Aeneid 6.98–123

Aen. 6.98Tālibus ex adytō dictīs Cūmaea Sibylla
horrendās canit ambāgēs antrōque remūgit,
100obscūrīs vēra involvēns: ea frēna furentī
concutit, et stimulōs sub pectore vertit Apollo.

With such words the Cumaean Sibyl sings her fearful riddles from the shrine and booms in the cave, wrapping truths in darkness: so Apollo shakes the reins on her as she raves, and twists the goads beneath her breast.

Note. Tālibus ex adytō dictīs: the adytum is the inner sanctuary. horrendās canit ambāgēs: she sings riddles that inspire dread. obscūrīs vēra involvēns: present participle, 'wrapping truths in darkness'. ea frēna furentī / concutit: the image of the horse returns: Apollo shakes the reins on her as she raves (furentī, present participle) and turns the goad (stimulōs) in her breast.

Aen. 6.102Ut prīmum cessit furor et rabida ōra quiērunt,
incipit Aenēās hērōs: Nōn ūlla labōrum,
Ō virgō, nova mī faciēs inopīnave surgit;

As soon as the frenzy ceased and the raving mouth was quiet, the hero Aeneas begins: 'No face of hardship, maiden, rises new or unexpected to me;

Note. Ut prīmum cessit furor: ut prīmum, 'as soon as'. hērōs: a Greek word. Nōn ūlla labōrum … nova mī faciēs inopīnave surgit: 'no face of hardship rises new or unexpected for me'. mī = mihi.

Aen. 6.105omnia praecēpī atque animō mēcum ante perēgī.

I have foreseen everything and gone through it in my mind before.

Note. praecēpī atque animō mēcum ante perēgī: 'I have taken everything in beforehand and gone through it in my mind'.

Aen. 6.106Ūnum ōrō: quandō hīc īnfernī iānua rēgis
dīcitur, et tenebrōsa palūs Acheronte refūsō,
īre ad cōnspectum cārī genitōris et ōra
contingat;

One thing I ask: since here, they say, is the door of the infernal king, and the dark marsh where Acheron overflows, may I be allowed to go to the sight and face of my dear father;

Note. Ūnum ōrō: 'one thing I ask'. quandō hīc īnfernī iānua rēgis / dīcitur: Avernus near Cumae was believed to be the entrance to the underworld. tenebrōsa palūs (palus#2, 'marsh') Acheronte refūsō: 'the dark marsh, where Acheron flows back', a river of the underworld that floods out here. īre … contingat: 'may it be granted to go'. cārī genitōris: Anchises, who died in Sicily (Book 3) and appeared to Aeneas in a dream in Book 5, telling him to come to him in Elysium.

Aen. 6.109doceās iter et sacra ōstia pandās.

teach me the way and open the sacred doors.

Note. doceās … pandās: present subjunctives of request, 'teach … open'.

Aen. 6.110Illum ego per flammās et mīlle sequentia tēla
ēripuī hīs umerīs, mediōque ex hoste recēpī;

Him I rescued on these shoulders through flames and a thousand pursuing spears, and brought him safe from the midst of the enemy;

Note. Illum ego per flammās … hīs ēripuī umerīs: Aeneas carried Anchises on his shoulders out of burning Troy (Book 2), the image that became the symbol of Roman pietas. sequentia: present participle, 'pursuing'.

Aen. 6.112ille meum comitātus iter, maria omnia mēcum
atque omnēs pelagīque minās caelīque ferēbat,
invalidus, vīrēs ultrā sortemque senectae.

he, my companion on my journey, bore all the seas with me, and all the threats of sea and sky, frail as he was, beyond the strength and lot of old age.

Note. comitātus iter: 'accompanying my journey'. invalidus: Anchises was old and lame, struck by a thunderbolt of Jupiter. ultrā / vīrīs sortemque senectae: 'beyond the strength and lot of old age'. vīrīs = vīrēs.

Aen. 6.115Quīn, ut tē supplex peterem et tua līmina adīrem,
īdem ōrāns mandāta dabat.

More: it was he who, praying, gave me commands to seek you as a suppliant and approach your threshold.

Note. Quīn: 'what is more'. ōrāns: present participle, 'praying'. tē supplex peterem: an indirect command after mandāta dabat, without ut.

Aen. 6.116Gnātīque patrisque,
alma, precor, miserēre;— potes namque omnia, nec tē
nēquīquam lūcīs Hecatē praefēcit Avernīs;—
sī potuit Mānēs arcessere coniugis Orpheus,
120Thrēïciā frētus citharā fidibusque canōrīs,
sī frātrem Pollūx alternā morte redēmit,
itque reditque viam totiēns.

Pity the son and the father, I pray, kindly one: for you can do all things, and not for nothing did Hecate put you in charge of the groves of Avernus; if Orpheus could summon his wife's ghost, trusting in his Thracian lyre and its tuneful strings, if Pollux ransomed his brother by dying in turn, and goes and returns along the road so many times.

Note. Gnātīque patrisque … miserēre: imperative of the deponent misereor, with the genitive. alma: the Sibyl again. Hecate: the underworld goddess (identified with Trivia and Diana) who had set the Sibyl over the groves of Avernus. The si-clauses that follow are an argument from precedent: others went down and came back. Orpheus went down to bring back his wife Eurydice by the power of his music. Thrēiciā frētus citharā fidibusque canōrīs: 'trusting in his Thracian lyre and its tuneful strings'; fidēs here (fides#2) means 'lyre strings'. Pollux, son of Jupiter, shared his immortality with his mortal twin Castor, each spending alternate days in the underworld (alternā morte redēmit). itque reditque: the repeated -que mimics the coming and going.

Aen. 6.122Quid Thēsea, magnum
quid memorem Alcīdēn?

Why mention Theseus, why great Alcides?

Note. Quid Thēsea, magnum / quid memorem Alcīdēn?: deliberative subjunctive, 'why should I mention?'. Thēsea and Alcīdēn are Greek accusatives. Theseus went down to carry off Proserpina; Hercules (Alcides, 'descendant of Alceus') went down to fetch Cerberus.

Aen. 6.123Et mī genus ab Iove summō.

My descent too is from Jupiter most high.'

Note. Et mī genus ab Iove summō: Aeneas' ancestor Dardanus was the son of Jupiter, and his mother Venus is Jupiter's daughter. He is of the same stock as the heroes he has listed.