Aen. 2.624Tum vērō omne mihi vīsum cōnsīdere in ignīs
625Īlium et ex īmō vertī Neptūnia Troia;Then indeed all Ilium seemed to me to sink into the fires, and Neptune's Troy to be overturned from its foundations;Note. mihi vīsum (est): 'it seemed to me', with a personal construction: omne Īlium (nominative) vīsum est cōnsīdere. ex īmō: 'from its lowest part', i.e. from its foundations. Neptūnia Troia: Troy, whose walls Neptune built. Aen. 2.626ac velutī summīs antīquam in montibus ornum
cum ferrō accīsam crēbrīsque bipennibus īnstant
ēruere agricolae certātim,— illa usque minātur
et tremefacta comam concussō vertice nūtat,
630volneribus dōnec paulātim ēvicta, suprēmum
congemuit, trāxitque iugīs āvolsa ruīnam.just as when, high in the mountains, farmers strive with one another to bring down an ancient ash, hacked with iron and with blow after blow of the axe: it keeps threatening to fall and, shaken in its foliage, nods with its shaken crown, until little by little, overcome by its wounds, it groans its last and, torn from the ridge, crashes down in ruin.Note. An extended simile: Troy falls like an old mountain ash attacked by farmers. veluti … cum … īnstant: 'just as when … they strive'. ēruere: infinitive with īnstant, 'press on to uproot'. usque minātur: 'keeps threatening (to fall)'. comam: accusative of respect with tremefacta, 'shaken in its foliage'. suprēmum congemuit: 'gave a last groan'; suprēmum is adverbial. trāxit … ruīnam: 'drew down ruin', i.e. crashed. Notice how the long sentence and the heavy spondees (cōngemu-) imitate the slow fall. Aen. 2.632Dēscendō, ac dūcente deō flammam inter et hostīs
expedior;I come down, and with the god leading me I make my way through flame and foes;Note. dūcente deō: ablative absolute. The masculine deus is used of Venus here, as a general word for 'divinity'. flammam inter et hostīs: inter is placed between its two objects. hostīs: accusative plural. Aen. 2.633dant tēla locum, flammaeque recēdunt.the weapons give way, and the flames draw back.Note. dant tēla locum: 'the weapons give way', literally 'give room'.
Lectitō › Vergil › Aeneid, Book 2 › Aeneid 2.624–633
Vergil · Aeneid II
Aeneid 2.624–633
Troy falls like a felled ash
In brief. As Aeneas watches, all of Troy seems to collapse, like an ancient ash tree that farmers chop down on a mountain. Led by the divine power, he comes down and passes safely through the flames and the enemy.
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Read in LectitōGrammar in this passage: indirect statement ×1, ablative absolute ×2
Latin vocabulary for this passage (58 words)
| tum, adv. | then, at that time |
| vērō, adv. | in truth, indeed; however |
| omnis, -e | all, every |
| ego, meī, pers. pron. | I |
| videō, vidēre, vīdī, vīsus | see; pass., seem |
| cōnsīdō, -sīdere, -sēdī, -sessus | sit down |
| in, prep. with acc. and abl. | with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on |
| ignis, -is, m. | fire |
| et, conj. | and; et ... et, both ... and |
| ex, ē (prep. + abl.) | out of, from; of (ē only before consonants) |
| īmus, -a, -um | lowest (ab īmō: from the bottom) |
| vertō, vertere, vertī, versus | turn |
| Neptūnius, -a, -um | of Neptune; Neptūnia Troia: Troy, whose walls Neptune built |
| atque, ac (conj.) | and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants) |
| velutī (adv.) | just as, as if |
| summus, -a, -um | uppermost, highest, greatest |
| antīquus, -a, -um | ancient |
| mōns, montis, m. | mountain |
| ornus, -ī f. | mountain ash |
| cum, conj. | when, while, after; since; although |
| ferrum, -ī n. | iron; iron point, sword |
| accīdō, -cīdere, -cīdī, -cīsus | cut into, cut partly through |
| crēber, -bra, -brum | frequent, numerous; close together |
| que, enclitic conj. | and |
| bipennis, -is f. | two-edged axe |
| īnstō, -āre, -stitī | press on; be at hand |
| ēruō, -ere, -ruī, -rutus | dig out; overthrow, destroy |
| agricola, -ae m. | farmer, tiller of the soil |
| certātim (adv.) | eagerly, vying with one another |
| ille, illa, illud, dem. pron. | that; he, she, it, they; ille ... hīc, see hīc |
| ūsque, adv. | all the time; ūsque ad, as far as, until; quō ūsque, see quō |
| minor, -ārī, -ātus sum | threaten (someone: dat.; with something: abl.) |
| tremefaciō, -ere, -fēcī, -factus | make tremble |
| coma, -ae f. | hair, a head of hair; foliage |
| concutiō, -ere, -cussī, -cussus | shake violently; shake, weaken |
| vertex, -icis m. | top of the head, crown; summit |
| nūtō, -āre, -āvī | nod, sway |
| vulnus, vulneris, n. | wound |
| dōnec (conj.) | until; while, as long as |
| paulātim (adv.) | little by little, gradually |
| ēvincō, -ere, -vīcī, -victus | overcome utterly |
| suprēmus, -a, -um | highest, last |
| congemō, -ere, -uī | groan aloud |
| trahō, trahere, trāxī, trāctus | draw, drag |
| iugum, -ī, n. | yoke |
| āvellō, -ere, -vellī (-vulsī), -vulsus | tear away, wrench off |
| ruīna, -ae f. | fall, collapse, ruin |
| dēscendō, -scendere, -scendī, -scēnsus | climb down, descend |
| dūcō, dūcere, dūxī, ductus | lead; make, dig; with or without in mātrimōnium, marry |
| deus, -ī, m. | god |
| flamma, -ae, f. | flame |
| inter, prep, with acc. | among, between |
| hostis, -is, m. and f. | enemy, foe |
| expediō, -īre, -īvī, -ītus | free, set clear; get ready; arrange, settle |
| dō, dare, dedī, datus | give |
| tēlum, -ī, n. | missile, spear, weapon |
| locus, -ī, m., plur. loca, -orum, n. | place, situation |
| recēdō, -ere, -cessī, -cessum | go back, withdraw, retire |
Vergil, Aeneid II. 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.