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 f��r Sch��ler_, 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 Ser��phos, 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 n��rrantur �� po��t��s d�� Perse��. Perseus f��lius erat Iovis, m��xim�� de��rum; avus ��ius Acrisius appell��b��tur. Acrisius vol��bat Perseum nep��tem suum nec��re; nam propter ��r��culum puerum tim��bat. Comprehendit igitur Perseum adh��c infantem, et cum m��tre in arc�� l��gne�� incl��sit. Tum arcam ipsam in mare coni��cit. Dana��, Perse�� m��ter, m��gnopere territa est; tempest��s enim m��gna mare turb��bat. Perseus autem in sin�� m��tris dormi��bat.
2. JUPITER SAVES HIS SON Iuppiter tamen haec omnia v��dit, et f��lium suum serv��re c��nstituit. Tranquillum igitur f��cit mare, et arcam ad ��nsulam Ser��phum perd��xit. H��ius ��nsulae Polydect��s tum r��x erat. Postquam arca ad l��tus appulsa est, Dana�� in har��n�� qui��tem capi��bat. Post breve tempus �� pisc��t��re qu��dam reperta est, et ad domum r��gis Polydectis adducta est. Ille m��trem et puerum ben��gn�� exc��pit, et i��s s��dem t��tam in f��nibus su��s dedit. Dana�� h��c d��num libenter acc��pit, et pr�� tant�� benefici�� r��g�� gr��ti��s ��git.
3. PERSEUS IS SENT ON HIS TRAVELS Perseus igitur mult��s ann��s ibi habit��bat, et cum m��tre su�� v��tam be��tam ag��bat. At Polydect��s Dana��n m��gnopere am��bat, atque eam in m��trim��nium d��cere vol��bat. H��c tamen c��nsilium Perse�� minim�� gr��tum erat. Polydect��s igitur Perseum d��mittere c��nstituit. Tum iuvenem ad s�� voc��vit et haec d��xit: "Turpe est hanc ��gn��vam v��tam agere; iam d��dum t�� adul��sc��ns es. Qu�� ��sque h��c man��bis? Tempus est arma capere et virt��tem praest��re. Hinc ab��, et caput Med��sae mihi refer."
4. PERSEUS GETS HIS OUTFIT Perseus ubi haec aud��vit, ex ��nsul�� discessit, et postquam ad continentem v��nit, Med��sam quaes��vit. Di�� fr��str�� quaer��bat; namque n��t��ram loc�� ��gn��r��bat. Tandem Apoll�� et Minerva viam d��m��nstr��v��runt. Pr��mum ad Grae��s, sor��r��s Med��sae, perv��nit. Ab