Lectitō › Fabulae Faciles › Fabulae Faciles: Hercules
Fabulae Faciles 12
The hatred of Juno
Ritchie, Fabulae Faciles: Hercules. Latin text with a sentence-by-sentence English translation, notes and vocabulary.
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Read in Lectitō12.1Herculēs, Alcmēnae fīlius, ōlim in Graeciā habitābat.
Hercules, the son of Alcmena, once lived in Greece.
12.2Hic omnium hominum validissimus fuisse dīcitur.
He is said to have been the strongest of all men.
Note. omnium hominum: 'of all mankind'. fuisse dīcitur: Latin says 'he is said to have been', where English often says 'it is said that he was'.
12.3At Iūnō, rēgīna deōrum, Alcmēnam ōderat et Herculem adhūc īnfantem necāre voluit.
But Juno, the queen of the gods, hated Alcmena and wanted to kill Hercules while he was still a baby.
Note. ōderat: ōdī has perfect forms but present meaning, so the pluperfect ōderat means 'she hated'.
12.4Mīsit igitur duās serpentīs saevissimās; hae mediā nocte in cubiculum Alcmēnae vēnērunt, ubi Herculēs cum frātre suō dormiēbat.
So she sent two very savage snakes; these came at midnight into Alcmena's bedroom, where Hercules was sleeping with his brother.
Note. mediā nocte: 'in the middle of the night'.
12.5Nec tamen in cūnīs, sed in scūtō magnō cubābant.
They were not lying in a cradle, however, but on a large shield.
12.6Serpentēs iam appropinquāverant et scūtum movēbant; itaque puerī ē somnō excitātī sunt.
The snakes had already come near and were moving the shield; and so the boys were woken from sleep.
Note. Compare the tenses: appropinquāverant 'had come near', movēbant 'were moving', excitātī sunt 'were woken'.
Vocabulary
| fīlius, -ī, m. | son |
| 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 |
| habitō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | dwell, inhabit |
| hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron. | this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter |
| omnis, -e | all, every |
| homō, hominis, m. | man |
| validus, -a, -um | strong |
| sum, esse, fuī, futūrus | be |
| dīcō, dīcere, dīxī, dictus | say, speak; diem dīcere, to appoint or set a day |
| at, conj. | but |
| rēgīna, -ae, f. | queen |
| deus, -ī, m. | god |
| ōdī, ōdisse, used only in tenses of completed action with the force of tenses of incomplete action | hate |
| et, conj. | and; et ... et, both ... and |
| adhūc, adv. | to this point, up to this time, yet, still |
| īnfāns, -fantis, m. and f. | infant, babe |
| necō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | put to death, slay, kill |
| volō, velle, voluī | wish |
| mittō, mittere, mīsī, missus | send |
| igitur, conj. | therefore |
| duo, -ae, -o, plur. adj. | two |
| serpēns, -entis, f. | serpent |
| saevus, -a, -um | fierce, savage |
| medius, -a, -um | mid, middle |
| nox, noctis, f. | night |
| cubiculum, -ī, n. | bedroom |
| veniō, venīre, vēnī, ventus | come |
| ubi, adv. | where; conj., when |
| cum, prep, with abl. | with |
| frāter, frātris, m. | brother |
| suus, -a, -um | his, her, its, or their own; his, her, its, their |
| dormiō, -īre, -īvī | sleep |
| neque or nec, conj. | and not, nor; neque ... neque, neither ... nor; neque enim, for ... not |
| tamen, adv. | however, yet, nevertheless |
| cūnae, -arum, f. plur. | cradle |
| sed, conj. | but |
| scūtum, -ī, n. | shield |
| magnus, -a, -um | large, big, great, mighty; loud |
| cubō, -āre, -uī | lie down, lie, recline |
| iam, adv. | now, already |
| appropinquō, -propinquāre, -propinquāvī, -propinquātus | approach to, approach |
| moveō, movēre, mōvī, mōtus | move |
| itaque, adv. | and so, accordingly, therefore |
| puer, puerī, m. | boy |
| ex, ē (prep. + abl.) | out of, from; of (ē only before consonants) |
| somnus, -ī, m. | sleep, drowsiness |
| excitō, -citāre, -citāvī, -citātus | call out, arouse |