Perge, īra, perge et magna meditantem opprime,75
congredere, manibus ipsa dīlacerā tuīs;
quid tanta mandās odia? discēdant ferae,
ipse imperandō fessus Eurystheus vacet.
Tītānas ausōs rumpere imperium Iovis
ēmitte, Siculī verticis laxā specum,80
tellūs Gigante Dōris excussō tremēns
supposita mōnstrī colla terrificī levet,
[sublīmis aliās Lūna concipiat ferās.]
Notes
Juno calls greater adversaries, the Titans and the Giant Typhoeus, against Hercules. She eventually realizes that monsters will continue to fail against Hercules and that only he can defeat himself.
75 magna meditantem: “(Hercules) planning great things,” i.e. his great plans.
76 congredere: “join (battle), grapple with,” imperative singular of a deponent verb (AG 190).
77 quid … mandās: “why (do you) delegate?”
77–78 discēdant … vacet: hortatory or jussive subjunctives (AG 439). Juno uses either imperatives or jussive subjunctives for much of the rest of her speech as she issues commands to various addressees.
78 imperandō: ablative of the gerund (AG 507). The ablative is felt with vacet (see above) and fessus: Juno imagines that Eurystheus has become exhausted from giving Hercules so many orders to perform the Labors. vacet: “rest (from)” + ablative.
79 ausōs: as the equivalent of a relative clause (Tītānas quī ausī sunt). Jupiter imprisoned the Titans in Tartarus to prevent them from rebelling once more against his rule: Juno imagines setting them free to attack Hercules.
80 ēmitte … laxā: imperatives. Siculī: Jupiter imprisoned the giant Typhoeus under Mt. Etna in Sicily.
81 Nominative tellūs … Dōris … tremēns surrounds and is interwoven with ablative Gigante … excussō. The word order contributes to the image of the land shaking when the giant Typhoeus moves. Dōris: Sicily was part of greater Greece and also the homeland of Greek pastoral poetry in the Doric dialect, and so can be referred to as a “Doric” land.
82 levet: “free” (L-S levo II.B.3), jussive subjunctive (AG 439). supposita … colla: “pinioned neck.”
83 Some editors bracket this line because it does not appear to contribute to the context. Juno has already admitted that Hercules conquered all the monsters he has faced, culminating with Cerberus (30–63). Generating new monsters from the Moon will not help to defeat him.
Vocabulary
meditor meditārī meditātus sum: to think
opprimō opprimere oppressī oppressus: to press on or down; overwhelm
congredior congredī congressus sum: to meet, engage
dīlacerō –āre –āvī –ātus: to tear to pieces
quid: why
mandō –āre –āvī –ātus: to entrust; order
fera –ae f.: wild animal
Eurystheus –eī m.: Eurystheus, king of Mycenae
Tītān Titānis m.: a Titan
Iuppiter Iovis m.: Jupiter, Jove
ēmittō ēmittere ēmīsī ēmissus: to send out, release
Siculus –a –um: Sicilian
vertex verticis m.: peak, summit
laxō –āre –āvī –ātus: to spread out; open up
specus specūs m./f.: cave, chasm
Gigās Gigantis m.: a giant
Dōris Dōridis f.: Dorian, Doric
excutiō excutere excussī excussus: to shake off; shake; cast out; examine, investigate
tremō –ere –uī: to shake, quiver
suppōnō suppōnere supposuī suppositus: to put; put something in the place of another, substitute
mōnstrum –ī n.: monster; omen
collum –ī n.: neck
terrificus –a –um: causing terror; terrifying
levō –āre –āvī –ātus: to raise; make light; free from
sublīmis –e: high, lofty; exalted
concipiō concipere concēpī conceptus: to hold; become fertilized, germinate
fera –ae f.: wild animal