Aeneid 6.212–235

Aen. 6.212Nec minus intereā Mīsēnum in lītore Teucrī
flēbant, et cinerī ingrātō suprēma ferēbant.

Meanwhile on the shore the Teucrians were weeping no less for Misenus, and paying the last rites to the thankless ashes.

Note. Nec minus interea: the narrative returns to the Trojans on the shore. cinerī ingrātō: 'to the ashes that cannot thank them', since the dead cannot feel gratitude. suprēma ferēbant: 'they paid the last rites'.

Aen. 6.214Prīncipiō pinguem taedīs et rōbore sectō
215ingentem strūxēre pyram, cui frondibus ātrīs
intexunt latera, et fērālēs ante cupressōs
cōnstituunt, decorantque super fulgentibus armīs.

First they built a huge pyre, rich with pine-wood and cut oak, whose sides they weave with dark leaves, and they set funereal cypresses in front, and adorn it above with shining arms.

Note. Principiō: 'first'. pinguem taedīs: 'rich with pine-wood' (resinous and so burning well). struxēre = struxērunt. cui frondibus ātrīs / intexunt latera: 'whose sides they weave with dark leaves'. fērālīs … cupressōs: the cypress was the tree of mourning, set before the houses of the dead. fulgentibus armīs: present participle, 'shining'.

Aen. 6.218Pars calidōs laticēs et aēna undantia flammīs
expediunt, corpusque lavant frīgentis et unguunt.

Some get ready warm water and bronze cauldrons bubbling over the flames, and wash and anoint the body of the cold dead.

Note. Pars: 'some', with a plural verb. aëna undantia flammīs: 'bronze cauldrons bubbling over the flames'; undantia is a present participle. frigentis: present participle as a noun, 'of the cold (dead man)'. Washing and anointing the body were the usual rites.

Aen. 6.220Fit gemitus.

A groan goes up.

Note. Fit gemitus: the ritual lament, the conclamatio.

Aen. 6.220Tum membra torō dēflēta repōnunt,
purpureāsque super vestēs, vēlāmina nōta,
coniciunt.

Then they lay the limbs, wept over, on the couch, and throw over them purple garments, his familiar coverings.

Note. membra … dēflēta: the limbs, after the lament. torō: the bier, the funeral couch. velāmina nōta: in apposition, 'his familiar coverings'.

Aen. 6.222Pars ingentī subiēre feretrō,
trīste ministerium, et subiectam mōre parentum
āversī tenuēre facem.

Some put their shoulders to the huge bier, a sad service, and in the way of their fathers held the torch put under, with faces turned away.

Note. subiēre: 'they went beneath', i.e. carried. triste ministerium: an accusative in apposition to the action of the sentence. more parentum / āversī tenuēre facem: 'in the way of their fathers, they held the torch with faces turned away': the relatives lit the pyre without looking, to avoid seeing the dead burn, according to Roman custom.

Aen. 6.224Congesta cremantur
225tūrea dōna, dapēs, fūsō crātērēs olīvō.

The heaped-up gifts are burned, the incense, the food, the bowls of poured olive oil.

Note. Congesta cremantur: the offerings heaped on the pyre are burned: incense, food, and bowls of olive oil (fūsō … olīvō).

Aen. 6.226Postquam conlāpsī cinerēs et flamma quiēvit
reliquiās vīnō et bibulam lāvēre favillam,
ossaque lēcta cadō tēxit Corynaeus aënō.

After the ashes fell in and the flame died down, they washed the remains and the thirsty embers with wine, and Corynaeus gathered the bones and covered them in a bronze urn.

Note. Postquam conlāpsī cinerēs: supply sunt. reliquiās vīnō et bibulam lāvēre favillam: they quench the embers with wine; bibulam, 'thirsty', because the ash soaks it up. lāvēre (perfect of lavō). Corynaeus: one of the Trojans, who acts as priest. cadō: 'urn' or 'jar'. aēnō: an adjective, 'of bronze'.

Aen. 6.229Īdem ter sociōs pūrā circumtulit undā,
230spargēns rōre levī et rāmō fēlīcis olīvae,
lūstrāvitque virōs, dīxitque novissima verba.

He also carried pure water three times round his comrades, sprinkling them with light drops from a branch of fruitful olive, and purified the men, and spoke the last words.

Note. Īdem: 'he also', Corynaeus. ter … circumtulit: the purification by carrying water three times round the mourners. rōre levī: 'with light drops'. fēlīcis olīvae: 'of the fruitful olive'. lūstrāvit: 'he purified'. novissima verba: the last farewell, 'vale'.

Aen. 6.232At pius Aenēās ingentī mōle sepulcrum
impōnit, suaque arma virō, rēmumque tubamque,
monte sub āëriō, quī nunc Mīsēnus ab illō
235dīcitur, aeternumque tenet per saecula nōmen.

But dutiful Aeneas sets up a tomb of huge mass, with the man's own arms, his oar and trumpet, under a lofty mountain, which is now called Misenus after him and keeps an everlasting name through the ages.

Note. ingentī mōle sepulcrum: 'a tomb of huge mass', i.e. a large mound. suaque arma virō: his own arms, set on the tomb as a memorial: the oar (rēmum) and trumpet (tubam) mark his two roles. monte sub āeriō: the headland of Misenum, at the northern end of the Bay of Naples, which took its name from him: an aetiology, the explanation of a place name, common in the Aeneid. In Vergil's day it was the base of the Roman fleet.