Aeneid 1.695–722

Aen. 1.695Iamque ībat dictō pārēns et dōna Cupīdō
rēgia portābat Tyriīs, duce laetus Achātē.

And now Cupid was going, obeying her words, and carrying the royal gifts for the Tyrians, happy with Achates as his guide.

Note. dictō pārēns: 'obeying the command'. duce … Achātē: ablative absolute, 'with Achates as guide'.

Aen. 1.697Cum vēnit, aulaeīs iam sē rēgīna superbīs
aureā composuit spondā mediamque locāvit.

When he came, the queen had already placed herself on a golden couch among proud hangings and taken her seat in the middle.

Note. aulaeīs … superbīs: 'among proud hangings'. aureā … spondā: 'on a golden couch'. mediam locāvit: 'placed herself in the middle', the place of honour.

Aen. 1.699Iam pater Aenēās et iam Trōiāna iuventūs
700conveniunt, strātōque super discumbitur ostrō.

Now father Aeneas and now the Trojan youth come together, and they recline on spread purple.

Note. Romans reclined on couches to dine. discumbitur: impersonal passive, 'they recline'. strātō … ostrō: 'on spread purple'.

Aen. 1.701Dant famulī manibus lymphās, Cereremque canistrīs
expediunt, tōnsīsque ferunt mantēlia villīs.

Servants pour water for their hands, bring out bread in baskets, and hand round napkins of close-cut nap.

Note. Cererem: 'bread', by metonymy (the goddess of grain for its product). tōnsīs … villīs: 'with close-clipped nap'.

Aen. 1.703Quīnquāgintā intus famulae, quibus ōrdine longam
cūra penum struere, et flammīs adolēre Penātīs;

Inside are fifty serving women, whose task is to arrange the long store of food in order and to make the household gods glow with fires;

Note. quibus … cūra (est): 'whose task is'. penum: the household store of food. adolēre Penātīs: to honour the household gods with fire, i.e. keep the hearth and offerings burning.

Aen. 1.705centum aliae totidemque parēs aetāte ministrī,
quī dapibus mēnsās onerent et pōcula pōnant.

a hundred others, and as many men servants of the same age, load the tables with food and set out the cups.

Note. quī … onerent … pōnant: relative clause of purpose.

Aen. 1.707Nec nōn et Tyriī per līmina laeta frequentēs
convēnēre, torīs iussī discumbere pictīs.

The Tyrians too have gathered in crowds through the joyful doors, invited to recline on embroidered couches.

Note. Nec nōn et: 'and also'. convēnēre: = convēnērunt. torīs … pictīs: 'on embroidered couches'.

Aen. 1.709Mīrantur dōna Aenēae, mīrantur Iūlum
710flagrantisque deī voltūs simulātaque verba,
Praecipuē īnfēlīx, pestī dēvōta futūrae,
explērī mentem nequit ārdēscitque tuendō
Phoenissa, et pariter puerō dōnīsque movētur.

They wonder at Aeneas' gifts, they wonder at Iulus, at the god's glowing face and his feigned words; above all the unhappy Phoenician, doomed to the ruin to come, cannot satisfy her heart, and she burns as she gazes, stirred equally by the boy and by the gifts.

Note. One line (1.711, 'pallamque et pictum croceō vēlāmen acanthō') is printed in brackets in this edition as a repetition of 1.649 and is left out here. Praecipuē īnfēlīx … Phoenissa: Vergil names Dido only by a description here; pestī dēvōta futūrae: 'doomed to the ruin to come'. explērī mentem: 'to satisfy her heart', a middle use with an accusative of respect. tuendō: gerund, 'by gazing'.

Aen. 1.715Ille ubi complexū Aenēae collōque pependit
et magnum falsī implēvit genitōris amōrem,
rēgīnam petit haec oculīs, haec pectore tōtō
haeret et interdum gremiō fovet, īnscia Dīdō,
īnsīdat quantus miserae deus;

He, after hanging in Aeneas' embrace and on his neck and satisfying the great love of his pretended father, goes to the queen; she clings to him with her eyes, with all her heart, and now and then caresses him in her lap, Dido not knowing what a great god is settling on her, unhappy woman;

Note. Ille: Cupid, disguised as Ascanius. complexū Aenēae collōque pependit: 'hung on Aeneas' embrace and neck'. falsī … genitōris: 'his pretended father'. haec … haec: 'she … she', Dido. īnsīdat quantus … deus: indirect question, 'how great a god is settling on her'. miserae: dative, 'on the unhappy woman' — a comment by the narrator.

Aen. 1.719at memor ille
720mātris Acīdaliae paulātim abolēre Sychaeum
incipit, et vīvō temptat praevertere amōre
iam prīdem residēs animōs dēsuētaque corda.

but he, mindful of his Acidalian mother, begins little by little to wipe out Sychaeus, and tries to win over with a living love a heart long at rest and a spirit unused to love.

Note. Acīdaliae: Venus, from the spring Acidalia where she bathed. Sychaeus was Dido's murdered husband, to whom she had vowed to remain faithful. vīvō … amōre: 'with a living love', in contrast to her love for the dead Sychaeus. residēs animōs: 'a heart long at rest'.