Mercury's Warning and Dido's Confrontation — Virgil, Aeneid Book 4 (lines 240–317), Latin & English

240

aurea, quae sublimem alis sive aequora supra

golden [sandals], which carry him high aloft on wings, whether over the seas

seu terram rapido pariter cum flamine portant;

or over the land, as swift as the rapid gale;

tum virgam capit: hac animas ille evocat Orco

then he takes his wand: with this he summons pale souls from Orcus,

pallentis, alias sub Tartara tristia mittit,

sends others down to gloomy Tartarus,

dat somnos adimitque, et lumina morte resignat.¹

gives sleep and takes it away, and unseals eyes in death.

245

Illa fretus agit ventos, et turbida tranat

Relying on this, he drives the winds and skims the troubled

nubila; iamque volans apicem et latera ardua cernit

clouds; and now flying, he sees the peak and steep slopes

Atlantis duri, caelum qui vertice fulcit,

of rugged Atlas, who supports the sky with his crown,

Atlantis, cinctum adsidue cui nubibus atris

Atlas, whose pine-bearing head is continually encircled by dark clouds

piniferum caput et vento pulsatur et imbri;

and beaten by wind and rain;

250

nix umeros infusa tegit; tum flumina mento

accumulated snow covers his shoulders; then rivers plunge down

praecipitant senis, et glacie riget horrida barba.

from the chin of the old man, and his rough beard stiffens with ice.

Hic primum paribus nitens Cyllenius alis

Here first the Cyllenian god, balancing on equal wings,

constitit; hinc toto praeceps se corpore ad undas

halted; from here he threw himself headlong with his whole body to the waves,

misit, avi similis, quae circum litora, circum

like a bird that flies low, close to the water, around the shores,

255

piscosos scopulos humilis volat aequora iuxta.

around the fish-filled rocks.

Haud aliter terras inter caelumque volabat,

Not otherwise did the Cyllenian offspring fly between the earth and sky,

litus harenosum Libyae ventosque secabat

cutting through the sandy shore of Libya and the winds,

materno veniens ab avo Cyllenia proles.

coming from his maternal grandfather.

Ut primum alatis tetigit magalia plantis,

As soon as he touched the huts with his winged feet,

260

Aenean fundantem arces ac tecta novantem

he beholds Aeneas founding citadels and renewing dwellings;

conspicit; atque illi stellatus iaspide fulva

and his sword was starred with yellow jasper,

ensis erat, Tyrioque ardebat murice laena

and a cloak drapes from his shoulders, glowing with Tyrian purple,

demissa ex umeris, dives quae munera Dido

which wealthy Dido had made as a gift,

fecerat, et tenui telas discreverat auro.

and had distinguished the warp with fine gold.

265

Continuo invadit: Tu nunc Karthaginis altae

Straightway he attacks him: “Do you now lay the foundations

fundamenta locas, pulchramque uxorius² urbem

of lofty Carthage, and, doting on a wife, build up a beautiful city,

exstruis, heu regni rerumque oblite tuarum?

alas, forgetful of your own kingdom and destiny?

Ipse deum tibi me claro demittit Olympo

The ruler of the gods himself sends me down to you from bright Olympus,

regnator, caelum ac terras qui numine torquet;

he who turns heaven and earth with his divine power;

270

ipse haec ferre iubet celeris mandata per auras:

he himself orders me to carry these mandates through the swift breezes:

quid struis, aut qua spe Libycis teris otia terris?

what do you build, or with what hope do you waste your leisure in Libyan lands?

Si te nulla movet tantarum gloria rerum,

If no glory of such great deeds moves you,

Ascanium surgentem et spes heredis Iuli

regard the rising Ascanius and the hopes of your heir Iulus,

275

respice, cui regnum Italiae Romanaque tellus

to whom the kingdom of Italy and the Roman land

debentur. Tali Cyllenius ore locutus

are owed.” Having spoken with such speech, the Cyllenian god

mortalis visus medio sermone reliquit,

left mortal sight in the midst of his words,

et procul in tenuem ex oculis evanuit auram.

and vanished from their eyes far away into thin air.

At vero Aeneas aspectu obmutuit amens,

But indeed, Aeneas, distraught at the sight, was struck dumb,

280

arrectaeque horrore comae, et vox faucibus haesit.

and his hair stood on end with horror, and his voice stuck in his throat.

Ardet abire fuga dulcisque relinquere terras,

He burns to depart in flight and to leave the sweet lands,

attonitus tanto monitu imperioque deorum.

astonished by so great a warning and command of the gods.

Heu quid agat?³ Quo nunc reginam ambire furentem

Alas, what should he do? With what speech now should he dare to approach

audeat adfatu? Quae prima exordia sumat?

the raging queen? What first beginning should he take?

285

Atque animum nunc huc celerem, nunc dividit illuc,

And he divides his swift mind now here, now there,

in partisque rapit varias perque omnia versat.

and hurries it in various directions, turning it through everything.

Haec alternanti potior sententia visa est:

This opinion seemed preferable to him as he wavered:

Mnesthea Sergestumque vocat fortemque Serestum,

he calls Mnestheus, Sergestus, and brave Serestus,

classem aptent taciti sociosque ad litora cogant,

that they should silently equip the fleet and gather their comrades to the shore,

290

arma parent, et quae rebus sit causa novandis

prepare weapons, and dissimulate what the reason is for altering

dissimulent; sese interea, quando optuma Dido

their plans; while he himself, since the excellent Dido

nesciat et tantos rumpi non speret amores,

knows nothing and does not expect such great love to be broken,

temptaturum aditus, et quae mollissima fandi

would try to find a way of approach, and the gentlest times for speaking,

tempora, quis rebus dexter modus. Ocius omnes

what mode was favorable for the business. Very quickly all

295

imperio laeti parent ac iussa facessunt.

joyfully obey his command and perform his orders.

At regina dolos—quis fallere possit amantem?

But the queen—who can deceive a lover?—

praesensit, motusque excepit prima futuros,

sensed the deceit beforehand, and was first to catch the future movements,

omnia tuta timens. Eadem impia Fama furenti

fearing all things even when safe. The same impious Rumor reported to her in her fury

detulit armari classem cursumque parari.

that the fleet was being armed and a voyage prepared.

300

Saevit inops animi, totamque incensa per urbem

She rages, bereft of mind, and, inflamed, raves through the whole city

bacchatur, qualis commotis excita sacris

like a Thyias aroused by the shaking of the sacred emblems,

Thyias, ubi audito stimulant trieterica Baccho

when, having heard the name of Bacchus, the triennial orgies stimulate her,

orgia, nocturnusque vocat clamore Cithaeron.

and Mount Cithaeron calls her by night with shouting.

Tandem his Aenean compellat vocibus ultro:

At last she addresses Aeneas first with these words:

305

Dissimulare etiam sperasti, perfide, tantum

”Did you even hope to be able to dissimulate, treacherous man, so great

posse nefas, tacitusque mea decedere terra?

an impiety, and to depart silently from my land?

Nec te noster amor, nec te data dextera quondam,

Does neither our love, nor the right hand once given,

nec moritura tenet crudeli funere Dido?

nor Dido, about to die a cruel death, hold you?

Quin etiam hiberno moliris sidere classem,

Nay, do you even build your fleet under a wintry star,

310

et mediis properas aquilonibus ire per altum,

and hasten to go through the deep sea in the midst of northern winds,

crudelis? Quid, si non arva aliena domosque

cruel man? What, if you were not seeking foreign fields and unknown

ignotas peteres, sed Troia antiqua maneret,

homes, but ancient Troy still remained,

Troia per undosum peteretur classibus aequor

would Troy be sought by your fleets through the billowy sea?

Mene fugis? Per ego has lacrimas dextramque tuam te⁴

Is it from me you flee? By these tears and your right hand

315

(quando aliud mihi iam miserae nihil ipsa reliqui)

(since I myself have left nothing else now for my miserable self),

per conubia nostra, per inceptos hymenaeos,

by our marriage, by our wedding just begun,

si bene quid de te merui, fuit aut tibi quicquam

if I have deserved any good of you, or if anything of mine was

Syntax notes4 items

4.244lumina morte resignat
The verb 'resignare' usually means 'to unseal' or 'to open.' In this context, it can be interpreted either as 'unsealing the eyes in/from death' (referring to Mercury's function of awakening the souls of the dead to guide them with his caduceus) or metaphorically as 'closing the eyes in death' (sealing them). This translation adopts the former, linking it with the preceding actions of recalling and sending souls, wherein the god 'unseals' eyes to prepare them for the journey.
4.266uxorius
The nominative adjective 'uxorius' functions as an adverbial predicate complement modifying the subject (Aeneas). Rather than simply meaning 'pertaining to a wife,' it is used here censoriously to mean 'wife-ruled' or 'doting blindly on a woman,' highlighting Aeneas's current state of submission to Dido at the expense of his duty.
4.283quid agat
A deliberative subjunctive in an independent clause, expressing the intense agitation, inner conflict, and self-interrogation of the protagonist Aeneas ('Alas, what should he do?'). The subsequent verbs 'audeat' and 'sumat' also share this same subjunctive usage.
4.314Per ego has lacrimas dextramque tuam te
An instance of highly complex word order (hyperbaton) typical of classical poetry, where the nominative pronoun 'ego' and the object pronoun 'te' are embedded within the accusative phrase ('has lacrimas...') governed by the preposition 'per'. The disrupted syntax mimics and amplifies Dido's extreme emotional agitation and desperate pleading ('By these tears and your right hand, I [beg] you').

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-22) · Revision history (1, latest 2026-09-21)

2026-09-21 AI review — translation 1

urn:cts:latinLit:phi0690.phi003.humanitext-lat2:4.240-4.317