2018 ICA Latin 4 Virgil Aeneid 1.418-429 Course Notes

Aeneid 4:418-429

Course Notes

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.

SUGGESTED WORD ORDER

(A) Interea corripuere [i.e., corripuerunt] viam qua semita monstrat; [et] iam ascendebant collem, qui plurimus imminent urbi [et] aspectat adversas arces desuper.  (B) Aeneas miratur molem, quondam magalia, miratur portas [et] strepitum [et] strata viarum.  (C) Tyrii instant ardentes:  pars ducere muros [et] moliri arcem et subvolvere saxa manibus, pars optare locum tecto et concludere [locum] sulco; legunt iura [et] magistratus [et] sanctum senatum. (D)  Hic alii effodiunt portus, hic alii locant alta fundamenta theatri [et] excidunt immanis columnas [ex] rupibus, alta decora futuris scaenis.

CALDWELL

(A) They hurried to follow the path, and now came to a high hill that looked down on the city and its towers.  (B) Aeneas marveled at the gates, the bustle, the paved streets, a city where once were huts.  (C)The Tyrians were busy at work, some rolling stones to build walls and a citadel, some choosing a place for a house and inclosing it with a trench; they were planning courts and magistrates and a respected senate.  (D) Some were making a port, or laying deep foundaations for a theater and cutting big columns from the rock, high decorations for a future stage building.

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

plurimus A superlative form serving as an adverbial attribute, best read as “in a great mass” or “with imposing size.” 

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.

strata viarum “paved streets”

“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

manibus ablative of means

tecto dative of purpose, “for a house”

sulco ablative of means

“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.

rupibus ablative of separation

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.

DICKINSON COLLEGE COMMENTARY

418: corripuere viam: “swiftly pursued” (Frieze). “They have sped on their way.” The verb corripere is properly “to snatch up” (F-B). qua: “whither” (Carter).
419: plurimus urbi imminet: “looms in a mass over the city” (F-B). plurimus: “very high” (Frieze). Adverbial, “hangs massive over” (Walpole). = altissimus, belongs to collem but is drawn into the relative clause (Wetherell). urbi: dat. after imminet (Robertson) (AG 366).
420: adversas...arces: “the towers that face it,” i.e., are rising opposite (F-B). aspectat: Vergil uses aspectare as equivalent to spectare ad or in (Carter). A striking way of representing the stateliness of the towers; the mountain, though higher, “looks them in the face” (Conway).
421: molem: “the massive structures,” or “mass of buildings” (Frieze). magalia quondam: “once a group of huts,” i.e., where huts once stood (F-B).
422: strata viarum: “the paved streets” (Williams). The form of expression ( = stratas vias) emphasizes the mode of construction. In portae and viae the poet is thinking of the famous gates of Rome and the great roads which converged upon the city from all parts of Italy (F-B). It is an instance of a partitive genitive dependent upon a neuter adjective. In such constructions the partitive genitive notion often disappears, as in the present case, and the neuter adj. merely expresses the quality of the thing (P-H).
423–25: “eagerly the Tyrians press on, some to build walls, etc.” (F-B). pars...pars: in apposition with Tyrii (F-B). instant: sc. operi. Then ducere etc. will be historical infinitives, representing pictorially the process of the work. Vergil regularly begins a description with a brief general statement and then fills in particulars, cf. e.g. 15, 54, 159, 210, 257, 347 (Conway). ducere: this and the four infinitives in the two next lines depend upon instant. Some editors, placing a semicolon after Tyrii, make them historical infinitives (Chase) (AG 463).
423: ducere: “extend” (Walpole).
424: moliri: “build” (Walpole). arcem: is the citadel proper (Walpole).
425: tecto: “for a dwelling.” Dative of purpose (F-B) (AG 382.2). A private house, as distinguished from the public buildings (Carter). concludere sulco: Supply eum; “to inclose (the place chosen) with a furrow”; i.e., a plowed line marking, according to the Roman custom, the limits of the estate, or, as we should say, “house-lot.” Some, however, understand here a trench for the foundation-wall of a building (Frieze).
426: legunt: this implies, with iura, a verb like constituunt (“enact”). It is an example of zeugma (F-B).
427: portus…effodiunt: literally true, the harbour of Carthage being artificial (Walpole). [add image] alta: “deep” (F-B). theatris: here again it is the Roman idea of a complete city, which the poet has in view. In Vergil’s day a theater was an essential feature of every Roman city (F-B). Theaters did not exist at the period of the foundation of Carthage; but Vergil seems here, as well as in the account of the paintings below (466–493), and not unfrequently elsewhere, to have had his own times in view (Frieze).
429: scaenis decora alta futuris: “lofty adornments for the future stage.” scaenis is dative of reference (AG 37). alta: “lofty.” This word means “extending vertically,” “up” or “down,” according to the point of view. The stage was usually decorated with columns in the rear (Frieze).

Virgil Aeneid 1.418-429 Scansion*

Cōrrĭpŭ|ērĕ vĭ|am īntĕrĕ|ā, || quā| sēmĭtă| mōnstrăt,

iāmque ās|cēndēb|ānt || cōl|lēm, quī| plūrĭmŭs| ūrbī

īmmĭnĕt| ādvēr|sāsque || ās|pēctāt| dēsŭpĕr| ārcēs.420

mīrāt|ūr mōl|em Aēnē|ās, || māg|ālĭă| quōndăm,

mīrāt|ūr pōr|tās || strĕpĭt|ūmque ēt| strātă vĭ|ārŭm.

īnstān|t ārdēn|tēs || Tŷrĭ|ī: pār|s dūcĕrĕ| mūrōs

mōlīr|īque ār|cem ēt || mănĭb|ūs sūb|vōlvĕrĕ| sāxă,

pārs ōp|tārĕ lŏc|ūm || tēc|to ēt cōn|clūdĕrĕ| sūlcō;425

iūră măg|īstrāt|ūsquĕ || lĕg|ūnt sān|ctūmquĕ sĕn|ātŭm.

hīc pōr|tūs ălĭ|i ēffŏdĭ|ūnt; || hīc| āltă thĕ|ātrīs

fūndām|ēntă lŏc|ānt || ălĭ|i, īmmān|ēsquĕ cŏl|ūmnās

rūpĭbŭs| ēxcīd|ūnt, || scaēn|īs dĕcŏr|a āptă fŭt|ūrīs:

*With acknowledgment and thanks to https:hands-up-education.org/aplatin.html

for making this resource available.