Aeneid 2.650–670

Aen. 2.650Tālia perstābat memorāns, fīxusque manēbat.

So he spoke, persisting, and he stayed fixed.

Note. Tālia: 'such things'. perstābat memorāns: 'he persisted in saying'. fīxus: 'fixed (in his purpose)'.

Aen. 2.651Nōs contrā effūsī lacrimīs, coniūnxque Creüsa
Ascaniusque omnisque domus, nē vertere sēcum
cūncta pater fātōque urguenti incumbere vellet.

We on the other side, dissolved in tears, my wife Creusa and Ascanius and the whole household, begged my father not to want to bring everything down with him and to add his weight to the fate that pressed on us.

Note. Supply ōrābāmus with the subjects: we begged him nē … vellet, an indirect command. vertere sēcum cūncta: 'overturn everything with himself'. fātō urguentī: dative with incumbere, 'add his weight to the pressing fate'.

Aen. 2.654Abnegat, inceptōque et sēdibus haeret in īsdem.

He refuses, and clings to his purpose and to the same place.

Note. inceptō et sēdibus … in īsdem: zeugma; haeret governs both, 'he clings to his purpose and stays in the same place'.

Aen. 2.655Rūrsus in arma feror, mortemque miserrimus optō:
nam quod cōnsilium aut quae iam fortūna dabātur?

I rush to arms again, and in my misery I long for death: for what plan, what fortune was now on offer?

Note. Rūrsus in arma feror: 'I rush back to arms'. miserrimus: superlative. dabātur: 'was being given', i.e. was there on offer.

Aen. 2.657Mēne efferre pedem, genitor, tē posse relictō
spērāstī, tantumque nefās patriō excidit ōre?

"Did you hope, father, that I could set foot outside with you left behind, and did such a sin fall from a father's lips?

Note. Mēne … spērāstī: exclamatory question with accusative and infinitive. mē is the subject of posse, 'Did you hope that I could …'. relictō tē: ablative absolute. spērāstī is syncopated for spērāvistī. excidit: from excidō, 'fell out', i.e. escaped your lips.

Aen. 2.659Sī nihil ex tantā Superīs placet urbe relinquī,
660et sedet hoc animō, peritūraeque addere Troiae
tēque tuōsque iuvat, patet istī iānua lētō,
iamque aderit multō Priamī dē sanguine Pyrrhus,
nātum ante ōra patris, patrem quī obtruncat ad ārās.

If it pleases the gods that nothing remain of so great a city, and this is fixed in your mind, and you delight in adding yourself and your family to Troy's destruction, the door to that death lies open: soon Pyrrhus will be here, fresh from Priam's blood, he who slaughters the son before the father's face and the father at the altars.

Note. Superīs: dative, 'to the gods above'. sedet hoc animō: 'this is settled in your mind'. peritūrae … Troiae: dative with addere, 'add (yourself) to Troy which is about to perish'. istī … lētō: 'to that death (you want)'. iste is scornful. Pyrrhus (Neoptolemus), Achilles' son, had just killed Polites before his father Priam's eyes and then Priam at the altar; natum ante ōra patris, patrem … ad ārās sums it up in a chiasmus.

Aen. 2.664Hoc erat, alma parēns, quod mē per tēla, per ignīs
665ēripis, ut mediīs hostem in penetrālibus, utque
Ascanium patremque meum iūxtāque Creüsam
alterum in alterīus mactātōs sanguine cernam?

Was it for this, loving mother, that you rescue me through weapons and through fires, so that I may see the enemy in the heart of my house, and Ascanius and my father and Creusa beside them, slaughtered one in the other's blood?

Note. Hoc erat, quod …: 'Was it for this that …?' The bitter question is addressed to Venus. ut … cernam: purpose clause. alterum in alterīus … sanguine: 'one in the other's blood', each killed over the other.

Aen. 2.668Arma, virī, ferte arma;

Arms, men, bring arms;

Note. Arma … arma: repetition frames the cry. virī: vocative plural of vir.

Aen. 2.668vocat lūx ultima victōs.

the last light calls the conquered.

Note. lūx ultima: 'the last day (of our lives)'. victōs: 'the conquered', i.e. us.

Aen. 2.669Reddite mē Danaīs;

Give me back to the Greeks;

Note. Reddite: Aeneas asks his companions to send him back into the fight.

Aen. 2.669sinite īnstaurāta revīsam
670proelia: Numquam omnēs hodiē moriēmur inultī.

let me go back to the battles begun again: never shall we all die unavenged today."

Note. sinite … revīsam: sinō with a subjunctive without ut, 'let me revisit'. īnstaurāta proelia: 'renewed battles'. inultī: 'unavenged', i.e. without taking vengeance. Numquam … hodiē: emphatic.