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Fabulae Faciles 74
The pursuit
Ritchie, Fabulae Faciles: The Argonauts. Latin text with a sentence-by-sentence English translation, notes and vocabulary.
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Read in Lectitō74.1Hīs rēbus gestīs omnēs sine morā nāvem rūrsus cōnscendērunt, et sublātīs ancorīs prīmā vigiliā solvērunt; neque enim satis tūtum esse arbitrātī sunt in eō locō manēre.
When this was done, they all went on board the ship again without delay, and weighing anchor they set sail in the first watch; for they did not think it safe enough to stay in that place.
74.2At rēx Aeētēs, quī iam ante inimīcō in eōs fuerat animō, ubi cognōvit fīliam suam nōn modo ad Argonautās sē recēpisse sed etiam ad vellus auferendum auxilium tulisse, hōc dolōre gravius exārsit.
But king Aeetes, who even before had been hostile towards them, when he learned that his daughter had not only gone over to the Argonauts but had also helped to carry off the fleece, blazed up even more fiercely with this grief.
74.3Nāvem longam quam celerrimē dēdūcī iussit, et mīlitibus impositīs fugientīs īnsecūtus est.
He ordered a warship to be launched as quickly as possible, and putting soldiers on board he pursued the fugitives.
Note. fugientīs: the present participle used as a noun, 'those fleeing'; the ending -īs is accusative plural.
74.4Argonautae, quī rem in discrīmine esse bene sciēbant, omnibus vīribus rēmīs contendēbant; cum tamen nāvis quā vehēbantur ingentī esset magnitūdine, nōn eādem celeritāte quā Colchī prōgredī poterant.
The Argonauts, who knew well that things were at a crisis, were rowing with all their strength; but since the ship in which they sailed was of enormous size, they could not go forward with the same speed as the Colchians.
74.5Quō factum est ut minimum abesset quīn ā Colchīs sequentibus caperentur, neque enim longius intererat quam quō tēlum adicī posset.
So it came about that they very nearly were caught by the pursuing Colchians, for the distance between them was no greater than a spear could be thrown.
Note. quam quō tēlum adicī posset: 'than (the distance) to which a spear could be thrown'.
74.6At Mēdēa cum vīdisset quō in locō rēs essent, paene omnī spē dēpositā īnfandum hoc cōnsilium cēpit.
But Medea, when she saw how things stood, having almost given up hope, formed this unspeakable plan.
Vocabulary
| hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron. | this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter |
| rēs, reī, f. | thing, matter, affair, circumstance, situation; rē vērā, in truth, in fact, really |
| gerō, gerere, gessī, gestus | carry, wear; carry on, do |
| omnis, -e | all, every |
| sine, prep. with abl. | without |
| mora, -ae, f. | delay |
| nāvis, -is, f. | ship |
| rūrsus, adv. | again |
| cōnscendō, -scendere, -scendī, -scēnsus | climb; nāvem cōnscendere, to climb the ship, go on board, embark |
| et, conj. | and; et ... et, both ... and |
| tollō, tollere, sustulī, sublātus | lift, raise; take away, remove; ancorās tollere, to weigh anchor |
| ancora, -ae, f. | anchor; in ancorīs, at anchor |
| prīmus, -a, -um | first, foremost |
| vigilia, -ae, f. | watch |
| solvō, solvere, solvī, solūtus | loosen, unbind, release; pay; with or without nāvem, cast off, set sail, put to sea |
| neque or nec, conj. | and not, nor; neque ... neque, neither ... nor; neque enim, for ... not |
| enim, conj. | for |
| satis, adv. | enough, sufficiently |
| tūtus, -a, -um | safe |
| sum, esse, fuī, futūrus | be |
| arbitror, -ārī, -ātus | consider, think, judge |
| in, prep. with acc. and abl. | with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on |
| is, ea, id, dem. pron. | this, that; he, she, it, they |
| locus, -ī, m., plur. loca, -orum, n. | place, situation |
| maneō, manēre, mānsī, mānsus | remain |
| at, conj. | but |
| rēx, rēgis, m. | king |
| quī, quae, quod, rel. pron. | who, which |
| iam, adv. | now, already |
| ante, prep, with acc. and adv. | before |
| inimīcus, -a, -um | unfriendly, hostile |
| animus, -ī, m. | mind; heart; spirit, courage |
| ubi, adv. | where; conj., when |
| cognōscō, -gnōscere, -gnōvī, -gnitus | find out, learn; in tenses of completed action, have found out, know |
| fīlia, -ae, f. | daughter |
| suus, -a, -um | his, her, its, or their own; his, her, its, their |
| nōn, adv. | not |
| modo, adv. | only |
| ad, prep. with acc. | to, toward; at, near; for |
| suī, sibi, sē or sēsē, reflexive pron. | himself, herself, itself, themselves |
| recipiō, -cipere, -cēpī, -ceptus | take or get back, recover; sē recipere, to betake oneself, withdraw; to collect oneself, recover |
| sed, conj. | but |
| etiam, adv. | and now, also, too, even |
| vellus, velleris, n. | fleece |
| auferō, auferre, abstulī, ablātus | bear away, carry off |
| auxilium, -ī, n. | help, aid |
| ferō, ferre, tulī, lātus | bear, bring |
| dolor, -ōris, m. | pain, grief; anger |
| graviter, adv. | severely, seriously |
| exārdēscō, -ārdēscere, -ārsī, -ārsus | blaze out, be inflamed, rage |
| longus, -a, -um | long; tedious |
| quam, adv. | how? as; than; with superl., as ... as possible |
| celeriter, adv. | swiftly, quickly |
| dēdūcō, -dūcere, -dūxī, -ductus | lead down or away, bring; nāvem dēdūcere, to draw down or launch a ship |
| iubeō, iubēre, iussī, iussus | bid, order, command |
| mīles, mīlitis, m. | soldier |
| impōnō, -pōnere, -posuī, -positus | place or lay upon, impose; embark |
| fugiō, fugere, fūgī, fugitūrus | flee, run away |
| īnsequor, -sequī, -secūtus | follow upon or up, pursue |
| discrīmen, -crīminis, n. | crisis, peril, danger |
| bene, adv. | well; successfully |
| sciō, -īre, -īvī, -ītus | know |
| vīs, vīs, f. | violence, force; virtue, potency, efficacy; plur. vīrēs, -ium, strength; omnibus vīribus, with all one's strength, with might and main |
| rēmus, -ī, m. | oar |
| contendō, -tendere, -tendī, -tentus | stretch, hasten |
| cum, conj. | when, while, after; since; although |
| tamen, adv. | however, yet, nevertheless |
| vehō, vehere, vexī, vectus | carry |
| ingēns, -gentis, adj. | huge, vast |
| magnitūdō, -tūdinis, f. | greatness, size |
| īdem, eadem, idem, dem. pron. | the same; sometimes to be translated likewise, also |
| celeritās, -tātis, f. | swiftness, quickness, speed |
| prōgredior, -gredī, -gressus | go forward, advance |
| possum, posse, potuī | be able, have power, can |
| faciō, facere, fēcī, factus | make, do; iter facere, see iter |
| ut, conj. | as; when; that; ita ut, as |
| minimum, adv. | very little, slightly |
| absum, abesse, āfuī, āfutūrus | be away, be absent, be distant; be wanting |
| quīn, conj. | so that ... not, but that, but |
| ā, ab (prep. + abl.) | away from, from; by (ā only before consonants) |
| sequor, sequī, secūtus | follow |
| capiō, capere, cēpī, captus | take, catch, seize; receive, suffer; adopt |
| longē, adv. | far |
| intersum, -esse, -fuī, -futūrus | be or lie between |
| quō, adv. | to what place? whither? to which place, whither; for which reason, wherefore, therefore; quō ūsque, till when? how long? |
| tēlum, -ī, n. | missile, spear, weapon |
| adiciō, -icere, -iēcī, -iectus | throw to, throw, hurl |
| videō, vidēre, vīdī, vīsus | see; pass., seem |
| quī, quae, quod, interrog. pron. adj. | what? |
| paene, adv. | almost, nearly |
| spēs, speī, f. | hope |
| dēpōnō, -pōnere, -posuī, -positus | put down, deposit; lay aside, give up; ē memoriā dēpōnere, to forget |
| īnfandus, -a, -um | unspeakable, monstrous |
| cōnsilium, -ī, n. | advice; plan, design, purpose; prudence |