Beginning Latin with Virgil, Aeneid 1.1-33 Bill Berg Gearhart, Oregon MMXXI Copyright 2021 William Berg All rights reserved Unfortunately, this guide is accessible only to those who can read English. If you’d like to translate all or part into another language (especially non-Indoeuropean), you certainly have my permission in advance. I’d be grateful, however, if you’d credit my authorship. — Bill Berg Virgil, Aeneid 1.1-33 Arma virumque canō, Trōiae quī prīmus ab ōrīs Ītaliam, fātō profugus, Lāvīniaque vēnit lītora, multum ille et terrīs iactātus et altō vī superum saevae memorem Iūnōnis ob īram; multa quoque et bellō passūs, dum conderet urbem, inferretque deōs Latiō, genus unde Latīnum, Albānīque patrēs, atque altae moenia Rōmae. Mūsa, mihī causās memorā, quō nūmine laesō, quidve dolēns, rēgīna deum tot volvere cāsūs īnsīgnem pietāte virum, tot adīre labōrēs impulerit. Tantaene animīs caelestibus īrae? Urbs antīqua fuit, Tyriī tenuēre colōnī, Karthāgō, Ītaliam contrā Tiberīnaque longē ōstia, dīves opum studiīsque asperrima bellī, quam Iūnō fertur terrīs magis omnibus ūnam posthabitā coluisse Samō; hīc illius arma, hīc currus fuit; hōc rēgnum dea gentibus esse, sī quā Fāta sinant, iam tum tenditque fovetque. Prōgeniem sed enim Trōiānō ā sanguine dūcī audierat, Tyriās olim quae verteret arcēs; hinc populum lātē regem bellōque superbum ventūrum excidiō Libyae: sīc volvere Parcās. Id metuēns, veterisque memor Sāturnia bellī, prīma quod ad Trōiam prō cārīs gesserat Argīs— necdum etiam causae īrārum saevīque dolōrēs exciderant animō: manet altā mente repostum iūdicium Paridis sprētaeque iniūria fōrmae, et genus invīsum, et raptī Ganymēdis honōrēs. Hīs accēnsa super, iactātōs aequore tōtō Trōas, rēliquiās Danaum atque immītis Achillī, arcēbat longē Latiō, multōsque per annōs errābant, āctī Fātīs, maria omnia circum. Tantae mōlis erat Rōmānam condere gentem! 5 10 15 20 25 30 A Brief Introduction The preceding are the most monumental verses in the Latin language — perhaps in any language. Aeneid 1.1-33 introduce an epic poem the like of which had never been seen before, and probably will never be seen again. It is a furious, frantic, yet awestruck and reverent look at the heart of empire in its first stirrings. For in Virgil’s time, it was the gods, and not humans, who determined the birth of nations, for better or for worse — and the gods (there were many of them) were likewise better or worse. The Aeneid, through formal and thematic features, declares itself to be based on Homer, the Hellenic poet hailed even then as the father of all Western literature. The two halves of the Aeneid — the struggle to reach a new home, and the struggle to establish that home as a new nation — are modeled on the Homeric Odyssey and Iliad, respectively; and the verse form of the Aeneid (epic dactylic hexameter) is Homer’s. But that’s as far as Homer goes here, and that’s where Virgil begins. The Aeneid, in its conception and its purpose, has nothing in common with Virgil’s Hellenic model. The Aeneid is meant as a justification and glorification of Rome’s mastery over the world. That, at least, was Virgil’s mission under the patronage of Augustus Caesar. How seriously he took the mission in the end, when the epic was almost finished and he lay on his deathbed, may be indicated by his order that the poem be burned upon his death. His attendants, who were ultimately in the employ of Augustus, did nothing of the sort — fortunately for us, who are left to appreciate the poet’s majestic vision as well as the depths of his art. The beauty and economy of description, the unrivaled insights into character with sympathy for all, the perfection of structure, the brilliance of metaphor have never been equalled in modern poetry. Here you have the real and lasting legacies of a poet who claimed to spend a day apiece on each line he composed. Virgil began his poetic career in the comparative safety and isolation of the poet’s “garden” — a fantasy world inspired by the pastoral landscape of Theocritus’ poetry. Virgil’s earliest preserved epic, The Gnat, takes place in a pastoral setting, and ten later poems, a collection entitled Bucolica, develop pastoral themes through a range of human emotions and dilemmas. The fourth poem of that collection in epic verse is an exception: it predicts the emergence of a hero from the pastoral landscape who will embody the virtues of Homeric heroes, and will go on to “rule a world at peace” by divine right. Even in this early phase, Virgil was contemplating a Roman epic to rival the Iliad and Odyssey. What follows here is a grammatical and syntactical commentary on the first thirty-three lines of that epic, the verses of Virgil’s mature art that summarized the work and forecast the course and culmination of his story of Rome’s beginnings. The only details missing from those introductory verses are the names of the hero (Aeneas), of his mother (the goddess Aphrodite), of his father (Anchises, native of, and fellow escapee from, the burning city of Troy), and of his son (Ascanius-Iulus). Virgil delays naming the hero himself until the dramatic moment (1.92) when Aeneas appears for the first time as a storm rages over the sea, and the action begins. In my antediluvian high school days, even the dullest student knew the meaning of terms like “predicate Nominative,” “gerund,” “participle,” “clause,” even “parts of speech.” Since then, English language teaching has undergone a series of well-meaning revolutions, all ending in train wrecks that have left teachers themselves unable even to diagram a sentence. With the advent of the Internet, the need to do justice to one’s thoughts has been thrown to the winds, and precision of expression — the whole point of grammar — is out the window. Latin, with all its meaningful inflections, does not allow for such sloppiness, even in poetry. You’ll find the old grammatical terms resurrected here to explain Virgil’s syntax. As it turns out after decades of misguided experience, those terms are still the most useful keys — indeed, the most direct shortcuts — to understanding the logic of coherent speech. Through a detailed but I hope understandable analysis of each word of Virgil’s first thirty-three verses, you will discover the fundamentals, and more, of the Latin language. I’ve structured the commentary to make it readable for those who, like so many in this latter day, are unschooled not only in English grammar, but in grammar generally, especially the grammar of an inflected language like Latin. It is my hope that, after reading the following commentary, you will emerge with new insights, not only into the Latin language, but into your own language, and into language itself. There are many, many translations of the Aeneid available for you to consult, on the Internet and in bookstores and libraries everywhere. But after working through the following commentary, you’ll be able to see how each and every word fits with other words to make a coherent sentence, and you’ll be able to compose your own translation. In the process of doing so, you may well find yourself memorizing these verses, perhaps the most significant in all of Western literature. You’ll then hold a treasure that can’t be lost. Bill Berg Gearhart, Oregon January 2021 Commentary to Virgil, Aeneid 1.1-33 Word Meaning Commentary First Verse Arma “weapons” virumque “the man, too” Arma is called a noun because it names something (our word “noun” comes from a Latin word nomen, “name”). Nouns and verbs are essential components of a sentence; other words only modify them. The verb is the most important thing in a sentence: it gives “life” to the nouns, makes them act or receive action, or simply exist. Arma is the direct object of the action of the verb canō, “I sing”; like all direct objects, it is in the Accusative case (“cases” are different forms a noun can take to indicate its relationship to other words in a sentence). The last a in arma shows that it is in the Accusative case; that it is plural; and that it is neuter. A “neuter” noun has a set of inflections (endings) that are different from the Inflections of “masculine” and “feminine” Nouns. Nouns will often be “masculine,” “feminine,” or “neuter” regardless of the real gender of the things they name. Virum is a noun; its ending –um indicates that it is masculine, singular, and, like arma, Accusative. It is therefore the other direct object of the verb canō. Note that there is no article, no “the” in Latin; we have to supply it when we translate. In that respect, Latin and Russian are similar. What are the Word Meaning Commentary advantages and disadvantages, in terms of thought, expression, and the development of philosophical systems, of a language that cannot say the “the”? -que, “too,” is always attached to the second noun in a series; it never stands alone. Another conjunction is et, “and.” Had Virgil written arma et virum, he would have meant the same thing as arma virumque. canō “I sing” The –ō inflection indicates that the verb is an action of the first person, that it is singular (“I,” not “we”), and that the action takes place in present time. The Romans had no way of indicating progressive action (“I am singing,” “I keep singing,” etc.) or emphasis (“I do sing”) in present time; you may supply this in translation whenever you feel it appropriate. The Latin verb changes its inflection every time there is a change in person, number, tense, voice (active or passive, “I sing” or “I am sung”), or mood (Indicative or Subjunctive or Imperative, “I sing” or “I would sing” or “Sing!”). Among other things, this means that the Romans never had to express the personal pronoun (in this case, “I”) separately: it is already contained, so to speak, in the verb ending. Troiae “of Troy” Because Latin nouns and verbs change their endings to indicate their relationship to each other in a sentence, you will always know the function of every word in Word Meaning Commentary the sentence, even when it is considered outside the sentence. The English language has lost most of its inflections; English nouns and verbs must specify their function through word order. Consider the sentence, “The dog bit the man”: make “dog” and “man” switch places in the sentence, and you have an absurdity. Not so with Latin. The Latin word for “man” would have an Accusative inflection; it would always be recognized as the verb’s object no matter where it stood in the sentence. For purposes of rhythm and emphasis, Virgil has written Troiae long before ōrīs (“shores”), with which it properly belongs. (It was the “shores of Troy” that Aeneas left behind.) The –ae of Troiae indicates that it is in the Genitive case, the case of possession. It also indicates that the noun is feminine and singular. In Latin, almost all singular nouns with a in their inflections are feminine. They belong to what is called the first declension, a set of case endings dominated by the feminine. Virum and arma belong, on the other hand, to the second declension, a set of case endings exhibited by masculine and neuter nouns. quī “he who” This is the Latin relative pronoun: it introduces a “clause” (sub-sentence) dependent upon a noun (here virum) in the main sentence. The –ī of quī indicates that it is masculine and singular (because virum is its “antecedent”), and that it is in the Nominative case as the “subject” of its verb venit (“he who came”). The verb’s subject Word Meaning Commentary is the thing that does the action of the verb or is in the “state of being” expressed by the verb; it is always Nominative. The Nominative case has no other use in Latin. The Nominative feminine and neuter forms of quī are: quae (“she who”) and quod (“that which”). prīmus ab ōrīs “first” “from” “shores” Adjectives “modify” (describe or qualify) nouns and pronouns. In Latin, adjectives must exhibit inflections which indicate that they are in the same gender, number, and case as the word they modify. The –us of prīmus indicates that it “agrees” with quī in being masculine, singular, and Nominative. Quae prīma would mean “she who first,” and quod prīmum “that which first.” Ab is a preposition, one of many short words used to mediate between the verb and nouns that are neither subjects nor objects. Here the verb is vēnit, “came,” which, unlike canō, is intransitive (cannot act directly upon an object). Since Aeneas “came from the shores of Troy,” ab indicates that the coast was the starting-point of his action. Often, before consonants, you will see ab as simply ā. The -īs indicates that ōrīs is plural and in the Ablative case. As its name indicates (ablātum means “taken away/from”), this is originally the case of separation. The Ablative is being used here, in fact, to indicate separation, and could have been used alone (vēnit ōrīs, “came from the coast”). But since there are two other main Word Meaning Commentary uses for the Ablative case (instrumentality and locality), the preposition is often used to avoid confusion. Ab is used with the Ablative case only. There are other prepositions that can be used with the Accusative, if so required by the verb whose action they are mediating. Second Verse Ītaliam fātō “to Italy” “by fate” profugus Lāvīniaque lītora “an exile” “and to Lavinian shores” The –am indicates that this first-declension noun is feminine, singular, and Accusative. The Accusative case receives action and is the goal of motion. Here it is the goal of venit, “came.” Virgil could have used a preposition before Ītaliam (e.g., ad) to make it clear that Aeneas came to Italy, but that is clear enough with the Accusative alone. The –ō indicates that this neuter noun of the second declension is singular and in the Ablative case. Here, the Ablative is being used to show that fate was the instrument by which Aeneas became an exile. The –us indicates that this second-declension noun is masculine, singular, and Nominative. It must be identical with quī, the subject of vēnit: “he who came, an exile by fate …” Lāvīnius is an adjective meaning “Lavinian.” Here its gender, number, and case have been made neuter, plural, and Accusative to modify litora, “shores.” Notice the freedom of word order that an inflected language allows. Virgil had three ideas: Lavinian, coming, and shores. Because his language Word Meaning Commentary was inflected, he was able to arrange them in descending order of importance, with the idea Lāvīnia in the emphatic first position. (Lavinium was a city founded in Latium by Aeneas and named for his Latin bride, Lavinia.) Third Verse vēnit multum ille et … et “came” Nestled between the two words that represent the goal of its action, (Lāvīnia … lītora), this verb tells us by the final –it that it is third person singular (with a “he,” a “she,” or an “it” as its subject); and that it is in either the present or the past (“perfect”) tense. Its subject, grammatically speaking, is quī, whom we have come to know as a profugus. Quī, in turn, refers to the virum who is the hero of the Aeneid. “muchly” Adverbs modify (describe or qualify) verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs. Here, multum modifies the verbal adjective iactātus. Strictly speaking, the form multum is itself an adjective (neuter, singular, Accusative) from multus, “much.” Adjectives in their neuter singular Accusative form are sometimes used as adverbs. “that man” This is a demonstrative pronoun (masculine, singular, Nominative). Its other Nominative gender inflections produce illa, “that woman” and illud, “that thing.” “both … and” Et means “and”; but when it occurs in company with another et (as it does in this line), they mean together “both … and …” Word Meaning “on lands” terrīs iactātus altō Commentary Terrīs is feminine plural (first declension), Ablative. The Ablative case can specify locality. “tossed” Like the English adjective “tossed,” iactātus is a verbal adjective. Grammatically, it is known as the passive participle of a verb. It represents the state of someone who has received the action of the verb “toss” (iactāre). However, like “tossed,” it behaves like an adjective, and agrees with the word it modifies (ille) in gender, number, and case (as we see in its –us ending) “on the deep” Altus is an adjective meaning “deep.” Here, in its neuter singular Ablative form (–ō ending), it takes the place of the word for “sea.” Fourth Verse vī “by the power” The –ī distinguishes this as a feminine singular Ablative (instrumentality) of vis, “force,” “power,” a noun of the third declension, which is a unique set of case inflections embracing all genders. superum “of those above” The adjective superus, “above,” has the form superōrum in the Genitive plural masculine, but can be abbreviated (as here) to super-um. Notice how Latin adjectives can stand in for nouns, as can English adjectives (e.g. The Naked and the Dead). saevae “of fierce” Feminine singular Genitive (first declension): modifies Iunōnis. Word Meaning Commentary memorem “mindful” The –em distinguishes this as a feminine singular Accusative adjective of the third declension: modifies iram. Iunōnis “of Juno” Significantly, the first character to be named in the Aeneid. Iunō is the Nominative form of this Genitive singular feminine noun of the third declension. It is Juno’s “mindful wrath” that is to blame for Aeneas’ wanderings. ob īram “on account of” “wrath” This preposition is used with the Accusative only. Notice the curious juxtapositions possible in poetry when strict rules of word order can be abandoned. Here we have the adjectives first, then their two nouns, rendering the series of impressions “cruelmindful-Juno-wrath.” Fifth Verse multa “many things” quoque “also” et “and” bellō “in war” Another adjective (neuter plural Accusative) used like a noun, the direct object of passus. Et here joins passus to iactātus above. Even conjunctions in Latin poetry may be moved from their natural position. In prose, this et would normally be placed just before multa. Neuter singular Ablative, second declension. Word Meaning passus “having suffered” dum “until” Commentary This adjective is actually another participle, and like iactātus it is a passive participle. It is formed from pati, “to suffer.” This verb always has passive endings, but is always translated actively and can always take a direct object (as multa here). If this seems a paradox, reflect for a moment upon the English verb “suffer.” Is it really an “active” verb? What “activity” do you perform when you suffer? Note: passus, too, agrees with the word it modifies (ille) in gender, number, and case. This word introduces a clause predicting an action (the founding of Rome) that had not yet taken place when Aeneas was being “tossed on land and sea” while “suffering many things.” Because the action had not yet taken place, the word that follows dum is in the Subjunctive mood. conderet “he would found” Conderet is the Subjunctive formed from the present infinitive condere, “to found.” To this infinitive are added the personal endings (active voice) –m (“I”), -s (“thou”), -t (“he,” “she,” “it”), -mus (“we”), -tis (“you all”), and –nt (“they”). urbem “city” The –em distinguishes this noun as feminine singular Accusative (third declension); it is the direct object of conderet. It’s your option to translate “a city” or “the city.” Word Meaning Commentary Sixth Verse inferretque “and bring in” Again, the Subjunctive is formed with the Infinitive inferre, “to bring in,” and the third-person ending –t. deōs “gods” The –ōs distinguishes this noun as masculine plural Accusative (second declension), the direct object of inferret. Translate “gods,” “the gods,” or, if you wish, “his gods.” Latiō “for Latium” The fated land of Aeneas’ destiny in Italy. The region of Latium included the future city of Rome. It was the home of a local Italic dialect that we know as the Latin language. Neuter singular Dative case (indirect object, for which/whom something is said, given, or done) genus “stock” unde “from which,” “whence” Latīnum “Latin” A neuter singular Nominative of the third declension. A few neuter nouns of this declension do show –us in the Nominative. Don’t confuse it with the masculine nominative of the second declension (e.g. profugus). Though unde is the conjunction that introduces this clause, it has been dislodged from its initial position by genus (which Virgil chose to emphasize by writing it first): “Latium, whence [came our] Latin stock.” The –um distinguishes this adjective as neuter singular Nominative; it must therefore modify genus. The masculine Word Meaning Commentary form would be Latīnus, the feminine Latīna. Seventh Verse Albānīque “and the Alban..” The –i of Albānī makes it an adjective of the second declension, masculine plural Nominative, modifying patrēs. patrēs “fathers” atque “as well as” altae “of lofty” The adjective altus means “high” in both directions, up and down. In the third verse it meant “deep.” Here it is feminine singular Genitive, modifying Rōmae. moenia “walls” Neuter plural Nominative. Notice that all neuter nouns in Latin have identical forms in the Nominative and Accusative cases, both singular and plural: bellum is war, both Nominative and Accusative; arma is the Nominative and Accusative form for weapons. Neuter plurals (always in –a) are not to be confused with the first declension feminine singular. Rōmae “of Rome” The poet has so positioned his words that the idea of height is associated not only with Rome (grammatically) but also with its walls (by the proximity of altae to moenia). The –es distinguishes it as a noun of the third declension, masculine plural Nominative. The singular form of “Alban fathers” would be Albānus pater. Word Meaning Commentary Eighth Verse Musa “O Muse” Unlike Homer, whose Iliad and Odyssey both begin with an invocation of the Muse who inspires a poet’s work, Virgil postpones invoking his Muse until after the “programmatic” lines 1-6, in which “I sing” is asserted over the Homeric “Sing, Muse.” That delay helps to assert both the uniqueness of the Aeneid, and the indiviuality of the poet himself, within the epic tradition. Musa is feminine singular Vocative, the case of direct address. With most nouns, the Vocative is the same as the Nominative. mihī “for me” This is the first person personal pronoun in the Dative case. The word dativum has to do with “giving”: it is the case of the recipient of an action, the case of that to or for which something is said, given, or done. causās “causes” The –ās distinguishes this as a feminine plural Accusative noun of the first declension, the direct object of memorā. memorā “recount” This verb is in the Imperative mood (imperāre means “to command”). The command to “recount the causes” is addressed to Virgil’s Muse, so “you, O Muse” is the verb’s (understood) subject. Had he been addressing several Muses, the verb’s form would have changed to memorā-te to indicate the plural. The Word Meaning Commentary singular Imperative is the simplest form of the verb, requiring only the removal of the ending –re from the infinitive (memorāre, “to recount”). quō nūmine “(with) what” “divinity” Quō is an interrogative adjective; it modifies a noun (nūmine) and asks the question “(with) what (divinity)?” To agree with its noun, it is neuter, singular, and Ablative. Neuter, singular, Ablative, third Declension. It stands with laesō in the Ablative Absolute construction. That construction is exactly equivalent to what some grammarians of English would call our Nominative Absolute — the combination of a noun and a participle in a relationship that is grammatically independent (hence “Absolute”) of the sentence in which it stands. Examples: “We’ll get there, God willing” (noun + active participle); “This having been done (pronoun + passive participle), they awaited the outcome.” In these cases, it is clear that a subordinate clause could have been substituted for the Nominative Absolute constructions: “if God is willing,” “when/after this had been done,” etc. would have conveyed the same meaning. So it is in Latin: quō numine laesō, “with what divinity (having been) injured…?” could have been expressed in Latin as “because what divinity had been injured ...?” The Ablative Absolute can perhaps be seen as an extension of the instrumental use of the Ablative. Word Meaning laesō “injured” Commentary Passive participle of laedere, “to injure.” It agrees with nūmine in gender, number, and case; participles, though formed from verbs, are really adjectives. Note that the endings of nūmine and laesō are dissimilar. This is only because they come from different declensions (the third and the second, respectively). Their agreement is not affected: They are both neuter, singular, and Ablative. Ninth Verse quidve “or what thing” dolens “deploring” rēgīna “queen” Quid is the interrogative pronoun in its neuter, singular, Accusative form. Its Nominative singular forms are: quis, “what person?” and again quid, “what thing?” The –ve functions like –que. It never stands alone, and is always attached to the second element in a series. It always means “or.” This is an active participle, unlike iactātus and laesō, which were passive. Active participles are declined in the third declension, passive participles in the first and second. Dolens comes from dolere, “to deplore.” It is feminine, singular, and nominative to agree with its noun rēgīna. And it also takes a direct object, the preceding quid (participles, like verbs, can do that). Feminine singular Nominative (first declension), the subject of impulerit in verse 11. Word Meaning deum “of the gods” Masculine plural Genitive (second declension). By rights, it should be deōrum, but, like super(ōr)um in verse 4 above, it has been contracted for poetic purposes. “so many” Though this is an adjective, it is one of the very few in Latin that are not “declined” (given endings to match the gender, number, and case of their nouns). It modifies cāsūs. tot Volvere “to roll through” Commentary This verb belongs to the third conjugation. The following are the four Latin conjugations, i.e., the four sets of verbal forms derived by adding inflections to four different verb stems: First conjugation: verb stems ending in -ā-, as in portāre, “to carry.” Second conjugation: verb stems ending in long -ē-, as in monēre, “to warn.” Third conjugation: verb stems ending in short -ĕ-, as in ducĕre, “to lead.” Fourth conjugation: verb stems ending in -ī-, as in audīre, “to hear.” Volvere is an infinitive in its present, active form. Though it is a form of the verb, it should be noted that the infinitive can also act like a noun: it can be a subject or an object. In a sense, volvere is an object of impulerit: “forced” what? — forced “to roll through.” Another object of impulerit is virum (“forced” whom?). One might say that the “direct object” of impulerit is a combination of both: virum volvere, “the man to roll through.” Word Meaning cāsūs “calamities” Commentary This word is really ambiguous: it could mean anything from “events” to “failures.” The English derivatives “case” and “occasion” show its influence. Basically, cāsus means a “fall”: for example, nouns “fall” through their different “cases” from Nominative through Ablative. “Declension” (“slipping down”) preserves the metaphor. The noun cāsūs is masculine, plural, and Accusative, the direct object of volvere. It belongs to the fourth declension (u-stem and predominantly masculine). Tenth Verse insignem pietāte adīre labōrēs “distinguished” “by commitment” “to confront” “labors” Masculine singular Accusative, a thirddeclension adjective modifying virum. Commitment: devotion, faithfulness, loyalty to gods, family, nation, heritage. One of the cardinal Roman virtues, pietas (a feminine noun of the third declension) stands here in its Ablative singular form. This infinitive, like volvere, follows Impulerit. Like volvere, it takes a direct object (tot labōrēs). The verb is compound: īre, “to go” prefixed by ad, “to.” Masculine plural accusative. Note that in the third declension, the Nominative and Accusative plural end identically. Word Meaning Commentary Eleventh Verse impulerit “(she) forced” The verbal inflection –erit tells not only that the verb is third person singular active, but also that it is past (perfect) Subjunctive. There is no need here to translate the Subjunctive into English. It is there for this reason: when a dependent clause in Latin is a question, its verb becomes Subjunctive. What did she deplore? would be a direct question; the verb for deplore would be indicative. But Recount to me what she deplored would make the question into a clause dependent upon Recount. Deplored would then be, in Latin, Subjunctive. Tantaene “(are there) so great” This sentence has no verb, but asks simply, “So great wraths to heavenly minds?” The suffix –ne signals the beginning of a question which can be answered “yes” or “no”. Like –que and –ve, it cannot stand alone. The –ae of tantae shows it to be a feminine plural adjective in the Nominative case (first declension). This adjective (masculine tantus, feminine tanta, neuter tantum) always has a quantitative meaning (quantus, “how great” is the correlative of tantus). Distinguish it from talis, which is the adjective referring to quality (qualis, “of what sort,” is the correlative of talis). animīs “to minds” Second declension, masculine plural Dative. Distinguish the masculine animus, “mind,” from the feminine Word Meaning Commentary anima, “breath,” “spirit.” caelestibus īrae “heavenly” “wraths” The –ibus distinguishes this noun as a masculine plural Dative adjective of the third declension. Feminine plural Nominative noun of the first declension. This could well have been a real question in Virgil’s mind. The philosophical school that followed the doctrines of Epicurus insisted that deities must be perfect models of tranquility, undisturbed by anything. Moreover, Plato had criticized Homer for representing the gods as victims of human passion. Twelfth Verse Urbs “city” antīqua “ancient” fuit “was” Feminine singular Nominative, third declension. Adjective, agrees with urbs. The –it shows this verb to be third person singular active. Fuit is in the perfect tense, formed from the perfect stem of esse, “to be.” The Latin perfect indicates a past action which is above all finished. Cicero used the perfect verb vixērunt (“they have lived” to indicate that he had just had a group of traitors executed. The poet speaks, then, of a place that once existed, but no more: “There was (once) an ancient city.” Carthage was destroyed by Rome in the Third Punic War, a century before Virgil’s time. The words Word Meaning Commentary urbs antiqua fuit will be recalled later in the poem when Aeneas speaks of the destruction of his own city, Troy: urbs antiqua ruit, “there fell an ancient city.” The stem fu- shows up in other Indoeuropean languages: in Greek, for instance, as the stem phu (“grow”: cf. physical)), in English as be, and in Sanskrit as bhu (“become”). The verb “to be” has three essential aspects in our Indoeuropean languages, exemplified in the following Sanskrit roots: bhu (existence viewed as a never-ending process of coming-to-be); vas (existence viewed as the taking-up of space by matter: this shows up in English was and were); and ăs (existence viewed as a presence, an availability, a being-on-hand: cf. English is, Latin est and esse, etc.). Tyriī tenuēre colōnī “Tyrian” “(they) held” “settlers” The –ī inflection makes this adjective masculine plural Nominative in agreement with the noun colōnī. The –ēre (often written –ērunt) shows this to be a verb in the third person plural, perfect tense, active; its subject is colōnī, its object is understood to be “the ancient city.” Second declension. Word Meaning Commentary Thirteenth Verse Karthāgō “Carthage” Feminine singular Nominative, third declension. Different ancient peoples pronounced the city’s name differently. The Greeks, for instance, said “Karchedon.” Its real name, which is West Semitic (“Phoenician”), is “Kart-Hadasht” (“New City”), for it was founded as a colony from the “old city,” Tyre. contrā “opposite” This preposition takes the Accusative case only. Here it has two objects, Ītaliam and ostia. Ostensibly it is used here to indicate the position of Carthage on the map, “facing” Italy across the Mediterranean. But contrā also means “opposed to,” and there may be in this verse an allusion to future hostilities with Rome. Tiberīna “of the Tiber” Neuter plural Accusative adjective modifying ostia. longē “at a distance” Adverb modifying contrā. Fourteenth Verse ostia “mouth” Neuter plural Accusative after contrā. In the singular, ostium means “door” or “opening.” Many other words that are singular in English retain their more natural plural in Latin, e.g. castra, “camp” (neuter plural, literally “fortifications”) and crīnēs, “hair” (feminine plural). dīves “rich” Feminine singular Nominative adjective of the third declension, modifying Karthāgō. Word opum Meaning “of resources” Commentary Feminine plural Genitive noun of the third declension. In English we would say “rich in resources,” not “rich of resources”; yet we do say “fair of face.” studiīs “through pursuits” Neuter plural noun of the second declension, instrumental Ablative. Notice that –que here does not link the single word studiīs to anything; rather, it unites the whole phrase studiīs asperrima bellī to dives opum. asperrima bellī “most hardened” “of war” Feminine singular Nominative adjective modifying Karthago. This is the superlative degree of the adjective. Latin superlatives intensify an adjective without necessarily implying a comparison: asperrima could just as well be translated “very hardened.” Neuter singular Genitive noun, second declension. With studiīs. Fifteenth Verse quam “which” Feminine singular Accusative relative pronoun, direct object of the infinitive coluisse. Its antecedent (i.e. the substantive to which it refers) is Karthāgō. Iunō “Juno” Feminine singular Nominative. As the wife of Jupiter, king of the gods, she corresponds to Hera, queen of the Greek pantheon. Her Semitic counterpart in Carthage was the Phoenician Asherat (Ishtar, Astarte), goddess of love and fertility, under the local African name Tanit. Word Meaning Commentary fertur “is reported” Third person singular, present passive Indicative of ferre, “to bear,” “to carry.” To form the passive voice in Latin, add the following personal endings to verb stems: -r (“I”), -ris or –re (“thou”), -tur (“he,” “she,” “it), -mur (“we”), -mini (“you all”), and –ntur (“they”). terrīs “than lands” Feminine plural Ablative noun of the first declension. The Ablative is used here to denote comparison. magis “more” omnibus unam Adverb modifying the infinitive coluisse. This adverb in its positive, comparative, and superlative degrees: magnōpere “much(ly),” magis “more,” maximē “most(ly).” Notice how an inflected language allows Virgil to insert this comparative adverb into the midst of the thing compared: terrīs magis omnibus. “all” Feminine plural Ablative adjective of the third declension, modifying terrīs. “one” Feminine singular Accusative adjective modifying quam. It emphasizes the uniqueness of Carthage in winning the goddess’ favor even over Samos, where Hera was most venerated by the Greeks. Sixteenth Verse posthabitā “esteemed less” Feminine singular Ablative participle (passive) of posthabēre, which means literally “to hold after.” Habēre (“to have”) often means “to hold,” in the sense Word Meaning Commentary of “to consider.” Posthabitā makes an Ablative Absolute with Samō . coluisse “to have cherished” Perfect active infinitive of colēre, “to dwell in,” “to cultivate,” “to venerate.” “To cherish” is a poor compromise among its meanings. Hera “cultivated” the city by nurturing its growth. At the same time, ancient deities were believed to frequent their favorite cities; when good fortune came to the city, the god was believed to have manifested his or her physical presence, to have become “manifest” (epiphanēs, to use the Greek word). The Romans called such beneficent gods praesentes, “present.” Coluisse goes with fertur: “which (quam, = Carthage) Juno is reported to have cherished more,” etc. This combination of an Accusative (quam) with an infinitive (coluisse) is a phenomenon you’ll often see described as “indirect discourse” or as “reported speech.” The most appropriate term for it is the Latin ōrātio oblīqua, which means “speaking alongside” the circumstances, i.e. reporting them at second hand. The author writes not as a witness to Juno’s affection, but to a report of it. Ōrātĭo oblīqua includes all clauses which English introduces with “that” following a verb of saying or thinking. Because Latin can only report speech through the Accusative + infinitive, you will often want to translate by changing the infinitive construction to a “that”construction, e.g. “She says herself to be Word Meaning Commentary sick” —> “She says that she is sick.” Samō hīc illīus “Samos” “here” “of that (goddess)” Feminine singular Ablative Absolute: “with Samos esteemed less,” “Samos being in second place,” etc. Samos, like many Greek place-names, is feminine in spite of its second-declension endings, and so must take a feminine adjective (posthabitā). Samos is a large and prosperous island in the southeastern Aegean Sea, sacred to Hera, and famous for its wine. I.e., “in Carthage.” Originally an old Locative form of hic, “this.” The verb fuit is modified by this adverb. Genitive singular feminine of the demonstrative pronoun ille. Verse Seventeen currus “chariot” Masculine singular Nominative noun of the fourth declension. Comparatively few nouns (but in all genders) belong to this declension or to the fifth (and last). The presence of the goddess’ instruments of war in Carthage is a facet of her relationship (the untranslatable coluisse) with the city: she dwelt in Carthage and led it to victory. hōc “this” Accusative singular of the demonstrative pronoun hic, haec, hōc, referring to Carthage but attracted into the neuter by the gender of regnum. Juno wanted “this Word Meaning Commentary (Carthage)” to be a “rule” (regnum) for the nations. regnum “rule” Neuter singular Accusative noun of the second declension. It means “rule” in the sense of “sovereignty.” “She grooms this (place) to be a rule for the nations” means “She grooms Carthage to rule the world.” dea “goddess” Feminine singular Nominative noun of the first declension. The de- root shows up in the name of the Greek god Zeus (originally Sdeus), father of the gods; in Latin Iuppiter (originally Diupiter, “skyfather”; in Sanskrit devī, “god(dess)”; and in English “day.” Unlike their Nordic counterparts, the chief Mediterranean and Hindu gods manifest themselves in the overpowering brightness of the day-sky; deus, dea, and some of their cognates in the Indoeuropean languages preserve this notion. gentibus “for the nations” Feminine plural Dative of gens, a noun of the third declension. Gens can also mean “family.” With gentibus it means virtually all nations, i.e. “the world.” Ubi gentium? (literally “where of the nations?”) means “where in the world?” esse “to be” Present infinitive. Eighteenth Verse si “if” Word Meaning Commentary quā “somehow” Short for aliquā. Feminine singular Ablative of the indefinite adjective (ali)quis, “some.” Though quā always stands alone and functions like an Ablative of means, it may originally have been attached to a feminine Ablative noun in a combination like quā viā, “by some route.” fāta “the fates” Neuter plural nominative of fātum. The plural usually personifies “the three Fates,” though, strictly speaking, the word should refer only to their pronouncements, since it is derived from fāri, “to speak.” “may permit” Third person plural present active Subjunctive of sinere (third conjugation), “to permit.” Juno is grooming Carthage in hopes that the Fates may permit it to rule the world. Their permission does not exist in reality, only in Juno’s expectations. Therefore, the verb is removed from reality (Indicative) into the Subjunctive mood. The verb sinunt (Indicative, “they permit”) changes its stem vowel to -a-, sinant (Subjunctive, “they may permit”). sinant iam “already” tum “then” tendit “aims” Third person singular present active Indicative of tendere, “to aim,” “to Word Meaning Commentary extend.” Its subject is dea, its direct object hōc (Carthage). Notice that –que appears after both verbs to mean “both … and” (like et … et): “both aims and fosters.” fovet “fosters” Third person singular present active Indicative of fovēre. “The goddess already aims and fosters this to be a rule to the nations,” i.e. Juno, even when Carthage is young, guides (tendit) Carthage toward world dominion while making it grow (fovet) into that rôle. The verbs are present rather than past to create a cinematic effect. Nineteenth Verse Prōgeniem “progeny” Feminine singular Accusative noun of the fifth declension; direct object of audierat and subject (indirect discourse) of the infinitive dūcī. sed enim “however” In prose, these words would introduce the sentence; but in dactylic hexameter, sed enim can occur anywhere within the first three metrical feet, and prōgeniem can precede them for emphasis. Taken separately, sed means “but” and enim is an explanatory word, always postpositive (placed after the first word of a sentence) and often translated “for.” Sed here indicates that Juno was worried in spite of her plans, and enim introduces the source of her worry (audierat). Word Meaning Trōiānō “Trojan” Commentary Masculine singular Ablative adjective modifying sanguine. ā “from” Alternate spelling of ab before consonants. sanguine “blood” Masculine singular of sanguis, a noun of the third declension, Ablative after the preposition ā. dūcī “to be derived” Present passive infinitive of the active infinitive dūcere, “to lead.” Juno had heard that the progeny (descendants) is sprung (dūcī) from the Trojans, whom she hated. This prōgenies is the Roman people, descended from Trojan Aeneas, who will destroy Carthage many centuries later. Twentieth Verse audierat “she had heard” Tyriās ōlim “Tyrian” “one day” Third person singular pluperfect active indicative of audīre (fourth conjugation), “to hear.” The Latin pluperfect tense has the same sense as the English “past perfect,” i.e. it describes action that took place prior to an action already past. Audierat is a contracted form of audīverat; simple perfect would be audīvit or audiit. Feminine plural Accusative adjective modifying arcēs. The fortresses are called “Tyrian” because the Carthaginians were emigrants from the Phoenician city of Tyre. Word Meaning Quae “which” verteret “would overturn” arces “citadels” Commentary Feminine singular Nominative relative pronoun whose antecedent is prōgeniem and whose verb is verteret. Third person singular imperfect active Subjunctive of vertere, “to turn.” The verb is Subjunctive because it stands in a relative clause in ōrātio oblīqua (indirect discourse). The direct report to Juno was this: “A progeny is being derived from Trojan blood which will overturn Tyrian citadels.” Indirect report: “(She had heard) progeny to be derived from Trojan blood which would overturn Tyrian citadels.” Because the dependent clause beginning with the relative pronoun quae is no longer in the mouth of the original speaker, it is removed to the Subjunctive. The tense of the Subjunctive in dependent clauses is determined by the tense of the main verb of the sentence. Generally, if the main verb is present or future (e.g. tenditque fovetque), the Subjunctive verb is present (e.g. sinant) for present or future time, and perfect for past time; if the main verb is past (e.g. audierat), the Subjunctive verb is imperfect (e.g. verteret) for present or future time and pluperfect for past time. Feminine plural Accusative of arx, a noun of the third declension. Word Meaning Commentary Twenty-first Verse hinc “from this source,” “hence” populum lātē “a people” Masculine singular Accusative noun of the second declension, subject (again, indirect discourse) of the infinitive venturum (esse). The report continues to depend on audierat. “far and wide” rēgem bellō superbum Adverb modifying the future infinitive venturum (esse). Adverb indicating where the populus is rex. “ruler” Masculine singular Accusative of rex, a noun of the third declension. “by (in) war” With superbum. “excellent” Masculine singular Accusative adjective modifying populum. Twenty-second Verse ventūrum (esse) “to be going to come” Future active infinitive of venīre, “to come.” As often, esse is dropped here since the construction is clear. We would say, “She had heard that they were going to come”; the Romans say, “She had heard them to be going to come.” excidiō “for the destruction” Neuter singular Dative noun of the second declension. “Dative of purpose.” Libyae “of Libya” Feminine singular Genitive, first declension. “Libya” designates all of northern Africa west of Egypt, and not Word Meaning Commentary just one nation. sīc “thus” volvere “to spin” Present active infinitive of the verb meaning “roll ‘round.” Being part of the ōrātio oblīqua, it still depends upon audierat, and has Parcās for its “subject”: “So (she had heard) the Fates to be spinning.” Parcās “the Parcae” Feminine plural Accusative, first declension. This is the Roman personal name for the three Fates: their names in Greek are Klotho, “Twister,” Lachesis, “Distributor,” and Atropos, “Inflexible” — together signifying their function as spinners of human destiny into the unchangeable web of Fate. Twenty-third Verse id “this’ Neuter singular Accusative of the demonstrative pronoun is (masculine), ea (feminine), id (neuter); direct object of the participle metuens. metuens “fearing” Feminine singular Nominative (modifying the subject Saturnia) present active participle of the verb metuēre, “to fear.” Notice again that a participle behaves like an adjective (agrees in gender, number, and case with the noun it modifies), and simultaneously, like a verb, takes a direct object. Present active participles always belong to the Word Meaning Commentary third declension. veteris “former” Neuter singular Genitive of vetus, an adjective of the third declension; modifies bellī. memor “mindful” Feminine singular Nominative, adjective of the third declension. Saturnia “Saturn’s daughter” Like all the deities of the youngest generation, Hera (Roman Juno) had sprung from old Kronos (Roman Saturn). So she was not only the wife, but also the sister, of Zeus (Roman Jupiter). bellī “of the war” Genitive after memor. Twenty-fourth Verse prīma “first” quod “which” ad prō “against” “on behalf of” Feminine singular Nominative adjective, modifies the subject of gesserat. Prīma indicates Juno’s leading rôle in the war against the Trojans. Neuter singular Accusative, relative pronoun, direct object of gesserat. Antecedent: bellī. This preposition is used with the Accusative case only; it always indicates action toward, and will always be found with a verb of motion (e.g. gesserat). It is usually translated “to” or “toward.” This preposition is used with the Ablative case only. It can also mean Word Meaning Commentary “instead of” and “in front of.” cārīs gesserat Argīs “dear” Masculine plural Ablative adjective modifying Argīs. “she had waged” Third person singular pluperfect active Indicative of gerere, “to bear,” “to conduct.” Bellum gerere always means “to wage war.” “Argives” Masculine plural Ablative (after prō) noun of the second declension. Argos was a center of Greek civilization in the Peloponnesus at the time of the Trojan war; Homer, like Virgil, often refers to the Greeks collectively as “Argives.” The reference to Argos is especially appropriate here, since it is the city on the Greek mainland most sacred to Hera (Juno). Twenty-fifth Verse necdum “nor yet” Nec (also spelled neque) means “and not,” “nor.” etiam “even” Or “also.” causae “causes” Feminine plural Nominative. īrārum “of fury” Feminine plural Genitive noun of the first declension. The plural is “poetic”; Juno’s anger amounts to more than a single īra. saevī “fierce” Masculine plural Nominative adjective modifying dolōrēs. Word Meaning Commentary “indignations” dolōrēs Masculine plural Nominative noun of the third declension. Twenty-sixth Verse exciderant “had fallen away” Third person plural pluperfect active indicative of excidere, “to fall away,” from ex- “out” + cadere “to fall.” animō “from (her) mind” manet altā mente repostum “remains” “deep” Masculine singular Ablative of separation. Virgil could have written ex animo, but this was superfluous in view of the ex in exciderant. Third person singular present active Indicative of manēre (second conjugation), “to remain.” Feminine singular Ablative adjective modifying mente. “in (her) mind” Feminine singular noun of the third declension, Ablative denoting locality. Often mens refers to the mind as a center of emotional activity, as “disposition,” while animus denotes the rational soul, the “intellect.” The two words, however, are frequently interchangeable. Notice the expression “in her deep mind” for our “deep in her mind”; similarly, Latin will say “in the deep sea,” “in the high clouds,” “on the high mountain.” “laid up” Neuter singular Nominative participle (passive) of re-ponere, “to put back.” Modifies iudicium. Word Meaning Commentary Twenty-seventh Verse iūdicium “judgment” Neuter singular Nominative subject of manet. Paridis “of Paris” Masculine singular Genitive, third declension, of Paris, the name of the Trojan hero who, unrecognized as the long-lost son of Priam, king of Troy, grew up among shepherds and flocks on Mount Ida. There he was approached by three goddesses — Hera (Juno), Athena (Minerva), and Aphrodite (Venus), each of whom offered him various bribes if he would judge her the most beautiful. He picked Aphrodite, who gave him in return the most beautiful of women, Helen. Unfortunately, Helen was already married to the Spartan king Menelaos, so Paris had to sail to Greece and abduct her, a prize that brought destruction upon himself and his people, including our hero Aeneas. spretae “rejected” Feminine singular Genitive participle (passive) of spernere, “to spurn.” Modifies formae. iniūria “insult” Feminine singular Nominative, another subject of manet. formae “of beauty” Feminine singular Genitive noun of the first declension. Notice how economically Virgil’s Latin uses its participles: “The insulting of her Word Meaning Commentary rejected beauty” = “Paris’s rejection and insulting of her beauty.” Twenty-eighth Verse genus invīsum “tribe” “hated” Neuter singular Nominative noun of the third declension, another subject of manet. Genus refers to the people of Troy. Its Genitive is generis. Neuter singular Nominative participle (passive) of invidēre, “to look askance at,” “to hate.” Modifies genus. Again, the participle makes the expression more compact: “the hated tribe” = “her hatred of the tribe.” raptī “abducted” Masculine plural Nominative participle (passive) of rapere, “to snatch”; modifies honōrēs. Ganymēdis “of Ganymede” Masculine singular Genitive noun of the third declension. Ganymede, a son of Priam whose beauty prompted Jupiter to bring him to Olympus to be the gods’ cupbearer, is another instance of Jupiter’s unfair attention to the Trojans. honōrēs “offices” Masculine plural Nominative of honos, a noun of the third declension. Though manet is singular and honōrēs, its last subject, is plural, the verb is too far away for any problem of agreement to arise. The “offices” refer to Ganymede’s function as cupbearer. If Word Meaning Commentary honōrēs also means “honors” here (in the sense of favors or distinctions), raptī should perhaps be taken as a Genitive, with Ganymēdis: “the honors of abducted Ganymede” instead of “the abducted offices of Ganymede.” The phrase raptī Ganymēdis honōrēs should be enjoyed for both possibilities: it’s a poet’s privilege to have it both ways. Twenty-ninth Verse Hīs accensa super “these things” “inflamed” “about,” “additionally,” “over” Neuter plural demonstrative pronoun, Ablative. Hīs refers to Trojan offenses against Juno even prior to the war with the Greeks. Feminine singular Nominative participle (passive) of accendere (ad “to” + candere “to apply fire”). Modifies the subject of arcebat (Juno). Virgil, from his lofty perch on Mount Olympus (or from his comfortable quarters in Purgatory, as Dante would have it), must be greatly amused by the wrangling of scholars, during the past two millennia, over the interpretation of this verse. Some would take super as a postpositive preposition with the Ablative hīs, understanding Juno to be incensed “about these things.” Others would take super as short for insuper, meaning “incensed by these things (understanding the instrumental Ablative alone to denote the earlier Word Meaning Commentary reasons for her anger) additionally. Still others would see Virgil exercising his right, because of his inflected language, to connect super with the following Ablative aequore, meaning “over the sea.” (in that case, the word iactātōs is fixed appropriately in the midst of that turbulent prepositional phrase.) Or could we have here a case of poetic license, of Virgil being content with this triple ambiguity? iactātōs “tossed” Masculine plural Accusative participle (passive) of iactāre, “ to toss.” Modifies Trōas. aequore “on the sea” Neuter singular Ablative of aequor, “sea surface,” a noun of the third declension. tōtō “whole” Neuter singular Ablative adjective modifying aequore. Thirtieth Verse Trōas “Trojans” Masculine plural Accusative noun of a Greek declension (Τρῶας), direct object of arcēbat. Greek forms appear now and then in Latin poetry, particularly in proper names, and betoken the intimate familiarity with Greek literature and culture we assume for both the poet and his readers. We can virtually prove that Virgil knew much of Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey by heart. They were his “models” for the Aeneid: Books I–VI tell the story of Aeneas’ travel from Troy to Italy, corresponding at least Word Meaning Commentary superficially to the Homeric wanderings of Ulysses. Books VII-XII are the “Roman Iliad,” the story of Aeneas’ first wars of colonization. But Virgil transformed the Homeric epic into something quite different from the original. The Aeneid is a celebration of the achievements of Rome under Augustus, veiled in an account of the exploits of his mythical ancestor, Aeneas. Nevertheless, Virgil himself insisted that it was easier to steal Hercules’ club than to steal a verse from Homer. rēliquiās “leavings” Danaum “of the Danaans” atque immītis “as well as” “cruel” Feminine plural Accusative noun, refers to the Trojans. Rēliquiae is declined only in the plural. Masculine plural Genitive noun of the second declension, contracted (like the nouns of verses 4 & 9) from Dana[ōr]um. Danaan,” like “Argive,” is another Homeric word for “Greek.” Danaos had been the mythical founder of Argos. His supposed Egyptian origins suggest links with the Dan-names (e.g. Dan-el or Daniel”) of other eastern Mediterranean heroes. “Danaos” may be a vestige (like Cadmus and his Phoenicians at Thebes) of West Semitic influence on Greece in the second millennium BCE. Also spelled ac. (= in-mītis) Masculine singular Genitive Word Meaning Commentary adjective of the third declension modifying Achillī. The prefix in- serves to negate an adjective, like English un- : mītis means “soft.” Achillī “of Achilles” The Trojans are called contemptible “leavings” of the Greek army and of its mighty and vengeful champion. Thirty-first Verse arcēbat “she kept restraining” Third person singular imperfect active Indicative of arcēre, “to hold back.” The imperfect tense, formed by inserting -ba- between the present stem and the personal endings, denotes an incessant action in past time. longē “far” Latiō “from Latium” multōs per annōs “many” Ablative of separation. In the singular, the adjective multus means “much.” “through” Preposition with Accusative only. “years” Thirty-second Verse errābant “they kept wandering” Third person plural imperfect active indicative of errare, “to wander.” actī “driven” Masculine plural Nominative participle (passive) of agere, “to drive.” Modifies the subject of errābant. Word Meaning Commentary “by the Fates” Virgil echoes in these last five lines the themes with which he began the Aeneid. maria “seas” Neuter plural Accusative of mare, a noun of the third declension. Accusative after circum. omnia “all” Adjective of the third declension modifying maria. In the singular, omnis (neuter omne) means “every.” circum “around” The preposition is here postpositive, as often in poetry. Here it follows its noun (maria); in prose, it would always precede it. fātīs Thirty-third verse tantae “so great” Feminine singular Genitive adjective modifying mōlis. mōlis “difficulty” Feminine singular Genitive of mōlēs, a noun of the third declension meaning, basically, “mass,” “load.” Tantae mōlis is a “Genitive of description”: founding the Roman nation was (a task) of great difficulty. erat “was” Third person singular imperfect active Indicative of esse. The progressive sense of the imperfect is usually neutralized to a simple past meaning in the verb “to be,” though there may be some notion of unfinished business in this erat. condere “to found” This infinitive, or rather the entire Word Meaning Commentary phrase Rōmānam condere gentem, is the subject of erat. gentem “nation” Feminine singular Accusative of gens, a noun of the third declension with a wide range of meanings from “family” to “nation.” Direct object of condere.      In lieu of an index, I encourage readers to make use of their own search engines throughout this document. Excellent guides to pronunciation, translation, paradigms of declension and conjugation, metrical scansion, historical background, and other relevant topics can easily be found on the Internet through Google. Just type into your address bar a word or two of the term or topic you seek: you’ll soon have the relevant information. I’m always open to feedback — comments, questions, suggestions for improvement, etc. Discover, and enjoy! — Bill Berg January 2021