4.386–414

Cyrene’s advises Aristaeus to visit Proteus to learn how to restore his hives. 

Cyrene explains to Aristaeus what he should do. In the Carpathian Sea lives Proteus, a prophet of Neptune. Currently he is visiting the ports of Emathia and Pallene, his homeland. The nymphs and Nereus revere him, because he knows what was, what is, and what will be. He must be caught by chains, if you want him to reveal the cause of the disease and offer help. At midday, Cyrene promises to lead Aristaeus to Proteus’s lair, where he rests, so that he can approach the prophet while asleep. Once caught, Proteus will take on many appearances and shapes, such as a boar, a tiger, a snake, a lion, flames, or water. The more he changes shape, the tighter Aristaeus must hold on, until Proteus returns to his original form.

386  ōmine > ōmen, ōminis (n). 

386  quō: a relative pronoun and logically refers back to the flame of the fire, but in English we would begin a new sentence and translate quō as a demonstrative (see also at line 348). 

386  animum: accusative singular masculine, direct object of firmāns. This is likely Aristaeus’s mind, which Cyrene wishes to strengthen with her advice. 

386  ipsa: Cyrene.

387  est in Carpathiō Neptūnī gurgite: est at the beginning of a line and a character’s tale often means “there is,” as it does here. Proteus’s usual home is a whirlpool of Neptune in the Carpathian Sea, between the islands of Rhodes and Crete. 

388  caeruleus Prōteus: Proteus is the mythical Old Man of the Sea, whose capture by Menelaus (after being given detailed instructions on how to catch him) aids him in his return to Sparta after the Trojan War (Od. 4.30 ff.). caeruleus is the typical color of a sea divinity. Prōteus here scans as two syllables. 

388-389  magnum…equōrum = quī mētītur magnum aequor piscibus et iūnctō currū bipedum equōrum. The syntax here is awkward, but this seems to be a very strong and unusual kind of hendiadys (AG 640). currū appears to mean not “chariot,” but “team.” Vergil is describing the chariot of Proteus, drawn by a team of hippocamps, creatures that resembled horses at the front, but had fish tails in the back. 

390  hic = Proteus.

390  Ēmathiae portūs: portūs is accusative plural masculine. Emathia is an early poetic name for Macedonia. 

391  Pallēnēn: Pallene is the westernmost peninsula of Chalcidice, an area of southern Macedonia. In the Odyssey, Proteus inhabits Pharos island at the mouth of the Nile, but he also had ties to Macedonia according to various authors. 

392  Nēreus: Nereus is the mythological son of Sea (Pontus) and Earth (Gaia), and father of the Nereids (Hesiod Th. 233-236). Like Proteus himself, he is also called the Old Man of the Sea and is a shape-shifter. Nēreus, like Prōteus in 388, scans as two syllables.

392  nōvit: 3rd person singular perfect active indicative < nōscō, nōscere, nōvī, nōtus, which we translate in English as a present. The heavy spondees of this line convey the gravity of Proteus’s role as a seer.

393  quae sint…trahantur: the three indirect questions refer to past, present and future (AG 574, 576). Take mox closely with ventūra; trahantur means “are being put off,” OLD traho 18.

394  quippe ita Neptunō vīsum est: “for indeed thus it pleased Neptune.” On Neptune, see line 387. Neptunō is a dative with vīsum est (perfect of videor, AG 375b).

395  turpēs: this likely refers to the seals’ smell, as in Homer’s account, though some commentators suggest it describes their appearance. As in the Odyssey, Proteus is the “shepherd” of the flocks of the sea, and like real herdsmen takes a midday nap.

396  hic = Proteus, as at line 390. 

396  prius: “first.” 

396  vinclīs: a syncopated form of vinculīs, which is common in poetry; ablative of means (AG 409).

396  capiendus: supply est. This is the passive periphrastic (AG 194b). tibi is a dative of agent (AG 374).

396-397  ut omnem…secundet: purpose clause in primary sequence (AG 531.1). 

397  morbī: objective genitive with causam (AG 348). The morbus is the disease that killed all of Aristaeus’ bees.

398-399  vī…vim: the ablative and accusative singular of the noun vīs (f). Cyrene emphasizes by repeating the word (as well as vinclīs/vincula and capiendus/captō) the necessity of physical coercion to overcome Proteus. 

398  illum: emphatic; other gods are moved by prayer, but Proteus is not. 

399  ōrandō: gerund in the ablative; ablative of means (AG 409).

399  captō: dative singular masculine, referring to Proteus. The perfect passive participle makes clear the order in which the action must happen, “apply your toughest power and chains to him, once he has been caught.” vim et vincula is a zeugma.

400  dolī…inānēs: “in the end, against these his tricks will be broken as useless.” 

400 circum haec: supply vincula. 

401-403  ipsa ego tē…dūcam: the verb dūcam is delayed until line 403. 

401–402 mediōs cum…est: a series of cum temporal clauses, which take the indicative. They simply point to an actual moment in time (AG 547).

401 mediōs…aestūs: the middle part of the day, when the heat is greatest. 

403 sēcrēta: supply loca; that is, Proteus’s haunts. 

403  senis > senex, senis (m); that is, Proteus.

403  quō: “to where,” introducing a relative clause. 

404  sē recipit: “withdraws,” “retires.” 

404  facile…iacentem: “so that you may easily approach him as he lies in slumber.” facile is the adverb (AG 214d). adgrediāre is the 2nd person singular present subjunctive deponent of adgredior, adgredī, aggressus.

405  vērum: “but.” 

405  correptum: supply eum (Proteus).

405  manibus vinclīsque: this double form of entrapment might seem unnecessary, but as we see below (lines 409-410), Proteus, as in the Odyssey, can transform himself not only into animate objects, but also elements like fire and water, where he could slip his chains. Thus, Aristaeus needs to keep a grip on him, as well as to have him bound.

406  tum…ferārum = tum variae speciēs atque ōra ferārum ēlūdent <tē>. speciēs and ōra could merely be synonyms, and so here a pleonasm, but ōs properly refers to the face, whereas speciēs can refer to the entire appearance. As we will see here, as in the Odyssey, Proteus can assume any number of shapes and appearances.

407  fīet: Proteus is the subject. fīo, like sum, is a copulative verb and so takes a predicate nominative (not an accusative direct object). 

407  horridus: “bristly.” 

407  ātraque tigris: ātra does not refer to the tiger’s color, but her quality; that is, “deadly,” a poetic usage (OLD ater 8). 

408  fulvā cervīce leaena: fulvā cervīce is an ablative of description with leaena. 

409-410  aut ācrem…abībit: Proteus’s transformation into fire and water. He is the subject of dabit, excidet, and abībit. 

410  in aquās tenuēs dīlāpsus: take the prepositional phrase closely with dīlāpsus.

411-412  quantō…magis…tam…magis: “the more…(so much) the more.” quantō is an ablative of degree of difference (AG 414a).

411  fōrmās…in omnēs: “into all shapes.” 

412  contende: “draw tight,” present singular imperative active. 

413  dōnec: “until.” 

413  mūtātō corpore: ablative absolute (AG 419), referring to his final transformation back to his customary appearance.

414  vīderis: 2nd person singular perfect active subjunctive. Huxley observes that vīderis and tegeret are prospective subjunctives—that is, they make sense if you think about what the original indicative would have been (“just as you saw him, when he was covering his eyes, after his nap was begun.”). 

414  lūmina: a common metaphor for “eyes.” 

414  inceptō somnō: probably best taken as an ablative absolute rather than an ablative of means (AG 419).