That which I had prefered to owe to you, let me owe to the storms.
The wind (and the waves) is more just than your spirit.
45I am not of so much value (why have you not been judged unfairly?)
that you perish, while you flee from me through the long sea.
With such great a price to you cultivate a precious hatred and perseverance,
if, while you might be without me, to die is of little account to you.
Now the winds fall, and upon the evenly spread waves,
50Triton will run through the sea with his bluish horses.
If only you were also changeable with the winds.
And you will be, unless you exceed the hardness of oak.
Why, as if you didn't know how powerful the frienzied sea can be,
do you now foolishly trust the sea so often experienced?
55even though, the open sea inviting your journey, you would sever
the towing ropes,
still, the spacious sea has for you much sadness.
Notes:
malueram: first person, singular, pluperfect,
active, indicative; from malo, malle, malui.
“‘I should have preferred if I had had the choice’, the indicative
for the subjunctive, on the analogy of such constructions as melius fuerat,
is common in such hypothetical expressions…” #1
sine: 2nd person, singular, present, active, imperative
debere: present active infinitive; complimentary
with malueram and then with sine
procellis: dative, plural, feminine; parrallel
with tibi
iustior: comparative predicate adjective
iustus, -a, -um
Est: “the verb is singular (est) in agreement with
only the nearer subject.” #1
Animo…tuo: ablative, singular, masculine;
ablatives of comparison
tanti: genitive of value
numquid censeris inique: “Dido
has just said that Aeneas overrates her worth; in this parenthesis she
perhaps implies that she has estimated him to highly…” #1
numquid: = num quid: interrogative pronoun with
a particle of negation
Censeris: 2nd person, singular, present, passive,
indicative; subject is Aeneas
Inique: adverbial
pereas: 2nd person, singular, present, active,
subjunctive; result clause.
Dum: causal
Me: singular personal pronoun; ablative of separation
magno: “the construction with the ablative of
price is a prosaic idiom introduced to poetry by O. and found only here
in his works…” #1
careas: 2nd person, singular, present, active,
subjunctive; in dum clause with future intent
uile: ‘of little account’
ponent: 2nd person, plural, future, active,
indicative
strataque: perfect passive participle; nominative,
singular; modifying unda
unda: ablative, singular, feminine; ablative of
place where
caeruleis…equis: plural, feminine; ablatives
of mean
quoque: ‘also’
utinam: ‘if only’ This line alludes to
Mercury’s speech to Aeneas, “varium et mutabile semper femina” (Aeneid
4.569-570)
nisi: ‘unless’
quasi: ‘as if’
nescires: 2nd person, singular, imperfect,
active, subjunctive
quid: introduces indirect question
possint: 3rd perspn, plural, present, active,
subjunctive; verb in indirect question
totiens: adverb modifying expertae
male: adverb modifying credis
aquae: dative, singular, feminine; credo takes
the dative
Ut: concessive
Pelago: ablative, singular, masculine; ‘the
wide open sea’
Suadente: present active participable, ablative,
singular; ablative absolute with pelago
Viam: accusative, singular, feminine; direct object
of suadente
Solvas: 2nd person, singular, present, active,
subjunctive; in ut clause