Lectitō › Vergil › Aeneid, Book 6
Aeneid 6.417–425
Cerberus
Vergil, Aeneid VI. Latin text with a sentence-by-sentence English translation, notes and vocabulary.
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Read in LectitōAen. 6.417Cerberus haec ingēns lātrātū regna trifaucī
personat, adversō recubāns immānis in antrō.
Huge Cerberus makes these realms ring with his three-throated barking, lying stretched out in a cave facing them.
Note. Cerberus: the hound of Hades, here with three heads (trifaucī). lātrātū … trifaucī: 'with three-throated barking'. personat: 'makes … ring', transitive with regna as object. adversō … in antrō: 'in a cave opposite'.
Aen. 6.419Cui vātēs, horrēre vidēns iam colla colubrīs,
420melle sopōrātam et medicātīs frūgibus offam
obicit.
The prophetess, seeing his necks already bristling with snakes, throws him a cake drowsy with honey and drugged grain.
Note. Cui: connecting relative, 'to him'. horrēre … colla colubrīs: 'his necks bristling with snakes', an infinitive in indirect statement after vidēns. melle sopōrātam … offam: 'a cake made drowsy with honey and drugged grain'. medicātīs: 'treated with drugs'. obicit: 'throws in front of'. The Sibyl's sop to Cerberus gave English the phrase 'a sop to Cerberus'.
Aen. 6.421Ille fame rabidā tria guttura pandēns
corripit obiectam, atque immānia terga resolvit
fūsus humī, tōtōque ingēns extenditur antrō.
He, opening his three throats in raging hunger, snatches what was thrown and, lying sprawled on the ground, relaxes his huge back and stretches out all over the cave.
Note. fame rabidā: 'in raging hunger'. tria guttura pandēns: 'opening three throats'. obiectam: supply offam. resolvit: 'relaxes'. fūsus humī: 'sprawled on the ground'; humī is a locative. tōtō … antrō: 'over the whole cave'.
Aen. 6.424Occupat Aenēās aditum custōde sepultō,
425ēvāditque celer rīpam inremeābilis undae.
Aeneas seizes the entrance while the guard is buried in sleep and quickly passes the bank of the water from which there is no return.
Note. Occupat: 'seizes', as of a position in war. custōde sepultō: ablative absolute, 'the guard buried in sleep'. inremeābilis: 'that allows no return', a word Vergil seems to have coined.
Vocabulary
| hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron. | this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter |
| ingēns, -gentis, adj. | huge, vast |
| lātrātus, -ūs m. | barking |
| regnum, -ī, n. | royal power, rule, throne; kingdom, realm |
| trifaux, -faucis | three-throated |
| personō, -āre, -uī | resound; play loudly (on an instrument) |
| adversus, -a, -um | facing; unfavourable, unsuccessful |
| recubō, -āre | lie back, recline |
| immānis, -e | huge, enormous; savage |
| in, prep. with acc. and abl. | with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on |
| antrum, -ī, n. | cave |
| quī, quae, quod, rel. pron. | who, which |
| vātēs, -is m. and f. | prophet, seer, soothsayer |
| horreō, -ēre, horruī | shudder at, dread |
| videō, vidēre, vīdī, vīsus | see; pass., seem |
| iam, adv. | now, already |
| collum, -ī, n. | neck |
| coluber, -brī m. | snake, serpent |
| mel, mellis n. | honey |
| sopōrō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | put to sleep; drug with a sleeping draught |
| et, conj. | and; et ... et, both ... and |
| medicō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | drug, steep in medicine |
| frūx, frūgis f. (usu. pl.) | crops, produce |
| offa, -ae f. | lump, cake |
| obiciō, -icere, -iēcī, -iectus | throw in the way or to |
| ille, illa, illud, dem. pron. | that; he, she, it, they; ille ... hīc, see hīc |
| famēs, -is, abl. famē, f. | hunger |
| rabidus, -a, -um | raving, frenzied |
| trēs, tria, plur. adj. | three |
| guttur, -uris n. | throat |
| pandō, -ere, pandī, passum | spread out (passīs manibus: with hands outstretched) |
| corripiō, -ripere, -ripuī, -reptus | seize, snatch, snatch up |
| atque, ac (conj.) | and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants) |
| tergum, -ī, n. | back |
| resolvō, -ere, -solvī, -solūtus | untie, loosen; release; break (bonds, oaths) |
| fundō, -ere, fūdī, fūsum | pour; rout, scatter (an enemy) |
| humus, -ī f. | ground, earth; humī: on the ground |
| tōtus, -a, -um | all the, the whole or entire |
| que, enclitic conj. | and |
| extendō, -ere, -tendī, -tentum | stretch out, extend |
| occupō, -cupāre, -cupāvī, -cupātus | seize; fill |
| aditus, -ūs, m. | approach, entrance |
| custōs, -ōdis m. | guard |
| sepeliō, sepelīre, sepelīvī, sepultus | bury |
| ēvādō, -vādere, -vāsī, -vāsus | go forth, get away, escape |
| celer, celeris, celere | swift, quick |
| rīpa, -ae, f. | bank |
| inremeābilis (irremeābilis), -e | from which there is no return |
| unda, -ae, f. | wave |