75-83

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).

77–78 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. quid … mandās: “why (do you) delegate?” vacet: “rest (from)” + ablative.

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.

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 –ātum: to tear to pieces

quid: why

mandō mandāre mandāvī mandātus: to entrust; order

fera ferae f.: wild animal

Eurystheus –eī m.: Eurystheus, king of Mycenae 

Tītān –ānis m.: a Titan

Iuppiter Iovis m.: Jupiter, Jove

ēmittō ēmittere ēmīsī ēmīssus: to send out, release

Siculus –a –um: Sicilian

vertex verticis m.: peak, summit

laxō laxāre laxāvī laxātus: to spread out; open up

specus –ūs m./f.: cave, chasm

Gigās –antis m.: a giant

Dōrus –ī m.: Dorus

excutiō excutere excussī excussum: to shake off; shake; cast out; examine, investigate

tremō tremere tremuī: to shake, quiver

suppōnō –pōnere –posuī –positus: to put; put something in the place of another, substitute

mōnstrum mōnstrī n.: monster; omen

collum collī m.:  neck

terrificus –a –um: causing terror; terrifying

levō levāre levāvī levātus: to raise; make light; free from

sublīmis sublīme: high, lofty; exalted 

concipiō concipere concēpī conceptum: to hold; become fertilized, germinate

fera ferae f.: wild animal

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