Fabulae Faciles 15

Hercules escapes sacrifice

LatinLatin and EnglishEnglish onlyRead it word by word

15.1Dē Hercule haec etiam inter alia narrantur.Among other things, these stories too are told about Hercules. 15.2Ōlim dum iter facit, in fīnīs Aegyptiōrum vēnit.Once, while he was on a journey, he came into the land of the Egyptians. 15.3Ibi rēx quīdam, nōmine Būsīris, illō tempore regnābat; hic autem vir crūdēlissimus hominēs immolāre cōnsuēverat.A certain king named Busiris was reigning there at that time; this very cruel man had been in the habit of sacrificing human beings.Note. vir crūdēlissimus: 'a very cruel man'; the superlative often just means 'very'. cōnsuēverat: 'had become used to', so 'was in the habit of'. 15.4Herculem igitur corripuit et in vincula coniēcit.So he seized Hercules and threw him into chains. 15.5Tum nūntiōs dīmīsit et diem sacrificiō ēdīxit.Then he sent out messengers and announced a day for the sacrifice.Note. sacrificiō: dative of purpose, 'for the sacrifice'. 15.6Mox ea diēs appetēbat, et omnia rīte parāta sunt.Soon that day was approaching, and everything was duly prepared.Note. diēs is feminine when it means an appointed day: ea diēs. 15.7Manūs Herculis catēnīs ferreīs vinctae sunt, et mola salsa in caput eius īnspersa est.Hercules' hands were bound with iron chains, and salted meal was sprinkled on his head. 15.8Mōs enim erat apud antīquōs salem et fār capitibus victimārum impōnere.For it was the custom among the ancients to put salt and meal on the heads of victims.Note. capitibus: dative with impōnere, 'to place on the heads'.

15.9Iam victima ad āram stābat; iam sacerdōs cultrum sūmpserat.Now the victim was standing at the altar; now the priest had taken up the knife.Note. The repeated iam ('now … now') and the missing 'and' make the moment tense: the knife is about to fall. 15.10Subitō tamen Herculēs magnō cōnātū vincula perrūpit; tum ictū sacerdōtem prōstrāvit; alterō rēgem ipsum occīdit.Suddenly, however, Hercules broke his chains with a great effort; then with one blow he knocked down the priest; with another he killed the king himself.Note. alterō: supply īctū, 'with a second (blow)'.

Read the Latin itself: tap any word for its meaning and grammar, save words to review, and keep your place.

Read in Lectitō

Latin vocabulary for this passage (77 words)

dē, prep, with abl.	down from, from, out of; about, concerning, of
hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron.	this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter
etiam, adv.	and now, also, too, even
inter, prep, with acc.	among, between
alius, -a, -ud	another, other; aliī ... aliī, some ... others
narrō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	tell, relate, narrate
ōlim, adv.	once upon a time, once, formerly, of old
dum, conj.	while, as; as long as; until
iter, itineris, n.	a going, journey, march; iter facere, to journey, march
faciō, facere, fēcī, factus	make, do; iter facere, see iter
in, prep. with acc. and abl.	with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on
fīnis, -is, m.	end, boundary; plur., borders, territory, country
veniō, venīre, vēnī, ventus	come
ibi, adv.	in that place, there
rēx, rēgis, m.	king
quīdam, quaedam, quoddam, indef. pron.	a certain, certain
nōmen, -minis, n.	name (that by which one is known)
ille, illa, illud, dem. pron.	that; he, she, it, they; ille ... hīc, see hīc
tempus, temporis, n.	time, season
regnō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	reign, rule
autem, conj.	moreover; but, however; now
vir, virī, m.	man
crūdēlis, -e	cruel
homō, hominis, m.	man
immolō, -molāre, -molāvī, -molātus	sacrifice (the victim was sprinkled with consecrated meal)
cōnsuēscō, -suēscere, -suēvī, -suētus	become accustomed; in tenses of completed action, have become accustomed, be accustomed or wont
igitur, conj.	therefore
corripiō, -ripere, -ripuī, -reptus	seize, snatch, snatch up
et, conj.	and; et ... et, both ... and
vinculum, -ī, n.	bond, chain
coniciō, -icere, -iēcī, -iectus	throw together; throw, cast, hurl
tum, adv.	then, at that time
nūntius, -ī, m.	messenger; message
dīmittō, -mittere, -mīsī, -missus	send different ways, send forth or away, despatch; let slip, lose
diēs, -ēī, m. and f.	day
sacrificium, -ī, n.	sacrifice
ēdīcō, -dīcere, -dīxī, -dictus	declare, proclaim, appoint
mox, adv.	soon
is, ea, id, dem. pron.	this, that; he, she, it, they
appetō, -petere, -petīvī, -petītus	draw near
omnis, -e	all, every
rīte, adv.	duly, fitly
parō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	make ready, prepare
sum, esse, fuī, futūrus	be
manus, -ūs, f.	hand
catēna, -ae, f.	chain
ferreus, -a, -um	of iron, iron
vinciō, vincīre, vinxī, vinctus	bind
mola, -ae, f.	meal
salsus, -a, -um	salted, salt
caput, capitis, n.	head
īnspergō, -spergere, -spersī, -spersus	sprinkle on or over
mōs, mōris, m.	way, manner, habit, custom
enim, conj.	for
apud, prep, with acc.	among, with
antīquus, -a, -um	ancient
sāl, salis, m.	salt
fār, farris, n.	grain; meal
victima, -ae, f.	victim
impōnō, -pōnere, -posuī, -positus	place or lay upon, impose; embark
iam, adv.	now, already
ad, prep. with acc.	to, toward; at, near; for
āra, -ae, f.	altar
stō, stāre, stetī, status	stand
sacerdōs, -dōtis, m. and f.	priest, priestess
culter, cultrī, m.	knife
sūmō, sūmere, sūmpsī, sūmptus	take under or up, take; poenam sūmere, to exact or inflict punishment
subitō, adv.	unexpectedly, suddenly
tamen, adv.	however, yet, nevertheless
magnus, -a, -um	large, big, great, mighty; loud
cōnātus, -ūs, m.	attempt, effort
perrumpō, -rumpere, -rūpī, -ruptus	break or burst through, break
īctus, -ūs, m.	blow
prōsternō, -sternere, -strāvī, -strātus	strew or spread before, throw or knock down
alter, -era, -erum	one or the other (of two); another, second
ipse, ipsa, ipsum, intensive pron.	self, himself, herself, itself, themselves; often to be rendered by very
occīdō, -cīdere, -cīdī, -cīsus	cut down, kill

Ritchie, Fabulae Faciles: Hercules. Latin text, notes and vocabulary: F. Ritchie, Fabulae Faciles (1903), public domain, from Project Gutenberg. Word analysis: LatinCy, then checked by hand. Grammar hints detected from the checked analysis. English: written for this app.