Lectitō › Fabulae Faciles › Fabulae Faciles: Hercules
Fabulae Faciles 42
Cacus steals the oxen
Ritchie, Fabulae Faciles: Hercules. Latin text with a sentence-by-sentence English translation, notes and vocabulary.
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Read in Lectitō42.1Brevī tempore ad flūmen Tiberim vēnit.
In a short time he came to the river Tiber.
42.2Tum tamen nūlla erat urbs in eō locō, Rōma enim nōndum condita erat.
At that time, however, there was no city in that place, for Rome had not yet been founded.
Note. Rome was traditionally founded in 753 BC, long after the age of heroes.
42.3Herculēs itinere fessus cōnstituit ibi paucōs diēs morārī, ut sē ex labōribus recreāret.
Hercules, tired from the journey, decided to stay there a few days, to recover from his labors.
42.4Haud procul ā valle ubi bovēs pāscēbantur spēlunca erat, in quā Cācus, horribile mōnstrum, tum habitābat.
Not far from the valley where the oxen were grazing there was a cave, in which Cacus, a horrible monster, was then living.
42.5Hic speciem terribilem praebēbat, nōn modo quod ingentī magnitūdine corporis erat, sed quod ignem ex ōre exspīrābat.
He had a terrifying appearance, not only because he was of enormous size, but because he breathed out fire from his mouth.
42.6Cācus autem dē adventū Herculis fāmam accēperat; noctū igitur vēnit, et dum Herculēs dormit, quattuor pulcherrimōrum boum abripuit.
Cacus had heard of the arrival of Hercules; so he came by night, and while Hercules was sleeping, he carried off four of the most beautiful oxen.
Note. quattuor … boum: '(four) of the oxen'.
42.7Hōs caudīs in spēluncam trāxit, nē Herculēs ē vestīgiīs cognōscere posset quō in locō cēlātī essent.
He dragged these by their tails into the cave, so that Hercules could not tell from the tracks where they had been hidden.
Note. nē … posset: purpose, 'so that he could not'. quō in locō … essent is an indirect question: 'where they had been hidden'.
Vocabulary
| brevis, -e | short |
| tempus, temporis, n. | time, season |
| ad, prep. with acc. | to, toward; at, near; for |
| flūmen, -minis, n. | river |
| veniō, venīre, vēnī, ventus | come |
| tum, adv. | then, at that time |
| tamen, adv. | however, yet, nevertheless |
| nūllus, -a, -um | not any, none, no |
| sum, esse, fuī, futūrus | be |
| urbs, urbis, f. | city |
| in, prep. with acc. and abl. | with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on |
| is, ea, id, dem. pron. | this, that; he, she, it, they |
| locus, -ī, m., plur. loca, -orum, n. | place, situation |
| enim, conj. | for |
| nōndum, adv. | not yet |
| condō, -dere, -didī, -ditus | put together, found; store away |
| iter, itineris, n. | a going, journey, march; iter facere, to journey, march |
| fessus, -a, -um | exhausted, worn out, weary |
| cōnstituō, -stituere, -stituī, -stitūtus | set together or up; appoint; determine |
| ibi, adv. | in that place, there |
| paucī, -ae, -a, plur. adj. | few |
| diēs, -ēī, m. and f. | day |
| moror, -ārī, -ātus | delay, linger, stay |
| ut, conj. | as; when; that; ita ut, as |
| suī, sibi, sē or sēsē, reflexive pron. | himself, herself, itself, themselves |
| ex, ē (prep. + abl.) | out of, from; of (ē only before consonants) |
| labor, -ōris, m. | labor, toil |
| recreō, -creāre, -creāvī, -creātus | make anew, renew, refresh |
| haud, adv. | not at all, by no means, not |
| procul, adv. | at or from a distance, far |
| ā, ab (prep. + abl.) | away from, from; by (ā only before consonants) |
| vallis, -is, f. | valley |
| ubi, adv. | where; conj., when |
| bōs, bovis, gen. plur. boum, dat. and abl. plur. bōbus, m. and f. | ox, bull, cow |
| pāscō, pāscere, pāvī, pāstus | feed |
| spēlunca, -ae, f. | cave, cavern |
| quī, quae, quod, rel. pron. | who, which |
| horribilis, -e | dreadful, terrible, horrible |
| mōnstrum, -ī, n. | wonder, monster |
| habitō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | dwell, inhabit |
| hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron. | this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter |
| speciēs, -ēī, f. | sight, appearance, shape |
| terribilis, -e | dreadful, terrible |
| praebeō, -ēre, -uī, -itus | hold forth, supply, furnish, give; show, present, exhibit |
| nōn, adv. | not |
| modo, adv. | only |
| quod, conj. | that, in that, because |
| ingēns, -gentis, adj. | huge, vast |
| magnitūdō, -tūdinis, f. | greatness, size |
| corpus, corporis, n. | body |
| sed, conj. | but |
| ignis, -is, m. | fire |
| ōs, ōris, n. | mouth |
| exspīrō, -spīrāre, -spīrāvī, -spīrātus | breathe out |
| autem, conj. | moreover; but, however; now |
| dē, prep, with abl. | down from, from, out of; about, concerning, of |
| adventus, -ūs, m. | approach, arrival |
| fāma, -ae, f. | report, rumor |
| accipiō, -cipere, -cēpī, -ceptus | take to oneself, receive, accept; hear; suffer |
| noctū, adv. | at or by night |
| igitur, conj. | therefore |
| et, conj. | and; et ... et, both ... and |
| dum, conj. | while, as; as long as; until |
| dormiō, -īre, -īvī | sleep |
| quattuor, indecl. adj. | four |
| pulcher, pulchra, pulchrum | beautiful |
| abripiō, -ripere, -ripuī, -reptus | snatch away, carry off |
| cauda, -ae, f. | tail |
| trahō, trahere, trāxī, trāctus | draw, drag |
| nē, adv. | not; nē ... quidem, not ... even; conj., that not, lest |
| vestīgium, -ī, n. | track, foot-print |
| cognōscō, -gnōscere, -gnōvī, -gnitus | find out, learn; in tenses of completed action, have found out, know |
| possum, posse, potuī | be able, have power, can |
| quī, quae, quod, interrog. pron. adj. | what? |
| cēlō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | hide, conceal |