Aeneid 6.679–702

Aen. 6.679At pater Anchīsēs penitus convalle virentī
680inclūsās animās superumque ad lūmen itūrās
lūstrābat studiō recolēns, omnemque suōrum
forte recēnsēbat numerum cārōsque nepōtēs,
fātaque fortūnāsque virum mōrēsque manūsque.

But father Anchises, deep in a green valley, was surveying with keen attention the souls enclosed there that were to go up to the light above, and, as it happened, was reviewing the whole number of his own people, his dear descendants, the fates and fortunes of the men, their characters and their deeds.

Note. At pater Anchīsēs: a solemn opening for the father. penitus: 'deep within'. superum … ad lūmen itūrās: 'destined to go to the light above', the future participle of eō expressing destiny. lūstrābat … recēnsēbat: imperfects of an action in progress. studiō … recolēns: 'thinking over with care'. virum = virōrum. The list fāta fortūnāsque … mōrēsque manūsque piles up -que's (polysyndeton) and anticipates the parade of Romans.

Aen. 6.684Isque ubi tendentem adversum per grāmina videt
685Aenēān, alacris palmās utrāsque tetendit,
effūsaeque genīs lacrimae, et vōx excidit ōre:
Vēnistī tandem, tuaque exspectāta parentī
vīcit iter dūrum pietās?

And when he saw Aeneas coming towards him across the grass, he eagerly stretched out both his hands, tears poured down his cheeks, and a cry fell from his lips: 'You have come at last, and the devotion your father waited for has overcome the hard journey?

Note. Isque ubi … videt: 'and when he saw'; videt is a historic present. tendentem adversum: 'making his way towards him'. palmās utrāsque tetendit: a gesture of welcome, echoing tendentem. genīs: 'from his cheeks', ablative of separation. Vēnistī tandem: the speech opens with a joyful question; the -ne is omitted. exspectāta parentī: 'awaited by your father', dative of agent with the participle. pietās: Aeneas' defining virtue, devotion to gods, country and family.

Aen. 6.688Datur ōra tuērī,
nāte, tua, et nōtās audīre et reddere vōcēs?

Am I granted to see your face, my son, and to hear and answer the voice I know?

Note. Datur … tuērī: impersonal passive with an infinitive, 'is it granted me to see'. nāte: vocative of nātus, 'son'. nōtās … vōcēs: 'familiar words'. The question has no -ne; the tone carries it.

Aen. 6.690Sīc equidem dūcēbam animō rēbarque futūrum,
tempora dīnumerāns, nec mē mea cūra fefellit.

So indeed I reckoned in my mind and believed it would be, counting the days, and my anxious hope did not deceive me.

Note. dūcēbam animō: 'I was reckoning in my mind'. rēbar: imperfect of the deponent reor, 'I was thinking'. futūrum: supply esse, 'that it would happen'. tempora dīnumerāns: counting the time until his son's arrival. mea cūra: 'my anxious hope'. fefellit: perfect of fallō.

Aen. 6.692Quās ego tē terrās et quanta per aequora vectum
accipiō!

Over what lands, across what great seas have you travelled, that I now receive you!

Note. Quās … terrās et quanta per aequora: an exclamatory relative: 'through what lands and what great seas'. vectum: perfect participle of vehō, agreeing with tē, 'carried'. accipiō: present, 'I receive you'. per governs both terrās and aequora, though it stands only before the second (a poetic placement).

Aen. 6.693quantīs iactātum, nāte, perīclīs!

By what great dangers tossed, my son!

Note. Supply accipiō again. iactātum … perīclīs: 'tossed by dangers'; perīclīs = perīculīs, syncopated. The verb iactō recalls the first lines of the poem, where Aeneas is multum iactātus.

Aen. 6.694Quam metuī, nē quid Libyae tibi regna nocērent!

How I feared that the kingdom of Libya might do you some harm!'

Note. Quam metuī nē …: 'How I feared that …'; nē introduces a fear clause, and nē quid is 'that something, in any way'. Libyae … regna: Carthage and Dido. nocērent takes the dative tibi. Anchises died before Carthage, but as a spirit he knows what happened.

Aen. 6.695Ille autem: Tua mē, genitor, tua trīstis imāgō,
saepius occurrēns, haec līmina tendere adēgit:
stant sale Tyrrhēnō classēs.

But he answered: 'Your image, father, your sad image, meeting me again and again, drove me to make for these thresholds; my fleet is anchored in the Tyrrhenian sea.

Note. Ille autem: supply ait. genitor: vocative. tua trīstis imāgō: Anchises' ghost appeared to Aeneas in dreams (Aeneid 5.722). saepius: 'again and again', a comparative with intensive force. tendere: infinitive after adēgit, 'drove me to make for'. stant sale Tyrrhēnō classēs: 'my fleet stands in the Tyrrhenian sea'; sāl, 'salt', is poetic for the sea.

Aen. 6.697Dā iungere dextram,
dā, genitor, tēque amplexū nē subtrahe nostrō.

Give me your right hand to clasp, father, give it, and do not withdraw from my embrace.'

Note. Dā iungere dextram: 'grant me to join right hands', the infinitive with dā as in a request. nē subtrahe: nē with the imperative, a poetic prohibition. amplexū … nostrō: ablative of separation, 'from my embrace'.

Aen. 6.699Sīc memorāns, largō flētū simul ōra rigābat.

So speaking, he wet his face with a flood of tears.

Note. Sīc memorāns: 'speaking thus'. simul: 'at the same time'. largō flētū: ablative of means. rigābat: 'was wetting'.

Aen. 6.700Ter cōnātus ibi collō dare brachia circum,
ter frūstrā comprēnsa manūs effūgit imāgō,

Three times there he tried to throw his arms around his neck; three times the image, grasped in vain, escaped his hands.

Note. Ter … ter: three times, the ritual number of failure. These lines repeat word for word Aeneas' attempt to embrace the ghost of his wife Creusa in Aeneid 2.792–794; the source text here omits the third line (702). cōnātus: supply est. collō … circum: circum dare is split by tmesis: circumdare brachia collō, 'to put his arms around his neck'. comprēnsa: 'grasped', from comprehendō. The shade cannot be held.