Lectitō › Fabulae Faciles › Fabulae Faciles: Hercules
Fabulae Faciles 52
Hercules crosses the Styx
Ritchie, Fabulae Faciles: Hercules. Latin text with a sentence-by-sentence English translation, notes and vocabulary.
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Read in Lectitō52.1Herculēs postquam imperia Eurystheī accēpit, in Lacōniam ad Taenarum statim sē contulit; ibi enim spēlunca erat ingentī magnitūdine, per quam, ut trādēbātur, hominēs ad Orcum dēscendēbant.
After Hercules received the orders of Eurystheus, he went at once to Taenarus in Laconia; for there was a cave of enormous size there, through which, as was said, people went down to Orcus.
Note. ut trādēbātur: ut + indicative, 'as was said'.
52.2Eō cum vēnisset, ex incolīs quaesīvit quō in locō spēlunca illa sita esset; quod cum cognōvisset, sine morā dēscendere cōnstituit.
When he had arrived there, he asked the inhabitants where that cave was located; and when he had learned this, he decided to go down without delay.
52.3Nec tamen sōlus hoc iter faciēbat, Mercurius enim et Minerva sē eī sociōs adiūnxerant.
He did not make this journey alone, however, for Mercury and Minerva had joined him as companions.
52.4Ubi ad rīpam Stygis vēnit, Herculēs scapham Charontis cōnscendit, ut ad ulteriōrem rīpam trānsīret.
When he came to the bank of the Styx, Hercules boarded Charon's boat, to cross to the further bank.
52.5Cum tamen Herculēs vir esset ingentī magnitūdine corporis, Charōn solvere nōlēbat; magnopere enim verēbātur nē scapha sua tantō pondere onerāta in mediō flūmine mergerētur.
But since Hercules was a man of enormous size, Charon refused to push off; for he greatly feared that his boat, loaded with such a weight, would sink in the middle of the river.
Note. verēbātur nē … mergerētur: after a verb of fearing, nē means 'that': 'feared that it would sink'.
52.6Tandem tamen minīs Herculis territus Charōn scapham solvit, et eum incolumem ad ulteriōrem rīpam perdūxit.
At last, however, frightened by the threats of Hercules, Charon pushed off the boat, and brought him safe to the further bank.
Vocabulary
| postquam, conj. | later than, after, when |
| imperium, -ī, n. | command; sway, rule |
| accipiō, -cipere, -cēpī, -ceptus | take to oneself, receive, accept; hear; suffer |
| in, prep. with acc. and abl. | with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on |
| ad, prep. with acc. | to, toward; at, near; for |
| statim, adv. | on the spot, forthwith, at once, immediately |
| suī, sibi, sē or sēsē, reflexive pron. | himself, herself, itself, themselves |
| cōnferō, cōnferre, contulī, conlātus | bring together; grant, confer; sē cōnferre, to betake oneself, make one's way |
| ibi, adv. | in that place, there |
| enim, conj. | for |
| spēlunca, -ae, f. | cave, cavern |
| sum, esse, fuī, futūrus | be |
| ingēns, -gentis, adj. | huge, vast |
| magnitūdō, -tūdinis, f. | greatness, size |
| per, prep, with ace. | through, by means of |
| quī, quae, quod, rel. pron. | who, which |
| ut, conj. | as; when; that; ita ut, as |
| trādō, -dere, -didī, -ditus | give across, over, or up, deliver; hand down, relate, report |
| homō, hominis, m. | man |
| dēscendō, -scendere, -scendī, -scēnsus | climb down, descend |
| eō (adv.) | to that place, thither; to that point (usque eō); (with comparatives) by so much, all the (more) |
| cum, conj. | when, while, after; since; although |
| veniō, venīre, vēnī, ventus | come |
| ex, ē (prep. + abl.) | out of, from; of (ē only before consonants) |
| incola, -ae, m. and f. | inhabitant |
| quaerō, quaerere, quaesīvī, quaesītus | seek; ask, inquire |
| quī, quae, quod, interrog. pron. adj. | what? |
| locus, -ī, m., plur. loca, -orum, n. | place, situation |
| ille, illa, illud, dem. pron. | that; he, she, it, they; ille ... hīc, see hīc |
| situs, -a, -um | placed, situated |
| cognōscō, -gnōscere, -gnōvī, -gnitus | find out, learn; in tenses of completed action, have found out, know |
| sine, prep. with abl. | without |
| mora, -ae, f. | delay |
| cōnstituō, -stituere, -stituī, -stitūtus | set together or up; appoint; determine |
| neque or nec, conj. | and not, nor; neque ... neque, neither ... nor; neque enim, for ... not |
| tamen, adv. | however, yet, nevertheless |
| sōlus, -a, -um | alone |
| hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron. | this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter |
| iter, itineris, n. | a going, journey, march; iter facere, to journey, march |
| faciō, facere, fēcī, factus | make, do; iter facere, see iter |
| et, conj. | and; et ... et, both ... and |
| is, ea, id, dem. pron. | this, that; he, she, it, they |
| socius, -ī, m. | companion, comrade, ally |
| adiungo, -iungere, -iūnxī, -iūnctus | join to, join |
| ubi, adv. | where; conj., when |
| rīpa, -ae, f. | bank |
| scapha, -ae, f. | boat, skiff |
| cōnscendō, -scendere, -scendī, -scēnsus | climb; nāvem cōnscendere, to climb the ship, go on board, embark |
| ulterior, -ius, adj. | farther |
| trānseō, -īre, -iī, -itus | go across or over, cross |
| vir, virī, m. | man |
| corpus, corporis, n. | body |
| solvō, solvere, solvī, solūtus | loosen, unbind, release; pay; with or without nāvem, cast off, set sail, put to sea |
| nōlō, nōlle, nōluī | not wish, be unwilling |
| magnopere, adv. | greatly, very much, exceedingly; earnestly |
| vereor, -ērī, -itus | fear |
| nē, adv. | not; nē ... quidem, not ... even; conj., that not, lest |
| suus, -a, -um | his, her, its, or their own; his, her, its, their |
| tantus, -a, -um | so great or much |
| pondus, ponderis, n. | weight |
| onerō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | load, burden |
| medius, -a, -um | mid, middle |
| flūmen, -minis, n. | river |
| mergō, mergere, mersī, mersus | dip, plunge, sink |
| tandem, adv. | at length or last, finally |
| minae, -ārum, f. plur. | threats |
| terreō, -ēre, -uī, -itus | frighten, terrify |
| incolumis, -e | unhurt, safe |
| perdūcō, -dūcere, -dūxī, -ductus | lead or bring through, lead, bring |