Aeneid 6.724–751

Aen. 6.724Prīncipiō caelum ac terrās campōsque liquentīs
725lūcentemque globum Lūnae Tītāniaque astra
spīritus intus alit, tōtamque īnfūsa per artūs
mēns agitat mōlem et magnō sē corpore miscet.

'First, a spirit within nourishes the sky and the lands, the watery plains, the shining globe of the moon and the Titan's stars, and a mind, poured through all the limbs, moves the whole mass and mingles with the great body.

Note. Anchises' account of the world-soul, close to Stoic teaching. Prīncipiō: 'first'. The objects caelum ac terrās campōsque liquentīs, globum Lūnae, Tītānia astra stand first; the verb alit and subject spīritus come later. campōs … liquentīs: 'the watery plains', the sea. Tītānia astra: the sun, child of the Titan Hyperion, and the stars. mēns agitat mōlem: 'mind moves the mass', a famous phrase. magnō … corpore: the universe is imagined as one great body.

Aen. 6.728Inde hominum pecudumque genus, vītaeque volantum,
et quae marmoreō fert mōnstra sub aequore pontus.

From this come the race of men and beasts, the lives of winged things, and the monsters the sea carries beneath its marble surface.

Note. Inde: 'from this', from the world-soul. Supply sunt or oriuntur: from the spirit come the races of men and beasts. volantum = volantium, 'of flying things', a contracted genitive. mōnstra: 'strange creatures'. marmoreō … aequore: the 'marble' surface of the sea, smooth and gleaming.

Aen. 6.730Igneus est ollīs vigor et caelestis orīgō
sēminibus, quantum nōn noxia corpora tardant,
terrēnīque hebetant artūs moribundaque membra.

Those seeds have a fiery force and a heavenly origin, so far as harmful bodies do not slow them, and earthly limbs and dying members dull them.

Note. ollīs = illīs, an archaic form, dative of possession, 'they have'. Igneus … vigor: the soul is made of fire, the purest element in Stoic thought. sēminibus: 'to those seeds', the particles of soul in each living thing. quantum nōn … tardant: 'in so far as bodies do not hinder them'. noxia corpora … terrēnī artūs … moribunda membra: three phrases for the body, harmful, earthy and dying.

Aen. 6.733Hinc metuunt cupiuntque, dolent gaudentque, neque aurās
dispiciunt clausae tenebrīs et carcere caecō.

From this they fear and desire, grieve and rejoice, and do not see the open air, shut up in darkness and a blind prison.

Note. Hinc: 'from this', from the body. The four emotions of Stoic theory: fear, desire, grief and joy (metuunt, cupiunt, dolent, gaudent). neque aurās dispiciunt: 'they do not see clearly the open air', the upper sky they came from. clausae: agrees with the souls (animae). carcere caecō: 'in a blind prison', an image from Plato, who called the body the prison of the soul.

Aen. 6.735Quīn et suprēmō cum lūmine vīta relīquit,
nōn tamen omne malum miserīs nec funditus omnēs
corporeae excēdunt pestēs, penitusque necesse est
multa diū concrēta modīs inolēscere mīrīs.

Even more, when on their last day life has left them, still not all evil, not all the plagues of the body, leave the poor souls entirely, and it must be that many things long grown in become ingrained deep within them in wondrous ways.

Note. Quīn et: 'indeed even'. suprēmō cum lūmine: 'with the last light', on the day of death. vīta relīquit: supply eās, the souls. nōn … omne malum … nec funditus omnēs … pestēs: 'not all evil … nor all plagues entirely'. necesse est … inolēscere: 'it is necessary that many things … grow in'. concrēta: 'hardened', 'grown together'. modīs … mīrīs: 'in wondrous ways', an old phrase found in Lucretius.

Aen. 6.739Ergō exercentur poenīs, veterumque malōrum
740supplicia expendunt: aliae panduntur inānēs
suspēnsae ad ventōs;

So they are put through punishments and pay the penalty of their old wrongs: some are hung out, spread empty to the winds;

Note. Ergō: 'therefore': since faults remain, punishment must clean them. exercentur poenīs: 'they are tormented with punishments'. supplicia expendunt: 'pay the penalties'. aliae … aliīs (58): 'some … for others'. inānēs: 'empty' or 'unsubstantial'; they are hung out to the winds to be purified by air.

Aen. 6.741aliīs sub gurgite vāstō
īnfectum ēluitur scelus, aut exūritur ignī;

for others the stain of guilt is washed out beneath a vast flood, or burnt out by fire;

Note. Purification by the three elements: air (57), water (sub gurgite vāstō) and fire (ignī). īnfectum … scelus: 'the stain of crime', literally 'the dyed-in crime'. ēluitur … exūritur: two compound verbs with ex-, 'washed out … burnt out'. ignī: an old ablative in -ī.

Aen. 6.743quisque suōs patimur Mānēs;

each of us suffers his own spirit;

Note. quisque suōs patimur Mānēs: one of the hardest phrases in Vergil. Mānēs is 'spirits of the dead'; here it seems to mean each person's own spirit or guardian spirit, so 'each of us suffers his own ghost', i.e. undergoes the purification fitted to his own nature. quisque is in apposition with the 'we' of patimur.

Aen. 6.743exinde per amplum
mittimur Ēlysium, et paucī laeta arva tenēmus;

then we are sent through wide Elysium, and a few of us hold the joyful fields,

Note. exinde: 'then'. per amplum … Ēlysium: 'through wide Elysium'. paucī: Anchises counts himself among the few who stay in Elysium for ever; the rest are reborn. The order of the doctrine is disputed: some read lines 743–747 as describing only the few, others all the souls.

Aen. 6.745dōnec longa diēs, perfectō temporis orbe,
concrētam exēmit lābem, pūrumque relinquit
aetherium sēnsum atque aurāī simplicis ignem.

until the long day, when the circle of time is complete, has taken away the ingrained stain and left pure the heavenly sense and the fire of simple air.

Note. dōnec … exēmit … relinquit: dōnec with the indicative, 'until'; the perfect exēmit and present relinquit describe a result. longa diēs: 'the long passage of time'; diēs is feminine when it means a period. perfectō temporis orbe: ablative absolute, 'the cycle of time completed'. aetherium sēnsum: the soul's heavenly perception. aurāī simplicis ignem: 'the fire of pure air'; aurāī is an archaic genitive of aura, scanned in three syllables, au-rā-ī, a Lucretian touch.

Aen. 6.748Hās omnēs, ubi mīlle rotam volvēre per annōs,
Lēthaeum ad fluvium deus ēvocat agmine magnō,
750scīlicet immemorēs supera ut convexa revīsant,
rūrsus et incipiant in corpora velle revertī.

All these, when they have turned the wheel for a thousand years, the god summons in a great throng to the river Lethe, so that, remembering nothing, they may see again the vault above and begin to wish to return into bodies.'

Note. Hās omnēs: the object of ēvocat, placed first. ubi mīlle rotam volvēre per annōs: 'when they have turned the wheel for a thousand years'; the thousand-year cycle comes from Plato's Myth of Er. volvēre = volvērunt. deus: an unnamed god. scīlicet: 'that is', explaining the purpose. immemorēs: they forget their past, so that they will want to live again. supera … convexa: 'the vault above', the sky. revīsant … incipiant: purpose clause with ut.