Lectitō › Vergil › Aeneid, Book 1
Aeneid 1.402–417
The goddess revealed
Vergil, Aeneid I. Latin text with a sentence-by-sentence English translation, notes and vocabulary.
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Read in LectitōAen. 1.402Dīxit, et āvertēns roseā cervīce refulsit,
ambrosiaeque comae dīvīnum vertice odōrem
spīrāvēre, pedēs vestis dēflūxit ad īmōs,
405et vēra incessū patuit dea.
She spoke, and as she turned away her rosy neck shone, and her ambrosial hair breathed a divine fragrance from her head; her dress flowed down to her feet, and by her walk she showed herself a true goddess.
Note. āvertēns: 'as she turned away'. ambrosiae comae: ambrosia is the food and perfume of the gods. vēra incessū patuit dea: 'by her walk she was revealed as a true goddess'; the gods were recognised by their gliding gait.
Aen. 1.405Ille ubi mātrem
adgnōvit, tālī fugientem est vōce secūtus:
Quid nātum totiēns, crūdēlis tū quoque, falsīs
lūdis imāginibus?
When he recognised his mother, he followed her as she fled with these words: 'Why do you, cruel you too, so often mock your son with false shapes?
Note. Quid: 'why?'. crūdēlis tū quoque: 'you too are cruel', i.e. like Juno. falsīs … imāginibus: ablative of means, 'with false shapes'.
Aen. 1.408Cūr dextrae iungere dextram
nōn datur, ac vērās audīre et reddere vōcēs?
Why am I not allowed to join right hand to right hand, and hear and return true words?'
Aen. 1.410Tālibus incūsat, gressumque ad moenia tendit:
at Venus obscūrō gradientēs āere saepsit,
et multō nebulae circum dea fūdit amictū,
cernere nē quis eōs, neu quis contingere posset,
mōlīrīve moram, aut veniendī poscere causās.
With such words he reproaches her and makes his way toward the walls: but Venus surrounded them as they walked with dark air, and the goddess poured around them a thick cloak of mist, so that no one could see them or touch them, or make delay, or ask the reasons for their coming.
Note. obscūrō … āere: āer here means mist or haze, as in Homer. circum … fūdit: tmesis, the compound circumfundō split in two. nē quis … neu quis: negative purpose clauses; quis after nē is indefinite. veniendī … causās: gerund in the genitive, 'the reasons for coming'.
Aen. 1.415Ipsa Paphum sublīmis abit, sēdēsque revīsit
laeta suās, ubi templum illī, centumque Sabaeō
tūre calent ārae, sertīsque recentibus hālant.
She herself goes off on high to Paphos and gladly revisits her home, where her temple is, and a hundred altars glow with Sabaean incense and breathe with fresh garlands.
Note. Paphum: Paphos on Cyprus, Venus' chief shrine. sublīmis: predicative, 'aloft'. illī: dative of possession, 'her temple'. Sabaean incense came from southern Arabia.
Vocabulary
| dīcō, dīcere, dīxī, dictus | say, speak; diem dīcere, to appoint or set a day |
| et, conj. | and; et ... et, both ... and |
| āvertō, -ere, āvertī, āversum | turn away, turn aside |
| roseus, -a, -um | rosy, pink |
| cervīx, -īcis f. | neck (often pl.) |
| refulgeō, -fulgēre, -fulsī | flash back, shine |
| ambrosius, -a, -um | ambrosial, divinely fragrant |
| que, enclitic conj. | and |
| coma, -ae f. | hair, a head of hair; foliage |
| dīvīnus, -a, -um | divine, of the gods |
| vertex, -icis m. | top of the head, crown; summit |
| odor, -ōris, m. | smell, odor |
| spīrō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | breathe; (of wind) blow |
| pēs, pedis, m. | foot |
| vestis, -is, f. | clothing, dress, robe |
| dēfluō, -ere, -flūxī | flow down, fall down |
| ad, prep. with acc. | to, toward; at, near; for |
| īmus, -a, -um | lowest (ab īmō: from the bottom) |
| vērus, -a, -um | true; rē vērā, in truth, in fact |
| incessus, -ūs m. | walk, gait |
| pateō, -ēre, -uī | lie open; extend, stretch |
| dea, -ae f. | goddess |
| ille, illa, illud, dem. pron. | that; he, she, it, they; ille ... hīc, see hīc |
| ubi, adv. | where; conj., when |
| māter, mātris, f. | mother |
| agnōscō, -gnōscere, -gnōvī, -gnitus, recognize | |
| tālis, -e | such |
| fugiō, fugere, fūgī, fugitūrus | flee, run away |
| sum, esse, fuī, futūrus | be |
| vōx, vōcis, f. | voice; word |
| sequor, sequī, secūtus | follow |
| quis, quid, interrog. pron. | who? which? what? |
| nātus, -ī m. | son; (pl.) children |
| totiēns (adv.) | so often, so many times |
| crūdēlis, -e | cruel |
| tū, tuī, pers. pron. | thou, you |
| quoque, adv. | also |
| falsus, -a, -um | feigned, pretended, false |
| lūdō, -ere, lūsī, lūsum | play; mock, deceive |
| imāgō, -inis f. | likeness, image, portrait |
| cūr, adv. | why |
| dextra, -ae, f. | right hand (manus understood) |
| iungō, iungere, iūnxī, iūnctus | join; yoke, harness |
| nōn, adv. | not |
| dō, dare, dedī, datus | give |
| atque, ac (conj.) | and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants) |
| audiō, -īre, -īvī, -ītus | hear; listen or attend to |
| reddō, -dere, -didī, -ditus | give back, return, restore; render |
| incūsō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum | blame, rebuke |
| gressus, -ūs m. | step, pace; course |
| moenia, -ium, n. plur. | walls |
| tendō, -ere, tetendī, tentum | stretch out; hold out |
| at, conj. | but |
| obscūrus, -a, -um | dark |
| gradior, gradī, gressus sum | step, walk, go |
| āēr, āeris, m. | air |
| saepiō, -īre, saepsī, saeptus | fence in, enclose; protect |
| multus, -a, -um | much, great; plur., many |
| nebula, -ae f. | mist, cloud |
| circum, prep. with acc. | around |
| fundō, -ere, fūdī, fūsum | pour; rout, scatter (an enemy) |
| amictus, -ūs m. | cloak, wrap, garment |
| cernō, cernere, crēvī, certus or crētus | discern, perceive, make out |
| nē, adv. | not; nē ... quidem, not ... even; conj., that not, lest |
| quis, qua, quid, indef. pron. | any one, anybody, anything, some one, somebody, something |
| is, ea, id, dem. pron. | this, that; he, she, it, they |
| nēve or neu, conj. | and that not, and not, nor |
| contingō, -ere, -tigī, -tāctum | touch, reach |
| possum, posse, potuī | be able, have power, can |
| mōlior, -īrī, -ītus sum | work at, contrive, plot |
| mora, -ae, f. | delay |
| aut, conj. | or; aut ... aut, either ... or |
| veniō, venīre, vēnī, ventus | come |
| poscō, poscere, poposcī | ask, demand |
| causa, -ae, f. | cause, reason; abl. causā, for the sake of |
| ipse, ipsa, ipsum, intensive pron. | self, himself, herself, itself, themselves; often to be rendered by very |
| sublīmis, -e | high, lofty; in sublīme: up on high |
| abeō, -īre, -iī, -itūrus | go away, depart |
| sēdēs, -is, f. | seat, abode |
| revīsō, -ere | go back to see, revisit |
| laetus, -a, -um | glad, joyful |
| suus, -a, -um | his, her, its, or their own; his, her, its, their |
| templum, -ī, n. | sanctuary, temple |
| centum, indecl. adj. | one hundred |
| Sabaeus, -a, -um | Sabaean, of Saba in southern Arabia, the land of incense |
| tūs, tūris n. | incense |
| caleō, -ēre, -uī | be warm, be hot |
| āra, -ae, f. | altar |
| sertum, -ī n. (usu. pl. serta) | garland, wreath of flowers |
| recēns, -entis | recent, fresh |
| hālō, -āre | breathe out; be fragrant |