Lectitō › Vergil › Aeneid, Book 1
Aeneid 1.34–49
Juno sees the Trojans sailing
Vergil, Aeneid I. Latin text with a sentence-by-sentence English translation, notes and vocabulary.
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Read in LectitōAen. 1.34Vix ē cōnspectū Siculae tellūris in altum
35vēla dabant laetī, et spūmās salis aere ruēbant,
cum Iūnō, aeternum servāns sub pectore volnus,
haec sēcum: Mēne inceptō dēsistere victam,
nec posse Ītaliā Teucrōrum āvertere rēgem?
Scarcely out of sight of the Sicilian land, they were happily setting their sails for the open sea and churning the foam of the salt water with their bronze prows, when Juno, nursing an everlasting wound deep in her breast, said to herself: 'Am I to give up what I have begun, defeated, and be unable to turn the king of the Teucrians away from Italy?
Note. The narrative begins in the middle of things (in mediās rēs), seven years after Troy. vēla dabant: 'were setting sail'. aere: 'with bronze', the bronze-sheathed prows. servāns sub pectore volnus: volnus is the older spelling of vulnus. haec sēcum: supply dīcit. Mēne … dēsistere: an exclamatory infinitive with the accusative, expressing indignation: 'Am I to give up?' Ītaliā: ablative of separation. Teucrōrum: the Teucrians, i.e. Trojans.
Aen. 1.39Quippe vetor fātīs.
Of course, the fates forbid me.
Note. Quippe: sarcastic, 'of course'. vetor fātīs: 'I am forbidden by the fates'.
Aen. 1.39Pallasne exūrere classem
40Argīvum atque ipsōs potuit submergere pontō,
ūnīus ob noxam et furiās Aiācis Oīleī?
Was Pallas able to burn the Argive fleet and drown the men themselves in the sea, for the guilt and frenzy of one man, Ajax son of Oileus?
Note. Pallasne: -ne asks an indignant question. Juno contrasts herself with Minerva (Pallas), who destroyed the Greek fleet returning from Troy because Ajax son of Oileus had dragged Cassandra from her temple. Argīvum = Argīvōrum. ūnīus ob noxam: 'because of the guilt of one man'. Oīleī: genitive of Oīleus; the ending -eī counts as one syllable in the line (synizesis).
Aen. 1.42Ipsa, Iovis rapidum iaculāta ē nūbibus ignem,
disiēcitque ratēs ēvertitque aequora ventīs,
illum expīrantem trānsfīxō pectore flammās
45turbine corripuit scopulōque īnfīxit acūtō.
She herself hurled Jupiter's swift fire from the clouds, scattered the ships and churned the waters with winds, and him, as he breathed out flames from his pierced chest, she caught up in a whirlwind and impaled on a sharp rock.
Note. Ipsa: Minerva herself. Iovis … ignem: Jupiter's thunderbolt. disiēcitque … ēvertitque: the -que … -que pattern again. illum: Ajax. expīrantem … flammās: 'breathing out flames' from the chest pierced by the bolt. turbine: 'in a whirlwind'.
Aen. 1.46Ast ego, quae dīvom incēdō rēgīna, Iovisque
et soror et coniūnx, ūnā cum gente tot annōs
bella gerō!
But I, who walk as queen of the gods, both sister and wife of Jupiter, wage war for so many years against a single people!
Note. Ast: an old word for 'but', suiting the solemn tone. dīvom = dīvōrum. incēdō: 'walk in state', a stately verb. et soror et coniūnx: Juno was both Jupiter's sister and his wife. ūnā cum gente: 'with one people', the Trojans.
Aen. 1.48Et quisquam nūmen Iūnōnis adōret
praetereā, aut supplex ārīs impōnet honōrem?
And will anyone worship Juno's power after this, or lay an offering on her altars as a suppliant?'
Note. adōret … impōnet: a deliberative subjunctive followed by an indignant future: 'Is anyone to worship … or will anyone place?' The line closes the speech on Juno's wounded pride.
Vocabulary
| vix, adv. | with difficulty, scarcely, hardly, barely |
| ex, ē (prep. + abl.) | out of, from; of (ē only before consonants) |
| cōnspectus, -ūs, m. | sight |
| Siculus, -a, -um | Sicilian; fretum Siculum: the strait of Messina |
| tellūs, -ūris f. | earth, land (poetic) |
| in, prep. with acc. and abl. | with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on |
| altum, -ī n. | the deep, the open sea; a height |
| vēlum, -ī n. | sail |
| dō, dare, dedī, datus | give |
| laetus, -a, -um | glad, joyful |
| et, conj. | and; et ... et, both ... and |
| spūma, -ae f. | foam |
| sāl, salis, m. | salt |
| aes, aeris, n. | copper, bronze |
| ruō, -ere, -ī, -itūrus | rush |
| cum, conj. | when, while, after; since; although |
| aeternus, -a, -um | everlasting, eternal |
| servō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | save, preserve |
| sub, prep. with acc. and abl. | under; sub vesperum, towards evening |
| pectus, pectoris, n. | breast |
| vulnus, vulneris, n. | wound |
| hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron. | this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter |
| suī, sibi, sē or sēsē, reflexive pron. | himself, herself, itself, themselves |
| ego, meī, pers. pron. | I |
| inceptum, -ī n. | beginning, attempt, undertaking |
| dēsistō, -sistere, -stitī, -stitus | set down; leave off, desist, cease, stop |
| vincō, -ere, vīcī, victum | conquer, defeat |
| neque or nec, conj. | and not, nor; neque ... neque, neither ... nor; neque enim, for ... not |
| possum, posse, potuī | be able, have power, can |
| āvertō, -ere, āvertī, āversum | turn away, turn aside |
| rēx, rēgis, m. | king |
| quippe (adv.) | of course, indeed, for |
| vetō, -āre, vetuī, vetitum | forbid |
| fātum, -ī, n. | destiny, fate |
| exūrō, -ere, -ussī, -ustum | burn down |
| classis, -is f. | fleet |
| atque, ac (conj.) | and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants) |
| ipse, ipsa, ipsum, intensive pron. | self, himself, herself, itself, themselves; often to be rendered by very |
| submergō, -mergere, -mersī, -mersus | plunge under, sink, overwhelm |
| ūnus, -a, -um | one; only, alone |
| ob, prep. with acc. | on account of, for; in compounds, to, against |
| noxa, -ae f. | harm, injury; guilt, offence |
| furia, -ae f. (mostly pl.) | rage, madness; the Furies, avenging spirits |
| rapidus, -a, -um | swift; consuming, fierce |
| iaculor, -ārī, -ātus sum | throw, hurl |
| nūbēs, -is, f. | cloud |
| ignis, -is, m. | fire |
| disiciō, -icere, -iēcī, -iectus | throw apart, scatter |
| que, enclitic conj. | and |
| ratis, -is f. | raft |
| ēvertō, -vertere, -vertī, -versus | overturn, overthrow, destroy |
| aequor, -oris n. | level surface; the sea |
| ventus, -ī, m. | wind |
| ille, illa, illud, dem. pron. | that; he, she, it, they; ille ... hīc, see hīc |
| exspīrō, -spīrāre, -spīrāvī, -spīrātus | breathe out |
| trānsfīgō, -fīgere, -fīxī, -fīxus | thrust or pierce through, transfix |
| flamma, -ae, f. | flame |
| turbō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | confuse, throw into disorder, disturb, trouble |
| corripiō, -ripere, -ripuī, -reptus | seize, snatch, snatch up |
| scopulus, -ī m. | rock, crag, reef |
| īnfīgō, -ere, -fīxī, -fīxus | fix in, drive in |
| acūtus, -a, -um | sharp, pointed |
| ast (conj.) | but (older form of at) |
| quī, quae, quod, rel. pron. | who, which |
| dīvus, -ī m. (gen. pl. also dīvum, dīvom) | god |
| incēdō, -ere, -cessī, -cessum | walk, step, advance |
| rēgīna, -ae, f. | queen |
| soror, -ōris, f. | sister |
| coniūnx, -iugis f. | wife (also m., husband) |
| ūnā | together, along |
| cum, prep, with abl. | with |
| gēns, gentis, f. | race, nation |
| tot (indecl.) | so many |
| annus, -ī, m. | year |
| bellum, -ī, n. | war |
| gerō, gerere, gessī, gestus | carry, wear; carry on, do |
| quisquam, quicquam, indef. pron. | any one, anything |
| nūmen, -inis n. | divine power, divinity |
| adōrō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | worship, bow down to; entreat |
| praetereā, adv. | besides this, besides, moreover |
| aut, conj. | or; aut ... aut, either ... or |
| supplex, -icis | begging, as a suppliant |
| āra, -ae, f. | altar |
| impōnō, -pōnere, -posuī, -positus | place or lay upon, impose; embark |
| honor, -ōris, m. | honor |