Tālibus īnsidiīs periūrīque arte Sinōnis195

crēdita rēs, captīque dolīs lacrimīsque coāctīs

quōs neque Tӯdīdēs nec Larisaeus Achillēs,

nōn annī domuēre decem, nōn mīlle carīnae.

Hīc aliud maius miserīs multōque tremendum

obicitur magis atque imprōvida pectora turbat.200

Lāocoōn, ductus Neptūnō sorte sacerdōs,

sollemnēs taurum ingentem mactābat ad ārās.

Ecce autem geminī ā Tenedō tranquilla per alta

(horrēscō referēns) immēnsīs orbibus anguēs

incumbunt pelagō pariterque ad lītora tendunt;205

pectora quōrum inter flūctūs arrēcta iubaeque

sanguineae superant undās, pars cētera pontum

pōne legit sinuatque immēnsa volūmine terga.

Fit sonitus spūmante salō; iamque arva tenēbant

ārdentēsque oculōs suffectī sanguine et ignī210

sībila lambēbant linguīs vibrantibus ōra.

Diffugimus vīsū exsanguēs. Illī agmine certō

Lāocoonta petunt; et prīmum parva duōrum

corpora nātōrum serpēns amplexus uterque

implicat et miserōs morsū dēpāscitur artūs;215

post ipsum auxiliō subeuntem ac tēla ferentem

corripiunt spīrīsque ligant ingentibus; et iam

bis medium amplexī, bis collō squāmea circum

terga datī superant capite et cervīcibus altīs.

Ille simul manibus tendit dīvellere nōdōs220

perfūsus saniē vittās ātrōque venēnō,

clāmōrēs simul horrendōs ad sīdera tollit:

quālēs mūgītūs, fūgit cum saucius āram

taurus et incertam excussit cervīce secūrim.

At geminī lāpsū dēlūbra ad summa dracōnēs225

effugiunt saevaeque petunt Trītōnidis arcem,

sub pedibusque deae clipeīque sub orbe teguntur.

Tum vērō tremefacta novus per pectora cūnctīs

īnsinuat pavor, et scelus expendisse merentem

Lāocoonta ferunt, sacrum quī cuspide rōbur230

laeserit et tergō scelerātam intorserit hastam.

Dūcendum ad sēdēs simulācrum ōrandaque dīvae

nūmina conclāmant.

Manuscripts: M 195-205, 206-233 | P 195-208, 209-231, 232-233

Laocoon and his sons are attacked and slain by two snakes, who then escape and hide under the protection of Pallas. Terrified by this we resolve to bring in the horse (Sidgwick).

196: credita (est) res: “the story was believed” (Comstock). captī: sc. sumus (F-B). coāctis: crocodile tears (Austin); > cogo -ere -ēgī -āctum, “compel.”

197–198: The strong simplicity of these two lines deserves attention. Note the effect of the stately epithet Larisaeus, also of the change from the ordinary particles neque...neque to the less usual and more rhetorical nōn...nōn (Page).

197: quōs: its antecedent is the subject of captī sumus (Bennett). Tӯdīdēs: Diomedes (Carter). Larisaeus: from Larissa in Thessaly, where Achilles’ kingdom of Phthia was (Sidgwick).

198: Note the combination of anaphora (nōn...nōn), asyndeton, and chiasmus (annī decem...mīlle carīnae). domuēre: = domuērunt. mīlle: a round number. The Iliad makes the number of Greek ships 1,186 (Frieze).

199–224: Here begins the famous description of a scene depicted by the ancient group of statuary in the Vatican collection, known as the “Laocoon,” discovered 1506 A.D. in the Baths of Titus, at Rome (Comstock). The prodigy is a type of the impending capture of Troy. The serpents are the Greek fleet, and, like the Greek army, they destroy the youth of Troy and her priest, i.e., her religion and gods (Howson).

199: Order: Hīc aliud maius (monstrum, “portent”), multōque magis tremendum, obiicitur (nōbīs) miserīs (Chase).  hīc: temporal (Horsfall). aliud: “another incident” (Bennett). maius miserīs multō: the alliteration emphasizes the effect of the statement. miserīs is to be taken with nōbīs understood (F-B). Vergil enjoys this use of oblique cases of miser as a neat means of extending the range of authorial sympathy (Horsfall).

200: obicitur: the first syllable is long, for the compounds of iacio though written with i are often to be pronounced as though written with ji (Bennett). imprōvida: not knowing the future, “blinded” (G-K); either expecting no such occurrence, or generally so (C-R).

201: ductus...sorte: = factus sorte ductā (Williams); a Roman custom transferred to Troy (G-K). ductus: “drawn,” properly of the lot itself, transferred by a common poetic refinement to the man. So we speak of a man being “drawn” in a conscription (Sidgwick). Neptunō: AG 377. According to tradition, Laocoon was a priest of Apollo, but this position is given by Vergil to Panthus; see 319 (F-B).

202: The heavy spondees, and the marked clash of ictus and accent, emphasize the solemnity of the act (and perhaps the effort needed to overcome the ingēns taurus?) (Austin). sollemnēs: “accustomed,” “customary” (H-H); “wonted”: a common religious word of a regularly recurring duty or celebration (Sidgwick). Set cult duties explain why Laocoon has not been present during Sinon’s rigamarole (Horsfall). mactābat: “was about to sacrifice” (Comstock). The regular sacrifices to Neptune, whose shrine would naturally be near the seashore, had doubtless been neglected during the war. Laocoon therefore takes the earliest opportunity to offer the rites due the god. The imperfect mactābat indicates that he set about his task even while Sinon was telling his story. It is a plausible view that he wished to supplicate Neptune to destroy the Greek fleet (F-B).

203–204: Notice how the separation of anguēs from its adjective geminī by a series of descriptive phrases gives tension to the sentence (Williams).

203: geminī: “two”; implying similarity (Frieze). ā Tenedō: They come from Tenedos as an omen that the enemy is coming from its concealment there to destroy the city (Frieze). Map of Troy and environs. tranquilla: Vergil does not have an epithet with substantival altum elsewhere; but it is not otiose: the quiet sea, like a clear sky, is a quite unexpected source of danger (Austin). per alta: sc. maria (Carter). “over the deep”; they were first seen far out at sea (C-R). In this sense, the singular is more common (F-B).

204: immēnsīs orbibus: AG 412 or 415.

205: incumbunt pelagō: like rowers: a fine vivid word to express both movement and effort. Vergil’s picture is clear from such phrases as incumbere arātrīs (Georgics 1.213), validīs incumbere rēmīs (Aeneid 5.15), incubuēre marī (1.84, of the winds) (Austin). pariter: “side by side” (G-K). tendunt: iter (Comstock).

206–208: The lines admirably describe the motion of a snake whose erect head goes straight forward while his body follows wriggling behind (Carter). Vergil’s choice of words plainly indicates the noise made by the serpents as they come hissing and churning up the waves (Austin).

206: inter flūctūs arrēcta: reminiscint of what pass for photographs of the Loch Ness monster (Horsfall). iubae: a mane was one of the recognised marks of a dragon (Storr). These sea-serpents are creatures of imagination (F-B).

207: pars cētera: the force of quōrum extends also to pars,—”the rest of whom,” i.e., their bodies and tails (Bennett).

208: legit: “skims” (the water). The word seems literally to mean “pick”; hence used of the course of a vessel, and so here of the monster (G-K). The idea in legit is borrowed from an object’s passing lightly over any surface (Anthon). immēnsa volūmine terga: “the back’s endless coil,” only the phrase is varied in V.’s manner: volumine abl. of respect, depending on immēnsa (Sidgwick). Volūmine, “in a fold, in folds”; meaning the undulating curves made by the long bodies of serpents in propelling themselves over the waves (Frieze). The plural would be more natural, but doubtless the singular is occasioned by the metre (G-K).

209–211: The alliteration, especially of s, is very powerful, and the description is brought to an end with a patterned line of gruesome finality (Williams).

209: fit sonitus spūmante salō: the alliteration with s is well calculated to suggest the noise made by the foaming waters; spūmante salō is ablative absolute, denoting cause (Bennett). arva: here for lītora (Bennett).

210: ārdentēsque oculōs suffectī: oculōs is the direct object of suffecti, which has middle force (Bennett) (AG 397c). The so-called synecdochical or Greek Accusative, found in poetry and later Latin, used to denote the part affected (AG 397b) (G-K). suffecti: “tinged,” “suffused,” an old sense like that of inficio; quite a natural meaning though not common (Sidgwick).

211: vibrantibus: admirably expresses the peculiarly rapid motion of the tongue of the serpent (Anthon).

212–213: Notice how after the lingering descriptive passage the two staccato short sentences convey the rapidity of the events (Williams).

212: exsanguēs: i.e., with fear (Comstock). agmine certō: agmen has two senses: (1) “an army on the march,” (2) “march,” “advance”: here Vergil takes advantage of this double meaning and describes the “advance” of the serpents by a word which also compares them with an “army on the march” as it moves in a long, winding, glittering line (Page). “In an undeviating course”; indicating that they had been sent by a higher power expressly to destroy Laocoon, and were not merely seeking for prey. Agmen is also used of the motion of a snake in 5.90 (Frieze). Note the contrast with diffugimus (F-B). The rhythm, the elision, the strong pause combine for a telling effect (Austin). visū: abl. of cause (AG 404).

213: Laocoonta: a Greek accusative singular ending of the 3rd declension (AG 82) (Sidgwick). petunt: “make for,” often of animals (Horsfall). petunt primum parva: another striking case of alliteration (F-B). parva duōrum: note the interlacing with corpora nātōrum (Austin).

215: miserōs...artūs: a transferred epithet (C-R); poetic brevity, for miserōrum natōrum artūs (F-B). morsū dēpāscitur: “devours” (Frieze). “biting, feeds upon”; as though the abl. of manner were a present participle (C-R).

216: post: the adverb (Bennett); = postea (Chase). In Vergil the sons are slain first, then the father. In the Vatican group the serpents assail all simultaneously. (F-B). auxiliō: dative of purpose (AG 382).

217: Notice the expressive rhythm—almost writhing (Sidgwick).

218: medium: supply eum; “around his body” (Frieze). collō: dative with the compound circumdatī (Pharr) (AG 364). circum...datī: = circumdatī, a middle use (C-R). An example of tmesis (a figure in which the preposition is separated from the verb to which it belongs) (H-H).

219: capite: is used for capitibus, which (owing to its three successive short syllables) could not stand in dactylic verse (Bennett); abl. of means or degree of difference (AG 414) (Pharr).

220: ille: the position of the pronoun indicates a change of subject (H-H). simul: corresponding to simul in line 222 (C-R). dīvellere: complementary infin. with tendit (“struggles”) (AG 457).

221: perfusus vittās: for the construction, cf. line 210, oculōs suffectī (Bennett). That the sacred vittae should be defiled was especially horrible (Carter). ātrōque venēnō: poison is so called either because of its effect on the body (it often makes the body turn black) or because it works death. The poets apply āter to all things connected with death (Knapp).

223: quālēs mūgītūs: = tālēs mūgītūs tollit quāles sunt taurī sauciī (H-H). “such bellowings as a bull raises.” It is also possible to take mūgītus as a nominative case with est understood. For the sound of the line, however, the long vowels of the accusative are an advantage (F-B). The simile may be suggested by the fact that Laocoon was engaged at the time in sacrificing a bull, 202: moreover the bellowing and struggling of a victim at the altar were ominous of disaster (Page). Vergil does not describe Laocoon’s actual death; he uses this short simile to imply it obliquely. The simile is not casually chosen: Laocoon was on the point of sacrificing a bull, and he is now himself the victim, while the escape of a victim from the altar is a frequent occurrence in accounts of prodigies (Austin).

224: incertam: “ill-aimed” (Storr). secūrim: for the ending, see AG 75b. The sacrificial animal, at Rome, was normally killed by a knife, culter, not an axe (Cato, Agr. 141.4). The beast (of whatever kind) was first stunned by the popa, using mallet or axe, to avoid ill-omened noise or flight, and then killed with a knife (Horsfall). The jerky rhythm is good; the elision in incertam suggests the emptiness of the blow as it misses its mark (Austin).

225–226: lapsū...effugiunt: “glide away and escape,” literally, “escape with a gliding motion” (F-B). lapsū (abl. of manner), “gliding” (as if it were a participle) (G-K).

225: at: introduces a change of subject (H-H). The particle of transition conveys that the struggle is over, and leaves the death of Laocoon unnarrated (Williams). What Vergil has not expressly said is contained in at (Austin). dēlūbra ad summa: the chief shrines of an ancient city were regularly in the stronghold (cf. the Capitol at Rome and the Parthenon at Athens) (G-K).

226: arcem: here used for templum, because the temple is on the acropolis (F-B).

227: sub pedibusque: when used to connect a prepositional phrase, -que is not usually appended to a monosyllabic preposition, but to the substantive (Bennett). deae: i.e., a colossal statue like that of Athena at Athens (P-H). This suggests a statue standing alone (on the arx) with round shield held out (clipeī orbe): like the Athena Promachos at Athens (Sidgwick). The statues of Minerva are draped to the feet, and some, as the Minerva Medica in the Vatican, have a snake coiled at the feet; and in some, as the Minerva Salutifera, also in the Vatican, there are two serpents represented. Vergil conceives of a statue of the goddess still remaining in the temple, after the Palladium had been stolen (Frieze). teguntur: with middle force,—”protect themselves” (Bennett). = se tegunt (H-H).

228: novus: “Strange,” not “new” (Storr). The former fear was mere terror at the serpents; the new is a religious awe (G-K).

229: īnsinuat: Verg. uses many such transitive verbs as intransitive, e.g. vertō, volvō, praecipitō, ferō, ponō, sistō, iungō, etc. (Sidgwick). scelus expendisse: for sceleris poenam solvisse (Frieze). “Paid compensation for” (Austin). merentem: = and adv., “deservedly” (Knapp).

230: ferunt: “they say,” “men say,” the subject being indefinite (C-R). sacrum...robur: is the horse (Sidgwick). qui: the subjunctive marks the ground on which the popular opinion pronounced Laocoon’s doom as deserved—“inasmuch as he” (S-Z);

231: laeserit et...intorserit: “since he smote and hurled”; clauses of characteristic with accessory causal force (Bennett) (AG 535e). laeserit: > laedo, “strike violently, smite” (Frieze); the verb carries, perhaps, beyond the obvious “strike” or “damage,” something of the sense of “offend” (cf. 183 numine laesō) (Horsfall). tergō: for corporī (Frieze).

232: ducendum...ōranda: (esse) (Comstock). ad sēdēs: “to the shrine” (Frieze); i.e., the temple of Minerva (F-B). simulācrum: the horse is here called the “image” of Minerva because it had been, supposedly, dedicated to her (Carter).

233: conclamant: i.e., cry with one voice (Bennett). Such “imperfect verses” are common in this book, see 346, 468, 614, 640, 720, 767 (Page). The unfinished line is rather effective as it stands. It shows, however, that the passage is not fully worked into its context, and the change to the first person in the next line is abrupt (Austin). 

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Suggested Citation

Christopher Francese and Meghan Reedy, Vergil: Aeneid Selections. Carlisle, Pennsylvania: Dickinson College Commentaries, 2016. ISBN: 978-1-947822-08-5. https://dcc.dickinson.edu/es/vergil-aeneid/vergil-aeneid-ii-195-233