Aeneid 4.584–629

Aen. 4.584Et iam prīma novō spargēbat lūmine terrās
585Tīthōnī croceum linquēns Aurōra cubīle.

And now Aurora, first, leaving the saffron bed of Tithonus, was sprinkling the earth with new light.

Note. Tīthōnī croceum … cubīle: the Dawn goddess Aurora was married to the mortal Tithonus; she leaves his saffron bed each morning. The same two lines recur at Aeneid 9.459–460.

Aen. 4.586Rēgīna ē speculīs ut prīmum albēscere lūcem
vīdit, et aequātīs classem prōcēdere vēlīs,
lītoraque et vacuōs sēnsit sine rēmige portūs,
terque quaterque manū pectus percussa decōrum,
590flāventēsque abscissa comās, Prō Iuppiter, ībit
hic ait et nostrīs inlūserit advena regnīs?

The queen, as soon as she saw from her watchtower the light growing pale and the fleet moving off with sails set evenly, and saw the shore and harbour empty, without a rower, striking her lovely breast three and four times with her hand and tearing her golden hair, cries: 'O Jupiter, will he go, will this foreigner have made a mockery of my kingdom?

Note. ē speculīs: 'from her watchtower'. ut prīmum: 'as soon as'. aequātīs … vēlīs: 'with sails set evenly', i.e. sailing before a steady wind. sine rēmige: 'without a rower', the ships gone. ter … quaterque: 'three and four times'. pectus percussa decōrum: accusative of respect with the passive participle again ('struck as to her breast'). Prō Iuppiter: 'O Jupiter!'. ībit hic: 'will this man go?'. inlūserit: future perfect, 'will he have mocked?'.

Aen. 4.592Nōn arma expedient, tōtāque ex urbe sequentur,
dēripientque ratēs aliī nāvālibus?

Will they not get out their weapons and follow from all over the city, and will others not drag ships from the dockyards?

Note. expedient: 'get ready'. dēripient … ratēs … nāvālibus: 'drag ships from the dockyards'; nāvālia, -ium is the noun for docks.

Aen. 4.593Īte,
ferte citī flammās, date vēla, impellite rēmōs!—
595Quid loquor, aut ubi sum?

Go, bring fire quickly, spread the sails, drive the oars! What am I saying, where am I?

Note. Īte … impellite: a burst of imperatives to imagined followers; then she checks herself: Quid loquor?

Aen. 4.595Quae mentem īnsānia mūtat?

What madness is changing my mind?

Note. Quae … īnsānia: interrogative adjective, 'what madness?'.

Aen. 4.596Īnfēlīx Dīdō, nunc tē facta impia tangunt.

Unhappy Dido, now your wicked deeds touch you.

Note. facta impia: 'impious deeds', here probably her own broken faith to Sychaeus, though some take it of Aeneas' deeds.

Aen. 4.597Tum decuit, cum scēptra dabās.— Ēn dextra fidēsque,
quem sēcum patriōs aiunt portāre Penātēs,
quem subiisse umerīs cōnfectum aetāte parentem!

Then was the time, when you were giving him the sceptre. See the pledge and the faith of the man who, they say, carries with him his ancestral household gods, who took up on his shoulders his father worn out with age!

Note. Tum decuit: 'then was the time (to feel this)', when she gave him power. Ēn dextra fidēsque: 'see the pledge and the faith', sarcastic. quem … aiunt: 'the man who, they say, …'. The household gods and his father carried on his shoulders were the proofs of Aeneas' pietās; Dido throws them back at him.

Aen. 4.600Nōn potuī abreptum dīvellere corpus, et undīs
spargere?

Could I not have seized him, torn his body apart and scattered it on the waves?

Note. abreptum dīvellere corpus: 'seize and tear apart his body', two actions expressed by participle and infinitive. Nōn potuī …?: 'could I not have…?'.

Aen. 4.601Nōn sociōs, nōn ipsum absūmere ferrō
Ascanium, patriīsque epulandum pōnere mēnsīs?—
Vērum anceps pugnae fuerat fortūna:— fuisset.

Not destroyed his companions with the sword, not Ascanius himself, and served him up to be eaten at his father's table? But the outcome of a fight would have been uncertain. Let it have been!

Note. epulandum pōnere: 'to set before (him) to be feasted on'; the gerundive expresses purpose. This recalls the myth of Atreus and Thyestes, who was fed his own sons. Vērum … fuisset: 'but the outcome would have been uncertain. Let it have been!' The pluperfect subjunctive fuisset is a concessive wish.

Aen. 4.604Quem metuī moritūra?

Whom did I fear, when I was going to die?

Note. Quem metuī moritūra?: 'whom did I fear, (being) about to die?'

Aen. 4.604Facēs in castra tulissem,
605implēssemque forōs flammīs, nātumque patremque
cum genere extīnxem, mēmet super ipsa dedissem.

I would have carried torches into their camp, filled the decks with flames, wiped out son and father with the whole race, and thrown myself on top.

Note. tulissem … implēssem … exstīnxem … dedissem: pluperfect subjunctives in an unreal wish, 'I would have carried…'. implēssem and exstīnxem are syncopated forms (= implēvissem, exstīnxissem). forōs: 'the gangways' or decks of the ships. mēmet: emphatic form of mē. super: adverb, 'on top'.

Aen. 4.607Sōl, quī terrārum flammīs opera omnia lūstrās,
tūque hārum interpres cūrārum et cōnscia Iūnō,
nocturnīsque Hecatē triviīs ululāta per urbēs,
610et Dīrae ultrīcēs, et dī morientis Elissae,
accipite haec, meritumque malīs advertite nūmen,
et nostrās audīte precēs.

O Sun, who light up all the works of the earth with your flames, and you, Juno, the go-between and witness of these sorrows, and Hecate, cried to by night at crossroads through the cities, and avenging Furies, and gods of dying Elissa, hear these words, turn your deserved power against the wicked, and hear our prayers.

Note. Dido's formal curse. Each power is addressed: the Sun who sees all, Juno goddess of marriage (interpres, 'go-between'), Hecate of the crossroads (ululāta, 'howled to'), the Dirae (Furies) and the gods of the dying Elissa (Dido's Phoenician name). meritum … nūmen: 'the power they (the wicked) deserve'.

Aen. 4.612Sī tangere portūs
īnfandum caput ac terrīs adnāre necesse est,
et sīc fāta Iovis poscunt, hic terminus haeret:
615at bellō audācis populī vexātus et armīs,
fīnibus extorris, complexū āvulsus Iūlī,
auxilium implōret, videatque indigna suōrum
fūnera;

If that accursed man must reach harbour and swim to land, and if Jupiter's fates demand it so, if this end is fixed: yet let him be harassed in war by the weapons of a bold people, driven from his lands, torn from the embrace of Iulus, and beg for help, and see the undeserved deaths of his people;

Note. Sī … necesse est: the conditional accepts what fate demands, then curses within it. The curse matches later events: Aeneas fought a war in Italy, left Iulus to seek help from Evander, and in legend died soon after making peace, his body never found (mediā inhumātus harēnā). audācis populī: the Rutulians.

Aen. 4.618nec, cum sē sub lēgēs pācis inīquae
trādiderit, regnō aut optātā lūce fruātur,
620sed cadat ante diem, mediāque inhumātus harēnā.

and when he has given himself up to the terms of an unjust peace, may he not enjoy his kingdom or the light he longs for, but fall before his time and lie unburied in the middle of the sand.

Note. cum sē … trādiderit: future perfect sense in a subjunctive clause, 'when he has surrendered himself'. optātā lūce fruātur: fruor takes the ablative. cadat … inhumātus: 'may he fall … unburied', the worst fate for a Roman.

Aen. 4.621Haec precor, hanc vōcem extrēmam cum sanguine fundō.

This is my prayer, these last words I pour out with my blood.

Note. Haec precor: 'this is my prayer'. vōcem extrēmam: 'last utterance'. cum sanguine fundō: 'I pour out with my blood', as if her life ran out with the words.

Aen. 4.622Tum vōs, ō Tyriī, stirpem et genus omne futūrum
exercēte odiīs, cinerīque haec mittite nostrō
mūnera.

Then you, my Tyrians, harass with hatred his stock and all his race to come, and send these offerings to my ashes.

Note. Tyriī: vocative. stirpem et genus omne futūrum: 'his stock and all the race to come', i.e. the Romans. exercēte odiīs: 'harass with hatred'. cinerī … nostrō … mūnera: 'offerings to my ashes', as if hatred were a funeral gift.

Aen. 4.624Nūllus amor populīs, nec foedera suntō.

Let there be no love between our peoples, no treaties.

Note. suntō: third person plural future imperative of sum, the form of laws and treaties: 'let there be'. The line explains the Punic Wars as the fulfilment of Dido's curse.

Aen. 4.625Exoriāre aliquis nostrīs ex ossibus ultor,
quī face Dardaniōs ferrōque sequāre colōnōs,
nunc, ōlim, quōcumque dabunt sē tempore vīrēs.

Rise up, some avenger, from my bones, to pursue the Dardanian settlers with fire and sword, now, hereafter, whenever the strength is given.

Note. Exoriāre … aliquis … ultor: 'rise up, some avenger', a present subjunctive used as a command, addressed to an unknown 'someone'. Readers have always heard Hannibal here. The line has a striking rhythm: Exoriāre aliquis is all dactyls, with the elision of -re into aliquis. sequāre: second person subjunctive. quōcumque … tempore: 'at whatever time'.

Aen. 4.628Lītora lītoribus contrāria, flūctibus undās
imprecor, arma armīs;

Shore against shore, waves against waves, arms against arms, I pray:

Note. Lītora lītoribus contrāria: the repetition with case change (polyptoton) sets shore against shore, wave against wave, arms against arms: Carthage against Rome. imprecor: 'I call down (as a curse)'.

Aen. 4.629pugnent ipsīque nepōtēsque.

let them fight, they and their descendants.'

Note. ipsīque nepōtēsque: 'both they themselves and their grandsons'. The line is a hexameter that ends with the doubled -que, an archaic, Ennian rhythm.