Vergil, Aeneid I 132-141

Manuscripts: M | R

Neptune sternly rebukes the winds (Austin). 

132: tantane vos generis tenuit fiducia vestri: note the careful chiastic order. The alliteration in tanta tenuit emphasizes the irony (F-B). generis vestri: the winds were sons of Aurora (= Eos, or Dawn) and the Titan Astraeus, who had rebelled against Jupiter (F-B) (Smith’s Dictionary, s.v. Astraeus).

133: iam: emphatic; the winds had been disorderly before, but now things were coming to a climax (Page). iam...audetis: i.e., “unruly as you have been, do you now dare?” (F-B). Note the absence of any interrogative particle to introduce this question. This occurs chiefly in impassioned questions, such as this (Bennett). caelum terramque…miscere: proverbial of general confusion, yet used here almost in a literal sense (F-B). meo sine numine: “without commands of mine” (F-B). venti: vocative (C-R).

134: tantas...tollere: note the alliteration, similar to that in 132 (F-B). moles: sc. undarum (Bennett). “Mountains of waters” (Storr).

135: quos ego—: “whom I’ll—.” This is the most familiar instance in Latin of the figure called aposiopesis, common in passionate outbursts (F-B) (AG 641). praestat: = melius est, impersonal (Comstock). componere is the subject (Wetherell).

136: post: adverb; “another time” (F-B). non simili: = dissimillima (Walpole). “With no like penalty,” i.e., “very different,” by the figure called litotes (F-B) (AG 326c).

137: maturate: “speed well your flight”; the verb (lit. “ripen”) is used of speed in performance of duty...here with a touch of royal irony (Conway). vestro...regi: i.e., Aeolus (F-B).

138: non illi: note the emphatic position of these important words, which are contrasted with sed mihi (F-B). tridentem: the regular symbol of Neptune’s power (Bennett).

139: sorte datum: sc. esse. infin. with subject-acc. (imperium and tridentem) in oratio obliqua (Chase) (AG 580a). According to the myth, Jupiter, Neptune, and Pluto divided the empire of their father Saturn by lot (F-B).

140–141: aula...regnet: “let him display his power (se iactet) in that court, and reign in the close shut prison of the winds” (Frieze).

140: vestras...domos: “home of you and yours” (F-B). Eure: Neptune, though addressing Eurus only, is thinking of all the winds (Walpole). se iactet: “let him lord it” (F-B). Jussive Subjunctive (Bennett) (AG 439).

141: clauso...carcere: emphatic; then and not till then let him reign, when he has closed up the prison (Walpole). Emphatic and a predicate...though it may also be abl. abs. (Conington). Abl. absolute of condition: provided the prison of the winds be closed (Chase) (AG 420.4).