Aeneid 1.613–642

Aen. 1.613Obstipuit prīmō aspectū Sīdōnia Dīdō,
cāsū deinde virī tantō, et sīc ōre locūta est:
615Quis tē, nāte dea, per tanta perīcula cāsus
īnsequitur?

Sidonian Dido was struck dumb, first at the sight of him, then at the man's great misfortune, and she spoke like this: 'What fate pursues you, son of a goddess, through such great dangers?

Note. Obstipuit: 'was amazed'. cāsū … tantō: 'at his great misfortune'. Quis … cāsus: interrogative adjective in front of its noun.

Aen. 1.616Quae vīs immānibus applicat ōrīs?

What force drives you to these savage shores?

Note. immānibus … ōrīs: 'to these savage shores', dative of direction.

Aen. 1.617Tūne ille Aenēās, quem Dardaniō Anchīsae
alma Venus Phrygiī genuit Simoentis ad undam?

Are you that Aeneas whom kindly Venus bore to Dardanian Anchises by the waters of Phrygian Simois?

Note. Tūne: 'are you …?', with the question particle -ne. Anchīsae: dative. Simoentis: the river Simois near Troy, where Venus is said to have borne Aeneas to Anchises.

Aen. 1.619Atque equidem Teucrum meminī Sīdōna venīre
620fīnibus expulsum patriīs, nova regna petentem
auxiliō Bēlī;

And indeed I remember Teucer coming to Sidon, driven from his native land, seeking a new kingdom with the help of Belus;

Note. Teucer, son of Telamon and brother of Ajax, was banished from Salamis by his father after the war and founded Salamis on Cyprus. Sīdōna: Greek accusative. memini … venīre: memini with a present infinitive for something one witnessed.

Aen. 1.621genitor tum Bēlus opīmam
vāstābat Cyprum, et victor diciōne tenēbat.

my father Belus was then laying waste rich Cyprus and held it under his rule as victor.

Note. Bēlus: Dido's father, king of Tyre, who had conquered Cyprus.

Aen. 1.623Tempore iam ex illō cāsus mihi cognitus urbis
Trōiānae nōmenque tuum rēgēsque Pelasgī.

From that time on the fall of the Trojan city has been known to me, and your name, and the Greek kings.

Note. cognitus (est) … nōmen … rēgēsque: a singular verb agreeing with the nearest subject. Pelasgī: 'Greek' (the Pelasgians were early inhabitants of Greece).

Aen. 1.625Ipse hostis Teucrōs īnsignī laude ferēbat,
sēque ortum antīquā Teucrōrum ab stirpe volēbat.

Teucer himself, though an enemy, used to praise the Teucrians with remarkable praise, and he claimed that he was descended from the ancient stock of the Teucrians.

Note. Ipse hostis: Teucer, though he fought against Troy. sē … ortum … volēbat: 'he claimed that he was descended'. Through his mother Hesione, a Trojan princess, Teucer had Trojan blood.

Aen. 1.627Quārē agite, Ō tēctīs, iuvenēs, succēdite nostrīs.

So come, young men, enter our house.

Note. tēctīs … succēdite nostrīs: 'come under our roofs'; succēdō with the dative.

Aen. 1.628Mē quoque per multōs similis fortūna labōrēs
iactātam hāc dēmum voluit cōnsistere terrā.

A fortune like yours drove me too through many hardships, and has at last chosen to let me settle in this land.

Note. similis fortūna: Dido too was an exile, fleeing her brother Pygmalion, who murdered her husband Sychaeus.

Aen. 1.630Nōn ignāra malī, miserīs succurrere discō.

Not unacquainted with suffering, I am learning to help the unfortunate.'

Note. Nōn ignāra malī: litotes (understatement), 'well acquainted with suffering'. This line is one of the most quoted in Vergil.

Aen. 1.631Sīc memorat;

So she speaks;

Aen. 1.631simul Aenēān in rēgia dūcit
tēcta, simul dīvom templīs indīcit honōrem.

at the same time she leads Aeneas into the royal palace, and at the same time she proclaims an offering in the temples of the gods.

Note. indīcit honōrem: 'proclaims a sacrifice'. dīvom: genitive plural (= dīvōrum).

Aen. 1.633Nec minus intereā sociīs ad lītora mittit
vīgintī taurōs, magnōrum horrentia centum
635terga suum, pinguīs centum cum mātribus agnōs,
mūnera laetitiamque diī.

No less meanwhile does she send to his comrades on the shore twenty bulls, a hundred great bristling backs of pigs, a hundred fat lambs with their mothers, gifts and gladness for the day.

Note. suum: genitive plural of sūs, 'of pigs'. dī: an old genitive of diēs ('of the day'), though many editions read deī, 'of the god', i.e. Bacchus' gift of wine.

Aen. 1.637At domus interior rēgālī splendida luxū
īnstruitur, mediīsque parant convīvia tēctīs:
arte labōrātae vestēs ostrōque superbō,
640ingēns argentum mēnsīs, caelātaque in aurō
fortia facta patrum, seriēs longissima rērum
per tot ducta virōs antīquā ab orīgine gentis.

But the inner palace is furnished with royal splendour and luxury, and they prepare a banquet in the middle of the hall: coverlets worked with skill and of proud purple, massive silver on the tables, and, engraved in gold, the brave deeds of her forefathers, a very long chain of events traced through so many heroes from the ancient beginning of the race.

Note. domus interior: the inner rooms of the palace. arte labōrātae vestēs: 'coverlets worked with skill'. caelāta in aurō: 'engraved in gold'. seriēs … ducta: 'a chain traced'.