While translating the Aeneid, I came across the quote in which Aeneas speaks his surviving crew. In an effort to imbue some sort of inspiration, he states “Ō sociī (neque enigma ignārī sumus ante malōrum), Ō passī graviōra, dabit deus hīs quote fīnem. Vōs et Scyllaeam rabiem penitusque sonantēs accestis scopulos, vōs et Cyclōpia saxa expertī: revocāte animōs maestumque timōrem mittite; forsan et haec ōlim meminisse iuvābit. Per variōs cāsūs, per tot discrīmina rērum tendimus in Latium, sēdēs ubi fāta quiētās ostendunt; illīc fās rēgna resurgere Troiae. Dūrāte, et vōsmet rēbus servāte secundis.” (Vergil, 1.198-207).
This roughly translates to “My comrades (we are not unaware to our troubles), You who have suffered worse [things], god will give an end to these things as well. You have approached rabid Scylla and her rocks deep within cyclops island: restore your spirits and send away your gloomy fears. Perhaps after some time, it will be pleasing to have remembered these things. Through many misfortunes, we’re heading to Latium, where the fates reveal peaceful abodes; in that place, it is divinely right for the kingdom of Troy to rise again. Endure, and save yourselves for the things that follow.”
In conjunction with current day politics, we suffered many misfortunes under the current regime, and with everything we’ve been through, we are on our way to the proverbial Latium–– the upcoming U.S. administration. The Aeneid is a true jack-of-all-trades in that it can provide at least a vague quote for nearly anything you might think of, but when it comes to politics, there is no shortage of quotes that can apply today, tomorrow, and the day after. As we live in a complex world, looking at things from a Vergilian perspective is refreshing, and—if I may be so bold as to say—provides a much needed new understanding of our world.
Aidan Houllahan is a Senior at WHS and the president of the Winchester High School Junior Classical League Club.