Aeneas's Refusal and Dido's Bitter Curse — Virgil, Aeneid Book 4 (lines 318–391), Latin & English

318

dulce meum,¹ miserere domus labentis, et istam—

sweet to you, pity a falling house, and that—

oro, si quis adhuc precibus locus—exue mentem.

I pray, if there is still any room for prayers—put away that mind.

320

Te propter Libycae gentes Nomadumque tyranni

Because of you, the Libyan peoples and the tyrants of the Nomads

odere, infensi Tyrii; te propter eundem²

hate me, and the Tyrians are hostile; because of you also

exstinctus pudor, et, qua sola sidera adibam,

my honor is lost, and my former reputation, by which alone

fama prior. Cui me moribundam deseris, hospes?

I was approaching the stars. To whom do you abandon me, about to die, guest?

Hoc solum nomen quoniam de coniuge restat.

Since this name alone remains from that of husband.

325

Quid moror? An mea Pygmalion dum moenia frater

Why do I delay? Until my brother Pygmalion destroys my walls,

destruat,³ aut captam ducat Gaetulus Iarbas?

or Gaetulian Iarbas leads me away captive?

Saltem si qua mihi de te suscepta fuisset

At least if some offspring had been conceived by me from you

ante fugam suboles,⁴ si quis mihi parvulus aula

before your flight, if some little

luderet Aeneas, qui te tamen ore referret,

Aeneas were playing in my hall, who would nevertheless bring you back in his face,

330

non equidem omnino capta ac deserta viderer.

I indeed would not seem entirely captured and deserted.”

Dixerat. Ille Iovis monitis immota tenebat

She had spoken. He, by the warnings of Jupiter, was keeping his eyes

lumina, et obnixus curam sub corde premebat.

unmoved, and, struggling, was pressing down his care deep within his heart.

Tandem pauca refert: Ego te, quae plurima fando

At last he returns a few words: “I will never deny, O queen,

enumerare vales, numquam, regina, negabo

that you have deserved well of me in those very many things which you are able

335

promeritam; nec me meminisse pigebit Elissae,

to enumerate in speaking; nor will it displease me to remember Elissa,

dum memor ipse mei, dum spiritus hos regit artus.

as long as I myself am mindful of myself, as long as breath rules these limbs.

Pro re pauca loquar. Neque ego hanc abscondere furto

I will speak a few words on the matter. I neither hoped to conceal this

speravi—ne finge—fugam, nec coniugis umquam

flight by stealth—do not imagine so—nor did I ever

praetendi taedas, aut haec in foedera veni.

hold out the torches of a husband, or enter into these compacts.

340

Me si fata meis paterentur ducere vitam⁵

If the fates permitted me to lead my life under my own

auspiciis et sponte mea componere curas,

auspices and to settle my cares of my own free will,

urbem Troianam primum dulcisque meorum

I would cultivate first the Trojan city and the sweet relics

reliquias colerem, Priami tecta alta manerent,

of my people, the high roofs of Priam would remain,

et recidiva manu posuissem Pergama victis.

and I would have established a reborn Troy with my hand for the vanquished.

345

Sed nunc Italiam magnam Gryneus Apollo,

But now Grynean Apollo has ordered me to take great Italy,

Italiam Lyciae iussere capessere sortes:

and the Lycian oracles have ordered me to take Italy:

hic amor, haec patria est. Si te Karthaginis arces,

this is my love, this is my country. If the towers of Carthage

Phoenissam, Libycaeque aspectus detinet urbis,

and the sight of a Libyan city detain you, a Phoenician,

quae tandem, Ausonia Teucros considere terra,

what jealousy is there, after all, that the Trojans should settle in Ausonian land?

350

invidia est? Et nos fas extera quaerere regna.

It is right for us also to seek foreign kingdoms.

Me patris Anchisae, quotiens umentibus umbris

As often as night covers the lands with damp shadows,

nox operit terras, quotiens astra ignea surgunt,

as often as the fiery stars rise, the troubled ghost of my father Anchises

admonet in somnis et turbida terret imago;

admonishes me in my sleep and terrifies me;

me puer Ascanius capitisque iniuria cari,

the boy Ascanius and the injury to his dear head admonish me,

355

quem regno Hesperiae fraudo et fatalibus arvis.

whom I defraud of the kingdom of Hesperia and the fated fields.

Nunc etiam interpres divom, Iove missus ab ipso—

Now even the messenger of the gods, sent by Jupiter himself—

testor utrumque caput—celeris mandata per auras

I swear by both our lives—has brought down mandates through the swift breezes;

detulit; ipse deum manifesto in lumine vidi

I myself saw the god in manifest light entering

intrantem muros, vocemque his auribus hausi.

the walls, and drank in his voice with these ears.

360

Desine meque tuis incendere teque querelis:

Cease to inflame both me and yourself with your complaints:

Italiam non sponte sequor.

I follow Italy not of my own free will.”

Talia dicentem iamdudum aversa tuetur,

While he was saying such things, she had long been looking at him askance,

huc illuc volvens oculos, totumque pererrat

rolling her eyes hither and thither, and she surveys him all over

luminibus tacitis, et sic accensa profatur:

with silent looks, and thus, inflamed, she speaks out:

365

Nec tibi diva parens, generis nec Dardanus auctor,

”Neither is a goddess your parent, nor is Dardanus the founder of your race,

perfide; sed duris genuit te cautibus horrens

treacherous man; but rugged Caucasus bore you on sharp rocks,

Caucasus, Hyrcanaeque admorunt ubera tigres.

and Hyrcanian tigresses offered you their teats.

Nam quid dissimulo, aut quae me ad maiora reservo?

For why do I dissimulate, or for what greater things do I reserve myself?

Num fletu ingemuit nostro? Num lumina flexit?

Did he groan at our weeping? Did he turn his eyes?

370

Num lacrimas victus dedit, aut miseratus amantem est?

Did he, vanquished, shed tears, or pity his lover?

Quae quibus anteferam? Iam iam nec maxuma Iuno,

What shall I prefer to what? Now indeed neither greatest Juno,

nec Saturnius haec oculis pater aspicit aequis.

nor the Saturnian father regards these things with equal eyes.

Nusquam tuta fides. Eiectum litore, egentem

Nowhere is faith safe. Cast out on the shore, needy,

excepi, et regni demens in parte locavi;

I received him, and, mad, placed him in a part of my kingdom;

375

amissam classem, socios a morte reduxi.

I brought back his lost fleet and his companions from death.

Heu furiis incensa feror! Nunc augur Apollo,

Alas, I am borne away, inflamed by furies! Now prophetic Apollo,

nunc Lyciae sortes, nunc et Iove missus ab ipso

now Lycian oracles, now even the messenger of the gods sent by Jupiter himself

interpres divom fert horrida iussa per auras.

carries horrific orders through the breezes.

Scilicet is Superis labor est, ea cura quietos

To be sure, this is a labor for the gods above, this care troubles them

380

sollicitat. Neque te teneo, neque dicta refello.

in their quiet. I neither hold you, nor refute your words.

I, sequere Italiam ventis, pete regna per undas.

Go, pursue Italy with the winds, seek kingdoms through the waves.

Spero equidem mediis, si quid pia numina possunt,

I indeed hope, if the pious deities can do anything,

supplicia hausurum scopulis, et nomine Dido

that you will drain your punishment in the midst of reefs, and often call

saepe vocaturum. Sequar atris ignibus absens,

upon Dido by name. I will follow you absent with dark fires,

385

et, cum frigida mors anima seduxerit artus,

and when cold death has separated limbs from my soul,

omnibus umbra locis adero. Dabis, improbe, poenas.

as a ghost I will be present in all places. You will pay the penalty, wicked man.

Audiam et haec Manis veniet mihi fama sub imos.

I shall hear, and this report will come to me down to the deepest underworld.”

His medium dictis sermonem abrumpit, et auras

With these words she breaks off her speech in the middle, and flees

aegra fugit, seque ex oculis avertit et aufert,

the light, sick, and turns away and takes herself from his eyes,

390

linquens multa metu cunctantem et multa parantem

leaving him hesitating much through fear and preparing to say

dicere. Suscipiunt famulae, conlapsaque membra

many things. Her maidservants support her, and her collapsed limbs

Syntax notes5 items

4.318dulce meum
Connects with fuit aut tibi quicquam from line 317, continuing the conditional clause "or if anything of mine was sweet to you". dulce is a neuter adjective used substantively, modified by the possessive adjective meum.
4.321te propter eundem
The preposition propter (because of) is placed between the accusative pronouns it governs, te and eundem (anastrophe and hyperbaton).
4.325dum ... destruat
The conjunction dum (until) takes the present subjunctive destruat to imply anticipation, expectation, or apprehension rather than a purely temporal limit.
4.327si qua ... suscepta fuisset ... suboles
A contrary-to-fact conditional clause in the past using the pluperfect subjunctive suscepta fuisset (for suscepta esset). The apodosis is viderer (imperfect subjunctive) in line 330, expressing a contrary-to-fact situation in the present.
4.340Me si fata meis paterentur ducere vitam
A contrary-to-fact conditional clause in the present using the imperfect subjunctive paterentur ("if the fates were permitting me"). The following apodoses colerem and manerent are also in the imperfect subjunctive.

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-22)urn:cts:latinLit:phi0690.phi003.humanitext-lat2:4.318-4.391