Union in the Cave and Jupiter's Command — Virgil, Aeneid Book 4 (lines 162–239), Latin & English

162

et Tyrii comites passim et Troiana iuventus

And the Tyrian companions everywhere, and the Trojan youth,

Dardaniusque nepos Veneris diversa per agros

and the Dardanian grandson of Venus, in fear, sought diverse

tecta metu petiere; ruunt de montibus amnes.

shelters through the fields; rivers rush down from the mountains.

165

Speluncam Dido dux et Troianus eandem

Dido and the Trojan leader come to the same

deveniunt: prima et Tellus et pronuba Iuno

cave: both primal Earth and Juno as bridal patroness

dant signum; fulsere ignes et conscius aether

give the sign; fires flashed and the sky was witness

conubiis, summoque ulularunt vertice nymphae.

to the marriage, and nymphs wailed from the highest peak.

Ille dies primus leti primusque malorum

That day was the first cause of death and the first

170

causa fuit; neque enim specie famave movetur,

cause; for she is not moved by appearance or reputation,

nec iam furtivum Dido meditatur amorem:

nor does Dido now design a secret love:

coniugium vocat; hoc praetexit nomine culpam.

she calls it marriage; with this name she veils her guilt.

Extemplo Libyae magnas it Fama per urbes—

At once Rumor goes through the great cities of Libya—

Fama, malum qua non aliud velocius ullum;

Rumor, than whom no other evil is swifter;

175

mobilitate viget, viresque adquirit eundo,

she thrives on speed, and gains strength as she goes,

parva metu primo, mox sese attollit in auras,

small at first through fear, soon she raises herself into the air,

ingrediturque solo, et caput inter nubila condit.

and walks on the ground, and hides her head among the clouds.

Illam Terra parens, ira inritata deorum,

Mother Earth, provoked by anger at the gods,

extremam (ut perhibent) Coeo Enceladoque sororem

bore her, as they say, as the last sister to Coeus and Enceladus,

180

progenuit, pedibus celerem et pernicibus alis,

swift of foot and with untiring wings,

monstrum horrendum, ingens, cui, quot sunt corpore plumae

a monster horrible, huge, who has, for every feather on her body,

tot vigiles oculi subter, mirabile dictu,

as many watchful eyes beneath, wondrous to tell,

tot linguae, totidem ora sonant, tot subrigit aures.

as many tongues, as many mouths sounding, as many ears she pricks up.

Nocte volat caeli medio terraeque per umbram,

By night she flies between heaven and earth through the shadow,

185

stridens, nec dulci declinat lumina somno;

shrieking, nor does she droop her eyes in sweet sleep;

luce sedet custos aut summi culmine tecti,

by day she sits as a guardian either on the peak of the highest roof,

turribus aut altis, et magnas territat urbes;

or on high towers, and terrifies great cities;

tam ficti pravique tenax, quam nuntia veri.

as tenacious a messenger of fiction and depravity as of truth.

Haec tum multiplici populos sermone replebat

She then, rejoicing, filled the peoples with manifold gossip,

190

gaudens, et pariter facta atque infecta canebat:

and sang equally of facts and fictions:

venisse Aenean, Troiano sanguine cretum,

that Aeneas had come, sprung from Trojan blood,

cui se pulchra viro dignetur iungere Dido;

to whom beautiful Dido deigns to join herself as husband;

nunc hiemem inter se luxu, quam longa, fovere¹

now they cherish the winter between themselves in luxury, however long it is,

regnorum immemores turpique cupidine captos.

mindless of their kingdoms and captured by shameful passion.

195

Haec passim dea foeda virum diffundit in ora.

These things the foul goddess scatters everywhere into the mouths of men.

Protinus ad regem cursus detorquet Iarban,

Straightway she turns her course to King Iarbas,

incenditque animum dictis atque aggerat iras.

and inflames his mind with words and heaps up his anger.

Hic Hammone satus, rapta Garamantide Nympha,

He, begotten of Ammon by a ravished Garamantian Nymph,

templa Iovi centum latis immania regnis,

had built for Jupiter a hundred huge temples in his broad realms,

200

centum aras posuit, vigilemque sacraverat ignem,

a hundred altars, and had consecrated a watchful fire,

excubias divom aeternas, pecudumque cruore

the eternal sentry of the gods, and a soil rich

pingue solum et variis florentia limina sertis.

with the blood of beasts and thresholds blooming with varied garlands.

Isque amens animi et rumore accensus amaro

And he, frantic in mind and inflamed by the bitter rumor,

dicitur ante aras media inter numina divom

is said to have prayed much to Jupiter before the altars, in the midst of the divine presences,

205

multa Iovem manibus supplex orasse supinis:

as a suppliant with upturned hands:

Iuppiter omnipotens, cui nunc Maurusia pictis

”Almighty Jupiter, to whom now the Maurusian race, feasting on embroidered

gens epulata toris Lenaeum libat honorem,

couches, pours a Lenaean libation,

aspicis haec, an te, genitor, cum fulmina torques,

do you see these things? Or, father, when you hurl your thunderbolts,

nequiquam horremus, caecique in nubibus ignes

do we shrink in vain, and do blind fires in the clouds

210

terrificant animos et inania murmura miscent?

terrify our minds and stir up empty murmurs?

Femina, quae nostris errans in finibus urbem

A woman, who wandering in our territories has established

exiguam pretio posuit, cui litus arandum

a tiny city for a price, to whom we gave a shore to plow

cuique loci leges dedimus, conubia nostra

and to whom we gave the laws of the place, has rejected our marriage,

reppulit, ac dominum Aenean in regna recepit.

and received Aeneas into her kingdom as lord.

215

Et nunc ille Paris cum semiviro comitatu,

And now that Paris with his half-man retinue,

Maeonia mentum mitra crinemque madentem

his chin and perfumed hair bound beneath a Maeonian bonnet,

subnexus,² rapto potitur: nos munera templis

possesses the prey; while we indeed bring gifts to your temples

quippe tuis ferimus, famamque fovemus inanem.

and cherish an empty reputation.”

Talibus orantem dictis arasque tenentem

The Almighty heard him praying with such words and holding the altars,

220

audiit omnipotens, oculosque ad moenia torsit

and turned his eyes to the royal walls

regia et oblitos famae melioris amantes.

and to the lovers forgetful of their better fame.

Tum sic Mercurium adloquitur ac talia mandat:

Then he thus addresses Mercury and mandates such things:

Vade age, nate, voca Zephyros et labere pennis,

”Go, run, my son, summon the Zephyrs and glide on your wings,

Dardaniumque ducem, Tyria Karthagine qui nunc

and address the Dardanian leader, who now in Tyrian Carthage

225

exspectat, fatisque datas non respicit urbes,

lingers, and has no regard for the cities given by the fates,

adloquere, et celeris defer mea dicta per auras.

and carry my words down through the swift breezes.

Non illum nobis genetrix pulcherrima talem

Not such did his most beautiful mother promise him to us,

promisit, Graiumque ideo bis vindicat armis;

nor did she for this reason twice rescue him from the arms of the Greeks;

sed fore,³ qui gravidam imperiis belloque frementem

but that he should be one who would rule Italy, pregnant with empire

230

Italiam regeret, genus alto a sanguine Teucri

and raging with war, who would transmit a race from the high blood of Teucer,

proderet, ac totum sub leges mitteret orbem.

and bring the whole world under his laws.

Si nulla accendit tantarum gloria rerum,

If no glory of such great deeds inflames him,

nec super ipse sua molitur laude laborem,

nor does he himself undertake the labor for his own praise,

Ascanione pater Romanas invidet arces?

does he, as a father, grudge Ascanius the Roman citadels?

235

Quid struit, aut qua spe inimica in gente moratur,

What does he build, or with what hope does he linger among a hostile people,

nec prolem Ausoniam et Lavinia respicit arva?

nor regards his Ausonian offspring and the Lavinian fields?

Naviget: haec summa est; hic nostri nuntius esto.

Let him sail: this is the sum; let this be our messenger to him.”

Dixerat. Ille patris magni parere parabat

He had spoken. He prepared to obey the command of his great

imperio; et primum pedibus talaria nectit

father; and first he binds the golden sandals to his feet,

Syntax notes3 items

4.193fovere
fovere is an infinitive in indirect speech dependent on canebat (line 190) which continues from replebat (line 189). Its semantic subject (Aeneas and Dido) is omitted as it is clear from the context. The parenthetical relative clause quam longa, qualifying hiemem, has a concessive or restrictive force meaning 'however long it may be (for the entire length of the winter).'
4.217subnexus
subnexus (past participle of subnectere) is used here with a middle or reflexive force, taking the accusatives of specification (Greek accusatives) mentum and crinem. It literally means 'having bound (the bonnet) under his chin and over his wet hair.'
4.229fore
fore (future infinitive futurum esse) is an infinitive in indirect speech dependent on promisit (line 227). The accusative subject (Aeneas) is understood from the context. The following relative clause qui... regeret employs the subjunctive of characteristic to describe the kind of ruler promised.

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-22)urn:cts:latinLit:phi0690.phi003.humanitext-lat2:4.162-4.239