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.]

    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.

    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

    article Nav
    Previous
    Next