Aeneid 1.208–222

Aen. 1.208Tālia vōce refert, cūrīsque ingentibus aeger
spem voltū simulat, premit altum corde dolōrem.

So he speaks, and sick with great cares he puts on a look of hope, and keeps his pain pressed deep in his heart.

Note. The famous contrast between Aeneas' public face and private feelings. cūrīs … aeger: 'sick with cares'. spem voltū simulat: 'he pretends hope with his face'. premit altum corde dolōrem: 'he presses his pain deep in his heart'.

Aen. 1.210Illī sē praedae accingunt, dapibusque futūrīs;

They make ready the game and the feast to come;

Note. sē … accingunt: 'gird themselves for', i.e. get busy with. praedae dapibusque futūrīs: datives, 'for the game and the feast to come'.

Aen. 1.211tergora dēripiunt costīs et viscera nūdant;

they strip the hides from the ribs and lay the flesh bare;

Note. tergora: 'hides'. costīs: ablative of separation, 'from the ribs'. viscera: 'the flesh', everything under the skin.

Aen. 1.212pars in frusta secant veribusque trementia fīgunt;

some cut it into pieces and fix them, still quivering, on spits;

Note. pars … secant: a collective noun with a plural verb. trementia: 'still quivering'.

Aen. 1.213lītore aēna locant aliī, flammāsque ministrant.

others set out cauldrons on the shore and tend the fires.

Note. aēna: bronze cauldrons for boiling water. aliī: 'others'.

Aen. 1.214Tum vīctū revocant vīrēs, fūsīque per herbam
215implentur veteris Bacchī pinguisque ferīnae.

Then they restore their strength with food and, stretched out on the grass, fill themselves with old wine and rich venison.

Note. vīctū: 'with food', ablative of vīctus. fūsī per herbam: 'stretched out on the grass'. implentur … Bacchī … ferīnae: impleō takes a genitive, 'they fill themselves with wine and venison'; Bacchus stands for wine.

Aen. 1.216Postquam exēmpta famēs epulīs mēnsaeque remōtae,
āmissōs longō sociōs sermōne requīrunt,
spemque metumque inter dubiī, seu vīvere crēdant,
sīve extrēma patī nec iam exaudīre vocātōs.

When their hunger was satisfied by the meal and the tables removed, they talk at length of their lost companions, torn between hope and fear, unsure whether to believe them alive or already suffering the end and no longer able to hear when called.

Note. Postquam exēmpta (est) famēs … mēnsaeque remōtae (sunt): the formula for the end of a Homeric meal; mēnsae, 'tables', means the meal. longō … sermōne requīrunt: 'they ask after (them) in long talk'. spemque metumque inter: inter placed after its nouns. seu … crēdant … sīve: indirect question, 'whether they should believe … or'. extrēma patī: 'were suffering the end', i.e. dead. nec iam exaudīre vocātōs: the dead could no longer hear when called by name, as at a Roman funeral.

Aen. 1.220Praecipuē pius Aenēās nunc ācris Orontī,
nunc Amycī cāsum gemit et crūdēlia sēcum
fāta Lycī, fortemque Gyān, fortemque Cloanthum.

Above all dutiful Aeneas mourns to himself now the fate of fierce Orontes, now that of Amycus, and the cruel deaths of Lycus, brave Gyas and brave Cloanthus.

Note. pius Aenēās: Aeneas' standing epithet appears for the first time as he mourns his men. ācris Orontī: Orontī is a genitive of Orontēs. sēcum: 'to himself', alone. Gyān: Greek accusative of Gyās. The last line names the lost captains (Gyas and Cloanthus will in fact reappear safe).