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'.
Lectitō › Vergil › Aeneid, Book 4 › Aeneid 4.160–172
Vergil · Aeneid IV
Aeneid 4.160–172
The storm and the cave
In brief. A hailstorm scatters the hunters, and Dido and Aeneas reach the same cave, where Earth and Juno give the signal for their union. That day begins the disaster: Dido now calls the affair a marriage to cover her fault.
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Read in LectitōGrammar in this passage: ablative absolute ×1
Latin vocabulary for this passage (68 words)
| intereā, adv. | in the meantime, meanwhile |
| magnus, -a, -um | large, big, great, mighty; loud |
| misceō, miscēre, miscuī, mīxtus | mix, mingle |
| murmur, -uris n. | murmur, muttering |
| caelum, -ī, n. | heaven, sky |
| incipiō, -ere, incēpī, inceptum | begin |
| īnsequor, -sequī, -secūtus | follow upon or up, pursue |
| commisceō, -ēre, -miscuī, -mixtus | mix together, mingle |
| grandō, -inis f. | hail |
| nimbus, -ī m. | rain-cloud, storm-cloud |
| et, conj. | and; et ... et, both ... and |
| Tyrius, -a, -um | of Tyre, Tyrian; (of Carthage, a Tyrian colony) Carthaginian |
| comes, -itis, m. and f. | companion |
| passim (adv.) | here and there, in all directions |
| Trōiānus, -a, -um | Trojan |
| iuventūs, -ūtis f. | youth; the young men |
| Dardanius, -a, -um | Dardanian, of Dardanus; Trojan |
| que, enclitic conj. | and |
| nepōs, nepōtis, m. | grandson |
| dīversus, -a, -um | turned different ways, opposite, contrary, different |
| per, prep, with ace. | through, by means of |
| ager, agri, m. | field, land |
| tēctum, -ī n. | roof; house |
| metus, -ūs m. | fear, dread |
| petō, -ere, -īvī or -iī, -ītus | seek, ask; attack |
| ruō, -ere, -ī, -itūrus | rush |
| dē, prep, with abl. | down from, from, out of; about, concerning, of |
| mōns, montis, m. | mountain |
| amnis, -is m. | river |
| spēlunca, -ae, f. | cave, cavern |
| dux, ducis, m. and f. | leader, commander |
| īdem, eadem, idem, dem. pron. | the same; sometimes to be translated likewise, also |
| dēveniō, -īre, dēvēnī, dēventum | come, arrive |
| prīmus, -a, -um | first, foremost |
| tellūs, -ūris f. | earth, land (poetic) |
| prōnuba, -ae f. | matron who attends the bride; of Juno, goddess of marriage |
| dō, dare, dedī, datus | give |
| signum, -ī, n. | sign, signal |
| fulgeō, -ēre, fulsī | flash, shine, glitter |
| ignis, -is, m. | fire |
| cōnscius, -a, -um | aware, conscious (of) |
| aethēr, -eris m. (acc. aethera) | the upper air, the sky |
| cōnūbium, -ī n. | marriage; the right of intermarriage |
| summus, -a, -um | uppermost, highest, greatest |
| ululō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | howl, wail |
| vertex, -icis m. | top of the head, crown; summit |
| nympha, -ae, f. | nymph |
| ille, illa, illud, dem. pron. | that; he, she, it, they; ille ... hīc, see hīc |
| diēs, -ēī, m. and f. | day |
| lētum, -ī n. | death |
| malum, -ī, n. | evil, mischief |
| causa, -ae, f. | cause, reason; abl. causā, for the sake of |
| sum, esse, fuī, futūrus | be |
| neque or nec, conj. | and not, nor; neque ... neque, neither ... nor; neque enim, for ... not |
| enim, conj. | for |
| speciēs, -ēī, f. | sight, appearance, shape |
| fāma, -ae, f. | report, rumor |
| moveō, movēre, mōvī, mōtus | move |
| iam, adv. | now, already |
| fūrtīvus, -a, -um | stolen; secret, stealthy |
| meditor, -ārī, -ātus sum | think over, plan; practise, train for |
| amor, -ōris, m. | love |
| coniugium, -ī n. | marriage, wedlock |
| vocō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | call, summon |
| hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron. | this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter |
| praetexō, -ere, -texuī, -textus | border, fringe; toga praetexta: the purple-bordered toga of magistrates |
| nōmen, -minis, n. | name (that by which one is known) |
| culpa, -ae f. | fault, blame |
Vergil, Aeneid IV. 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.