Fabulae Faciles 29

The Stymphalian birds

LatinLatin and EnglishEnglish onlyRead it word by word

29.1Post 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.

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

Read in Lectitō

Grammar in this passage: gerunds and gerundives ×1, cum clauses ×1, purpose clauses ×1

Latin vocabulary for this passage (79 words)

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

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.