My husband was slain, martyred upon the household alters
and my brother holds the rewards of such great a crime,
I am driven as an exile, and I leave the ashes of my husband and the
fatherland,
and am borne along an uneven road with my enemies close at hand:
I am brought to these shores, having excaped my brother and the sea;
I purchase the coast, faithless, which I gave to you.
I established a city and fixed vast and wide
walls causing envy in the neighboring places.
Wars swell; foreign and a woman I am tested by wars
and with difficulty I make ready the crude gates of the city and its
defenses.
I have pacified a thousand suitors, who join together in complaining
that I have placed before their marriage beds one whom I do not even
know.
Why do you hesitate to hand me, defeated, over to Iarbas of the Gaetuleans?
I would have held out my arm to your wickedness
occidit: occido -cidere -cidi
-casum; to fall, to die; 3rd person, singular, perfect, active,
indicative
internas: internus -a -um;
inward, internal, domestic, civil; accusative, plural; Modifying aras
coniunx: coniunx -iugis;
spouse, wife, husband; common (both masculine and feminine)1,
nominative, singular; subject of occidit; Refers to Dido's husband
Sycaeus
mactatus: macto -are; to
slay, smite; perfect passive participle, nominative, singular; apposative
with coniunx; this is a reference to the scene described in Aeneid
book III when the king of Troy, Priam is slain disgracefully upon an alter
within his palace2
ad: prep; to, toward, at, upon
aras: ara -ae; alter; feminine, accusative,
plural; object of preposition ad
sceleris: scelus -eris;
crime, evil deed; neuter, genitive, singular; with praemia; in the
Aeneid, Dido sympathises with Aeneas citing the sorrow she had when her
brother Pygmalion killed her husband Sycaeus
tanti: tantus -a -um; of such
a size, so great; genitive, singular; modifying sceleris
praemia: praemium -i; that
which is taken first, gift, reward; neuter, accusative, plural; direct
object of habet; Pygmalion after murdering him, took Sycaeus' kingdom
of Phoenesia; this is the great reward
frater: frater -ris; brother;
masculine, nominative, singular; subject of habet; refers
to Dido's brother Pygmalion
habet: habeo -ere -ui -itus;
to have, hold; 3rd person, singular, present, active, indicative
exul: alternate: exsul -sulis;
a banished person, exile; common, nominative, singular; subject of agor;
Dido describes herself as an exile because she has fled the impious userping
of her brother
agor: ago agere egi actus; to
set in motion, do, drive; 1st person, singular, present, passive, indicative:
is driven
cineresque: cinis -eris;
ashes; (rarely) feminine, accusative, plural; this refers to the ashes
of Sycaeus
viri: vir -i; man; masculine,
genitive, plural
patriamque: patria -ae;
fatherland, country; feminine, accusative, plural; direct object of relinquo
relinquo: relinquo -linquere
-liqui -lictus; to leave; abandon, relinquish; 1st person, singular,
present, active, indicative
feror: fero ferre tuli latus;
to carry, bear, bring; 1st person, singular, present, passive, indicative
dubias: dubius -a -um; doubtful,
uncertain, dangerous; accusative, plural; modifying vias
hoste: hostis -is; enemy, stranger;
common, ablative, singular; of accompaniement
sequente: sequor sequi secutus
sum; to follow; present active participle, ablative, singular; modifying
hoste
vias: via -ae; road, way; feminine,
accusative, plural; direct object of sequente
applicor: applico -are;
to place to, to attach (in passive) to be brought to or near, 1st person,
singular, present, passive, indicative
his: hic haec hoc; this; ablative,
plural; modifying oris
oris: ora -ae; coast,
coastline, people of the coast; feminine, ablative, plural; of place where;
this is the shore and people of north africa where Dido founded carthage
fratrique: dative, singular
elapsa: elabor -labi -lapsus;
to glide out or away, escape, disappear; perfect passive participle, nominative,
singular; refering to Dido
fretoque: fretum -i; a strait,
estuary, the sea; neuter
quod: qui quae quod; relative
pronoun; anticedent is litus
tibi: pronoun; dative, singular; indirect
object of donavi; refers to Aeneas
donavi: dono -are; to give;
1st person, singular, perfect, active, indicative
perfide: perfidus -i; faithless,
treacherous, false; vocative, singular; refering to Aenaes
litus: litus -oris; sea-shore,
beach, coast; neuter, accusative, singular; direct object of emo
emo: emo emere emi emptum; to
buy, purchase; 1st person, singular, present, active, indicative; Dido
is said to have bought as much of the North African ground as could be
enclosed by a bull's hide2
urbem: urbs -bis; a walled
town, city; feminine, accusative, singular; direct object of constitui;
the city of Carthage
constitui: constituo -stituere
-stitui -stitutus; to cause to stand, set up, place, establish, found;
1st person, singular, perfect, active, indicative
lateque: adverb; from latus -a
-um; broad, wide; describing fixi
patentia: pateo -ere; to
be open, lie open; comparative adverb; ablative, singular; describing fixi
fixi: figo figere fixi fixus;
to fix, fasten, make firm, attach; 1st person, singular, perfect, active,
indicative
moenia: moenia -ium; walls
or fortification of a city; neuter, accusative, plural; direct object of
fixi
finitimis: finitimus -a -um;
neighbouring, adjacent; ablative, plural; modifying locis
invidiosa: invidiosus -a -um;
causing envy or hatred; modifying moenia
locis: locus -i; place; masculine,
ablative, plural; of place where; in Aeneid IV, Dido's sister Anna encourages
her to seek some happiness with Aeneas sighting the war-like and hostal
tribes surrounding this city of Carthage
bella: bellum -i; war; neuter,
nominative, plural; subject of tument
tument: tumeo -ere; to swell;
3rd person, plural, present, active, indicative; this verb takes the image
of the swelling sea and an impending storm2
bellis: ablative, plural
peregrina: peregrinus -a -um;
foreign, strange; describing subject of temptor; refering to Dido;
this is a
hendyadis because a substantive adjective is used after a conjunction
instead of a just a modifying adjetive
femina: femina -ae; woman;
feminine, nominative, singular; apposative to subject of temptor;
refering to Dido
temptor: tempto -are; to
try, test; 1st person, singular, present, passive, indicative
vixque: adverb; with difficulty,
with effort
rudis: rudis -is; rough, roughly
made; uncommon form: accusative, plural; modifying portas
portas: porta -ae; gate; feminine,
accusative, plural; direct object of paro
urbis: genative, singular;
dependent upon portas
arma: arma -orum; arms, weapons,
armor; feminine, accusative, plural; direct object of paro
paro: paro -are; to make ready;
1st person, singular, present, active, indicative
mille: numeral; a thousand; indeclinable;
modifying procis
procis: procus -i; suitor;
masculine, dative, plural; dative object of placui; in Vergil, Dido
had many suitors after she founded Carthage and she denied them all to
preserve her modesty and faith to her dead husband Sycaeus
placui: placeo -ere -ui -itus;
to please, be agreeable to; takes dative, thus procis, 1st person,
singular, perfect, active, indicative
qui: relative pronoun; masculine, nominative,
plural; anticedent is procis; subject of coiere
me: personal pronoun; accusative subject
in indirect statement; introduced by querentes
coiere: coeo coiere coii
coitus; come together, meet, assemble; this is an elipticised form
of 3rd person, singular, perfect, active, indicative: coierunt; this
word also has a sexual connotation, further pointing to the various suitors'
intentions3
querentes: queror queri questus
sum; to complain, bewail; present active participle, nominative, plural;
refers to qui; indroduces an indirect statement
nescioquem: nescio -ire -ivi
-itum; not to know, to be ignorant of; 1st person, singular, present,
active, indicative; in a phrase with a relative pronoun (quem),
I know not whom; quem is the object of nescio and refers
to the implied direct object of praeposuisse: prefer (one) whom
I do not know; this is contemptuous and the contempt is for Aeneas2
thalamis: thalamus -i; an
interior room, especially a woman's bedroom, a marriage bed; masculine,
dative, plural; dative object with compound verb praeposiusse
praeposuisse: praepono -ponere
-posui -positus; to place before, to prefer; perfect, active, infinitive,
main verb in indirect statement introduced by querentes
suis: possessive pronoun; their; dative,
plural; modifying thalamis
quid: interrogative pronoun; why?
dubitas: dubito -are, to
doubt; hesitate; 2nd person, singular, present, active, indicative
vinctam: vinco vincere vici victus;
to conquer, overcome, defeat; perfect passive participle, accusative, singular;
substantive direct object of tradere; refers to Dido; Dido, here,
is defeated by many things: by love, by the unfaithfulness of Aeneas, by
the will of fate and the Gods, and by her own madness
Gaetulo: Gaetuli -orum, dative,
singular, modifying Iarbae; African tribe whose king
was Iarbas
tradere: trado -dere -didi -ditus;
to hand over, surrender; present, active, infinitive; complimentary infinitive
with dubitas
Iarbae: Iarbas -ae, dative,
singular; indirect object of tradere; Iarbas is the king of an African
tribe neighboring Carthage and a suitor for Dido's hand; when Aenaes comes
and rumor spreads that Dido and Aeneas have married, Iarbas becomes jealous
and prays to Zeus to make Aeneas leave Carthage
praebuerim: praebeo -bere
-bui -bitus; to offer, hold out; 1st person, singular, perfect, active,
subjunctive
sceleri: scelus -eris; crime,
evil deed; neuter, dative, singular; dative object with compound verb praebuerim
bracchia: bracchium -i;
arm, specifically forearm, nueter, accusative, plural; accusative direct
object of praebuerim
nostra: possessive pronoun; our;
accusative, plural; modifying bracchia; Dido, in the Aeneid, often
refers to herself with the 1st plural
tuo: possessive pronoun; your; dative,
singular; modifying sceleri
References:
1. This comment and all dictionary entries from Cassell's
Latin Dictionary
2. Peter Knox commentary
3. This entry from Lewis and Short's A Latin Dictionary
Top of Page