Lectitō › Fabulae Faciles › Fabulae Faciles: Hercules
Fabulae Faciles 28
The Augean stables
Ritchie, Fabulae Faciles: Hercules. Latin text with a sentence-by-sentence English translation, notes and vocabulary.
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Read in Lectitō28.1Deinde Eurystheus Herculī hunc labōrem graviōrem imposuit.
Next Eurystheus set Hercules this heavier labor.
28.2Augēās quīdam, quī illō tempore regnum in Ēlide obtinēbat, tria mīlia boum habēbat.
A certain Augeas, who at that time held the kingship in Elis, had three thousand oxen.
Note. tria mīlia boum: 'three thousand (of) cattle'. The plural mīlia takes a genitive; singular mīlle is used like an adjective.
28.3Hī in stabulō ingentis magnitūdinis inclūdēbantur.
These were shut up in a stable of enormous size.
28.4Stabulum autem inluviē ac squālōre erat obsitum, neque enim ad hoc tempus umquam pūrgātum erat.
Now the stable was covered with dirt and filth, for it had never been cleaned up to this time.
Note. neque enim umquam: 'for … never'.
28.5Hoc Herculēs intrā spatium ūnīus diēī pūrgāre iussus est.
Hercules was ordered to clean this within the space of one day.
28.6Ille, etsī rēs erat multae operae, negōtium suscēpit.
Although the task required much work, he undertook it.
28.7Prīmum magnō labōre fossam duodēvīgintī pedum dūxit, per quam flūminis aquam dē montibus ad mūrum stabulī perdūxit.
First, with great effort, he dug a ditch eighteen feet wide, through which he brought the water of a river down from the mountains to the wall of the stable.
Note. duodēvīgintī pedum: '(a ditch) of eighteen feet', i.e. in width.
28.8Tum postquam mūrum perrūpit, aquam in stabulum immīsit et tālī modō contrā opīniōnem omnium opus cōnfēcit.
Then, after he broke through the wall, he let the water into the stable, and in this way, contrary to everyone's expectation, he finished the work.
Note. Labor is heavy toil, opera is effort, opus is the work itself.
Vocabulary
| deinde, adv. | then, next |
| hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron. | this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter |
| labor, -ōris, m. | labor, toil |
| gravis, -e | heavy; severe, grievous, serious |
| impōnō, -pōnere, -posuī, -positus | place or lay upon, impose; embark |
| quīdam, quaedam, quoddam, indef. pron. | a certain, certain |
| quī, quae, quod, rel. pron. | who, which |
| ille, illa, illud, dem. pron. | that; he, she, it, they; ille ... hīc, see hīc |
| tempus, temporis, n. | time, season |
| regnum, -ī, n. | royal power, rule, throne; kingdom, realm |
| in, prep. with acc. and abl. | with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on |
| obtineō, -tinēre, -tinuī, -tentus | hold |
| trēs, tria, plur. adj. | three |
| mīlle, indecl. adj. | a thousand; mīlia, -ium, n. plur., thousands; |
| bōs, bovis, gen. plur. boum, dat. and abl. plur. bōbus, m. and f. | ox, bull, cow |
| habeō, -ēre, -uī, -itus | have, hold; consider |
| stabulum, -ī, n. | standing-place, stall, stable, inclosure |
| ingēns, -gentis, adj. | huge, vast |
| magnitūdō, -tūdinis, f. | greatness, size |
| inclūdō, -clūdere, -clūsī, -clūsus | shut up in, inclose, imprison |
| autem, conj. | moreover; but, however; now |
| inluviēs, -ēī, f. | dirt, filth |
| atque, ac (conj.) | and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants) |
| squālor, -ōris, m. | dirt, filth |
| sum, esse, fuī, futūrus | be |
| obserō, -serere, -sēvī, -situs | sow, plant; cover, fill |
| neque or nec, conj. | and not, nor; neque ... neque, neither ... nor; neque enim, for ... not |
| enim, conj. | for |
| ad, prep. with acc. | to, toward; at, near; for |
| umquam, adv. | ever |
| pūrgō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | make clean, clean, cleanse |
| intrā, prep. with acc. | within |
| spatium, -ī, n. | space, interval; space of time, time |
| ūnus, -a, -um | one; only, alone |
| diēs, -ēī, m. and f. | day |
| iubeō, iubēre, iussī, iussus | bid, order, command |
| etsī, conj. | even if, although |
| rēs, reī, f. | thing, matter, affair, circumstance, situation; rē vērā, in truth, in fact, really |
| multus, -a, -um | much, great; plur., many |
| opera, -ae, f. | effort, work, labor |
| negōtium, -ī, n. | business, matter; task, trouble, difficulty |
| suscipiō, -cipere, -cēpī, -ceptus | undertake |
| prīmum, adv. | first, in the first place |
| magnus, -a, -um | large, big, great, mighty; loud |
| fossa, -ae, f. | ditch, trench |
| duodēvīgintī, indecl. adj. | eighteen |
| pēs, pedis, m. | foot |
| dūcō, dūcere, dūxī, ductus | lead; make, dig; with or without in mātrimōnium, marry |
| per, prep, with ace. | through, by means of |
| flūmen, -minis, n. | river |
| aqua, -ae, f. | water |
| dē, prep, with abl. | down from, from, out of; about, concerning, of |
| mōns, montis, m. | mountain |
| mūrus, -ī, m. | wall |
| perdūcō, -dūcere, -dūxī, -ductus | lead or bring through, lead, bring |
| tum, adv. | then, at that time |
| postquam, conj. | later than, after, when |
| perrumpō, -rumpere, -rūpī, -ruptus | break or burst through, break |
| immittō, -mittere, -mīsī, -missus | send or let in |
| et, conj. | and; et ... et, both ... and |
| tālis, -e | such |
| modus, -ī, m. | way, manner |
| contrā, prep, with acc. | against, contrary to |
| opīniō, -ōnis, f. | opinion, expectation; reputation |
| omnis, -e | all, every |
| opus, operis, n. | work, task |
| cōnficiō, -ficere, -fēcī, -fectus | make or do completely, complete, finish, accomplish, make; wear out |