Aeneid 2.1–20

Aen. 2.1Conticuēre omnēs, intentīque ōra tenēbant.

All fell silent and kept their faces turned towards him, intent.

Note. Conticuēre = conticuērunt, the poetic -ēre ending of the 3rd plural perfect, very common in Vergil. intentī … ōra tenēbant: 'intent, they held their faces (towards him)'. Book 2 opens at Dido's banquet, where Book 1 ended.

Aen. 2.2Inde torō pater Aenēās sīc ōrsus ab altō:
Īnfandum, rēgīna, iubēs renovāre dolōrem,
Trōiānās ut opēs et lāmentābile regnum
5ēruerint Danaī;

Then from his high couch father Aeneas began: 'Unspeakable, queen, is the grief you bid me renew: how the Greeks overthrew the wealth of Troy and its kingdom, worthy of lament;

Note. ōrsus (est) from ōrdior, 'began'. Īnfandum … dolōrem: the adjective stands first, far from its noun, for emphasis: 'unspeakable is the grief…'. ut … ēruerint: indirect question, 'how the Greeks overthrew', with the perfect subjunctive. Danaī, 'Danaans', is one of Vergil's names for the Greeks (also Achīvī, Argīvī, Pelasgī, Grāī).

Aen. 2.5quaeque ipse miserrima vīdī,
et quōrum pars magna fuī.

the most pitiful things which I myself saw, and of which I was a great part.

Note. quaeque = quae + -que, 'and (the things) which'. miserrima: neuter plural, 'most pitiful things'. quōrum pars magna fuī: 'of which I was a great part', i.e. which I shared in.

Aen. 2.6Quis tālia fandō
Myrmidonum Dolopumve aut dūrī mīles Ulixī
temperet ā lacrimīs?

Who, in telling such things, whether a Myrmidon or a Dolopian or a soldier of hard Ulysses, could keep from tears?

Note. fandō: ablative of the gerund of for, fārī, 'in speaking (of such things)'. Myrmidonum Dolopumve … mīles: 'a soldier of the Myrmidons or Dolopians', Achilles' men. temperet: potential subjunctive in a rhetorical question, 'who could refrain from tears?'

Aen. 2.8Et iam nox ūmida caelō
praecipitat, suādentque cadentia sīdera somnōs.

And now damp night is hurrying down from the sky, and the setting stars urge sleep.

Note. The stars 'falling' are setting stars: it is past midnight. suādent … somnōs: 'urge sleep'. Note the soft s- sounds of the line.

Aen. 2.10Sed sī tantus amor cāsūs cognōscere nostrōs
et breviter Troiae suprēmum audīre labōrem,
quamquam animus meminisse horret, lūctūque refūgit,
incipiam. Frāctī bellō fātīsque repulsī
ductōrēs Danaum, tot iam lābentibus annīs,
15īnstar montis equum dīvīnā Palladis arte
aedificant, sectāque intexunt abiete costās:
vōtum prō reditū simulant;

But if you have so great a longing to learn of our misfortunes, and to hear in brief of Troy's final agony, although my mind shudders to remember and has recoiled in grief, I will begin. Broken by war and driven back by the fates, the leaders of the Greeks, with so many years now slipping by, build a horse the size of a mountain by the divine art of Pallas, and weave its ribs with planks of fir; they pretend it is an offering for their return;

Note. sī tantus amor (est): supply est. cāsūs cognōscere: an infinitive depending on amor, 'love of learning'. meminisse horret: 'shudders to remember'; meminī is perfect in form, present in sense. refūgit is perfect (the meter needs a long ū). Then the story starts abruptly: Frāctī bellō, 'broken by war'. īnstar montis: 'as big as a mountain', īnstar + genitive. sectā … abiete: 'with cut fir', poetic singular; abiete scans as three syllables with consonantal i. vōtum … simulant: 'they pretend (it is) an offering'.

Aen. 2.17ea fāma vagātur.

that is the story that spreads.

Note. ea fāma vagātur: 'that is the rumour that spreads'. vagor is deponent.

Aen. 2.18Hūc dēlēcta virum sortītī corpora fūrtim
inclūdunt caecō laterī, penitusque cavernās
20ingentīs uterumque armātō mīlite complent.

Into it they secretly shut picked men, chosen by lot, in its dark side, and fill the huge cavern of its belly deep within with armed soldiers.

Note. dēlēcta virum … corpora: 'chosen bodies of men', i.e. picked men; virum = virōrum. caecō laterī: dative of direction, 'into its dark side'. The horse is described like a pregnant animal (uterum, 'womb', and later fēta, 'pregnant').