READ OUT LOUD. Choose which marked text you prefer to practice with - macrons in verse form, or macrons in prose order, or accent marks in prose order, or focusing on the iambic meter. You will find materials for all of these options below. :-)
VERSE MACRONS. Here is the verse text with macrons:
Opēs invīsae meritō sunt fortī virō,
quia dīves ārca vēram laudem intercipit.
Caelō receptus propter virtūtem Herculēs,
cum grātulantēs persalūtāsset deōs,
veniente Plūtō, quī Fōrtūnae est fīlius,
āvertit oculōs. Causam quaesīvit Pater.
"Ōdī" inquit "illum quia malīs amīcus est
simulque obiectō cūncta corrumpit lucrō."
PROSE MACRONS. Here is the same text with macrons written out in prose word order:
Meritō opēs virō fortī invīsae sunt, quia ārca dīves laudem vēram intercipit. Herculēs, caelō receptus propter virtūtem, cum deōs grātulantēs persalūtāsset, Plūtō veniente, quī fīlius Fōrtūnae est, oculōs āvertit. Pater causam quaesīvit. Inquit: "Illum ōdī, quia amīcus malīs est et simul cūncta corrumpit, lucrō obiectō."
STRESS (ACCENT) MARKS. Here is the prose text with accents, plus some color-coding for the words of three or more syllables (blue: penultimate stress; red: antepenultimate stress):
Mérito opes viro forti invísae sunt, quia arca dives laudem veram intércipit. Hércules, caelo recéptus propter virtútem, cum deos gratulántes persalutásset, Pluto veniénte, qui fílius Fortúnae est, óculos avértit. Pater causam quaesívit. Inquit: "Illum odi, quia amícus malis est et simul cuncta corrúmpit, lucro obiécto."
IAMBIC METER. Here is the verse text with some color coding to assist in the iambic meter. The disyllabic elements (iambs/spondees) are not marked, but the trisyllabic elements are color-coded: dactyls are red, anapests are purple, and tribrachs are green (as is any proceleusmaticus, although that is a rare creature); for more information, here are some Notes on Iambic Meter.
Opēs· invī·sae meri·tō sunt· fortī· virō,
quia dī·ves ār·ca vē·ram lau·d~ inter·cipit.
Caelō· recep·tus prop·ter vir·tūt~ Her·culēs,
cum grā·tulan·tēs per·salū·tāsset· deōs,
venien·te Plū·tō, quī· Fōrtū·n~ est fī·lius,
āver·tit ocu·lōs. Cau·sam quae·sīvit· Pater.
"Ōd~" in·quit "il·lum quia· malīs· amī·cus est
simul·qu~ obiec·tō cūnc·ta cor·rumpit· lucrō."
IMAGE. Here is an illustration for the story (image source), showing a gilded bronze statue of Hercules:
What follows is an unmarked version of the prose rendering to faciliate word searches:
Merito opes viro forti invisae sunt, quia arca dives laudem veram intercipit. Hercules, caelo receptus propter virtutem, cum deos gratulantes persalutasset, Pluto veniente, qui filius Fortunae est, oculos avertit. Pater causam quaesivit. Inquit: "Illum odi, quia amicus malis est et simul cuncta corrumpit, lucro obiecto."
