Lectitō › Fabulae Faciles › Fabulae Faciles: Hercules
Fabulae Faciles 40
A shower of stones
Ritchie, Fabulae Faciles: Hercules. Latin text with a sentence-by-sentence English translation, notes and vocabulary.
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Read in Lectitō40.1Tum Herculēs bovēs per Hispāniam et Liguriam compellere cōnstituit; postquam igitur omnia parāta sunt, bovēs ex īnsulā ad continentem trānsportāvit.
Then Hercules decided to drive the oxen through Spain and Liguria; so after everything was ready, he carried the oxen across from the island to the mainland.
40.2Ligurēs autem, gēns bellicōsissima, dum ille per fīnīs eōrum iter facit, magnās cōpiās coēgērunt atque eum longius prōgredī prohibēbant.
But the Ligurians, a very warlike people, while he was making his way through their territory, gathered large forces and kept him from going any further.
40.3Herculēs magnam difficultātem habēbat, barbarī enim in locīs superiōribus cōnstiterant et saxa tēlaque in eum coniciēbant.
Hercules was in great difficulty, for the barbarians had taken their stand on higher ground and were throwing stones and spears at him.
40.4Ille quidem paene omnem spem salūtis dēposuerat, sed tempore opportūnissimō Iuppiter imbrem lapidum ingentium ē caelō dēmīsit.
He had indeed almost given up all hope of safety, but at a most fortunate moment Jupiter sent down a shower of huge stones from the sky.
40.5Hī tantā vī cecidērunt ut magnum numerum Ligurum occīderint; ipse tamen Herculēs (ut in tālibus rēbus accidere cōnsuēvit) nihil incommodī cēpit.
These fell with such force that they killed a great number of the Ligurians; but Hercules himself (as usually happens in such cases) suffered no harm.
Note. ut … cōnsuēvit: ut + indicative means 'as': 'as usually happens'.
Vocabulary
| tum, adv. | then, at that time |
| bōs, bovis, gen. plur. boum, dat. and abl. plur. bōbus, m. and f. | ox, bull, cow |
| per, prep, with ace. | through, by means of |
| et, conj. | and; et ... et, both ... and |
| compellō, -pellere, -pulī, -pulsus | drive together, drive |
| cōnstituō, -stituere, -stituī, -stitūtus | set together or up; appoint; determine |
| postquam, conj. | later than, after, when |
| igitur, conj. | therefore |
| omnis, -e | all, every |
| parō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | make ready, prepare |
| sum, esse, fuī, futūrus | be |
| ex, ē (prep. + abl.) | out of, from; of (ē only before consonants) |
| īnsula, -ae, f. | island |
| ad, prep. with acc. | to, toward; at, near; for |
| continēns, -entis, f. | 'mainland, continent |
| trānsportō, -portāre, -portāvī, -portātus | carry across or over, transport |
| autem, conj. | moreover; but, however; now |
| gēns, gentis, f. | race, nation |
| bellicōsus, -a, -um | war-like |
| dum, conj. | while, as; as long as; until |
| ille, illa, illud, dem. pron. | that; he, she, it, they; ille ... hīc, see hīc |
| fīnis, -is, m. | end, boundary; plur., borders, territory, country |
| is, ea, id, dem. pron. | this, that; he, she, it, they |
| iter, itineris, n. | a going, journey, march; iter facere, to journey, march |
| faciō, facere, fēcī, factus | make, do; iter facere, see iter |
| magnus, -a, -um | large, big, great, mighty; loud |
| cōpia, -ae, f. | supply, abundance; plur., forces, troops |
| cōgō, cōgere, coēgī, coāctus | drive together, collect; compel |
| atque, ac (conj.) | and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants) |
| longē, adv. | far |
| prōgredior, -gredī, -gressus | go forward, advance |
| prohibeō, -hibēre, -hibuī, -hibitus | hold back, prevent, hinder |
| difficultas, -tātis, f. | difficulty |
| habeō, -ēre, -uī, -itus | have, hold; consider |
| barbarus, -a, -um | barbarian |
| enim, conj. | for |
| in, prep. with acc. and abl. | with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on |
| locus, -ī, m., plur. loca, -orum, n. | place, situation |
| superior, -ius, adj. | higher; former, previous, preceding |
| cōnsistō, -sistere, -stitī, -stitus | station oneself, take one's stand; consist |
| saxum, -ī, n. | rock, stone |
| tēlum, -ī, n. | missile, spear, weapon |
| que, enclitic conj. | and |
| coniciō, -icere, -iēcī, -iectus | throw together; throw, cast, hurl |
| quidem, adv. | in fact, indeed, certainly; nē ... quidem, not ... even |
| paene, adv. | almost, nearly |
| 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 |
| sed, conj. | but |
| tempus, temporis, n. | time, season |
| opportūnus, -a, -um | suitable, seasonable, convenient, opportune |
| imber, imbris, m. | rain, shower |
| lapis, -idis, m. | stone |
| ingēns, -gentis, adj. | huge, vast |
| caelum, -ī, n. | heaven, sky |
| dēmittō, -mittere, -mīsī, -missus | send down, let fall; animōs dēmittere, to lose courage |
| hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron. | this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter |
| tantus, -a, -um | so great or much |
| vīs, vīs, f. | violence, force; virtue, potency, efficacy; plur. vīrēs, -ium, strength; omnibus vīribus, with all one's strength, with might and main |
| cadō, cadere, cecidī, cāsūrus | fall |
| ut, conj. | as; when; that; ita ut, as |
| numerus, -ī, m. | number |
| occīdō, -cīdere, -cīdī, -cīsus | cut down, kill |
| ipse, ipsa, ipsum, intensive pron. | self, himself, herself, itself, themselves; often to be rendered by very |
| tamen, adv. | however, yet, nevertheless |
| tālis, -e | such |
| rēs, reī, f. | thing, matter, affair, circumstance, situation; rē vērā, in truth, in fact, really |
| accidō, -cidere, -cidī | fall to or upon; befall, happen |
| cōnsuēscō, -suēscere, -suēvī, -suētus | become accustomed; in tenses of completed action, have become accustomed, be accustomed or wont |
| nihil, n., indecl. | nothing |
| incommodum, -ī, n. | inconvenience |
| capiō, capere, cēpī, captus | take, catch, seize; receive, suffer; adopt |