Aeneid Flashcards
(13 cards)
40
Primus ibi ante omnis magna comitante caterva Laocoon ardens summa decurrit ab arce, et procul ‘o miseri, quae tanta insania, cives? creditis avectos hostis? aut ulla putatis dona carere dolis Danaum? sic notus Ulixes?
aut hoc inclusi ligno occultantur Achivi, aut haec in nostros fabricata est machina muros, inspectura domos venturaque desuper urbi, aut aliquis latet error; equo ne credite, Teucri.
quidquid id est, timeo Danaos et dona ferentis.’
sic fatus ualidis ingentem viribus hastam in latus inque feri curvam compagibus alvum contorsit. stetit illa tremens, uteroque recusso insonuere cavae gemitumque dedere cavernae. et, si fata deum, si mens non laeva fuisset, impulerat ferro Argolicas foedare latebras, Troiaque nunc staret, Priamique arx alta maneres.
There ahead of everyone, with a great crowd surrounding him, Laocoon, in a blaze, came rushing down from the citadel’s heights, and from afar he shouted: ‘o wretched citizens, what is this great madness? Do you believe the enemy to have gone away? or do you think that Greek gifts are free from trickery? Is this how you know Ulysses?
Either the Greeks are hidden enclosed in this wood, or this device has been constructed against our walls, to spy on our houses and to come down on the city from above, or some trickery lurks within. Do not trust the horse Trojans.
whatever it is, I fear the Greeks even when they bear gifts.
Thus he spoke and with a mighty strength hurled his huge spear at the beast’s flank and the arched joint of the belly. The spear stood there quivering, and from the echoing womb sounded the hollow vaults and they let out a groan. And had divine destiny, had our minds not been perverse, he had driven us to define with steel the Greek hiding place, and Troy would now be standing, and you would remain, lofty citadel of Priam.
57
Ecce, manus iuvenem interea post terga revinctum pastores magno ad regem clamore trahebant Dardanidae, qui se ignotum venientibus ultro, hoc ipsum ut strueret Troiamque aperiret Achivis, obtulerat, fidens animi atque in utrumque paratus, seu versare dolos seu certae occumbere morti.
undique visendi studio Troiana iuventus circumfusa ruit certantque inludere capto.
accipe nunc Danaum insidias et crimine ab uno disce omnis.
Look, meanwhile with a great shout some trojan shepherds were dragging to the king a young man whose hands were bound behind his back. Willingly he had offered himself, a stranger, in their path, to bring about his end, and open Troy to the Greeks, trusting in his spirit and ready for either eventuality, whether to engage in trickery or else meet certain death.
The Trojan youth poured around from all sides, in their eager rush to look at him, and they competed to mock the captive.
Now learn of Greek treachery, nd from one learn the wickedness of all.
66
namque ut conspectu in medio turbatus, inermis constitit atque oculis Phrygia agmina circumspexit, ‘heu, quae nunc tellus,’ inquit, ‘quae me aequora possunt accipere?
aut quid iam misero mihi denique restat, cui neque apud Danaos usquam locus, et super ipsi Dardanidae infensi poenas cum sanguine poscunt?’
quo gemitu conversi animi compressus et omnis impetus. hortamur fari quo sanguine cretus, quidve ferat; memoret quae sit fiducia capto.
For as he stood in the middle of our gaze, confused, unarmed, and cast his eyes about the Phrygian ranks, he said: ‘Alas, what land now, what seas can receive me?
Or what end finally awaits me in my wretchedness, since i have no place among the Greeks and, moreover the Trojans themselves angrily demand my punishment in blood.’
With this groan our mood changed, and all the animosity was quashed. We urged him to tell us his parentage, or what news he brought, to tell us what he, a captive, had faith in.
77
‘Cuncta equidem tibi, rex, fuerit quodcumque, fatebor vera,’ inquit; ‘neque me Argolica de gente negabo. hoc primum; nec, si miserum Fortuna Sinonem finxit, vanum etiam mendacemque improba finget.
fando aliquod si forte tuas pervenit ad auris Belidae nomen Palamedis et incluta fama gloria, quem falsa sub proditione Pelasgi insontem infando indicio, quia bella vetabat, demisere neci, nunc cassum lumine lugent:
With his fear finally put aside he spoke as follows: “ whatever happens, o king, I shall indeed tell you the whole truth” he said “ now shall I deny that I am of the Greek race; this is first; nor, if fortune has made Sinon a wretch, will she also, in her wickedness, make him false and a liar.
If by chance in talk these has reached your ears some mention of Palamedes, son of Belus, and his glory, well-known in report, whom under false betrayal, by unspeakable evidence, the Trojans sent off to be killed, though he was innocent, because he opposed the war, now they mourn him, bereft of life’s light.
86:
illi me comitem et consanguinitate propinquum pauper in arma pater primis huc misit ab annis. dum stabat regno incolumis regumque vigebat conciliis, et nos aliquod nomenque decusque gessimus.
invidia postquam pellacis Ulixi (haud ignota loquor) superis concessit ab oris, adflictus vitam in tenebris luctuque trahebam et casum insontis mecum indignabar amici. nec tacui demens et me, fors si qua tulisset, si patrios umquam remeassem victor ad Argos, promisi ultorem et verbis odia aspera movi.
hinc mihi prima mali labes, hinc semper Ulixes criminibus terrere novis, hinc spargere voces in vulgum ambiguas et quaerere conscius arma.
nec requievit enim, donec Calchante ministro sed quid ego haec autem nequiquam ingrata revoluo, quidue moror? si omnis uno ordine habetis Achivos, idque audire sat est, iamdudum sumite poenas: hoc Ithacus velit et magno mercentur Atridae.’
As companion to him, and as his relative by blood, my father, in his poverty, sent me here to arms from my earliest years. While Palamedes stood secure in his kingdom and was powerful in royal councils, we, too carried some name, some glory.
But when, through the malice of the deceitful Ulysses (what I say is well known) he had departed from the upper shores, I dragged out my life in darkness and in griefs, destroyed as I was, and chafed within at the fate of my innocent friend. Nor was I silent in my madness, and I promised that, if fortune would allow it I would take revenge; and I stirred up bitter hatred by what I said.
From this time was my first slip into evil, hence always did Ulysses terrorise with fresh accusations, hence did he scatter rumours of uncertainty amongst the people, and actively look to his schemes.
For he did not rest, until, with Calchas, as his accomplice, But why do I purposelessly unroll this unpleasant tale, or why do I delay? If you regard all Greeks in the same way, and it is enough to hear that, then inflict the long-awaited punishment: this would the Ithican wish for and the sons of Atreus.
105
Tum vero ardemus scitari et quaerere causas, ignari scelerum tantorum artisque Pelasgae.
prosequitur pavitans et ficto pectore fatur:
‘Saepe fugam Danai Troia cupiere relicta moliri et longo fessi discedere bello; fecissentque utinam! saepe illos aspera ponti interclusit hiems et terruit Auster euntis. praecipue cum iam hic trabibus contextus acernis staret equus, toto sonuerunt aethere nimbi. suspensi Eurypylum scitatum oracula Phoebi mittimus, isque adytis haec tristia dicta reportat:
“sanguine placastis ventos et virgine caesa, cum primum Iliacas, Danai, venistis ad oras; sanguine quaerendi reditus animaque litandum Argolica.” vulgi quae uox ut venit ad auris, obstipuere animi gelidusque per ima cucurrit ossa tremor, cui fata parent, quem poscat Apollo.
hic Ithacus vatem magno Calchanta tumultu protrahit in medios; quae sint ea numina divum flagitat. et mihi iam multi crudele canebant artificis scelus, et taciti ventura videbant.
bis quinos silet ille dies tectusque recusat prodere voce sua quemquam aut opponere morti.
Then indeed we burned to inquire and seek the causes, ignorant of such great wickedness and of Greek artifice. In fearful flutter he continued and spoke from his false heart:
‘Often the greeks wished to abandon Troy and strive for flight and, exhausted, leave behind the long war. Would that they had! Often a fierce storm of the deep blocked them in and the South Wind scared them from going. Particularly, when this horse now stood, woven together with beams of maple wood, storm clouds sounded in the whole heavens. In our uncertainty, we sent Eurypylus to inquire
128
vix tandem, magnis Ithaci clamoribus actus, composito rumpit vocem et me destinat arae.
adsensere omnes et, quae sibi quisque timebat, unius in miseri exitium conversa tulere. iamque dies infanda aderat; mihi sacra parari et salsae fruges et circum tempora vittae.
eripui, fateor, leto me et vincula rupi, limosoque lacu per noctem obscurus in ulva delitui dum vela darent, si forte dedissent. nec mihi iam patriam antiquam spes ulla videndi nec dulcis natos exoptatumque parentem, quos illi fors et poenas ob nostra reposcent effugia, et culpam hanc miserorum morte piabunt.
quod te per superos et conscia numina veri, per si qua est quae restet adhuc mortalibus usquam intemerata fides, oro, miserere laborum tantorum, miserere animi non digna ferentis.’
At last, reluctantly, driven by the great shouts of the Ithacan, by arrangement he broke his silence and marked me out for the altar.
Everybody concurred, and what each man had feared for himself, they tolerated when turned to the death of one unfortunate wretch. And now the unspeakable day was here; sacred rites were prepared for me, and the salty meal and garlands around my temples.
i confess, I snatched myself from death and broke my chains, and hidden throughout the night in a muddy lake, I lay in the sledge until they should set sail, if by chance they were to. Now no longer do I have nay hope of seeing my native land of old, nor my sweet children, nor my longed-for father: perhaps the Greeks will demand punishment from my family, because of my escape, and, wretches, by their death, atone for this crime of mine
But I beg you, by the gods above and the spirits that witness the truth, by whatever faith there is there is which still may be found anywhere, unstained among mortals, have pity on such great toils, have pity on a soul that bears ill-deserved grief.
145
His lacrimis vitam damus et miserescimus ultro.
ipse viro primus manicas atque arta levari vincla iubet Priamus dictisque ita fatur amicis:
‘quisquis es, amissos hinc iam obliviscere Graios (noster eris) mihique haec edissere vera roganti: quo molem hanc immanis equi statuere? quis auctor? quidve petunt? quae religio? aut quae machina belli?’ dixerat.
ille dolis instructus et arte Pelasga sustulit exutas vinclis ad sidera palmas: ‘vos, aeterni ignes, et non violabile vestrum testor numen,’ ait, ‘vos arae ensesque nefandi, quos fugi, vittaeque deum, quas hostia gessi: fas mihi Graiorum sacrata resolvere iura, fas odisse viros atque omnia ferre sub auras, si qua tegunt, teneor patriae nec legibus ullis.
tu modo promissis maneas servataque serves Troia fidem, si vera feram, si magna rependam.
With these tears we gave him life and, furthermore, pitied him. Priam himself was the first to order his bonds and tight chains be removed, and addressed him thus with friendly words:
‘whoever you are, from now on forget the Greeks you have lost, you will be one of us: and tell the truth to me as I ask this: for what reason did they build this massive and enormous horse? who designed it? what do they seek? what is its religious purpose? what war engine is it?’ He spoke.
The other, trained in trickery and Greek artifice, raised his hands, now freed from there chains, to the stars: ‘I call you and your inviolable dignity to witnes, you eternal fires, and you altars and the unutterable swords, which I fled, and the garlands of the gods which I wore as a victim: it is right for me to reveal the sacred oaths of the Greeks, it is right to hate them and to bring everything out into the open, whatever they conceal; I am held by no laws of my fatherland.
You should only abide by your promises, Troy, and saved, you should keep faith, if I reveal the truth, if I repay you manifold.
162
omnis spes Danaum et coepti fiducia belli Palladis auxiliis semper stetit. impius ex quo Tydides sed enim scelerumque inventor Ulixes, fatale adgressi sacrato avellere templo
Palladium caesis summae custodibus arcis, corripuere sacram effigiem manibusque cruentis virgineas ausi divae contingere vittas, ex illo fluere ac retro sublapsa referri spes Danaum, fractae vires, aversa deae mens.
nec dubiis ea signa dedit Tritonia monstris.
vix positum castris simulacrum: arsere coruscae luminibus flammae arrectis, salsusque per artus sudor iit, terque ipsa solo (mirabile dictu) emicuit parmamque ferens hastamque trementem. extemplo temptanda fuga canit aequora Calchas, nec posse Argolicis exscindi Pergama telis omina ni repetant Argis numenque reducant quod pelago et curvis secum auexere carinis.
et nunc quod patrias vento petiere Mycenas, arma deosque parant comites pelagoque remenso improvisi aderunt; ita digerit omina Calchas.
All of the hope of the Greeks and confidence in the war they had begin always rested on Pallas’ aid. But from the time when wicked Diomedes, son of Tydeus, and Ulysses, creator of schemes, ventured to wrench the fateful Palladium from the sacred temple, they slaughtered the guards of the citadel on the heights, and snatched the sacred effigy, and with bloody hands they dared to touch the virginal bands of the goddess: from that time Greek hopes flowed, ebbed and were swept backwards, their strength was broken against the mind of the goddess.
With the clearest portents did Tritonia give those signs of hostility .
Scarcely was the image placed in the camp, when flashing flames burnt from its staring eyes, and salty sweat ran down its limbs, and three times she herself, marvellous to relate, flashed from the ground with her shield and quivering spear. Immediately, Calchas prophesised that the seas must be attempted in flight, that Troy could not be rent by Greek weaponry, unless they sought again the omens in Argos and brought back the statue, which they have carried away on their curved ships
Now, as to the fact that the greeks have made for their native Mycenae on the wind, they are readying their weaponry and supporting the gods, and will cross once more the deep and will be here unexpectedly. So Calchas interprets the omens.
183
hanc pro Palladio moniti, pro numine laeso effigiem statuere, nefas quae triste piaret.
hanc tamen immensam Calchas attollere molem roboribus textis caeloque educere iussit, ne recipi portis aut duci in moenia posset, neu populum antiqua sub religione tueri.
nam si vestra manus violasset dona Minervae, tum magnum exitium (quod di prius omen in ipsum convertant!) Priami imperio Phrygibusque futurum; sin manibus vestris vestram ascendisset in urbem, ultro Asiam magno Pelopea ad moenia bello venturam, et nostros ea fata manere nepotes.’
Talibus insidiis periurique arte Sinonis credita res, captique dolis lacrimisque coactis quos neque Tydides nec Larisaeus Achilles, non anni domuere decem, non mille carinae.
This image they built, since they had been warned, as expiation for the Palladium, for the injured statue, to atone fore their awful pollution.
Calchas ordered them to raise up this massive pile, woven with oak planks, and to bring it out into the open, so it could not be received inside the gates nor led within the walls, nor could it protect the people by virtue of traditional religion.
For ,he said, if your hand violates the gift to Minerva, then great disaster will befall Priam’s empire and the Trojans (may the gods first turn this prophecy upon Calchas himself!); but if it gains your city by means of your own hands, Asia will actively come to the city of Pelops in a great war and, he said, that destiny awaited our descendants.
With such treachery and skill was the story of the false-sworn Sinon believed, and we were taken in by trickery and force tears, we whom neither Diomededs, nor Achilles of Larissa had conquered, not ten years of wa, nor one thousand ships.
199
Hic aliud maius miseris multoque tremendum obicitur magis atque improvida pectora turbat. Laocoon, ductus Neptuno sorte sacerdos, sollemnis taurum ingentem mactabat ad aras.
ecce autem gemini a Tenedo tranquilla per alta (horresco referens) immensis orbibus angues incumbunt pelago pariterque ad litora tendunt; pectora quorum inter fluctus arrecta iubaeque sanguineae superant undas, pars cetera pontum pone legit sinuatque immensa volumine terga.
fit sonitus spumante salo; iamque arva tenebant ardentisque oculos suffecti sanguine et igni sibila lambebant linguis vibrantibus ora.
diffugimus visu exsangues. illi agmine certo Laocoonta petunt; et primum parva duorum corpora natorum serpens amplexus uterque implicat et miseros morsu depascitur artus;
Hereupon another thing happened to shake we unhappy Trojans, much more significant and terrifying, confusing our blind wits. Laocoon, chosen by lot as priest of Neptune, was sacrificing a bull at the holy altar.
But look, through the still depths two snakes with huge coils glided over the sea from Tenedos (I shudder to recall), and side by side they made for the shore. Their breasts, raised amidst the waves, and their bloody crests both surmounted the waters; the rest of them skimmed the ocean behind, and curved their enormous backs into a coil.
A splashing was heard on the foaming brine; and now they reached dry land, their burning eyes suffused with bloody fire, and hey licked their whistling mouths with flickering tongues.
We scattered, pale at the sight. They made for Laocoon in a steadfast line; and first of all both snakes entwined in their embrace the small bodies of his two sons and they bit and fed on their wretched limbs.
post ipsum auxilio subeuntem ac tela ferentem corripiunt spirisque ligant ingentibus; et iam bis medium amplexi, bis collo squamea circum terga dati superant capite et cervicibus altis.
ille simul manibus tendit divellere nodos perfusus sanie vittas atroque veneno, clamores simul horrendos ad sidera tollit: qualis mugitus, fugit cum saucius aram taurus et incertam excussit cervice securim.
at gemini lapsu delubra ad summa dracones effugiunt saevaeque petunt Tritonidis arcem, sub pedibusque deae clipeique sub orbe teguntur.
tum vero tremefacta novus per pectora cunctis insinuat pavor, et scelus expendisse merentem Laocoonta ferunt, sacrum qui cuspide robur laeserit et tergo sceleratam intorserit hastam.
ducendum ad sedes simulacrum orandaque divae numina conclamant.
Next they seized Laocoon himself as he came up to help, bearing weapons, and thy bound him in their huge coils. And now, twice encircling his midriff, twice encompassing his neck with their scaly backs, they overcame him with their heads and high necks.
At the same time, he strove with his hands to tear at the knots, his ribbons stained with for and with black poison, and at the same time he raised hideous screams to the stars: like the bellowing, when a wounded bull flees the altar and has shaken from its neck the ill-aimed axe.
But the twin snakes glided and fled to the lofty shrines, and sought the citadel of savage Tritonia, and they sheltered beneath the goddesses feet, beneath the circle of her shield
Then indeed a new fear wormed its way into all our trembling hearts, and the people said that Laocoon had deservedly paid for his crime, since he had outraged the sacred lack with his lance and had hurled the accursed spear into its back.
They cried out together that the image should be led to the goddess’ temple, that the power of her statue should be invoked.
dividimus muros et moenia pandimus urbis. accingunt omnes operi pedibusque rotarum subiciunt lapsus, et stuppea vincula collo intendunt; scandit fatalis machina muros feta armis.
pueri circum innuptaeque puellae sacra canunt funemque manu contingere gaudent; illa subit mediaeque minans inlabitur urbi. o patria, o divum domus Ilium et incluta bello moenia Dardanidum!
quater ipso in limine portae substitit atque utero sonitum quater arma dedere; instamus tamen immemores caecique furore et monstrum infelix sacrata sistimus arce.
tunc etiam fatis aperit Cassandra futuris ora dei iussu non umquam credita Teucris. nos delubra deum miseri, quibus ultimus esset ille dies, festa velamus fronde per urbem.
All girded themselves to the task and threw gliding wheels beneath its feet, and stretched flaxen ropes about its neck: the fateful war-engine clambered over the walls, pregnant with weapons.
All around, boys and unmarried girls sang hymns, and rejoiced to touch the rope with their hands: it climbed and glided, a towering menace, into the middle of our city. O country, O Ilium, home of the gods, o city of the Trojans, famous in war!
Four times it stopped on the very threshold of the gate, and four times the arms clashed from the womb. Yet we pressed on regardless, blind in our frenzy, and we placed the cursed thing on the hallowed citadel.
Then also Cassandra opened her mouth to the coming doom, a mouth which was never believed by the Trojans, by order of the god. We wretches, for whom this was the last day, with festive branches wreathed the shrines of the gods throughout the city.
