The Aeneid, Liber IV Selections: Reading Comprehension

A woman with an anguished look on her face hold's a soldier's helmet Let's continue reading selections from Book IV of Vergil's Aeneid. Aeneas and Dido have had a whirlwind romance - but even whirlwinds run out of steam eventually.

Image note: This painting is titled Didone and was created by Dosso Dossi in the 16th century. What do you think is causing the anguish on Dido's face? Who's helmet do you suppose she is holding?

Theme Review

Vergil wrote the Aeneid with a few very specific themes in mind, first among them being the importance of piety (duty to gods, country and family). Vergil was writing his epic poem with a very specific audience, namely the Emperor Augustus and his moral reformers. Appealing to the idea that Rome could return to some "enlightened and noble" past is the basis of Vergil's propagandistic push for piety.

What would it have meant for Aeneas to stay in Carthage? Can anyone deny their fate, even for the sake of love? Read on to find out how Aeneas decides to proceed.

English Reading Reminder

You should continue reading through Vergil's Aeneid in translation.

**Vergil, Aeneid: Liber IV, Lines 305-361**

"Dissimulāre etiam spērāstī, perfide, tantum                                                           305

posse nefās tacitusque meā dēcēdere terrā?

Nec tē noster amor nec tē data dextera quondam

nec moritūra tenet crūdēlī fūnere Dīdō?

Quīn etiam hībernō mōlīrī sīdere classem

et mediīs properās Aquilōnibus īre per altum,                                                         310

crūdēlis? Quid, sī nōn arva aliēna domōsque

ignōtās peterēs, et Trōia antīqua manēret,

Trōia per undōsum peterētur classibus aequor?

Mēne fugis? Per ego hās lacrimās dextramque tuam tē

(quandō aliud mihi iam miserae nihil ipsa relīquī),                                                315

per cōnūbia nostra, per inceptōs hymenaeōs,

sī bene quid dē tē meruī, fuit aut tibi quicquam

dulce meum, miserēre domūs lābentis et istam,

ōrō, sī quis adhūc precibus locus, exue mentem.

Tē propter Libycae gentēs Nomadumque tyrannī 320

ōdēre, īnfēnsī Tyriī; tē propter eundem

exstīnctus pudor et, quā sōlā sīdera adībam,

fāma prior. Cui mē moribundam dēseris hospes

(hoc sōlum nōmen quoniam dē coniuge restat)?

Quid moror? An mea Pygmaliōn dum moenia frater 325

dēstruat aut captam dūcat Gaetūlus Iärbās?

Saltem sī qua mihī dē tē suscepta fuisset

ante fugam subolēs, sī quis mihi parvulus aulā

lūderet Aenēās, quī tē tamen ōre referret,

nōn equidem omnīnō capta ac dēserta vidērer."                                                     330

Dīxerat. Ille Iovis monitīs immōta tenēbat

lūmina et obnīxus cūram sub corde premēbat.

Tandem pauca refert: "Ego tē, quae plūrima fandō

ēnumerāre valēs, numquam, rēgīna, negābō

prōmeritam, nec mē meminisse pigēbit Elissae 335

dum memor ipse meī, dum spīritus hōs regit artūs.

Prō rē pauca loquar. Neque ego hanc abscondere fūrtō

spērāvī (nē finge) fugam, nec coniugis umquam

praetendī taedās aut haec in foedera vēnī.

Mē sī Fāta meīs paterentur dūcere vītam 340

auspiciīs et sponte meā compōnere cūrās,

urbem Trōiānam prīmum dulcēsque meōrum

rēliquiās colerem, Priamī tēcta alta manērent,

et recidīva manū posuissem Pergama victīs.

Sed nunc Ītaliam magnam Grӯnēus Apollō, 345

Ītaliam Lyciae iussēre capessere sortēs;

hic amor, haec patria est. Sī tē Karthāginis arcēs

Phoenissam Libycaeque aspectus dētinet urbis,

quae tandem Ausoniā Teucrōs cōnsīdere terrā

invidia est? Et nōs fās extera quaerere rēgna.                                                          350

Mē patris Anchīsae, quotiēns ūmentibus umbrīs

nox operit terrās, quotiēns astra ignea surgunt,

admonet in somnīs et turbida terret imāgō;

mē puer Ascanius capitisque iniūria cārī,

quem rēgnō Hesperiae fraudō et fātālibus arvīs. 355

Nunc etiam interpres dīvum Iove missus ab ipsō

(testor utrumque caput) celerēs mandāta per aurās

dētulit: ipse deum manifestō in lūmine vīdī

intrantem mūrōs vōcemque hīs auribus hausī.

Dēsine mēque tuīs incendere tēque querēlīs; 360

Ītaliam nōn sponte sequor."

Notes

We won't be including a large amount of notes on this passage, but there are a few interesting points along with several names to review.

We enter in medias res - Dido is speaking
spērāstī = spērāvistī. This is an example of syncope
perfide = vocative. To whom is Dido speaking?
Aquilōnibus = the northern winds
Mēne fugis? = A critical juncture in Dido's grief - she seeks to understand why this is happening
cōnūbia...hymenaeōs = two words with very similar meaning: you could translate one as "union" and the other as "marriage". "hymenaeōs" is an adjective using the form of the name of one of the gods of marriage (Hymen). Were Aeneas and Dido ever officially married?
Libycae = Libyans (or the Libyan people)
Nomadum = Numidia (Nomadum tyrannī = rulers of Numidia or Numidian rulers)
Tyriī = Tyrians (or Tyrian people). Remember that Dido and her people were colonists from Tyre.
Pygmaliōn = Dido's brother
Gaetūlus Iärbās = Iarbas the Gaetulian, a previous (and possible future) suitor for Dido.
- Note that the first letter is the vowel i and it is pronounced as a separate syllable from the following a: I-ar-bas (rather than Jar-bas with consonant i). The -a- is marked in this text to note this separation.
Iovis = Jupiter (Iuppiter, Iovis, m.)
Elissae = Dido. This alternative name (Elissa, ae, f.) is only found in poetry.
Neque ego hanc...foedera vēnī. Two notes:
- neque...ne...nec = what type of poetical or rhetorical device?
- Does Aeneas think that he and Dido were married?
Fāta = the fates. This is an example of personification, thus the noun is capitalized
Pergama = Troy
Grӯnēus Apollō = Apollo of Grynium (a small town located in what is now Turkey). Note that the letter y is acting as a vowel here and is long.
Lyciae = Lycian (Lycia was also located in Turkey)
Sī tē Karthāginis arcēs / Phoenissam Libycaeque aspectus dētinet urbis, / quae tandem Ausoniā Teucrōs cōnsīdere terrā / invidia est? = Aeneas asks why it is OK for her, a Phoenician (Phoenissam) and her to be a colonist in Carthage (Karthaginis), a Libyan city (Libycae), but he and his people (Teucros = Trojans) aren't allowed to be colonists in Italy (Ausonia). A long way of saying, "What's good for the goose is good for the gander." Or, "Don't be a hypocrite."
Hersperiae = Hersperia = Italy
Ītaliam nōn sponte sequor. = This line cuts off before completing the meter. Why do you suppose Vergil left this line "unfinished" (what impact does it have at the end of Aeneas' speech)?

Practice Activity: Book IV Reading Comprehension

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