Haud mora, continuō mātris praecepta facessit:

ad dēlūbra venit, mōnstrātās excitat ārās,

quattuor eximiōs praestantī corpore taurōs550

dūcit et intactā totidem cervīce iuvencās.

Post, ubi nōna suōs Aurōra indūxerat ortūs,

īnferiās Orpheī mittit, lūcumque revīsit.

Hīc vērō subitum ac dictū mīrābile mōnstrum

aspiciunt, liquefacta boum per vīscera tōtō555

strīdere apēs uterō et ruptīs effervere costīs,

immēnsāsque trahī nūbēs, iamque arbore summā

confluere et lentīs ūvam dēmittere rāmīs.

    Aristaeus performs the ritual. 

    The story becomes exceptionally compressed here, as Aristaeus immediately goes to fulfill his mother’s orders. He sets up the altars, selects the sacrificial animals, exactly as commanded. After nine days Aristaeus returns to the grove and witnesses a wondrous sight: huge swarms of bees have emerged from the cattle and hang from the trees.

    548  haud mora: supply erat. Vergil also does not delay: he does not return Cyrene to her underwater lair or Aristaeus to Arcadia. Aristaeus is now instantaneously ready to perform the works of expiation. Notice, too, that the rites that Cyrene has spelled out to Aristaeus are nowhere articulated by Proteus—she appears to understand what must be done because she is a divinity herself. 

    548  facessit: from facessō, the intensive (or meditative) form of faciō. Verbs that end in –essō show eagerness or activity (AG 263.2b).

    550  praestantī corpore: as in line 538. Notice how the language of lines 550-553 repeats almost verbatim lines 538, 540, 544-546. While this imitates the repetition in rituals found in Homeric epics, it also appears that Aristaeus wants to get this right!

    551  intactā…cervice: as in line 540.

    552  Aurōra: as in line 544.

    553  īnferiās Orpheī: as in line 545.

    554  hīc: adverb. 

    554  vērō: adverb, “indeed,” used to emphasize the demonstrative hīc (see OLD vero 5) 

    554  dictū: supine in the ablative (AG 510); take closely with mīrābile

    554  mōnstrum: “wonder” or “an amazing occurrence.”

    555  aspiciunt: the subject is Aristaeus and whatever people are nearby, helping him with the ritual. 

    555  boum: genitive plural of bōs, as in line 543 (AG 79).

    555  tōtō: modifies uterō in line 556; an ablative of place where without a preposition, as is common in poetry (AG 429.4).

    556-558  strīdere…efferuere…trahī…confluere…dēmittere: a series of verbs in indirect statement, which describe the mōnstrum: they see an amazing event, that the bees buzz, break out, depart in clouds from the carcasses, etc. 

    556  apēs: the subject accusative for these verbs. 

    556  ruptīs…costīs: ablative of place from where (AG 428g).

    557  immēnsās…nubēs: an appositive of the subject accusative, apēs; the bees are drawn out of the carcass in great clouds, cluster together and then hang from branches. These are swarming bees, as we first encountered at line 60. 

    557  arbore summā: ablative of place where without a preposition, as is common in poetry (AG 429.4).

    558  lentīs…ramīs: ablative of place from where (AG 428g). The swarm weighs down the pliant bough. 

    558  ūvam: that is, a cluster of bees that looks like a bunch of grapes.

    continuō: immediately

    facessō –ere –cessī –cessītus: perform, execute, do effectively

    dēlūbrum –ī n.: shrine, place for sacrificial cleansings

    mōnstrō mōnstrāre mōnstrāvī mōnstrātus: indicate, prescribe

    excitō excitāre excitāvī excitātus: raise, erect

    eximius –a –um: exceptional, distinguished550

    praestāns –ntis: outstanding, extraordinary

    taurus taurī m.: bull

    intāctus –a –um: untouched, unbroken

    totidem: just as many

    cervīx cervīcis f.: neck

    iuvenca iuvencae f.: young cow, heifer

    nōnus –a –um: ninth

    Aurōra Aurōrae f.: dawn

    indūcō inducere indūxī inductus: lead in, bring forth

    ortus ortūs m.: rising

    īnferiae īnferiārum f.: sacrifices, rites in honor of the dead

    Orpheus –eī m.: Orpheus

    lūcus lūcī m.: grove, wood

    revīsō –vīsere -vīsī -vīsus: revisit, go to see again

    subitus –a –um: unexpected, sudden

    mīrābilis –e: wonderful, extraordinary

    mōnstrum mōnstrī n.: wonder, amazing occurrence

    liquefaciō –ere –fēcī –factus: dissolve, liquefy555

    vīscus vīsceris n.: (pl) internal organs, viscera

    strīdō –ere: hiss, buzz, roar

    apis apis f.: bee

    uterus –ī m.: belly, womb

    effervō –fervere — —: boil over, swarm forth

    costa –ae f.: rib

    immēnsus –a –um: immense, vast

    nūbēs nūbis f.: cloud

    cōnfluō –fluere –flūxī —: run together, crowd together

    lentus –a –um: pliant, flexible

    ūva –ae f.: grape

    dēmittō dēmittere dēmīsī dēmissus: send down, shed, drop

    rāmus rāmī m.: branch

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