Incipite, famulae Dītis, ārdentem citae100
concutite pīnum, et agmen horrendum anguibus
Megaera dūcat atque lūctificā manū
vastam rogō flagrante corripiat trabem.
hōc agite, poenās petite vitiātae Stygis.
concutite pectus, ācrior mentem excoquat105
quam quī camīnīs ignis Aetnaeīs furit;
ut possit animum captus Alcīdēs agī,
magnō furōre percitus, vōbīs prius
īnsāniendum est.
Notes
Juno orders the Furies, the personifications of madness, to drive themselves even more mad so they can madden their powerful victim Hercules.
101 agmen: the three Furies are imagined to constitute a “battle line” because of their tremendous power.
102 Megaera: one of the three Furies; her sisters are Allecto and Tisiphone. lūctificā: ablative of instrument (AG 409), modifying manū. For compound adjectives in –ficus, characteristic of Roman drama, see note on 58.
103 rogō flagrante: ablative of source without a preposition, as is common in poetry (AG 403). Juno visualizes Megaera taking a torch from a funeral pyre.
105-6 excoquat … ignis: jussive subjunctive (AG 439). Juno commands the Furies to “cook” their emotions with real fire. As Fitch observes, “it would be difficult to say where ‘literal’ fire ends and metaphor begins.”
106 camīnīs … Aetnaeīs: ablative of place where (AG 426.3) without a preposition, as often in poetry. The ancient Greeks and Romans imagined that Vulcan the craftsman god used the fires of Mt. Etna (see line 80) to heat his forge.
107–9 In prose, the word order would be prius vōbīs īnsāniendum est, ut Alcīdēs, animum captus, magnō furōre percitus, agī possit. The impersonal passive periphrastic (AG 500.3) governs a purpose clause (AG 531.1).
107 animum captus: “captured with respect to his mind,” i.e., mentally impaired, a poetic equivalent of mente captus. See L-S capio I.B.i.e.β. Animum is accusative of relation, the so-called “Greek” accusative (AG 397.b). agī: “driven,” i.e., compelled to execute others’ commands.
Vocabulary
famula –ae f.: female house slave; maidservant
Dīs Dītis m.: Dis; Pluto
cieō ciēre cīvī citus: to move; rouse, disturb, excite
concutiō concutere concussī concussus: to shake; strike
pīnus –ūs or –ī f.: pine tree; pine torch
horreō –ēre –uī: to shake, dread
anguis anguis m. or f.: snake
Megaera –ae f.: Megaera
lūctificus –a –um: grief–inducing
vāstus –a –um: empty, desolate; vast
rogus –ī m.: funeral pile
flagrō –āre –āvī –ātus: to burn
corripiō corripere corripuī correptus: to seize, plunder
trabs trabis f.: beam of wood
vitiō –āre –āvī –ātus: to injure, spoil
Styx Stygis f.: Styx
excoquō excoquere excoxī excoctus: to dry up; break down; boil, cook
camīnus –ī m.: stove; furnace; forge
Aetnaeus –a –um: of Aetna
furō –ere –uī: to rage, be mad
captō –āre –āvī –ātus: to seize
Alcīdēs –ae. m.: a descendant of Alceus; Hercules
percīo or percieō, percīre or perciēre, percīvī or perciī, percītus: to excite; stir up
īnsāniō īnsānīre īnsānīvī or īnsāniī īnsānītus: to be mad, insane