Aeneid 1.723–756

Aen. 1.723Postquam prīma quiēs epulīs, mēnsaeque remōtae,
crātēras magnōs statuunt et vīna corōnant.

After the first lull in the feast, when the tables had been cleared, they set out great mixing bowls and crown the wine.

Note. Postquam prīma quiēs epulīs (fuit): 'when there was the first pause in the feast'. crātērās: Greek accusative plural. vīna corōnant: either 'crown the wine' with garlands or 'fill the bowls to the brim'.

Aen. 1.725Fit strepitus tēctīs, vōcemque per ampla volūtant
ātria;

A din rises in the hall, and they roll their voices through the broad rooms;

Note. strepitus: 'din'. ātria: the great halls.

Aen. 1.726dēpendent lychnī laqueāribus aureīs
incēnsī, et noctem flammīs fūnālia vincunt.

lighted lamps hang from the golden panelled ceilings, and torches conquer the night with their flames.

Note. laqueāribus: panelled (coffered) ceilings. fūnālia: torches of rope dipped in wax.

Aen. 1.728Hīc rēgīna gravem gemmīs aurōque poposcit
implēvitque merō pateram, quam Bēlus et omnēs
730ā Bēlō solitī;

Here the queen called for a cup heavy with jewels and gold and filled it with unmixed wine, the cup which Belus and all descended from Belus used to use;

Note. Hīc: 'at this point'. soliti (sunt): 'were accustomed (to use it)'. The heirloom cup links the feast with Dido's royal line.

Aen. 1.730tum facta silentia tēctīs:
Iuppiter, hospitibus nam tē dare iūra loquuntur,
hunc laetum Tyriīsque diem Trōiāque profectīs
esse velīs, nostrōsque huius meminisse minōrēs.

then silence fell in the hall: 'Jupiter, for they say you give the laws of hospitality, may you wish this day to be a happy one for the Tyrians and for those who have come from Troy, and may our descendants remember it.

Note. Iuppiter … velīs: a prayer, with the subjunctive of wish. hospitibus … dare iūra: Jupiter as Iuppiter Hospitālis, protector of guests. Trōiā … profectīs: dative, 'for those who have come from Troy'. huius (diēī) meminisse: memini takes the genitive.

Aen. 1.734Adsit laetitiae Bacchus dator, et bona Iūnō;

May Bacchus, giver of joy, be present, and kindly Juno;

Note. Adsit: jussive subjunctive, 'may he be present'. bona Iūnō: an irony, since Juno is hostile to the Trojans.

Aen. 1.735et vōs, Ō, coetum, Tyriī, celebrāte faventēs.

and you, Tyrians, celebrate this gathering with goodwill.'

Note. faventēs: 'with goodwill' — also with a religious sense of keeping holy silence.

Aen. 1.736Dīxit, et in mēnsam laticum lībāvit honōrem,
prīmaque, lībātō, summō tenus attigit ōre,
tum Bitiae dedit increpitāns;

She spoke, and poured an offering of wine on the table, and, the offering made, she was the first to touch it with the tip of her lips; then she gave it to Bitias with a challenge;

Note. laticum … honōrem: 'an offering of wine'. lībātō: impersonal ablative absolute, 'the offering having been made'. summō tenus … ōre: 'just with the edge of her lips'; tenus follows its noun.

Aen. 1.738ille impiger hausit
spūmantem pateram, et plēnō sē prōluit aurō
740post aliī procerēs.

he briskly drained the foaming cup and drenched himself in the full gold; after him the other leading men.

Note. hausit: 'drained'. plēnō … aurō: 'in the full gold', the cup. sē prōluit: 'drenched himself'.

Aen. 1.740Citharā crīnītus Iōpās
personat aurātā, docuit quem maximus Atlās.

Long-haired Iopas, whom great Atlas taught, makes his golden lyre ring out.

Note. crīnītus: long hair marks the bard, like Apollo. personat: 'makes it ring out'. Atlās: the Titan who holds up the sky, here a teacher of astronomy. Iopas' song of nature (didactic poetry, like Lucretius) contrasts with Homer's bard Demodocus, who sang of the gods' loves.

Aen. 1.742Hic canit errantem lūnam sōlisque labōrēs;

He sings of the wandering moon and the toils of the sun;

Note. errantem lūnam: the moon's wandering course; sōlis labōrēs: eclipses of the sun.

Aen. 1.743unde hominum genus et pecudēs;

where the race of men and beasts came from;

Aen. 1.743unde imber et ignēs;

where rain and lightning came from;

Aen. 1.744Arctūrum pluviāsque Hyadas geminōsque Triōnēs;

of Arcturus and the rainy Hyades and the twin Bears;

Note. Arctūrum … Hyadas … Triōnēs: constellations important for sailors and farmers. Hyadas: Greek accusative. Triōnēs: the 'plough-oxen', the Great and Little Bear.

Aen. 1.745quid tantum Ōceanō properent sē tinguere sōlēs
hībernī, vel quae tardīs mora noctibus obstet.

why the winter suns hurry so to dip themselves in the Ocean, or what delay holds back the slow nights.

Note. Why winter days are short and the nights long. quid: 'why'. sē tinguere: 'to dip themselves' in the Ocean, imagined as encircling the earth.

Aen. 1.747Ingeminant plausū Tyriī, Trōēsque sequuntur.

The Tyrians redouble their applause, and the Trojans follow.

Note. ingeminant plausū: 'redouble their applause'.

Aen. 1.748Nec nōn et variō noctem sermōne trahēbat
īnfēlīx Dīdō, longumque bibēbat amōrem,
750multa super Priamō rogitāns, super Hectore multa;

Unhappy Dido too was drawing out the night with varied talk and drinking long draughts of love, asking many things about Priam, many about Hector;

Note. longum … bibēbat amōrem: a vivid metaphor, 'drinking deep draughts of love'. multa super Priamō … super Hectore multa: chiasmus (ABBA arrangement). super with the ablative: 'about'.

Aen. 1.751nunc quibus Aurōrae vēnisset fīlius armīs,
nunc quālēs Diomēdis equī, nunc quantus Achillēs.

now in what armour the son of the Dawn had come, now what Diomedes' horses were like, now how great Achilles was.

Note. Aurōrae … fīlius: Memnon, king of the Ethiopians, who fought for Troy in armour made by Vulcan. Diomēdis equī: the horses of Rhesus captured by Diomedes. These topics recall the paintings on Juno's temple that Aeneas saw earlier in the book.

Aen. 1.753Immō age, et ā prīmā dīc, hospes, orīgine nōbīs
īnsidiās, inquit, Danaum, cāsūsque tuōrum,
755errōrēsque tuōs;

'No, come,' she says, 'and tell us, guest, from the very beginning, the treachery of the Greeks, the misfortunes of your people, and your own wanderings;

Note. Immō: 'no, rather' — Dido wants the whole story, not a few episodes. ā prīmā … orīgine: 'from the very beginning'. This request leads into Aeneas' account of the fall of Troy (Book 2) and his wanderings (Book 3).

Aen. 1.755nam tē iam septima portat
omnibus errantem terrīs et flūctibus aestās.

for this is now the seventh summer that carries you as you wander over every land and sea.'

Note. septima … aestās: Vergil's timeline is not consistent: by Book 5 seven years have still passed. errantem: with tē, 'you as you wander'.