Lectitō › Fabulae Faciles › Fabulae Faciles: Hercules
Fabulae Faciles 23
The Cerynean stag
Ritchie, Fabulae Faciles: Hercules. Latin text with a sentence-by-sentence English translation, notes and vocabulary.
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Read in Lectitō23.1Postquam Eurystheō caedēs Hydrae nūntiāta est, magnus timor animum eius occupāvit.
After the killing of the Hydra was reported to Eurystheus, great fear seized his mind.
23.2Iussit igitur Herculem cervum quendam ad sē referre; nōluit enim virum tantae audāciae in urbe retinēre.
So he ordered Hercules to bring a certain stag back to him; for he did not want to keep a man of such daring in the city.
Note. ad sē: sē refers to Eurystheus, the subject of iussit, not to Hercules. tantae audāciae: genitive of description, 'of such daring'.
23.3Hic autem cervus, cuius cornua aurea fuisse trāduntur, incrēdibilī fuit celeritāte.
This stag, whose horns are said to have been golden, was of incredible speed.
Note. incrēdibilī celeritāte: ablative of description, 'of incredible speed'.
23.4Herculēs igitur prīmō vestīgiīs eum in silvā persequēbātur; deinde ubi cervum ipsum vīdit, omnibus vīribus currere coepit.
So at first Hercules followed it through the forest by its tracks; then, when he saw the stag itself, he began to run with all his strength.
23.5Ūsque ad vesperum currēbat, neque nocturnum tempus sibi ad quiētem relinquēbat, frūstrā tamen; nūllō enim modō cervum cōnsequī poterat.
He ran until evening, and left himself no time at night for rest, but in vain; for in no way could he catch the stag.
Note. currēbat: 'he kept running'. ad quiētem: ad + accusative often shows purpose, 'for rest'.
23.6Tandem postquam tōtum annum cucurrerat (ita trāditur), cervum cursū exanimātum cēpit, et vīvum ad Eurystheum rettulit.
At last, after he had run for a whole year (so the story goes), he caught the stag, exhausted by the chase, and brought it back alive to Eurystheus.
Note. exanimātum: the participle does the work of a relative clause, '(which was) exhausted'.
Vocabulary
| postquam, conj. | later than, after, when |
| caedēs, -is, f. | cutting down, killing, slaughter |
| nūntiō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | report, announce |
| sum, esse, fuī, futūrus | be |
| magnus, -a, -um | large, big, great, mighty; loud |
| timor, -ōris, m. | fear |
| animus, -ī, m. | mind; heart; spirit, courage |
| is, ea, id, dem. pron. | this, that; he, she, it, they |
| occupō, -cupāre, -cupāvī, -cupātus | seize; fill |
| iubeō, iubēre, iussī, iussus | bid, order, command |
| igitur, conj. | therefore |
| cervus, -ī, m. | stag |
| quīdam, quaedam, quoddam, indef. pron. | a certain, certain |
| ad, prep. with acc. | to, toward; at, near; for |
| suī, sibi, sē or sēsē, reflexive pron. | himself, herself, itself, themselves |
| referō, referre, rettulī, relātus | bring or carry back, return; pedem referre, to draw back, retire, retreat; grātiam referre, see grātia |
| nōlō, nōlle, nōluī | not wish, be unwilling |
| enim, conj. | for |
| vir, virī, m. | man |
| tantus, -a, -um | so great or much |
| audācia, -ae, f. | boldness, audacity |
| in, prep. with acc. and abl. | with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on |
| urbs, urbis, f. | city |
| retineō, -tinēre, -tinuī, -tentus | hold or keep back, keep, restrain; hold fast |
| hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron. | this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter |
| autem, conj. | moreover; but, however; now |
| quī, quae, quod, rel. pron. | who, which |
| cornū, -ūs, n. | horn |
| aureus, -a, -um | of gold, golden |
| trādō, -dere, -didī, -ditus | give across, over, or up, deliver; hand down, relate, report |
| incrēdibilis, e | incredible |
| celeritās, -tātis, f. | swiftness, quickness, speed |
| prīmō, adv. | at first |
| vestīgium, -ī, n. | track, foot-print |
| silva, -ae, f. | wood, forest |
| persequor, -sequī, -secūtus | follow up, pursue |
| deinde, adv. | then, next |
| ubi, adv. | where; conj., when |
| ipse, ipsa, ipsum, intensive pron. | self, himself, herself, itself, themselves; often to be rendered by very |
| videō, vidēre, vīdī, vīsus | see; pass., seem |
| omnis, -e | all, every |
| vīs, vīs, f. | violence, force; virtue, potency, efficacy; plur. vīrēs, -ium, strength; omnibus vīribus, with all one's strength, with might and main |
| currō, currere, cucurrī, cursus | run |
| coepī, coepisse, coeptus (used in tenses of completed action) | have begun, began |
| ūsque, adv. | all the time; ūsque ad, as far as, until; quō ūsque, see quō |
| vesper, vesperī, m. | evening |
| neque or nec, conj. | and not, nor; neque ... neque, neither ... nor; neque enim, for ... not |
| nocturnus, -a, -um | of night, nocturnal; nocturnum tempus, night-time |
| tempus, temporis, n. | time, season |
| quiēs, quiētis, f. | rest, repose |
| relinquō, -linquere, -līquī, -lictus | leave behind, leave |
| frūstrā, adv. | in vain |
| tamen, adv. | however, yet, nevertheless |
| nūllus, -a, -um | not any, none, no |
| modus, -ī, m. | way, manner |
| cōnsequor, -sequī, -secūtus | follow up, follow; overtake |
| possum, posse, potuī | be able, have power, can |
| tandem, adv. | at length or last, finally |
| tōtus, -a, -um | all the, the whole or entire |
| annus, -ī, m. | year |
| ita, adv. | in this manner, thus, so; ita ut, as |
| cursus, -ūs, m. | running, speed; course, route, voyage; race |
| exanimō, -animāre, -animāvī, -animātus | put out of breath, fatigue, tire, exhaust; stupefy; kill |
| capiō, capere, cēpī, captus | take, catch, seize; receive, suffer; adopt |
| et, conj. | and; et ... et, both ... and |
| vīvus, -a, -um | alive, living |