Lectitō › Fabulae Faciles › Fabulae Faciles: Hercules
Fabulae Faciles 29
The Stymphalian birds
Ritchie, Fabulae Faciles: Hercules. Latin text with a sentence-by-sentence English translation, notes and vocabulary.
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Read in Lectitō29.1Post paucōs diēs Herculēs ad oppidum Stymphālum iter fēcit; imperāverat enim eī Eurystheus ut avīs Stymphālidēs necāret.
After a few days Hercules made his way to the town of Stymphalus; for Eurystheus had ordered him to kill the Stymphalian birds.
Note. imperō takes the dative of the person and an ut-clause: 'ordered him to kill'. Compare iubeō with accusative + infinitive.
29.2Hae avēs rōstra aēnea habēbant et carne hominum vēscēbantur.
These birds had bronze beaks and fed on human flesh.
Note. carne: vēscor takes the ablative, 'feed on'.
29.3Ille postquam ad locum pervēnit, lacum vīdit; in hōc autem lacū, quī nōn procul erat ab oppidō, avēs habitābant.
After Hercules reached the place, he saw a lake; and in this lake, which was not far from the town, the birds lived.
29.4Nūlla tamen dabātur appropinquandī facultās; lacus enim nōn ex aquā sed ē līmō cōnstitit.
But there was no way of approaching them; for the lake consisted not of water but of mud.
Note. cōnstitit here is from cōnstō, 'consist of'.
29.5Herculēs igitur neque pedibus neque lintre prōgredī potuit.
So Hercules could go forward neither on foot nor by boat.
Note. pedibus: 'on foot'.
29.6Ille cum magnam partem diēī frūstrā cōnsūmpsisset, hōc cōnātū dēstitit et ad Volcānum sē contulit, ut auxilium ab eō peteret.
After he had spent a large part of the day in vain, he gave up this attempt and went to Vulcan, to ask him for help.
Note. peteret: Latin uses ut + subjunctive for purpose; English uses the infinitive, 'to ask'.
29.7Volcānus (quī ab fabrīs maximē colēbātur) crepundia quae ipse ex aere fabricātus erat Herculī dedit.
Vulcan (who was worshipped especially by smiths) gave Hercules some rattles which he himself had made of bronze.
29.8Hīs Herculēs tam ācrem crepitum fēcit ut avēs perterritae āvolārent.
With these Hercules made such a shrill rattling that the birds flew away in terror.
Note. tam … ut: the ut-clause shows result, not purpose: 'such a noise that …'.
29.9Ille autem, dum āvolant, magnum numerum eārum sagittīs trānsfīxit.
And while they were flying away, he shot down a great number of them with his arrows.
Vocabulary
| post, adv. | after, later; prep. with acc., after, behind |
| paucī, -ae, -a, plur. adj. | few |
| diēs, -ēī, m. and f. | day |
| ad, prep. with acc. | to, toward; at, near; for |
| oppidum, -ī, n. | town |
| iter, itineris, n. | a going, journey, march; iter facere, to journey, march |
| faciō, facere, fēcī, factus | make, do; iter facere, see iter |
| imperō, -perāre, -perāvī, -perātus | command, order, enjoin |
| enim, conj. | for |
| is, ea, id, dem. pron. | this, that; he, she, it, they |
| ut, conj. | as; when; that; ita ut, as |
| avis, -is, f. | bird |
| Stymphālis, -idis, adj. | of Stymphalus, Stymphalian |
| necō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | put to death, slay, kill |
| hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron. | this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter |
| rōstrum, -ī, n. | beak |
| aēneus, -a, -um | of copper or bronze |
| habeō, -ēre, -uī, -itus | have, hold; consider |
| et, conj. | and; et ... et, both ... and |
| carō, carnis, f. | flesh |
| homō, hominis, m. | man |
| vēscor, -ī | feed on, eat |
| ille, illa, illud, dem. pron. | that; he, she, it, they; ille ... hīc, see hīc |
| postquam, conj. | later than, after, when |
| locus, -ī, m., plur. loca, -orum, n. | place, situation |
| perveniō, -venīre, -vēnī, -ventus | come through, come, arrive, reach |
| lacus, -ūs, m. | lake |
| videō, vidēre, vīdī, vīsus | see; pass., seem |
| in, prep. with acc. and abl. | with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on |
| autem, conj. | moreover; but, however; now |
| quī, quae, quod, rel. pron. | who, which |
| nōn, adv. | not |
| procul, adv. | at or from a distance, far |
| sum, esse, fuī, futūrus | be |
| ā, ab (prep. + abl.) | away from, from; by (ā only before consonants) |
| habitō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | dwell, inhabit |
| nūllus, -a, -um | not any, none, no |
| tamen, adv. | however, yet, nevertheless |
| dō, dare, dedī, datus | give |
| appropinquō, -propinquāre, -propinquāvī, -propinquātus | approach to, approach |
| facultās, -tātis, f. | possibility, opportunity, chance, means |
| ex, ē (prep. + abl.) | out of, from; of (ē only before consonants) |
| aqua, -ae, f. | water |
| sed, conj. | but |
| līmus, -ī, m. | mud |
| cōnstō, -stāre, -stitī, -stātūrus | stand together, agree; consist; |
| igitur, conj. | therefore |
| neque or nec, conj. | and not, nor; neque ... neque, neither ... nor; neque enim, for ... not |
| pēs, pedis, m. | foot |
| linter, lintris, f. | boat, skiff |
| prōgredior, -gredī, -gressus | go forward, advance |
| possum, posse, potuī | be able, have power, can |
| cum, conj. | when, while, after; since; although |
| magnus, -a, -um | large, big, great, mighty; loud |
| pars, partis, f. | part, side, direction |
| frūstrā, adv. | in vain |
| cōnsūmō, -sūmere, -sūmpsī, -sūmptus | take completely, use up, consume, spend |
| cōnātus, -ūs, m. | attempt, effort |
| dēsistō, -sistere, -stitī, -stitus | set down; leave off, desist, cease, stop |
| suī, sibi, sē or sēsē, reflexive pron. | himself, herself, itself, themselves |
| cōnferō, cōnferre, contulī, conlātus | bring together; grant, confer; sē cōnferre, to betake oneself, make one's way |
| auxilium, -ī, n. | help, aid |
| petō, -ere, -īvī or -iī, -ītus | seek, ask; attack |
| faber, fabrī, m. | smith |
| maximē, adv. | very greatly, exceedingly, especially |
| colō, colere, coluī, cultus | till, cultivate; inhabit; worship |
| crepundia, -ōrum, n. plur. | rattle |
| ipse, ipsa, ipsum, intensive pron. | self, himself, herself, itself, themselves; often to be rendered by very |
| aes, aeris, n. | copper, bronze |
| fabricor, -ārī, -ātus | make, fashion |
| tam, adv. | so |
| ācer, ācris, ācre | sharp, shrill |
| crepītus, -ūs, m. | rattle, clatter |
| perterreō, -terrēre, -terrui, -territus | thoroughly frighten, terrify |
| āvolō, -volāre, -volāvī, -volātūrus | fly away |
| dum, conj. | while, as; as long as; until |
| numerus, -ī, m. | number |
| sagitta, -ae, f. | arrow |
| trānsfīgō, -fīgere, -fīxī, -fīxus | thrust or pierce through, transfix |