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'cruelest man,' but 'most cruel man.' The superlative is often thus used to denote simply a high degree of the quality.
cónsuéverat. Inceptive verbs end in _scó_ and denote the beginning of an action or state. The perfect and pluperfect of such verbs often represent the state of things resulting from the completion of the action, and are then to be translated as present and imperfect respectively. So _cónsuéscó_ = 'I am becoming accustomed,' _cónsuéví_ = 'I have become accustomed' or 'am accustomed,' _cónsuéveram_ = 'I had become accustomed' or 'was accustomed.'
11. sacrifició, 'for the sacrifice,' dative of purpose.
ea. Why is diés feminine here? See the note on certam, 5, 13.
12. omnia. See the note on 5, 13.
15. capitibus, dative of indirect object after the compound verb _(in + pónó)_.
16. iam. The omission of the conjunction that would naturally join this clause with the preceding, and the repetition of iam, which thus in a way connects the two clauses, reflect the imminence of the danger and heighten our anxiety for the hero. Observe too how the tenses of the verbs contribute to the vividness of the picture. We see Hercules at the altar and the priest, knife in hand, about to give the fatal blow.
18. alteró. Supply _íctú_.
19. Thébís, locative case. Notice that some names of towns are plural in form.
21. Thébánís, dative with the adjective fínitimí.
autem, 'now.'
22. Thébás. Names of towns are used without a preposition to express the place to which.
23. veniébant, postulábant, imperfect of customary action.
25. cívís suós, 'his fellow-citizens.' Compare 5, 10.
hóc stípendió, ablative of separation.
27. atque. This conjunction adds an important s