Aeneid 4.693–705

Iris cuts the lock

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

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Aen. 4.693Tum Iūnō omnipotēns, longum miserāta dolōrem
difficilīsque obitūs, Īrim dēmīsit Olympō,
695quae luctantem animam nexōsque resolveret artūs.

Then all-powerful Juno, pitying her long pain and difficult death, sent Iris down from Olympus to release the struggling soul and the limbs that held it fast.

Note. Iūnō omnipotēns: Juno, goddess of marriage and of Carthage, takes pity at the end. difficilīs obitūs: accusative plural, 'her hard death'. Īrim: Greek accusative. quae … resolveret: relative clause of purpose, 'to release'. nexōs … artūs: 'the limbs bound (to the soul)'.

Aen. 4.696Nam quia nec fātō, meritā nec morte perībat,
sed misera ante diem, subitōque accēnsa furōre,
nōndum illī flāvum Prōserpina vertice crīnem
abstulerat, Stygiōque caput damnāverat Orcō.

For since she was dying neither by fate nor by a deserved death, but wretchedly, before her day, set alight by sudden madness, Proserpina had not yet taken a golden lock from her head or condemned her life to Stygian Orcus.

Note. Proserpina, queen of the underworld, was thought to cut a lock of hair from the dying as a first offering to Dis; until she did, the soul could not leave. Because Dido died before her fated day, by her own hand, the lock had not been taken. Stygiō … Orcō: 'to Stygian Orcus', the underworld.

Aen. 4.700Ergō Īris croceīs per caelum rōscida pennīs,
mīlle trahēns variōs adversō sōle colōrēs,
dēvolat, et suprā caput adstitit: Hunc ego Dītī
sacrum iussa ferō, tēque istō corpore solvō.

So Iris flies down through the sky on saffron wings, dewy, trailing a thousand shifting colours against the sun, and stood above her head: 'I take this lock, as I am ordered, as an offering sacred to Dis, and I release you from this body.'

Note. roscida: 'dewy'. mīlle trahēns variōs adversō sōle colōrēs: the rainbow, formed opposite the sun. Hunc … sacrum … Dītī: 'this (lock) sacred to Dis'. iussa: 'as ordered'. istō corpore: 'from that body', ablative of separation.

Aen. 4.704Sīc ait, et dextrā crīnem secat: omnis et ūnā
705dīlāpsus calor, atque in ventōs vīta recessit.

So she speaks, and cuts the lock with her right hand: and at once all the warmth slipped away, and life withdrew into the winds.

Note. omnis et ūnā: 'and at once all (the warmth)'. in ventōs vīta recessit: 'life withdrew into the winds', the quiet last line of the book.

Vocabulary

tum, adv.	then, at that time
omnipotēns, -entis	all-powerful
longus, -a, -um	long; tedious
miseror, -ārī, -ātus sum	lament, pity
dolor, -ōris, m.	pain, grief; anger
difficilis, -e	not easy, difficult
que, enclitic conj.	and
obitus, -ūs m.	death
dēmittō, -mittere, -mīsī, -missus	send down, let fall; animōs dēmittere, to lose courage
quī, quae, quod, rel. pron.	who, which
luctor, -ārī, -ātus	wrestle, struggle
anima, -ae, f.	breath, soul, life
nectō, -ere, nexuī, nexus	tie, bind; contrive (a plot)
resolvō, -ere, -solvī, -solūtus	untie, loosen; release; break (bonds, oaths)
artūs, -uum m. pl.	joints; limbs, body
nam, conj.	for
quia (conj.)	because
neque or nec, conj.	and not, nor; neque ... neque, neither ... nor; neque enim, for ... not
fātum, -ī, n.	destiny, fate
mereō, -ēre, meruī, meritus	deserve, earn
mors, mortīs, f.	death
pereō, -īre, -ii, -itūrus	pass away, perish
sed, conj.	but
miser, misera, miserum	wretched, unhappy
ante, prep, with acc. and adv.	before
diēs, -ēī, m. and f.	day
subitus, -a, -um	sudden
accendō, -cendere, -cendī, -cēnsus	kindle, light
furor, -ōris, m.	rage, fury, frenzy, madness
nōndum, adv.	not yet
ille, illa, illud, dem. pron.	that; he, she, it, they; ille ... hīc, see hīc
flāvus, -a, -um	yellow, golden
vertex, -icis m.	top of the head, crown; summit
crīnis, -is m.	hair, a lock of hair
auferō, auferre, abstulī, ablātus	bear away, carry off
Stygius, -a, -um	of the Styx, Stygian; of the underworld
caput, capitis, n.	head
damnō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum	condemn
ergō (adv.)	therefore, then; quid ergō? what then?
croceus, -a, -um	saffron-coloured, yellow
per, prep, with ace.	through, by means of
caelum, -ī, n.	heaven, sky
rōscidus, -a, -um	dewy, wet with dew
penna, -ae f.	feather; (pl.) wings
mīlle, indecl. adj.	a thousand; mīlia, -ium, n. plur., thousands;
trahō, trahere, trāxī, trāctus	draw, drag
varius, -a, -um	various
adversus, -a, -um	facing; unfavourable, unsuccessful
sōl, sōlis, m.	sun
color, -ōris, m.	color
dēvolō, -āre, -āvī	fly down
et, conj.	and; et ... et, both ... and
suprā, adv. and prep. with acc.	above, before
adsistō, -ere, adstitī	stand by, stand near; appear
hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron.	this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter
ego, meī, pers. pron.	I
sacer, sacra, sacrum	sacred, holy
iubeō, iubēre, iussī, iussus	bid, order, command
ferō, ferre, tulī, lātus	bear, bring
tū, tuī, pers. pron.	thou, you
iste, ista, istud, dem. pron.	that of yours, that
corpus, corporis, n.	body
solvō, solvere, solvī, solūtus	loosen, unbind, release; pay; with or without nāvem, cast off, set sail, put to sea
sīc, adv.	so, thus
āiō (defective)	say, affirm; ut aiunt: as they say
dextra, -ae, f.	right hand (manus understood)
secō, -āre, secuī, sectus	cut; (of fodder) mow
omnis, -e	all, every
ūnā	together, along
dīlābor, -lābī, -lāpsus sum	slip away, melt away, scatter
calor, -ōris, m.	heat
atque, ac (conj.)	and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants)
in, prep. with acc. and abl.	with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on
ventus, -ī, m.	wind
vīta, -ae, f.	life
recēdō, -ere, -cessī, -cessum	go back, withdraw, retire

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.