Lectitō › Fabulae Faciles › Fabulae Faciles: Hercules
Fabulae Faciles 49
Cerberus
Ritchie, Fabulae Faciles: Hercules. Latin text with a sentence-by-sentence English translation, notes and vocabulary.
Tap any word for its meaning and grammar, save words to review, and track your reading.
Read in Lectitō49.1Postquam aurea pōma ad Eurystheum relāta sunt, ūnus modo relinquēbātur ē duodecim labōribus quōs Pȳthia Herculī praecēperat.
After the golden apples had been brought to Eurystheus, only one of the twelve labors which Pythia had laid on Hercules was left.
49.2Eurystheus autem cum Herculem magnopere timēret, eum in aliquem locum mittere volēbat unde numquam redīre posset.
Eurystheus, since he greatly feared Hercules, wanted to send him to some place from which he could never return.
Note. unde … posset: a relative clause of result or characteristic: 'from which he could never return'.
49.3Negōtium igitur eī dedit ut canem Cerberum ex Orcō in lūcem traheret.
So he gave him the task of dragging the dog Cerberus from the underworld into the light.
49.4Hoc opus omnium difficillimum erat, nēmō enim umquam ex Orcō redierat.
This was the most difficult work of all, for no one had ever returned from the underworld.
49.5Praetereā Cerberus iste mōnstrum erat horribilī speciē, cui tria erant capita serpentibus saevīs cincta.
Besides, this Cerberus was a monster of horrible appearance, which had three heads encircled by savage snakes.
49.6Antequam tamen dē hōc labōre narrāmus, nōn aliēnum vidētur, quoniam dē Orcō mentiōnem fēcimus, pauca dē eā regiōne prōpōnere.
But before we tell about this labor, it does not seem out of place, since we have mentioned the underworld, to set out a few things about that region.
Note. nōn aliēnum vidētur: 'it does not seem out of place'.
Vocabulary
| postquam, conj. | later than, after, when |
| aureus, -a, -um | of gold, golden |
| pōmum, -ī, n. | fruit, apple |
| ad, prep. with acc. | to, toward; at, near; for |
| referō, referre, rettulī, relātus | bring or carry back, return; pedem referre, to draw back, retire, retreat; grātiam referre, see grātia |
| sum, esse, fuī, futūrus | be |
| ūnus, -a, -um | one; only, alone |
| modo, adv. | only |
| relinquō, -linquere, -līquī, -lictus | leave behind, leave |
| ex, ē (prep. + abl.) | out of, from; of (ē only before consonants) |
| duodecim, indecl. adj. | twelve |
| labor, -ōris, m. | labor, toil |
| quī, quae, quod, rel. pron. | who, which |
| praecipiō, -cipere, -cēpī, -ceptus | take beforehand, anticipate; order, charge |
| autem, conj. | moreover; but, however; now |
| cum, conj. | when, while, after; since; although |
| magnopere, adv. | greatly, very much, exceedingly; earnestly |
| timeō, -ēre, -uī | fear |
| is, ea, id, dem. pron. | this, that; he, she, it, they |
| in, prep. with acc. and abl. | with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on |
| aliquī, -qua, -quod, indef. pron. adj. | some, any |
| locus, -ī, m., plur. loca, -orum, n. | place, situation |
| mittō, mittere, mīsī, missus | send |
| volō, velle, voluī | wish |
| unde, adv. | whence |
| numquam, adv. | never |
| redeō, -īre, -iī, -itus | go back, return |
| possum, posse, potuī | be able, have power, can |
| negōtium, -ī, n. | business, matter; task, trouble, difficulty |
| igitur, conj. | therefore |
| dō, dare, dedī, datus | give |
| ut, conj. | as; when; that; ita ut, as |
| canis, -is, m. and f. | dog |
| lūx, lūcis, f. | light |
| trahō, trahere, trāxī, trāctus | draw, drag |
| hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron. | this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter |
| opus, operis, n. | work, task |
| omnis, -e | all, every |
| difficilis, -e | not easy, difficult |
| nēmō, nēminis, m. and f. | no one, nobody |
| enim, conj. | for |
| umquam, adv. | ever |
| praetereā, adv. | besides this, besides, moreover |
| iste, ista, istud, dem. pron. | that of yours, that |
| mōnstrum, -ī, n. | wonder, monster |
| horribilis, -e | dreadful, terrible, horrible |
| speciēs, -ēī, f. | sight, appearance, shape |
| trēs, tria, plur. adj. | three |
| caput, capitis, n. | head |
| serpēns, -entis, f. | serpent |
| saevus, -a, -um | fierce, savage |
| cingō, cingere, cinxī, cinctus | surround, gird |
| antequam, conj. | before than, sooner than, before |
| tamen, adv. | however, yet, nevertheless |
| dē, prep, with abl. | down from, from, out of; about, concerning, of |
| narrō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | tell, relate, narrate |
| nōn, adv. | not |
| aliēnus, -a, -um | belonging to another, out of place |
| videō, vidēre, vīdī, vīsus | see; pass., seem |
| quoniam, conj. | since now, since |
| mentiō, -ōnis, f. | mention |
| faciō, facere, fēcī, factus | make, do; iter facere, see iter |
| paucī, -ae, -a, plur. adj. | few |
| regiō, -ōnis, f. | direction; country, region |
| prōpōnō, -pōnere, -posuī, -positus | put or set before, offer, propose; set forth, say |