Fabulae Faciles 30

The Cretan bull

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30.1Tum 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.

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Grammar in this passage: cum clauses ×4, gerunds and gerundives ×2

Latin vocabulary for this passage (88 words)

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

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.