Ībant obscūrī sōlā sub nocte per umbram

perque domōs Dītis vacuās et inānia rēgna:

quāle per incertam lūnam sub lūce malignā270

est iter in silvīs, ubi caelum condidit umbrā

Iuppiter, et rēbus nox abstulit ātra colōrem.

Vēstibulum ante ipsum prīmīsque in faucibus Orcī

Lūctus et ultrīcēs posuēre cubīlia Cūrae,

pallentēsque habitant Morbī trīstisque Senectūs,275

et Metus et malesuāda Famēs ac turpis Egestās,

terribilēs vīsū fōrmae, Lētumque Labōsque;

tum cōnsanguineus Lētī Sopor et mala mentis

Gaudia, mortiferumque adversō in līmine Bellum,

ferreīque Eumenidum thalamī et Discordia dēmēns280

vīpereum crīnem vittīs innexa cruentīs.

    CORE VOCABULARY

    obscūrus, a, um: (adj.), dim, dark, dusky, obscure, 1.411; uncertain; of persons, unseen, 2.135; in the darkness, 6.268; pl., obscūra, ōrum, dim places; obscurity, uncertainty, 6.100.

    Dīs, ītis, m.: Pluto, the ruler of Hades, 4.702, et al.

    inānis, e: (adj.), empty, void, 3.304; light; vain, idle, fruitless, 4.210; valueless, trivial; little, brief, 4.433; lifeless, unreal, 1.464; shadowy, 6.269; unsubstantial, shadowy, airy, phantom, 6.651; subst., ināne, is, n., void space, a void, 12.354.

    incertus, a, um: (adj.), uncertain, 2.740; wavering; fickle, 2.39; doubtful, 3.7; undistinguished, base, 11.341.

    malīgnus, a, um: adj. (malus and genō), spiteful, malicious, malignant, 5.654; treacherous, 6.270; = inīquus, inadequate, confined, 11.525.

    Iuppiter, Iovis, m.: Jupiter, son of Saturn and Rhea, and king of the gods, 1.223; Iuppiter Stygius, Pluto, 4.638.

    āter, tra, trum: (adj.), black; dark, gloomy, 1.60, et al.; smoky, lurid, 7.456; 4.384; clotted, dark, 3.622; soiled, blackened, 2.272; (fig.), sad, fatal, 6.429; venomous, deadly; of the odor of smoke, 12.591.

    vestibulum, ī, n.: entrance, porch, portal, vestibule, 2.469, et al.

    faucēs, ium, f.: the jaws, throat, 2.358; (fig.), mouth, entrance, jaws, 6.241; defiles, 11.516.

    Orcus, ī, m.: Orcus, the lower world, Hades, 4.242; personif., the god of the lower world, Orcus, Dis, Pluto.

    lūctus, ūs, m.: a mourning; sorrow, grief, woe, lamentation, 2.298, and freq.; personif., 6.274. (lūgeō)

    ultrīx, īcis: adj. (ulcīscor), avenging, 2.587.

    cubīle, is, n.: a lair, bed, couch, 3.324. (cubō, lie down)

    cūra, ae, f.: care, solicitude, anxiety, 1.261; toil; charge, duty, 1.704; love, passion, pang, 4.531; affection, love, 1.646; thought, 9.757; grief, anguish, 4.332; personified, Cūrae, Cares, 6.274.

    palleō, uī, 2, n.: to be pale; p., pallēns, entis, pallid, wan, pale, 4.26.

    habitō, āvī, ātus, 1, intens. a. and n.: to have continually, have in possession; occupy, inhabit, 3.106; dwell, 3.110. (habeō)

    morbus, ī, m.: disease, sickness, malady, 6.275; plague, pestilence, 12.851; personif., Morbī, ōrum, m., Diseases, 6.275.

    senectūs, ūtis, f.: old age, 5.416; personified, 6.275. (senex)

    metus, ūs, m.: fear, dread, terror, 1.218; awe, reverence, 7.60; personif., Metus, the demon of fear, Fear, 6.276.

    malesuādus, a, um: adj. (male and suādeō), crime-impelling; desperate, 6.276.

    famēs, is, f.: hunger, 1.216; famine, 3.256; greed, desire, 3.57; personified, Famine, Hunger, 6.276.

    atque, or ac: (conj.), and in addition, or and besides; and, as well, and indeed, and, 1.575; freq.; even, 2.626; in comparisons, as, 4.90; than, 3.561.

    egestās, ātis, f.: poverty, destitution, penury, need, want; personified, 6.276. (egeō)

    terribilis, e: adj. (terreō), frightful, appalling, terrible, fearful, 6.299, et al.

    lētum, ī, n.: death, destruction, 2.134, et al. (cf. dēleō)

    labor (labōs), ōris, m.: labor, effort, toil, working, work, 1.431, et al.; care; task, 4.115; effort, activity, of man, 11.425; adventure, enterprise, 2.385; burden, 2.708; fatigue, difficulty, hardship, 1.330; struggle, danger, distress, misfortune, calamity, woe, suffering, 1.10, et al.; hard fate, 12.727; an eclipse, 1.742; the product of work, workmanship, work, 1.455; personif., Labōs, Toil, 6.277.

    cōnsanguineus, a, um: adj. (com- and sanguis), having common blood; kindred, 12.40; subst., cōnsanguineus, ī, m., a brother, 6.278; kinsman, 5.771.

    sopor, ōris, m.: sleep; sound, deep slumber, 2.253; personified, 6.278.

    malus, a, um: (adj.), bad; noxious, baneful, poisonous, 2.471; morally, hostile, 3.398; evil, wicked, impious, 1.352; ill-boding; subst., malus, ī, m., a wicked man or person; pl., the wicked, 6.542; comp., pēior, ius, worse.

    gaudium, iī, n.: joyful feeling; delight, pleasure, joy, 1.502; pl., joyful hope, 10.652; love, 10.325; personif., Gaudia, ōrum, Pleasures, 6.279. (gaudeō)

    mortifer, era, erum: adj. (mors and ferō), bringing death; deadly, 6.279.

    bellum, ī, n.: conflict; war, freq.; a battle, 8.629; personified, Bellum, war, the demon of war, 1.294. (duellum, cf. duo)

    ferreus, a, um: adj. (ferrum), of iron, iron-, 3.45; (fig.), inflexible, stern, iron; of death, 10.745.

    Eumenides, um, f.: the well-disposed; a deprecatory title given by the Greeks to the Furies; the Eumenides, the Furies, 4.469.

    thalamus, ī, m.: a bedchamber; chamber, 2.503; couch, 6.280; marriage, 4.18; bridals, the bride, 7.388; pl., thalamī, ōrum, nuptials, wedlock, marriage, 6.94.

    discordia, ae, f.: difference in feeling, or mind; dissension, strife; personified, Discord or Eris, 6.280. (discors)

    dēmēns, entis: (adj.), out of one’s mind, insane, foolish, mad, blind, 4.107; subst., fool, 11.399.

    vīpereus, a, um: adj. (vīpera, viper), pertaining to vipers or snakes; viperous, snaky, 6.281.

    crīnis, is, m.: the hair, 1.480; train of meteors, 5.528; (often in the pl.), the hairs of the head, the hair.

    vitta, ae, f.: a fillet, band, or chaplet for the head, especially for religious occasions, 5.366, et al.

    innectō, nexuī, nexus, 3, a.: to bind, tie, 5.511; entwine, 7.353; link together; (fig.), devise, 4.51.

    cruentus, a, um: (adj.), bloody, blood-stained, 1.296; covered with blood, 10.498.

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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/ro/vergil-aeneid/vergil-aeneid-vi-268-281