Fabulae Faciles 85

85.1Cyclōpēs autem pāstōrēs erant quīdam quī īnsulam Siciliam et praecipuē montem Aetnam incolēbant; ibi enim Volcānus, praeses fabrōrum et ignis repertor, cuius servī Cyclōpēs erant, officīnam suam habēbat.

The Cyclopes were shepherds who lived on the island of Sicily, and especially on Mount Etna; for there Vulcan, the god of smiths and the discoverer of fire, whose servants the Cyclopes were, had his workshop.

85.2Graecī igitur simul ac mōnstrum vīdērunt, terrōre paene exanimātī in interiōrem partem spēluncae refūgērunt et sē ibi abdere cōnābantur.

So as soon as the Greeks saw the monster, half dead with terror they fled into the inner part of the cave and tried to hide themselves there.

85.3Polyphēmus autem (sīc enim Cyclōps appellābātur) pecus suum in spēluncam compulit; deinde, cum saxō ingentī portam obstrūxisset, ignem in mediā spēluncā fēcit.

Polyphemus (for that was the Cyclops' name) drove his flock into the cave; then, when he had blocked the entrance with a huge rock, he made a fire in the middle of the cave.

Note. cum … obstrūxisset: cum with the pluperfect subjunctive, 'when he had blocked'.

85.4Hōc factō, oculō omnia perlūstrābat, et cum sēnsisset hominēs in interiōre parte spēluncae esse abditōs, magnā vōce exclāmāvit: "Quī hominēs estis?

When he had done this, he looked all around with his eye, and when he sensed that there were men hidden in the inner part of the cave, he shouted in a loud voice: "What men are you?

Note. Quī hominēs estis?: quī is the interrogative adjective here, 'what men'.

85.5Mercātōrēs an latrōnēs?"

Traders or robbers?"

85.6Tum Ulixēs respondit sē neque mercātōrēs esse neque praedandī causā vēnisse; sed ā Trōiā redeuntīs vī tempestātum ā rēctō cursū dēpulsōs esse.

Then Ulysses answered that they were not traders and had not come to plunder, but that on their way back from Troy they had been driven off their true course by the force of storms.

Note. The answer is in indirect speech: sē … esse … vēnisse … dēpulsōs esse. praedandī causā: 'for the sake of plundering'.

85.7Ōrāvit etiam ut sibi sine iniūriā abīre licēret.

He also begged that they be allowed to leave without harm.

85.8Tum Polyphēmus quaesīvit ubi esset nāvis quā vectī essent; sed Ulixēs cum sibi maximē praecavendum esse bene intellegeret, respondit nāvem suam in rūpīs coniectam omnīnō frāctam esse.

Then Polyphemus asked where the ship was in which they had sailed; but since Ulysses understood well that he must be very much on his guard, he answered that his ship had been thrown onto the rocks and completely wrecked.

Note. sibi … praecavendum esse: an impersonal gerundive with a dative of the person, 'that he must be on his guard'.

85.9Polyphēmus autem nūllō respōnsō datō duo ē sociīs manū corripuit, et membrīs eōrum dīvulsīs carnem dēvorāre coepit.

Polyphemus gave no answer, but seized two of the companions in his hand, tore them limb from limb, and began to devour their flesh.