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.
Lectitō › Vergil › Aeneid, Book 4 › Aeneid 4.237–237
Vergil · Aeneid IV
Aeneid 4.237–237
Jupiter's last word
In brief. In a single line, Jupiter sums up the whole message that Mercury is to carry to Aeneas: he must sail.
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Read in LectitōLatin vocabulary for this passage (6 words)
| 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.