Aeneid 6.756–800

Aen. 6.756Nunc age, Dardaniam prōlem quae deinde sequātur
glōria, quī maneant Ītalā dē gente nepōtēs,
inlūstrīs animās nostrumque in nōmen itūrās,
expediam dictīs, et tē tua fāta docēbō.

'Come now, I will set out in words what glory will follow the Dardan line hereafter, what descendants of Italian stock await us, illustrious souls who will inherit our name, and I will teach you your own fates.

Note. Nunc age: 'come now'. Dardaniam prōlem: 'the Dardan offspring'. quae … glōria … sequātur, quī maneant … nepōtēs: indirect questions depending on expediam. Ītalā dē gente: 'from Italian stock', since the Trojans will intermarry with the Latins. in nōmen itūrās: 'who will succeed to our name'. expediam dictīs: 'I shall set out in words'. tē tua fāta docēbō: docēre takes two accusatives, the person and the thing.

Aen. 6.760Ille, vidēs, pūrā iuvenis quī nītitur hastā,
proxuma sorte tenet lūcis loca, prīmus ad aurās
aetheriās Ītalō commixtus sanguine surget,
Silvius, Albānum nōmen, tua postuma prōlēs,
quem tibi longaevō serum Lāvīnia coniūnx
765ēdūcet silvīs rēgem rēgumque parentem,
unde genus Longā nostrum dominābitur Albā.

That young man you see, leaning on a headless spear, holds by lot the place nearest the light; he will be the first to rise to the upper air with Italian blood mixed in him: Silvius, an Alban name, your last-born child, whom your wife Lavinia will bring up for you late in your old age in the woods, a king and the father of kings, through whom our race will rule in Alba Longa.

Note. Ille … iuvenis quī nītitur: 'that young man who leans', with vidēs inserted as a parenthesis. pūrā … hastā: a spear without a head, given in old Rome as a prize of honour. proxuma = proxima, the older spelling. sorte: 'by lot'. Silvius: Aeneas' son by Lavinia, born after his father's death (postuma prōlēs), and named from the woods (silvīs) in which he was raised; the source prints silvius in lower case. longaevō: dative, 'for you in your old age'. unde: 'from whom'. Longā … Albā: Alba Longa, the city founded by Ascanius, from which Rome was colonised.

Aen. 6.767Proxumus ille Procās, Trōiānae glōria gentis,
et Capys, et Numitor, et quī tē nōmine reddet
Silvius Aenēās, pariter pietāte vel armīs
770ēgregius, sī umquam regnandam accēperit Albam.

Next to him is Procas, the glory of the Trojan race, and Capys and Numitor, and the one who will bring back your name, Silvius Aeneas, equally outstanding in devotion and in arms, if ever he receives Alba to rule.

Note. Proxumus ille: supply est. Procas, Capys and Numitor are Alban kings; Numitor is the grandfather of Romulus. quī tē nōmine reddet: 'who will bring you back in name', Silvius Aeneas. pariter pietāte vel armīs: 'equally in devotion and in arms', echoing Aeneas' own qualities. sī umquam … accēperit: future perfect; the legend said he was kept from his throne for many years by a guardian.

Aen. 6.771Quī iuvenēs!

What young men!

Note. An exclamation with no verb: 'what young men!' Quī is the interrogative adjective used in exclamation.

Aen. 6.771Quantās ostentant, aspice, vīrēs,
atque umbrāta gerunt cīvīlī tempora quercū!

Look what strength they show, and how they wear their brows shaded with the civic oak!

Note. aspice: an imperative inserted into an indirect question, quantās ostentant … vīrēs. umbrāta … tempora: 'their temples shaded', with the civic crown of oak leaves (corōna cīvica), awarded at Rome for saving a citizen's life and granted to Augustus in 27 BC.

Aen. 6.773Hī tibi Nōmentum et Gabiōs urbemque Fīdēnam,
hī Collātīnās impōnent montibus arcēs,
775Pōmētiōs Castrumque Inuī Bolamque Coramque.

These will build Nomentum for you, and Gabii and the city of Fidenae; these will set the citadels of Collatia on the mountains, Pometii and Castrum Inui, Bola and Cora.

Note. Hī … hī: the Alban kings are founders of the towns of Latium. Nomentum, Gabii, Fidenae, Collatia, Pometii, Castrum Inui, Bola and Cora were small towns around Rome, most of them deserted or minor in Vergil's day. Collātīnās … arcēs: 'the citadel of Collatia'. impōnent montibus: 'will set upon the hills'. The line of names ending in -que … -que has a solemn, antiquarian ring.

Aen. 6.776Haec tum nōmina erunt, nunc sunt sine nōmine terrae.

These will be famous names then; now they are lands without a name.

Note. Haec … nōmina: 'these will be names', i.e. famous names. tum … nunc: from Anchises' point of view, the places are still unnamed land. The line puts Vergil's present, where they are faded towns, in sharp contrast with the future glory Anchises foresees.

Aen. 6.777Quīn et avō comitem sēsē Māvortius addet
Rōmulus, Assaracī quem sanguinis Īlia māter
ēdūcet.

Romulus too, son of Mavors, will join his grandfather as a companion, Romulus whom his mother Ilia will bear, of the blood of Assaracus.

Note. Quīn et: 'and what's more'. avō comitem: 'as a companion to his grandfather' Numitor, whom Romulus restored to his throne. Māvortius: 'son of Mars'. Assaracī … sanguinis: genitive of origin. Īlia: the mother of Romulus and Remus, also called Rhea Silvia; Vergil uses the name that links her to Ilium (Troy). ēducet: 'will bring forth, raise'.

Aen. 6.779Vidēn, ut geminae stant vertice cristae,
780et pater ipse suō superum iam signat honōre?

Do you see how the twin crests stand on his head, and how the father of the gods himself already marks him out with his own honour?

Note. Vidēn = vidēsne, with the final -e of -ne cut off. ut … stant: 'how … stand'; ut in an exclamatory question with the indicative, as often in poetry. geminae … cristae: a double-crested helmet, the mark of Mars. pater ipse … superum: Jupiter, 'father of the gods'; superum = superōrum. suō … honōre: 'with his own honour', perhaps a sign marking Romulus as a future god (Quirinus).

Aen. 6.781Ēn, huius, nāte, auspiciīs illa incluta Rōma
imperium terrīs, animōs aequābit Olympō,
septemque ūna sibi mūrō circumdabit arcēs,
fēlīx prōle virum: quālis Berecyntia māter
785invehitur currū Phrygiās turrīta per urbēs,
laeta deum partū, centum complexa nepōtēs,
omnēs caelicolās, omnēs supera alta tenentēs.

Behold, my son, under his auspices that famous Rome will make her empire equal to the earth and her spirit to Olympus, and will surround her seven hills with a single wall, blessed in her offspring of heroes: just as the Berecyntian mother, crowned with towers, rides in her chariot through the Phrygian cities, rejoicing in her offspring of gods, embracing a hundred grandchildren, all dwellers in heaven, all holding the heights above.

Note. Ēn: 'behold'. huius … auspiciīs: Romulus took the auspices when Rome was founded. incluta: 'famous'. imperium terrīs, animōs … Olympō: datives of comparison with aequābit, 'will make her empire equal to the lands, her spirit to Olympus'. septemque … arcēs: the seven hills. The simile compares Rome to Cybele, the Berecyntian mother goddess of Phrygia, crowned with towers like a city wall and riding in a lion-drawn chariot: the image links Troy (Phrygia) and Rome. deum = deōrum. caelicolās … tenentēs: in apposition with nepōtēs.

Aen. 6.788Hūc geminās nunc flecte aciēs, hanc aspice gentem
Rōmānōsque tuōs.

Now turn both your eyes here, look at this people, your own Romans.

Note. Hūc geminās … aciēs: 'turn both your eyes here', aciēs meaning the sight of the eyes. hanc aspice gentem: the Julian family. Rōmānōsque tuōs: 'your own Romans'. At this point the strict order of time is broken: Anchises jumps from Romulus to Augustus.

Aen. 6.789Hīc Caesar et omnis Iūlī
790prōgeniēs magnum caelī ventūra sub axem.

Here is Caesar and all the descendants of Iulus, who are to come beneath the great vault of the sky.

Note. Caesar: Julius Caesar or Augustus; the phrase omnis Iūlī prōgeniēs links the Julian clan to Iulus (Ascanius), son of Aeneas. magnum caelī ventūra sub axem: 'destined to come beneath the great vault of the sky', i.e. into the world.

Aen. 6.791Hic vir, hic est, tibi quem prōmittī saepius audīs,
Augustus Caesar, Dīvī genus, aurea condet
saecula quī rūrsus Latiō regnāta per arva
Sāturnō quondam, super et Garamantas et Indōs
795prōferet imperium: iacet extrā sīdera tellūs,
extrā annī sōlisque viās, ubi caelifer Atlās
axem umerō torquet stellīs ārdentibus aptum.

This, this is the man you have so often heard promised to you, Augustus Caesar, son of a god, who will found again a golden age in Latium through the fields once ruled by Saturn, and will extend the empire beyond the Garamantes and the Indians; that land lies beyond the stars, beyond the paths of the year and the sun, where sky-bearing Atlas turns on his shoulder the vault studded with blazing stars.

Note. Hic vir, hic est: the repeated pronoun with a strong pause gives emphasis. tibi … prōmittī … audīs: Aeneas has 'often heard him promised', by Jupiter in book 1 and by oracles. Dīvī genus: 'offspring of a god', the deified Julius Caesar, Augustus' adoptive father. aurea … saecula: the Golden Age, once ruled by Saturn in Latium, which Augustus will restore; quī … condet is a relative clause with the future. super … Garamantas et Indōs: 'beyond the Garamantes (in Africa) and the Indians', the far south and east. iacet extrā sīdera tellūs: 'there is a land beyond the stars', i.e. beyond the zodiac, the path of the sun and the year. caelifer Atlās: the Titan Atlas, who holds up the sky. aptum: 'studded'.

Aen. 6.798Huius in adventum iam nunc et Caspia regna
respōnsīs horrent dīvom et Maeōtia tellūs,
800et septemgeminī turbant trepida ōstia Nīlī.

Even now, at his coming, the Caspian kingdoms and the land of Maeotis shudder at the oracles of the gods, and the mouths of the sevenfold Nile are troubled with alarm.

Note. Huius in adventum: 'at his coming', the language of a god's epiphany. Caspia regna … Maeōtia tellūs: the far north-east, by the Caspian and the Sea of Azov. respōnsīs … dīvom: 'at the oracles of the gods'; dīvom = dīvōrum. septemgeminī … ōstia Nīlī: the seven mouths of the Nile, a reminder of Augustus' victory over Antony and Cleopatra in 31–30 BC.