Aeneid 4.474–503

Aen. 4.474Ergō ubi concēpit furiās ēvicta dolōre
475dēcrēvitque morī, tempus sēcum ipsa modumque
exigit, et, maestam dictīs adgressa sorōrem,
cōnsilium voltū tegit, ac spem fronte serēnat:
Invēnī, germāna, viam— grātāre sorōrī—
quae mihi reddat eum, vel eō mē solvat amantem.

So, when overwhelmed by grief she had taken the madness into her heart and resolved to die, she works out by herself the time and the manner, and, approaching her sorrowing sister with words, she hides her plan behind her face and makes hope shine on her brow: 'I have found a way, sister, rejoice with your sister, that will give him back to me or free me, who love him, from him.

Note. concēpit furiās: 'took madness into her heart'. ēvicta dolōre: 'overcome by grief', nominative with Dido. secum ipsa: 'by herself', without telling anyone. spem fronte serēnat: 'makes hope bright on her brow' (fronte, ablative of place), i.e. she puts on a calm face. Invēnī … viam: her speech starts in the middle of the line, without an introducing verb. quae … reddat … solvat: relative clause of purpose (subjunctive), 'a way that will give him back… or free me'. eō: ablative of separation, 'from him'; amantem agrees with mē.

Aen. 4.480Ōceanī fīnem iūxtā sōlemque cadentem
ultimus Aethiopum locus est, ubi maxumus Atlās
axem humerō torquet stellīs ārdentibus aptum:
hinc mihi Massȳlae gentis mōnstrāta sacerdōs,
Hesperidum templī custōs, epulāsque dracōnī
485quae dabat, et sacrōs servābat in arbore rāmōs,
spargēns ūmida mella sopōriferumque papāver.

Near the end of the Ocean and the setting sun lies the farthest place of the Ethiopians, where mightiest Atlas turns on his shoulder the axis of the sky, studded with blazing stars: from there a priestess of the Massylian race has been shown to me, the guardian of the temple of the Hesperides, who used to give the dragon its food and kept the sacred branches on the tree, sprinkling moist honey and sleep-bringing poppy.

Note. Ōceanī fīnem iūxtā: iūxtā here follows its noun. maxumus = maximus. Atlās … axem umerō torquet: the giant who holds up the sky. Massȳlae gentis: the Massyli of north-west Africa. Hesperidum templī custōs: the Hesperides' garden held golden apples guarded by a dragon. epulāsque … quae dabat: the relative pronoun is postponed, a common poetic order. spargēns: the priestess drugged the dragon with honey and poppy.

Aen. 4.487Haec sē carminibus prōmittit solvere mentēs
quās velit, ast aliīs dūrās immittere cūrās,
sistere aquam fluviīs, et vertere sīdera retrō;

She promises that with her spells she can free the minds of whom she wishes, but bring harsh cares upon others, halt the water in rivers, and turn the stars backwards;

Note. Haec sē … prōmittit solvere: 'she promises that she (can) loosen'. quās velit: subjunctive in a relative clause inside reported speech. ast: archaic form of at. The list of powers (stopping rivers, reversing the stars) is the stock description of a witch.

Aen. 4.490nocturnōsque movet Mānīs: mūgīre vidēbis
sub pedibus terram, et dēscendere montibus ornōs.

and she stirs up the ghosts of the night: you will see the earth bellow beneath her feet and the ash-trees come down from the mountains.

Note. Mānīs: accusative plural in -īs of mānēs, the spirits of the dead. mūgīre … terram, dēscendere … ornōs: accusatives and infinitives after vidēbis.

Aen. 4.492Testor, cāra, deōs et tē, germāna, tuumque
dulce caput, magicās invītam accingier artēs.

I call the gods to witness, dear sister, and you and your sweet life, that I arm myself with magic arts unwillingly.

Note. Testor … deōs: 'I call the gods to witness'. cāra … germāna: vocative. accingier: archaic present passive infinitive (= accingī), used here in a middle sense, 'arm myself'; artēs is its object. invītam: 'unwilling', agreeing with the understood mē. The protest of unwillingness shows how far magic was outside respectable Roman religion.

Aen. 4.494Tū sēcrēta pyram tēctō interiōre sub aurās
495ērige, et arma virī, thalamō quae fīxa relīquit
impius, exuviāsque omnīs, lectumque iugālem,
quō periī, superimpōnās: abolēre nefandī
cūncta virī monumenta iuvat, mōnstratque sacerdōs.

You, in secret, build a pyre in the inner court under the open sky, and place on top the arms of the man, which the faithless one left hanging in our bedroom, and all his clothing, and the marriage bed on which I was ruined: I want to destroy every reminder of that unspeakable man, and the priestess shows the way.'

Note. Tū sēcrēta: 'you, in secret' (sēcrēta, nominative feminine with tū). tēctō interiōre: 'in the inner court', ablative of place. sub aurās: 'up into the air', the pyre rising under the open sky. ērige … superimpōnās: an imperative and then a jussive subjunctive. impius: Aeneas, usually called pius, is here 'the faithless one'. quō periī: 'on which I was ruined'. abolēre … iuvat: 'it pleases (me) to destroy'.

Aen. 4.499Haec effāta silet;

Having said this she falls silent;

Note. Haec effāta: 'having said this', the deponent effor. A short, ominous half-sentence.

Aen. 4.499pallor simul occupat ōra.

at the same moment a pallor takes hold of her face.

Note. pallor … occupat ōra: the first physical sign that she means to die.

Aen. 4.500Nōn tamen Anna novīs praetexere fūnera sacrīs
germānam crēdit, nec tantōs mente furōrēs
concipit, aut graviōra timet, quam morte Sychaeī:
ergō iussa parat.

Yet Anna does not believe that her sister is screening her own funeral with these strange rites, nor does she imagine such madness in her mind, or fear anything worse than at the death of Sychaeus: so she carries out the orders.

Note. praetexere fūnera sacrīs: 'cloaks (her own) funeral with these rites'. germānam: subject of the infinitive. quam morte Sychaeī: 'than (at) the death of Sychaeus', her first husband. iussa: neuter plural noun, 'the orders'.