Virgil, Aeneid VI

268 ~ 316

268-272 / darkness

Ibant obscuri sola sub nocte per umbram
perque domos Ditis vacuas et inania regna:
quale per incertam lunam sub luce maligna
est iter in silvis, ubi caelum condidit umbra
Iuppiter, et rebus nox abstulit atra colorem.

  • Ibant obscuri sola sub nocte per umbram
    • 3 spondees
  • perque domos Ditis {1} vacuas et inania regna:
    1. Pluto/Hades/Orcus
  • quale {1} per incertam lunam sub luce maligna
    1. beginning of simile
  • est {1} iter {2} in silvis, ubi caelum condidit {3} umbra
    1. main verb
    2. take as "est quale iter"
    3. condidit means to put something in the ground. therefore can mean buried & covered as well as founded
  • Iuppiter, et rebus {1} nox abstulit atra colorem.
    1. abl.sep or dat.disadvantage

they went, hidden, under the lonely night, through the shadows and through the {empty homes and empty kingdoms} of Dis: just like the journey through the uncertain moon under dim light in the forests, when Jupiter has buried the heaven in shadow, and the dark night carried away the colour from things.

commentary

How does Vergil depict the 'atmosphere' of the underworld?

  • listing a series of ills
  • polysyndeton
  • repetition but not repetitive
    • different, negatives adjectives add vividness and pathos
    • a mixture of "et", "-que", and "ac" as conjunctions
  • simile comparing the journey to a journey under dim light in the forest
    makes it more relatable to the audience, able to portray stuff
  • emphatic positioning of verb/"fronting the verb"
    • first line starts with "ibant", the movement starts right away.
      • as opposed to the usual pattern of the verb being towards the end
      • this is a dreamlike state - you never know how dreams start. like dreams always start when the movement is already happening.
      • also the imperfect tense (continuous movement)
  • pathetic fallacy of the dark environment with the dark mood, I guess
  • first line is entirely spondaic
    • slow journey

"we may say here, if we care to analyse, that the darkness of the night has passed into the hearts of the travellers, and the loneliness of their feelings seems to be part of the night itself" - Fletcher

by the way the most important words in a hexameter line are the first last

difficilior lectio

the more difficult reading is probably the correct one, because if a change has been made from the original, it probably goes from harder to easier.

273-281 / evils

vestibulum ante ipsum primisque in faucibus Orci
Luctus et ultrices posuere cubilia Curae,
pallentesque habitant Morbi tristisque Senectus,
et Metus et malesuada Fames ac turpis Egestas,
terribiles visu formae, Letumque Labosque;
tum consanguineus Leti Sopor et mala mentis
Gaudia, mortiferumque adverso in limine Bellum,
ferreique Eumenidum thalami et Discordia demens
vipereum crinem vittis innexa cruentis.

//

  • vestibulum ante ipsum primisque in faucibus Orci
    • 3 ellisions
    • statement and variation. vergil likes this. also a hallmark feature of epic poetry
    • primis describes faucibus but instead of first it means "the front part of"
    • faucibus: doorway
      • Orcus: another name for Dis/Pluto
  • Luctus et ultrices posuere {1} cubilia Curae,
    1. posuere = posuerunt
    2. luctus, -us but here it's short by scansion so ultrices → Curae
    3. cubilia, -ae bed; lair, nest
  • pallentesque {1} habitant Morbi {2} tristisque Senectus,
    1. pale, dsc/Morbi
    2. PL
  • et Metus et malesuada Fames ac turpis Egestas,
  • terribiles visu {1} formae, Letumque Labosque {3};
    1. supine
    2. in apposition with Morbi...Senectus..etc
    3. old Latin, labos is an old form of labor, because this is supposed to be happening in ancient times

Before the entance itself and at the front of the doorway of Orcus, Mourning and avenging Anxieties placed their lairs, and pale Disease and sad Old Age and Fear and seductive Famine and shameful Poverty lived there, appearances terrible in sight, Death and Toil;

//

  • tum consanguineus Leti Sopor et mala mentis
    • consanguineus TWIN, not bloody
    • Letus, -i Death
  • Gaudia {1}, mortiferumque adverso in limine Bellum,
    1. i feel so validated finally my slither.io addiction has representation in media
    2. gaudium, gaudi, gaudii NT → Gaudia is PL
  • ferreique Eumenidum {1}{3} thalami {2} et Discordia {3} demens
    1. gen. PL
    2. thalami: metonomy. originally meaning "bed" but has a transferred sense of "bedroom" or "marriage-bed". here meaning bed.
    3. during Vergil's life there was like 40 years of continuous civil war, so these are the ones that his audience would've related to the most
    4. demens, dementis adj mad, foolish
  • vipereum crinem vittis innexa {1} cruentis.
    1. grammatically passive, used as active

while the twin brother of Death, Sleep, and evil Joy of the mind, and destructive War [are] in the opposite threshold, and the iron beds of the Furies and mad Chaos, fastened in regards to snakey hair with blood red fabric.

//

interment (burial) was prohibited within city walls, so the roads leading out of the city would be lined on both sides with tombs. the tombs also kind of look like houses. So here Aeneas is walking through the road to the underworld, and all these bad things are living (like tombs) on the side of the road. so cool. also so cool that their houses are alluded to be tombs omg omg omg omg omg

the figures are real people by the way & Aeneas sees them as bodies

Sibyl is his like tourist guide btw sometimes aeneas asks sibyl "who's this" and she tells him

282-284 / dreams

in medio ramos annosaque bracchia pandit
ulmus opaca, ingens, quam sedem Somnia vulgo
vana tenere ferunt, foliisque sub omnibus haerent.

  • in medio ramos annosaque {1} bracchia {2} pandit
    1. it. full of years.
      • -osus -osa -osum means it's full of something, e.g. ventosus, odiosus
    2. ramos...bracchia obj of pandit
  • ulmus {1} opaca, ingens, quam sedem Somnia {2} vulgo
    1. ulmus
      • ulmus, not a hidden v
      • FM, subj of pandit, 2nd dec fem noun
        • 2nd declension trees, rivers, and winds are often feminine
    2. acc subj of ind.stat. after ferunt: "people say"
  • vana tenere ferunt {1}{2}, foliisque sub omnibus haerent.
    1. tenere: to hold something physically.
      ferre: to bring, and also "hold" something verbally, aka "to say"
    2. authorial comment
      • in regards to the "How does Vergil depict the 'atmosphere' of the underworld?"
        • makes it more legendary, alluding to a legend of unknown origin
        • contributes to a "mysterious" atmosphere

In the middle, a huge shady elm tree stretches the bough and the aged branches, they say that empty Dreams, in a crowd, holds this position, and they cling underneath all the foilage. [think of it as a flock (crowd) of birds in a tree]

285-289 / monsters

multaque praeterea variarum monstra ferarum,
Centauri in foribus stabulant Scyllaeque biformes
et centumgeminus Briareus ac belua Lernae
horrendum stridens, flammisque armata Chimaera,
Gorgones Harpyiaeque et forma tricorporis umbrae.

  • multaque praeterea variarum monstra {1} ferarum,

    1. monstrum, monstri: something unusual, sent by the gods to point out something. comes from monstro, monstrare, to point out, show

  • Centauri in foribus {2} stabulant Scyllaeque {1} biformes

    1. latin y is prounced /y/ which is just the closed version of /i/. IPA
    2. foris, foris: form is plural but it's one of the words that have a singular meaning

  • et centumgeminus {2} Briareus ac belua Lernae {1}

    1. Lernae: "gen of Lerna, marsh near Argos where Hercules killed the Hydra"
    2. lit. "hundred-fold". Briareus has 50 heads and 100 hands, Virgil leaves it up to the reader to interpret what hundred-fold refers to

  • horrendum [1] stridens, flammisque [2] armata Chimaera,

    1. commentary says horrendum is a "cognate accusative" of stridens. I'm assuming horrendum is substantive for horrible hiss and it means hissing a horrible hiss.

      • a cognate accusative is an object of an intransitive verb that is just the noun form of that verb.
        • she died a terrible death
        • she slept a troubled sleep

      also neuter accusative adjectives can often be used adverbially???? so you can seriously translate this literally

    2. ablative of instrument or respect or description bro it can be any of these i love fire i wanna burn—

  • Gorgones Harpyiaeque et forma tricorporis umbrae.

    • Harpyiaeque is scanned with "yi" as one (long) vowel.

And moreover, there are many monsters of various wild beasts: Centaurs are stabled in the entrance and monsters like Scylla, with two forms, and the hundred-fold Briareus and a beast of Lerna, hissing a horrible hiss, and Chimaera, armed with flames, and Gorgons and Harpies and a figure of three-bodied shadow.

290-294 / ghosts

corripit hic subita trepidus formidine ferrum
Aeneas strictamque aciem venientibus offert,
et ni docta comes tenuis sine corpore vitas
admoneat volitare cava sub imagine formae,
inruat et frustra ferro diverberet umbras.

  • corripit {1} hic subita trepidus formidine ferrum {2}
    1. corripit: perfect
    2. ferrum is very very often used as metonomy for gladium/sword because ferrum is easier to fit into the meter than gladium
  • Aeneas strictamque aciem venientibus offert,
  • et ni {3} docta {1} comes tenuis {2} sine corpore vitas
    1. educated
    2. grammatically could go with either comes or vitas. makes more sense w/vitas. and also vergil likes to balance adjectives.
      • he would prefer vitas with one adj and comes with one adj
      • rather than vitas with none and comes with 2
      • thin sybil hahahaha
    3. introduces conditional clause
  • admoneat {1} volitare {2} cava sub imagine formae,
    1. admoneat: introduces ind.stat
      if part of condition introduced by "ni". indicative because it actually happened.
    2. volare: to fly
      volitare: to flutter
  • inruat et frustra ferro diverberet umbras.
    1. inruat: subjunctive statement. the then part of the condition introduced by "ni". subjunctive: it didn't happen/contrary to fact

At this moment, Aeneas, frightened with sudden alarm, seize his sword and presents the drawn blade to those approaching, and if the wise companion did not tell him that the thin lives without a body were fluttering under the hollow appearance of a form, he would have attacked and cleaved apart the shadows in vain with his sword.

commentary

semantic field

string of adjectives that convey similar ideas

  • tenuis
  • sine corpore
  • volitare
  • cava sub imagine
  • umbra

group of words that convey similar ideas = lexical chain/semantic field

shows that these things are real, but only just. life without a body, as opposed to me (body without a life)

Aeneas' reaction

Aeneas' reaction - what does this tell us about his character/mood?

  • he's suspicious/scared "subita trepidus"
  • he's trying to be active in preventing bad things

295

Hinc via Tartarei quae fert Acherontis ad undas.

Hinc via {3} Tartarei quae fert {3} Acherontis ad undas {1}{2}.

  1. waves = shores
  2. object of fert
  3. via fert = road leads to, lit. road carries

From here, the road which leads to the shores of Acheron.

296-

turbidus hic caeno vastaque voragine gurges
aestuat atque omnem Cocyto eructat harenam.
portitor has horrendus aquas et flumina servat
terribili squalore Charon, cui plurima mento
canities inculta iacet, stant lumina flamma,
sordidus ex umeris nodo dependet amictus.

  • turbidus hic caeno vastaque voragine gurges
    • turbidus → gurges
    • caenum, -ī NT mud, filth
    • vastus adj empty, desolate; ravaged; enormous
    • vorago, -inis FM abyss, chasm, depth
    • vasta → voragine
    • since it's caeno et voragine, both caeno and voragine probably have the same use (abl.instrument)
    • caeno and voragine go with turbidus instead of aestuat in the line below (since they are sandwiched between the adjective and its noun)
  • aestuat atque omnem Cocyto eructat harenam.
    • Cocyto: dative of direction, equivalent to in Cocytum
  • portitor has horrendus aquas et flumina servat
    • flumina acc
  • terribili squalore Charon, cui plurima mento
    • terribili squalore abl/description
  • canities inculta iacet, stant lumina flamma,
    • lumen, luminis NT
    • flamma, flammae F
  • sordidus ex umeris nodo dependet amictus.
    • amictus, amictus M manner of dress; clothing
    • sordidus, -a, -um dirty

this stormy whirlpool, in vast and deep mud, boils and discharges all the seashore to Cocytum. The dreadful ferryman protects these waters and rivers; frightful filth; Charon, on whose chin lies many unkempt white hairs, stands with the flame illuminating, a filthy cloak hangs from his shoulders with a knot.

  • ipse ratem conto subigit velisque ministrat
    • contus, -i M pole
    • subigit because he has to put the pole into the water to push the boat
    • velum, -i NT sail ={todo}why is it dative??=
  • et ferruginea subvectat corpora cumba,
    • subvecto, -are to carry up regularly
  • iam senior, sed cruda deo viridisque senectus.
    • senior comparative
    • deo dative of advantage?
    • senectūs, senectūtis FM old age; old men

Charon pushes the ship with a pole, and minds the sails and conveys their bodies upwards with the iron-rust boat, now the old man, but a youthful old man in the godly boat.

huc omnis turba ad ripas effusa ruebat,
matres atque viri defunctaque corpora vita
magnanimum heroum, pueri innuptaeque puellae,
impositique rogis iuvenes ante ora parentum:
quam multa in silvis autumni frigore primo
lapsa cadunt folia, aut ad terram gurgite ab alto
quam multae glomerantur aves, ubi frigidus annus
trans pontum fugat et terris immittit apricis.

  • huc omnis turba ad ripas effusa ruebat,
  • matres atque viri defunctaque corpora vita
    • vitā (long by looking at the internet), defuncta and corpora have short a by scansion
  • magnanimum heroum, pueri innuptaeque puellae,
  • impositique rogis iuvenes ante ora parentum:
  • quam multa in silvis autumni frigore primo
  • lapsa cadunt folia, aut ad terram gurgite ab alto
  • quam multae glomerantur aves, ubi frigidus annus
  • trans pontum fugat et terris immittit apricis.

to this place, the whole sprawling crowd rushed towards the banks, the mothers and men and the dead lives and the brave bodies of heros, boys and unmarried girls, and the young adults put upon funeral pyres in front of the faces of their parents: as many as gliding leaves that fall in the forests, due to the first chill of autumn, or, as many as birds that flock from the deep abyss to the land, when the cold year banishes them across the sea, and sends them to sunny lands.

quam multa in silvis autumni frigore primo

  • quam multa: as many as
    lapsa cadunt folia, aut ad terram gurgite ab alto
  • PPP + verb can be translated as two verbs connected with "and"
  • alto is an adjective describing gurgite
    quam multae glomerantur aves, ubi frigidus annus
    trans pontum fugat et terris immittit apricis.
  • fugat != fugit
  • terris apricis is dative:
    • in poetry, "into" is often expressed as a dative indirect object
    • also dative with compound verbs

stabant orantes primi transmittere cursum
tendebantque manus ripae ulterioris amore.
navita sed tristis nunc hos nunc accipit illos,
ast alios longe summotos arcet harena.

the people stand there, begging to be sent first for travel, and they stretched out their hands in desire of farther shores. The sad sailor, although now accepting these and now those, keeps others far removed from the shore.

stabant orantes primi transmittere cursum

  • primi: Latin uses adjectives where English would use adverbs. could take as "sent first" or "people at the front of the shore", anyways nominative and going with the people. but it should be sent first. because everyone logically should be begging.
    tendebantque manus ripae ulterioris amore.
    navita sed tristis nunc hos nunc accipit illos,
    ast alios longe summotos arcet harena.
  • longe, harena are associated with summotos, meanwhile ast, arcet, alios are more part of the main sentence. summotos describes alios