Aeneid 4.198–218

Aen. 4.198Hic Hammōne satus, raptā Garamantide Nymphā,
templa Iovī centum lātīs immānia regnīs,
200centum ārās posuit, vigilemque sacrāverat ignem,
excubiās dīvom aeternās, pecudumque cruōre
pingue solum et variīs flōrentia līmina sertīs.

This man, son of Hammon by a nymph he had carried off, a Garamantian, set up a hundred huge temples to Jupiter in his wide kingdom, a hundred altars, and had consecrated a fire that never slept, the everlasting sentinel of the gods, and the ground was rich with the blood of beasts and the doorways bloomed with garlands of many colours.

Note. Hammōne satus: 'sprung from Hammon', the Libyan god identified with Jupiter. raptā … Nymphā: ablative absolute, 'a nymph having been carried off'. vigilem … ignem: an ever-burning fire, the 'sentinel of the gods' (excubiās dīvom). pingue … solum … flōrentia līmina: supply erant.

Aen. 4.203Isque āmēns animī et rūmōre accēnsus amārō
dīcitur ante ārās media inter nūmina dīvom
205multa Iovem manibus supplex ōrāsse supīnīs:
Iuppiter omnipotēns, cui nunc Maurūsia pictīs
gēns epulāta torīs Lēnaeum libat honōrem,
aspicis haec, an tē, genitor, cum fulmina torquēs,
nēquīquam horrēmus, caecīque in nūbibus ignēs
210terrificant animōs et inānia murmura miscent?

And he, out of his mind and inflamed by the bitter rumour, is said to have prayed much to Jupiter before the altars, among the presences of the gods, as a suppliant with upturned hands: 'Almighty Jupiter, to whom the Moorish race, feasting on embroidered couches, now pours the offering of wine, do you see this? Or is it for nothing that we shudder at you, father, when you hurl the thunderbolts, and are they blind fires in the clouds that frighten our minds and stir up empty rumblings?

Note. āmēns animī: animī is a locative genitive, 'out of his mind'. manibus … supīnīs: hands turned palm-up, the gesture of prayer. Maurūsia … gēns: the Moors, his subjects. Lēnaeum … honōrem: an offering of wine (Lenaeus = Bacchus). an … nēquīquam horrēmus: 'or do we shudder in vain?' caecī ignēs: lightning 'blind', i.e. aimless.

Aen. 4.211Fēmina, quae nostrīs errāns in fīnibus urbem
exiguam pretiō posuit, cui lītus arandum
cuique locī lēgēs dedimus, cōnūbia nostra
reppulit, ac dominum Aenēān in regna recēpit.

A woman who, wandering in our lands, founded a little city for a price, to whom we gave a shore to plough and the laws of the place, has rejected marriage with me and taken Aeneas as master into her kingdom.

Note. Fēmina: scornful, 'a woman'. pretiō: Dido bought the land (Book 1, the oxhide story). cui lītus arandum … dedimus: 'to whom we gave a shore to plough'; arandum is a gerundive of purpose. cōnūbia nostra: marriage with me.

Aen. 4.215Et nunc ille Paris cum sēmivirō comitātū,
Maeoniā mentum mitrā crīnemque madentem
subnexus, raptō potītur: nōs mūnera templīs
quippe tuīs ferimus, fāmamque fovēmus inānem.

And now that Paris, with his half-man retinue, his chin and his oiled hair tied up with a Maeonian turban, takes possession of the prize: while we bring gifts to your temples, yes, yours, and cherish an empty belief.'

Note. ille Paris: Aeneas as a second Paris, an eastern seducer of another man's woman. sēmivirō comitātū: effeminate, a common Roman insult for Easterners. Maeoniā … mitrā … subnexus: a middle use of the participle with accusatives, 'having bound his chin and oiled hair with a Lydian turban'. raptō potītur: potior takes the ablative.