Aeneid 4:418-429 Course Notes: Aeneas and Achates amazed at ambitious scale of construction of new citadel: Carthage

Latin IV:  Vergil, Aeneid

Instructor:  James Ransom

June 26, 2014

Aeneid 4:418-429

Course Notes

©  James Ransom 2014

Aeneas and Achates, still undercover, scale a high hill in order to reconnoitre Carthage before hazarding entry. They are struck with amazement at the ambitious plan for the new citadel, and the furious pace of construction already underway.   

Corripuēre viam intereā, qua sēmita mōnstrat.
Iamque ascendēbant collem, quī plūrimus urbī
imminet, adversāsque aspectat dēsuper arcēs.               420
Mīrātur molem Aenēās, māgālia quondam,
mīrātur portās strepitumque et strāta viārum.
īnstant ārdentēs Tyriī pars dūcere mūrōs,
mōlīrīque arcem et manibus subvolvere saxa,
pars optāre locum tēctō et conclūdere sulcō.                    425
Iura magistrātūsque legunt sānctumque senātum;
hīc portūs aliī effodiunt; hīc alta theātrīs
fundāmenta locant aliī, immānisque columnās
rūpibus excīdunt, scaenīs decora alta futūrīs.

Verbs in this Passage In Order of Appearance

418	corripio, corripere, corripui, correptum	“to seize, grasp, take, snatch up”
419	ascendo, ascendere, ascendi, ascensum	“to climb, ascend.”
420	immineo, imminere	“to overhang, loom over”
420	aspecto, aspectare, aspexi, aspectum	“to observe attentively, gaze in awe, stare.”
421	miror, mirari, miratus sum	“to wonder at; to admire, esteem.”
423	insto, instare, institi, instatum	“to eagerly press forward, to hurry on.”
423	ardeo, ardere, arsi, arsum	“to be aflame with zeal, to burn”
423	duco, ducere, duxi, ductum	“to lead; to construct, build.”
424	subvolvo, subvolvere, subvolvi, subvolutum	“to roll up from underneath.”
425	opto, optare, optavi, optatum	“to desire.”
425	concludo, concludere, conclusi, conclusum	“to enclose, conclude, decide.”
426	lego, legere, legi, lectum	“to commission, to choose, select, depute.”
427	effodio, effodere, effodi, effossum	“to excavate; to dig up, dig out; to dredge.”
428	loco, locare, locavi, locatum	“to place, to situate; to locate.”
429	excido, exidere, excidi, excisum	“to cut out, to hollow out.”

Corripuere viam interea, qua semita monstrat.

“Corripuere” is third person plural perfect indicative active of corripio, corripere, corripui, correptum, “to seize, grasp, take, snatch up”; subject is “illi” understood.  “viam,” direct object of “corripuere,” is accusative singular of via, viae, f. (1^st), “path, way, road.”  The temporal adverb “interea”= “meanwhile.” The adverb “qua”= “by what way, where.” “semina,” subject of “monstrat,” is nominative singular of semita, semitae, f. (1^st), “narrow way, footpath.” 

Iamque ascendebant collem, qui plurimus urbi
imminet, adversasque aspectat desuper arces.               420

The temporal adverb “iam”= “already, immediately.” “-que” joins this to the preceding sentence.  “ascendebant,” subject of “illi [i.e., Aeneas and Achates]” understood, is third person plural imperfect indicative active of ascendo, ascendere, ascendi, ascensum (3^rd), “to climb, ascend.”  “collem,” direct object of “ascendebant,” is accusative singular of collis, collis, m. (3^rd), “hill.”  The relative pronoun “qui,” agreeing with “collem” and controlling “imminet,” is nominative singular masculine of qui, quae, quod.  The superlative adjective “plurimus,” qualifying “qui,” is nominative singular masculine of plurimus, plurima, plurimum, “very much, exceedingly great.”   

“imminet” is third person singular present indicative active of the defective intransitive immineo, imminere, “to overhang, loom over”; subject is “qui.”  “collem qui plurimus urbe imminet”~ “hill which looms very high above the city.”  The adjective “adversas,” agreeing with “arces,” is accusative plural feminine of adversus, adversa, adversum, “opposite.” “-que” links “adspectat” to “imminet.”  “aspectat,” agreeing with its subject “qui,” is third person singular present indicative active of aspecto, aspectare, aspexi, aspectum, “to observe attentively, gaze in awe, stare.” The locative adverb “desuper,” modifying “aspectat,” = “from above.”  “arces,” direct object of “aspectat,” is accusative plural of arx, arcis, f. (3^rd), “citadel, stronghold.” 

Miratur molem Aeneas, magalia quondam,
miratur portas strepitumque et strata viarum.

“Miratur,” agreeing with its subject “Aeneas,” is third person singular present indicative active of the deponent miror, mirari, miratus sum, “to wonder at; to admire, esteem.”  “molem,” direct object of “miratur,” is accusative singular of moles, molis, f. (3^rd), “massive structure, colossus, large building.”  “Aeneas” is the nominative subject.  “magalia” is accusative plural of magalia, magalium, n. (3^rd), “huts.” The temporal adverb “quondam”= “once, at one time, formerly.” 

“miratur”:  repetition in successive lines = anaphora.  See Ganiban Appendix B.  “portas,” direct object of “miratur,” is accusative plural of porta, portae, f. (1^st), “gate, door.”  “strepitum,” direct object of “miratur,” is accusative singular of strepitus, strepitus, m. (4^th), “noise, din, tumult.”  “-que” links “strepitum” and “portas.” “et” joins “strepitum” and “strata.” The adjective “strata” is accusative plural neuter of stratus, strata, stratum, “paved.”  “viarum” is genitive plural of via, viae, f. (1^st), “road, street.”  “strata viarum” is idiomatic for “paved streets.”  See Ganiban note 422.  The idiomatic expression may be taken as a whole as direct object of “miratur”;  the subject is “Aeneas.” 

Instant ardentes Tyrii pars ducere muros,
molirique arcem et manibus subvolvere saxa,
pars optare locum tecto et concludere sulco.               425

“Instant,” agreeing with its subject “Tyrii,” is third person plural present indicative active of the intransitive insto, instare, institi, instatum, “to eagerly press forward, to hurry on.”  “ardentes,” agreeing with “Tyrii,” is nominative present participle of intransitive ardeo, ardere, arsi, arsum, “to be aflame with zeal, to burn with passionate intensity.” “pars,” in apposition to “Tyrii, and coordinate with “pars” in line 425, is nominative singular of pars, partis, f. (3^rd), “part, a share of, portion of.”  “ducere” is the first of a series of explanatory or “epexegetical” infinitives at 423-425 that explain or complete “instant” ( i.e., the Tyrians “eagerly press forward” to do what?  “pars ducere muros…” &c.).  “ducere” is present infinitive of duco, ducere, duxi, ductum, “to lead; to construct, build.”  “muros,” direct object of “ducere,” is accusative plural of murus, muri, m. (2^nd), “wall.”   

“moliri” is present infinitive of deponent molior, moliri, molitus sum (4^th), “to set about, attempt (any strenuous or daunting endeavor).” “-que” joins the two infinitives “ducere” and “moliri.”  “arcem,” direct object of “moliri,” is accusative singular of arx, arcis, f. (3^rd), “citadel, stronghold.”  “et” joins the infinitives “moliri” and “subvolvere.”  “manibus,” instrumental ablative qualifying “subvolvere,” is ablative plural of manus, manus, f. (4^th), “hand.”  “subvolvere” is present infinitive of subvolvo, subvolvere, subvolvi, subvolutum (3^rd), “to roll up from underneath.”  “saxa,” direct object of “subvolvere,” is accusative plural neuter of saxum, saxi, n. (2^nd), “rock, stone.” 

“pars”:  see Course Notes supra at 423.  “optare” is present indicative active of opto, optare, optavi, optatum (1^st), “to desire.”  “locum,” direct object of “optare,” is accusative singular of locus, loci, m. (2^nd), “place, location.”  “tecto,” indirect object of “optare,” is dative singular of tectum, tecti, n. (2^nd), “house”; dative of purpose.  “et” links “concludere” with “optare.”  “concludere” is present infinitive of concludo, concludere, conclusi, conclusum, “to enclose, conclude, decide.”  The instrumental ablative “sulco” is ablative singular of sulcus, sulci, m. (2^nd), “trench, ditch, furrow.”  The Tyrians are probably marking out construction sites. 

Iura magistratusque legunt sanctumque senatum;

“iura,” direct object of “legunt,” is accusative plural of ius, iuris, n. (3^rd), “statutes, law, justice.”  “magistratus,” direct object of “legunt,” is accusative plural of magistratus, magistratus, m. (4^th), high civil officer, public functionary; magistrate.”  “legunt,” agreeing with the implied subject “Tyrii,” is third person plural present indicative active of lego, legere, legi, lectum, “to commission, to choose, select, depute.”  The adjective “sanctum,” modifying “senatum,” is accusative singular masculine of sanctus, sancta, sanctum, “sacred, holy.”  “-que” joins “senatum” to “magistratus.”  “senatum,” direct object of “legunt,” is accusative singular of senatus, senatus, m. (4^th), “senate.”  
     

hic portus alii effodiunt; hic alta theatris
fundamenta locant alii, immanisque columnas
rupibus excidunt, scaenis decora alta futuris.

The locative adverb “hic,” in a “hic…hic” construction, = “here.”  “portus,” direct object of “effodiunt,” is accusative plural of portus, portus, m. (4^th), “harbor, port.”  The adjective “alii,” in an “alii…alii” construction, is nominative plural (in apposition to “Tyrii” understood) of alius, alia, aliud, “another”; “alii…alii” = “some…others”.  “effodiunt,” agreeing with the subject “alii,” is third person plural present indicative active of effodio, effodere, effodi, effossum (3^rd), “to excavate; to dig up, dig out; to dredge.”  The adjective “alta,” modifying “fundamenta,” in the following line, is accusative neuter plural of altus, alta, altum, “high, deep.” "theatris" is dative plural of theatrum, theatri, n. (2nd); dative of indirect object; indirect object of "locant."  

"fundamenta," direct object of "locant," is accusative plural of fundamentum, fundamenti, n. (2nd), "foundation."  "locant," agreeing with its subject "alii," is third person plural present indicative active of loco, locare, locavi, locatum (1st),

hic portus alii effodiunt; hic alta theatris
fundamenta locant alii, immanisque columnas
rupibus excidunt, scaenis decora alta futuris.

The locative adverb “hic,” in a “hic…hic” construction, = “here.”  “portus,” direct object of “effodiunt,” is accusative plural of portus, portus, m. (4^th), “harbor, port.”  The adjective “alii,” in an “alii…alii” construction, is nominative plural (in apposition to “Tyrii” understood) of alius, alia, aliud, “another”; “alii…alii” = “some…others”.  “effodiunt,” agreeing with the subject “alii,” is third person plural present indicative active of effodio, effodere, effodi, effossum (3^rd), “to excavate; to dig up, dig out; to dredge.”  The adjective “alta,” modifying “fundamenta” in the following line, is accusative neuter plural of altus, alta, altum, “high, deep.” "theatris" is dative plural of theatrum, theatri, n. (2nd); dative of indirect object; indirect object of "locant."  

"fundamenta," direct object of "locant," is accusative plural of fundamentum, fundamenti, n. (2nd), "foundation."  "locant," agreeing with its subject "alii," is third person plural present indicative active of loco, locare, locavi, locatum (1st), “to place, to situate; to locate.” “alii,” subject of “locant,” is nominative plural (in apposition to “Tyrii” understood) of alius, alia, aliud, “another”; “alii…alii” = “some…others”.  The adjective “immanis,” qualifying “columnas,” is accusative plural feminine of immanis, immane (3^rd), “huge; immense.” “-que” links “locant” with “excidunt” in the following line. “columnas,” direct object of “excidunt” in the following line, is accusative plural of columna, columnae, f. (1^st), “post, column.” 

“rupibus,” ablative of separation, is ablative plural of rupes, rupis, f. (3^rd), “rock”; governed by the preposition “ex” embedded in the compound verb “excidunt.”  “excidunt,” agreeing with its subject “alii,” is third person plural present indicative active of excido, exidere, excidi, excisum (3^rd), “to cut out, to hollow out.”  “scaenis” is dative plural of scaena, scaenae, f. (1^st), “stage, theatre”; dative of indirect object.  “decora,” in apposition with “columnas” in the previous line, is accusative plural of decus, decoris, n. (3^rd), “ornament, beauty; splendor.”  The adjective “alta,” modifying “decora,” is accusative plural neuter of altus, alta, altum, “high, deep.”  “futuris,” agreeing with “scenis,” is dative plural of the future participle of sum, esse, fui, futurus.