Aeneid 6.77–97

Aen. 6.77At, Phoebī nōndum patiēns, immānis in antrō
bacchātur vātēs, magnum sī pectore possit
excussisse deum;

But the prophetess, not yet submitting to Phoebus, rages wildly in the cave, trying to shake the great god from her breast;

Note. Phoebī nōndum patiēns: patiēns is a present participle with a genitive, 'not yet enduring Phoebus'. The image throughout is of a horse being broken: she resists the god as an untamed mare resists the rider. bacchātur: she raves like a Bacchant. sī … possit: 'trying to see if she could', a conditional of hope. excussisse: perfect infinitive, poetic for the present.

Aen. 6.79tantō magis ille fatīgat
80ōs rabidum, fera corda domāns, fingitque premendō.

all the more he wearies her raving mouth, taming her wild heart, and shapes her by pressing down.

Note. Tantō magis ille fatīgat: 'all the more he wears her out'. ōs rabidum, fera corda domāns: present participle, 'taming'. fingitque premendō: the gerund in the ablative, 'and shapes her by pressing'; the god moulds her as a rider breaks a horse.

Aen. 6.81Ōstia iamque domus patuēre ingentia centum
sponte suā, vātisque ferunt respōnsa per aurās:
Ō tandem magnīs pelagī dēfūncte perīclīs!

And now the hundred huge mouths of the house have opened of their own accord, and they carry the prophetess' answers through the air: 'You who have at last come through the great dangers of the sea!

Note. ōstia … patuēre … suā sponte: the hundred mouths of the cave open of their own accord. patuēre = patuērunt. ferunt … per aurās: the mouths carry the answers out through the air. ō tandem magnīs pelagī dēfūncte perīclīs: a vocative participle (dēfungor, deponent), 'you who have at last finished with the great dangers of the sea'. perīclīs = perīculīs, a syncopated form.

Aen. 6.84Sed terrae graviōra manent.

But worse awaits you on land.

Note. terrae graviōra manent: supply perīcla. The second half of the poem, the war in Italy, is foretold.

Aen. 6.84In regna Lāvīnī
85Dardanidae venient;

The Dardanians will come into the kingdom of Lavinium;

Note. Lāvīnī: Lavinium, the city Aeneas will found; the genitive in -ī. Dardanidae: 'the descendants of Dardanus', the Trojans.

Aen. 6.85mitte hanc dē pectore cūram;

put this care out of your heart;

Note. mitte hanc dē pectore cūram: 'put this care out of your heart': they will reach the kingdom.

Aen. 6.86sed nōn et vēnisse volent.

but they will also wish they had not come.

Note. sed nōn et vēnisse volent: 'but they will also wish they had not come'. The sentence turns sharply with sed.

Aen. 6.86Bella, horrida bella,
et Thybrim multō spūmantem sanguine cernō.

Wars, terrible wars, I see, and the Tiber foaming with much blood.

Note. Bella, horrida bella: the repetition is a famous echo of the prophetess' alarm. Thybrim: Greek-style accusative of Thybris, the Tiber. spūmantem: present participle, 'foaming'.

Aen. 6.88Nōn Simoīs tibi, nec Xanthus, nec Dōrica castra
dēfuerint;

You will not lack a Simois, nor a Xanthus, nor a Greek camp;

Note. Nōn Simoīs tibi nec Xanthus nec Dōrica castra / dēfuerint: future perfect, 'you will not have lacked'. Simois and Xanthus are the rivers of Troy; Dōrica castra, the Greek camp. The war in Italy will be a second Trojan War, fought by the Tiber and the Numicus. Dōricus: 'Dorian', i.e. Greek.

Aen. 6.89alius Latiō iam partus Achillēs,
90nātus et ipse dea;

another Achilles has already been born for Latium, he too the son of a goddess;

Note. alius Latiō iam partus Achillēs: Turnus, the Rutulian prince, will be the new Achilles; nātus et ipse deā, he too is the son of a goddess, the nymph Venilia.

Aen. 6.90nec Teucrīs addita Iūnō
usquam aberit;

nor will Juno, set against the Teucrians, ever be absent;

Note. addita Teucrīs: 'added to (i.e. set against) the Teucrians'. Juno, the enemy of Troy since the Judgement of Paris, will keep on opposing them.

Aen. 6.91cum tū supplex in rēbus egēnīs
quās gentēs Ītalum aut quās nōn ōrāveris urbēs!

while you, a suppliant in your need, what peoples of the Italians, what cities will you not have begged!

Note. cum tū supplex in rēbus egēnīs / quās gentīs Ītalum aut quās nōn ōrāveris urbēs: 'what peoples of the Italians, what cities will you not have begged!'. Ītalum = Ītalōrum. ōrāveris is future perfect. Aeneas will seek allies in Book 8.

Aen. 6.93Causa malī tantī coniūnx iterum hospita Teucrīs
externīque iterum thalamī.

The cause of so great an evil is again a foreign bride for the Teucrians, again a foreign marriage.

Note. coniūnx … hospita: 'a foreign bride', Lavinia, daughter of King Latinus, just as Helen, a foreign bride, caused the Trojan War. iterum … iterum: the anaphora stresses the parallel. externī … thalamī: a foreign marriage.

Aen. 6.95Tū nē cēde malīs, sed contrā audentior ītō,
quā tua tē Fortūna sinet.

Do not give way to misfortunes, but go against them all the bolder, as far as your fortune allows you.

Note. Tū nē cēde malīs: nē with the imperative (ne#2). contrā audentior ītō: ītō is the future imperative of eō, 'go'. quā tua tē Fortūna sinet: 'by whatever way your fortune allows you'.

Aen. 6.96Via prīma salūtis,
quod minimē rēris, Grāiā pandētur ab urbe.

The first road to safety, what you least expect, will be opened from a Greek city.'

Note. Via prīma salūtis … Grāiā pandētur ab urbe: the first help will come from Pallanteum, the Arcadian city of Evander on the site of Rome (Book 8): the Trojans' old enemies, the Greeks, will be their allies.