2018 ICA Latin 4 Virgil Aeneid 1.184-197 Course Notes

Aeneid 1: 180-197

Course Notes

Nāvem in conspectu nūllam, trēs litore cervōs
prōspicit errantēs; hōs tōta armenta sequuntur                 185
ā tergō, et longum per vallēs pascitur agmen.
Cōnstitit hīc, arcumque manū celerēsque sagittās
corripuit, fīdus quae tēla gerēbat Achātēs;
ductōrēsque ipsōs primum, capita alta ferentēs
cornibus arboreīs, sternit, tum volgus, et omnem               190
miscet agēns tēlis nemora inter frondea turbam;
nec prius absistit, quam septem ingentia victor
corpora fundat humī, et numerum cum nāvibus aequet.
Hinc portum petit, et socios partitur in omnēs.
Vīna bonus quae deinde cadīs onerārat Acestēs                 195
litore Trinacriō dederatque abeuntibus hērōs,
dīvidit, et dictis maerentia pectora mulcet:

SUGGESTED WORD ORDER

(A) Prospicit nullam navem in conspectus [sed] tris cervos errantis [in] litore; tota armenta sequuntur hos [cervos] a tergo et longum agmen pascitur per vallis.

(B)  Constitit hic [et] corripuit arcum [et] celeris sagittas manu, tela quae fidus Achates gerebat, [et] primum sternit ductores ipsos, ferentis alta capita arboreis cornibus, et tum miscet vulgus agens omnem turbam inter frondea nemora telis;

(C) nec absistit priusquam victor fundat septem ingentia corpora humi et aequet numerum [cervorum] cum navibus.  Hinc petit portum et partitur [cervos] in omnis socios.

(D) Deinde dividit vina quae bonus Acestes onera[ve]rat cadis [in] Trinacrio litore [et quae ille] heros dederat abeuntibus [Troibus], et mulcet maerentia pectora dictis: 

CALDWELL

(A) No ships were in view, but he saw three stags wandering along the shore.  A large herd followed behind them, and they fed in a long line through the valley.  (B) He stopped and took the bow and swift arrows which faithful Achates carried, and first struck down the leaders, carrying their heads high with branching antlers.  Then his weapons sent the rest of the herd rushing into the leafy grove, (C) but he did not stop until he laid seven giant bodies on the ground, the same number as his ships.  He returned to the port, and shared his catch with all his comrades.  (D) Dividing up the wine which the good hero Acestes had loaded into casks on the Trinacrian shore and given to them as they left, he tried to sooth the sad hearts of his men: 

Navem in conspectu nullam, tres litore cervos
prospicit errantes; hos tota armenta sequuntur               185
a tergo, et longum per valles pascitur agmen.

litore ablative of place where

longum agmen “in a long column”

“navem,” direct object of “prospicit” in the following line, is accusative singular of navis, navis, f. (3^rd), “ship.”  The preposition “in” + ablative “conspectu,” ablative singular of conspectus, conspectus, m. (4^th), “view, sight.”  The adjective “nullam,” limiting “navem,” is accusative singular feminine of nullus, nulla, nullum, “none, not any.”  “tres” is accusative plural of the numerary adjective tres, tria, “three,”; agrees with “cervos.”  “litore” is ablative singular of litis, litoris, n. (3^rd), “shore.”  Locative ablative.  “cervos,” direct object of “prospicit” in the following line, is accusative plural of cervos, cervi, m. (2^nd), “deer.” 

“prospicit” is third person singular present indicative active of prospicio, prospicere, prospexi, prospectum, “to see a frontal view, command a wide view, see right in front [of one]”; subject is Aeneas understood.  “errantes,” agreeing with “cervos” in the previous line, is accusative present participle of erro, errare, erravi, erratum (1^st), “to wander.”   The demonstrative pronoun “hos,” referring to “cervos” in the previous line, is accusative plural masculine of hic, haec, hoc.  The adjective “tota,” qualifying “armenta,” is nominative plural neuter of totus, tota, totum.  “armenta,” subject of “sequunter,” is nominative plural of armentum, armenti, n. (2^nd), “herd.”   “sequunter” is third person plural present indicative of the deponent sequor, sequi, secutus sum, “to follow.” 

“a” = “ab.”  a+ablative “tergo,” ablative singular of tergum, tergi, m. (2^nd), “back, rear.  Thus “a tergo” = “from behind, in the rear.”  The conjunction “et” joins the subject “armenta” in the previous line with the subject “agment.”  The adjective “longum,” qualifying the subject “agmen,” is  nominative singular neuter of longus, longa, longum, “long.”  The preposition “per”+accusative governs “valles.”  “valles” is accusative plural of  valles, valles, f. (3^rd), “valley.”  “pascitur is third person singular present indicative active of pasco, pascere, pavi, pastum (3^rd); “agmen” is the subject.  “agmen” is nominative singular of agmen, agminis, m. (3^rd), “throng, multitude; army on the march.”    

Constitit hic, arcumque manu celerisque sagittas
corripuit, fidus quae tela gerebat Achates;

manu ablative of means

“constitit” is third person singular present indicative active of consto, constare, constiti, constitum, “to stand still.”  The locative adverb “hic”=”here, hereupon.”  “arcum,” direct object of “corripuit” in the following line, is accusative singular of arcus, arcus, m. (4^th), “bow.  “-que” links “arcum” and “saggitas.”  “manu” is ablative singular of manus, manus, f. (4^th);  instrumental ablative.  The adjective “celeris,” modifying “sagittas,” is accusative plural feminine of celer, celeris, celere, “swift.”  “sagittas,” direct object of “corripuit” in the following line, is accusative plural of sagitta, sagittae, f. (1^st), “arrow.”

“corripuit “ is third person singular perfect indicative active of corripio, corripere, corripui, correptum, “to seize, to snatch up”; subject is Aeneas understood, and the direct objects are “arcumque…sagittas” in the previous line.  The adjective “fidus,” modifying “Achates,” is nominative singular masculine of fidus, fida, fidum, “loyal.”  The relative pronoun “quae,” agreeing with “tela,” is accusative plural neuter of qui, quae, quod.  “tela,” direct object of “gerebat,” is accusative plural of telum, teli, n. (2^nd), “weapon.” “gerebat” is third person singular imperfect indicative active of gero, gerere, gessi, gestum (3^rd), “to bear, to carry”; “Achates” is the subject.  “Achates” is nominative singular of Achates, Achatae, m. (1^st.).  

ductoresque ipsos primum, capita alta ferentis
cornibus arboreis, sternit, tum vulgus, et omnem               190
miscet agens telis nemora inter frondea turbam;

_{arboreis cornibus ablative of quality, “with tree-like antlers”}

_{telis ablative of means}

_{“ductores,”} the direct object of “sternit”in the following line, is accusative plural of ductor, ductoris, m., “leader.”  The intensive pronoun “ipsos,” agreeing with “ductores,” is plural accusative masculine of ipse, ipsa, ipsum.  The adverb “primum”= “first”;  modifies “sternit” in the following line.  “capita” is accusative plural of caput, capitis, n., “head.” The adjective “alta,” modifying “capita,” is neuter accusative plural of altus, alta, altum, “high.” “ferentis,” modifying “ductores,” is plural accusative present participle of fero, ferre, tuli, latus. 

“cornibus,” modifying “capita” in the previous line, is ablative neuter plural of cornu, cornus, n., “horn.”  Ablative of description.  The adjective “arboreis,” modifying “cornibus,” is ablative neuter plural of arboreus, arborea, arboreum, “tree-like, branching.”  “sternit” is third person singular present indicative active of sterno, sternere, stravi, stratum, “to stretch out, bring down, lay low.”  Subject is “Aeneas” understood.  The temporal adverb “tum”= “at that time, then, next.”  “vulgus,” direct object of “miscet” in the following line, is neuter accusative singular of vulgus, vulgi, n., “the masses, the common folk; the herd.”  The conjunction “et” links the clauses controlled by “sternit” and “miscet.”  The adjective “omnem,” modifying “turbam” in the following line, is accusative feminine singular of omnis, omne, “all.” 

“miscet” is third person singular present indicative active of misceo, miscere, miscui, mixtum, “to mix, to mix up, confuse, confound.”  Subject is Aeneas understood.  “agens” is present participle of ago, agere, egi, actum, “to drive, to move.”  “telis” is ablative plural of telum, teli, n. (2^nd), “weapon, dart, spear.”  Instrumental ablative.  “nemora,” object of the preposition “inter,” is accusative plural of nemus, nemoris, n. (3^rd), “grove, wood.” The preposition “inter”+accusative= “among.”  The adjective “frondea,” modifying “nemora,” is accusative neuter plural of frondeus, frondea, frondeum, “leafy.”  “turbam,” direct object of “agens,” is accusative singular of turba, turbae, f. (1^st), “crowd.” 

nec prius absistit, quam septem ingentia victor
corpora fundat humi, et numerum cum navibus aequet.

humi locative, “on the ground”

“nec”=neque, “neither, nor.”  Construe “prius” with “quam” = priusquam, “before”; with the negative, “nec priusquam” = “not until.”  “absistit” is third person singular present indicative active of absisto, absistere, abstiti, abstitum, “to desist, leave off, abstain, withdraw.” The subject is Aeneas understood.  The numerary adjective “septem” modifies “corpora” in the following line.  “ingentiam,” agreeing with “corpora,” is accusative neuter plural of the adjective ingens, ingentis,  “huge.”  “victor,” used adjectivally to qualify “fundat” in the following line, is nominative singular of victor, victoris, m. (3^rd), “conqueror.”

“corpora,” the direct object of “fundat,” is accusative plural of corpus, corporis, n. (3^rd), “body, corpse.”  “fundat” is third person singular present subjunctive active of fundo, fundere, fudi, fusum (3^rd), “to scatter, to bring down; to pour out”; the subject is Aeneas understood; the direct object is “[septem ingentia] corpora.”  The subjunctive mood of “fundat” suggests Aeneas’ purpose. “humi” is the archaic locative used adverbially ofhumus, humi, f., “ground.”  The conjunction “et” juoins “fundat” and “aequet.”  “numerum,” direct object of “aequet,” is accusative singular of numerus, numeri, m. (2^nd), “number.”  The preposition “cum”+ablative governs “navibus.” “navibus” is ablative plural of navis, navis, f. (3^rd).  “aequet” is third person singular present subjunctive active of aequo, aequare, aequavi, aequatum, “to make even, to make equal.”      

Hinc portum petit, et socios partitur in omnes.

The adverb “hinc”= “hence, from hence.”  “portum,” the direct object of “petit,” is accusative singular ofportus, portus, m. (4^th), “harbor.”  “petit” is third person singular present indicative active of peto, petere, petivi, petitum (3^rd), “to seek, make for, go to.” The subject is Aeneas understood.  The conjunction “et” joins “petit” and “partitur.”  “socios,” governed by the preposition “in,” is accusative plural of socius, socii, m. (2^nd), “friend, companion.”  The preposition “in” + accusative governs “socios.” “partitur” is third person singular present indicative of the deponent partior, partiri, partitus sum (4^th), “to apportion, share out, divide.”  The adjective “omnes,” agreeing with “socios,” is accusative plural masculine of omnis, omne, “all.”  

Vina bonus quae deinde cadis onerarat Acestes               195
litore Trinacrio dederatque abeuntibus heros,
dividit, et dictis maerentia pectora mulcet:

heros “in heroic fashion”

dictis ablative of means

“vina,” direct object of “dividit” at 197, is accusative plural of vinum, vini, n. (2^nd), “wine.” The adjective “bonus,” agreeing with “Acestes,” is nominative singular masculine of bonus, bona, bonum.  The relative pronoun “quae,” referring to “vina,” is accusative plural neuter of qui, quae, quod.  “quae” is the object of “onerarat.”  The adverb “deinde”=  “then, thereafter.”  “cadis,” indirect object of “onerarat,” is dative plural of cadus, cadi, m. (2^nd), “wine-jar.”  “onerarat” is a contracted form of the third person singular pluperfect indicative active of onero, onerare, oneravi, oneratum (1^st), “to stow away, to store; to load, to burden.”  “quae,” i.e. “vina,” is the is the direct object and “cadis,” i.e. the wine-jars, is the indirect object.  “Acestes” is nominative singular of Acestes, Acestae, m., “King in Sicily, of Trojan stock.”  “Acestes” is the subject of “onerarat.” 

“litore” is ablative singular of litor, litoris, n. (3^rd), “shore.”  Ablative of place from which.  The adjective “Trinacrio,” qualifying “litore,” is ablative singular of Trinacrius, Trinacria, Trinacrium, “belonging to Trinacria”; Trinacria is another name for Sicily.  “dederat” is third person singular pluperfect indicative active ofdo, dare, dedi, datum; “Acestes” in the previous line is the subject.  “-que” joins “onerarat” in the previous line with “dederat” in the parallel construction.  “abeuntibus” is dative plural of the present participle of the intransitive irregular abeo, abire, abii, abitum, “to go away, depart from.”  Dative of the indirect object.  “heros,” in apposition to “Acestes” in the previous line, is nominative singular of heros, herois, m. (3^rd), “hero.” 

“dividit” is third person singular present indicative active of divido, dividere, divisi, divisum (3^rd), “to divide.”  The subject is Aeneas understood. The conjunction “et” joins “dividit” to “mulcet.”  “dictis” is ablative plural ofdictum, dicti, m. (2^nd), “word, saying.”  Instrumental ablative.  The participle  “maerentia,” qualifying “pectora,” is accusative plural of the present participle of the intransitive defective maereo, maerere, “to mourn.” “pectora,” the direct object of “mulcet,”  is accusative plural of pectus, pectoris, m. (3^rd), “breast.”  “mulcet” is third person singular present indicative active of mulceo, mulcere, mulsi, mulsum, “to soothe.”  

DICKINSON COLLEGE COMMENTARY

184: navem nullam, tres cervos: note the chiasmus and the asyndeton to point the contrast (F-B) (AG 598f).

185: armenta: the plural is designed merely to indicate a large number (Frieze).

187: hīc: the adverb, with temporal force (F-B).

188: fidus quae tela gerebat Achates: introduced, as savoring of heroic times. Thus as Hercules had his faithful armor-bearer Hylas and Achilles his Patroclus, so Aeneas has his fidus Achates (F-B).

190: cornibus arboreis: “with branching antlers” (Storr). May be taken as an abl. of means with alta, or an abl. of description with capita (Wetherell). The abl. may be attached with equal right to either of the three preceding words.The antlers mark the age and majesty of the stags (Conway). vulgus: object of sternit (F-B).

191: miscet agens: the participle marks the persistence and vigour of the action, here by repeated shots, and seems to have something of the color of the imperative age (Conway). turbam: no longer an agmen (186), but a disordered host (F-B).

192–3: nec prius...aequet: “nor does he desist until as victor he stretches seven huge carcasses,” etc. (Bennett). victor: continues the imagery of a battle (Conington).

193: fundat et aequet: the subjunctive implies that he does not intend to cease from the chase before he has killed the seven (Frieze). The subjunctive is used because Aeneas aims at or designs this result (F-B). humi: locative (F-B) (AG 427.3a). “On the ground” (Walpole).

194: hinc: “after this” (F-B). Refers to time = postea (Walpole). “Thereupon” (Frieze). in: = inter, “among” (F-B).

195: the order of the construction is: deinde dividit vina, quae bonus heros Acestes onerarat cadis, dederatque abeuntibus (Robertson). deinde:“next,” with dividit (197) (F-B). Dissyllable by synizesis (Bennett) (AG 603 note). cadis onerarat: “had stowed in jars.” cadis is an ablative of place (F-B). Dative for the prosaic construction, quibus cados onerarat (Frieze). onerarat: = oneraverat, a case of contraction or “syncope” (Carter). Acestes: the son of a Trojan woman named Segesta, dwelt in the western part of Sicily, and had hospitably entertained Aeneas and his followers there during the winter just passed (Frieze) (Smith’s Dictionary, s.v. Acestes).

196: litore Trinacrio: i.e., Sicily (F-B). Abl. of situation (Frieze). heros: “like a hero.” Note the emphatic position. Vergil is anxious to reproduce the tone of the heroic age. Homer’s heroes often give presents to their guests (F-B). Emphatically placed in apposition to Acestes (Walpole).

Virgil Aeneid 1.184-197 Scansion*

nāvem īn| cōnspēc|tū || nūl|lām, trēIs lītŏrĕ| cērvōs

prōspĭcĭt| ērrān|tēs; || hōs| tōta ār|mēntă sĕ|quūntŭr185

ā tēr|go ēt lōn|gūm || pēr| vāllēIs pāscĭtŭr| āgmĕn.

cōnstĭtĭt| hīc ār|cūmquĕ || măn|ū cĕlĕr|ēsquĕ săg|īttās

cōrrĭpŭ|īt fīd|ūs || quaē| tēlă gĕr|ēbăt Ăc|hātēs,

dūctōr|ēsque īp|sōs || prīm|ūm căpĭt|a āltă fĕr|ēntēs

cōrnĭbŭs| ārbŏrĕ|īs || stēr|nīt, tūm| vūlgŭs ĕt| ōmnĕm190

mīscĕt ăg|ēns tēl|īs || nĕmŏr|a īntēr| frōndĕă| tūrbăm;

nēc prĭŭs| ābsīs|tīt || quām| sēptem īn|gēntĭă| vīctŏr

cōrpŏră| fūndăt hŭm|i ēt || nŭmĕr|ūm cūm| nāvĭbŭs| aēquĕt;

hīnc pōr|tūm pĕtĭt| ēt || sŏcĭ|ōs pār|tītŭr ĭn| ōmnēs.

vīnă bŏn|ūs quaē| deīndĕ || căd|īs ŏnĕr|ārăt Ăc|ēstēs195

lītŏrĕ| Trīnăcrĭ|ō || dĕdĕr|ātque ăbĕ|ūntĭbŭs| hērōs

dīvĭdĭt|, ēt dīc|tīs || maēr|ēntĭă| pēctŏră| mūlcĕt:

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