Ritchies Fabulae Faciles | Page 3

da Bologna, Hercules and the Centaur.
Bandinelli, Hercules and Cacus. Guido Reni, Dejanira and the Centaur
Nessus. Canova, Hercules and Lichas. Sichel, Medea. Genelli, Jason
and Medea capturing the Golden Fleece. Burne-Jones, Circe. L.
Chalon, Circe and the Companions of Ulysses. Rivière, Circe and the
Companions of Ulysses.
Photographs and lantern-slides 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 _Denkmäler des
klassischen Altertums_, or the same editor's _Bilder aus dem
griechischen und römischen 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