But the Queen, wounded for a long time by a deep concern
Feeds the wound with her life-blood and is worn away by a hidden fire
Often the courage of the man and the honour of the family
Returns to her mind and her cares do not give gentle rest to her limbs.
The next day was purifying the lands with the lamp of Phoebeas
And Aurora had dispelled the damp darkness from the sky
When, scarcely sane, she spoke to her sister of the same mind,
"Sister Anna, what dreams terrify me in my anxiety!
What a man is this new guest who entered our home,
How strong is his chest and his shoulders!

When the sun had risen the chosen young men went from the gates
Broad bladed hunting spears, snares, wide-meshed nets
And the African horsemen hurried from the gates
And the strong keen-scented dogs
The Carthaginians awaited the Queen at the entrance,
When with a large crowd gathering she came forward
Dressed in a Sidonian cloak with an embroidered border

Alone in her empty home she grieves and lies down on the abandoned couch.
She, absent, hears and sees him absent,
Or she holds Ascanius in her lap taken by the likeness to his father,
To see if she can deceive an unutterable and unspeakable love.
The started towers do not rise and the young men do not practise their arms
Their harbours and ramparts prepare to give safety
In war: the building works had interrupted and the threatening
Walls and the cranes pointing in the sky.

And Dido and the Trojan leader come to the same cave.
Both primeval Earth and Juno the bride's sponsor
Give the signal; lightning and the upper heaven as a witness
To the marriage, flashed, the nymphs howled on the top of the mountain.
That day was the first cause of death and evils;
For Dido is not influenced now by appearance or reputation nor does she any longer contemplate a secret love affair:
She calls it marriage, with this name she covered up her guilt.

First dawn, leaving the saffron yellow bed
Of Tithonus was sprinkling the land with light.
When the Queen, from the watchtowers saw first light,
And the fleet with its sails in formation,
And when she realised that the harbours were empty without a single rower,
Having beaten her lovely breast three and four times with her hand
And having pulled out her golden hair she said: "by Jupiter! Will
This stranger really go and have mocked our kingdoms?
Will not some people get the weapons ready and go in pursuit out of the whole city,
And will not others drag the ships from the dockyards? Go,
Quickly fetch flames, distribute the weapons, pull on the oars!
What am I saying? Where am I? What madness is altering my mind?