Section 4 · lines 40–49
Laocoön’s warning · Aeneid II · GCSE Latin · OCR J282/05
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SubjectObjectVerbGenitiveDativeAblativePrepositionConjunctionAdverbVocative
Latin
English
40prīmŭs ĭbi͜ ānte͜ ōmnīs, māgnā cŏmĭtāntĕ cătērvă,
41Lāŏcŏōn ārdēns sūmmā dēcūrrĭt ăb ārcē,
42ēt prŏcŭl: “Ō mĭsĕrī, quaē tānta͜ īnsānĭă, cīvēs?
40There, first before everyone, with a great crowd following him,
41Laocoon, blazing with anger, runs down from the top of the citadel,
42and from far off he cries: ‘O wretched citizens, what great madness is this?
43crēdĭtĭs āvēctōs hōstīs? aūt ūllă pŭtātĭs
44dōnă cărērĕ dŏlīs Dănăūm? sīc nōtŭs Ŭlīxĕs?
43Do you believe the enemy have sailed away? Or do you think that any
44gifts of the Greeks are free from tricks? Is this how well you know Ulysses?
45aūt hōc īnclūsī līgno͜ ōccūltāntŭr Ăchīvī,
46aūt haēc īn nōstrōs făbrĭcāta͜ ēst māchĭnă mūrōs
47īnspēctūră dŏmōs vēntūrăquĕ dēsŭpĕr ūrbī,
48aūt ălĭquīs lătĕt ērrŏr; ĕquō nē crēdĭtĕ, Teūcrī.
45Either Greeks are hiding, shut inside this wood,
46or this machine has been built against our walls
47to spy on our homes and to come down on our city from above,
48or some other trick lies hidden; do not trust the horse, Trojans.
49quīcquĭd ĭd ēst, tĭmĕō Dănăōs ēt dōnă fĕrēntīs.”
49Whatever it is, I fear the Greeks, even when they bring gifts.’
Style notes this section · 17Word order · 10Sound and metre · 2Word choice · 3Imagery and tone · 1Grammar · 1
40
omnisEmphatic position
everyone
omnis closes the phrase ante omnis, so Laocoön is first "before everyone": he stands out from the crowd from the moment he appears.
40
magna catervaHyperbaton
with a great crowd
magna and caterva are split across the end of the line, so the words spread out like the crowd itself, which shows how many people follow Laocoön.
41
ardensMetaphor
blazing
ardens, "blazing", shows Laocoön burning with anger and urgency, so the reader sees how desperate he is to stop the Trojans.
41
summa arceHyperbaton
from the top of the citadel
summa and arce are separated by the verb decurrit, so his run down from the heights sits between them, which makes the dash feel long and dramatic.
42
miseri civesHyperbaton
O wretched citizens
miseri near the start of the question and cives at its end frame his whole outburst, so the Trojans are called pitiable before they are even named.
44
ulla donaHyperbaton
any gifts
ulla ends line 43 and dona begins line 44, so "any" hangs at the line end and the reader waits for "gifts": no Greek gift at all can be trusted.
44
dolisPoetic plural
tricks
dolis is plural where a single trick is meant, which makes the Greeks' deceit sound endless.
44
dolis DanaumRhythm
the line runs quickly on to Danaum
The line hurries through dona carere dolis to Danaum, hardly pausing at the caesura, which suits Laocoön's angry, rapid speech.
44
dona dolis DanaumAlliteration
gifts ... tricks ... of the Greeks
The repeated d sound in dona dolis Danaum links gifts, tricks and Greeks together, so the sound itself makes Laocoön's point that Greek gifts are tricks.
45
inclusi AchiviHyperbaton
the Greeks, shut in
inclusi and Achivi are split by the rest of the line, and the Greeks themselves come last, hidden at the end of the line just as they are hidden inside the horse.
46
haec, in nostros machina, murosInterwoven word order
this machine ... against our walls
haec ... machina and nostros ... muros are interlaced, so the machine and the walls are tangled together in the line, as the horse threatens the city.
47
inspecturaEmphatic position
to look into
inspectura opens the line, so the idea of the Greeks spying into Trojan homes comes first and sounds sinister.
47
inspectura, venturaFuture participles of purpose
to look into ... to come down
inspectura and ventura are future participles expressing purpose, a Greek-style construction, which makes the threat sound as if it is already planned.
47
venturaEmphatic position
and to come down
ventura follows in the same way as inspectura, which builds up Laocoön's list of the dangers inside the horse.
48
errorEmphatic position
trick
error ends its clause just before the strong pause, so the vague idea of "some trick" is left hanging ominously.
48
ne crediteImperative
do not trust
Laocoön gives a direct order, ne credite, which shows how urgent and certain he is.
48
ne creditePoetic construction
do not trust
ne with the present imperative is an old, poetic way of saying "do not" (prose would use noli credere), which gives his warning a solemn, prophetic tone.
Notes on the text 9
40
magna comitante catervaNote
used of Androgeos (ii.370) and Dido (iv.136)
41
LaocoonLaocoön
A Trojan priest of Neptune (line 201). Ancient writers disagree about his family; in one version he is the brother of Anchises, Aeneas' father.
41
arceThe citadel
the citadel
The arx was the fortified high point of Troy, where Priam's palace and the temples stood. Laocoön runs all the way down from it to the horse on the plain below.
42
quae tanta insaniaNote
The epic equivalent of insanis in Comedy. Virgil has dressed up a phrase that any ordinary Roman might use at seeing something preposterous.
43
avectosNote
Understand esse
44
DanaumGreeks and Trojans
of the Greeks
Virgil uses several names for the Greeks: Danai (after Danaus, an early king of Argos), Achivi (Achaeans) and Argivi. The Trojans are often Teucri, after Teucer, an early king of Troy.
44
notus UlixesNote
Ulysses is taken as the Greek schemer par excellence
46
machinaNote
‘The Wooden Horse is suspected to be an engine of war, as indeed it was, but the Trojans’ minds were quite pedestrian. They were thinking of the usual siege-tower, from which weapons and blazing fire-brands were thrown into a city’ - Dunlop
49
timeo Danaos et dona ferentisA famous line
I fear the Greeks even when they bring gifts
One of the most quoted lines in Latin, still used today as a warning to be wary of generosity from an enemy.
Questions to think about · 3
- Why do you think Virgil makes Laocoön run down from the citadel, with a crowd behind him?
- Laocoön offers several explanations for the horse. Which is closest to the truth, and how does his language make him persuasive?
- Why do you think the Trojans ignore his warning?
Laocoön background
Laocoön was a Trojan priest, usually said to be a priest of Apollo, though in this story he is serving Neptune. In Virgil's account he is the only Trojan who sees the danger clearly. Ancient writers told his story in different ways: in some he is punished for an earlier offence against Apollo, but Virgil makes his death look like a punishment for attacking the horse, and that is what persuades the Trojans to take it in.
A famous marble statue of Laocoön and his sons in the coils of the serpents, found in Rome in 1506, is now in the Vatican Museums.
Vocabulary in this section · 62 wordsVocabulary tester
primus, -a, -um first
ibi there
ante (+ acc.) before, in front of
omnis, -e all; (pl.) everyone
magnus, -a, -um great, large
comito, -are accompany
caterva, -ae (f.) crowd, band
Laocoon, -ontis (m.) Laocoön
ardeo, -ere, arsi burn, blaze
summus, -a, -um highest; the top of
decurro, -ere, decurri run down
a, ab (+ abl.) from
arx, arcis (f.) citadel
et and
procul from a distance
o O
miser, -era, -erum wretched, pitiable
qui, quae, quod (interrogative) what?
tantus, -a, -um so great
insania, -ae (f.) madness
civis, -is (m.) citizen
credo, -ere, credidi believe
aveho, -ere, avexi, avectum carry away; (passive) sail away
hostis, -is (m.) enemy
aut or
ullus, -a, -um any
puto, -are think
donum, -i (n.) gift
careo, -ere (+ abl.) lack, be free from
dolus, -i (m.) trick, deceit
Danai, -orum (m. pl.) the Greeks
sic thus, like this
notus, -a, -um known
Ulixes, -is (m.) Ulysses (Odysseus)
aut ... aut either ... or
hic, haec, hoc this
includo, -ere, inclusi, inclusum shut in
lignum, -i (n.) wood
occulto, -are hide
Achivi, -orum (m. pl.) the Greeks
in (+ acc.) against
noster, nostra, nostrum our
fabrico, -are build, construct
sum, esse, fui be
machina, -ae (f.) machine, siege engine
murus, -i (m.) wall
inspicio, -ere, inspexi, inspectum look into, spy on
domus, -us (f.) house, home
venio, -ire, veni, ventum + -que come; and
desuper from above
urbs, urbis (f.) city
aliquis, aliquid some
lateo, -ere, latui lie hidden
error, -oris (m.) trick, deception
equus, -i (m.) horse
ne not
credo, -ere, credidi (+ dat.) trust, believe
Teucri, -orum (m. pl.) Trojans
quisquis, quidquid whatever
is, ea, id it
timeo, -ere, timui fear
fero, ferre, tuli, latum bring, carry