At :

thus we pass from the peaceful close of Book III. to a scene of mental distraction. The poet resumes the narrative of Book I.

regina gravi saucia cura :

the queen, smitten with a grievous love-pang; cura is often used for love or its effects. Note the artistic word-order; chiasmus.

venis :

instrumental ablative; with her veins, i.e. with her heart’s blood.

caeco :

unseen.

multa, multus :

translate as adverbs, oft, oft (Page). virtus: valor.

gentis honos :

his glorious stock.

postera Phoebea lustrabat lampade, etc. :

the morrow’s dawn was lighting the earth with the lamp of Phoebus, i.e. with the sun; cf. III. 637.

umentemque, etc. :

the same line in III. 589, where see note.

male sana = insana ;

cf. male fida, II. 23, and male amicum, II. 785.

me suspensam terrent :

thrill me with fears; for suspensam, cf. II. 720.

quem sese ore ferens, etc.:

how noble his mien! how brave his heart and feats of arms! literally, bearing himself what a one in appearance, etc.! quem is in predicate apposition with sese; forti pectore is ablative of quality; with armis supply fortibus.

nec vana fides :

nor is assurance vain, i.e. groundless. genus: offspring, the word being here used of one person.

degeneres animos, etc. :

’tis fear that proves souls base-born, and Aeneas shows no fear.

exhausta :

long endured.

si mihi non animo, etc. :

if in my mind were not planted, fixed and immovable, the purpose to ally myself with no one in the bond of wedlock; ne vellem, because of the idea of purpose in sederet.

postquam :

since. deceptam fefellit = decepit (me) et fefellit.

si non pertaesum, etc. :

sc. me, had I not been utterly weary of the bridal torch and chamber; both the torch, which was carried in the wedding procession, and the bridal chamber, are often used by metonymy of marriage itself. For the syntax, see A. 354, b; B. 209; G. 377; H. 457, 5; H. & B. 352, 1.

potui succumbere :

I might have yielded; an indicative in the apodosis of a contrary to fact condition. A. 517, c; B. 304, 3; G. 597, R. 3; H. 583 and 525, 1; H. & B. 582, 3 a. culpae: sin, i.e. that of loving Aeneas, after vowing fidelity to Sychaeus.

post fata :

since the death.

et sparsos fraterna caede Penatis :

and our home was shattered by a brother’s murder. Sychaeus, her husband, was murdered by his brother-in-law, Pygmalion, as explained in I. 348 ff.

hic:

Aeneas. labantem: wavering; a case of prolepsis.

sed mihi, etc. :

but rather, I would pray, may either earth yawn for me to its depths, or, etc.; optem is a potential subjunctive; dehiscat is an optative subjunctive in parataxis with optem; A. 442, b; B. 296, 1, a; G. 546, r. 2; H. 558, 4; H. & B. 511, 2.

ante, Pudor, quam, etc. :

before, Shame, I violate thee; ante repeats prius (24). According to the highest Roman ideals, women could marry only once (univirae). Only such, for example, could sacrifice to Pudicitia.

amores ;

affections. (In this opening paragraph, alliteration is frequent; cf. 2, 3, 6, 8, 10, 16, 18, 23. The dactyls of 13 indicate mental excitement, while the spondees of 14 are expressive of wonder. Note the effect of the pause after impulit, 23, and abstulit, 29.)

luce:

than light of life. sorori: dative of agent; more effective than mihi.

solane perpetua, etc. :

wilt thou, lonely and sad, pine away all thy youth long? The idea of duration of time is here expressed by the ablative, on which see A. 424, b; B. 231, 1; G. 393, r. 2; H. 486; H. & B. 440.

Veneris :

with praemia. noris = noveris.

id cinerem, etc. :

dost thou think that the ashes or shades of the buried care for that? viz., whether one marries or not.

esto ; aegram, etc. :

grant that heretofore no wooers have moved thy sorrow; esto (be it so) refers to the words following, but has no grammatical connection with them, aegram, with te understood.

Libyae :

locative. Tyro: a locative ablative. despectus: sc. est.

triumphis dives :

rich in triumphs, i.e. victorious in war.

placito amori :

with a pleasing love; placito has an active sense. pugnare governs a dative, on the analogy of verbs of contending in Greek; see A. 368, a; B. 358, 3; G. 346, n. 6; H. 428, 3; H. & B. 363, 2, c.

nec venit in mentem :

sc. tibi; and does it not occur to thee?

hinc . . . hinc :

on this side . . . on that. genus insuperabile bello: cf. genus intractabile bello, I. 339.

deserta siti :

deserted by reason of drought.

Tyro :

from Tyre.

germani:

Pygmalion.

hunc cursum :

their course hither.

coniugio tali :

causal ablative.

quantis rebus :

= quanta fortuna.

veniam :

favor. sacris litatis: when sacrifice has been duly offered; litare is here transitive. Dido is to propitiate the gods, because of the ill-omened dreams (cf. 9).

indulge :

give the rein to.

dum desaevit hiems :

while winter rages fiercely; de- is intensive. aquosus: because Orion brings rain.

quassatae :

sc. sunt, are shattered, and therefore are in need of repairs. non tractabile = intractabile.

55. spemque dedit, etc.

by removing her scruples, Anna encouraged Dido to indulge her love for Aeneas, solvitque pudorem: and loosed the hands of Shame. Pudor, as seen in 27, had kept Dido’s feelings and actions in restraint; but yielding to Anna’s advice, the queen now casts aside her scruples and actively sues for the love of Aeneas.

56. delubra adeunt

sc. Dido et Anna, per aras: from altar to altar.

57. de more

with both mactant and lectas.

58. legiferae Cereri, etc.

Ceres, Apollo, and Bacchus were all associated with marriage-rites; legiferae is a translation of Beaixo-6po’^, an epithet applied in Greek literature to Demeter (Ceres) and Dionysus (Bacchus) as agents of civilization, and to Apollo, as the civilizing god par excellence. A Roman proverb runs thus: sine Cerere et Libera friget Venus.

59. cui vincla iugalia curae

who has wedlock hands in care. With vincla supply sunt. Juno (called pronuba, 166) presided over marriage, and was also the patron goddess of Carthage.

62. ante ora deum

the gods are themselves present in their statues, spatiatur: the word implies the stately movements of religious ritual.

63. instaurat

solemnizes, donis: with offerings.

64. pectoribus

the final syllable lengthened. An archaism. inhians: poring over, spirantia: (still) quivering. In augury, the entrails were examined before the victim was quite lifeless.

65. heu vatum ignarae mentes

ah, ignorant minds of seers! The seers do not know (cf. taciturn, 67) that the love-passion has taken hold of Dido, and that in her condition neither vows nor visits to the shrines can be of any avail, quid: an inner accusative with iuvant. furentem: one wild with love.

66. est

from edo, not sum. mollis: tender; with medullas.

67. sub pectore

deep in her breast.

68. coniecta sagitta

ablative absolute. Translate, however, smitten by an arrow.

70. quam procul incautam, etc.

which, all unwary, amid the Cretan woods, a shepherd hunting with darts has pierced from afar, and left (in the wound) the winged steel, unknowing. In strict grammar, we should supply in qua with liquit. For the comparison, cf. Cowper, when speaking of himself:
“I was a stricken deer that left the herd
Long since. With many an arrow deep infixed
My panting side was charged, when I withdrew
To seek a tranquil death in distant shades.”
(Task, III. 108 ff.)

72. nescius

note the emphasis thrown upon this word, implying that Aeneas is thus far ignorant of the passion he has inspired.

74. media per moenia

through the city’s midst.

75. urbem paratam

cf. sedesque paratas, I. 557, and the well-known verse O fortunati, quorum iam moenia surgunt! (I. 437). Dido thus tempts Aeneas to stay in Carthage.

76. resistit

her faltering speech is a sign of love.

77. eadem

take with convivia, that same banquet, i.e. one like that which made such an impression on her. This is much more forcible than to make it she also.

79. pendet ab ore

hangs on his lips, or words.

80. digressi

sc. sunt, the subject being omnes, or convivae (guests) understood. lumenque obscura, etc.: and in turn the dim moon sinks her light; vicissim, as the sun before it (labente die, 77).

82. domo vacua

in the empty hall, stratis relictis: the couch which he has left.

83. absens absentem

a favorite mode of securing emphasis in Latin and Greek poetry; “she apart from him that is apart” (Morris); “though sundered each from each” (Rhoades), auditque videtque: note the polysyndeton.

84. Ascanium

Virgil tells us nothing about his return from Idalium (I. 691 ff.). genitoris imagine capta: captivated by his father’s look.

85. infandum si fallere possit amorem

if so be she may beguile (evade) her terrible passion. For the construction, see note on Anthea si quem videat, I. 181; infandum (as in II. 3) is properly ‘too awful to be told.’ Dido tries to satisfy her passion for Aeneas by fondling Ascanius, who is the image of his father.

87. portus

with parant. bello tuta: for safety in war; tuta here means affording safety.

88. pendent

literally, are suspended; i.e. stand idle, minae murorum ingentes: literally, “mighty threatenings of the walls” (Morris), i.e. huge threatening walls.

89. aequata machina caelo

the engine towering up to heaven. The machine was probably a derrick. (In 57, the spondaic rhythm accords with the idea of solemn sacrifice; in 65, with the tone of serious reflection; in 86 and 87, with the expression of grave concern to the state. Note the emphasis secured by the pause after nescius (72), incubat (88), and detinet (85). Assonance and alliteration are very common.)

90. quam

referring to Dido, tali peste teneri: held fast in such a fatal passion. The pestis is her infatuation.

91. nec famam obstare furori

and that her good name is no bar to her frenzy: i.e. she cares not what people may say or think of her.

93. egregiam vero

ironical, refertis: win.

94. numen

power divine, explained by the next line. Though most texts read nomen, there is hardly any authority for the word.

96. nec me adeo fallit

nor indeed am I blind to the fact; adeo here emphasizes the whole statement, not merely me. veritam te, etc.: that, in thy fear of our city, thou hast held in suspicion, etc.; te habuisse is the subject of fallit.

98. modus

limit, end. quo certamine tanto: literally, to what end with all this strife (do we go)? We must supply tendimus or a similar word. The ablative is modal.

100. exercemus

effect.

101. ardet amans

= ardet amore. per ossa: cf. I. 660 and note.

102. communem

in common; used predicatively. paribus auspiciis: with equal authority; auspicia is used by metonymy for imperium, because in time of war the commander-in-chief regularly took the auspices.

103. liceat, etc.

let her serve a Phrygian husband. With liceat supply ei (i.e. Didoni).

104. dotalisque, etc.

and let her yield her Tyrians to thy hand as dowry. The Carthaginians will come under the power of Venus, if her son, Aeneas, marries their queen. They will be, as it were, the dos which the wife brings to her husband.

(Alliteration is frequent in this paragraph; e.g. 90, 91, 94, 95, 99, 101, 102. The diaeresis in 98 (after modus) is expressive of vehemence.)

105. olli

archaic form for illi, used as in I. 254. simulata mente: with feigned purpose. The reply of Venus is guarded, because (enim) she knew that Juno was insincere.

106. quo

= ut. regnum Italiae: i.e. the empire to be established in Italy.

107. talia

such terms.

109. si modo, etc.

if only fortune should favor the fulfilment of thy plan. The condition, equivalent to a wish, is very loosely connected with quis annuit aut malit, a question which implies some such idea as “and I should be content.”

110. sed fatis incerta feror si

but by reason of the fates I drift, uncertain whether, etc. Here si introduces an indirect question; cf. note on I. 181.

115. mecum erit

shall rest with me. quod instat: the present need.

116. confieri

the more common form is conficii. paucis: briefly.

117. venatum

with ire.

120. his

on them.

121. dum trepidant alae

while the hunters ride to and fro. The alae are the beaters, who, from either side, drive the game toward Aeneas and Dido. They are analogous to the cavalry of an army, which were placed on the wings (alae). saltus indagine cingunt: guard the glades with a circle of nets. The nets were used to stop up the exits from the woods. Ancient hunting was different from modern.

125. adero

i.e. as the goddess of marriage.

126. conubio iungam, etc.

the line is repeated from I. 73, in Juno’s speech to Aeolus.

127. hic hymenaeus erit

this will be their bridal; hic is attracted into the gender of hymenaeus. non adversata petenti: not opposing her request; petenti agrees with ei understood.

128. dolis repertis

ablative absolute. Venus, seeing through Juno’s schemes, is amused, because she knows that they can succeed only temporarily.

(Note the contrast between the impressive spondees of 124 and the dactyls of 125, indicating a lively interest in the scene. Dactyls continue prominent through the rest of the passage, and in the final verse are emphasized by double alliteration, adnuit atque . . . visit Cytherea repertis.)

529. at non

sc. quierat.

530. solvitur in somnos

sinks to sleep; solvitur is properly of the relaxing of the body, pectore noctem accipit: cf. Tennyson:
“She found no rest, and ever fail’d to draw
The quiet night into her blood.” (The Marriage of Geraint.)

531. rursus resurgens

suggestive assonance.

532. saevit amor magnoque, etc.

her love surges and she heaves with a mighty tide of passion. It is better to make Dido the subject of fluctuat.

533. sic adeo

even thus; adeo emphasizes sic, which is explained by what follows.

534. en, quid ago

lo, what am I to do? The indicative instead of the deliberative subjunctive; cf. prendimus, II. 322. inrisa: only to be laughed at; used by prolepsis.

535. Nomadum

= Numidarum.

536. quos ego sim, etc.

though I have scorned them, etc. A concessive or adversative relative clause. A. 585, e; B. 283, 3; G. 634; H. 593, 2; H. & B. 523.

537. igitur

then; i.e. as these places must of course be rejected, shall I consider another? ultima iussa: uttermost commands. Dido asks: “Shall I surrender my queenly rank, and, following the Trojans, do their bidding, whatever it may be?”

538. quiane auxilio iuvat, etc.

(am I to do so) because they are grateful for aid once given, and because thankfulness for past benefits is firm in mindful hearts? The quia clause belongs to an omitted sequar; levatos = eos levatos esse, governed by iuvat; bene belongs to facti. Dido is ironical; the Trojans are a thankless people.

540. fac velle

suppose that I wish (to follow them); sc. me and sequi.

541. perdita

addressed to herself.

542. Laomedonteae

Laomedon had perjured himself.

543. nautas

i.e. those of Aeneas, ovantis: because they are leaving Carthage.

545. inferar

pursue (them); i.e. as an enemy. The verb is used as a middle, quos Sidonia vix urbe revelli: sc. eos, those whom I could scarce tear from the Sidonian city.

546. rursus agam pelago

shall I again drive seaward? pelago is dative.

547. quin morere

nay die. She again addresses herself. The use of quin with the imperative is rare outside of the familiar style of everyday speech. It is doubtless used here for its vigorous tone.

548. tu

she apostrophizes her sister, whose advice, though well meant (see ll. 31-53), was fatal.

550. non licuit, etc.

why could I not spend a life, apart from wedlock, a blameless life, even as some wild creature, knowing not such cares! The Latin sentence is not interrogative, but strongly exclamatory. Dido vainly yearns for a life in the wilderness, far from both the joys and the sorrows of civilized communities. “We are too familiar with the frontiersman in America to fail to recognize the type.” (De Witt, The Dido Episode.)

552. servata

sc. est. Her own moral guilt, being last mentioned, seems to haunt her most. Sychaeo: an adjective here.

(Note the beautifully smooth rhythm of the opening verses (522-527). Alliteration is skilfully employed (cf. 523, 525, 526, 527). In 529 the initial spondees mark the contrast in thought; then the tumult of emotion finds expression in a series of verses, all of which begin with a dactyl (530-539), while in some the dactylic rhythm prevails throughout; cf. 535, 538, 539.)

554. certus eundi

bent on going; eundi is an objective genitive with an adjective denoting knowledge.

556. forma dei

a phantom of the god, not the god himself. voltu eodem: referring to the god’s visit to him (239 ff.).

557. ita

explained by what follows.

558. omnia

in all respects; Greek accusative of specification. coloremque: the -que is hypermetric.

560. hoc sub casu

literally, under this hazard; i.e. at such a crisis.

561. deinde

from henceforth.

563. illa

i.e. Dido.

564. certa mori

poetical construction.

565. non – nonne; fugis

vivid present instead of the future. potestas: sc. est.

566. iam

soon.

567. fervēre

third conjugation, as in 409.

569. heia age

what ho! The refrain of a Latin boating-song runs thus:
Heia, viri, nostrum reboans echo sonet heia!
(Heigh-ho! men, let the answering echo ring out our ‘heigh-ho!’)
varium et mutabile semper femina: a fickle and changeful thing is woman ever. Note the use of the neuter in this oft-quoted epigram; cf. Tennyson:
“you know what Virgil sings,
Woman is various and most mutable.”
(Queen Mary, Act III. Sc. 6.)
Also Scott, Kennilworth, ch. 34; Guy Mannering, ch. 16.

(The spondaic rhythm of the two opening verses indicates that something of serious import is about to happen. In the two closing verses the urgent command is emphasized by the pause after the initial feet (heia age and femina) and by the dactylic rhythm, with which are contrasted the spondees of sic fatus, etc.)

571. umbris

vision.

572. fatigat

i.e. gives them no rest.

575. festinare

sc. me. The verb instimulat has the construction of iubeo.

576. deorum

partitive genitive.

577. quisquis es

though Aeneas must have felt reasonably certain who the god was, yet in accordance with an ancient superstition, he avoids any possible risk of using the wrong appellation.

578. sidera dextra feras

vouchsafe favorable stars; i.e. good weather.

580. fulmineum

flashing. The word suggests rapid action.

581. rapiuntque ruuntque

they hurry and scurry; literally, seize hold and rush about. The alliterative expression is descriptive of energetic action.

582. deseruere

they have left (the shore); picturesque perfect. latet sub classibus aequor: i.e. the ships are so numerous.

583.

The line is repeated from III. 208.

(Note the energetic tone with prevailing dactylic rhythm. This is heightened by contrast with the spondaic rhythm of the last line.)

586. ut primum

as soon as.

587. aequatis velis

with even sails: i.e. the square sails set evenly across the mast.

588. vacuos

the adjective belongs to litora as well as portus, and is explained by sine remige.

589. percussa

a middle use.

590. abscissa

similar to percussa.

591. inluserit

the future perfect is used as in occiderit and arserit, ll. 581. advena: intruder; used in scorn; almost = adventurer.

592. non

= nonne. expedient: sc. cives, my people. The omission lends vigor to the style.

595. mentem mutat

sways my brain.

596. facta impia

i.e. her own misconduct, in being disloyal to the memory of Sychaeus.

597. tum decuit, cum sceptra dabas

then was the fitting time when thou didst offer (him) the crown; decuit, sc. facta impia te tangere. dabas: Virgil always represents Dido, not Aeneas, as the active agent in producing the unhappy entanglement. en dextra fidesque: lo! this is the pledge and faith of him who, they say, carries, etc. Understand eius as the antecedent of quem.

599. quem subiisse

governed by aiunt. For the fact, cf. II. 708.

600. non potui, etc.

could I not have seized and torn him limb from limb? As Agave treated Pentheus, or Medea her brother Absyrtus.

602. patriis epulandum ponere mensis

as Atreus served up to his brother Thyestes the flesh of his two sons.

603. fuerat

vivid for fuisset; the implied thought is si pugnavissem cum Aenea. fuisset: suppose it had been. Concessive subjunctive.

604. quem metui

whom had I to fear? The indicative is again used vividly for metuissem. faces in castra tulissem: I should have fired his camp. By castra is meant the castra nautica, where the ships were drawn up and protected. The mood and tense of tulissem express a past unfulfilled duty. A. 439, b; G. 272, 3; H. 539, 6; H. & B. 512, b.

605. implessem, exstinxem

such syncopated forms (for implevissem and exstinxissem) are used by Virgil only in speeches. Here they accord with Dido’s mental excitement.

606. memet super ipsa dedissem

myself have flung on top of all (i.e. into the flames). Note the asyndeton.

607. flammis

with thy beams.

608. harum interpres curarum et conscia

agent and witness of these my sorrows: interpres refers primarily to Juno’s part as pronuba in marriage rites in general, but the expression involves more truth than Dido could suspect. She did not know how much Juno had done in working her ruin.

609. nocturnis triviis ululata

whose name is shrieked by night at the crossroads. The verb, though intransitive, is used passively.

610. di Elissae

i.e. the di Manes. In funeral inscriptions ‘D. M.’ (= dis Manibus) is very common. Dido’s use of the third person, in speaking of herself (Elissae = me) gives emphasis.

611. accipite

hear, meritumque malis advertite numen: and, as is meet, let your power stoop to my ills; malis seems to have a double construction, being a dative with advertite, but also closely related to meritum (‘deserved by my ills’).

613. infandum caput

that unspeakable creature. Dido does not once, in this speech, mention Aeneas’s name.

614. hic terminus haeret

sc. si, if there his goal stands fixed; i.e. if he is fated to reach Italy.

615. at

yet. Dido’s curse is so framed that it is really a prophecy of the later fortunes of Aeneas and the Romans. In the latter books of the Aeneid we read how the hero was engaged in war with the Rutuli and Latini; how, leaving Ascanius in his camp, he sought the aid of Evander; how the Trojans suffered heavy losses; and how in making peace with the Latins he dropped the Trojan name. Further, according to the legend, he reigned only three years, and his body was finally lost in the Numicius. His descendants were engaged in the famous Punic wars. It is interesting to recall the fact that when Charles I. of England consulted the sortes Vergilianae (for Virgil’s works, like the Bible, were long used for forecasting the future) he opened his text at this ominous passage.

617. indigna

cruel. Referring to Turnus’s attack on the camp, in the absence of Aeneas.

618. cum se sub leges pacis iniquae tradiderit

when he has surrendered to the terms of a harsh peace. The verb is future perfect indicative.

619. optata luce

the delights of life.

620. ante diem

before his time. mediaque inhumatus harena: sc. iaceat, and lie unburied on a waste of sand.

623. exercete odiis

pursue with hate, cinerique haec, etc.: and offer this tribute to my dust; i.e. the tribute of hate.

624. populis

viz. Rome and Carthage. sunto: the form implies solemnity.

625. exoriare, aliquis ultor

arise, some avenger! aliquis ultor is in apposition to tu understood. The reference is to the great Hannibal.

626. qui sequare

to pursue; a relative clause of purpose. face ferroque: with fire and sword.

627. nunc, olim, quocumque, etc.

to-day, hereafter, or whenever the strength is given. Note the climax and asyndeton.

628. litora litoribus contraria

shore to shore opposed; contraria belongs to all the accusatives, litora, undas, and arma.

629. imprecor

I invoke.

(The style of this famous passage is unusually vigorous. Note especially the rapid fire of questions in 595 and 600 ff.; the frequent alliterations (as in 581), 594, 598, 603, 604, 605; the telling apostrophe of an unknown avenger in 625; the oracular, epigrammatic tone (as in 628, 629); and the final hypermetric syllable (629), suggesting an overflow of emotional excitement. The artistic variation of the rhythm, harmonizing throughout with the thought, is well worthy of close study, especially in the portions 587-594 and 607-629. Note the use of dactyls, expressive of energetic action, in 588, 589, 593, 594; in alternation with spondees, in 602, 604, 611; of impassioned utterance, in 620, 624, 626, 628. On the other hand, spondees emphasize Dido’s self-accusation in 596; her sarcasm, in 598; her reflective tone, in 603; her solemn appeal to the gods, in 607, 608, 610, 612; her terrible curse, in 613, 614, 615, 616-619 (with initial dactyls), 627, 629 (initial dactyl). Emphatic diaeresis after the first foot is common; cf. 595, 601, 618, 621, 622, 624, 629.)