“The patient Ulysses,” one of the Homeric epithets for him: he bore ten years’ war and ten years’ wanderings. durī.Ulixī: “ruthless Odysseus.” The nature of the general gives a hint of that of his soldiers (Knapp). With mīles, quis is to be supplied as an adjective (Bennett). They are specified here as being the most bloodthirsty enemies of Troy (Frieze). The Myrmidons and Dolopians were Thessalian soldiers, followers of Achilles, and, after his death, of his son Pyrrhus or Neoptolemus. “In recounting such events” fandō is ablative of attendant circumstance (Bennett).ħ: Myrmidonum Dolopum: join with quis as a partitive ( AG 346a). This usage also occurs occasionally in prose (Frieze) ( AG 507). ipse : This is strictly true, as the narrative is purely personal, and does not pretend to be a complete account of the capture of Troy (Howson).Ħ: fandō: “while uttering” a gerund in the ablative expressing the relation of while and equivalent to a present participle. The relative sentences are in loose apposition to the previous lines, whose meaning they extend (C-R). Quae and quōrum (line 6) are relative, not interrogative, pronouns, hence the change of mood. quaeque: “and (the things) which” the antecedent, ea understood, is in the same construction as dolōrem (Frieze). The name used most often by Virgil for the Greeks, and least often by Homer (Austin). Danaus was the mythical king of Argos, and the name meant the Argives originally (Sidgwick). in - bilis are usually passive as here (H-H) ( AG 252).ĥ: Danaī: “the Greeks,” one of the Homeric names for the Greek host who attacked Troy. mē (F-B).Ĥ: ut: “how,” introducing an indirect question, which is dependent on the sense of “telling” implied in renovare dolorem (F-B). ‘unspeakable’) is the tale of sorrow you bid me revive” (Comstock). 9.12 f.) begins his story to Alcinous with emphasis on the sufferings, which he is asked to recall (Williams).ģ: infandum: emphatic position, “Too sad for words (lit. altō: higher than the others, as a mark of honour (Howson).ģ–8: Notice how these lines are filled with expressions of sorrow: infandum.dolorem, lāmentābile (a most sonorous word), miserrima, quis.temperet ā lacrimīs. The omission of est or sunt is very common, especially with deponent verbs (Page). Torus is properly the cushioning of the couch, something that swells (Austin). The Greeks and Romans did not sit, but reclined, at their meals (C-R). The whole expression is however perhaps only a variation for intenta ora tenēbant (Sidgwick).Ģ: torō: i.e., the banquet couch (Comstock). intentī: may be rendered adverbially “intently, earnestly” (Frieze). The prefix in conticuēre has an intensive force (F-B). tenēbant expresses duration-“turning their faces (towards Aeneas) they were keeping them (turned towards him)” (Page). describes a single completed act-”silence fell on all”: the imperf. The compound expresses the intensity of the silence, the tense marks the instantaneous check to the cheerful excitement of the company (Austin). This ending is very rare in Caesar, but common in poetry, being often convenient for metrical purposes (C-R). In grammatical terms, Mercury arrives in Libya before he even has flown there.Aeneas undertakes to recount the story of his adventures (1–13) the stratagem of the wooden horse (13 ff.) (Bennett).ġ: conticuēre: = conticuērunt. Here, however, it appears that he wishes to indicate that a god moves faster than time. "He flies through the great air with a rowing of wings and swiftly stood on the shores of Libya." Sometimes it is difficult to grasp what purpose-if any-Vergil has in his selection of tenses. "Volat ille per āera magnum rēmigiō ālārum ac Libyae citus astitit ōrīs." "Smiling down at her (for 'illī'), the father" Middle voice (looks passive but = reflexive) "filled with tears with respect to her bright eyes," i.e., "her bright eyes filled with tears" "for thus this people would be easy in living through the ages" Interesting Grammatical Features in Aeneid 1 These grammatical features are not necessarily stylistic devices, but may be less common than those topics typically covered in basic Latin. O Doomed Troy-all these may be translated "Troy" Yay! The Trojans-all these may be translated "Trojan" Used by itself to refer to the most important figure, i.e., Aeneasīoo! The Greeks-all these may be translated "Greek" Although there may be certain anthropological or geographical distinctions between one name and another, for our purposes they are identical. It is helpful in reading the Aeneid to know that Vergil uses multiple names to refer to the same characters, groups, and places. Useful Proper Names from the Aeneid Introductory Comment
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