Aeneid 1.254–271

Aen. 1.254Ollī subrīdēns hominum sator atque deōrum,
255voltū, quō caelum tempestātēsque serēnat,
ōscula lībāvit nātae, dehinc tālia fātur:
Parce metū, Cytherēa: manent immōta tuōrum
fāta tibi;

Smiling at her with the face with which he clears the sky and the storms, the father of men and gods kissed his daughter lightly, then speaks these words: 'Spare your fear, Cytherea: the fates of your people stay unmoved for you;

Note. Ollī is an archaic form of illī (dative): Vergil uses it for solemnity. hominum sator atque deōrum is a formula borrowed from Ennius. ōscula lībāvit nātae: 'he lightly touched his daughter's lips'; lībāre, 'to pour a libation', also means 'to touch lightly'. Parce metū: metū is a contracted dative (= metuī) with parcō, 'spare your fear'.

Aen. 1.258cernēs urbem et prōmissa Lāvīnī
moenia, sublīmemque ferēs ad sīdera caelī
260magnanimum Aenēān;

you will see the city and the promised walls of Lavinium, and you will carry great-hearted Aeneas up on high to the stars of heaven;

Note. Lāvīnī: Lavinium, the town Aeneas will found in Latium. Jupiter promises Aeneas' deification: sublīmem … ad sīdera caelī ferēs.

Aen. 1.260neque mē sententia vertit.

no thought has turned me.

Aen. 1.261Hic tibi (fābor enim, quandō haec tē cūra remordet,
longius et volvēns fātōrum arcāna movēbō)
bellum ingēns geret Ītaliā, populōsque ferōcēs
contundet, mōrēsque virīs et moenia pōnet,
265tertia dum Latiō regnantem vīderit aestās,
ternaque trānsierint Rutulīs hīberna subāctīs.

This son of yours (for I will speak, since this care gnaws at you, and unrolling the secrets of the fates further I will set them in motion) will wage a great war in Italy, crush fierce peoples, and set up customs and walls for his men, until the third summer has seen him reigning in Latium and three winters have passed in camp since the Rutulians were subdued.

Note. The parenthesis (fābor enim … movēbō) delays the main clause: Hic … bellum ingēns geret Ītaliā. dum … vīderit … trānsierint: future perfects in a 'until' clause. Note the precise time-scheme Jupiter sets out: Aeneas three years, Ascanius thirty, the Alban kings three hundred.

Aen. 1.267At puer Ascanius, cui nunc cognōmen Iūlō
additur,— Īlus erat, dum rēs stetit Īlia regnō,—
trīgintā magnōs volvendīs mēnsibus orbīs
270imperiō explēbit, regnumque ab sēde Lāvīnī
trānsferet, et longam multā vī mūniet Albam.

But the boy Ascanius, who now gets the surname Iulus (he was Ilus while the state of Ilium stood in its kingdom), will fill thirty great circles of rolling months with his rule, will move the kingdom from its seat at Lavinium, and will fortify Alba Longa with great strength.

Note. cui … cognōmen Iūlō additur: Iūlō is dative by attraction to cui ('to whom the surname Iulus is given'). The parenthesis explains the name: he was called Ilus while Ilium stood. The Julian family, Caesar's and Augustus', claimed descent from this Iulus. volvendīs mēnsibus: a gerundive used like a present participle, 'with the months rolling round'.