Cura Tibi

548-627: Sibyl Describes Tartarus - Aen.6

548: Aeneas Notices Tartarus (18)

548 Respicit Aeneas subito et sub rupe sinistra

549 moenia lata videt triplici circumdata muro,

  • commentary says moenia refers to the buildings of the city, whereas muro the actual walls

550 quae rapidus flammis ambit torrentibus amnis,

  • ambio - surrounds, walks around. from ambo (both) + eo

551 Tartareus Phlegethon, torquetque sonantia saxa.

552 porta adversa ingens solidoque adamante columnae,

  • solido adamante abl.material

553 vis ut nulla virum, non ipsi exscindere bello

554 caelicolae valeant; stat ferrea turris ad auras,

555 Tisiphoneque sedēns pāllā sūccīnctă crŭēnta

  • Tisiphone - one of the furies. cf. Eumenidum ll. 280 where it talks about the furies' beds
  • sibilance?

556 vestibulum exsomnis servat noctesque diesque.

557 hinc exaudiri gemitus et saeva sonare

  • exaudiri, sonare can be infinitive with implied possunt, or historical infinitives

558 verbera, tum stridor ferri tractaeque catenae.

559 constitit Aeneas strepitumque exterritus hausit.

560 'quae scelerum facies? o virgo, effare; quibusue

  • facies (futr of facio) vs facies, faciei
  • effare = effaris

561 urgentur poenis? quis tantus plangor ad auras?'

  • amor ad auras est? immo plangor ad auras est.

562 tum vates sic orsa loqui: 'dux inclute Teucrum,

  • inclute vocative of inclutus a um
  • vates also means poet so it's kinda funny bc the poem (which is spoken by a poet)
  • vates is the native latin word for poet, poeta is Greek

563 nulli fas casto sceleratum insistere limen;

564 sed me cum lucis Hecate praefecit Avernis,

  • this lucis is from lucus, luci
  • praefecit - to place the [accusative] in charge of the [dative]
    • lucis Avernis - dative with praefecit
  • Hecate (/'he.ka.ti/) goddess of liminal spaces, of 'transitions,' like ghosts, crossroads, night
  • Avernus is another name for the underworld. lucus Avernus refers to a lake in Cumae that was thought to be an entrance to the underworld

565 ipsa deum poenas docuit perque omnia duxit.

  • deum commentary says subjective genitive
  • duxit - Brophy says this is probably physically leading the Sibyl through everything, as in a tour of the underworld, not mentally going through things

Aeneas turns back suddenly and below the left cliff,
sees the wide buildings, surrounded by a three-layered wall,
which a rapid river surrounds with rushing flames,
the Tartarean Phlegethon, and turns loud rocks.

Opposite, [there is] a large confronting gate and columns of solid adamant,
so that no strength of men, nor the gods themselves,
could tear [them] apart in war; the iron tower stands in the air,
and sleepless Tisiphone, sitting dressed in a bloodstained palla,
serves the vestibule 🚂🚃🚃🚃🚃 during night and day.

Here groans were heard and the cruel whips made sounds,
then the harsh noise of iron and dragged chains.
Aeneas stopped and, terrified, drank in the rattle.

"What are these forms of evil? Oh Miss, speak; or what
punishments are they driven by? What lamentation of such size is in the air?"
At this time, the prophet spoke the following words: "celebrated king of Trojans,
[it is] right for no one virtuous to step on this desecrated threshold;
but when Hecate put me in charge of the groves of Avernus,
she herself taught me about the punishments by gods and lead me through everything.

566: The Entrance to Tartarus (14)

fc. means from commentary

566 Cnosius haec Rhadamanthus habet durissima regna

  • Knoss is a city in Crete, it's the largest city, and the city where the labyrinth was, because Rhadamanthus and Minos were brothers. Greeks were parochial about where they came from, so they liked to specify the city

567 castigatque auditque dolos subigitque fateri

568 quae quis apud superos furto laetatus inani

  • inani describes furto apparently
  • a furtum is any fraudulent act (fc)
  • this quis is probably short for aliquis. it's not after "ni si num and ne," but it's poetry so lol

569 distulit in seram commissa piacula mortem.

  • commissa piacula in apposition to quae in the prev line
  • quae is the object of fateri (in the outside clause), and simultaneously the object of distulit (inside the relative clause). quis
  • a piaculum is a crime requiring expiation (fc)

570 continuo sontis ultrix accincta flagello

  • accingo vs succingo (they mean the same thing)
  • continuo as soon as Rhadamanthus has pronounced them guilty, "straightaway" Tisiphone leaps upon them (fc)

571 Tisiphone quatit insultans, torvosque sinistra

  • ASK quatit the object is sontis right?
  • quatit: the verb means “agitate,” “keep in restless motion”. The picture is that of a brutal driver urging on a crowd of terrified animals (fc)
  • insultans Tisiphone is leaping onto the guilty people (fc)

572 īntēntāns āngūīs vŏcăt āgmĭnă saēvă sŏrōrum.

573 tum demum horrisono stridentes cardine sacrae

  • demum see also Cic.Cael.37 nunc enim demum mi animus ardet
  • cardine not a “hinge” but a pivot, with one socket in the sill, and the other in the lintel (cf). diagram of sill & lintel

574 panduntur portae. cernis custodia qualis

  • panduntur see also Verg.Aen.6.525 intra tecta vocat Menelaum et limina pandit, Verg.Aen.6.421 ille fame rabida tria guttura pandens, Verg.Aen.6.268 ramos annosaque bracchia pandit
  • custodia qualis / vestibulo sedeat indirect question. why indirect question instead of generic relative? here:
    1. custodia qualis is nominative. if it was generic relative then it would be cernis custodiam..., with custodia as the object of cernis. right now the entire indirect question is the object of cernis, and custodia is the subject of the indirect question.
    2. qualis is more of an interrogative pronoun than a relative pronoun

575 vestibulo sedeat, facies quae limina servet?

  • custodia qualis ... limina servet statement & variation (saying the same thing twice)
    • statement is custodia qualis vestibulo sedeat
    • variation is facies quae limina servet
    • a mark of Vergil's style (Mr Brophy says he's not qualified to comment on if this is a mark of the style of epics in general)
  • facies quae limina servet can be generic relative but it's probably indirect question since statement & variation tend to give you two of the same constructions

576 quinquaginta atris immanis hiatibus Hydra

577 saevior intus habet sedem. tum Tartarus ipse

578 bis patet in praeceps tantum tenditque sub umbras

  • bis patet ... tantum ... quantus approximately means "opens twice as far as" (fc)

579 quantus ad aetherium caeli suspectus Olympum.

Knossian Rhadamanthus has these harshest kingdoms,
and punishes and listens to schemes and compels to confess
crimes committed, which someone, in higher places, happy with futile fraud,
postponed into too-late death.
Straightaway, the vengeful Tisiphone, girdled with a whip,
leaping, agitates the guilty, and, directing the fierce snakes with her left hand,
calls the cruel lines of sisters.

Then at last, shrieking on a horrible-sounding pivot, the cursed
gates are opened. Do you see what sort of guardian
sits in the entrance, what form serves the threshold?
Crueller Hydra with fifty large dark mouths
has the seat within. From then on, Tartarus itself
opens into a precipice twice as far—and reaches under the shadows—
as the upwards view of the sky (reaches) to celestial Olympus.

580: Poenae (Pars Prima) (15)

580 hic genus antiquum Terrae, Titania pubes,

581 fulmine deiecti fundo volvuntur in imo.

582 hic et Aloidas geminos immania vidi

583 corpora, qui manibus magnum rescindere caelum

584 adgressi superisque Iovem detrudere regnis.

585 vidi et crudelis dantem Salmonea poenas,

  • Salmonea Greek acc.SG
  • ASK is Salmoneus doing the punishing or being punished?

586 dum flammas Iovis et sonitus imitatur Olympi.

  • Olympi Olympia? Olympus? I really should learn the Greek endings maybe
  • ASK what does dum mean and why is imitatur seemingly concurrent with Salmonea being punished/giving punishments

587 quattuor hic invectus equis et lampadă quassans

588 per Graium populos mediaeque per Elidis urbem

  • media dsc Elidis

589 ibat ovans, divumque sibi poscebat honorem,

590 demens, qui nimbos et non imitabile fulmen

591 aere et cornipedum pulsu simularet equorum.

592 at pater omnipotens densa inter nubila telum

593 contorsit, non ille faces nec fumea taedis

594 lumina, praecipitemque immani turbine adegit.

Here, the ancient race of the Earth, the young Titans,
cast away with thunder, rolled at the very bottom.
And I saw here the sons of Aloeus, immense
bodies, who attempted to tear apart the great sky with their hands
and push Jupiter off the upper kindgoms.

And I saw Salmoneus giving cruel punishments,
while he imitates the fire and thunder of Jupiter in Olympia.
Here, carried by four horses, and brandishing the torches,
through the Greek people and through the city in the middle of Elis
he went, joyfully, and demanded the honour of gods for himself,
foolish, the sort of person who fakes storms and non-imitable thunder
with metal and the striking of hoofed horses.
But the all-powerful father, between thick clouds, twisted his weapon,
he—not torches nor the smoky lights of pine wood—
with an immense whirling, threw the sudden [weapon].

595: Poenae (Pars Secunda) (13)

btw Tityos is different to prometheus!!

595 nec non et Tityon, Terrae omniparentis alumnum,

596 cernere erat, per tota novem cui iugera corpus

  • cernere erat - impersonal construction, take as cernere licebat (fc)

597 porrigitur, rostroque immanis vultur obunco

598 immortale iecur tondens fecundaque poenis

599 viscera rimaturque epulis habitatque sub alto

  • epulis dative of purpose (fc); WHERE'S MY DATIVE OF REFERENCE RAHHH I want the double dative!! >:(

600 pectore, nec fibris requies datur ulla renatis.

601 quid memorem Lapithas, Ixiona Pirithoumque?

  • memorem deliberative subjunctive (fc), whatever that is. this ind question serves as a transition (fc) and is marked as a gloss in my 0007h aeneid

602 quos super atra silex iam iam lapsura cadentique

  • deliberate hypermetric line (fc)

603 imminet adsimilis; lucent genialibus altis

604 aurea fulcra toris, epulaeque ante ora paratae

605 regifico luxu; Furiarum maxima iuxta

606 accubat et manibus prohibet contingere mensas,

607 exsurgitque facem attollens atque intonat ore.

And certainly, Tityos, a ward of the all-producing Earth,
it was permitted to see, for all nine acres for which his body
extends. And a large vulture with a curved beak
(plucking his endless liver and inner organs which are abundant in punishment)
tears [the organs] up in feasting and lives beneath the
deep breast, and any rest is not given, with the entrails having renewed.

What should I remember about the Lapiths, Ixion and Pirithous?
Above, black stone (which now, now will fall)
hangs over them, similar to [something] falling; with tall genial cushions
golden supports shine, and feasts in front of mouths, prepared
with magnificent luxury; the eldest of the Furies reclines closely
and with hands, forbids [them] from touching the tables,
and, carring a torch, rises up, and thunders with the mouth.

608: Poenae (Pars Tertia) (20)

608 hic, quibus invisi fratres, dum vita manebat,

609 pulsatusve parens et fraus innexa clienti,

  • fraus cf furtum
  • ASK clienti dative or ablative? i think its an i-stem bc there are 2 consonants before the genitive -is... where are the complete rules for i-stem. oh and also i need to learn greek accusative and also the imperatives

610 aut qui divitiis soli incubuere repertis

  • incubuere = incubuerunt. the infinitive is incubare

611 nec partem posuere suis (quae maxima turba est),

  • posuerunt?
  • ASK quae maxima turba est referring to the number of greedy people or partem? if the former, why feminine?
  • suis = relatives

612 quique ob adulterium caesi, quique arma secuti

613 impia nec veriti dominorum fallere dextras,

614 inclusi poenam exspectant. ne quaere doceri

615 quām poēnam, aūt quaē fōrmă vĭrōs fōrtūnăvĕ mērsit.

  • mersit - the subjunctive of indirect question would be more usual, but the indicative is more vivid, in keeping with the character of the Sibyl’s words. (fc)

616 saxum ingens volvunt alii, radiisque rotarum

617 districti pendent; sedet aeternumque sedebit

618 infelix Theseus, Phlegyasque miserrimus omnis

  • omnis genitive with miserrimus or object of admonet?
  • Phlegyas - "father of Ixion. Apollo raped his daughter Coronis, and in revenge Ixion set fire to Apollo’s temple at Delphi." (fc) good job Phlegyas :thumbsup: :fire: i approve so much

619 admonet et magna testatur voce per umbras:

620 "discite iustitiam moniti et non temnere divos."

  • temnere "object infinitive" (fc). what? ask
  • moniti agrees with the readers (who are being addressed) (fc). yeah cuz monitus, monitus M is a 4dc and doesn't have a form in -i. damn. so it has to be monitus a um from PPP of moneo.
  • omfg discite is from disco and not discido ere

621 vendidit hic auro patriam dominumque potentem

  • auro abl.price

622 imposuit; fixit leges pretio atque refixit;

623 hic thalamum invasit natae vetitosque hymenaeos:

  • the Greek word permits a quadrisyllabic ending to the line; cf. 4.99, 4.316; other examples: elephanto 6.895, 3.464; cyparissi 3.680; hyacinthus 11.69. So too with proper names: Erymantho 5.448 and Adamasto 3.614. huhh??

624 ausi [sunt] omnes immane nefas ausoque potiti [sunt].

625 non, mihi si linguae centum sint oraque centum,

626 ferrea vox, omnis scelerum comprendere formas,

  • omnis = omnes?

627 omnia poenarum percurrere nomina possim.'

Here, [the people] hostile to their brothers while life remained,
or by whom the parent was beaten and (by whom) fraud was contrived against a client,
or who reclined on found riches alone
and did not place down a part for their relatives (which is a very big crowd),
and those killed on account of adultery, and those who followed
impious wars and were not afraid to deceive the right hands of masters,
enclosed, they await punishment. Do not seek to instruct
the punishment, or what shaped fortune submerges the men.

Others turn big rocks (LMAO), and, from the spokes of wheels,
hang, drawn in opposite ways; he sits and will sit forever—
unlucky Theseus—and Phlegyas, most miserable of everyone,
admonishes and declares in a large voice through the shadows:
"You have been warned, learn fairness and to not despise the gods."

This one sold the fatherland for gold and placed down
the powerful master; he made laws for money and abolished [them]
This one invaded the bed of birth and the wedding clothing:
everyone dared an immense wrong and mastered the bold deed.

If there are a hungred tongues for me and a hundred mouths,
an iron voice, to comprehend all the forms of evil,
to run through all the names of punishments, I could not.