Lines 780 - 782 Notes

Question 1

longa exsilia

Answer 1

Creusa is honest and direct with the bad news. Aeneas will be wandering homeless for a long time.

Question 2

arandum

Answer 2

the gerundive expresses obligation. Aeneas has no choice in this. Ploughing the sea is an interesting metaphor. Seeds are sown in ploughed fields, which is hopeful. But the work is hard.

Question 3

opima, leni

Answer 3

The River Tiber, Rome’s lifeline, is gentle (leni) and makes the land fertile (opima). Creusa gives the bad news but then balances it with optimism about the future. Compare the language used to describe the Po Valley after Hannibal’s trials in Livy.