Aeneid 1:102-112 Course Notes

Latin IV:  Vergil, Aeneid

Instructor:  James Ransom

June 9, 2014

Aeneid 1:102-112

Course Notes

Talia iactanti stridens Aquilone procella
velum adversa ferit, fluctusque ad sidera tollit.
Franguntur remi; tum prora avertit, et undis
dat latus; insequitur cumulo praeruptus aquae mons.       105                                                                                             

Hi summo in fluctu pendent; his unda dehiscens
terram inter fluctus aperit; furit aestus harenis.
Tris Notus abreptas in saxa latentia torquet—
(saxa vocant Itali mediis quae in fluctibus Aras—
dorsum immane mari summo); tris Eurus ab alto               110
in brevia et Syrtis urget, miserabile visu,
inliditque vadis atque aggere cingit harenae.

Talia iactanti stridens Aquilone procella
velum adversa ferit, fluctusque ad sidera tollit.

The adjective “talia” is accusative neuter plural of talis, tale, n. (3^rd), “of such kind, such.”  “iactanti” is dative present participle of iacio, iacare, iacavi, iacatum, agreeing with “Aeneae” understood.  So-called “ethical dative”; see Ganiban note 102-3.  “stridens” is present participle of strideo, stridere, stridii, “to creak, hiss, hum, rustle, whistle.” “Aquilone” is ablative singular of Aquilo, Aquilonis, m. (3^rd), “the North Wind.”  “procella” is nominative singular of procella, procellae, f.(1^st), “storm, tempest.”

“velum” is accusative singular of velum, veli, n. (2^nd), “sail.”  The adjective “adversa” is nominative singular feminine of adversus, adversa, adversum, “turned towards, opposite,”; here agreeing with “procella.” “ferit” is third person singular present indicative active of ferio, ferire, “to smite, to strike, to beat or hit.”  “fluctus” is accusative plural of fluctus, fluctus, m.(4^th), “billow, surge.”  “ad”+accusative, here “sidera”  “sidera” is accusative plural of sidus, sideris, n. (3^rd), “constellation, star.”   

Franguntur remi; tum prora avertit, et undis
dat latus; insequitur cumulo praeruptus aquae mons.                                                   105

“franguntur” is third person plural present indicative active of frango, frangere, fregi, fractum (3^rd), “to break or dash to pieces, shiver, shatter.”  “remi” is nominative plural of remus, remi, m. (2^nd), “oar.”  “tum”=adverb of time: “At that time, right then.”  “prora” is nominative singular of prora, prorae, f. (1^st), “forepart of a ship, prow, bow.”  “avertit” is third person singular present indicative active of averto, avertere, averti, aversum (3^rd), “to turn away, turn over.”  “et”:  joining “avertit” and “dat.”  “undis” is dative plural of unda, undae, f. (1^st), “wave.” 

“dat” is third person singular present indicative active of do, dare, dedi, datum.  The subject is “prora” in the previous line.  “latus” is accusative singular of latus, lateris, n. (3^rd), “side, flank.”  “insequitur” is third person singular present indicative active of the deponent insequor, insequi, insecutus sum (3^rd), “to follow after, come next.” The subject of “insequitur” is “mons.”  “cumulo” is ablative singular of cumulus, cumuli, n. (2^nd), “heap, pile, mass.”  “praeruptus” is perfect passive participle of praerumpo, praerumpere, praerupi, praeruptum (3^rd), “to break off short, to break off suddenly.”  “aquae” is genitive singular of aqua, aquae, f. (1^st), “water.”  “mons” is nominative singular of mons, montis, m. (3^rd),  “mountain.”

Hi summo in fluctu pendent; his unda dehiscens
terram inter fluctus aperit; furit aestus harenis.

The demonstrative adjective “hi” [with “homines” understood] is nominative plural masculine of hic, haec, hoc.  The superlative adjective “summo,” agreeing with “fluctu,” is ablative singular masculine of summus, summa, summum.  The preposition “in”governs the ablative “fluctu.”  “fluctu” is ablative singular of fluctus, fluctus, m. (4^th), “billow, surge”; “summo in fluctu” logically translates to the “crest” or “peak” of the wave.  The intransitive “pendent” is third person plural present indicative active of pendeo, pendere, pependi, “to hang down; to hover, be suspended or poised.”  The demonstrative adjective “his” [with “hominibus” understood] is dative plural masculine of hic, haec, hoc.  See Ganiban note 106-107.  “unda” is nominative singular of unda, undae, f. (1^st), “wave.”  “dehiscens” is present participle of dehisco, dehiscere, dehivi (3^rd), “to gape, split open.” 

“terram” is accusative singular of terra, terrae, f. (1^st).  The preposition “inter”+accusative, here “fluctus.”  “fluctus” is accusative plural of fluctus, fluctus, m. (4^th), “billow, surge.”  “aperit” is third person singular present indicative active of aperio, aperere, aperui, apertum (4^th), “to uncover, lay bare, disclose, unveil.”  “furit” is third person singular present indicative active of the intransitive furo, furere, furui, “to rage, revel; to be furious.”  “aestus” is nominative singular of aestus, aestis, m. (4^th), “tide, surge, swell; seething, heat.”  “harenis” is ablative plural of harena, harenae, f. (1^st), “sand, sandy place, shore.” “furit aestus harenis”=”seabed swirling with sand.” 

Tris Notus abreptas in saxa latentia torquet—
(saxa vocant Itali mediis quae in fluctibus Aras—

dorsum immane mari summo);…

The numerary adjective “tris”=”tres”=”three” (i.e., three ships, with “naves” understood).  “Notus” is nominative singular of Notus, Noti, m. (2^nd), “the South Wind.”  “abreptas” is perfect passive participle of abripio, abripere, abripui, abreptum (3^rd), “to snatch or tear away, rip off.”  The preposition “in”+ accusative, here “saxa.”  “saxa” is accusative plural of saxum, saxi, n. (2^nd), “large stone, rock.” “latentia” is accusative plural of the present participle of the intransitive lateo, latere, latui, “to lie hid or concealed.”  “torquet” is third person plural present indicative active of torqueo, torquere, torsi, torsum (2^nd), “to wind, to twist, to whirl around.”    

“saxa”:  in apposition to “saxa” in the previous line; see Ganiban note 109.  “vocant” is third person plural present indicative active of voco, vocare, vocavi, vocatum (1^st); the subject is “Itali.”  The adjective [here employed as a noun] “Itali” is nominative plural masculine of  Italus, Itala, Italum.  The adjective “mediis” is ablative plural masculine of medius, media, medium, “middle.” “quae,” relating back to “saxa,”  is accusative plural neuter of the relative pronoun quis, quae, quod.  The preposition “in”+ablative, here governs “fluctibus.”  “fluctibus “ is ablative plural of fluctus, fluctus, m. (4^th), “flood, billow, surge.”  “Aras” is accusative plural of Arae, Ararum, f. (3^rd),  “altar, hearth; refuge, shelter.” 

“dorsum” [a contracted form of “devorsum”] is accusative singular of dorsum, dorsi, n. (2^nd), “the back; a mountain ridge.” The adjective “immani,” qualifying “dorsum,” is accusative singular of immanis, immane (3^rd), “huge, terrible.” “mari” is ablative singular of mare, maris, n. (3^rd), “the sea.”  The superlative adjective “summo” is ablative singular neuter of summus, summa, summum, “the highest.” 

…tris Eurus ab alto                                                   110
in brevia et Syrtis urget, miserabile visu,
inliditque vadis atque aggere cingit harenae.

“tris” agrees with “naves” understood.  “Eurus”=”the East Wind.”  The preposition “ab”+ablative, here “alto”:  ablative of separation.  “alto” is ablative singular of altum, alti, n. (2^nd), “the deep, the sky.”

The preposition “in”+accusative, here “brevia.”  The adjective “brevia,” employed here as a noun, is accusative plural of brevis, brevi, “short, shallow.”  “et” joins “brevia” and “Syrtis.”  “Syrtis” is accusative plural of Syrtis, Syrtis, f. (3^rd), “sandbank,” especially “two dangerous shoals off the coast of North Africa.”  “urget” is third person singular present indicative active of urgeo, urgere, ursi, “to push, press, press upon, drive.”  The interjection “miserabile visu”=”horrible to see.” The adjective “miserabile” is accusative singular neuter of miserabilis, miserabile (3^rd), “pitiable, wretched.”  “visu” is supine of video, videre, visi, visum.  The supine is a form of verbal noun.  See Ganiban footnote 111 (though the discussion there inadvertently confuses “miserabile dictu” with “mirabile dictu”). 

“inlidit” is third person singular present indicative active of inlido, inlidere, inlisi, inlisum, “to dash into or upon.”  “-que” links  “inlidit” with “urget” in the previous line.  “vadis” is dative plural of vadum, vadi, n. (2^nd), “shallow, shoal.”  “atque” links “cingit” to the two previous verbs, “inlidit” and “urget.” “aggere” is ablative singular of agger, aggeris, m. (3^rd), “bank, mound.”  “cingit” is third person singular present indicative active of cingo, cingere, cinxi, cinctum (3^rd), “to put all around, surround.” “harenae” is genitive singular of harena, harenae, f. (1^st), “sand.”