Iamque ībat dictō pārēns et dōna Cupīdō695

rēgia portābat Tyriīs duce laetus Achātē.

Cum venit, aulaeīs iam sē rēgīna superbīs

aureā composuit spondā mediamque locāvit,

iam pater Aenēās et iam Trōiāna iuventūs

conveniunt, strātōque super discumbitur ostrō.700

Dant manibus famulī lymphās Cereremque canistrīs

expediunt tōnsīsque ferunt mantēlia villīs.

Quīnquāgintā intus famulae, quibus ōrdine longam

cūra penum struere et flammīs adolēre Penātēs;

centum aliae totidemque parēs aetāte ministrī,705

quī dapibus mēnsās onerent et pōcula pōnant.

Nec nōn et Tyriī per līmina laeta frequentēs

convēnēre; torīs iussī discumbere pictīs

Mīrantur dōna Aenēae, mīrantur Iǖlum,

flagrantēsque deī vultūs simulātaque verba,710

pallamque et pictum croceō vēlāmen acanthō.

Praecipuē īnfēlīx, pestī dēvōta futūrae,

explērī mentem nequit ārdēscitque tuendō

Phoenissa, et pariter puerō dōnīsque movētur.

Ille ubi complexū Aenēae collōque pependit715

et magnum falsī implēvit genitōris amōrem,

rēgīnam petit. Haec oculīs, haec pectore tōtō

haeret et interdum gremiō fovet īnscia Dīdō

īnsīdat quantus miserae deus. At memor ille

mātris Acīdaliae paulātim abolēre Sychaeum720

incipit et vīvō temptat praevertere amōre

iam prīdem residēs animōs dēsuētaque corda.

Cupid, having thus entered the palace, disguised as the child Ascanius, exercises his power over the mind of the queen, to make her forget Sychaeus and love Aeneas. (F-D).

695  ībat: he had been fetched, and was on his way; dicto parens picks up paret Amor dictis (689): Cupid is a conscientious, obedient child, carrying out his instructions to the letter (Austin). 

696  duce laetus Achātē: “gladly following Achates”; expressing the joie de vivre of young or strong creatures (Conway). 

697  cum venit: “as he approaches”; this use of the historic present after cum and postquam is a poetical and colloquial survival (Conway).

697 aulaeīs: curtains, overhanging the banqueting-couches, either as a canopy or as wall-tapestry (Austin). 

698  aureā: is ablative, scanned as a spondee (Conway). 

698 compusuit … mediamque locāvit: by the Vergilian idiom, the -que takes the place of postquam. Mediam agrees with se and refers to her place in the whole gathering—certainly not, as some have supposed, to the center of an ordinary triple couch (Conway). 

699  pater Aenēās: pater marks Aeneas’ status and responsibilities vis-à-vis the Troiana iuventus, i.e. the men referred to in 510 (Austin). 

700  discumbitur: “the company takes its places,” impersonal passive (AG 372).

701  manibus: dative “to pour over the hands”; this is why Vergil put it closely after dant (Conway). 

702  mantēlia: “towels for the hands,” as the word (from manus and tela) literally means (Conway). 

702  tōnsīs villīs, with the “nap,” i.e. the ends of the thread, closely clipped so as to present a firm but not too rough a surface (Conway). 

703  intus: these servants are working behind the scenes, in the kitchen or storerooms.

703 ōrdine: “duly,” in proper sequence of duty (not “in a line,” which would be highly inconvenient for work in the store-room) (Conway). 

703-4  longam / ... penum struere: “to arrange and serve the long succession of courses” (Bennett). 

704  cūra: supply est. 

704  flammīs adolēre Penātēs: “to heap high the hearth with fire,” ornate Vergilian epic style; the task is a solemn one, a ritual to be carefully observed, and therefore Vergil describes it in rich and mysterious terms. The household Penates—the gods of the penus—are put for the hearth, their holy place (Austin).

705  aliae: these wait at the table, as distinct from those intus (703) (Austin). 

705  parēs aetāte: “all of the same age,” as compared one with another (not with the women slaves) (Conway). 

ministrī: “waiting-men” (Comstock).

706  quī onerent et pōnant: relative clauses of purpose (AG 531.2) (Bennett).

707  Nec nōn et: this connecting formula does not appear before Vergil, and it is not found in prose before the Silver period (Austin). 

707  frequentēs: “crowding in” (Conway). 

707  līmina: “halls” (Comstock).

708  iussī: placed where it is clearly represents the instructions given to the guests as each arrived by the royal stewards, “to take their several places” (discumbere) (Conway). 

710  flagrantēsque … verba: parenthetical statement referring to “Iulus” — that is, Cupid (FC). 

713  explērī mentem: probably expleri is “middle,” with mentem a direct object, marking Dido’s own action upon herself: she “cannot have her heart’s fill.” 

713  ardescit: continues the fire-metaphor (Austin).

715  ubi: temporal, “when.”

716  falsī genitōris: subjective genitive (AG 343). 

716  implēvit: “satisfied” (Conway).

717  petit: “turns upon, attacks,” with definitely hostile intentions (Conway). The strong pause at the second-foot diaeresis is dramatic, and gives great force to the words (Austin). 

717:  Haec … haec: the pronouns connect the two clauses by anaphora, like mirantur in 709, and point to Dido as the center of the scene, the growth of whose passion is the real event of the banquet—poor inscia Dido as the next line names her (Conway). 

718  gremiō fovet: intentionally repeated from 692; Cupid is cuddled as Ascanius was—so the spell of Venus works (Conway). 

719  miserae: “to her sorrow,” proleptic: the poet’s own comment; miser is often used of the misery brought by love (Austin). 

719  ille: Cupid.

720  abolēre: “to blot out” (Comstock). 

720  mātris Acīdaliae: Venus is called from the fountain Acidalia where she often bathes with her attendants (Bennett). Servius connects the rare Acidalia with Greek ἀκίς, "arrow, dart, care, pang." Acidalia thus suggests both curae and the arrows of Cupid. Vergil's mater Acidalia seems to be the "mother who produces sharp curae." (J.J. O'Hara, True Names: Vergil and the Alexandrian Tradition of Etymological Wordplay [Ann Arbor: U. Michigan Press, 2017] p. 129.)

721  praevertere: literally “turn (her heart) first towards.”

721  vīvō amōre: “with living love” (Chase), as opposed to her love for Sychaeus (G-K).

722  iam prīdem … corda: “her long-slumbering soul and unused heart” (Carter). 

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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/it/vergil-aeneid/vergil-aeneid-i-695-722