2018 ICA Latin 4 Virgil Aeneid 1.198-209 Course Notes

Aeneid 1:198-207

Course Notes

‘ō sociī—neque enim ignāri sumus ante malōrum—
 ō passī graviōra, dabit deus hīs quoque finem.
Vōs et Scyllaeam rabiem penitusque sonantēs               200
accestis scopulōs, vōs et Cyclōpea saxa
expertī: revocāte animōs, maestumque timōrem
mittite: forsan et haec ōlim meminisse iuvābit.
Per variōs casus, per tot discrīmina rērum
tendimus in Latium; sēdēs ubi fata quiētās               205
ostendunt; illīc fās regna resurgere Trōiae.
Dūrāte, et vōsmet rēbus servāte secundīs.'

SUGGESTED WORD ORDER

(A) “O socii (enim neque ante sumus ignari malorum) O [vos] passi graviora, deus quoque dabit finem his [malis].  (B) Et vos accestis [i.e., accessistis] Scyllaeam rabiem [et scopulos sonantis penitus, et vos experti [estis] Cyclopia saxa:  revocate [vestros] animos [et] mittite maestum timorem; forsan et olim iuvabit [nos] meminisse haec.  (C) Per varios casus [et] per tot discrimina rerum, tendimus in Latium ubi Fata ostendunt quietas sedes; illic [est] fas regna Troiae resurgere.  (D) Durate et servate vosmet secundis rebus.”  Refert talia voce [et] aeger ingentibus curis simulat spem [in] vultu, [et] permit dolorem altum [in] corde.

CALDWELL

“Friends, you’ve suffered worse than this, we’ve known troubles before, and god will give an end to these also.  You survived the madness of Scylla and the crashiung cliffs and the Cyclopean rocks.  Restore your courage, and put away sad fear.  Perhaps some day it will be pleahrough different misfortunes and so many problems we are making our way to Latium, where the Fates promise a peaceful home.  There the kingdom of Troy will rise again.  Be strong, and save yourselves for better days.”  Though sick with worry, he hoped outwardly and repressed his cares deep in his heart. 

O socii—neque enim ignari sumus ante malorum—

O passi graviora, dabit deus his quoque finem.

“O” is an exclamatory particle accompanying the vocative.  “socii” is vocative plural of socius, socii, m. (2^nd), “comrade, companion.” “neque”= “and not, nor, neither.” “enim”= “truly, indeed, in fact.”  The adjective “ignari,” agreeing with “nos” understood, is nominative plural masculine of ignarus, ignara, ignarum, “ignorant, inexperienced, unaware.”  “sumus” is first person plural present indicative of sum, essse, fui, futurus.  The adverb “ante”= “before, previously.” “malorum” is genitive plural of malum, mali, n. (2^nd), “evil.” 

The repetition of “O” at the beginning of the next line= anaphora.  See Ganiban Appendix B.  The perfect participle “passi,” agreeing with “socii” in the previous line, is of the deponent patior, pati, passus sum, “to suffer, to endure.”  The comparative adverb “graviora,” agreeing with the subject “deus,” is accusative plural neuter of gravior, gravioris, the comparative degree of gravis, grave, “heavy, burdensome; grave.”  “dabit,” agreeing with the subject “deus,” is third person singular future indicative active of do, dare, dedi, datum; direct object is “finem.”  “deus,” subject of “dabit,” is nominative singular of deus, dei, m. (2^nd).  The indirect object “his” is dative plural neuter of hic, haec, hoc.  The adverb “quoque” intensifies “his”: “even these things.”  “finem, “ the direct object of “dabit,” is accusative singular of finis, finis, m. (3^rd), “end, limit, termination.” 

Vos et Scyllaeam rabiem penitusque sonantes               200
accestis scopulos, vos et Cyclopea saxa
experti:…

“Vos,” the subject of “accestis” in the following line, is nominative plural of the second person pronoun; here used with dramatic rhetorical force.  The conjunction “et” correlates with “et” in the following line.  The adjective “Scylleam,” agreeing with “rabiem,” is accusative singular feminine of Scylleaeus, Scyllea, Scylleum, “of or belonging to Scylla,” “sea monster who devours the crews of passing ships.”  “rabiem,”  direct object of “accestis” in the following line, is accusative singular of rabies,--, f. (5^th), “rage.”  The adverb “penitus,” modifying “sonantes,” = “from within, innermost.”  The accusative present participle “sonantes,” qualifying “scopulos” in the following line, is of sono, sonare, sonui, sonitum, “to sound, resound.”

“accestis,” poetic contraction of “accessistis,” is second person plural perfect indicative active of accedo, accedere, accessi, accessum (3^rd), “to go, to approach; to approach as an enemy”; “vos” is the subject;  “scopulos,” and “rabiem” in the previous line, are the direct objects.  “scopulos,” direct object of “accestis,” is accusative plural of scopulus, scopuli, m. (2^nd), “rock, crag; difficulty, danger.”  Subject is “vos.” “vos et”:  repetition for rhetorical effect = anaphora.  The adjective “Cyclopea,” agreeing with “saxa,” is accusative plural neuter of Cyclopeus, Cyclopea, Cyclopeum, “of or pertaining to the Cyclops.”  “saxa,” direct object of “experti” in the following line, is accusative plural of saxum, saxi, n. (2^nd). 

“experti” is nominative perfect participle of the deponent experior, experiri, expertus sum (4^th),  “to test, attempt, risk, undergo”; agrees with its subject, “vos.” 

         …revocate animos, maestumque timorem
mittite: forsan et haec olim meminisse iuvabit.

“revocate” is plural imperative of revoco, revocare, revocavi, revocatum (1), “to recall, remember”; subject is “vos.” “animos,” direct object of “revocate,” is accusative plural of animus, animi, m. (2^nd), “mind, intellect, sentiment.”  The adjective “maestum,” agreeing with “timorem,” is accusative singular of maestus, maesta, maestum, “sad.” “-que” links “revocate” with “mittite” in the following line. “timorem,” the direct object of “mittite” in the following line, is accusative singular of timor, timoris, m. (3^rd), “fear.”

“mittite” is plural imperative of mitto, mittere, misi, missum, in this context “to release, dismiss, put away.” The adverb “forsan,” a contraction of “forsitan,”= perhaps. The conjunction “et” here ~ “etiam.” “haec,” direct object of “meminisse,”  is accusative plural neuter of hic, haec, hoc.   The adverb “olim”= “someday”; modifies “meminisse.”  “meminisse,” governing “haec,” is perfect infinitive active of the defective memini, meminisse, “to remember.” “iuvabit” is third person singular future indicative active of iuvo, iuvare, iuvi, iutum, “to assist”; impersonally, “it delights.”  

Per varios casus, per tot discrimina rerum
tendimus in Latium;… 

discrimina rerum lit. “perils of things,” better read as “crises of fortune.” 

The preposition “per”+accusative governs “casus.”  The adjective “varios,” agreeing with “casus,” is accusative plural masculine of varius, varia, varium, “different, various.”  “casus,” the object of “per,” is accusative plural of casus, casus, m. (4^th), “hazard, peril, fall.”  The preposition “per”+accusative governs “discrimina.”  The indeclinable numerary adjective “tot”= “so many.”  “discrimina,” object of “per,” is accusative plural of discrimen, discriminis, n. (3^rd), “critical point; turning point; danger.”  “rerum,” a possessive genitive limiting “discrimina,” is genitive plural of res, rei, f. (5^th), “thing, affair, engagement, event.” 

“tendimus” is first person plural present indicative active of tendo, tendere, tetendi, tensum (3^rd), “to strive, to stretch for, seek to reach.”  The preposition “in”+accusative governs “Latium.”  “Latium” is accusative singular of Latium, Latii, n. (2^nd), “region in west-central su

                                 …sedes ubi fata quietas               205
ostendunt; illic fas regna resurgere Troiae.

[est] fas regna Troiae resurgere read as indirect speech, “it is ordained that the power of Troy will rise again.” 

“sedes,” the direct object of “ostendunt” in the following line, is accusative plural of sedes, sedis, f. (3^rd), “seat, abode.”  The adverb “ubi”= “where.”  “fata,” the subject of “ostendunt” in the following line, is nominative plural of fatum, fati, n. (2^nd), “fate.”  The adjective “quietas,” qualifying “sedes,” is accusative plural feminine of quietus, quieta, quietum, “undisturbed; restful.” 

“ostendunt,” agreeing with its subject “fata,” is third person plural present indicative active of ostendo, ostendere, ostendi, ostensum, “to show, to demonstrate, to point out.”  The adverb of place “illic” = “in that place, there”; refers to “Latium.” The indeclinable noun “fas”= “the divine law, divine will.”  “regna,” subject of “resurgere,” is accusative plural of regnum, regni, n. (2^nd), “reign, rule.”  “resurgere” is present infinitive active of resurgo, resurgere, resurrexi, resurrectum, “to rise again.”  “Troiae,” possessive genitive limiting “regna,” is genitive singular of Troia, Troiae, f. (1^st).  

Durate, et vosmet rebus servate secundis.”

Talia voce refert curisque ingentibus aeger

spem vultu simulat, permit altum corde dolorem. 

voce ablative of means

ingentibus curis ablative of cause, “because of; with overwhelming cares”

vultu ablative of means or ablative of place where

corde ablative of means or ablative of place where

“durate” is imperative of duro, durare, duravi, duratum (1), “to last; endure.”  “vos” is masculine accusative plural of the second person reflexive pronoun.  The suffixive particle –met is emphatic.  “servate” is imperative of servo, servare, servavi, servatum, “to save, conserve.”  The adjective “secundis” is dative feminine plural of secundus, secunda, secundum, “favorable, prosperous.”  Construe with “rebus”:  “prosperity, happy times.”  “rebus” is dative feminine plural of res, rei f.(5), “matter, affair.” 

The adjective “talia” is neuter accusative plural of talis (m./f.), tale (n.), “such.”  “voce”  is ablative singular of vox, vocis f., “voice.”  “refert” is third person singular present indicative active of refero, referre, rettuli, relatus, “to assert; say.”  “curis” is ablative plural of cura, curae f., “care, concern.” The adjective “ingentibus,” modifying “curis,” is ablative feminine plural of ingens (m./f./n.)(3), “vast; powerful.”   The adjective “aeger,” modifying Aeneas, is masculine nominative singular of aeger, aegra, aegrum, “anxious, troubled; weary; sad.”

DICKINSON COMMENTARY 1.198-209

198: neque enim: almost = non, but strictly “for not before this either” (F-B). Gives the ground of some proposition understood, as nil desperandum (Frieze). summus ante: an adverb of time with a present tense (to be translated by a perfect) is a common idiom in most languages, though not in English (F-B) (AG 466). ante malorum: the adverb here has the force of an adjective (Bennett). ante: = praeteritorum, limiting malorum…or with ignari sumus, “we are not inexperienced before now in ills” (Walpole).
199: o passi graviora: “O (you) having suffered heavier (woes)” (Walpole). A line famous for its depth of expression. Note the alliteration (dabit deus) (F-B). graviora: supply mala (Robertson). his: supply malis (Robertson).
200: vos et: repeated in the next line, a high rhetorical anaphora. Vergil uses a technique familiar in the historians, where a speech before battle stresses previous victories over the same, or a similar, enemy (Austin). Scyllaeam rabiam: “the fury of Scylla.” She was a monster who was said to dwell in the Straits of Messina (F-B) (Smith’s Dictionary s.v. Scylla). Adjectives derived from proper names are often substituted for the genitive case (Frieze). penitus sonantes: “deep echoing,” i.e., the barking of Scylla’s dogs echoes through the caverns (F-B).
201: accestis: shortened by syncope for accessistis (F-B). Cyclopia saxa: the rocks amid which the Cyclopes (plural) dwelt (F-B).
202: experti: sc. estis (F-B).
203: mittite: = omittite, as often (F-B). forsan: the use of this particle with the Indic. is poetical, in imitation of the construction fortasse (Conway). et: = etiam (Walpole). haec: acc. after meminisse (Robertson). olim: = aliquando in prose (Walpole). meminisse: subject infinitive with iuvabit (Carter). iuvabit: “it will be pleasant,” used impersonally with a clause as subject (Robertson).
204: discrimina rerum: “perils of fortune” (Frieze).
205: tendimus: sc. iter, “we are pursuing our way” (F-B). in Latium: Aeneas is not supposed to known anything at this point about Latium. (F-B).
206: ostendunt: sc. nobis (Knapp). fas: sc. est (Carter).
207: vosmet: strong form of vos (Knapp). rebus...secundis: dative (Carter).

209: spem simulat, premit dolorem: note the effective asyndeton, and chiasmus (F-B). vultu: abl. of means (Chase).

Virgil Aeneid 1.198-209 Scansion*

“Ō sŏcĭ|ī (nĕque ĕn|im īgnār|ī || sŭmŭs| āntĕ măl|ōrŭm),

ō pās|sī grăvĭ|ōră, || dăb|īt dĕŭs| hīs quŏquĕ| fīnĕm.

vōs ēt| ScŶllaē|ām || răbĭ|ēm pĕnĭt|ūsquĕ sŏn|āntēs200

āccēs|tīs scŏpŭl|ōs, || vōs| ēt CŶc|lōpĭă| sāxă

ēxpēr|tī: rĕvŏc|āte || ănĭm|ōs maēs|tūmquĕ tĭm|ōrĕm

mīttĭtĕ|; fōrsăn ĕt| haēc || ōl|īm mĕmĭn|īssĕ iŭv|ābĭt.

pēr vărĭ|ōs cās|ūs, || pēr| tōt dīs|crīmĭnă| rērŭm

tēndĭmŭs| īn Lătĭ|ūm, || sēd|ēs ŭbĭ| fātă quĭ|ētās205

ōstēn|dūnt; īl|līc || fās| rēgnă rĕs|ūrgĕrĕ| Trōiaē.

dūrāt|e, ēt vōs|mēt || rēb|ūs sēr|vātĕ sĕc|ūndīs.”

Tālĭă| vōcĕ rĕf|ērt || cūr|īsque īn|gēntĭbŭs| aēgĕr

spēm vūl|tū sĭmŭl|āt, || prĕmĭt| āltūm| cōrdĕ dŏl|ōrĕm.

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

for making this resource available.