Heu nihil invītīs fās quemquam fīdere dīvīs!

Ecce trahēbātur passīs Priamēïa virgō

crīnibus ā templō Cassandra adytīsque Minervae

ad caelum tendēns ārdentia lūmina frūstrā,405

lūmina, nam tenerās arcēbant vincula palmās.

Nōn tulit hanc speciem furiātā mente Coroebus

et sēsē medium iniēcit peritūrus in agmen;

cōnsequimur cūnctī et dēnsīs incurrimus armīs.

Hīc prīmum ex altō dēlūbrī culmine tēlīs410

nostrōrum obruimur oriturque miserrima caedēs

armōrum faciē et Grāiārum errōre iubārum.

tum Danaī gemitū atque ēreptae virginis īrā

undique collēctī invādunt, ācerrimus Āiāx

et geminī Atrīdae Dolopumque exercitus omnis:415

adversī ruptō ceu quondam turbine ventī

cōnflīgunt, Zephyrusque Notusque et laetus Eōīs

Eurus equīs; strīdunt silvae saevitque tridentī

spūmeus atque īmō Nēreus ciet aequora fundō.

Illī etiam, sī quōs obscūrā nocte per umbram420

fūdimus īnsidiīs tōtāque agitāvimus urbe,

appārent; prīmī clipeōs mentītaque tēla

agnōscunt atque ōra sonō discordia signant.

Īlicet obruimur numerō, prīmusque Coroebus

Pēneleī dextrā dīvae armipotentis ad āram425

prōcumbit; cadit et Rhīpeus, iūstissimus ūnus

quī fuit in Teucrīs et servantissimus aequī

(dīs aliter vīsum); pereunt Hypanisque Dymāsque

cōnfīxī ā sociīs; nec tē tua plūrima, Panthū,

lābentem pietās nec Apollinis īnfula tēxit.430

Īliacī cinerēs et flamma extrēma meōrum,

testor, in occāsū vestrō nec tēla nec ūllās

vītāvisse vicēs, Danaüm et, sī Fāta fuissent

ut caderem, meruisse manū. Dīvellimur inde,

Īphitus et Peliās mēcum (quōrum Īphitus aevō435

iam gravior, Peliās et vulnere tardus Ulixī),

prōtinus ad sēdēs Priamī clāmōre vocātī.

Coroebus attempts to rescue Cassandra (Storr). Their disguise is discovered and many Trojans fall. Aeneas makes his way to Priam's palace (Bennet).

402  Heu nihil fās (est) ... dīvīs: “alas, men may not put their trust in unwilling gods,” i.e. the Trojans, in putting on Greek armor, placed themselves under the protection of the divinities who were unfavorable to them (F-D).  nihil is an inner object with fidere (F-B). 

403  trahēbātur: i.e. by Ajax the Lesser (Ajax Oileus), who dragged her with the statue of Pallas to which she clung (G-K). She is now seen as she is being dragged off to the Greek ships, bound and manhandled, after a peculiarly sacrilegious rape (Horsfall). 

403  passīs crīnibus: either the abl. of description, "with her tresses all loose” (AG 415)  or the abl. of means, "by her loosened tresses" (AG 409) (F-B). passis may imply supplication and so may another indirect allusion to the story, not a conventional picture of Cassandra as prophetess (Austin).  

403  Priamēïa virgō: “Priam’s maiden daughter” (Knapp); "the daughter of Priam," the adjective being equivalent to the genitive, as often (Pharr). 

404  ā templō Minervae: she had fled to the shrine of Minerva for refuge.

404  adytīs: “from the inner sanctuary” (F-D).

405  tendēns: “straining” (C-R). 

405  lūmina: metonymy for "eyes."

406  arcēbant: "confined," so that hands could not be raised in prayer (H-H). 

406  palmās: in supplication, the hands were extended with open palms (F-B).

407  nōn tulit: because he was her lover (Comstock). 

407  furiātā mente: abl. of description (AG 415) (H-H). 

408  et: “but,” as in line 94 (Knapp). 

408  peritūrus: “prepared to die” (Storr). 

409  dēnsīs armīs: ablative of manner (F-D) (AG  412); ablative of means (Pharr); armīs is probably a dative (Storr),  “into the thick of the fight” (G-K).

410  dēlūbrī ex culmine: delubri is the temple mentioned in 404 (Knapp). A party of Trojans was hurling down missiles from the top of the temple of Minerva on the citadel (F-D).

411  miserrima: i.e. because they were slain by their own fellow-citizens (G-K).

412  faciē ... errōre: ablative of cause (AG 404) (F-B). 

412 errōre iubārum: “the mistake arising from the crests” (Storr); iubārum is objective gen (AG 347).

413  gemitū … īrā: "with a cry of rage at the rescue of the maiden" (Knapp); ablative of cause (Pharr). Another case of hendiadys (C-R). ēreptae virginis: “the rescue of the maiden,”  subjective genitive (AG 343) (F-D).

414  collēctī: middle voice (Pharr). 

414  invādunt: supply nōs (Pharr).  

414  ācerrimus: "most fiercely" (H-H).

415: geminī: = duo. They were not twins (Pharr). 

415  Atrīdae: the brothers Agamemnon and Menaleus, sons of Atreus.

416  adversī: "face to face" (G-K), “opposed (to each other),” and hence “opposing.” 

416  quondam: “at times” (P-H). 

416  ruptō ... turbine: “when a whirlwind bursts forth,” ablative absolute, expressing time (F-D). (AG 419)

417  Zephyrus … Notus … Eurus: Greek names for West, South, East winds. The accompaniment of horses was common with the imaginative representation of the winds: originally a natural symbol of strength and speed (Sidgwick).

418  mark the alliteration (Howson). 

418  tridentī: ablative of means (Pharr). 

419  spūmeus: "all foaming," applying to the sea-god and the sea (Comstock). 

419  fundō: supply ex (Pharr).

420  Illī (Danai) appārent (Pharr). sī quōs: quōscumque (Knapp).

421  fūdimus īnsidiīs: “we routed with our [trickery]” (Page). 

421  tōtā urbe: “throughout the city” (F-B); ablative of extension (P-H). 

422-23  Illī (Danai) prīmī … agnōscunt atque … signant. 

422  mentīta: "false” not deceptive (Howson).

423  (nostra) ōra sonō discordia signant: “mark our speech as differing in tone (from theirs).” The Greeks and Trojans are supposed to speak the same language, but with a difference in accent (F-B). 

423  sonō: ablative of respect with discordia (Pharr).

424  Īlicet: "immediately," "straightaway," īre + liect. The word was used as a formula of dismissal by the priest after the sacrifice, by the consul after an assembly ,etc. Then it came from its interjectional use to bear an adverbial sense (Howson). 

424  obruimur: the final syllable is long here (G-K). 

425: dīvae armipotentis = Minervae (Pharr). 

426: iūstissimus ūnus: “most righteous of all,” unus is often used to strengthen a superlative (F-B). 

427: servantissimus aequī: “most devoted to justice”; aequi is used substantively as an objective genitive (Pharr).

428: dīs aliter vīsum (est): the gods decreed otherwise, lit., “it seemed otherwise to the gods” (Pharr). Hypanisque Dymāsque: the double -que joins them as companions in death (Austin).

429:  ā (suīs) sociīs: ' by their friends ' on the summit of the temple (F-D).

430: īnfula: It was the sign of his holy office and so might have been expected to defend him (Sidgwick).

431: flamma meōrum: Aeneas speaks as if burning Troy were a funeral pile, in which his slain countrymen had been consumed (F-D).

432: (vos) testor (Pharr). ūllās vicēs: “any chances” (Bennet).

433:(me) vītāvisse: supply me as accusative subject of the indirect statement (Knapp). Danaüm: with both tela and vices (C-R). With manu (Carter).

434: ut caderem: These words are very carefully placed : they must be taken with si fata fuissent (which needs something to complete its meaning and cannot by itself =  “had fate so willed”), but they also are mentally carried on to meruisse manū.  “Had fate been that I should fall by my deeds I earned it {i.e. the right to fall),” (Page). dīvellimur: “we tear ourselves.” middle or reflexive use (C-R).

435: quōrum Īphitus (est) gravior, et Peliās (est) tardus (Pharr). aevō: aetate (Carter).

436: gravior: i.e. rather slowly in movement (Knapp); “somewhat burdened” (F-B). Ulixī: subjective genitive with vulnere (AG 343);  “inflicted by, Ulysses” (F-D).

437: prōtinus: again stressing the urgency of the summons (Austin). sēdēs: “palace” (Carter). vocātī: supply sumus (Knapp), take vocati as a finite verb, rather than as a participle dependent on divellimur (P-H). 

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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/zh-hans/vergil-aeneid/vergil-aeneid-ii-402-437