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148. amissos: 'whom you have given up.' hinc: 'henceforth.' 149. haec edissere vera: 'declare these things truthfully.'

150. Quo: 'whereto,' 'to what end.'

151. quae religio, etc.: 'what sacred token is it, or (if none) what engine

of war?'

154. aeterni ignes: sun, moon, and stars. Cf. III, 599; IX, 429.

155. enses: the sacrificial knives. All the holy objects Sinon appeals to are witnesses of the outrage he has

suffered, and of his being bound by no tie of loyalty to his countrymen. 157. Fas: sc. est.

158. ferre sub auras: 'to bring to the light.'

159. tegunt: sc. illi; i.e. the Greeks.

160. promissis: the prose construction is in promissis maneas. Cf. VIII, 643.

163. auxiliis: ablative of means. from what time'; antecedent is in ex illo, below, 1. 169.

ex quo

164. sed enim: as in I, 19.

ΚΑΛΠΟΥΡΝΙΟΥ CEOT HPΟΥ
ΦΗΛΙΞ ΕΠΟΙΕΙ.

Fig. 14.1
Diomedes and Ulysses carrying
off the Palladium (ll. 165 sqq.)

165. Fatale: 'fateful'; the Palladium was so termed because the fate of Troy depended on its preservation. It was a small, rude image of Pallas, which was believed to have fallen from heaven, and was guarded by the Trojans with great care.

168. vittas: the fillets round the head of the image.

169. fluere, referri: historical infinitives. This metaphor seems to be drawn from the movement of a ship which the rowers have ceased to propel against the current, so that it again falls down the stream.

171. ea signa: 'tokens of this,' i.e. of her displeasure. Cf. III, 505. 172. simulacrum: the Palladium. arsere: would be regularly connected with the foregoing vix positum by -que, et, or cum. Cf. 1. 692.

173. Luminibus arrectis: 'from her starting eyeballs.'

174. ipsa: the image itself, per se. ter: see note on I, 94. solo: H. 464; LM. 600; A. 243, b; B. 214; G. 390; (H. 434, N. 1). dictu: see note on I, III. 176. That an image should show such miraculous signs of anger is a sufficient reason to the minds of the Trojans, as Sinon is well aware, for the advice of Calchas and the hasty departure of the Greeks. There is, therefore, no difficulty now in believing that the Greeks have actually gone, and that what Sinon adds about the destination of the wooden horse is reasonable and true.

178. Omina ni repetant Argis: 'unless they seek the omens again in Greece.' They had before sailing for Troy taken the omens at Aulis. Virgil may have in mind the practice of Roman generals, who, under certain circumstances, went back to Rome to renew the auspices. numen: 'the favor of heaven.'

179. quod-avexere: 'which (says Sinon) they brought away (of old) upon the sea.' The indicative mood shows this statement to be the language of Sinon, not of Calchas, which would have been quoted indirectly, and be put therefore in the subjunctive mood.

180. quod petiere-parant: 'as to the fact that they have sought — (it is because) they are preparing.' H. 588, 3, N.; LM. 847; A. 333, a; B. 299, 2; G. 525, 2; (H. 540, IV, N).

181. Arma, deos: i.e. reënforcements for war and the favor of the gods. 183. moniti: 'being instructed'; namely, by Calchas. pro: 'in place of.' Here Sinon comes to the most delicate part of his story; he must give a plausible reason both for the building of the horse and for its vast size, and he must make such suggestions as shall induce the Trojans to take it into the city.

184. quae piaret: 'to atone for.' See note on I, 20.

185, 186. The emphasis is on immensam, which should be joined to attollere. They were not only advised to build this in place of the Palladium, but to build it of vast dimensions, so that the Trojans might not get it into the city to serve as a new Palladium, and that they might be tempted through suspicion to lay violent hands upon it, and thus incur the anger of Minerva. 186. Roboribus: ablative expressing the means of attollere. for ad caelum. See note on Latio, I, 6.

caelo dative

H. 476; LM.

187. portis: the instrumental ablative of way by which. 644; A. 258, g; B. 218, 9; G. 389; (H. 420, 1, 3)). moenia: for urbem. 188. Neu: 'or lest'; et ne. antiqua sub religione: under the same religious security as that which they had enjoyed under the Palladium.

189. Nam-violasset: this is the continuation, in the oblique form, of what Calchas had stated. An idea of saying is implied in the foregoing verb, iussit (1. 186). For the subjunctive, see note on l. 94.

190. omen: i.e. the fate or destruction indicated by the omen. ipsum : refers to Calchas.

193. Ultro: 'beyond' what you would expect; i.e. 'actually,' 'even.' See note on 1. 145.

194. nostros: refers to the Greeks. ea fata: such fates,' namely, as the exitium in l. 190. This calamity would await the posterity of the Greeks if the horse should be received into the city by the Trojans.

198. mille: a round number. In the Iliad, II, 924 sqq., the number of the Grecian ships is stated as 1186.

199. Hic: see note on 1. 122. adventure of Sinon.

maius: even a greater event than the

201. ductus sorte: though priest of Apollo, Laocoön had been appointed by lot on this day to make sacrifices to Neptune.

202. Sollemnes: 'sacrificial,' 'where the sacrifices are customarily made.' Note the derivation.

203. Ecce cf. 1. 57. gemini: 'two'; implying similarity. Cf. I, 162. a Tenedo: they come from Tenedos as an omen that the enemy is coming from its concealment there to destroy the city.

204. immensis orbibus: an ablative of description, limiting angues. 205. Incumbunt pelago: 'they breast the sea'; with tranquilla per alta. pariter: 'side by side.' ad litora tendunt: 'make for the shore.' 207. Sanguineae: 'bloody'; of the color of blood.

pars cetera: all except the head and breast. pontum Pone legit: 'courses the sea behind.' 208. sinuatque: in connection with legit may be translated as a present participle, curving.' volumine: 'in folds'; referring to the undulating curves made by the long bodies of serpents in propelling themselves over the waves. 209. sonitus spumante salo: note the alliterative effect. The repetition

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of the ́s-sound is intentional, in imitation of the plashing of the waves. 'the shores.'

210. oculos: see note on I, 228.

arva:

212. visu exsangues: 'terrified by the sight.' agmine certo: 'in an undeviating course'; indicating that they had been sent, by a higher power, expressly to destroy Laocoön, and were not merely seeking for prey.

215. morsu depascitur: 'devours.'

216. Post: adverbially for postea. ipsum: refers to Laocoön. auxilio: dative of the end or purpose. See note on I, 22.

218. medium: sc. eum; around his body.' collo: around his neck. For the dative, see H. 426, 6; LM. 535; A. 225, d; B. 187, 1, a; G. 348; (H. 384, II, 2).

219. superant: 'rise above him.' capite: with their heads.' Cf. volumine, 1. 208, for a similar use of the singular for the plural.

221. vittas: see note on I, 228.

223. Qualis mugitus: sc. est. If Virgil was familiar with the famous statue of Laocoön, now preserved in the Vatican, he chose rather, with true poetic taste, to transfer the spirit of that great work to his description than to adhere to the original in respect to all its details.

225. At in transition. delubra summa: 'the lofty shrine'; the same as arcem in the following line.

226. arcem: for templum. It was situated on the summit of the Acropolis. 227. Sub pedibus: the statues of Minerva are often represented with serpents coiled at the feet.

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Fig. 15.- Laocoön and his Children attacked by the Serpents (11. 212 sqq.)

228, 229. novus pavor:

new terror'; no longer apprehension for our personal safety, as in 1. 212, but fear of the goddess who has punished Laocoön, and thus shown the danger of committing any outrage upon the wooden horse. cunctis: for the dative, see H. 425, 4, N.; LM. 538; A. 235, a; B. 188. 1, N.; G. 350, 1; (H. 384, 4). Insinuat: sc. se. scelus expendisse: for sceleris poenam solvisse.

231. Laeserit: for the mood, see note on I, 388. tergo: for corpori. 232. ad sedes: 'to the shrine.'

233. conclamant: 'exclaim with one voice.'

6

234. Dividimus-urbis: 'we divide the walls and disclose to view the buildings.' The muri are the city walls; the moenia, the buildings within. 235. Accingunt: sc. se; apply themselves.' Cf. I, 210. rotarum lapsus: 'the gliding wheels'; put for the simple term rotas. Cf. I, 301. collo: 'about the neck'; dative.

237. Scandit: 'climbs' or 'mounts'; a bold figure, indicating the difficulties overcome in conducting the wooden horse through the walls and to the summit of the citadel.

238. armis: for armatis, as in I, 506. LM. 651; A. 248, c, 2; B. 218, 8; G. 405;

For the ablative, see H. 477, II; (H. 421, II).

239. Sacra canunt: hymns were sung at the sacred festivals of the Romans by choirs of boys and girls.

240. The dat. urbi is governed by inlabitur.

I, 162.

242. Dardanidum: see note on I, 565.

minans: 'towering'; as in

243. Substitit: 'halted.' Stumbling on the threshold was considered an evil omen. utero: the ablative of place. The shock of the sudden halt caused the weapons of the Greeks secreted within the horse to clash and rattle.

244. Instamus: cf. I, 423, and below, 1.491. immemores, caeci: 'thoughtless' and 'blind' in respect to the circumstances which should have awakened suspicion, namely, the stumbling of the horse and the noise of the arms from within.

245. Sistere is followed by the accusative with in, or by the ablative either with or without in. Cf. X, 323.

246. Tunc etiam: 'then also' as an additional warning.

247. credita: is better joined with ora than with Cassandra. For the dative Teucris, see note on ulli, I, 440.

248. esset: relative clause of characteristic expressing the cause of miseri. See note on I, 388. Others make it concessive.

249. velamus: see note on I, 417.

250-437. While the city is buried in slumber, the Grecian fleet returns silently from the island of Tenedos, and Sinon, seeing the signal torch on

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