544. quo iustior...] 'than whom there was neither any more righteous in piety nor greater in war and deeds of arms.' To speak of a man as iustus pietate implies that he fulfils all the claims which are imposed on him by duty to the gods: so in the New Testament dikalos is constantly combined with ὅσιος, εὐλαβής and the like. 6 Conington speaks of iustior pietate as a very harsh combination involving an unexampled inversion,' and therefore puts a comma after alter, saying that nec is omitted before iustior, 'than whom (neither) was any juster, nor greater in piety nor in war.' No doubt the first nec of two can be occasionally omitted where the sense is perfectly clear (cf. Aesch. Ag. 532), but here where the omission of nec is most perplexing, and rendered more perplexing by the double nec in the second clause, such an omission is impossible. Moreover it is clear that Aeneas is not described as first 'just,' secondly 'pious,' and thirdly 'a great warrior,' but as possessing two qualities often contrasted and rarely combined, viz. goodness and greatness. 546. si vescitur...] 'if he feeds on heavenly air nor as yet lies amid the cruel shades.' Cf. 3. 339 vescitur aura; Lucr. 5. 857 vesci vitalibus auris. Munro (Lucr. 5. 72 n.) regards vesci in these passages as='use,'' enjoy,' and arte hac vescimur, vescatur armis are quoted. This may be so, but at the same time there is no doubt that Virgil often speaks of air and aether as the sources of life, so that he may well use the expression feeds on heavenly air.' The adj. aetheria suggests the idea of 'light' and so affords an artistic contrast with umbris. The ideas of air,' 'aether,' 'light,' and 'life' are so intertwined in Latin poetry that it is often hard to accurately disentangle them. 548. non metus...] (then) we have no fear, nor wouldst thou repent to have first entered a contest of courtesy.' 549. et] also.' If Aeneas is dead, they have also friends in Sicily who can protect them and recompense Dido. 552. silvis aptare trabes] 'in the forests to shape planks,' i.e. for repairing their ships. 553. si datur...]' that (ut), if it is granted...to sail to Italy, Italy and Latium we may joyfully seek, but if..., (that) at any rate (at) we may seek the seas of Sicania.' If 556. spes Iuli] As Aeneas is their safety (salus) in the present, so Iulus is their hope in the future. Iuli is the objective genitive; their hope looks to him as its object. spes Iuli meant the hope entertained by Iulus it would be the subjective genitive. 557. at] For at introducing the apodosis after si, sin, quamvis = 'yet' or 'at any rate,' cf. 543; 4. 615; 6. 406; G. 4. 208, 241. 559. simul ore fremebant] 'shouted assent with their voice; cf. Il. 1. 22 ἔνθ ̓ ἄλλοι μὲν πάντες ἐπευφήμησαν ̓Αχαιοί. 561-578. Dido replies bidding them be of a good cheer : well does she know their famous story; whether they wish to depart or stay they may count on her aid; would that their great leader had also been cast upon her shores; at any rate she will send scouts to search for him. 561. vultum demissa] 'with downcast face'; see Appendix. 563. res dura] 'hard fortune,' 'stern necessity.' cogunt talia moliri : 'drive me to such hard deeds,' i.e. as driving strangers from my coasts. Molior, from moles, always denotes doing something with difficulty (cf. 414, 424) or, as here, which is burdensome or repugnant to the feelings. custode: the singular used collectively='guards,' so miles is constantly used = troops.' 565. quis nesciat?] Potential subjunctive-'who can be ignorant?' Aeneadum: cf. 157 n. 566. virtutesque virosque] Note the assonance-'its warlike deeds and warriors.' incendia: 'conflagration'; so we speak of both a war and a fire breaking out.' 568. nec tam...] 'nor does the sun yoke his steeds so distant from our Tyrian town.' The meaning is the same as that of our common phrase 'we are not so out of the world.' The land lying along the coast of the Mediterranean represents to the ancients the habitable and civilised portion of the globe, and over this belt or zone of the earth the sun moves in heaven, while outside of it (extra anni solisque vias 6. 797) lies the domain of barbarism and darkness. Henry, however, explains aversus 'turning his back on us,' 'leaving us benighted.' 571. auxilio tutos] 'guarded by an escort.' 572. vultis et...] 'is it your wish moreover to settle in this kingdom with me on equal terms? The city which I build is yours.' It is hard to say what is the proper punctuation of this sentence: many editors put a colon after iuvabo and a comma after regnis, in which case si has to be supplied from the first half of the sentence-'if you desire...I will assist, if also you wish to settle...the city is yours.' Perhaps the punctuation given in the text is simpler and more vigorous. 573. urbem quam statuo, vestra est] A well-known instance of the noun being expressed in the relative clause instead of in the main sentence, or, as it is more usually called, of the attraction of the antecedent to the case of the relative. The peculiar form of the sentence throws great emphasis on urbem, to which Dido points with pride as she offers to share it with the Trojans. Similar sentences with similar emphasis are not uncommon in the vivid speech of comedy, e.g. Ter. Eun. 4. 3. 11 Eunuchum quem dedisti nobis, quas turbas dedit; and see Jebb on Soph. O. T. 449. 574. Tros...] Trojan and Tyrian by me shall be treated with no distinction.' Note the assonance in Tros and Tyrius: like in name they shall be treated alike. 576. equidem] This word (from ě demonstrative and quidem) has no connection with ego but is a simple adverb, and can be used with the 2nd and 3rd person. None the less, Virgil certainly seems to treat it as if it were=ego quidem. So here it seems to be='I indeed,' cf. 619; 4. 12; 4. 45; 4. 330; 5. 26; 5. 56; 5. 399; 6. 848. 578. si...errat] 'in case he is wandering,' not 'to see if he is wandering' which would be si...erret, cf. 181. 579-612. While Dido speaks, Achates and Aeneas were longing to reveal themselves, and, as Achates is asking Aeneas what he proposes, the cloud suddenly parts revealing the form of Aeneas clothed in radiant beauty which Venus had shed around him. He thanks Dido for her splendid generosity and compassion, praying that heaven may reward her and promising his own undying gratitude. Then he greets his lost comrades. 580. erumpere nubem] 'to burst from the cloud.' Erumpo is, like rumpo, originally active='cause to burst forth'; it is usually however intransitive='burst forth'; then here from this intransitive use a transitive one is developed and, because 'burst forth from' has the general meaning of 'quit,' 'leave,' Virgil boldly writes erumpere nubem, just as he writes 5. 438 tela exit avoids the blows,' cf. 2. 542 n. 584. unus abest...] Cf. 113. 587. purgat] Supply se from scindit se; 'disperses itself.' Bowen has clears into cloudless splendour of heaven.' For aether as opposed to aer cf. 411 n. 588. restitit...refulsit] For the force of the compounds cf. 402 n. As the cloud rolled back the figure of Aeneas 'stood clear against it': we should say 'stood out.' 589–593. Copied from Hom. Od. 23. 156-162 (also Od. 6. 229) αὐτὰρ κὰκ κεφαλῆς κάλλος πολὺ χευεν Αθήνη, VOL. I Q οὔλας ἧκε κόμας, ὑακινθίνῳ ἄνθει ὁμοίας. ὣς μὲν τῷ περίχευε χάριν κεφαλῇ τε καὶ ὤμοις. = 589. namque...] for his mother herself had upon her s breathed grace of clustering locks and the radiant light youth and joyful glory on his eyes.' Adflarat is usually said to go with caesariem by zeugma 'had bestowed,' bu this is erroneous. The emphasis is wholly on decoram (cf. decus 592): Venus bestows on him not 'hair' surely but s special grace or beauty which is added to his hair, and this grace is described as 'breathed upon him' (i.e. bestowed in some divine mysterious manner) equally with the 'radiance' of youth and the 'lustre' of his eyes. 591. purpureum] For this word, which is certainly not= 'rosy' here but radiant,' cf. 6. 641 n. 592. quale...] 'such grace as (the craftsman's) hands add to ivory, or (such grace as is added) when silver or Parian marble is surrounded with yellow gold,' i.e. apparently 'gilded,' cf. Homer's TeρIXEVEтαι. 594. cunctis] with inprovisus: his sudden appearance was 'unexpected by all.' 598. reliquias Danaum] Cf. 30 n. 'O thou, who with us, the leavings of the Greeks, with us worn out at last by all hazards of land and sea, of all things destitute, dost share thy city, thy home.' 599. omnium] 'The only instance in which Virg. has forced this intractable word into a hexameter,' Conington. The ugly elision is made easier by the emphasis which repetition (omnibus...omnium) throws very strongly on the first syllable. 600. urbe domo] Rhetorical asyndeton. race.' 601. non opis est...] 'is not in (lit. 'of') our power nor (in the power of) whatever everywhere exists of the Troj Quidquid est followed by a gen. is='whatever there is of a thing,' all of it,' cf. Hor. Epod. 5. 1 o deorum quidquid in caelo regit 'O all ye gods'; Sat. 1. 6. 1. 603. di tibi...] 'may heaven-if any deities regard the good, if anywhere is aught of justice-and the consciousness of right bring thee worthy recompense.' Aeneas cannot recompense her, he can only pray that she may receive the two greatest of all blessings the favour of heaven and the approval of a good conscience. Cf. 9. 252 quae digna, viri, pro laudibus istis | raemia posse rear solvi? pulcherrima primum | di moresque labunt vestri. Editors spoil this fine passage by reading iustitia, which as practically no authority except the Medicean MS., and even here it is corrected into iustitiae (see Henry 1. 780). They then render, 'may heaven—if any deities regard the good, if ustice and conscious rectitude are of any account anywherereward thee.' Conington makes perfect nonsense by writing 'are of account anywhere on earth,' for what men think of goodness on earth cannot be a ground for appealing to the gods in heaven. For si quis with indic.='as surely as there is some,' cf. 3. 433 n. 605. quae te tam...] 'what so happy ages gave thee birth,' i.e. what ages were so happy as to give thee birth? The sentence is only a question in form; its real meaning is 'happy the age which gave thee birth.' 607. dum montibus...] 'while on the hills the shadows glide over the hollows.' 608. polus dum sidera pascet] A reminiscence of Lucr. 1. 231 unde aether sidera pascit? where the aether which surrounds the universe and keeps the stars alive and burning is said to 'feed' them, cf. 5. 517 n. Virgil's phrase, however, differs from that of Lucretius, and seems rather to compare the stars to a countless flock whose pasture-ground is the sky. 610. quae...cumque] Tmesis. 6 0. In amazement Dido asks whether he is really that famous Aeneas whose story she had heard from Teucer when he sought the aid of her father Belus to found a new kingdom in Cyprus. Then she bids him welcome as one who has herself learned in misery to sympathise with misfortune. 613. primo] An adj. in agreement with aspectu, but to be taken adverbially. Dido is struck with amazement, firstly at the grace and beauty of Aeneas (cf. 589-91) and then at the nought of his misfortunes. 616. inmanibus] 'cruel,' referring to the dangerous nature of the coast and the savage character of the inhabitants. 617. Dardanio Anchisae] As regards the hiatus and spondee in the fifth foot it may be observed that Virgil allows himself this license only in lines containing proper names, and only three times, viz. here and 3. 74 Neptunō Aegaeo; 11. 31 Parrhasio Evandro. These lines are generally said to be imitations of Greek rhythm, but though hiatus in the fifth foot |