Lectitō › Fabulae Faciles › Fabulae Faciles: Hercules
Fabulae Faciles 30
The Cretan bull
Ritchie, Fabulae Faciles: Hercules. Latin text with a sentence-by-sentence English translation, notes and vocabulary.
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Read in Lectitō30.1Tum Eurystheus Herculī imperāvit ut taurum quendam ferōcissimum ex īnsulā Crētā vīvum referret.
Then Eurystheus ordered Hercules to bring back alive from the island of Crete a certain very fierce bull.
30.2Ille igitur nāvem cōnscendit, et cum ventus idōneus esset, statim solvit.
So he boarded a ship, and since the wind was favorable, he set sail at once.
30.3Cum tamen īnsulae iam appropinquāret, tanta tempestās subitō coorta est ut nāvis cursum tenēre nōn posset.
But when he was already approaching the island, so great a storm suddenly arose that the ship could not hold its course.
Note. īnsulae: dative with appropinquāret, 'was approaching the island'.
30.4Tantus autem timor animōs nautārum occupāvit ut paene omnem spem salūtis dēpōnerent.
So great a fear seized the minds of the sailors that they almost gave up all hope of safety.
30.5Herculēs tamen, etsī nāvigandī imperītus erat, haudquāquam territus est.
Hercules, however, although he knew nothing of sailing, was not frightened at all.
Note. nāvigandī imperītus: 'inexperienced in sailing'; the gerund is genitive with imperītus.
30.6Post breve tempus summa tranquillitās cōnsecūta est, et nautae, quī sē ex timōre iam recēperant, nāvem incolumem ad terram appulērunt.
After a short time a great calm followed, and the sailors, who had now recovered from their fear, brought the ship safely to land.
30.7Herculēs ē nāvī ēgressus est, et cum ad rēgem Crētae vēnisset, causam veniendī docuit.
Hercules left the ship, and when he had come to the king of Crete, he explained the reason for his coming.
30.8Deinde, postquam omnia parāta sunt, ad eam regiōnem contendit quam taurus vāstābat.
Then, after everything was ready, he hurried to the region which the bull was laying waste.
30.9Mox taurum vīdit, et quamquam rēs erat magnī perīculī, cornua eius prehendit.
Soon he saw the bull, and although the task was very dangerous, he seized its horns.
30.10Tum, cum ingentī labōre mōnstrum ad nāvem trāxisset, cum praedā in Graeciam rediit.
Then, when he had dragged the monster to the ship with enormous effort, he returned with his prize to Greece.
Vocabulary
| tum, adv. | then, at that time |
| imperō, -perāre, -perāvī, -perātus | command, order, enjoin |
| ut, conj. | as; when; that; ita ut, as |
| taurus, -ī, m. | bull |
| quīdam, quaedam, quoddam, indef. pron. | a certain, certain |
| ferōx, -ōcis, adj. | fierce, savage |
| ex, ē (prep. + abl.) | out of, from; of (ē only before consonants) |
| īnsula, -ae, f. | island |
| vīvus, -a, -um | alive, living |
| referō, referre, rettulī, relātus | bring or carry back, return; pedem referre, to draw back, retire, retreat; grātiam referre, see grātia |
| ille, illa, illud, dem. pron. | that; he, she, it, they; ille ... hīc, see hīc |
| igitur, conj. | therefore |
| nāvis, -is, f. | ship |
| cōnscendō, -scendere, -scendī, -scēnsus | climb; nāvem cōnscendere, to climb the ship, go on board, embark |
| et, conj. | and; et ... et, both ... and |
| cum, conj. | when, while, after; since; although |
| ventus, -ī, m. | wind |
| idōneus, -a, -um | suitable, fit; favorable |
| sum, esse, fuī, futūrus | be |
| statim, adv. | on the spot, forthwith, at once, immediately |
| solvō, solvere, solvī, solūtus | loosen, unbind, release; pay; with or without nāvem, cast off, set sail, put to sea |
| tamen, adv. | however, yet, nevertheless |
| iam, adv. | now, already |
| appropinquō, -propinquāre, -propinquāvī, -propinquātus | approach to, approach |
| tantus, -a, -um | so great or much |
| tempestās, -tātis, f. | weather; storm, tempest |
| subitō, adv. | unexpectedly, suddenly |
| coorior, -orīrī, -ortus | arise |
| cursus, -ūs, m. | running, speed; course, route, voyage; race |
| teneō, -ēre, -uī, -tus | hold, keep; hold back, restrain, stop |
| nōn, adv. | not |
| possum, posse, potuī | be able, have power, can |
| autem, conj. | moreover; but, however; now |
| timor, -ōris, m. | fear |
| animus, -ī, m. | mind; heart; spirit, courage |
| nauta, -ae, m. | sailor |
| occupō, -cupāre, -cupāvī, -cupātus | seize; fill |
| paene, adv. | almost, nearly |
| omnis, -e | all, every |
| spēs, speī, f. | hope |
| salūs, salūtis, f. | safety, deliverance, escape |
| dēpōnō, -pōnere, -posuī, -positus | put down, deposit; lay aside, give up; ē memoriā dēpōnere, to forget |
| etsī, conj. | even if, although |
| nāvigō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | sail |
| imperītus, -a, -um | inexperienced, unskilled, ignorant |
| haudquāquam, adv. | in no wise, not at all |
| terreō, -ēre, -uī, -itus | frighten, terrify |
| post, adv. | after, later; prep. with acc., after, behind |
| brevis, -e | short |
| tempus, temporis, n. | time, season |
| summus, -a, -um | uppermost, highest, greatest |
| tranquillitās, -tātis, f. | calm |
| cōnsequor, -sequī, -secūtus | follow up, follow; overtake |
| quī, quae, quod, rel. pron. | who, which |
| 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 |
| incolumis, -e | unhurt, safe |
| ad, prep. with acc. | to, toward; at, near; for |
| terra, -ae, f. | land, earth |
| appellō, -pellere, -pulī, -pulsus | drive to, bring to; with or without nāvem, put in |
| ēgredior, -gredī, -gressus | go out or forth, go ashore, disembark |
| rēx, rēgis, m. | king |
| veniō, venīre, vēnī, ventus | come |
| causa, -ae, f. | cause, reason; abl. causā, for the sake of |
| doceo, -ēre, -uī, -tus | teach, explain |
| deinde, adv. | then, next |
| postquam, conj. | later than, after, when |
| parō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | make ready, prepare |
| is, ea, id, dem. pron. | this, that; he, she, it, they |
| regiō, -ōnis, f. | direction; country, region |
| contendō, -tendere, -tendī, -tentus | stretch, hasten |
| vāstō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | lay waste |
| mox, adv. | soon |
| videō, vidēre, vīdī, vīsus | see; pass., seem |
| quamquam, conj. | however much, although |
| rēs, reī, f. | thing, matter, affair, circumstance, situation; rē vērā, in truth, in fact, really |
| magnus, -a, -um | large, big, great, mighty; loud |
| perīculum, -ī, n. | danger, peril, risk |
| cornū, -ūs, n. | horn |
| prehendō, -hendere, -hendī, -hēnsus | seize |
| ingēns, -gentis, adj. | huge, vast |
| labor, -ōris, m. | labor, toil |
| mōnstrum, -ī, n. | wonder, monster |
| trahō, trahere, trāxī, trāctus | draw, drag |
| cum, prep, with abl. | with |
| praeda, -ae, f. | booty, spoil, plunder |
| in, prep. with acc. and abl. | with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on |
| redeō, -īre, -iī, -itus | go back, return |