Aeneid 4.160–172

Aen. 4.160Intereā magnō miscērī murmure caelum
incipit;

Meanwhile the sky begins to be stirred with a great rumbling;

Note. misceri: the sky 'is thrown into confusion'.

Aen. 4.161īnsequitur commixtā grandine nimbus;

there follows a storm-cloud mixed with hail;

Note. commixtā grandine: ablative absolute.

Aen. 4.162et Tyriī comitēs passim et Trōiāna iuventūs
Dardaniusque nepōs Veneris dīversa per agrōs
tēcta metū petiēre;

and the Tyrian companions everywhere, and the Trojan youth, and the Dardan grandson of Venus, in fear made for shelters scattered across the fields;

Note. nepōs Veneris: Ascanius, grandson of Venus. petiēre = petīvērunt.

Aen. 4.164ruunt dē montibus amnēs.

rivers rush down from the mountains.

Note. A short clause, the climax of the storm.

Aen. 4.165Spēluncam Dīdō dux et Trōiānus eandem
dēveniunt: prīma et Tellūs et prōnuba Iūnō
dant signum;

Dido and the Trojan leader come to the same cave: Earth first, and Juno who presides over marriage, give the signal;

Note. Spēluncam … eandem: the same words as Juno's plan (sentence 58), now fulfilled. Tellūs and Iūnō prōnuba, the goddess who leads the bride, give the signal as in a wedding.

Aen. 4.167fulsēre ignēs et cōnscius aethēr
cōnūbiīs, summōque ululārunt vertice nymphae.

fires flashed and the upper air was witness to the union, and on the topmost peak the nymphs howled.

Note. fulsēre ignēs: the lightning stands in for the wedding torches; aethēr cōnscius cōnūbiīs, 'the sky as witness to the marriage'. ululārunt (= ululāvērunt) nymphae: the nymphs' cry could be a wedding song or a lament, and the ambiguity is the point.

Aen. 4.169Ille diēs prīmus lētī prīmusque malōrum
170causa fuit;

That day was the first cause of death and the first cause of disaster;

Note. Ille diēs … causa fuit: the narrator's judgement. lētī … malōrum: genitives with causa.

Aen. 4.170neque enim speciē fāmāve movētur,
nec iam fūrtīvum Dīdō meditātur amōrem:
coniugium vocat;

for she is not moved by appearances or by her good name, and Dido no longer thinks of a secret love: she calls it marriage;

Note. speciē fāmāve: 'by appearances or by her reputation'. coniugium vocat: Dido calls it marriage; whether it was one is the question the book keeps raising.

Aen. 4.172hōc praetexit nōmine culpam.

with this name she covers her fault.

Note. hōc … nōmine: the name 'marriage'. praetexit: 'covers' or 'disguises'.