeō, -īre, -iī, -itus | go to, approach |
| dēns, dentis, m. | tooth |
| dracō, -ōnis, m. | dragon, serpent |
| postulō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | ask, request, demand |
| accipiō, -cipere, -cēpī, -ceptus | take to oneself, receive, accept; hear; suffer |
| magnus, -a, -um | large, big, great, mighty; loud |
| spargō, spargere, sparsī, sparsus | scatter, sprinkle |
| autem, conj. | moreover; but, however; now |
| nātūra, -ae, f. | nature, character |
| tālis, -e | such |
| sēmentis, -is, f. | seeding, sowing |
| vir, virī, m. | man |
| armātus, -a, -um | armed |
| mīrus, -a, -um | wonderful, strange |
| quīdam, quaedam, quoddam, indef. pron. | a certain, certain |
| modus, -ī, m. | way, manner |
| gignō, gignere, genuī, genitus | produce, bring forth |