Steadman Aeneid Book 1 1-11 Notes PDF

2 Lesson 1: Aeneid I.1-11 Arma virumque canō, Troiae quī prīmus ab ōrīs Ītaliam, fātō profugus, Lāvīnaque vēnit lītora—multum ille et terrīs iactātus et altō vī superum, saevae memorem Iūnōnis ob īram, multa quoque et bellō passus, dum conderet urbem inferretque deōs Latiō—genus unde Latīnum Albānī...

2 Lesson 1: Aeneid I.1-11 Arma virumque canō, Troiae quī prīmus ab ōrīs Ītaliam, fātō profugus, Lāvīnaque vēnit lītora—multum ille et terrīs iactātus et altō vī superum, saevae memorem Iūnōnis ob īram, multa quoque et bellō passus, dum conderet urbem inferretque deōs Latiō—genus unde Latīnum Albānīque patrēs atque altae moenia Rōmae. Mūsa, mihī causās memorā, quō nūmine laesō quidve dolēns rēgīna deum tot volvere cāsūs insignem pietāte virum, tot adīre labōrēs impulerit. Tantaene animīs caelestibus īrae? 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 adeō, -īre, i(v)ī, itus: go to, approach, 2 Albānus, -a, -um; Alban, of Alba Longa caelestis, -e: celestial, heavenly canō, -ere, cecinī, cantus: sing (about), 3 cāsus, -ūs m: misfortune; chance, 4 condō, -ere, condidī, -ditum: found; hide, 4 doleō, -ēre, doluī: grieve, feel pain, suffer impellō, -ere, -pulī, -pulsus: drive, set into motion, 3 inferō, -ferre, -tulī: carry or bring on, 2 insignis, -e: distinguished, marked, 3 labōrō (1): work, toil laedō, -ere, -sī, -sus: hurt, harm; offend, 2 Latīnus, -a, -um: Latin, of Latin, 2 Latium, -ī n: Latium, 4 Lāvīnus, -a, -um: Lavinian ( memor, -oris: mindful, remembering (gen) 4 memorō (1): recall, recount, 2 Mūsa, -ae f: Muse ob: on account of, because of (acc), 3 patior, -ī, passus sum: suffer, endure; allow, 4 profugus, -a, -um: exiled, fugitive quoque: also, 2 Rōma, -ae f: Rome superus, -a, -um: above, higher; noun god above, 3 unde: whence, from which, 2 1 virumque: et virum; i.e. Aeneas Troiae…ab ōrīs: abl. from ōra, -ae f., not ōs quī prīmus…vēnit: who…; i.e. was the first to come…’ several separate groups left Troy, and Aeneas’ was the first to arrive at Italy 2 Ītaliam…Lāvīniaque lītora: to…; acc. place to which fātō: by…; or ‘because of…’ abl of cause profugus: in apposition to nom. sg. quī 3 multum: much; adv. ille: that one; i.e. Aeneas et terrīs…et altō…: both on…and in…; abl. place where iactātus (est): 3s pf. pass.; add ‘est’ altō: the sea; ‘the deep,’ metonomy: this neut. substantive is often used to mean ‘the sea’ vī: abl. of means, irreg. vīs, ‘force’ 4 super(ōr)um: of (those)…; gen. pl.; i.e. gods memorem: transferred epithet: the adj. agrees logically with īram but describes Juno 5 multa: many things; neut. acc. pl. substantive passus (est): 3s pf. dep. patior: translate active 6 dum conderet…inferretque: until he could… and could…; 3s impf. anticipatory subj.; dum + subj. can express intention equiv. to a purpose clause and reveals the fatō expressed in line 2 7 Latiō: into…; dat. of compound verb inferret unde (veniunt): from where…come…; ellipsis: add a verb to agree with all three nom. subjects 8 Mūsa: vocative, direct address; Vergil invokes a goddess to speak the epic through him memorā: sg. imperative quō nūmine laesō: by what the numen having been insulted; ind. question in apposition to causās, abl. absolute with abl. of cause 9 quidve dolēns…impulerit: or grieving what…; ind. question with pf. subj. impellō; -ve = ‘or’ de(ōr)um: gen. pl. virum insignem pietāte volvere tot cāsūs (et) adīre tot labōrēs: that a man…; anaphora and asyndeton (lack of conjunction ‘et’); ind. disc. 10 pietāte: in…; abl. of respect with insignem volvere: undergo 11 Tantae-ne animīs caelestibus īrae (erant)?: ellipsis: add a verb; translate īrae as sg.; animīs caelestibus are dat. of posssession and refer to the gods. Translate dat. of possession as a possessive: (1) ‘Was the anger of the celestial spirits so great?’ or make it the subject: (2) ‘Did the celestial spirits have such great anger?’ Invocation of the Muse: Why must the pious suffer? ā, ab, abs: (away) from, by, 25 altus, -a, -um: high, tall; deep; altum, ī n.: the sea, 28 animus, -ī m: mind; spirit, courage; anger, 19 arma, -ōrum n: arms; tools, 18 atque, ac: and; as, 4 bellum, -ī n: war, 11 causa, -ae f: reason, cause; for the sake of (gen), 7 deus, -ī m: god, 19 dum: while, as long as, until; provided that, 6 ego, meī (pl nōs, nostrum): I, 43 et: and; also, even, too, 173 fātum, -ī n: fate, 18 genus, -eris n: birth, lineage, race; kind, 7 iactō (1): to throw (back and forth), toss, 7 ille, illa, illud: that, those, 41 īra, -ae f: anger, rage; passion, 11 Ītalia, -ae f: Italy, 11 Iūnō, Iūnōnis f: Juno, 9 labor, -ōris m.: labor, hardship, task, 8 lītus, -oris n: shore, coast, beach, 15 moenia, -ium n: walls; city-walls; 7 3 multus, -a, -um: much, many, 9 ne (-ne): indicates a yes/no question; whether, or, 9 nūmen, -inis n: divine power, approval 7 ōra, -ae f.: shore, coast, border, 5 pater, -tris m: father; ancestor, 13 pietās, -tātis f: piety, devotion, 6 prīmus, -a, -um: first; leading, 23 que: and, 273 quī, quae, quod (quis?quid?): who, which, what, 136 rēgīna, -ae f: queen, 10 saevus, -a, -um: savage, fierce, 7 tantus, -a, -um: so great, so much, 18 terra, -ae f: land, ground, earth, 20 tot: so many, 8 Troia, ae f: Troy, 13 urbs, urbis f: city, 27 ve, vel: or; vel…vel, either…or, 8 veniō, -īre, vēnī, ventus: come, go, 14 vir, -ī m: man, husband, 22 vīs, vīs f : force, power; pl vīrēs, strength, 7 volvō, -ere, -ī, volūtus: revolve, turn, unroll, churn, 6 Introduction (ll. 1-7) and Invocation (ll. 8-11) 1. arma virumque (I.1): The first word summarizes an epic in the same way as the title of a music album encapsulates the songs in the album. The first word in Homer’s Odyssey is andra, ‘man,’ and the first word in Homer’s Iliad, about Achilles and the last year of the Trojan war, is mēnin, ‘wrath.’ Both were written in Greek in 750-720 BC. Here, Vergil alludes to both epics and effectively asserts: ‘This Aeneid is my Odyssey and my Iliad,’ a Latin work that will rival the greatest Greek epics. 2. fatō profugus (I.2): Vergil asserts that his work will not merely rival but surpass the epics of Homer. The suggestion that a man, i.e. Aeneas, was a fugitive by fate is provocative. The Greeks, on this view, did not win the Trojan war because of their military prowess or the favor of the gods but because history and fate had a greater purpose: to drive the defeated Trojans to Italy and give rise to Rome. And so, just as Christians call the Hebrew Bible the ‘Old Testament’ and thereby assert that their New Testament is more important, so Vergil suggests that his epic and the story of Rome is more important than the Greek epics and all the Greek literature and other works of art influenced by them. 3. multum ille et terrīs iactātus et altō (1.3)…multa quoque et bellō passus (l. 5): This is the narrative of Books 1-6 and 7-12 respectively. As readers will discover, the first six books imitate the Odyssey while the second six imitate the Iliad. By alluding to the travels of Odysseus and war of Achilles, Vergil elevates this minor hero Aeneas to the heroic status of both Odysseus and Achilles. 4. dum conderet urbem inferretque deōs…Rōmae (ll. 5-7): The use of the subjunctive indicates purpose and offers a partial explanation for the word “fatō” in l. 2. Vergil connects the world of Greek myth and literature with the founding of Rome. As Vergil later reveals, Aeneas will found the city Lavinium and rule the Latins for 3 years; his son Ascanius will found the city Alba Longa and rule the Albans for 30 years; and, after 300 years of kings at Alba Longa, Romulus will found the city of Rome (I.265-74). Note how Vergil begins the introduction with the word ‘Troiae’ and ends the final line with ‘Rōmae.’ Note also how he explicitly connects the gods of Troy with those of Rome itself. 5. Mūsa, mihī causās memorā (l. 8): The invocation of the muse is a common epic convention, found in the Odyssey and Iliad. In effect, the rest of the epic is told by the goddess of creativity through Vergil. This allows the poet to be an omniscient narrator and relate details about the divine world and private conversationsthat humans would not know otherwise. 6. insignem pietāte virum (l. 10): The entire poem is composed to answer one question posed: Why must the pious suffer? The word pietās signifies devotion to family, community, and the gods, and the Romans closely identified such devotion with success. How can Aeneas be pious and yet still suffer?