Lectitō › Fabulae Faciles › Fabulae Faciles: Hercules
Fabulae Faciles 54
The centaur Nessus
Ritchie, Fabulae Faciles: Hercules. Latin text with a sentence-by-sentence English translation, notes and vocabulary.
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Read in Lectitō54.1Posteā Herculēs multa alia praeclāra perfēcit, quae nunc perscrībere longum est.
Afterwards Hercules accomplished many other famous deeds, which it would take too long to write out now.
54.2Tandem iam aetāte prōvectus Dēianīram, Oeneī fīliam, in mātrimōnium dūxit; post tamen trīs annōs accidit ut puerum quendam, cui nōmen erat Eunomus, cāsū occīderit.
At last, when he was already advanced in years, he married Deianira, the daughter of Oeneus; but three years later it happened that he killed by accident a certain boy whose name was Eunomus.
Note. aetāte prōvectus: 'advanced in age'. accidit ut …: 'it happened that …'.
54.3Cum autem mōs esset ut sī quis hominem cāsū occīdisset, in exsilium īret, Herculēs cum uxōre suā ē fīnibus eius cīvitātis exīre mātūrāvit.
Now since it was the custom that if anyone had killed a person by accident, he went into exile, Hercules hurried to leave the territory of that state with his wife.
Note. sī quis: after sī, quis means 'anyone'.
54.4Dum tamen iter faciunt, ad flūmen quoddam pervēnērunt in quō nūllus pōns erat; et dum quaerunt quōnam modō flūmen trānseant, accurrit centaurus Nessus, quī viātōribus auxilium obtulit.
But while they were on their journey, they came to a certain river over which there was no bridge; and while they were trying to work out how they could cross the river, the centaur Nessus ran up and offered the travelers his help.
Note. quōnam modō: 'in what way', an indirect question with the subjunctive trānseant.
54.5Herculēs igitur uxōrem suam in tergum Nessī imposuit; tum ipse flūmen trānāvit.
So Hercules put his wife on the back of Nessus; then he himself swam across the river.
54.6Nessus autem paulum in aquam prōgressus ad rīpam subitō revertēbātur et Dēianīram auferre cōnābātur.
But Nessus, after going a little way into the water, suddenly turned back toward the bank and tried to carry off Deianira.
54.7Quod cum animadvertisset Herculēs, īrā graviter commōtus arcum intendit et pectus Nessī sagittā trānsfīxit.
When Hercules noticed this, he was very angry, drew his bow and pierced the chest of Nessus with an arrow.
Note. Quod cum: 'and when (he noticed) this'.
Vocabulary
| posteā, adv. | after this, afterwards |
| multus, -a, -um | much, great; plur., many |
| alius, -a, -ud | another, other; aliī ... aliī, some ... others |
| praeclārus, -clāra, -clārum | very bright; splendid, remarkable, famous |
| perficiō, -ficere, -fēcī, -fectus | do or make through, accomplish |
| quī, quae, quod, rel. pron. | who, which |
| nunc, adv. | now |
| perscrībō, -scrībere, -scrīpsī, scrīptus | write through or in full, describe fully, recount |
| longus, -a, -um | long; tedious |
| sum, esse, fuī, futūrus | be |
| tandem, adv. | at length or last, finally |
| iam, adv. | now, already |
| aetās, -tātis, f. | age |
| prōvehō, -vehere, -vexī, -vectus | carry forward |
| fīlia, -ae, f. | daughter |
| in, prep. with acc. and abl. | with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on |
| mātrimōnium, -ī, n. | marriage; in mātrimōnium dūcere, marry |
| dūcō, dūcere, dūxī, ductus | lead; make, dig; with or without in mātrimōnium, marry |
| post, adv. | after, later; prep. with acc., after, behind |
| tamen, adv. | however, yet, nevertheless |
| trēs, tria, plur. adj. | three |
| annus, -ī, m. | year |
| accidō, -cidere, -cidī | fall to or upon; befall, happen |
| ut, conj. | as; when; that; ita ut, as |
| puer, puerī, m. | boy |
| quīdam, quaedam, quoddam, indef. pron. | a certain, certain |
| nōmen, -minis, n. | name (that by which one is known) |
| cāsus, -ūs, m. | fall; chance, accident |
| occīdō, -cīdere, -cīdī, -cīsus | cut down, kill |
| cum, conj. | when, while, after; since; although |
| autem, conj. | moreover; but, however; now |
| mōs, mōris, m. | way, manner, habit, custom |
| sī, conj. | if |
| quis, qua, quid, indef. pron. | any one, anybody, anything, some one, somebody, something |
| homō, hominis, m. | man |
| exsilium, -ī, n. | exile |
| eō, īre, iī, itus | go |
| cum, prep, with abl. | with |
| uxor, -ōris, f. | wife |
| suus, -a, -um | his, her, its, or their own; his, her, its, their |
| ex, ē (prep. + abl.) | out of, from; of (ē only before consonants) |
| fīnis, -is, m. | end, boundary; plur., borders, territory, country |
| is, ea, id, dem. pron. | this, that; he, she, it, they |
| cīvitās, -tātis, f. | state |
| exeō, -īre, -iī, -itus | go out |
| mātūrō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | ripen; hasten |
| dum, conj. | while, as; as long as; until |
| iter, itineris, n. | a going, journey, march; iter facere, to journey, march |
| faciō, facere, fēcī, factus | make, do; iter facere, see iter |
| ad, prep. with acc. | to, toward; at, near; for |
| flūmen, -minis, n. | river |
| perveniō, -venīre, -vēnī, -ventus | come through, come, arrive, reach |
| nūllus, -a, -um | not any, none, no |
| pōns, pontis, m. | bridge |
| et, conj. | and; et ... et, both ... and |
| quaerō, quaerere, quaesīvī, quaesītus | seek; ask, inquire |
| quisnam, quaenam, quidnam, interrog. pron. | who, which, or what, pray? who? which? what? |
| modus, -ī, m. | way, manner |
| trānseō, -īre, -iī, -itus | go across or over, cross |
| accurrō, -currere, -currī, -cursus | run to, come up |
| centaurus, -ī, m. | centaur |
| viātor, -tōris, m. | wayfarer, traveler |
| auxilium, -ī, n. | help, aid |
| offerō, offerre, obtulī, oblātus | bear to, proffer, offer |
| igitur, conj. | therefore |
| tergum, -ī, n. | back |
| impōnō, -pōnere, -posuī, -positus | place or lay upon, impose; embark |
| tum, adv. | then, at that time |
| ipse, ipsa, ipsum, intensive pron. | self, himself, herself, itself, themselves; often to be rendered by very |
| trānō, -nāre, -nāvī | swim across or over |
| paulum, adv. | a little, somewhat |
| aqua, -ae, f. | water |
| prōgredior, -gredī, -gressus | go forward, advance |
| rīpa, -ae, f. | bank |
| subitō, adv. | unexpectedly, suddenly |
| revertor, -vertī, -versus, perf. act. -vertī | turn back, return |
| auferō, auferre, abstulī, ablātus | bear away, carry off |
| cōnor, -ārī, -ātus | try, attempt |
| animadvertō, -vertere, -vertī, -versus | turn the mind to, observe |
| īra, -ae, f. | anger, wrath |
| graviter, adv. | severely, seriously |
| commoveō, -movēre, -mōvī, -mōtus | move, rouse; disturb |
| arcus, -ūs, m. | bow |
| intendō, -tendere, -tendī, -tentus | stretch out; stretch, draw, aim |
| pectus, pectoris, n. | breast |
| sagitta, -ae, f. | arrow |
| trānsfīgō, -fīgere, -fīxī, -fīxus | thrust or pierce through, transfix |