How we cite our quotes: Citations follow this format: (Book.Line). We used Robert Fitzgerald's translation.
Quote #10
(Juno):
"While fortune seemed
Compliant, and the Fates let power rest
With Latium, your brother and your city
Had my protection. Now I see the soldier
Meeting a destiny beyond his strength:
His doom's day, mortal shock of the enemy,
Are now at hand. I cannot bear to watch
This duel, this pact. If you dare help your brother
More at close quarters, do it, and well done.
A better time may follow present pain." (12.197-206)
Once again, Juno addresses the Aeneid's most common portrayal of Fate: fixed on the macro level, a bit more open on the micro level. By this point, she has resigned herself to defeat, but she's still willing to let someone else (Turnus's sister, the nymph Juturna) interfere, provided she's willing to risk taking the heat for it. What do you make of the last line of Juno's speech? Do you think she is genuinely hopeful that things might turn out alright for Turnus? Is this just wishful thinking (something a bit different from being hopeful)? Or is she just messing with Juturna's mind?