higher latin: virgil's aeneid extracts 1-15

explains Juno's hostility towards Aeneas + the Roman people

Extract 1...

Aeneas sees Dido for the first time after looking at the bas reliefs of the Trojan war.

Extract 2...

these wondrous sights are viewed by the Trojan Aeneas

'haec dum... miranda' 'Dardanio Aeneae... videntur'

he is astonished, stuck there, fixed in one gaze

'stupet', 'haeret', 'defixus obtutuque in uno'

the queen proceeded to the temple

'regina ad templum... incessit'

Dido, of most beautiful beauty (tautology and superlative)

'forma pulcherrima Dido'

with a great crowd of young men surrounding her

'magna... caterva' 'iuvenum stipante'

just as - signifies simile

'qualis'

comparing Dido to Diana, Diana leads her dancers as Dido leads her people

'in Eurotae... exercet Diana choros'

following her, a thousand nymphs - Diana is surrounded by nymphs as Dido is surrounded by the young men who look to her as a great leader

'quam... secutae' 'mille Oreades'

she carries a quiver on her shoulder

'illa fert pharetram umero'

Diana surpasses all other goddesses as Dido surpasses all other women - she is the superlative queen

'deas supereminet omnis'

such was Dido... she carried herself joyfully -[the last time she will have joy]

'talis erat Dido... se laeta ferabat'

Dido, Aeneas and Ascanius are at the banquet when Cupid takes the place of Ascanius and casts a spell on her, dooming her to fall hopelessly in love with Aeneas

Extract 3...

the ill-fated Phoenician - foreshadows the impending and inevitable anguish that Dido will face at the hands of the gods' interference

'infelix... Phoenissa'

doomed to her future ruin - Virgil explicitly states that Dido is doomed, and it becomes clear that there is little chance of her being 'laeta' again

'pesti devota futurae'

she burns to look upon him - Dido's longing for Aeneas is already overwhelming, and Virgil depicts her as beginning to lose the restraint and control she possessed before Aeneas, building her city from the ground up and attending her duties

'ardescitque tuendo'

when he had hung in an embrace around Aeneas' neck

'ille ubi complexu... pependit'

Dido clings to him with her eyes and her whole heart - she is encompassed by love and affection for this child, foreshadowing how her tragic love for Aeneas also will be all-consuming, devastating and the result of deceit

'haec oculis, haec pectoro toto haeret'

unaware Dido - not only is she unaware that she is coddling Cupid rather than Ascanius, she is totally oblivious to the tragic fate that awaits her at the hands of the gods

'inscia Dido'

her wretched self

'insidat...miserae'

Acidalian mother - Venus

'matris Acidaliae'

with a living passion he tried to awaken her dormant heart

'vivo amore... desuetaque corda'

Dido becomes obsessed with Aeneas and her love for him takes a hold of her, comparison to wounded doe

Extract 4...

ill-fated Dido is on fire - again shows how she is doomed in her love for Aeneas and a victim of forces beyond her control

'uritur infelix Dido'

roams through the whole city in a frenzy - she is no longer as diligent and dutiful as she was before Aeneas, and is abandoning her duties in favour of her passion for Aeneas

'totaque vagatur urbe furens'

just like a doe, when an arrow has been shot - she is defenceless, and the imagery of her as a wounded doe brings to light a difference between Diana, goddess of the hunt, and the newly vulnerable Dido

'qualis coniecta cerva sagitta'

which a shepherd has shot, off guard and from afar - Aeneas is unknowing, but is still culpable in Dido's ill fate

'quam procul incautam... pastor'

unaware - comparison of Aeneas' oblivion to Dido's; he does not know what the gods are orchestrating but is still culpable in the sense that he has abandoned his duty of finding a land for the future Roman people

'nescius'

the deadly shaft sticks in her side - a wounded deer would not be able to remove the shaft and would charge around in agony; the arrow/shaft represents the wound of Dido's passion, and is almost as if she had been pierced by one of Cupid's arrows

'haeret lateri letalis harundo'

Virgil's extended simile uses the image of the wounded deer, in panicked flight and contrasts it against the careless archer to reflect the intensity of Dido's love for Aeneas and the indifference of the unaware shepherd / Aeneas. The contrast between Dido's agony and the shepherd killing time emphasises the irony of the situation.

the shepherd and the deer

the Carthaginians and the Trojans are hunting in the mountains, and a storm brings Dido and Aeneas together

Extract 5...

the sky began to be mixed with a great rumbling - use of alliteration + onomatopoeia highlights the booming of the rumbling thunder

'magno misceri murmure caelum'

a cloudburst followed mixed with hail - sharp vowel sounds suggest heavy drops of rain/hail

'incipit, insequitur commixta'

sought shelter in their fear

'tecta metu petiere'

Dido and the Trojan leader came upon the same cave - the line structure reflects the cave encompassing them and bringing the pair literally and metaphorically closer together

'speluncam Dido dux et Troianus eandem'

both mother Earth and Juno as matron of honour - highlights the natural phenomena occurring at this time that are indicative of traditional Roman marriage rituals

'prima et Tellus et pronuba Iuno'

- mother Earth and Juno as matrons of honour

- the nymphs shriek on mountain tops, onomatopoeia of 'ulularunt' connotes the traditional singing of Roman wedding hymns

- ignes; literally fires, but here, the lightning represents the traditional wedding torches (taedae)

The "Wedding"

the marriage

'coniubiis'

this day - marks a turning point

'ille dies'

that day was the first cause of death/day of destruction and the first cause of evils - Virgil foreshadows future tragedies

'primus leti primusque malorum causa fuit'

for Dido was not moved either by appearances or her reputation - she doesn't care how it looks, or how she is seen by other people; she previously exemplified 'pudor' but she does not seem to care that she will be the subject of gossip, and her reputation will suffer

'neque enim specie favame movetur'

secret love - she no longer sees any reason for this love to be kept secret, she sees them to be married

'furtivum amorem'

she called it marriage

'coniugium vocat'

she concealed her sin with this name - her 'sin' is to call her relationship marriage, and the issue of whether thus marriage is real or not will be a key difference between Aeneas and Dido

'hoc praetexit nomine culpam'

Mercury confronts Aeneas and reminds him of his duties, namely his pietas, after Iarbas prays to Jupiter to get rid of Aeneas, as the Gaetulian wishes to marry Dido.

Extract 6...

Aeneas is horrified by Mercury's message, and makes plans to leave Carthage at once - but before he can tell Dido himself, she finds out.

Extract 7...

Aeneas was struck dumb, and out of his mind at the sight.

'Aeneas ... obmutuit' 'aspectu... amens'

his hair stood on end with shock and his voice stuck in his throat

'arrectaeque horrore comae ... et vox faucibus haesit'

he burned to take flight,

'ardet abire fuga'

and to leave behind the sweet lands,

'dulcisque relinquere terras'

the command of the Gods - links to pietas and Aeneas' day to the gods that he has neglected while in Carthage

'imperioque deorum'

what should he do? with what speech...

'quid agat? quo... adfatu'

dare he now tackle the raging queen

'nunc... ambire... audeat' - 'regina...furentum'?

- Virgil takes us inside Aeneas' mind, as he tries to think of how to address Dido, even selecting 'opening words' like an orator

- interestingly still in 3rd pers, as if we are watching as the audience of a play

- historic present 'agat' used to make us feel that Aeneas is deliberating here and now in this very moment

Aeneas' deliberative questions

the queen sensed his trickery - 'praesensit' suggests 'noticed too soon' for Aeneas to speak to her first

'dolos... praesensit'

for who can deceive a lover

'(quis fallere possit amanthem?)'

comments from the poet himself:

- a lover cannot be fooled or tricked, Dido's love makes her obsessive over all Aeneas does, he can't hide anything from her

emotional aside

fearing all safe things - shows Dido's paranoia

'omnia tuta timens'

that same unholy Rumour - Rumour personified highlights how it can be just as destructive as human actions

'eadem impia Fama'

helpless in mind

'inops animi'

ran wild - Virgil uses a simile to compare her to a mad Bacchite (Thyias) with no self control; she is beyond reason, maddened and desperate

'bacchatur' 'qualis... Thyias'

at last, she takes the initiative

'tandem... ultro'

and rebukes Aeneas with these words

'his Aenean compellat vocibus'

did you really hope, traitor, to be able to hide? - 'perfide' uses emotive language to convey her hurt

'etiam sperasti' 'perfide' 'dissimulare... posse'

such wickedness - sibilance in this line expresses her almost spitting out the words in anger

'tantum... nefas'

and to leave my land without saying anything?

'tacitusque mea decedere terra'

from anger to reproach - she goes from spitting her words at him to asking whether her 3 chief points will hold him here

Dido's mood change during Extract 7

- we were in love

- you gave your promise

- I shall die if you depart

Dido's 3 points

does neither my love hold you here,

'nec te poster amor...tenet'

nor the right hands once given,

'nec ta data dextera quondam'

nor Dido doomed to a terrible death.

'nec moritura... crudeli funere Dido'

would Troy be sought out over rough seas - Dido asks Aeneas if he is going to leave in the winter, a notoriously dangerous time for seafaring, to go off into the unknown

'quin.. hiberno.. aequor'

is it me you are fleeing from? - Dido comes to a shocking realisation, and goes on to show how hurt and scorned she is.

'mene fugis'

Dido uses language of marriage, highlighting the illusion she has been living

'dextramque... conubia... hymenaeos'

I beg you, by these tears - Dido must resort to begging Aeneas to stay - tonal shift from anger to reproach to begging

'ego... te... oro' 'per has lacrimas'

if I have deserved anything well of you, or if anything about me was dear to you - she tries to reason and appeal to his love

'si bene... dulce'

have pity on this ruined house - 'miserere' is an imperative, she commands his pity but to no avail; her ruined/falling house also reflects her reputation and credibility that has been ruined

'miserere domus labentis'

change your mind - Dido's final plea sees her desperation reach a high; she is abandoned by Aeneas and disgraced and discredited among her people.

'exue mentem'

Dido tells Aeneas what she has given up for him, and what she sees the future will hold for her

Extract 8...

Aeneas tries to defend himself and his actions, but does so harshly, saying he never promised to stay.

Extract 9....

never, queen, shall I deny my debt to you - he starts off strong, recognising all he owes to Dido

'numquam ... promeritam'

Dido's formal, royal name - similar to how she called Aeneas "guest" in Extract 8, emphasises formality of speech

Elissae

I shall say a few words for the defence - technical language from law courts, makes him appear cold and unfeeling, but also expresses Aeneas' awkwardness and shame in addressing her

'pro re pauca loquar'

nor did I ever hold out the promise of wedding torches - he points out there was no legal basis to their 'marriage', and the taedae act as a synecdoche for the whole idea of marriage

'nec coniugus... taedae... veni'

if the fates allowed me to lead my life under my own control... Priam's high roofs would still be standing - Priam (former king of Troy); Aeneas highlights how he is at the mercy of the Fates

'me... curas... Priami tenta alta manenerent'

Aeneas talks about his duty and the warning from the gods, while ending by brushing Dido's pain aside

Extract 10...

my father Anchises... my son Ascanius - highlights duty to family aspect of pietas, and positioning at start of sentence highlights the close bond, but also juxtaposes Aeneas next to those he feels a duty towards

'me patris Anchisae... me puer Ascanius'

as often as - repetition highlights how frequently the ghost pf his father appears in his dreams

'quotiens'

troubled ghost haunts me - effective alliteration of 'T' sound reflects teeth chattering in fear

'turbida terret'

cheating - emotive language

'fraudo'

I swear by both our heads, I myself saw the god - emotional aside, highlights how serious he is as he tells Dido that Mercury has brought him Jupiter's command to leave

'(testor umtruque caput)' - 'ipse deum vidi'

stop torturing yourself and I with your complaints, I do not seek out Italy of my own free will - Aeneas' final crushing comment to Dido, as he brushes her feelings aside and affirms that he is leaving, be it his own free will or not

'desine meque... Italiam non sponte sequor'

Dido tells Aeneas to go but warns him that he will be punished

Extract 11...

go, seek out Italy on the winds - she spits his own words back at him

'I, sequere Italian ventis'

I hope that you will drink punishment in the middle of a reef - she wishes for his ship to sink, enraged and as passionate in her anger as she is in her love

- deliberate positioning of 'mediis' and 'scopulis' reflect Aeneas stranded between rocks on the page and in Dido's wishes

'supplicia hausurum' 'mediis ... scopulis'

and that Dido will be called by name again and again - she wishes that he will remember her

'nomine Dido saepe vocaturum'

in my absence, I shall pursue you with smoking torches - smoking torches were the weapons of the Furies, goddesses of divine punishment and personifications of guilty conscience; Dido will haunt Aeneas like a Fury

'sequar atrium igneous absens'

I shall haunt you wherever you go - links to image of Anchises' ghost, foreshadows Dido's death

'omnibus umbra locis adero'

that news [of Aeneas' misfortunes] will reach me in the depths of Hades - again foreshadows her demise, and their later meeting in the underworld

'audiam... sub imos'