Aeneid 1:39-45 Course Notes

Latin IV:  Vergil, Aeneid

Instructor:  James Ransom

June 1, 2014

Aeneid 1:39-45

Course Notes
© 2014 James Ransom, M.A., J.D.

                                   …Pallasne exurere classem
Argivom atque ipsos potuit submergere ponto,               40
unius ob noxam et furias Aiacis Oilei?
Ipsa, Iovis rapidum iaculata e nubibus ignem,
disiecitque rates evertitque aequora ventis,
illum expirantem transfixo pectore flammas
turbine corripuit scopuloque infixit acuto.               45

Pallasne exurere classem
Argivom atque ipsos potuit submergere ponto,               40
unius ob noxam et furias Aiacis Oilei?

But didn’t Pallas torch the whole Greek fleet

--and drown the crews!-- for just one thoughtless crime

of  passion by Ajax, that maddened fool?

“exurere” is present infinitive of exuro, exurere, exussi, exustum, “to burn up, consume by fire.” “potuit” is third person singular perfect indicative active of possum, posse, potui.  “submergere” is present infinitive of submergo, submergere, submersi, submersum, “to sink, submerge.” 

“Pallasne”= Pallas + ne.  “Pallas” is nominative singular of Pallas, Palladis, f. (3^rd).  “classem” is accusative singular of classis, classis, m. (3^rd).  “ne”: post-positive interrogative particle.

“Argivom” is a contraction of the genitive plural “Argivorum” from Argivi, Argivorum, m. (3^rd), “Argives”=  “Greeks.”  atque:  conjunction. “ipsos”is masculine accusative plural of the intensive pronoun ipse, ipsa, ipsum; direct object of “submergere.” “ipsos” here = “the Greeks themselves,” as opposed to their ships. “ponto” is ablative singular of pontus, ponti, m. (2^nd), “the sea.”   

“unius” is masculine genitive singular of unus, una, unum, modifying “noxam.”  “ob”: preposition + accusative = “on account of,” here governing “noxam.” “noxam “ is accusative singular of noxa, noxae, f. (1^st), “guilt, crime, punishment.”    The conjunction “et” joins “noxam” and “furias.”  “furias” is accusative plural of furiae, furiarum, f. (1^st), “rage, madness.”  “Aiacis Oilei”= “Oilian Ajax.” On the epithet “Oilian,” see Ganiban note 41.  “Aiacis” is genitive singular of Aiax, Aiacis, m. (3^rd).  “Oieli” is genitive singular of Oileus, Oieli, m.

Ipsa, Iovis rapidum iaculata e nubibus ignem,
disiecitque rates evertitque aequora ventis,
illum expirantem transfixo pectore flammas
turbine corripuit scopuloque infixit acuto.               45

Athena--she poured lightning from the sky,

smashed up the ships and whipped the sea to foam;

then Ajax, gagging fire, she whirled aloft

to spit him on the sharp end of a crag

“iaculata” is perfect passive participle of the deponent iaculor, iaculari, iaculatus sum (1^st), “to throw or hurl.”  “disiecit” is third person singular perfect indicative active of disicio, disicere, disieci, disiectum (3^rd),  “to fling apart, scatter.”  “evertit” is third person singular perfect indicative active of everto, evertere, everti, eversum (3^rd), “to overthrow.”  “transfixo” is perfect passive participle of transfigo, transfigere, transfixi, transfixum, “to pierce through, transfix.”  “corripuit” is third person singular perfect indicative active of corripio, corripere, corripui, correptum (3^rd –io), “to seize, snatch.”  “infixit” is third person singular perfect indicative active of infigo, infigere, infixi, infixum, “to fasten, fix.”  “exspirantem” is present active participle of exspiro, exspirare, expsiravi, expsiratum, “to breath out, exhale.” 

The intensive pronoun “ipsa” is feminine nominative singular of ipse, ipsa, ipsum, here referring to Pallas Athena.  “Iovis” is genitive singular of the irregular Iupiter, Iovis, m. (3^rd).  The possessive genitive is modifies “ignem.”  “ignem” is accusative singular of ignis, ignis, m. (3^rd), “fire”; direct object of “iaculata.” The adjective  “rapidum” is masculine accusative singular of rapidus, rapida, rapidum; describes “ignem.”  The preposition “e” takes the ablative, here “nubibus”; “from the clouds.”  “nubibus” is ablative plural of nubes, nubis, f. (3^rd), “clouds.”

“rates” is accusative plural of ratis, ratis, f. (3^rd), “ship.”  “que…que”:  coordinating conjunctions.  “aequora” is accusative plural of aequor, aequoris, n. (3^rd), “smooth surface; the sea.” Direct object of “evertit.” “ventis” is ablative plural of ventis, venti, m. (2^nd), “the wind.”  Instrumental ablative.

The demonstrative pronoun “illum” is masculine accusative singular of ille, illa, illud, here referring to Ajax.  “pectore” is ablative singular of pectus, pectoris, n. (3^rd), “breast.”  “flammas” is accusative plural of flamma, flammae, f. (1^st), “fire, flame.”  Construe with “exspirantem.” 

“turbine” is ablative singular of turbo, turbinis, m. (3^rd), “whirlwind.” “scopulo” is ablative singular of scopulus, scopuli, m. (2^nd), “rock, crag.”  The adjective “acuto,” modifying “scopulo,”  is masculine ablative singular of acutus, acuta, acutum, “sharp.”