23 Third Labour: The Cerynean Stag (primer)
Postquam mors Hydrae nuntiata est Eurystheo
After the death of the Hydra was reported to Eurystheus
magnus timor occupavit animum eius.
a great fear seized the mind of him.
igitur iussit Herculem re-ferre ad se quendam cervum :
Therefore he ordered Hercules to bring back to himself a certain stag:
enim noluit re-tinere in urbe virum tam audacem.
for he was unwilling to keep in the city a man so bold.
Autem hic cervus,
Now this stag,
cuius cornua traduntur fuisse aurea,
of which the horns are said to have been made of gold,
fuit incredibili celeritate.
was with incredibile speed .
Hercules igitur primo persequebatur eum in silva vestigiis;
Hercules therefore at first followed it in the wood by its footprints;
deinde, ubi vidit cervum ipsum, coepit currere omnibus viribus.
then, when he saw the stag itself, he began to run with all his strength.
Currebat usque ad vesperum,
He was running all the way up to evening,
neque relinquebat nocturnum tempus sibi ad quietem; f
and not he was leaving the night time for himself towards rest.
frustra tamen, enim nullo modo poterat consequi cervum.
In vain however, for in no way was he able to overtake the stag.
Tandem postquam cucurrerat totum annum (ita traditur),
Finally, after he had run for a whole year ( so it is said),
cepit cervum confectum cursu,
he caught the stag exhausted by running,
et tulit vivum ad Eurystheum.
and took it alive to Eurytheus