parce, precor, domui, quae se tibi tradit habendam!

pōne deōs et quae tangendō sacra profānās!

nōn bene caelestīs inpia dextra colit. 130

sī tū cultor erās ēlāpsīs igne futūrus,

paenitet ēlāpsōs ignibus esse deōs.

Forsitan et gravidam Dīdō, scelerāte, relinquās,

parsque tuī lateat corpore clausa meō.

accēdet fātīs mātris miserābilis īnfāns, 135

et nōndum nātō fūneris auctor eris,

cumque parente suā frāter moriētur Iūlī,

poenaque cōnexōs auferet ūna duōs.

“Sed iubet īre deus.” vellem, vetuisset adīre,

Pūnica nec Teucrīs pressa fuisset humus! 140 

hōc duce nempe deō ventīs agitāris inīquīs

et teris in rabidō tempora longa fretō?

Pergama vix tantō tibi erant repetenda labōre,

Hectore sī vīvō quanta fuēre forent.

nōn patrium Sīmoenta petis, sed Thybridis undās— 145

nempe ut perveniās, quō cupis, hospes eris;

utque latet vītatque tuās abstrūsa carīnās,

vix tibi continget terra petīta senī. 

Hōs potius populōs in dōtem, ambāge remissā,

accipe et advectās Pygmaliōnis opēs. 150

Īlion in Tyriam trānsfer fēlīcius urbem

rēsque locō rēgis scēptraque sacra tenē!

sī tibi mēns avida est bellī, sī quaerit Iūlus,

unde suō partus Mārte triumphus eat,

quem superet, nēquid dēsit, praebēbimus hostem; 155

hic pācis lēgēs, hic locus arma capit.

tū modo, per mātrem frāternaque tēla, sagittās,

perque fugae comitēs, Dardana sacra, deōs—

sīc superent, quōscumque tuā dē gente reportat

Mārs ferus, et damnī sit modus ille tuī, 160

Ascaniusque suōs fēlīciter inpleat annōs,

et senis Anchīsae molliter ossa cubent!—

pōne deōs et quae tangendō sacra profānās!

nōn bene caelestīs inpia dextra colit. 130

sī tū cultor erās ēlāpsīs igne futūrus,

paenitet ēlāpsōs ignibus esse deōs.

Forsitan et gravidam Dīdō, scelerāte, relinquās,

parsque tuī lateat corpore clausa meō.

accēdet fātīs mātris miserābilis īnfāns, 135

et nōndum nātō fūneris auctor eris,

cumque parente suā frāter moriētur Iūlī,

poenaque cōnexōs auferet ūna duōs.

“Sed iubet īre deus.” vellem, vetuisset adīre,

Pūnica nec Teucrīs pressa fuisset humus! 140 

hōc duce nempe deō ventīs agitāris inīquīs

et teris in rabidō tempora longa fretō?

Pergama vix tantō tibi erant repetenda labōre,

Hectore sī vīvō quanta fuēre forent.

nōn patrium Sīmoenta petis, sed Thybridis undās— 145

nempe ut perveniās, quō cupis, hospes eris;

utque latet vītatque tuās abstrūsa carīnās,

vix tibi continget terra petīta senī. 

Hōs potius populōs in dōtem, ambāge remissā,

accipe et advectās Pygmaliōnis opēs. 150

Īlion in Tyriam trānsfer fēlīcius urbem

rēsque locō rēgis scēptraque sacra tenē!

sī tibi mēns avida est bellī, sī quaerit Iūlus,

unde suō partus Mārte triumphus eat,

quem superet, nēquid dēsit, praebēbimus hostem; 155

hic pācis lēgēs, hic locus arma capit.

tū modo, per mātrem frāternaque tēla, sagittās,

perque fugae comitēs, Dardana sacra, deōs—

sīc superent, quōscumque tuā dē gente reportat

Mārs ferus, et damnī sit modus ille tuī, 160

Ascaniusque suōs fēlīciter inpleat annōs,

et senis Anchīsae molliter ossa cubent!—

haec mihi nārrārās—sat mē monuēre! merentem 85

ūre; minor culpā poena futūra meā est.

Nec mihi mēns dubia est, quīn tē tua nūmina damnent.

per mare, per terrās septima iactat hiemps.

flūctibus ēiectum tūtā statiōne recēpī

vixque bene audītō nōmine rēgna dedī. 90 

hīs tamen officiīs utinam contenta fuissem,

et mihi concubitūs fāma sepulta foret!

illa diēs nocuit, quā nōs dēclīve sub antrum

caeruleus subitīs conpulit imber aquīs.

audieram vōcem; nymphās ululāsse putāvī— 95

Eumenidēs fātī signa dedēre meī!

Exige, laese pudor, poenās! violātaque lectī

iūra nec ad cinerēs fāma retenta meōs, 97a 

vōsque, meī mānēs, animaeque cinīsque Sychaeī 97b

ad quās, mē miseram, plēna pudōris eō.

est mihi marmoreā sacrātus in aede Sychaeus—

oppositae frondēs velleraque alba tegunt. 100

hinc ego mē sēnsī nōtō quater ōre citārī;

ipse sonō tenuī dīxit “Elissa, venī!”87.

Nūlla mora est, veniō, veniō tibi dēbita coniūnx;

sum tamen admissī tarda pudōre meī.

dā veniam culpae! dēcēpit idōneus auctor; 105

invidiam noxae dētrahit ille meae.

dīva parēns seniorque pater, pia sarcina nātī,

spem mihi mānsūrī rīte dedēre virī. 

sī fuit errandum, causās habet error honestās;

adde fidem, nūllā parte pigendus erit. 110

Dūrat in extrēmum vītaeque novissima nostrae

prōsequitur fātī, quī fuit ante, tenor.

occidit internās coniūnx mactātus ad ārās,

et sceleris tantī praemia frāter habet;

exul agor cinerēsque virī patriamque relinquō, 115

et feror in dubiās hoste sequente viās.

adplicor hīs ōrīs frātrīque ēlāpsa fretōque

quod tibi dōnāvī, perfide, lītus emō.

urbem cōnstituī lātēque patentia fīxī

moenia fīnitimīs invidiōsa locīs. 120

bella tument; bellīs peregrīna et fēmina temptor,

vixque rudīs portās urbis et arma parō.

mīlle procīs placuī, quī mē coiēre querentēs

nescio quem thalamīs praeposuisse suīs.

quid dubitās vīnctam Gaetūlō trādere Iarbae? 125

praebuerim scelerī bracchia nostra tuō.

est etiam frāter, cūius manus inpia poscit

respergī nostrō, sparsa cruōre virī. 

haec mihi nārrārās—sat mē monuēre! merentem 85

ūre; minor culpā poena futūra meā est.

Nec mihi mēns dubia est, quīn tē tua nūmina damnent.

per mare, per terrās septima iactat hiemps.

flūctibus ēiectum tūtā statiōne recēpī

vixque bene audītō nōmine rēgna dedī. 90 

hīs tamen officiīs utinam contenta fuissem,

et mihi concubitūs fāma sepulta foret!

illa diēs nocuit, quā nōs dēclīve sub antrum

caeruleus subitīs conpulit imber aquīs.

audieram vōcem; nymphās ululāsse putāvī— 95

Eumenidēs fātī signa dedēre meī!

Exige, laese pudor, poenās! violātaque lectī

iūra nec ad cinerēs fāma retenta meōs, 97a 

vōsque, meī mānēs, animaeque cinīsque Sychaeī 97b

ad quās, mē miseram, plēna pudōris eō.

est mihi marmoreā sacrātus in aede Sychaeus—

oppositae frondēs velleraque alba tegunt. 100

hinc ego mē sēnsī nōtō quater ōre citārī;

ipse sonō tenuī dīxit “Elissa, venī!”87.

Nūlla mora est, veniō, veniō tibi dēbita coniūnx;

sum tamen admissī tarda pudōre meī.

dā veniam culpae! dēcēpit idōneus auctor; 105

invidiam noxae dētrahit ille meae.

dīva parēns seniorque pater, pia sarcina nātī,

spem mihi mānsūrī rīte dedēre virī. 

sī fuit errandum, causās habet error honestās;

adde fidem, nūllā parte pigendus erit. 110

Dūrat in extrēmum vītaeque novissima nostrae

prōsequitur fātī, quī fuit ante, tenor.

occidit internās coniūnx mactātus ad ārās,

et sceleris tantī praemia frāter habet;

exul agor cinerēsque virī patriamque relinquō, 115

et feror in dubiās hoste sequente viās.

adplicor hīs ōrīs frātrīque ēlāpsa fretōque

quod tibi dōnāvī, perfide, lītus emō.

urbem cōnstituī lātēque patentia fīxī

moenia fīnitimīs invidiōsa locīs. 120

bella tument; bellīs peregrīna et fēmina temptor,

vixque rudīs portās urbis et arma parō.

mīlle procīs placuī, quī mē coiēre querentēs

nescio quem thalamīs praeposuisse suīs.

quid dubitās vīnctam Gaetūlō trādere Iarbae? 125

praebuerim scelerī bracchia nostra tuō.

est etiam frāter, cūius manus inpia poscit

respergī nostrō, sparsa cruōre virī. 

ut, pelagō suādente viam, retinācula solvās, 55

multa tamen lātus trīstia pontus habet.

nec violāsse fidem temptantibus aequora prōdest;

perfidiae poenās exigit ille locus,

praecipuē cum laesus amor, quia māter Amōrum

nūda Cythēriacīs ēdita fertur aquīs. 60

Perdita nē perdam, timeō, noceamve nocentī,

neu bibat aequoreās naufragus hostis aquās.

vīve, precor! sīc tē melius quam fūnere perdam.

tū potius lētī causa ferēre meī.

finge, age, tē rapidō—nūllum sit in ōmine pondus!— 65

turbine dēprēndī; quid tibi mentis erit?

prōtinus occurrent falsae periūria linguae,

et Phrygiā Dīdō fraude coācta morī;

coniugis ante oculōs dēceptae stābit imāgō

trīstis et effūsīs sanguinolenta comīs. 70 

quid tantī est ut tum “meruī! concēdite! “dīcās,

quaeque cadent, in tē fulmina missa putēs?

Dā breve saevitiae spatium pelagīque tuaeque;

grande morae pretium tūta futūra via est.

haec minus ut cūrēs, puerō parcātur Iūlō! 75

tē satis est titulum mortis habēre meae.

quid puer Ascanius, quid dī meruēre Penātēs?

ignibus ēreptōs obruet unda deōs?

sed neque fers tēcum, nec, quae mihi, perfide, iactās,

pressērunt umerōs sacra paterque tuōs. 80

omnia mentīris, neque enim tua fallere lingua

incipit ā nōbīs, prīmaque plector ego.

sī quaerās, ubi sit fōrmōsī māter Iūlī—

occidit ā dūrō sōla relicta virō!

ut, pelagō suādente viam, retinācula solvās, 55

multa tamen lātus trīstia pontus habet.

nec violāsse fidem temptantibus aequora prōdest;

perfidiae poenās exigit ille locus,

praecipuē cum laesus amor, quia māter Amōrum

nūda Cythēriacīs ēdita fertur aquīs. 60

Perdita nē perdam, timeō, noceamve nocentī,

neu bibat aequoreās naufragus hostis aquās.

vīve, precor! sīc tē melius quam fūnere perdam.

tū potius lētī causa ferēre meī.

finge, age, tē rapidō—nūllum sit in ōmine pondus!— 65

turbine dēprēndī; quid tibi mentis erit?

prōtinus occurrent falsae periūria linguae,

et Phrygiā Dīdō fraude coācta morī;

52. eris: the switch to the indicative is surprising and suggests Dido’s erratic state of mind.

vincis: here in the sense of superās, the conquering is metaphorical

dūritiā: ablative of respect or specification

53. quid… quid…: question words are repeated for emphasis (e.g., “why, why are you doing this”); but here the first quid introduces the general question (quid = cur tam male crēdis); the second quid is part of the indirect question, quid īnsāna aequora possint, introduced by quasi nescīrēs.

quasi nescīrēs: a Conditional Clauses of Comparison (AG 524), “as if you didn’t know”; the imperfect subjunctive because of sequence of tenses.

possint (e.g., facere)

55. ut…solvās: another concessive ut-clause

pelagō suādente viam: ablative absolute

57. prōdest: impersonal, “it does not profit” + dative, temptantibus (aequora), + infinitive, violāsse.

58. poenās exigit: a common idiom in later Latin, “demands punishment for” + genitive (of charge, AG 352).

59. cum laesus…(fuerit): the cum must be causal or circumstantial and so infers a subjunctive of “to be”.

amor…Amōrum: note that Ovid’s original audience would have seen these words as AMOR…AMORUM, collapsing distinctions between “love” and the god(s) of Love; both meanings are always in play.

60. fertur: “it is said, so the story goes”, a method of citing folk mythology or previous written versions of a story (the so-called Alexandrian footnote); the description recalls the famous painting of the birth of Venus (māter Amōrum) rising from the sea, Venus Anadyomene, that Augustus placed in the temple of the deified Julius Caesar.

61. nē perdam…timeō: a fear clause; remember that negative fear clauses (nē perdam) reveal what the subject fears.

noceam-ve: another fear clause introduced by timeō; remember that noceō takes the dative.

62. neu bibat: a final fear clause introduced by timeō; note the tricolon crescens of the three fear clauses.

63-64. Dido constructs a complex hypothetical in which Aeneas lives so as to suffer the infamy of being the cause of Dido’s death.

63. vīve, precor: reverses Dido’s prayer in Aeneid 4.382-7 that Aeneas perish at sea; she has discovered a crueler fate for him.

perdam: likely potential, “in this way I might destroy you”

64. ferēre: 2nd person singular passive of ferō (cf. line 60), “you will be called, said to be.”

tū potius: introduces the last phase of the hypothetical, “you rather”

65. finge, age: with an imperative (finge), age becomes idiomatically adverbial, “come on! keep it up!”, etc.

sit: hortatory or optative subjunctive, “let / may there be no…”

66. quid tibi mentis erit: what would be a good idiomatic rendering of this idea?

67. periūria linguae: since occurrent is intransitive, we know that periūria is the subject and so linguae (falsa

Ūror, ut inductō cērātae sulpure taedae,

ut pia fūmōsīs addita tūra focīs.

Aenēās oculīs semper vigilantis inhaeret; 25

Aenēān animō noxque quiēsque refert.

ille quidem male grātus et ad mea mūnera surdus,

et quō, sī nōn sim stulta, carēre velim;

nōn tamen Aenēān, quamvīs male cōgitat, ōdī,

sed queror īnfīdum questaque pēius amō. 30

parce, Venus, nuruī, dūrumque amplectere frātrem,

frāter Amor, castrīs mīlitet ille tuīs!

aut, ego quae coepī (neque enim dēdignor), amōrem,

māteriam cūrae praebeat ille meae!

Fallor, et ista mihī falsae iactātur imāgō; 35

mātris ab ingeniō dissidet ille suae.

tē lapis et montēs innātaque rūpibus altīs

rōbora, tē saevae prōgenuēre ferae,

aut mare, quāle vidēs agitārī nunc quoque ventīs,

quā tamen adversīs flūctibus īre parās. 40

quō fugis? obstat hiemps. hiemis mihi grātia prōsit!

adspice, ut ēversās concitet Eurus aquās!

quod tibi mālueram, sine mē dēbēre procellīs;

iūstior est animō ventus et unda tuō. 45

Nōn ego sum tantī—quid nōn cēnsēris inīquē?—

ut pereās, dum mē per freta longa fugis.

exercēs pretiōsa odia et cōnstantia magnō,

sī, dum mē careās, est tibi vīle morī.

iam ventī pōnent, strātāque aequāliter undā 50

caeruleīs Trītōn per mare curret equīs.

tū quoque cum ventīs utinam mūtābilis essēs!

et, nisi dūritiā rōbora vincis, eris.

Sīc ubi fāta vocant, ūdīs abiectus in herbīs 1

ad vada Maeandrī concinit albus olor.

Nec quia tē nostrā spērem prece posse movērī,

adloquor—adversō mōvimus ista deō;

sed merita et fāmam corpusque animumque pudīcum 5

cum male perdiderim, perdere verba leve est.

Certus es īre tamen miseramque relinquere Dīdō,

atque īdem ventī vēla fidemque ferent?

certus es, Aenēā, cum foedere solvere nāvēs,

quaeque ubi sint nescīs, Ītala rēgna sequī? 10

nec nova Carthāgō, nec tē crēscentia tangunt

moenia nec scēptrō trādita summa tuō?

facta fugis, facienda petis; quaerenda per orbem

altera, quaesīta est altera terra tibi.

ut terram inveniās, quis eam tibi trādet habendam? 15

quis sua nōn nōtīs arva tenenda dabit?

scīlicet alter amor tibi restat et altera Dīdō;

quamque iterum fallās altera danda fidēs.

quandō erit, ut condās īnstar Carthāginis urbem

et videās populōs altus ab arce tuōs? 20

omnia ut ēveniant, nec tē tua vōta morentur,

unde tibī, quae tē sīc amet, uxor erit?

Sīc ubi fāta vocant, ūdīs abiectus in herbīs 1

ad vada Maeandrī concinit albus olor.

Nec quia tē nostrā spērem prece posse movērī,

adloquor—adversō mōvimus ista deō;

sed merita et fāmam corpusque animumque pudīcum 5

cum male perdiderim, perdere verba leve est.

Certus es īre tamen miseramque relinquere Dīdō,

atque īdem ventī vēla fidemque ferent?

certus es, Aenēā, cum foedere solvere nāvēs,

quaeque ubi sint nescīs, Ītala rēgna sequī? 10

nec nova Carthāgō, nec tē crēscentia tangunt

moenia nec scēptrō trādita summa tuō?

facta fugis, facienda petis; quaerenda per orbem

altera, quaesīta est altera terra tibi.

ut terram inveniās, quis eam tibi trādet habendam? 15

quis sua nōn nōtīs arva tenenda dabit?

scīlicet alter amor tibi restat et altera Dīdō;

quamque iterum fallās altera danda fidēs.

quandō erit, ut condās īnstar Carthāginis urbem

et videās populōs altus ab arce tuōs? 20

omnia ut ēveniant, nec tē tua vōta morentur,

unde tibī, quae tē sīc amet, uxor erit?