Aeneid 2.347–369

Aen. 2.347Quōs ubi cōnfertōs audēre in proelia vīdī,
incipiō super hīs: Iuvenēs, fortissima frūstrā
pectora, sī vōbīs audentem extrēma cupīdō
350certa sequī, quae sit rēbus fortūna vidētis:
excessēre omnēs, adytīs ārīsque relictīs,
dī, quibus imperium hoc steterat;

When I saw them closely gathered and eager for battle, I begin to them besides: 'Young men, hearts most brave in vain, if your desire is fixed to follow me as I dare the uttermost, you see what fortune there is for our cause: all the gods by whom this empire had stood have gone away, leaving their shrines and altars;

Note. super hīs: 'in addition to this'. Two conditions are fused: sī vōbīs … cupīdō certa (est) sequī, 'if you have a fixed desire to follow', with mē audentem extrēma understood. quae sit … fortūna: indirect question. excessēre: -ēre perfect. Background: in ancient belief the gods abandoned a city doomed to fall.

Aen. 2.352succurritis urbī
incēnsae;

you are coming to the help of a city on fire;

Note. succurritis: present indicative with dative urbī. The tone is grim: they are rushing to help a city that is already burning.

Aen. 2.353moriāmur et in media arma ruāmus.

let us die, and rush into the midst of the fighting.

Note. moriāmur et … ruāmus: jussive subjunctives. Hysteron proteron: 'let us die and rush in', the logical order reversed to put the point, death, first.

Aen. 2.354Ūna salūs victīs, nūllam spērāre salūtem.

The one safety for the conquered is to hope for no safety.'

Note. Ūna salūs: nominative. victīs: dative, 'for the conquered'. nūllam spērāre salūtem: infinitive phrase as predicate. One of the most quoted lines in the poem.

Aen. 2.355Sīc animīs iuvenum furor additus: inde, lupī ceu
raptōrēs ātrā in nebulā, quōs improba ventris
exēgit caecōs rabiēs, catulīque relictī
faucibus exspectant siccīs, per tēla, per hostīs
vādimus haud dubiam in mortem, mediaeque tenēmus
360urbis iter;

So madness was added to the young men's courage: then, like ravening wolves in a black mist, whom the shameless rage of the belly has driven out blind, and whose cubs, left behind, wait for them with parched jaws, through weapons, through enemies we go to no doubtful death, and hold our way through the middle of the city;

Note. The simile: lupī ceu raptōrēs …, quōs … exēgit … rabiēs, catulīque … exspectant. caecōs: 'blind', i.e. reckless. haud dubiam in mortem: litotes, 'to certain death'. mediae … urbis iter: 'our way through the middle of the city'.

Aen. 2.360nox ātra cavā circumvolat umbrā.

black night flies around us with its hollow shadow.

Note. cavā … umbrā: 'with hollow shadow', the darkness that wraps them round.

Aen. 2.361Quis clādem illīus noctis, quis fūnera fandō
explicet, aut possit lacrimīs aequāre labōrēs?

Who could unfold in speech the slaughter of that night, who its deaths, or could match its sufferings with tears?

Note. fandō: gerund (ablative) of for, fārī, 'by speaking'. explicet, possit: potential subjunctives in a rhetorical question, 'who could …?' lacrimīs aequāre: 'equal with tears', weep as much as the sufferings deserve.

Aen. 2.363Urbs antīqua ruit, multōs domināta per annōs;

An ancient city falls, that ruled for many years;

Note. dominata: deponent participle, 'having ruled'. per annōs: duration.

Aen. 2.364plūrima perque viās sternuntur inertia passim
365corpora, perque domōs et religiōsa deōrum
līmina.

very many lifeless bodies lie strewn everywhere through the streets, through the houses and the holy thresholds of the gods.

Note. plūrima … corpora: hyperbaton across the line. The repeated per (per viās, per domōs) widens the picture. religiōsa: 'sacred'.

Aen. 2.366Nec sōlī poenās dant sanguine Teucrī;

Nor do the Teucrians alone pay the penalty in blood;

Note. poenās dant: 'pay the penalty'. Teucrī: 'Trojans'.

Aen. 2.367quondam etiam victīs redit in praecordia virtūs
victōrēsque cadunt Danaī: crūdēlis ubīque
lūctus, ubīque pavor, et plūrima mortis imāgō.

at times courage returns even to the hearts of the conquered, and the conquering Greeks fall: everywhere cruel grief, everywhere panic, and death in many a shape.

Note. quondam: here 'at times'. imāgō: 'form, shape': 'many a form of death'. Meter: plūrima mortis imāgō ends the paragraph with a strong, regular cadence.