Aeneid 1.8–11

Why was Juno angry?

Vergil, Aeneid I. Latin text with a sentence-by-sentence English translation, notes and vocabulary.

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Aen. 1.8Mūsa, mihi causās memorā, quō nūmine laesō,
quidve dolēns, rēgīna deum tot volvere cāsūs
10īnsignem pietāte virum, tot adīre labōrēs
impulerit.

Muse, tell me the causes: what offence to her divine will, or what grievance, drove the queen of the gods to make a man famous for his devotion roll through so many misfortunes and face so many labours.

Note. Vergil calls on the Muse, as Homer did. quō nūmine laesō: an ablative absolute in an indirect question, 'what divine will of hers having been offended'. quidve dolēns: 'or grieving at what'. rēgīna deum: deum = deōrum. volvere cāsūs: 'to roll through misfortunes', an image of the wheel of fortune. īnsignem pietāte: pietās is Aeneas' defining quality: duty to gods, family and country. impulerit: perfect subjunctive in the indirect question.

Aen. 1.11Tantaene animīs caelestibus īrae?

Can heavenly minds hold such anger?

Note. A famous half-line question: 'Is there such anger in heavenly minds?' animīs caelestibus is a dative of possession; supply sunt. Tantaene = tantae + -ne.

Vocabulary

ego, meī, pers. pron.	I
causa, -ae, f.	cause, reason; abl. causā, for the sake of
memorō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	remind of, mention
quī, quae, quod, interrog. pron. adj.	what?
nūmen, -inis n.	divine power, divinity
laedō, -ere, laesī, laesus	hurt, injure; break (an oath)
quis, quid, interrog. pron.	who? which? what?
doleō, -ēre, doluī, dolitum	grieve, be pained
rēgīna, -ae, f.	queen
deus, -ī, m.	god
tot (indecl.)	so many
volvō, -ere, volvī, volūtus	roll, turn over; ponder (multa sēcum volvere)
cāsus, -ūs, m.	fall; chance, accident
īnsignis, -e	notable, remarkable
pietās, -ātis f.	dutifulness, devotion to family and gods
vir, virī, m.	man
adeō, -īre, -iī, -itus	go to, approach
labor, -ōris, m.	labor, toil
impellō, -pellere, -pulī, -pulsus	drive or urge on, incite, urge
tantus, -a, -um	so great or much
animus, -ī, m.	mind; heart; spirit, courage
caelestis, -e	heavenly; pl. as noun: the gods
īra, -ae, f.	anger, wrath

Vergil, Aeneid I. Latin text: J. B. Greenough (Boston, 1881), public domain; digital text from the Perseus Digital Library, CC BY-SA. Word analysis: LatinCy, then every word checked and corrected by hand. Vocabulary: F. Ritchie (1903, public domain) and entries written for this app. English translation, notes and grammar hints: written for this app.