Fabulae Faciles 97

Mercury's herb

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97.1Aliquantum itineris prōgressus ad vīllam magnificam pervēnit, quam cum oculīs perlūstrāsset, statim intrāre statuit; intellēxit enim hanc esse eandem domum dē quā Eurylochus mentiōnem fēcisset.After going some distance he came to a magnificent country-house, and when he had looked it over, he decided to go in at once; for he realised that this was the same house which Eurylochus had spoken of. 97.2At cum in eō esset ut līmen intrāret, subitō eī obviam stetit adulēscēns fōrmā pulcherrimā aureum baculum gerēns.But when he was on the point of crossing the threshold, suddenly a young man of very handsome appearance, carrying a golden wand, stood in his way.Note. in eō esset ut: 'he was on the point of'. fōrmā pulcherrimā: ablative of description. 97.3Hic Ulixem iam domum intrantem manū corripuit et, "Quō ruis?"He seized Ulysses with his hand as he was already entering the house and said, "Where are you rushing?" 97.4inquit.he said. 97.5"Nōnne scīs hanc esse Circēs domum?"Don't you know that this is Circe's house? 97.6Hīc inclūsī sunt amīcī tuī ex hūmānā speciē in porcōs conversī.Here your friends are shut up, changed from human shape into pigs. 97.7Num vīs ipse in eandem calamitātem venīre?"Surely you don't want to come into the same disaster yourself?"Note. Num expects the answer 'no': 'Surely you don't want …?'

97.8Ulixēs simul ac vōcem audīvit, deum Mercurium agnōvit; nūllīs tamen precibus ab īnstitūtō cōnsiliō dēterrērī potuit.As soon as Ulysses heard the voice, he recognised the god Mercury; but no entreaties could turn him from the plan he had formed. 97.9Quod cum Mercurius sēnsisset, herbam quandam eī dedit, quam contrā carmina multum valēre dīcēbat.When Mercury saw this, he gave him a certain herb, which he said was very powerful against spells. 97.10"Hanc cape," inquit, "et ubi Circē tē baculō tetigerit, tū strictō gladiō impetum in eam vidē ut faciās.""Take this," he said, "and when Circe has touched you with her wand, draw your sword and see that you make an attack on her."Note. vidē ut faciās: 'see that you make'. tetigerit is future perfect: 'when she has touched'. 97.11Mercurius postquam fīnem loquendī fēcit, "mortālīs vīsūs mediō sermōne relīquit, et procul in tenuem ex oculīs ēvānuit auram."When Mercury had finished speaking, "he left mortal sight in the middle of his speech, and vanished far from their eyes into thin air."Note. Another line from the Aeneid (4.277–278).

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Grammar in this passage: cum clauses ×3, purpose clauses ×2, indirect statement ×2, ablative absolute ×1, gerunds and gerundives ×1

Latin vocabulary for this passage (103 words)

aliquantum, -quantī, n.	somewhat
iter, itineris, n.	a going, journey, march; iter facere, to journey, march
prōgredior, -gredī, -gressus	go forward, advance
ad, prep. with acc.	to, toward; at, near; for
vīlla, -ae, f.	country-house, villa
magnificus, -a, -um	splendid, magnificent
perveniō, -venīre, -vēnī, -ventus	come through, come, arrive, reach
quī, quae, quod, rel. pron.	who, which
cum, conj.	when, while, after; since; although
oculus, -ī, m.	eye
perlūstrō, -lūstrāre, -lūstrāvi, -lūstrātus	look over, examine, survey
statim, adv.	on the spot, forthwith, at once, immediately
intrō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	go within or into, enter
statuō, statuere, statuī, statūtus	cause to stand; decide, resolve
intellegō, -legere, -lēxī, -lēctus	perceive, understand
enim, conj.	for
hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron.	this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter
sum, esse, fuī, futūrus	be
īdem, eadem, idem, dem. pron.	the same; sometimes to be translated likewise, also
domus, -ūs, f.	house, home
dē, prep, with abl.	down from, from, out of; about, concerning, of
mentiō, -ōnis, f.	mention
faciō, facere, fēcī, factus	make, do; iter facere, see iter
at, conj.	but
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
ut, conj.	as; when; that; ita ut, as
līmen, -minis, n.	threshold; door
subitō, adv.	unexpectedly, suddenly
obviam, adv.	in the way, opposite, face to face; obviam fierī, to meet; obviam īre, to go to meet
stō, stāre, stetī, status	stand
adulēscēns, -entis, m.	youth, young man
fōrma, -ae, f.	form, appearance; beauty
pulcher, pulchra, pulchrum	beautiful
aureus, -a, -um	of gold, golden
baculum, -ī, n.	stick, wand
gerō, gerere, gessī, gestus	carry, wear; carry on, do
iam, adv.	now, already
manus, -ūs, f.	hand
corripiō, -ripere, -ripuī, -reptus	seize, snatch, snatch up
et, conj.	and; et ... et, both ... and
quō, adv.	to what place? whither? to which place, whither; for which reason, wherefore, therefore; quō ūsque, till when? how long?
ruō, -ere, -ī, -itūrus	rush
inquam, inquis, inquit, defective verb	I say, you say, he says
nōnne, adv., introducing a question to which an affirmative answer is expected	not?
sciō, -īre, -īvī, -ītus	know
hīc, adv.	here; hereupon
inclūdō, -clūdere, -clūsī, -clūsus	shut up in, inclose, imprison
amīcus, -ī, m.	friend
tuus, -a, -um	thy, thine, your
ex, ē (prep. + abl.)	out of, from; of (ē only before consonants)
hūmānus, -a, -um	of man, human
speciēs, -ēī, f.	sight, appearance, shape
porcus, -ī, m.	pig, hog, swine
convertō, -vertere, -vertī, -versus	turn round, turn, change; in fugam convertere, to put to flight
num, adv., introducing a question to which a negative answer is expected	untranslatable
volō, velle, voluī	wish
ipse, ipsa, ipsum, intensive pron.	self, himself, herself, itself, themselves; often to be rendered by very
calamitās, -tātis, f.	misfortune, calamity, disaster
veniō, venīre, vēnī, ventus	come
simul, adv.	at the same time; simul atque or ac, as soon as
atque, ac (conj.)	and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants)
vōx, vōcis, f.	voice; word
audiō, -īre, -īvī, -ītus	hear; listen or attend to
deus, -ī, m.	god
agnōscō, -gnōscere, -gnōvī, -gnitus, recognize
nūllus, -a, -um	not any, none, no
tamen, adv.	however, yet, nevertheless
precēs, -um, f. plur.	prayer, entreaty
ā, ab (prep. + abl.)	away from, from; by (ā only before consonants)
īnstituō, -stituere, -stituī, -stitūtus	decide upon, determine
cōnsilium, -ī, n.	advice; plan, design, purpose; prudence
dēterreō, -terrēre, -terruī, -territus	frighten off, deter
possum, posse, potuī	be able, have power, can
sentiō, sentīre, sēnsī, sēnsus	perceive, feel
herba, -ae, f.	herb, plant
quīdam, quaedam, quoddam, indef. pron.	a certain, certain
dō, dare, dedī, datus	give
contrā, prep, with acc.	against, contrary to
carmen, -minis, n.	song, charm
multum, adv.	much, greatly, far
valeō, -ēre, -uī, -itūrus	be strong or effectual, have effect, prevail
dīcō, dīcere, dīxī, dictus	say, speak; diem dīcere, to appoint or set a day
capiō, capere, cēpī, captus	take, catch, seize; receive, suffer; adopt
ubi, adv.	where; conj., when
tū, tuī, pers. pron.	thou, you
tangō, tangere, tetigī, tāctus	touch
stringō, stringere, strinxī, strictus	draw, unsheathe
gladius, -ī, m.	sword
impetus, -ūs, m.	attack; impetum facere, to charge
videō, vidēre, vīdī, vīsus	see; pass., seem
postquam, conj.	later than, after, when
fīnis, -is, m.	end, boundary; plur., borders, territory, country
loquor, loquī, locūtus	speak
mortālis, -e	mortal
vīsus, -ūs, m.	sight
medius, -a, -um	mid, middle
sermō, -ōnis, m.	conversation, talk, speech
relinquō, -linquere, -līquī, -lictus	leave behind, leave
procul, adv.	at or from a distance, far
tenuis, -e	thin
ēvānēscō, -vānēscere, -vānuī	vanish away
aura, -ae, f.	air, breeze

Ritchie, Fabulae Faciles: Ulysses. Latin text, notes and vocabulary: F. Ritchie, Fabulae Faciles (1903), public domain, from Project Gutenberg. Word analysis: LatinCy, then checked by hand. Grammar hints detected from the checked analysis. English: written for this app.