Section 1 · lines 1–13
Aeneas begins his story · Aeneid II · GCSE Latin · OCR J282/05
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SubjectObjectVerbGenitiveAblativePrepositionConjunctionAdverbVocative
Latin
English
1cōnticuere͜ ōmnēs, īntēntique͜ ōră tĕnēbānt.
1They all fell silent and were holding their faces turned intently towards him.
2īndĕ tŏrō pătĕr Aēnēās sīc ōrsŭs ăb āltō:
3īnfāndūm, rĕgĭna͜, iūbēs rĕnŏvārĕ dŏlōrĕm,
4Troīānās ŭt ŏpēs ēt lāmēntābĭlĕ rēgnŭm
5ēruērīnt Dānaī; quaēque͜ īpsĕ mĭsērrĭmă vīdĭ,
6ēt quōrūm pārs māgnă fuĭ. quīs tăliă fāndō
7Mȳrmĭdŏnūm Dŏlŏpūmve͜ aūt dūrī mīlĕs Ŭlīxĭ
8tēmpĕrĕt ā lācrīmĭs? ĕt iām nōx ūmĭdă caēlō
9praēcĭpĭtāt, suādēntquĕ cădēntĭă sīdĕră sōmnōs.
2Then from his high couch father Aeneas began thus:
3O queen, you order me to renew an unspeakable grief:
4how the Danaans overthrew the wealth of Troy and its pitiable kingdom,
5and the most wretched things which I saw myself,
6and of which I was a great part. Who, in telling such things,
7of the Myrmidons or Dolopes, or what soldier of harsh Ulysses,
8could refrain from tears? And already the damp night is falling
9from the sky and the setting stars are urging us to sleep.
10sēd sī tāntŭs ămōr cāsūs cōgnōscĕrĕ nōstrōs
11ēt brĕvĭtēr Troīaē sūprēmum͜ aūdīrĕ lăbōrĕm,
12quāmquam͜ ănĭmūs mĕmĭnīsse͜ hōrrēt, lūctūquĕ rĕfūgĭt,
13īncĭpĭām. frāctī bēllō fātīsquĕ rĕpūlsī
10But if you have so great a desire to learn of our misfortunes
11and to hear briefly the last agony of Troy,
12although my mind shudders to remember and has shrunk back in grief,
13I shall begin. Broken by war and rejected by fate,
Style notes this section · 21Word order · 11Repetition and structure · 3Sound and metre · 3Word choice · 2Grammar · 2
1
conticuereEmphatic position
they fell silent
conticuere is the first word of Book 2, so the silence of Dido's whole court is the first thing we hear. The reader feels the hush as everyone waits for Aeneas to speak.
1
omnesEmphatic position
everyone
omnes comes straight after the verb and ends its phrase, stressing that every single person is spellbound. It shows how eager the whole hall is to hear the story.
2
toro altoHyperbaton
from his high couch
toro and alto are split, with Aeneas' name and the start of his speech in between. Ending the line on "high" gives him a dignified place as he begins.
2
paterEpithet
father
pater presents Aeneas as a father to his people, which shows responsibility as well as respect. He speaks as the leader who must look after the Trojans.
3
infandum doloremHyperbaton
unspeakable grief
infandum opens the line and dolorem closes it, so the grief stretches across the whole line. The separation makes the pain feel vast and heavy.
5
eruerint DanaiEnjambment
the Greeks destroyed
The verb and its subject spill over into line 5, so the destruction of Troy lands with force at the start of the line. The reader feels the shock of the city's fall.
5
miserrimaSuperlative
most pitiful
miserrima stresses how wretched the things Aeneas saw were. It makes the reader expect a deeply tragic story.
6
quaeque, quorumPolyptoton
which … of which
The relative pronoun appears twice in different cases (quae, quorum). Aeneas was both a witness and a sufferer, which makes his account personal.
6
fuiPerfect tense
I was
fui is short and comes at the end of its sentence. It reminds the reader that Aeneas played a large part in these events, and that Troy now belongs to the past.
7
Myrmidonum, Dolopum, UlixiTricolon
Myrmidons, Dolopes, Ulysses
Three sets of enemies are listed, building up to Ulysses, the most hated. The list stresses that even Troy's fiercest enemies would weep.
7
ve, autVariatio
or … or
Virgil varies his words for "or", using -ve and then aut, which keeps the list of enemies flowing. It makes the list sound natural rather than mechanical.
7
duriEpithet
harsh
durus describes Ulysses as hard and pitiless. Even the cruellest of the Greeks, Aeneas suggests, would weep at this story.
8
a lacrimisDelay
from tears
a lacrimis is held back to the start of line 8, after a long question. The delay makes "tears" land with emotional weight.
9
praecipitatEnjambment
is rushing down
The verb spills over into line 9, so night seems to fall suddenly. It reminds the reader that time is passing and that the story is a long one.
9
suadentque cadentiaAssonance
and the setting (stars) urge
The repeated -ent- sounds in suadentque cadentia create a soft, lulling rhythm. It suits the idea of the stars persuading people to sleep.
9
sidera somnosAlliteration
stars … sleep
The repeated s sounds in sidera somnos are soft and drowsy. The sound helps the reader feel the lateness of the hour.
10
casus nostrosHyperbaton
our misfortunes
casus and nostros are separated by cognoscere, so "our" closes the line. It stresses that these disasters happened to Aeneas' own people.
11
supremum laboremHyperbaton
the last agony
supremum and laborem are separated by audire, so "Troy's final suffering" frames the act of hearing. It stresses that this is the end of Troy.
12
quamquam animus meminisseAlliteration
although my mind (shudders) to remember
The repeated m sounds slow the line down. They suggest Aeneas' reluctance and pain as he forces himself to remember.
13
incipiamEmphatic position
I shall begin
incipiam is held over to the start of a new line and followed by a full stop. The short, decisive word marks the moment Aeneas makes himself start.
13
fracti, bello, fatis, repulsiChiasmus
broken by war and thwarted by the fates
The words form an ABBA pattern: participle, noun, noun, participle. The balanced phrase sums up how the Greeks were held back by both war and fate.
Notes on the text 9
2
pater AeneasThe storyteller
father Aeneas
Aeneas is telling the story of Troy's fall to Dido and her court at a banquet in Carthage, at the end of Book 1. Books 2 and 3 are his story.
3
infandumNote
usually used of something monstrous or supernatural
3
reginaThe queen
O queen
Dido, queen of Carthage, who has asked Aeneas to tell how Troy fell.
4
utNote
how - indirect question introduced by renovare
4
lamentabileNote
a rare word introduced to poetry by Virgil
5
DanaiNote
name for the Greeks used most by Virgil and least by Homer.
7
Myrmidonum DolopumveMyrmidons and Dolopes
of the Myrmidons or the Dolopes
Greek peoples who fought at Troy: the Myrmidons were Achilles' own men, and the Dolopes followed his son Neoptolemus.
7
UlixiUlysses
of Ulysses
The Latin name of Odysseus, the cunning Greek hero, whom the Trojans saw as the most ruthless of their enemies. The wooden horse was his idea.
10
tāntŭs ămōrNote
Understand tibi est
Questions to think about · 3
- Why do you think Book 2 begins with everyone falling silent?
- Aeneas calls his story infandum ("unspeakable") and says his mind shudders to remember it. What does this make the reader expect?
- How does Aeneas suggest that even Troy's enemies would be moved by his story?
Where this comes in the Aeneid background
At the end of Book 1, Aeneas and his Trojans, shipwrecked on the coast of Africa, have been welcomed by Dido, queen of the new city of Carthage. At a banquet in his honour she asks him to tell the story of the fall of Troy and of his wanderings since. Books 2 and 3 are that story, told by Aeneas himself.
Book 2 is the night Troy fell: the wooden horse, the warning of Laocoön, the lies of Sinon, and the destruction of the city. Because Aeneas is the narrator, we see everything through the eyes of a Trojan who lived through it, and his grief colours every line.
Vocabulary in this section · 78 wordsVocabulary tester
conticesco, -ere, conticui fall silent
omnis, -e all
intentus, -a, -um; -que intent, attentive; and
os, oris (n.) mouth, face
teneo, -ere, tenui, tentum hold, keep
inde (adv.) then
torus, -i (m.) couch
pater, patris (m.) father
Aeneas, -ae (m.) Aeneas
sic (adv.) thus, like this
ordior, -iri, orsus sum begin (to speak)
ab (+ abl.) from
altus, -a, -um high
infandus, -a, -um unspeakable
regina, -ae (f.) queen
iubeo, -ere, iussi, iussum order
renovo, -are renew, relive
dolor, -oris (m.) pain, grief
Troianus, -a, -um Trojan
ut (conj.) how
ops, opis (f.) (pl.) wealth, power
et (conj.) and
lamentabilis, -e pitiable, to be lamented
regnum, -i (n.) kingdom
eruo, -ere, erui, erutum overthrow, destroy
Danai, -orum (m. pl.) the Danaans, the Greeks
qui, quae, quod; -que which; and
ipse, ipsa, ipsum myself
miser, misera, miserum wretched, pitiful
video, -ere, vidi, visum see
qui, quae, quod of which
pars, partis (f.) part
magnus, -a, -um great, large
sum, esse, fui be
quis, quid who?
talis, -e such
for, fari, fatus sum speak
Myrmidones, -um (m. pl.) the Myrmidons
Dolopes, -um (m. pl.); -ve the Dolopes; or
aut (conj.) or
durus, -a, -um harsh, hard
miles, militis (m.) soldier
Ulixes, -is (m.) Ulysses (Odysseus)
tempero, -are refrain (from), hold back
a (+ abl.) from
lacrima, -ae (f.) tear
iam (adv.) already, now
nox, noctis (f.) night
umidus, -a, -um damp, dewy
caelum, -i (n.) sky
praecipito, -are rush down, fall headlong
suadeo, -ere, suasi, suasum; -que urge, advise; and
cado, -ere, cecidi, casum fall, set
sidus, sideris (n.) star
somnus, -i (m.) sleep
sed (conj.) but
si (conj.) if
tantus, -a, -um so great
amor, -oris (m.) love, desire
casus, -us (m.) fall, misfortune
cognosco, -ere, cognovi, cognitum learn, get to know
noster, nostra, nostrum our
breviter (adv.) briefly
Troia, -ae (f.) Troy
supremus, -a, -um last, final
audio, -ire, audivi, auditum hear
labor, -oris (m.) toil, suffering
quamquam (conj.) although
animus, -i (m.) mind, heart
memini, meminisse remember
horreo, -ere, horrui shudder (at)
luctus, -us (m.); -que grief; and
refugio, -ere, refugi shrink back, recoil
incipio, -ere, incepi, inceptum begin
frango, -ere, fregi, fractum break
bellum, -i (n.) war
fatum, -i (n.); -que fate; and
repello, -ere, reppuli, repulsum drive back, thwart