Ritchies Fabulae Faciles | Page 3

of all the works mentioned above may be obtained of the Soule Art Company, Boston. The list might have been made much longer, but it seemed likely to prove most helpful if limited to works of which reproductions are so easily obtainable. For the treatment of the myths in ancient art, the teacher is referred to the numerous pertinent illustrations in Baumeister's _Denkm?ler des klassischen Altertums_, or the same editor's _Bilder aus dem griechischen und r?mischen Altertum für Schüler_, the latter of which contains the cuts of the larger work, and is so cheap and so useful that it ought to lie on the desk of every teacher of Greek or Latin.

INTRODUCTORY NOTE
The Fabulae Faciles, or 'Easy Stories.' are four Greek myths retold in Latin, not by a Roman writer, however, but by an Englishman, who believed that they would afford interesting and pleasant reading for young folks who were just beginning the study of the Latin language. By myth is meant an imaginative tale that has been handed down by tradition from remote antiquity concerning supernatural beings and events. Such tales are common among all primitive peoples, and are by them accepted as true. They owe their origin to no single author, but grow up as the untutored imagination strives to explain to itself the operations of nature and the mysteries of life, or amuses itself with stories of the brave exploits of heroic ancestors.
The most beautiful and delightful of all myths are those that have come down to us in the remains of the literature and the art of ancient Greece and Rome; they are also the most important to us, for many of the great masterpieces of English literature and of modern art have been inspired by them and cannot be understood and appreciated by one ignorant of classical mythology.
Of this mythology the Fabulae Faciles give but a small part. If you wish to know more of the subject, you should read Gayley's The Classic Myths in English Literature, Guerber's Myths of Greece and Rome, or the books by Kingsiey, Cox, Church, and Francillon mentioned earlier.

PERSEUS
_Acrisius, an ancient king of Argos, had been warned by an oracle that he should perish by the hand of his grandson. On discovering, therefore, that his daughter Danae had given birth to a son, Acrisius endeavored to escape his fate by setting both mother and child adrift on the sea. They were saved, however, by the help of Jupiter; and Perseus, the child, grew up at the court of Polydectes, king of Seriphos, an island in the Aegean Sea. On reaching manhood, Perseus was sent by Polydectes to fetch the head of Medusa, one of the Gorgons. This dangerous task he accomplished with the help of Apollo and Minerva, and on his way home he rescued Andromeda, daughter of Cepheus, from a sea-monster. Perseus then married Andromeda, and lived some time in the country of Cepheus. At length he returned to Seríphos, and turned Polydectes to stone by showing him the Gorgon's head; he then went to the court of Acrisius, who fled in terror at the news of his grandson's return. The oracle was duly fulfilled, for Acrisius was accidentally killed by a quoit thrown by Perseus_.
1. THE ARK Haec nárrantur á poétís dé Perseó. Perseus fílius erat Iovis, máximí deórum; avus éius Acrisius appellábátur. Acrisius volébat Perseum nepótem suum necáre; nam propter óráculum puerum timébat. Comprehendit igitur Perseum adhúc infantem, et cum mátre in arcá lígneá inclúsit. Tum arcam ipsam in mare coniécit. Danaé, Perseí máter, mágnopere territa est; tempestás enim mágna mare turbábat. Perseus autem in sinú mátris dormiébat.
2. JUPITER SAVES HIS SON Iuppiter tamen haec omnia vídit, et fílium suum serváre cónstituit. Tranquillum igitur fécit mare, et arcam ad ínsulam Seríphum perdúxit. Húius ínsulae Polydectés tum réx erat. Postquam arca ad lítus appulsa est, Danaé in haréná quiétem capiébat. Post breve tempus á piscátóre quódam reperta est, et ad domum régis Polydectis adducta est. Ille mátrem et puerum benígné excépit, et iís sédem tútam in fínibus suís dedit. Danaé hóc dónum libenter accépit, et pró tantó benefició régí grátiás égit.
3. PERSEUS IS SENT ON HIS TRAVELS Perseus igitur multós annós ibi habitábat, et cum mátre suá vítam beátam agébat. At Polydectés Danaén mágnopere amábat, atque eam in mátrimónium dúcere volébat. Hóc tamen cónsilium Perseó minimé grátum erat. Polydectés igitur Perseum dímittere cónstituit. Tum iuvenem ad sé vocávit et haec díxit: "Turpe est hanc ígnávam vítam agere; iam dúdum tú aduléscéns es. Quó úsque híc manébis? Tempus est arma capere et virtútem praestáre. Hinc abí, et caput Medúsae mihi refer."
4. PERSEUS GETS HIS OUTFIT Perseus ubi haec audívit, ex ínsulá discessit, et postquam ad continentem vénit, Medúsam quaesívit. Diú frústrá quaerébat; namque nátúram locí ígnórábat. Tandem Apolló et Minerva viam démónstrávérunt. Prímum ad Graeás, sorórés Medúsae, pervénit. Ab