Lectitō › Fabulae Faciles › Fabulae Faciles: Hercules
Fabulae Faciles 18
Madness and murder
Ritchie, Fabulae Faciles: Hercules. Latin text with a sentence-by-sentence English translation, notes and vocabulary.
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Read in Lectitō18.1Post hoc proelium Herculēs cōpiās suās ad urbem redūxit.
After this battle Hercules led his forces back to the city.
18.2Omnēs Thēbānī propter victōriam maximē gaudēbant; Creōn autem magnīs honōribus Herculem decorāvit, atque fīliam suam eī in mātrimōnium dedit.
All the Thebans rejoiced greatly because of the victory; and Creon honored Hercules with great honors, and gave him his daughter in marriage.
18.3Herculēs cum uxōre suā beātam vītam agēbat; sed post paucōs annōs subitō in furōrem incidit, atque līberōs suōs ipse suā manū occīdit.
Hercules led a happy life with his wife; but after a few years he suddenly fell into a madness, and killed his own children with his own hand.
Note. suōs ipse suā manū: the piled-up words stress how terrible the crime was: 'his own children with his own hand'.
18.4Post breve tempus ad sānitātem reductus est, et propter hoc facinus magnō dolōre adfectus est; mox ex urbe effūgit et in silvās sē recēpit.
After a short time he was brought back to his senses, and was filled with great grief because of this crime; soon he fled from the city and withdrew into the woods.
18.5Nōlēbant enim cīvēs sermōnem cum eō habēre.
For the citizens did not want to have any conversation with him.
Vocabulary
| post, adv. | after, later; prep. with acc., after, behind |
| hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron. | this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter |
| proelium, -ī, n. | battle, combat; proelium committere, to join battle |
| cōpia, -ae, f. | supply, abundance; plur., forces, troops |
| suus, -a, -um | his, her, its, or their own; his, her, its, their |
| ad, prep. with acc. | to, toward; at, near; for |
| urbs, urbis, f. | city |
| redūcō, -dūcere, -dūxī, -ductus | lead or bring back; restore |
| omnis, -e | all, every |
| propter, prep. with acc. | on account of, because of |
| victōria, -ae, f. | victory |
| maximē, adv. | very greatly, exceedingly, especially |
| gaudeō, gaudēre, gāvīsus | be glad, rejoice |
| autem, conj. | moreover; but, however; now |
| magnus, -a, -um | large, big, great, mighty; loud |
| honor, -ōris, m. | honor |
| decorō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | adorn, distinguish |
| atque, ac (conj.) | and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants) |
| fīlia, -ae, f. | daughter |
| is, ea, id, dem. pron. | this, that; he, she, it, they |
| in, prep. with acc. and abl. | with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on |
| mātrimōnium, -ī, n. | marriage; in mātrimōnium dūcere, marry |
| dō, dare, dedī, datus | give |
| cum, prep, with abl. | with |
| uxor, -ōris, f. | wife |
| beātus, -a, -um | happy, blessed |
| vīta, -ae, f. | life |
| agō, agere, ēgī, āctus | drive; do; pass, lead; grātiās agere, see grātia |
| sed, conj. | but |
| paucī, -ae, -a, plur. adj. | few |
| annus, -ī, m. | year |
| subitō, adv. | unexpectedly, suddenly |
| furor, -ōris, m. | rage, fury, frenzy, madness |
| incidō, -cidere, -cidī | fall into or upon |
| līberī, -ōrum, m. plur. | children |
| ipse, ipsa, ipsum, intensive pron. | self, himself, herself, itself, themselves; often to be rendered by very |
| manus, -ūs, f. | hand |
| occīdō, -cīdere, -cīdī, -cīsus | cut down, kill |
| brevis, -e | short |
| tempus, temporis, n. | time, season |
| sānitās, -tātis, f. | soundness; right reason, sanity |
| sum, esse, fuī, futūrus | be |
| et, conj. | and; et ... et, both ... and |
| facinus, facinoris, n. | deed, crime |
| dolor, -ōris, m. | pain, grief; anger |
| adficiō, -ficere, -fēcī, -fectus | do to, move, affect; visit, afflict |
| mox, adv. | soon |
| ex, ē (prep. + abl.) | out of, from; of (ē only before consonants) |
| effugio, -fugere, -fūgī | flee out or away, escape |
| silva, -ae, f. | wood, forest |
| 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 |
| nōlō, nōlle, nōluī | not wish, be unwilling |
| enim, conj. | for |
| cīvis, -is, m. and f. | citizen, fellow-citizen, subject |
| sermō, -ōnis, m. | conversation, talk, speech |
| habeō, -ēre, -uī, -itus | have, hold; consider |