Aeneid 4.237–237

Jupiter's last word

Vergil, Aeneid IV. Latin text with a sentence-by-sentence English translation, notes and vocabulary.

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Aen. 4.237Nāviget: haec summa est;

Let him sail: this is the sum of it;

Note. These are the last words of Jupiter's message for Aeneas (4.223–237). nāviget: jussive subjunctive, 'let him sail'. haec summa est: 'this is the sum of it'; haec is attracted into the feminine of summa.

Aen. 4.237hic nostrī nūntius estō.

let this be our message.

Note. hic … estō: 'let this be'; hic is attracted into the gender of nūntius ('message' here, not 'messenger'). estō is the future imperative of sum, used in formal commands and laws. nostrī: 'of us', the royal plural.

Vocabulary

nāvigō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	sail
hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron.	this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter
summa, -ae f.	total, sum; supreme command
sum, esse, fuī, futūrus	be
nōs	plur. of ego
nūntius, -ī, m.	messenger; message

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.