Vergil, Aeneid VI 236-263

Hīs āctīs properē exsequitur praecepta Sibyllae.

Spēlunca alta fuit vāstōque immānis hiātū,

scrūpea, tūta lacū nigrō nemorumque tenebrīs,

quam super haud ūllae poterant impūne volantēs

tendere iter pennīs: tālis sēsē hālitus ātrīs240

faucibus effundēns supera ad convexa ferēbat.

[unde locum Grāī dīxērunt nōmine Aornum.]

Quattuor hīc prīmum nigrantīs terga iuvencōs

cōnstituit frontīque invergit vīna sacerdōs,

et summās carpēns media inter cornua saetās245

ignibus impōnit sacrīs, lībāmina prīma,

vōce vocāns Hecatēn caelōque Erebōque potentem.

Suppōnunt aliī cultrōs tepidumque cruōrem

succipiunt paterīs. Ipse ātrī velleris agnam

Aenēās mātrī Eumenidum magnaeque sorōrī250

ēnse ferit, sterilemque tibī, Prōserpina, vaccam;

Tum Stygiō rēgī nocturnās incohat ārās

et solida impōnit taurōrum vīscera flammīs,

pingue super oleum fundēns ārdentibus extīs.

Ecce autem prīmī sub līmina sōlis et ortūs255

sub pedibus mūgīre solum et iuga coepta movērī

silvārum, vīsaeque canēs ululāre per umbram

adventante deā. 'Procul, ō procul este, profānī,'

conclāmat vātēs, 'tōtōque absistite lūcō;

tuque invāde viam vāgīnāque ēripe ferrum:260

nunc animīs opus, Aenēā, nunc pectore firmō.'

Tantum effāta furēns antrō sē immīsit apertō;

ille ducem haud timidīs vādentem passibus aequat.

    <div style="height: 992px; overflow-y: scroll; overflow-x: hidden;"><p><a href="http://dcc.dickinson.edu/latin-vocabulary-list&quot; target="_blank">CORE VOCABULARY</a></p>
    <p><strong>properē:</strong> (adv.), hastily, in haste, speedily, 6.236.</p>
    <p><strong>exsequor, secūtus sum, 3, dep. a.:</strong> to follow out or throughout; to perform, conduct, 4.53; execute, 4.396; do, 4.421; pursue, treat of, describe.</p>
    <p><strong>Sibylla, ae, f.:</strong> a prophetess, a sibyl; the Cumaean sibyl, Deiphobe, 3.452, et al.</p>
    <p><strong>spēlunca, ae, f.:</strong> a cavern, 1.60; retreat, 5.213.</p>
    <p><strong>vāstus, a, um:</strong> (adj.), empty, void, wild, waste, 9.323; vast, unbounded, 1.118; huge, enormous, immense, 3.647; deep-, vast-, sounding, 1.245.</p>
    <p><strong>immānis, e:</strong> (adj.), vast, huge, immense, 1.110; wild, savage, barbarous, 1.616; cruel, ruthless, 1.347; unnatural, monstrous, hideous, 6.624; (adv.), immāne, wildly, fiercely, 12.535.</p>
    <p><strong>hiātus, ūs, m.:</strong> a gaping; throat, 6.576; opening, 11.680; cleft, chasm, vortex, abyss, 6.237. (hiō)</p>
    <p><strong>scrūpeus, a, um:</strong> adj. (scrūpus, a sharp stone), consisting of jagged stones; flinty, 6.238.</p>
    <p><strong>lacus, ūs, m.:</strong> a lake, pool, source, 8.74; fen, 2.135.</p>
    <p><strong>possum, potuī, posse, irreg. n.:</strong> to be able; can, 1.242, et al.; to avail, have influence, power, 4.382. (potis and sum)</p>
    <p><strong>impūne:</strong> (adv.), without punishment or retribution; with impunity, 3.628; without harm, 12.559. (impūnis, unpunished)</p>
    <p><strong>volāns, antis, f.:</strong> a winged creature; a bird, 6.239. (volo -are)</p>
    <p><strong>penna (pinna), ae, f.:</strong> a feather, 12.750; wing, pinion, 3.258; in the form pinna, a pinnacle, battlement, palisade, 7.159.</p>
    <p><strong>hālitus, ūs, m.:</strong> a breathing; breath, 4.684; exhalation, vapor, 6.240. (hālō)</p>
    <p><strong>āter, tra, trum:</strong> (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.</p>
    <p><strong>faucēs, ium, f.:</strong> the jaws, throat, 2.358; (fig.), mouth, entrance, jaws, 6.241; defiles, 11.516.</p>
    <p><strong>effundō, fūdī, fūsus, 3, a.:</strong> to pour out or forth; shed, 2.271; throw, cast out, 7.780; cast, 6.339; overthrow, 11.485; bring out, 9.68; unbind, dishevel, 4.509; dissolve, 2.651; let loose, throw out, 5.818; spend, lose, waste, 5.446; of words, utter, 5.780; (pass.), effundī, dart, 5.145; flow, 6.686. (ex and fundō)</p>
    <p><strong>convexum, ī, n.:</strong> a convexity; recess, 1.310; pl., convexa, ōrum, vault, arch, 4.451; the concave vaulted sky or heavens, 6.241; convexities, sloping or hollow sides, 1.608.</p>
    <p><strong>nigrāns, antis:</strong> black, dusky, dark, 5.97; cloud-covered, 8.353; gloomy, 9.87. (niger)</p>
    <p><strong>iuvencus, a, um:</strong> adj. (iuvenis), young; subst., iuvencus, ī, m., a young bullock, 3.247, et al.; iuvenca, ae, f., a heifer, 8.208, et al.</p>
    <p><strong>invergō, 3, a.:</strong> to cause to incline; turn into, pour upon, 6.244.</p>
    <p><strong>carpo, carpsī, carptus, 3, a.:</strong> to pluck or pull, crop, browse upon, eat, graze; cause to graze, pasture; gather, 6.146; (fig.), catch, breathe, enjoy, 1.388; consume, 4.2; devour, waste, 4.32; carpere prāta, etc., to course over.</p>
    <p><strong>saeta, ae, f.:</strong> a bristle; a stiff hair, 6.245; fur.</p>
    <p><strong>lībāmen, inis, n.:</strong> a libation; sacrifice, offering, 6.246. (lībō)</p>
    <p><strong>Hecatē, ēs, f.:</strong> the sister of Latona; usually identified with Diana and Luna, and so represented with three heads, 4.511.</p>
    <p><strong>Erebus, ī, m.:</strong> the god of darkness, son of Chaos and brother of Night, 6.247; darkness; the lower world, 4.26, et al.</p>
    <p><strong>suppōnō, posuī, positus, 3, a.:</strong> to put, place under, 6.24; put to the throat, thrust under, 6.248. (sub and pōnō)</p>
    <p><strong>culter, trī, m.:</strong> a plowshare; a knife, 6.248. (colō)</p>
    <p><strong>tepidus, a, um:</strong> adj. (tepeō), lukewarm, tepid; warm, 3.66; smoking, reeking, 9.455.</p>
    <p><strong>cruor, ōris, m.:</strong> shed blood; gore, 3.43; 4.455; blood.</p>
    <p><strong>patera, ae, f.:</strong> a broad, saucer-shaped dish, used in making libations; a libation cup, patera, 1.729. (pateō)</p>
    <p><strong>vellus, eris, n.:</strong> a fleece, 6.249; woolen band or fillet, 4.459; skin, 7.95.</p>
    <p><strong>agna, ae, f.:</strong> a ewe lamb, 5.772. (agnus)</p>
    <p><strong>Aenēās, ae, m.:</strong> 1. A Trojan chief, son of Venus and Anchises, and hero of the Aeneid, 1.92. 2. Aenēās Silvius, one of the Alban kings, 6.769.</p>
    <p><strong>Eumenides, um, f.:</strong> the well-disposed; a deprecatory title given by the Greeks to the Furies; the Eumenides, the Furies, 4.469.</p>
    <p><strong>ēnsis, is, m.:</strong> a sword, 2.393, et al.; knife, 2.155.</p>
    <p><strong>feriō, 4, a.:</strong> to smite or strike, 1.103; cut, 4.580; pierce, 12.304; slay, 10.315; strike or slay the covenant victim; hence, of a treaty, to make, 10.154.</p>
    <p><strong>sterilis, e:</strong> (adj.), unproductive, unfruitful, 3.141; barren, 6.251.</p>
    <p><strong>Prōserpina, ae, f.:</strong> Proserpina, daughter of Jupiter and Ceres, carried away by Pluto from Enna in Sicily, and made queen of Hades, 4.698, et al.</p>
    <p><strong>vacca, ae, f.:</strong> cow, 6.251; heifer, 4.61.</p>
    <p><strong>Stygius, a, um:</strong> adj. (Styx), pertaining to the Styx; of Hades; Stygian, 4.638, et al.</p>
    <p><strong>nocturnus, a, um:</strong> adj. (nox), pertaining to the night; nightly, nocturnal, in the night, by night, 4.490.</p>
    <p><strong>incohō, āvī, ātus, 1, a.:</strong> to lay the foundation; begin, essay; to consecrate, 6.252.</p>
    <p><strong>solidus, a, um:</strong> (adj.), the whole, whole, entire, 6.253; massive, 2.765; solid, hard, 6.552; sound, unimpaired, 2.639.</p>
    <p><strong>taurus, ī, m.:</strong> a bull, steer, ox, bullock, 2.202, et al.</p>
    <p><strong>vīscus, eris, n.:</strong> an inner part of the body; pl., vīscera, um, the entrails, vitals, 6.599; the flesh, 1.211; heart, bosom, 6.833.</p>
    <p><strong>pinguis, e:</strong> (adj.), fat, 1.215; well-fed, 1.635; fertile; reeking, 4.62; fat or rich with victims, 9.585.</p>
    <p><strong>oleum, ī, n.:</strong> olive oil, oil, 3.281.</p>
    <p><strong>superīnfundō, no perf., fūsus, 3 a.:</strong> to pour out upon (by tmesis), 6.254.</p>
    <p><strong>ārdēns, entis:</strong> burning, hot, sparkling, flaming, 5.637; bright, 4.482; impassioned, ardent, eager, 1.423; spirited, fiery, 1.472; glowing, lofty, 6.130; fierce, furious, 2.529; angry, 6.467. (ardeo)</p>
    <p><strong>exta, ōrum, n. pl.:</strong> the inner parts of animals, esp. the upper portions, as distinguished from the lower intestines; entrails, 4.64.</p>
    <p><strong>ortus, ūs, m.:</strong> a rising, 4.118. (orior)</p>
    <p><strong>mūgiō, īvī or iī, 4, n.:</strong> to low, bellow, 8.218; (fig.), of a trumpet, 8.526; of the tripod, 3.92; to make a roaring sound, rumble, of the ground, 4.490.</p>
    <p><strong>solum, ī, n.:</strong> the bottom or ground of anything; soil, earth, ground, 1.367, et al.; land, 3.698; foundation, 10.102; the water beneath a ship, as its support; the water, sea, 5.199; support, table, 7.111.</p>
    <p><strong>ululō, āvī, ātus, 1, a. and n.:</strong> to howl, 6.257; wail, shriek, 4.168; to utter wild cries of triumph, 11.662; shriek the name of; invoke with cries, 4.609.</p>
    <p><strong>adventō, āvī, ātus, 1, intens. n.:</strong> to come rapidly nearer; to approach, draw near, 5.328; 6.258. (adveniō)</p>
    <p><strong>ō:</strong> (interj. expressing joy, grief, astonishment, desire, or indignation), O! oh! ah! w. voc., 2.281, et al.; w. sī and the subj., oh that, 11.415; sometimes placed after the word to which it relates, 2.281.</p>
    <p><strong>profānus, a, um:</strong> adj. (prō and fānum, shrine), in front or outside of the sacred inclosure; not sacred; profānōs facere, to desecrate, 12.779; subst., profānī, ōrum, m., the unconsecrated; uninitiated, profane, 6.258.</p>
    <p><strong>conclāmō, āvī, ātus, 1, n. and a.:</strong> to call out aloud; shout, cry, 3.523; call together, 7.504.</p>
    <p><strong>absistō, abstitī, 3, n.:</strong> to stand off or away from, followed by the abl., alone or with prep.; withdraw from, 6.259; fly, dart from, 12.102; (with infin.), desist, cease, 6.399; (alone), stop, cease, 1.192.</p>
    <p><strong>lūcus, ī, m.:</strong> a consecrated wood; sacred grove, 6.259, et al.; in general, a grove, wood, forest.</p>
    <p><strong>invādō, vāsī, vāsus, 3, a. and n.:</strong> to go into; enter, 3.382; enter upon, 6.260; invade, violate, 6.623; rush into, 12.712; attack, assail, 2.414; address, accost, 4.265; undertake, adventure, 9.186.</p>
    <p><strong>vāgīna, ae, f.:</strong> a scabbard, sheath, 4.579.</p>
    <p><strong>opus, indecl. n.:</strong> need, necessity, w. abl. of the thing needed, 6.261.</p>
    <p><strong>fīrmus, a, um:</strong> (adj.), firm, strong, solid, 2.481; (fig.), resolute, steadfast, 6.261.</p>
    <p><strong>tantum:</strong> (adv.), so much, 6.877; just so much; only, 2.23; in tantum, to such a degree or height, so high, 6.876; tantum — quantum, so great (such, so much) — as.</p>
    <p><strong>effor, fātus sum, 1, dep. a. and n.:</strong> to speak forth; speak, say, 6.560. (ex and for)</p>
    <p><strong>furō, uī, 3, n.:</strong> to be mad; freq., to rave, be frantic, rage, 1.491; to be furious, burn, storm (for war), 7.625; to be burning or mad with love, 1.659; to be frenzied, in a frenzy, 6.100; inspired, 2.345; distracted with grief, 3.313; plunge madly, 9.552; boil, 7.464; with cognate acc., give vent to one's fury, 12.680.</p>
    <p><strong>antrum, ī, n.:</strong> a cave, cavern, grotto, 1.166.</p>
    <p><strong>immittō, mīsī, missus, 3, a.:</strong> to send upon or to; drive to, 6.312; bring upon, 4.488; let in, 2.495; let fly, go, loosen, 6.1; hurl, fling, cast, 11.562; (with sē), rush into, 6.262; p., immissus, a, um, of the reins of horses, let loose; hence, (fig.), swiftly running, 5.146; unchecked, unbridled, 5.662; of the hair or beard, descending, left growing, neglected, long, 3.593.</p>
    <p><strong>aperiō, uī, tus, 4, a.:</strong> to uncover, lay bare, 1.107; throw open, open, 2.60; disclose to the view, 3.206; disclose, reveal, 6.12; (pass.), aperīrī, to appear, 8.681; p., apertus, a, um, opened, 8.585; unguarded, 11.748; adj., open, 1.155; clear, pure, 1.587. (ab and root par, whence pariō)</p>
    <p><strong>timidus, a, um:</strong> adj. (timeō), subject to fear; fearful, cowardly, trembling, timid, 6.263, et al.</p>
    <p><strong>vādō, 3, n.:</strong> to go, walk, advance, go on, 2.396, et al.; rush, 2.359; move, speed on, 8.702; imperat., vāde, away, go on! 3.462.</p>
    <p><strong>passus, ūs, m.:</strong> a spreading or stretching; a step, pace, 2.724. (pandō)</p>
    <p><strong>aequō, āvī, ātus, 1, a. and n.:</strong> to make equal in size, number, weight, etc., 1.193; 5.419; to equalize, divide equally, 1.508; make equal in length, 9.338; in height, raise to, 4.89; to equal, be equal to; to be as high as, on a level with; keep pace with, 6.263; return equally, requite, 6.474; lift, exalt, 11.125; p., aequātus, a, um, made equal or even; steady, 4.587. (aequus)</p>
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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/vergil-aeneid/vergil-aeneid-vi-236-263