388-416: Charon - Aen.6

388 ~ 416: argument with Charon

388: Charon

'quisquis es, armatus qui nostra ad flumina tendis,
fare age, quid venias, iam istinc et comprime gressum.
umbrarum hic locus est, somni noctisque soporae:
corpora viva nefas Stygia vectare carina.

//

"whoever you are, the armed one who aims at our river, talk, come, why you come, now from there and restrain your course. This is a place of shadows, of sleep and drowsy night: it is not right to carry living bodies in the Stygian boat.

Stygia is the adjective

quid venias: indirect question. question word = quid, saying/asking word = quid

xyz et
xyz ut
xyz qui

all could be have the et/ut/qui, and idk the translation

commentary

How do they establish Charon's character?

• impatience:
  • imperatives
• impolite
  • imperatives
• suspicious
  • starts with a question (quisquis)
  • armatus (suggesting that they are threats)
  • tendis (has a sense of marching)
  • nostra (sense of posession/protection)
• Anecdote
  • ???????
  • on two levels:
  1. why does Vergil say this/why does Vergil make Charon do it
     • to establish epicness (compare Aeneas to Theseus and Hercules)
  2. why does Charon do this in the story
     • he is traumadumping
  • use the one that's relevant to the question (typically the first one)

this is getting beyond the realm of explain, going into analysis.
"text" - the text as a whole
"extract" - the text u were given

explain question: deal with extract as a standalone thing, e.g.
analysis: how is the extract fitting in with the rest of the text

explain: what he does, how he does it, and what's the effect/audience response
analysis: what he does, how he does it, what's the effect, how does this link to the broader implication of the text
e.g. cicero makes the audience laugh to make claudia seem ridiculous, in order to diminish the importance of his testimony

392: Charon, part 2

nec vero Alciden me sum laetatus euntem
accepisse lacu, nec Thesea Pirithoumque,
dis quamquam geniti atque invicti viribus essent.

In fact, I did not rejoice that I welcomed sailing Hercules on the lake, nor Theseus and Pirithous, although they were born from gods and were undefeated in strength.

//

Tartareum ille manu custodem in vincla petivit
ipsius a solio regis traxitque trementem;
hi dominam Ditis thalamo deducere adorti.'

He attacked the infernal guard in chains by force, from the throne of the king himself, and dragged [it], trembling; they attacked the queen of the underworld and took her from her bed."

deducere: historical infinitive?

398: Sibyl

quae contra breviter fata est Amphrysia vates:
'nullae hic insidiae tales (absiste moveri),
nec vim tela ferunt; licet ingens ianitor antro
aeternum latrans exsanguis terreat umbras,
casta licet patrui servet Proserpina limen.

Contrary to this, the prophet of Apollo spoke briefly: "this is no such treachery, cease to be troubled, nor do I want to use weapons, given the large doorkeeper to the cave, eternally barking, should terrify the bloodless shadows, and given that virtuous Proserpina protects the threshold of the paternal uncle.

403: Sibyl, part 2

Troius Aeneas, pietate insignis et armis,
ad genitorem imas Erebi descendit ad umbras.
si te nulla movet tantae pietatis imago,
at ramum hunc' (aperit ramum qui veste latebat)
'agnoscas.' tumida ex ira tum corda residunt;
nec plura his. ille admirans venerabile donum
fatalis virgae longo post tempore visum
caeruleam advertit puppim ripaeque propinquat.

• Troius Aeneas, pietate insignis et armis,
• ad genitorem imas Erebi descendit ad umbras.
• si te nulla movet tantae pietatis imago,
• at ramum hunc' (aperit ramum qui veste latebat)
• 'agnoscas.' tumida ex ira tum corda residunt;
• nec plura his. ille admirans venerabile donum
  • nec [was there]
  • venerabile neuter nominative/acc of venerabilis
    • holy hell i didn't know that neuter 3dc ended in -e
• fatalis virgae longo post tempore visum
  • visum {longo post tempore} → donum
• caeruleam advertit puppim ripaeque propinquat.
  • propinquat takes dat, ripae dative with verb. ripae is not the subject of propinquat.

Trojan Aeneas, famous for piety and war/armour/force??, descends towards the innermost creator of the underworld and towards shadows. If you move for no image of such piety, but this branch," (she reveals the branch that hides in her clothing), "you will recognise." Then the inflamed soul quieted from anger; nor (was there) more than this said. He, astonished at the venerable offering of the fateful branch, after a long time, turned the blue stern [of the ship] and the banks draw near.

411: boating

inde alias animas, quae per iuga longa sedebant,
deturbat laxatque foros; simul accipit alveo
ingentem Aenean. gemuit sub pondere cumba
sutilis et multam accepit rimosa paludem.
tandem trans fluvium incolumis vatemque virumque
informi limo glaucaque exponit in ulua.

• inde alias animas, quae per iuga longa sedebant,
  • iugum -i in this context, a horizontal beam fastened perpendicular to a post or pole
• deturbat laxatque foros; simul accipit alveo
  • forus, -i MS gangway (like the little bridge thing you use to board ferries), different fo forum -i
• ingentem Aenean. gemuit sub pondere cumba
  • pondere is from pondus, ponderis, not the verb
    • pondus, -eris NT weight; mass, burden
• sutilis et multam accepit rimosa paludem.
• tandem trans fluvium incolumis vatemque virumque
  • X-que Y-que very epic Homer does it in Greek
• informi limo glaucaque exponit in ulua.
  • glaucus adj bluish-grey
  • informi ablative
  • ulva -ae FM sedge (sedge → plants that grow in wet places)

from there he pushes the other souls out of the way, who were sitting all throughout the long ridges, and lets down the gangplanks; at the same time he accepts gigantic Aeneas into the hull. The stiched together boat groaned under the weight, and, leaky, let in much lake water. Finally, he put the prophet and the man, unharmed, across the river, in the shapeless mud and bluish grey sedge.

commentary

what picture do we get of the state of the underworld?

• charon's boat
  • evidence
    • leaky "accepit paludem"
    • stitched "sutilis"
      • it had holes in it and had to be fixed
    • rust coloured "ferruginea"
    • groans "gemuit"
  • conclusion
    • antique, scruffy, "held up by plot armour"
  • what does it show about the underworld?
    • manifestation of unpleasantness
    • the state of a small part represents the state of the whole thing
    • a little scene on the side to flesh out the world