| a Publio Vergilio Marone — Pœta latinissimo — |
With an English translation — from the Latin — by |
| Poëma epicum 19 a.Chr.n. scriptum |
Antony S. Kline (1947 - ) |
| Edited by Brian T. Regan, Ph.D. | |
| LIBRI | |||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
| 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
| (Kline’s English translation has occasionally been emended or slightly modified to accord with the Latin edition here presented.) | |||
| LIBER I | ⤊ | |
| P. VERGILII MARONIS ÆNEIDOS LIBER PRIMUS | ||
| Arma virumque cano, Trojæ qui primus ab oris Italiam, fato profugus, Laviniaque venit litora, multum ille et terris jactatus et alto vi superum sævæ memorem Junonis ob iram ; multa quoque et bello passus, dum conderet urbem, | 5 | I sing of arms and the man, he who, exiled by fate, first came from the coast of Troy to Italy, and to Lavinian shores — hurled about endlessly by land and sea, by the will of the gods, by cruel Juno’s remorseless anger, long suffering also in war, until he founded a city |
| inferretque deos Latio, genus unde Latinum, Albanique patres, atque altæ mœnia Romæ. Musa, mihi causas memora, quo numine læso, quidve dolens, regina deum tot volvere casus insignem pietate virum, tot adire labores | 10 |
and brought his gods to Latium: from that the Latin people came, the lords of Alba Longa, the walls of noble Rome. Muse, tell me the cause: how was she offended in her divinity, how was she grieved, the Queen of Heaven, to drive a man, noted for virtue, to endure such dangers, to face so many |
| impulerit. Tantæne animis cælestibus iræ? Urbs antiqua fuit, Tyrii tenuere coloni, Karthago, Italiam contra Tiberinaque longe ostia, dives opum studiisque asperrima belli ; quam Juno fertur terris magis omnibus unam | 15 | trials? Can there be such anger in the minds of the gods? There was an ancient city, Carthage (held by colonists from Tyre), opposite Italy, and the far-off mouths of the Tiber, rich in wealth, and very savage in pursuit of war. They say Juno loved this one land above all others, |
| posthabita coluisse Samo ; hic illius arma, hic currus fuit ; hoc regnum dea gentibus esse, si qua fata sinant, jam tum tenditque fovetque. Progeniem sed enim Trojano a sanguine duci audierat, Tyrias olim quæ verteret arces ; | 20 | even neglecting Samos: here were her weapons and her chariot, even then the goddess worked at, and cherished, the idea that it should have supremacy over the nations, if only the fates allowed. Yet she’d heard of offspring, derived from Trojan blood, that would one day overthrow the Tyrian stronghold: |
| hinc populum late regem belloque superbum venturum excidio Libyæ : sic volvere Parcas. Id metuens, veterisque memor Saturnia belli, prima quod ad Trojam pro caris gesserat Argis — necdum etiam causæ irarum sævique dolores | 25 |
that from them a people would come, wide-ruling, and proud in war, to Libya’s ruin: so the Fates ordained. Fearing this, and remembering the ancient war she had fought before, at Troy, for her dear Argos, (and the cause of her anger and bitter sorrows |
| exciderant animo : manet alta mente repostum judicium Paridis spretæque injuria formæ, et genus invisum, et rapti Ganymedis honores. His accensa super, jactatos æquore toto Troas, reliquias Danaum atque immitis Achilli, | 30 | had not yet passed from her mind: the distant judgement of Paris stayed deep in her heart, the injury to her scorned beauty, her hatred of the race, and abducted Ganymede’s honors) the daughter of Saturn, incited further by this, hurled the Trojans, the Greeks and pitiless Achilles had left, |
| arcebat longe Latio, multosque per annos errabant, acti fatis, maria omnia circum. Tantæ molis erat Romanam condere gentem! Vix e conspectu Siculæ telluris in altum vela dabant læti, et spumas salis ære ruebant, | 35 | round the whole ocean, keeping them far from Latium: they wandered for many years, driven by fate over all the seas. Such an effort it was to found the Roman people. They were hardly out of sight of Sicily’s isle, in deeper water, joyfully spreading sail, bronze keel ploughing the brine, |
| quum Juno, æternum servans sub pectore volnus, hæc secum : « Mene incepto desistere victam, nec posse Italia Teucrorum avertere regem? Quippe vetor fatis. Pallasne exurere classem Argivom atque ipsos potuit submergere ponto, | 40 | when Juno, nursing the eternal wound in her breast, spoke to herself: ‘Am I to abandon my purpose, conquered, unable to turn the Teucrian king away from Italy! Why, the fates forbid it. Wasn’t Pallas able to burn the Argive fleet, to sink it in the sea, because of the guilt |
| unius ob noxam et furias Ajacis Oilei? Ipsa, Jovis rapidum jaculata e nubibus ignem, disjecitque rates evertitque æquora ventis, illum expirantem transfixo pectore flammas turbine corripuit scopuloque infixit acuto | 45 | and madness of one single man, Ajax, son of Oileus? She herself hurled Jupiter’s swift fire from the clouds, scattered the ships, and made the sea boil with storms: She caught him up in a water-spout, as he breathed flame from his pierced chest, and pinned him to a sharp rock: |
| Ast ego, quæ divom incedo regina, Jovisque et soror et conjunx, una cum gente tot annos bella gero! Et quisquam numen Junonis adoret præterea, aut supplex aris imponet honorem? » Talia flammato secum dea corde volutans | 50 | yet I, who walk about as queen of the gods, wife and sister of Jove, wage war on a whole race, for so many years. Indeed, will anyone worship Juno’s power from now on, or place offerings, humbly, on her altars?’ So debating with herself, her heart inflamed, the goddess |
| nimborum in patriam, loca feta furentibus austris, Æoliam venit. Hic vasto rex Æolus antro luctantes ventos tempestatesque sonoras imperio premit ac vinclis et carcere frenat. Illi indignantes magno cum murmure montis | 55 | came to Æolia, to the country of storms, the place of wild gales. Here in his vast cave, King Æolus, keeps the writhing winds, and the roaring tempests, under control, curbs them with chains and imprisonment. They moan angrily at the doors, with a mountain’s vast murmurs: |
| circum claustra fremunt ; celsa sedet Æolus arce sceptra tenens, mollitque animos et temperat iras. Ni faciat, maria ac terras cælumque profundum quippe ferant rapidi secum verrantque per auras. Sed pater omnipotens speluncis abdidit atris, | 60 | Æolus sits, holding his sceptre, in his high stronghold, softening their passions, tempering their rage: if not, they’d surely carry off seas and lands and the highest heavens, with them, in rapid flight, and sweep them through the air. But the all-powerful Father, fearing this, hid them |
| hoc metuens, molemque et montis insuper altos imposuit, regemque dedit, qui fœdere certo et premere et laxas sciret dare jussus habenas. Ad quem tum Juno supplex his vocibus usa est: « Æole, namque tibi divom pater atque hominum rex | 65 | in dark caves, and piled a high mountain mass over them and gave them a king, who by fixed agreement, would know how to give the order to tighten or slacken the reins. Juno now offered these words to him, humbly: ‘Æolus, since the Father of gods, and king of men, |
| et mulcere dedit fluctus et tollere vento, gens inimica mihi Tyrrhenum navigat æquor, Ilium in Italiam portans victosque Penates : incute vim ventis submersasque obrue puppes, aut age diversos et disiice corpora ponto. | 70 | gave you the power to quell, and raise, the waves with the winds, there is a people I hate sailing the Tyrrhenian Sea, bringing Troy’s conquered gods to Italy: Add power to the winds, and sink their wrecked boats, or drive them apart, and scatter their bodies over the sea. |
| Sunt mihi bis septem præstanti corpore nymphæ, quarum quæ forma pulcherrima Dejopea, conubio jungam stabili propriamque dicabo, omnis ut tecum meritis pro talibus annos exigat, et pulchra faciat te prole parentem. » | 75 | I have fourteen Nymphs of outstanding beauty: of whom I’ll name Deiopea, the loveliest in looks, joined in eternal marriage, and yours for ever, so that, for such service to me as yours, she’ll spend all her years with you, and make you the father of lovely children.’ |
| Æolus hæc contra : « Tuus, O regina, quid optes explorare labor ; mihi jussa capessere fas est. Tu mihi, quodcumque hoc regni, tu sceptra Jovemque concilias, tu das epulis accumbere divom, nimborumque facis tempestatumque potentem. » | 80 | Æolus replied: ‘Your task, O queen, is to decide what you wish: my duty is to fulfil your orders. You brought about all this kingdom of mine, the sceptre, Jove’s favor, you gave me a seat at the feasts of the gods, and you made me lord of the storms and the tempests.’ |
| Hæc ubi dicta, cavum conversa cuspide montem impulit in latus : ac venti, velut agmine facto, qua data porta, ruunt et terras turbine perflant. Incubuere mari, totumque a sedibus imis una Eurusque Notusque ruunt creberque procellis | 85 | When he had spoken, he reversed his trident and struck the hollow mountain on the side: and the winds, formed ranks, rushed out by the door he’d made, and whirled across the earth. They settle on the sea, East and West wind, and the wind from Africa, together, thick with storms, |
| Africus, et vastos volvunt ad litora fluctus. Insequitur clamorque virum stridorque rudentum. Eripiunt subito nubes cælumque diemque Teucrorum ex oculis ; ponto nox incubat atra. Intonuere poli, et crebris micat ignibus æther, | 90 | stir it all from its furthest deeps, and roll vast waves to shore: follows a cry of men and a creaking of cables. Suddenly clouds take sky and day away from the Trojan’s eyes: dark night rests on the sea. It thunders from the pole, and the æther flashes thick fire, |
| præsentemque viris intentant omnia mortem. Extemplo Æneæ solvuntur frigore membra : ingemit, et duplicis tendens ad sidera palmas talia voce refert : « O terque quaterque beati, quis ante ora patrum Trojæ sub mœnibus altis | 95 | and all things threaten immediate death to men. Instantly Æneas groans, his limbs slack with cold: stretching his two hands towards the heavens, he cries out in this voice: ‘Oh, three, four times fortunate were those who chanced to die in front of their father’s eyes |
| contigit oppetere! O Danaum fortissime gentis Tydide! Mene Iliacis occumbere campis non potuisse, tuaque animam hanc effundere dextra, sævus ubi Æacidæ telo jacet Hector, ubi ingens Sarpedon, ubi tot Simois correpta sub undis | 100 | under Troy’s high walls! O Diomede, son of Tydeus bravest of Greeks! Why could I not have fallen, at your hand, in the fields of Ilium, and poured out my spirit, where fierce Hector lies, beneath Achilles’s spear, and mighty Sarpedon: where Simois rolls, and sweeps away |
| scuta virum galeasque et fortia corpora volvit? » Talia jactanti stridens Aquilone procella velum adversa ferit, fluctusque ad sidera tollit. Franguntur remi ; tum prora avertit, et undis dat latus ; insequitur cumulo præruptus aquæ mons. | 105 | so many shields, helmets, brave bodies, of men, in its waves!’ Hurling these words out, a howling blast from the north, strikes square on the sail, and lifts the seas to heaven: the oars break: then the prow swings round and offers the beam to the waves: a steep mountain of water follows in a mass. |
| Hi summo in fluctu pendent ; his unda dehiscens terram inter fluctus aperit ; furit æstus harenis. Tris Notus abreptas in saxa latentia torquet — saxa vocant Itali mediis quæ in fluctibus aras — dorsum immane mari summo ; tris Eurus ab alto | 110 | Some ships hang on the breaker’s crest: to others the yawning deep shows land between the waves: the surge rages with sand. The south wind catches three, and whirls them onto hidden rocks (rocks the Italians call the Altars, in mid-ocean, a vast reef on the surface of the sea) three the east wind drives |
| in brevia et Syrtis urget, miserabile visu, illiditque vadis atque aggere cingit harenæ. Unam, quæ Lycios fidumque vehebat Oronten, ipsius ante oculos ingens a vertice pontus in puppim ferit : excutitur pronusque magister | 115 | from the deep, to the shallows and quick-sands (a pitiful sight), dashes them against the bottom, covers them with a gravel mound. A huge wave, toppling, strikes one astern, in front of his very eyes, one carrying faithful Orontes and the Lycians. The steersman’s thrown out and hurled headlong, face down: |
| volvitur in caput ; ast illam ter fluctus ibidem torquet agens circum, et rapidus vorat æquore vortex. Adparent rari nantes in gurgite vasto, arma virum, tabulæque, et Troja gaza per undas. Jam validam Ilionei navem, jam fortis Achati, | 120 | but the sea turns the ship three times, driving her round, in place, and the swift vortex swallows her in the deep. Swimmers appear here and there in the vast waste, men’s weapons, planking, Trojan treasure in the waves. Now the storm conquers Iloneus’s tough ship, now Achates, |
| et qua vectus Abas, et qua grandævus Aletes, vicit hiems ; laxis laterum compagibus omnes accipiunt inimicum imbrem, rimisque fatiscunt. Interea magno misceri murmure pontum, emissamque hiemem sensit Neptunus, et imis | 125 | now that in which Abas sailed, and old Aletes’s: their timbers sprung in their sides, all the ships let in the hostile tide, and split open at the seams. Neptune, meanwhile, greatly troubled, saw that the sea |
| stagna refusa vadis, graviter commotus ; et alto prospiciens, summa placidum caput extulit unda. Disjectam Æneæ, toto videt æquore classem, fluctibus oppressos Troas cælique ruina, nec latuere doli fratrem Junonis et iræ. | 130 | was churned with vast murmur, and the storm was loose and the still waters welled from their deepest levels: he raised his calm face from the waves, gazing over the deep. He sees Æneas’s fleet scattered all over the ocean, the Trojans crushed by the breakers, and the plummeting sky. And Juno’s anger, and her stratagems, do not escape her brother. |
| Eurum ad se Zephyrumque vocat, dehinc talia fatur: « Tantane vos generis tenuit fiducia vestri? Jam cælum terramque meo sine numine, venti, miscere, et tantas audetis tollere moles? Quos ego — sed motos præstat componere fluctus. | 135 | He calls the East and West winds to him, and then says: ‘Dœs confidence in your birth fill you so? Winds, do you dare, without my intent, to mix earth with sky, and cause such trouble, now? You whom I — ! But it’s better to calm the running waves: |
| Post mihi non simili pœna commissa luetis. Maturate fugam, regique hæc dicite vestro : non illi imperium pelagi sævumque tridentem, sed mihi sorte datum. Tenet ille immania saxa, vestras, Eure, domos ; illa se jactet in aula | 140 | you’ll answer to me later for this misfortune, with a different punishment. Hurry, fly now, and say this to your king: control of the ocean, and the fierce trident, were given to me, by lot, and not to him. He owns the wild rocks, home to you, and yours, East Wind: let Æolus officiate in his palace, |
| Æolus, et clauso ventorum carcere regnet. » Sic ait, et dicto citius tumida æquora placat, collectasque fugat nubes, solemque reducit. Cymothœ simul et Triton annixus acuto detrudunt navis scopulo ; levat ipse tridenti ; | 145 | and be king in the closed prison of the winds.’ So he speaks, and swifter than his speech, he calms the swollen sea, scatters the gathered cloud, and brings back the sun. Cymothoë and Triton, working together, thrust the ships from the sharp reef: Neptune himself raises them with his trident, |
| et vastas aperit syrtis, et temperat æquor, atque rotis summas levibus perlabitur undas. Ac veluti magno in populo quum sæpe coorta est seditio, sævitque animis ignobile volgus, jamque faces et saxa volant — furor arma ministrat ; | 150 | parts the vast quicksand, tempers the flood, and glides on weightless wheels, over the tops of the waves. As often, when rebellion breaks out in a great nation, and the common rabble rage with passion, and soon stones and fiery torches fly (frenzy supplying weapons), |
| tum, pietate gravem ac meritis si forte virum quem conspexere, silent, arrectisque auribus astant ; ille regit dictis animos, et pectora mulcet,— sic cunctus pelagi cecidit fragor, æquora postquam prospiciens genitor cæloque invectus aperto | 155 | if they then see a man of great virtue, and weighty service, they are silent, and stand there listening attentively: he sways their passions with his words and soothes their hearts: so all the uproar of the ocean died, as soon as their father, gazing over the water, carried through the clear sky, wheeled |
| flectit equos, curruque volans dat lora secundo. Defessi Æneadæ, quæ proxima litora, cursu contendunt petere, et Libyæ vertuntur ad oras. Est in secessu longo locus : insula portum efficit objectu laterum, quibus omnis ab alto | 160 | his horses, and gave them their head, flying behind in his chariot. The weary followers of Æneas made efforts to set a course for the nearest land, and tacked towards the Libyan coast. There is a place there in a deep inlet: an island forms a harbour with the barrier of its bulk, on which every wave from the deep |
| frangitur inque sinus scindit sese unda reductos. Hinc atque hinc vastæ rupes geminique minantur in cælum scopuli, quorum sub vertice late æquora tuta silent ; tum silvis scæna coruscis desuper horrentique atrum nemus imminet umbra. | 165 | breaks, and divides into diminishing ripples. On this side and that, vast cliffs and twin crags loom in the sky, under whose summits the whole sea is calm, far and wide: then, above that, is a scene of glittering woods, and a dark grove overhangs the water, with leafy shade: |
| Fronte sub adversa scopulis pendentibus antrum, intus aquæ dulces vivoque sedilia saxo, nympharum domus : hic fessas non vincula navis ulla tenent, unco non alligat ancora morsu. Huc septem Æneas collectis navibus omni | 170 | under the headland opposite is a cave, curtained with rock, inside it, fresh water, and seats of natural stone, the home of Nymphs. No hawsers moor the weary ships here, no anchor, with its hooked flukes, fastens them. Æneas takes shelter here with seven ships gathered |
| ex numero subit ; ac magno telluris amore egressi optata potiuntur Trœs harena, et sale tabentis artus in litore ponunt. Ac primum silici scintillam excudit Achates, succepitque ignem foliis, atque arida circum | 175 | from the fleet, and the Trojans, with a passion for dry land, disembarking, take possession of the sands they longed for, and stretch their brine-caked bodies on the shore. At once Achates strikes a spark from his flint, catches the fire in the leaves, places dry fuel round it, |
| nutrimenta dedit, rapuitque in fomite flammam. Tum Cererem corruptam undis Cerealiaque arma expediunt fessi rerum, frugesque receptas et torrere parant flammis et frangere saxo. Æneas scopulum interea conscendit, et omnem | 180 | and quickly has flames among the kindling. Then, wearied by events, they take out wheat, damaged by the sea, and implements of Ceres, and prepare to parch the grain over the flames, and grind it on stone. Æneas climbs a crag meanwhile, and searches the whole prospect |
| prospectum late pelago petit, Anthea si quem jactatum vento videat Phrygiasque biremis, aut Capyn, aut celsis in puppibus arma Caici. Navem in conspectu nullam, tris litore cervos prospicit errantis ; hos tota armenta sequuntur | 185 | far and wide over the sea, looking if he can see anything of Antheus and his storm-tossed Phrygian galleys, or Capys, or Caicus’s arms blazoned on a high stern. There’s no ship in sight: he sees three stags wandering on the shore: whole herds of deer follow at their back, |
| a tergo, et longum per vallis pascitur agmen. Constitit hic, arcumque manu celerisque sagittas corripuit, fidus quæ tela gerebat Achates ; ductoresque ipsos primum, capita alta ferentis cornibus arboreis, sternit, tum volgus, et omnem | 190 | and graze in long lines along the valley. He halts at this, and grasps in his hand his bow and swift arrows, shafts that loyal Achates carries, and first he shoots the leaders themselves, their heads, with branching antlers, held high, then the mass, with his shafts, |
| miscet agens telis nemora inter frondea turbam ; nec prius absistit, quam septem ingentia victor corpora fundat humi, et numerum cum navibus æquet. Hinc portum petit, et socios partitur in omnes. Vina bonus quæ deinde cadis onerarat Acestes | 195 | and drives the whole crowd in confusion among the leaves: The conqueror dœs not stop until he’s scattered seven huge carcasses on the ground, equal in number to his ships. Then he seeks the harbour, and divides them among all his friends. Next he shares out the wine that the good Acestes had stowed |
| litore Trinacrio dederatque abeuntibus heros, dividit, et dictis mærentia pectora mulcet: « O socii — neque enim ignari sumus ante malorum — O passi graviora, dabit deus his quoque finem. Vos et Scyllæam rabiem penitusque sonantis | 200 | in jars, on the Trinacrian coast, and that hero had given them on leaving: and speaking to them, calmed their sad hearts: ‘O friends (well, we were not unknown to trouble before) O you who’ve endured worse, the god will grant an end to this too. You’ve faced rabid Scylla, and her deep-sounding cliffs: |
| accestis scopulos, vos et Cyclopea saxa experti : revocate animos, mæstumque timorem mittite : forsan et hæc olim meminisse juvabit. Per varios casus, per tot discrimina rerum tendimus in Latium ; sedes ubi fata quietas | 205 | and you’ve experienced the Cyclopes’s rocks: remember your courage and chase away gloomy fears: perhaps one day you’ll even delight in remembering this. Through all these misfortunes, these dangerous times, we head for Latium, where the fates hold peaceful lives |
| ostendunt ; illic fas regna resurgere Trojæ. Durate, et vosmet rebus servate secundis. » Talia voce refert, curisque ingentibus æger spem voltu simulat, premit altum corde dolorem. Illi se prædæ accingunt, dapibusque futuris ; | 210 | for us: there Troy’s kingdom can rise again. Endure, and preserve yourselves for happier days.’ So his voice utters, and sick with the weight of care, he pretends hope, in his look, and stifles the pain deep in his heart. They make ready the game, and the future feast: |
| tergora deripiunt costis et viscera nudant ; pars in frusta secant veribusque trementia figunt ; litore aëna locant alii, flammasque ministrant. Tum victu revocant vires, fusique per herbam implentur veteris Bacchi pinguisque ferinæ. | 215 | they flay the hides from the ribs and lay the flesh bare: some cut it in pieces, quivering, and fix it on spits, others place cauldrons on the beach, and feed them with flames. Then they revive their strength with food, stretched on the grass, and fill themselves with rich venison and old wine. |
| Postquam exempta fames epulis mensæque remotæ, amissos longo socios sermone requirunt, spemque metumque inter dubii, seu vivere credant, sive extrema pati nec jam exaudire vocatos. Præcipue pius Æneas nunc acris Oronti, | 220 | When hunger is quenched by the feast, and the remnants cleared, deep in conversation, they discuss their missing friends, and, between hope and fear, question whether they live, or whether they’ve suffered death and no longer hear their name. Æneas, the virtuous, above all mourns the lot of fierce Orontes, |
| nunc Amyci casum gemit et crudelia secum fata Lyci, fortemque Gyan, fortemque Cloanthum. Et jam finis erat, quum Juppiter æthere summo despiciens mare velivolum terrasque jacentis litoraque et latos populos, sic vertice cæli | 225 | then that of Amycus, together with Lycus’s cruel fate, and those of brave Gyus, and brave Cloanthus. Now, all was complete, when Jupiter, from the heights of the air, looked down on the sea with its flying sails, and the broad lands, and the coasts, and the people far and wide, and paused, |
| constitit, et Libyæ defixit lumina regnis. Atque illum talis jactantem pectore curas tristior et lacrimis oculos suffusa nitentis alloquitur Venus : « O qui res hominumque deumque æternis regis imperiis, et fulmine terres, | 230 | at the summit of heaven, and fixed his eyes on the Libyan kingdom. And as he weighed such cares as he had in his heart, Venus spoke to him, sadder still, her bright eyes brimming with tears: ‘Oh you who rule things human, and divine, with eternal law, and who terrify them all with your lightning-bolt, |
| quid meus Æneas in te committere tantum, quid Trœs potuere, quibus, tot funera passis, cunctus ob Italiam terrarum clauditur orbis? Certe hinc Romanos olim, volventibus annis, hinc fore ductores, revocato a sanguine Teucri, | 235 | what can my Æneas have done to you that’s so serious, what have the Trojans done, who’ve suffered so much destruction, to whom the whole world’s closed, because of the Italian lands? Surely you promised that at some point, as the years rolled by, the Romans would rise from them, leaders would rise, |
| qui mare, qui terras omni dicione tenerent, pollicitus, quæ te, genitor, sententia vertit? Hoc equidem occasum Trojæ tristisque ruinas solabar, fatis contraria fata rependens ; nunc eadem fortuna viros tot casibus actos | 240 | restored from Teucer’s blood, who would hold power over the sea, and all the lands. Father, what thought has changed your mind? It consoled me for the fall of Troy, and its sad ruin, weighing one destiny, indeed, against opposing destinies: now the same misfortune follows these men driven on by such |
| insequitur. Quem das finem, rex magne, laborum? Antenor potuit, mediis elapsus Achivis, Illyricos penetrare sinus, atque intima tutus regna Liburnorum, et fontem superare Timavi, unde per ora novem vasto cum murmure montis | 245 | disasters. Great king, what end to their efforts will you give? Antenor could escape through the thick of the Greek army, and safely enter the Illyrian gulfs, and deep into the realms of the Liburnians, and pass the founts of Timavus, from which the river bursts, with a huge mountainous roar, |
| it mare proruptum et pelago premit arva sonanti. Hic tamen ille urbem Patavi sedesque locavit Teucrorum, et genti nomen dedit, armaque fixit Troja ; nunc placida compostus pace quiescit : nos, tua progenies, cæli quibus annuis arcem, | 250 | through nine mouths, and buries the fields under its noisy flood. Here, nonetheless, he sited the city of Padua, and homes for Teucrians, and gave the people a name, and hung up the arms of Troy: now he’s calmly settled, in tranquil peace. But we, your race, to whom you permit the heights of heaven, |
| navibus (infandum!) amissis, unius ob iram prodimur atque Italis longe disjungimur oris. Hic pietatis honos? Sic nos in sceptra reponis? » Olli surridens hominum sator atque deorum, voltu, quo cælum tempestatesque serenat, | 255 | lose our ships (shameful!), betrayed, because of one person’s anger, and kept far away from the shores of Italy. Is this the prize for virtue? Is this how you restore our rule? The father of men and gods, smiled at her with that look with which he clears the sky of storms, |
| oscula libavit natæ, dehinc talia fatur : « Parce metu, Cytherea : manent immota tuorum fata tibi ; cernes urbem et promissa Lavini mœnia, sublimemque feres ad sidera cæli magnanimum Ænean ; neque me sententia vertit. | 260 | kissed his daughter’s lips, and then said this: ‘Don’t be afraid, Cytherea, your child’s fate remains unaltered: You’ll see the city of Lavinium, and the walls I promised, and you’ll raise great-hearted Æneas high, to the starry sky: No thought has changed my mind. This son of yours |
| Hic tibi (fabor enim, quando hæc te cura remordet, longius et volvens fatorum arcana movebo) bellum ingens geret Italia, populosque feroces contundet, moresque viris et mœnia ponet, tertia dum Latio regnantem viderit æstas, | 265 | (since this trouble gnaws at my heart, I’ll speak, and unroll the secret scroll of destiny) will wage a mighty war in Italy, destroy proud peoples, and establish laws, and city walls, for his warriors, until a third summer sees his reign in Latium, and |
| ternaque transierint Rutulis hiberna subactis. At puer Ascanius, cui nunc cognomen Julo additur,—Ilus erat, dum res stetit Ilia regno,— triginta magnos volvendis mensibus orbis imperio explebit, regnumque ab sede Lavini | 270 | three winter camps pass since the Rutulians were beaten. But the boy Ascanius, surnamed Julus now (He was Ilus while the Ilian kingdom was a reality) will imperially complete thirty great circles of the turning months, and transfer his throne from its site at Lavinium, |
| transferet, et longam multa vi muniet Albam. Hic jam ter centum totos regnabitur annos gente sub Hectorea, donec regina sacerdos, Marte gravis, geminam partu dabit Ilia prolem. Inde lupæ fulvo nutricis tegmine lætus | 275 | and mighty in power, will build the walls of Alba Longa. Here kings of Hector’s race will reign now for three hundred years complete, until a royal priestess, Ilia, heavy with child, shall bear Mars twins. Then Romulus will further the race, proud in his nurse |
| Romulus excipiet gentem, et Mavortia condet mœnia, Romanosque suo de nomine dicet. His ego nec metas rerum nec tempora pono ; imperium sine fine dedi. Quin aspera Juno, quæ mare nunc terrasque metu cælumque fatigat, | 280 | the she-wolf’s tawny pelt, and found the walls of Mars, and call the people Romans, from his own name. I’ve fixed no limits or duration to their possessions: I’ve given them empire without end. Why, harsh Juno who now torments land, and sea and sky with fear, |
| consilia in melius referet, mecumque fovebit Romanos rerum dominos gentemque togatam : sic placitum. Veniet lustris labentibus ætas, quum domus Assaraci Phthiam clarasque Mycenas servitio premet, ac victis dominabitur Argis. | 285 | will respond to better judgement, and favor the Romans, masters of the world, and people of the toga, with me. So it is decreed. A time will come, as the years glide by, when the Trojan house of Assaracus will force Phthia into slavery, and be lords of beaten Argos. |
| Nascetur pulchra Trojanus origine Cæsar, imperium oceano, famam qui terminet astris,— Julius, a magno demissum nomen Julo. Hunc tu olim cælo, spoliis Orientis onustum, accipies secura ; vocabitur hic quoque votis. | 290 | From this glorious source a Trojan Cæsar will be born, who will bound the empire with Ocean, his fame with the stars, Augustus, a Julius, his name descended from the great Julus. You, no longer anxious, will receive him one day in heaven, burdened with Eastern spoils: he’ll be called to in prayer. |
| Aspera tum positis mitescent sæcula bellis ; cana Fides, et Vesta, Remo cum fratre Quirinus, jura dabunt ; diræ ferro et compagibus artis claudentur Belli portæ ; Furor impius intus, sæva sedens super arma, et centum vinctus aënis | 295 | Then with wars abandoned, the harsh ages will grow mild: White haired Trust, and Vesta, Quirinus with his brother Remus will make the laws: the gates of War, grim with iron, and narrowed by bars, will be closed: inside impious Rage will roar frighteningly from blood-stained mouth, seated on savage weapons, |
| post tergum nodis, fremet horridus ore cruento. » Hæc ait, et Maja genitum demittit ab alto, ut terræ, utque novæ pateant Karthaginis arces hospitio Teucris, ne fati nescia Dido finibus arceret : volat ille per æra magnum | 300 | hands tied behind his back, with a hundred knots of bronze.’ Saying this, he sends Mercury, Maia’s son, down from heaven, so that the country and strongholds of this new Carthage would open to the Trojans, as guests, and Dido, unaware of fate, would not keep them from her territory. He flies through the air |
| remigio alarum, ac Libyæ citus astitit oris. Et jam jussa facit, ponuntque ferocia Pœni corda volente deo ; in primis regina quietum accipit in Teucros animum mentemque benignam. At pius Æneas, per noctem plurima volvens, | 305 | with a beating of mighty wings and quickly lands on Libyan shore. And soon dœs as commanded, and the Phœnicians set aside their savage instincts, by the god’s will: the queen above all adopts calm feelings, and kind thoughts, towards the Trojans. But Æneas, the virtuous, turning things over all night, |
| ut primum lux alma data est, exire locosque explorare novos, quas vento accesserit oras, qui teneant, nam inculta videt, hominesne feræne, quærere constituit, sociisque exacta referre Classem in convexo nemorum sub rupe cavata | 310 | decides, as soon as kindly dawn appears, to go out and explore the place, to find what shores he has reached, on the wind, who owns them (since he sees desert) man or beast, and bring back the details to his friends. He conceals the boats in over-hanging woods |
| arboribus clausam circum atque horrentibus umbris occulit ; ipse uno graditur comitatus Achate, bina manu lato crispans hastilia ferro. Cui mater media sese tulit obvia silva, virginis os habitumque gerens, et virginis arma | 315 | under an arching cliff, enclosed by trees and leafy shadows: accompanied only by Achetes, he gœs, swinging two broad-bladed spears in his hand. His mother met him herself, among the trees, with the face and appearance of a virgin, and a virgin’s weapons, |
| Spartanæ, vel qualis equos Threissa fatigat Harpalyce, volucremque fuga prævertitur Hebrum. Namque umeris de more habilem suspenderat arcum venatrix, dederatque comam diffundere ventis, nuda genu, nodoque sinus collecta fluentis. | 320 | a Spartan girl, or such as Harpalyce of Thrace, who wearies horses, and outdœs winged Hebrus in flight. For she’d slung her bow from her shoulders, at the ready, like a huntress, and loosed her hair for the wind to scatter, her knees bare, and her flowing tunic gathered up in a knot. |
| Ac prior, « Heus, » inquit « juvenes, monstrate mearum vidistis si quam hic errantem forte sororum, succinctam pharetra et maculosæ tegmine lyncis, aut spumantis apri cursum clamore prementem. » Sic Venus ; et Veneris contra sic filius orsus : | 325 | And she cried first: ‘Hello, you young men, tell me, if you’ve seen my sister wandering here by any chance, wearing a quiver, and the hide of a dappled lynx, or shouting, hot on the track of a slavering boar?’ So Venus: and so Venus’s son began in answer: |
| « Nulla tuarum audita mihi neque visa sororum — O quam te memorem, virgo? Namque haud tibi voltus mortalis, nec vox hominem sonat : O, dea certe — an Phœbi soror? an nympharum sanguinis una?— sis felix, nostrumque leves, quæcumque, laborem, | 330 | ‘I’ve not seen or heard any of your sisters, O Virgin – or how should I name you? Since your looks are not mortal and your voice is more than human: oh, a goddess for certain! Or Phœbus’s sister? Or one of the race of Nymphs? Be kind, whœver you may be, and lighten our labor, |
| et, quo sub cælo tandem, quibus orbis in oris jactemur, doceas. Ignari hominumque locorumque erramus, vento huc vastis et fluctibus acti : multa tibi ante aras nostra cadet hostia dextra. » Tum Venus : « Haud equidem tali me dignor honore ; | 335 | and tell us only what sky we’re under, and what shores we’ve landed on: we’re adrift here, driven by wind and vast seas, knowing nothing of the people or the country: many a sacrifice to you will fall at the altars, under our hand.’ Then Venus said: ‘I don’t think myself worthy of such honors: |
| virginibus Tyriis mos est gestare pharetram, purpureoque alte suras vincire cothurno. Punica regna vides, Tyrios et Agenoris urbem ; sed fines Libyci, genus intractabile bello. Imperium Dido Tyria regit urbe profecta, | 340 | it’s the custom of Tyrian girls to carry a quiver, and lace our calves high up, over red hunting boots. You see the kingdom of Carthage, Tyrians, Agenor’s city: but bordered by Libyans, a people formidable in war. Dido rules this empire, having set out from Tyre, |
| germanum fugiens. Longa est injuria, longæ ambages ; sed summa sequar fastigia rerum. « Huic conjunx Sychæus erat, ditissimus agri Phœnicum, et magno miseræ dilectus amore, cui pater intactam dederat, primisque jugarat | 345 | fleeing her brother. It’s a long tale of wrong, with many windings: but I’ll trace the main chapters of the story. Sychæus was her husband, wealthiest, in land, of Phœnicians and loved with a great love by the wretched girl, whose father gave her as a virgin to him, and wed them |
| ominibus. Sed regna Tyri germanus habebat Pygmalion, scelere ante alios immanior omnes. Quos inter medius venit furor. Ille Sychæum impius ante aras, atque auri cæcus amore, clam ferro incautum superat, securus amorum | 350 | with great solemnity. But her brother Pygmalion, savage in wickedness beyond all others, held the kingdom of Tyre. Madness came between them. The king, blinded by greed for gold, killed the unwary Sychæus, secretly, with a knife, impiously, in front of the altars, indifferent to his sister’s affections. |
| germanæ ; factumque diu celavit, et ægram, multa malus simulans, vana spe lusit amantem. Ipsa sed in somnis inhumati venit imago conjugis, ora modis attollens pallida miris, crudeles aras trajectaque pectora ferro | 355 | He concealed his actions for a while, deceived the lovesick girl, with empty hopes, and many evil pretenses. But the ghost of her unburied husband came to her in dream: lifting his pale head in a strange manner, he laid bare the cruelty at the altars, and his heart pierced by the knife, |
| nudavit, cæcumque domus scelus omne retexit. Tum celerare fugam patriaque excedere suadet, auxiliumque viæ veteres tellure recludit thesauros, ignotum argenti pondus et auri. His commota fugam Dido sociosque parabat : | 360 | and unveiled all the secret wickedness of that house. Then he urged her to leave quickly and abandon her country, and, to help her journey, revealed an ancient treasure under the earth, an unknown weight of gold and silver. Shaken by all this, Dido prepared her flight and her friends. |
| conveniunt, quibus aut odium crudele tyranni aut metus acer erat ; navis, quæ forte paratæ, corripiunt, onerantque auro : portantur avari Pygmalionis opes pelago ; dux femina facti. Devenere locos, ubi nunc ingentia cernis | 365 | Those who had fierce hatred of the tyrant or bitter fear, gathered together: they seized some ships that by chance were ready, and loaded the gold: greedy Pygmalion’s riches are carried overseas: a woman leads the enterprise. The came to this place, and bought land, where you now see |
| mœnia surgentemque novæ Karthaginis arcem, mercatique solum, facti de nomine Byrsam, taurino quantum possent circumdare tergo. Sed vos qui tandem, quibus aut venistis ab oris, quove tenetis iter? « Quærenti talibus ille | 370 | the vast walls, and resurgent stronghold, of new Carthage, as much as they could enclose with the strips of hide from a single bull, and from that they called it Byrsa. But who then are you? What shores do you come from? What course do you take?’ He sighed as she questioned him, |
| suspirans, imoque trahens a pectore vocem: « O dea, si prima repetens ab origine pergam, et vacet annalis nostrorum audire laborum, ante diem clauso componat Vesper Olympo. Nos Troja antiqua, si vestras forte per auris | 375 | and drawing the words from deep in his heart he replied: ‘O goddess, if I were to start my tale at the very beginning, and you had time to hear the story of our misfortunes, Vesper would have shut day away in the closed heavens. A storm drove us at whim to Libya’s shores, |
| Trojæ nomen iit, diversa per æquora vectos forte sua Libycis tempestas adpulit oris. Sum pius Æneas, raptos qui ex hoste Penates classe veho mecum, fama super æthera notus. Italiam quæro patriam et genus ab Jove summo. | 380 | sailing the many seas from ancient Troy, if by chance the name of Troy has come to your hearing. I am that Æneas, the virtuous, who carries my household gods in my ship with me, having snatched them from the enemy, my name is known beyond the sky. I seek my country Italy, and a people born of Jupiter on high. |
| Bis denis Phrygium conscendi navibus æquor, matre dea monstrante viam, data fata secutus ; vix septem convolsæ undis Euroque supersunt. Ipse ignotus, egens, Libyæ deserta peragro, Europa atque Asia pulsus. » Nec plura querentem | 385 | I embarked on the Phrygian sea with twenty ships, following my given fate, my mother, a goddess, showing the way: barely seven are left, wrenched from the wind and waves. I myself wander, destitute and unknown, in the Libyan desert, driven from Europe and Asia.’ Venus did not wait |
| passa Venus medio sic interfata dolore est: « Quisquis es, haud, credo, invisus cælestibus auras vitalis carpis, Tyriam qui adveneris urbem. Perge modo, atque hinc te reginæ ad limina perfer, Namque tibi reduces socios classemque relatam | 390 | for further complaint but broke in on his lament like this: ‘Whœver you are I don’t think you draw the breath of life while hated by the gods, you who’ve reached a city of Tyre. Only go on from here, and take yourself to the queen’s threshold, since I bring you news that your friends are restored, |
| nuntio, et in tutum versis aquilonibus actam, ni frustra augurium vani docuere parentes. Aspice bis senos lætantis agmine cycnos, ætheria quos lapsa plaga Jovis ales aperto turbabat cælo ; nunc terras ordine longo | 395 | and your ships recalled, driven to safety by the shifting winds, unless my parents taught me false prophecies, in vain. See, those twelve swans in exultant line, that an eagle, Jupiter’s bird, swooping from the heavens, was troubling in the clear sky: now, in a long file, they seem |
| aut capere, aut captas jam despectare videntur : ut reduces illi ludunt stridentibus alis, et cœtu cinxere polum, cantusque dedere, haud aliter puppesque tuæ pubesque tuorum aut portum tenet aut pleno subit ostia velo. | 400 | to have settled, or be gazing down now at those who already have. As, returning, their wings beat in play, and they circle the zenith in a crowd, and give their cry, so your ships and your people are in harbor, or near its entrance under full sail. |
| Perge modo, et, qua te ducit via, dirige gressum. » Dixit, et avertens rosea cervice refulsit, ambrosiæque comæ divinum vertice odorem spiravere, pedes vestis defluxit ad imos, et vera incessu patuit dea. Ille ubi matrem | 405 | Only go on, turn your steps where the path takes you.’ She spoke, and turning away she reflected the light from her rose-tinted neck, and breathed a divine perfume from her ambrosial hair: her robes trailed down to her feet, and, in her step, showed her a true goddess. He recognised |
| agnovit, tali fugientem est voce secutus : « Quid natum totiens, crudelis tu quoque, falsis ludis imaginibus? Cur dextræ jungere dextram non datur, ac veras audire et reddere voces? » Talibus incusat, gressumque ad mœnia tendit : | 410 | his mother, and as she vanished followed her with his voice: ‘You too are cruel, why do you taunt your son with false phantoms? Why am I not allowed to join hand with hand, and speak and hear true words?’ So he accuses her, and turns his steps towards the city. |
| at Venus obscuro gradientes ære sæpsit, et multo nebulæ circum dea fudit amictu, cernere ne quis eos, neu quis contingere posset, molirive moram, aut veniendi poscere causas. Ipsa Paphum sublimis abit, sedesque revisit | 415 | But Venus veiled them with a dark mist as they walked, and, as a goddess, spread a thick covering of cloud around them, so that no one could see them, or touch them, or cause them delay, or ask them where they were going. She herself soars high in the air, to Paphos, and returns to her home |
| læta suas, ubi templum illi, centumque Sabæo ture calent aræ, sertisque recentibus halant. Corripuere viam interea, qua semita monstrat. Jamque ascendebant collem, qui plurimus urbi imminet, adversasque aspectat desuper arces. | 420 | with delight, where her temple and its hundred altars steam with Sabean incense, fragrant with fresh garlands. Meanwhile they’ve tackled the route the path revealed. And soon they climbed the hill that looms high over the city, and looks down from above on the towers that face it. |
| Miratur molem Æneas, magalia quondam, miratur portas strepitumque et strata viarum. Instant ardentes Tyrii pars ducere muros, molirique arcem et manibus subvolvere saxa, pars optare locum tecto et concludere sulco. | 425 | Æneas marvels at the mass of buildings, once huts, marvels at the gates, the noise, the paved roads. The eager Tyrians are busy, some building walls, and raising the citadel, rolling up stones by hand, some choosing the site for a house, and marking a furrow: |
| [Jura magistratusque legunt sanctumque senatum ;] hic portus alii effodiunt ; hic alta theatris fundamenta locant alii, immanisque columnas rupibus excidunt, scænis decora alta futuris. Qualis apes æstate nova per florea rura | 430 | they make magistrates and laws, and a sacred senate: here some are digging a harbor: others lay down the deep foundations of a theatre, and carve huge columns from the cliff, tall adornments for the future stage. Just as bees in early summer carry out their tasks |
| exercet sub sole labor, quum gentis adultos educunt fetus, aut quum liquentia mella stipant et dulci distendunt nectare cellas, aut onera accipiunt venientum, aut agmine facto ignavom fucos pecus a præsæpibus arcent : | 435 | among the flowery fields, in the sun, when they lead out the adolescent young of their race, or cram the cells with liquid honey, and swell them with sweet nectar, or receive the incoming burdens, or forming lines drive the lazy herd of drones from their hives: |
| fervet opus, redolentque thymo fragrantia mella. « O fortunati, quorum jam mœnia surgunt! » Æneas ait, et fastigia suspicit urbis. Infert se sæptus nebula, mirabile dictu, per medios, miscetque viris, neque cernitur ulli. | 440 | the work glows, and the fragrant honey’s sweet with thyme. ‘O fortunate those whose walls already rise!’ Æneas cries, and admires the summits of the city. He enters among them, veiled in mist (marvellous to tell) and mingles with the people seen by no one. |
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Lucus in urbe fuit media, lætissimus umbra, quo primum jactati undis et turbine Pœni effodere loco signum, quod regia Juno monstrarat, caput acris equi ; sic nam fore bello egregiam et facilem victu per sæcula gentem. | 445 | There was a grove in the center of the city, delightful with shade, where the wave and storm-tossed Phœnicians first uncovered the head of a fierce horse, that regal Juno showed them: so the race would be noted in war, and rich in substance throughout the ages. |
| Hic templum Junoni ingens Sidonia Dido condebat, donis opulentum et numine divæ, ærea cui gradibus surgebant limina, nexæque ære trabes, foribus cardo stridebat aënis. Hoc primum in luco nova res oblata timorem | 450 | Here Sidonian Dido was establishing a great temple to Juno, rich with gifts and divine presence, with bronze entrances rising from stairways, and beams jointed with bronze, and hinges creaking on bronze doors. Here in the grove something new appeared that calmed his fears |
| leniit, hic primum Æneas sperare salutem ausus, et afflictis melius confidere rebus. Namque sub ingenti lustrat dum singula templo, reginam opperiens, dum, quæ fortuna sit urbi, artificumque manus inter se operumque laborem | 455 | for the first time, here for the first time Æneas dared to hope for safety, and to put greater trust in his afflicted fortunes. While, waiting for the queen, in the vast temple, he looks at each thing: while he marvels at the city’s wealth, the skill of their artistry, and the products of their labors, |
| miratur, videt Iliacas ex ordine pugnas, bellaque jam fama totum volgata per orbem, Atridas, Priamumque, et sævum ambobus Achillem. Constitit, et lacrimans, « Quis jam locus », inquit « Achate, quæ regio in terris nostri non plena laboris? | 460 | he sees the battles at Troy in their correct order, the War, known through its fame to the whole world, the sons of Atreus, of Priam, and Achilles angered with both. He halted, and said, with tears: ‘What place is there, Achates, what region of earth not full of our hardships? |
| En Priamus! Sunt hic etiam sua præmia laudi ; sunt lacrimæ rerum et mentem mortalia tangunt. Solve metus ; feret hæc aliquam tibi fama salutem. » Sic ait, atque animum pictura pascit inani, multa gemens, largoque umectat flumine voltum. | 465 | See, Priam! Here too virtue has its rewards, here too there are tears for events, and mortal things touch the heart. Lose your fears: this fame will bring you benefit.’ So he speaks, and feeds his spirit with the insubstantial frieze, sighing often, and his face wet with the streaming tears. |
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Namque videbat, uti bellantes Pergama circum hac fugerent Graji, premeret Trojana juventus, hac Phryges, instaret curru cristatus Achilles. Nec procul hinc Rhesi niveis tentoria velis agnoscit lacrimans, primo quæ prodita somno | 470 | For he saw how, here, the Greeks fled, as they fought round Troy, chased by the Trojan youth, and, there, the Trojans fled, with plumed Achilles pressing them close in his chariot. Not far away, through his tears, he recognises Rhesus’s white-canvassed tents, that blood-stained Diomede, Tydeus’s son, |
| Tydides multa vastabat cæde cruentus, ardentisque avertit equos in castra, prius quam pabula gustassent Trojæ Xanthumque bibissent. Parte alia fugiens amissis Troilus armis, infelix puer atque impar congressus Achilli, | 475 | laid waste with great slaughter, betrayed in their first sleep, diverting the fiery horses to his camp, before they could eat Trojan fodder, or drink from the river Xanthus. Elsewhere Troilus, his weapons discarded in flight, unhappy boy, unequally matched in his battle with Achilles, |
| fertur equis, curruque hæret resupinus inani, lora tenens tamen ; huic cervixque comæque trahuntur per terram, et versa pulvis inscribitur hasta. Interea ad templum non æquæ Palladis ibant crinibus Iliades passis peplumque ferebant, | 480 | is dragged by his horses, clinging face-up to the empty chariot, still clutching the reins: his neck and hair trailing on the ground, and his spear reversed furrowing the dust. Meanwhile the Trojan women with loose hair, walked to unjust Pallas’s temple carrying the sacred robe, |
| suppliciter tristes et tunsæ pectora palmis ; diva solo fixos oculos aversa tenebat. Ter circum Iliacos raptaverat Hectora muros, exanimumque auro corpus vendebat Achilles. Tum vero ingentem gemitum dat pectore ab imo, | 485 | mourning humbly, and beating their breasts with their hands. The goddess was turned away, her eyes fixed on the ground. Three times had Achilles dragged Hector round the walls of Troy, and now was selling the lifeless corpse for gold. Then Æneas truly heaves a deep sigh, from the depths of his heart, |
| ut spolia, ut currus, utque ipsum corpus amici, tendentemque manus Priamum conspexit inermis. Se quoque principibus permixtum agnovit Achivis, Eoasque acies et nigri Memnonis arma. Ducit Amazonidum lunatis agmina peltis | 490 | as he views the spoils, the chariot, the very body of his friend, and Priam stretching out his unwarlike hands. He recognised himself as well, fighting the Greek princes, and the Ethiopian ranks and black Memnon’s armor. Raging Penthesilea leads the file of Amazons, |
| Penthesilea furens, mediisque in milibus ardet, aurea subnectens exsertæ cingula mammæ, bellatrix, audetque viris concurrere virgo. Hæc dum Dardanio Æneæ miranda videntur, dum stupet, obtutuque hæret defixus in uno, | 495 | with crescent shields, and shines out among her thousands, her golden girdle fastened beneath her exposed breasts, a virgin warrior daring to fight with men. While these wonderful sights are viewed by Trojan Æneas, while amazed he hangs there, rapt, with fixed gaze, |
| regina ad templum, forma pulcherrima Dido, incessit magna juvenum stipante caterva. Qualis in Eurotæ ripis aut per juga Cynthi exercet Diana choros, quam mille secutæ hinc atque hinc glomerantur oreades ; illa pharetram | 500 | Queen Dido, of loveliest form, reached the temple, with a great crowd of youths accompanying her. Just as Diana leads her dancing throng on Eurotas’s banks, or along the ridges of Cynthus, and, following her, a thousand mountain-nymphs gather on either side: |
| fert umero, gradiensque deas supereminet omnis : Latonæ tacitum pertemptant gaudia pectus : talis erat Dido, talem se læta ferebat per medios, instans operi regnisque futuris. Tum foribus divæ, media testudine templi, | 505 | and she carries a quiver on her shoulder, and overtops all the other goddesses as she walks: and delight seizes her mother Latona’s silent heart: such was Dido, so she carried herself, joyfully, amongst them, furthering the work, and her rising kingdom. |
| sæpta armis, solioque alte subnixa resedit. Jura dabat legesque viris, operumque laborem partibus æquabat justis, aut sorte trahebat : quum subito Æneas concursu accedere magno Anthea Sergestumque videt fortemque Cloanthum, | 510 | Then, fenced with weapons, and resting on a high throne, she took her seat, at the goddess’s doorway, under the central vault. She was giving out laws and statutes to the people, and sharing the workers labor out in fair proportions, or assigning it by lot: when Æneas suddenly saw Antheus, and Sergestus, and brave Cloanthus, approaching, among a large crowd, |
| Teucrorumque alios, ater quos æquore turbo dispulerat penitusque alias avexerat oras. Obstipuit simul ipse simul perculsus Achates lætitiaque metuque ; avidi conjungere dextras ardebant ; sed res animos incognita turbat. | 515 | with others of the Trojans whom the black storm-clouds had scattered over the sea and carried far off to other shores. He was stunned, and Achates was stunned as well with joy and fear: they burned with eagerness to clasp hands, but the unexpected event confused their minds. |
| Dissimulant, et nube cava speculantur amicti, quæ fortuna viris, classem quo litore linquant, quid veniant ; cunctis nam lecti navibus ibant, orantes veniam, et templum clamore petebant. Postquam introgressi et coram data copia fandi, | 520 | They stay concealed and, veiled in the deep mist, they watch to see what happens to their friends, what shore they have left the fleet on, and why they are here: the elect of every ship came begging favor, and made for the temple among the shouting. When they’d entered, and freedom to speak in person |
| maximus Ilioneus placido sic pectore cœpit : « O Regina, novam cui condere Juppiter urbem justitiaque dedit gentis frenare superbas, Trœs te miseri, ventis maria omnia vecti, oramus, prohibe infandos a navibus ignis, | 525 | had been granted, Ilioneus, the eldest, began calmly: ‘O queen, whom Jupiter grants the right to found a new city, and curb proud tribes with your justice, we unlucky Trojans, driven by the winds over every sea, pray to you: keep the terror of fire away from our ships, |
| parce pio generi, et propius res aspice nostras. Non nos aut ferro Libycos populare Penatis venimus, aut raptas ad litora vertere prædas ; non ea vis animo, nec tanta superbia victis. Est locus, Hesperiam Graji cognomine dicunt, | 530 | spare a virtuous race and look more kindly on our fate. We have not come to despoil Libyan homes with the sword, or to carry off stolen plunder to the shore: that violence is not in our minds, the conquered have not such pride. There’s a place called Hesperia by the Greeks, |
| terra antiqua, potens armis atque ubere glæbæ ; Œnotri coluere viri ; nunc fama minores Italiam dixisse ducis de nomine gentem. Hic cursus fuit : quum subito assurgens fluctu nimbosus Orion | 535 | an ancient land, strong in men, with a rich soil: There the Œnotrians lived: now rumor has it that a later people has called it Italy, after their leader. We had set our course there when stormy Orion, rising with the tide, carried us onto hidden shoals, |
| in vada cæca tulit, penitusque procacibus austris perque undas, superante salo, perque invia saxa dispulit ; huc pauci vestris adnavimus oris. Quod genus hoc hominum? Quæve hunc tam barbara morem permittit patria? Hospitio prohibemur harenæ ; | 540 | and fierce winds scattered us far, with the overwhelming surge, over the waves among uninhabitable rocks: we few have drifted here to your shores. What race of men is this? What land is so barbaric as to allow this custom, that we’re denied the hospitality of the sands? |
| bella cient, primaque vetant consistere terra. Si genus humanum et mortalia temnitis arma at sperate deos memores fandi atque nefandi. « Rex erat Æneas nobis, quo justior alter, nec pietate fuit, nec bello major et armis. | 545 | They stir up war, and prevent us setting foot on dry land. If you despise the human race and mortal weapons, still trust that the gods remember right and wrong. Æneas was our king, no one more just than him in his duty, or greater in war and weaponry. |
| Quem si fata virum servant, si vescitur aura ætheria, neque adhuc crudelibus occubat umbris, non metus ; officio nec te certasse priorem pœniteat. Sunt et Siculis regionibus urbes armaque, Trojanoque a sanguine clarus Acestes. | 550 | If fate still protects the man, if he still enjoys the ethereal air, if he dœsn’t yet rest among the cruel shades, there’s nothing to fear, and you’d not repent of vying with him first in kindness. Then there are cities and fields too in the region of Sicily, and famous Acestes, of Trojan blood. Allow us |
| Quassatam ventis liceat subducere classem, et silvis aptare trabes et stringere remos : si datur Italiam, sociis et rege recepto, tendere, ut Italiam læti Latiumque petamus ; sin absumpta salus, et te, pater optime Teucrum, | 555 | to beach our fleet, damaged by the storms, and cut planks from trees, and shape oars, so if our king’s restored and our friends are found we can head for Italy, gladly seek Italy and Latium: and if our savior’s lost, and the Libyan seas hold you, |
| pontus habet Libyæ, nec spes jam restat Juli, at freta Sicaniæ saltem sedesque paratas, unde huc advecti, regemque petamus Acesten. » Talibus Ilioneus ; cuncti simul ore fremebant Dardanidæ. | 560 | Troy’s most virtuous father, if no hope now remains from Julus, let us seek the Sicilian straits, from which we were driven, and the home prepared for us, and a king, Acestes.’ So Ilioneus spoke: and the Trojans all shouted with one voice. |
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Tum breviter Dido, voltum demissa, profatur : « Solvite corde metum, Teucri, secludite curas. Res dura et regni novitas me talia cogunt moliri, et late finis custode tueri. Quis genus Æneadum, quis Trojæ nesciat urbem, | 565 | Then, Dido, spoke briefly, with lowered eyes: ‘Trojans, free your hearts of fear: dispel your cares. Harsh events and the newness of the kingdom force me to effect such things, and protect my borders with guards on all sides. Who dœsn’t know of Æneas’s race, and the city of Troy, |
| virtutesque virosque, aut tanti incendia belli? Non obtusa adeo gestamus pectora Pœni, nec tam aversus equos Tyria Sol jungit ab urbe. Seu vos Hesperiam magnam Saturniaque arva, sive Erycis finis regemque optatis Acesten, | 570 | the bravery, the men, or so great a blaze of warfare, indeed, we Phœnicians don’t possess unfeeling hearts, the sun dœsn’t harness his horses that far from this Tyrian city. Whether you opt for mighty Hesperia, and Saturn’s fields, or the summit of Eryx, and Acestes for king, |
| auxilio tutos dimittam, opibusque juvabo. Voltis et his mecum pariter considere regnis ; urbem quam statuo vestra est, subducite navis ; Tros Tyriusque mihi nullo discrimine agetur. Atque utinam rex ipse Noto compulsus eodem | 575 | I’ll see you safely escorted, and help you with my wealth. Or do you wish to settle here with me, as equals in my kingdom? The city I build is yours: beach your ships: Trojans and Tyrians will be treated by me without distinction. I wish your king Æneas himself were here, driven |
| afforet Æneas! Equidem per litora certos dimittam et Libyæ lustrare extrema jubebo, si quibus ejectus silvis aut urbibus errat. » His animum arrecti dictis et fortis Achates et pater Æneas jamdudum erumpere nubem | 580 | by that same storm! Indeed, I’ll send reliable men along the coast, and order them to travel the length of Libya, in case he’s driven aground, and wandering the woods and towns.’ Brave Achetes, and our forefather Æneas, their spirits raised by these words, had been burning to break free of the mist. |
| ardebant. Prior Ænean compellat Achates : « Nate dea, quæ nunc animo sententia surgit? omnia tuta vides, classem sociosque receptos. Unus abest, medio in fluctu quem vidimus ipsi submersum ; dictis respondent cetera matris. » | 585 | Achates was first to speak, saying to Æneas: ‘Son of the goddess, what intention springs to your mind? You see all’s safe, the fleet and our friends have been restored to us. Only one is missing, whom we saw plunged in the waves: all else is in accord with your mother’s words.’ |
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Vix ea fatus erat, quum circumfusa repente scindit se nubes et in æthera purgat apertum. Restitit Æneas claraque in luce refulsit, os umerosque deo similis ; namque ipsa decoram cæsariem nato genetrix lumenque juventæ | 590 | He’d scarcely spoken when the mist surrounding them suddenly parted, and vanished in the clear air. Æneas stood there, shining in the bright daylight, like a god in shoulders and face: since his mother had herself imparted to her son beauty to his hair, |
| purpureum et lætos oculis afflarat honores : quale manus addunt ebori decus, aut ubi flavo argentum Pariusve lapis circumdatur auro. Tum sic reginam alloquitur, cunctisque repente improvisus ait : « Coram, quem quæritis, assum, | 595 | a glow of youth, and a joyful charm to his eyes: like the glory art can give to ivory, or as when silver, or Parian marble, is surrounded by gold. Then he addressed the queen, suddenly, surprising them all, saying: ‘I am here in person, Æneas the Trojan, |
| Trojus Æneas, Libycis ereptus ab undis. O sola infandos Trojæ miserata labores, quæ nos, reliquias Danaum, terræque marisque omnibus exhaustos jam casibus, omnium egenos, urbe, domo, socias, grates persolvere dignas | 600 | him whom you seek, saved from the Libyan waves. O Dido, it is not in our power, nor those of our Trojan race, wherever they may be, scattered through the wide world, to pay you sufficient thanks, you who alone have pitied Troy’s unspeakable miseries, and share your city and home |
| non opis est nostræ, Dido, nec quicquid ubique est gentis Dardaniæ, magnum quæ sparsa per orbem. Di tibi, si qua pios respectant numina, si quid usquam justitia est et mens sibi conscia recti, præmia digna ferant. Quæ te tam læta tulerunt | 605 | with us, the remnant left by the Greeks, wearied by every mischance, on land and sea, and lacking everything. May the gods, and the mind itself conscious of right, bring you a just reward, if the gods respect the virtuous, if there is justice anywhere. What happy age gave birth |
| sæcula? Qui tanti talem genuere parentes? In freta dum fluvii current, dum montibus umbræ lustrabunt convexa, polus dum sidera pascet, semper honos nomenque tuum laudesque manebunt, quæ me cumque vocant terræ. » Sic fatus, amicum | 610 | to you? What parents produced such a child? Your honor, name and praise will endure forever, whatever lands may summon me, while rivers run to the sea, while shadows cross mountain slopes, while the sky nourishes the stars.’ So saying he grasps |
| Ilionea petit dextra, lævaque Serestum, post alios, fortemque Gyan fortemque Cloanthum. Obstipuit primo aspectu Sidonia Dido, casu deinde viri tanto, et sic ore locuta est : « Quis te, nate dea, per tanta pericula casus | 615 | his friend Iloneus by the right hand, Serestus with the left, then others, brave Gyus and brave Cloanthus. Sidonian Dido was first amazed at the hero’s looks then at his great misfortunes, and she spoke, saying: ‘Son of a goddess, what fate pursues you through all |
| insequitur? Quæ vis immanibus applicat oris? Tune ille Æneas, quem Dardanio Anchisæ alma Venus Phrygii genuit Simœntis ad undam? Atque equidem Teucrum memini Sidona venire finibus expulsum patriis, nova regna petentem | 620 | these dangers? What force drives you to these barbarous shores? Are you truly that Æneas whom kindly Venus bore to Trojan Anchises, by the waters of Phrygian Simois? Indeed, I myself remember Teucer coming to Sidon, exiled from his country’s borders, seeking a new kingdom |
| auxilio Beli ; genitor tum Belus opimam vastabat Cyprum, et victor dicione tenebat. Tempore jam ex illo casus mihi cognitus urbis Trojanæ nomenque tuum regesque Pelasgi. Ipse hostis Teucros insigni laude ferebat, | 625 | with Belus’s help: Belus, my father, was laying waste rich Cyprus, and, as victor, held it by his authority. Since then the fall of the Trojan city is known to me, and your name, and those of the Greek kings. Even their enemy granted the Teucrians high praise, |
| seque ortum antiqua Teucrorum ab stirpe volebat. Quare agite, O tectis, juvenes, succedite nostris. Me quoque per multos similis fortuna labores jactatam hac demum voluit consistere terra. Non ignara mali, miseris succurrere disco. » | 630 | maintaining they were born of the ancient Teucrian stock. So come, young lords, and enter our palace. Fortune, pursuing me too, through many similar troubles, willed that I would find peace at last in this land. Not being unknown to evil, I’ve learned to aid the unhappy.’ |
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Sic memorat ; simul Ænean in regia ducit tecta, simul divom templis indicit honorem. Nec minus interea sociis ad litora mittit viginti tauros, magnorum horrentia centum terga suum, pinguis centum cum matribus agnos, | 635 | So she speaks, and leads Æneas into the royal house, and proclaims, as well, offerings at the god’s temples. She sends no less than twenty bulls to his friends on the shore, and a hundred of her largest pigs with bristling backs, a hundred fat lambs with the ewes, |
| munera lætitiamque dii. At domus interior regali splendida luxu instruitur, mediisque parant convivia tectis : arte laboratæ vestes ostroque superbo, ingens argentum mensis, cælataque in auro | 640 | and joyful gifts of wine, but the interior of the palace is laid out with royal luxury, and they prepare a feast in the center of the palace: covers worked skillfully in princely purple, massive silverware on the tables, and her forefathers’ heroic deeds |
| fortia facta patrum, series longissima rerum per tot ducta viros antiqua ab origine gentis. Æneas (neque enim patrius consistere mentem passus amor) rapidum ad navis præmittit Achaten, Ascanio ferat hæc, ipsumque ad mœnia ducat ; | 645 | engraved in gold, a long series of exploits traced through many herœs, since the ancient origins of her people. Æneas quickly sends Achates to the ships to carry the news to Ascanius (since a father’s love won’t let his mind rest) and bring him to the city: |
| omnis in Ascanio cari stat cura parentis. Munera præterea, Iliacis erepta ruinis, ferre jubet, pallam signis auroque rigentem, et circumtextum croceo velamen acantho, ornatus Argivæ Helenæ, quos illa Mycenis, | 650 | on Ascanius all the care of a fond parent is fixed. He commands him to bring gifts too, snatched from the ruins of Troy, a figured robe stiff with gold, and a cloak fringed with yellow acanthus, worn by Helen of Argos, brought from Mycenæ |
| Pergama quum peteret inconcessosque hymenæos, extulerat, matris Ledæ mirabile donum : præterea sceptrum, Ilione quod gesserat olim, maxima natarum Priami, colloque monile bacatum, et duplicem gemmis auroque coronam. | 655 | when she sailed to Troy and her unlawful marriage, a wonderful gift from her mother Leda: and the sceptre that Ilione, Priam’s eldest daughter, once carried, and a necklace of pearls, and a double-coronet of jewels and gold. Achates, hastening to fulfil |
| Hæc celerans ita ad naves tendebat Achates. At Cytherea novas artes, nova pectore versat Consilia, ut faciem mutatus et ora Cupido pro dulci Ascanio veniat, donisque furentem incendat reginam, atque ossibus implicet ignem ; | 660 | these commands, took his way towards the ships. But Venus was planning new wiles and stratagems in her heart: how Cupid, altered in looks, might arrive in place of sweet Ascanius, and arouse the passionate queen by his gifts, and entwine the fire in her bones: truly she fears |
| quippe domum timet ambiguam Tyriosque bilinguis ; urit atrox Juno, et sub noctem cura recursat. Ergo his aligerum dictis affatur Amorem: « Nate, meæ vires, mea magna potentia solus, nate, patris summi qui tela Typhœa temnis, | 665 | the unreliability of this house, and the duplicitous Tyrians: unyielding Juno angers her, and her worries increase with nightfall. So she speaks these words to winged Cupid: ‘My son, you who alone are my great strength, my power, a son who scorns mighty Jupiter’s Typhœan thunderbolts, |
| ad te confugio et supplex tua numina posco. Frater ut Æneas pelago tuus omnia circum litora jactetur odiis Junonis iniquæ, nota tibi, et nostro doluisti sæpe dolore. Hunc Phœnissa tenet Dido blandisque moratur | 670 | I ask your help, and humbly call on your divine will. It’s known to you how Æneas, your brother, is driven over the sea, round all the shores, by bitter Juno’s hatred, and you have often grieved with my grief. Phœnician Dido holds him there, delaying him with flattery, |
| vocibus ; et vereor, quo se Junonia vertant hospitia ; haud tanto cessabit cardine rerum. Quocirca capere ante dolis et cingere flamma reginam meditor, ne quo se numine mutet, sed magno Æneæ mecum teneatur amore. | 675 | and I fear what may come of Juno’s hospitality: at such a critical turn of events she’ll not be idle. So I intend to deceive the queen with guile, and encircle her with passion, so that no divine will can rescue her, but she’ll be seized, with me, by deep love for Æneas. |
| Qua facere id possis, nostram nunc accipe mentem. Regius accitu cari genitoris ad urbem Sidoniam puer ire parat, mea maxima cura, dona ferens, pelago et flammis restantia Trojæ : hunc ego sopitum somno super alta Cythera | 680 | Now listen to my thoughts on how you can achieve this. Summoned by his dear father, the royal child, my greatest concern, prepares to go to the Sidonian city, carrying gifts that survived the sea, and the flames of Troy. I’ll lull him to sleep and hide him in my sacred shrine |
| aut super Idalium sacrata sede recondam, ne qua scire dolos mediusve occurrere possit. Tu faciem illius noctem non amplius unam falle dolo, et notos pueri puer indue voltus, ut, quum te gremio accipiet lætissima Dido | 685 | on the heights of Cythera or Idalium, so he can know nothing of my deceptions, or interrupt them mid-way. For no more than a single night imitate his looks by art, and, a boy yourself, take on the known face of a boy, so that when Dido takes you to her breast, joyfully, |
| regalis inter mensas laticemque Lyæum, quum dabit amplexus atque oscula dulcia figet, occultum inspires ignem fallasque veneno. » Paret Amor dictis caræ genetricis, et alas exuit, et gressu gaudens incedit Juli. | 690 | amongst the royal feast, and the flowing wine, when she embraces you, and plants sweet kisses on you, you’ll breathe hidden fire into her, deceive her with your poison.’ Cupid obeys his dear mother’s words, sets aside his wings, and laughingly trips along with Julus’s step. |
| At Venus Ascanio placidam per membra quietem irrigat, et fotum gremio dea tollit in altos Idaliæ lucos, ubi mollis amaracus illum floribus et dulci adspirans complectitur umbra. Jamque ibat dicto parens et dona Cupido | 695 | But Venus pours gentle sleep over Ascanius’s limbs, and warming him in her breast, carries him, with divine power, to Idalia’s high groves, where soft marjoram smothers him in flowers, and the breath of its sweet shade. Now, obedient to her orders, delighting in Achetes as guide, |
| regia portabat Tyriis, duce lætus Achate. Cum venit, aulæis jam se regina superbis aurea composuit sponda mediamque locavit. Jam pater Æneas et jam Trojana juventus conveniunt, stratoque super discumbitur ostro. | 700 | Cupid gœs off carrying royal gifts for the Tyrians. When he arrives the queen has already settled herself in the center, on her golden couch under royal canopies. Now our forefather Æneas and the youth of Troy gather there, and recline on cloths of purple. |
| Dant famuli manibus lymphas, Cereremque canistris expediunt, tonsisque ferunt mantelia villis. Quinquaginta intus famulæ, quibus ordine longam cura penum struere, et flammis adolere Penatis ; centum aliæ totidemque pares ætate ministri, | 705 | Servants pour water over their hands: serve bread from baskets: and bring napkins of smooth cloth. Inside there are fifty female servants, in a long line, whose task it is to prepare the meal, and tend the hearth fires: a hundred more, and as many pages of like age, |
| qui dapibus mensas onerent et pocula ponant. Nec non et Tyrii per limina læta frequentes convenere, toris jussi discumbere pictis. Mirantur dona Æneæ, mirantur Julum flagrantisque dei voltus simulataque verba, | 710 | to load the tables with food, and fill the cups. And the Tyrians too are gathered in crowds through the festive halls, summoned to recline on the embroidered couches. They marvel at Æneas’s gifts, marvel at Julus, the god’s brilliant appearance, and deceptive words, |
| [pallamque et pictum croceo velamen acantho.] Præcipue infelix, pesti devota futuræ, expleri mentem nequit ardescitque tuendo Phœnissa, et pariter puero donisque movetur. Ille ubi complexu Æneæ colloque pependit | 715 | at the robe, and the cloak embroidered with yellow acanthus. The unfortunate Phœnician above all, doomed to future ruin, cannot pacify her feelings, and catches fire with gazing, stirred equally by the child and by the gifts. He, having hung in an embrace round Æneas’s neck, |
| et magnum falsi implevit genitoris amorem, reginam petit hæc oculis, hæc pectore toto hæret et interdum gremio fovet, inscia Dido, insidat quantus miseræ deus ; at memor ille matris Acidaliæ paulatim abolere Sychæum | 720 | and sated the deceived father’s great love, seeks out the queen. Dido, clings to him with her eyes and with her heart, taking him now and then on her lap, unaware how great a god is entering her, to her sorrow. But he, remembering his Cyprian mother’s wishes, |
| incipit, et vivo temptat prævertere amore jam pridem resides animos desuetaque corda. Postquam prima quies epulis, mensæque remotæ, crateras magnos statuunt et vina coronant. Fit strepitus tectis, vocemque per ampla volutant | 725 | begins gradually to erase all thought of Sychæus, and works at seducing her mind, so long unstirred, and her heart unused to love, with living passion. At the first lull in the feasting, the tables were cleared, and they set out vast bowls, and wreathed the wine with garlands. Noise filled the palace, and voices rolled out across the wide halls: |
| atria ; dependent lychni laquearibus aureis incensi, et noctem flammis funalia vincunt. Hic regina gravem gemmis auroque poposcit implevitque mero pateram, quam Belus et omnes a Belo soliti ; tum facta silentia tectis : | 730 | bright lamps hung from the golden ceilings, and blazing candles dispelled the night. Then the queen asked for a drinking-cup, heavy with gold and jewels, that Belus and all Belus’s line were accustomed to use, and filled it with wine. Then the halls were silent. She spoke: |
| « Juppiter, hospitibus nam te dare jura loquuntur, hunc lætum Tyriisque diem Trojaque profectis esse velis, nostrosque hujus meminisse minores. Assit lætitiæ Bacchus dator, et bona Juno ; et vos, O, cœtum, Tyrii, celebrate faventes. » | 735 | ‘Jupiter, since they say you’re the one who creates the laws of hospitality, let this be a happy day for the Tyrians and those from Troy, and let it be remembered by our children. Let Bacchus, the joy-bringer, and kind Juno be present, and you, O Phœnicians, make this gathering festive.’ |
| Dixit, et in mensam laticum libavit honorem, primaque, libato, summo tenus attigit ore, tum Bitiæ dedit increpitans ; ille impiger hausit spumantem pateram, et pleno se proluit auro post alii proceres. Cithara crinitus jopas | 740 | She spoke and poured an offering of wine onto the table, and after the libation was the first to touch the bowl to her lips, then she gave it to Bitias, challenging him: he briskly drained the brimming cup, drenching himself in its golden fullness, then other princes drank. Jopas, the long-haired, made |
| personat aurata, docuit quem maximus Atlas. Hic canit errantem lunam solisque labores ; unde hominum genus et pecudes ; unde imber et ignes ; Arcturum pluviasque Hyadas geminosque Triones ; quid tantum Oceano properent se tinguere soles | 745 | his golden lyre resound, he whom great Atlas taught. He sang of the wandering moon and the sun’s labors, where men and beasts came from, and rain and fire, of Arcturus, the rainy Hyades, the two Bears: why the winter suns rush to dip themselves in the sea, |
| hiberni, vel quæ tardis mora noctibus obstet. Ingeminant plausu Tyrii, Trœsque sequuntur. Nec non et vario noctem sermone trahebat infelix Dido, longumque bibebat amorem, multa super Priamo rogitans, super Hectore multa ; | 750 | and what delay makes the slow nights linger. The Tyrians redoubled their applause, the Trojans too. And unfortunate Dido, she too spent the night in conversation, and drank deep of her passion, asking endlessly about Priam and Hector: |
| nunc quibus Auroræ venisset filius armis, nunc quales Diomedis equi, nunc quantus Achilles. « Immo age, et a prima dic, hospes, origine nobis insidias, » inquit, « Danaum, casusque tuorum, erroresque tuos ; nam te jam septima portat | 755 | now about the armor that Memnon, son of the Dawn, came with to Troy, what kind were Diomed’s horses, how great was Achilles. ‘But come, my guest, tell us from the start all the Greek trickery, your men’s mishaps, and your wanderings: since it’s the seventh summer now |
| omnibus errantem terris et fluctibus æstas. » | that brings you here, in your journey, over every land and sea.’ |
| Liber II | ⤊ | |
| P. VERGILII MARONIS ÆNEIDOS LIBER SECUNDUS | ||
| Conticuere omnes intentique ora tenebant inde toro pater Æneas sic orsus ab alto: Infandum, regina, jubes renovare dolorem, Trojanas ut opes et lamentabile regnum eruerint Danai, quæque ipse miserrima vidi | 5 | They were all silent, and turned their faces towards him intently. Then from his high couch our forefather Æneas began: ‘O queen, you command me to renew unspeakable grief, how the Greeks destroyed the riches of Troy, and the sorrowful kingdom, miseries I saw myself, |
| et quorum pars magna fui. quis talia fando Myrmidonum Dolopumve aut duri miles Ulixi temperet a lacrimis? et jam nox umida cælo præcipitat suadentque cadentia sidera somnos. sed si tantus amor casus cognoscere nostros | 10 | and in which I played a great part. What Myrmidon, or Dolopian, or warrior of fierce Ulysses, could keep from tears in telling such a story? Now the dew-filled night is dropping from the sky, and the setting stars urge sleep. But if you have such desire to learn of our misfortunes, |
| et breviter Trojæ supremum audire laborem, quamquam animus meminisse horret luctuque refugit, incipiam. fracti bello fatisque repulsi ductores Danaum tot jam labentibus annis instar montis equum divina Palladis arte | 15 | and briefly hear of Troy’s last agonies, though my mind shudders at the memory, and recoils in sorrow, I’ll begin. ‘After many years have slipped by, the leaders of the Greeks, opposed by the Fates, and damaged by the war, build a horse of mountainous size, through Pallas’s divine art, |
| ædificant, sectaque intexunt abiete costas ; votum pro reditu simulant ; ea fama vagatur. huc delecta virum sortiti corpora furtim includunt cæco lateri penitusque cavernas ingentis uterumque armato milite complent. | 20 | and weave planks of fir over its ribs: they pretend it’s a votive offering: this rumor spreads. They secretly hide a picked body of men, chosen by lot, there, in the dark body, filling the belly and the huge cavernous insides with armed warriors. |
| est in conspectu Tenedos, notissima fama insula, dives opum Priami dum regna manebant, nunc tantum sinus et statio male fida carinis : huc se provecti deserto in litore condunt ; nos abiisse rati et vento petiisse Mycenas. | 25 | Tenedos is within sight, an island known to fame, rich in wealth when Priam’s kingdom remained, now just a bay and an unsafe anchorage for boats: they sail there, and hide themselves, on the lonely shore. We thought they had gone, and were seeking Mycenæ |
| ergo omnis longo solvit se Teucria luctu ; panduntur portæ, juvat ire et Dorica castra desertosque videre locos litusque relictum : hic Dolopum manus, hic sævus tendebat Achilles ; classibus hic locus, hic acie certare solebant. | 30 | with the wind. So all the Trojan land was free of its long sorrow. The gates were opened: it was a joy to go and see the Greek camp, the deserted site and the abandoned shore. Here the Dolopians stayed, here cruel Achilles, here lay the fleet, here they used to meet us in battle. |
| pars stupet innuptæ donum exitiale Minervæ et molem mirantur equi ; primusque Thymœtes duci intra muros hortatur et arce locari, sive dolo seu jam Trojæ sic fata ferebant. at Capys, et quorum melior sententia menti, | 35 | Some were amazed at virgin Minerva’s fatal gift, and marvel at the horse’s size: and at first Thymœtes, whether through treachery, or because Troy’s fate was certain, urged that it be dragged inside the walls and placed on the citadel. But Capys, and those of wiser judgement, commanded us |
| aut pelago Danaum insidias suspectaque dona præcipitare jubent subjectisque urere flammis, aut terebrare cavas uteri et temptare latebras. scinditur incertum studia in contraria vulgus. Primus ibi ante omnis magna comitante caterva | 40 | to either hurl this deceit of the Greeks, this suspect gift, into the sea, or set fire to it from beneath, or pierce its hollow belly, and probe for hiding places. The crowd, uncertain, was split by opposing opinions. Then Laocoön rushes down eagerly from the heights |
| Laocoon ardens summa decurrit ab arce, et procul « o miseri, quæ tanta insania, cives? creditis avectos hostis? aut ulla putatis dona carere dolis Danaum? sic notus Ulixes? aut hoc inclusi ligno occultantur Achivi, | 45 | of the citadel, to confront them all, a large crowd with him, and shouts from far off: ‘O unhappy citizens, what madness? Do you think the enemy’s sailed away? Or do you think any Greek gift’s free of treachery? Is that Ulysses’s reputation? Either there are Greeks in hiding, concealed by the wood, |
| aut hæc in nostros fabricata est machina muros, inspectura domos venturaque desuper urbi, aut aliquis latet error ; equo ne credite, Teucri. quidquid id est, timeo Danaos et dona ferentis. » sic fatus validis ingentem viribus hastam | 50 | or it’s been built as a machine to use against our walls, or spy on our homes, or fall on the city from above, or it hides some other trick: Trojans, don’t trust this horse. Whatever it is, I’m afraid of Greeks even those bearing gifts.’ So saying he hurled his great spear, with extreme force, |
| in latus inque feri curvam compagibus alvum contorsit. stetit illa tremens, uteroque recusso insonuere cavæ gemitumque dedere cavernæ. et, si fata deum, si mens non læva fuisset, impulerat ferro Argolicas fœdare latebras, | 55 | at the creature’s side, and into the frame of the curved belly. The spear stuck quivering, and at the womb’s reverberation the cavity rang hollow and gave out a groan. And if the gods’ fate, if our minds, had not been ill-omened, he’d have incited us to mar the Greeks hiding-place with steel: |
| Trojaque nunc staret, Priamique arx alta maneres. Ecce, manus juvenem interea post terga revinctum pastores magno ad regem clamore trahebant Dardanidæ, qui se ignotum venientibus ultro, hoc ipsum ut strueret Trojamque aperiret Achivis, | 60 | Troy would still stand: and you, high tower of Priam would remain. See, meanwhile, some Trojan shepherds, shouting loudly, dragging a youth, his hands tied behind his back, to the king. In order to contrive this, and lay Troy open to the Greeks, |
| obtulerat, fidens animi atque in utrumque paratus, seu versare dolos seu certæ occumbere morti. undique visendi studio Trojana juventus circumfusa ruit certantque illudere capto. accipe nunc Danaum insidias et crimine ab uno | 65 | he had placed himself in their path, calm in mind, and ready for either course: to engage in deception, or find certain death. The Trojan youth run, crowding round, from all sides, to see him, and compete in mocking the captive. Listen now to Greek treachery, and learn of all their crimes |
| disce omnis. namque ut conspectu in medio turbatus, inermis constitit atque oculis Phrygia agmina circumspexit, « heu, quæ nunc tellus, » inquit, « quæ me æquora possunt accipere? aut quid jam misero mihi denique restat, | 70 | from just this one. Since, as he stood, looking troubled, unarmed, amongst the gazing crowd, and cast his eyes around the Phrygian ranks, he said: ‘Ah! What land, what seas would accept me now? What’s left for me at the last in my misery, I who have |
| cui neque apud Danaos usquam locus, et super ipsi Dardanidæ infensi pœnas cum sanguine poscunt? » quo gemitu conversi animi compressus et omnis impetus. hortamur fari quo sanguine cretus, quidve ferat ; memoret quæ sit fiducia capto. | 75 | no place among the Greeks, when the hostile Trojans, themselves, demand my punishment and my blood? At this the mood changed and all violence was checked. We urged him to say what blood he was sprung from, and why he suffered: and tell us what trust could be placed |
| [ille hæc deposita tandem formidine fatur :] « Cuncta equidem tibi, rex, fuerit quodcumque, fatebor vera, » inquit ; « neque me Argolica de gente negabo. hoc primum ; nec, si miserum Fortuna Sinonem finxit, vanum etiam mendacemque improba finget. | 80 | in him as a captive. Setting fear aside at last he speaks: “O king, I’ll tell you the whole truth, whatever happens, and indeed I’ll not deny that I’m of Argive birth: this first of all: if Fortune has made me wretched, she’ll not also wrongly make me false and a liar. |
| fando aliquod si forte tuas pervenit ad auris Belidæ nomen Palamedis et incluta fama gloria, quem falsa sub proditione Pelasgi insontem infando indicio, quia bella vetabat, demisere neci, nunc cassum lumine lugent : | 85 | If by any chance some mention of Palamedes’s name has reached your ears, son of Belus, and talk of his glorious fame, he whom the Pelasgians, on false charges of treason, by atrocious perjury, because he opposed the war, sent innocent to his death, |
| illi me comitem et consanguinitate propinquum pauper in arma pater primis huc misit ab annis. dum stabat regno incolumis regumque vigebat conciliis, et nos aliquod nomenque decusque gessimus. invidia postquam pellacis Ulixi | 90 | and who they mourn, now he’s taken from the light: well my father, being poor, sent me here to the war when I was young, as his friend, as we were blood relatives. While Palamades was safe in power, and prospered in the kings’ council, I also had some name and respect. But when he passed from this world above, through |
| (haud ignota loquor) superis concessit ab oris, afflictus vitam in tenebris luctuque trahebam et casum insontis mecum indignabar amici. nec tacui demens et me, fors si qua tulisset, si patrios umquam remeassem victor ad Argos, | 95 | the jealousy of plausible Ulysses (the tale’s not unknown) I was ruined, and spent my life in obscurity and grief, inwardly angry at the fate of my innocent friend. Maddened I could not be silent, and I promised, if chance allowed, and if I ever returned as a victor to my native Argos, |
| promisi ultorem et verbis odia aspera movi. hinc mihi prima mali labes, hinc semper Ulixes criminibus terrere novis, hinc spargere voces in vulgum ambiguas et quærere conscius arma. nec requievit enim, donec Calchante ministro — | 100 |
to avenge him, and with my words stirred bitter hatred. The first hint of trouble came to me from this, because of it Ulysses was always frightening me with new accusations, spreading veiled rumors among the people, and guiltily seeking to defend himself. He would not rest till, with Calchas |
| sed quid ego hæc autem nequiquam ingrata revolvo, quidve moror? si omnis uno ordine habetis Achivos, idque audire sat est, jamdudum sumite pœnas : hoc Ithacus velit et magno mercentur Atridæ. » Tum vero ardemus scitari et quærere causas, | 105 | as his instrument — but why I do unfold this unwelcome story? Why hinder you? If you consider all Greeks the same, and that’s sufficient, take your vengeance now: that’s what the Ithacan wants, and the sons of Atreus would pay dearly for.” Then indeed we were on fire to ask, and seek the cause, |
| ignari scelerum tantorum artisque Pelasgæ. prosequitur pavitans et ficto pectore fatur: « Sæpe fugam Danai Troja cupiere relicta moliri et longo fessi discedere bello ; fecissentque utinam! sæpe illos aspera ponti | 110 | ignorant of such wickedness and Pelasgian trickery. Trembling with fictitious feelings he continued, saying: “The Greeks, weary with the long war, often longed to leave Troy and execute a retreat: if only they had! Often a fierce storm from the sea land-locked them, |
| interclusit hiems et terruit Auster euntis. præcipue quum jam hic trabibus contextus acernis staret equus, toto sonuerunt æthere nimbi. suspensi Eurypylum scitatum oracula Phœbi mittimus, isque adytis hæc tristia dicta reportat : | 115 | and the gale terrified them from leaving: once that horse, made of maple-beams, stood there, especially then, storm-clouds thundered in the sky. Anxious, we send Eurypylus to consult Phœbus’s oracle, and he brings back these dark words from the sanctuary: |
| « sanguine placastis ventos et virgine cæsa, quum primum Iliacas, Danai, venistis ad oras ; sanguine quærendi reditus animaque litandum Argolica. » vulgi quæ vox ut venit ad auris, obstipuere animi gelidusque per ima cucurrit | 120 | ‘With blood, and a virgin sacrifice, you calmed the winds, O Greeks, when you first came to these Trojan shores, seek your return in blood, and the well-omened sacrifice of an Argive life.’ When this reached the ears of the crowd, their minds were stunned, and an icy shudder ran to their deepest marrow: |
| ossa tremor, cui fata parent, quem poscat Apollo. hic Ithacus vatem magno Calchanta tumultu protrahit in medios ; quæ sint ea numina divum flagitat. et mihi jam multi crudele canebant artificis scelus, et taciti ventura videbant. | 125 | who readies this fate, whom dœs Apollo choose? At this the Ithacan thrust the seer, Calchas, into their midst, demanding to know what the god’s will might be, among the uproar. Many were already cruelly prophesying that ingenious man’s wickedness towards me, and silently saw |
| bis quinos silet ille dies tectusque recusat prodere voce sua quemquam aut opponere morti. vix tandem, magnis Ithaci clamoribus actus, composito rumpit vocem et me destinat aræ. assensere omnes et, quæ sibi quisque timebat, | 130 | what was coming. For ten days the seer kept silence, refusing to reveal the secret by his words, or condemn anyone to death. But at last, urged on by Ulysses’s loud clamor, he broke into speech as agreed, and doomed me to the altar. All acclaimed it, and what each feared himself, they endured |
| unius in miseri exitium conversa tulere. jamque dies infanda aderat ; mihi sacra parari et salsæ fruges et circum tempora vittæ. eripui, fateor, leto me et vincula rupi, limosoque lacu per noctem obscurus in ulva | 135 | when directed, alas, towards one man’s destruction. Now the terrible day arrived, the rites were being prepared for me, the salted grain, and the headbands for my forehead. I confess I saved myself from death, burst my bonds, and all that night hid by a muddy lake among the reeds, |
| delitui dum vela darent, si forte dedissent. nec mihi jam patriam antiquam spes ulla videndi nec dulcis natos exoptatumque parentem, quos illi fors et pœnas ob nostra reposcent effugia, et culpam hanc miserorum morte piabunt. | 140 | till they set sail, if as it happened they did. And now I’ve no hope of seeing my old country again, or my sweet children or the father I long for: perhaps they’ll seek to punish them for my flight, and avenge my crime through the death of these unfortunates. |
| quod te per superos et conscia numina veri, per si qua est quæ restet adhuc mortalibus usquam intemerata fides, oro, miserere laborum tantorum, miserere animi non digna ferentis. » His lacrimis vitam damus et miserescimus ultro. | 145 | But I beg you, by the gods, by divine power that knows the truth, by whatever honor anywhere remains pure among men, have pity on such troubles, pity the soul that endures undeserved suffering.” With these tears we grant him his life, and also pity him. |
| ipse viro primus manicas atque arta levari vincla jubet Priamus dictisque ita fatur amicis : « quisquis es, amissos hinc jam obliviscere Grajos (noster eris) mihique hæc edissere vera roganti : quo molem hanc immanis equi statuere? quis auctor? | 150 | Priam himself is the first to order his manacles and tight bonds removed, and speaks these words of kindness to him: “From now on, whœver you are, forget the Greeks, lost to you: you’ll be one of us. And explain to me truly what I ask: Why have they built this huge hulk of a horse? Who created it? |
| quidve petunt? quæ religio? aut quæ machina belli? » dixerat. ille dolis instructus et arte Pelasga sustulit exutas vinclis ad sidera palmas : « vos, æterni ignes, et non violabile vestrum testor numen, » ait, « vos aræ ensesque nefandi, | 155 | What do they aim at? What religious object or war machine is it?” He spoke: the other, schooled in Pelasgian art and trickery, raised his unbound palms towards the stars, saying: “You, eternal fires, in your invulnerable power, be witness, you altars and impious swords I escaped, |
| quos fugi, vittæque deum, quas hostia gessi : fas mihi Grajorum sacrata resolvere jura, fas odisse viros atque omnia ferre sub auras, si qua tegunt, teneor patriæ nec legibus ullis. tu modo promissis maneas servataque serves | 160 | you sacrificial ribbons of the gods that I wore as victim: with right I break the Greek’s solemn oaths, with right I hate them, and if things are hidden bring them to light: I’m bound by no laws of their country. Only, Troy, maintain your assurances, if I speak truth, if I repay |
| Troja fidem, si vera feram, si magna rependam. omnis spes Danaum et cœpti fiducia belli Palladis auxiliis semper stetit. impius ex quo Tydides sed enim scelerumque inventor Ulixes, fatale aggressi sacrato avellere templo | 165 | you handsomely: kept intact yourself, keep your promises intact. All the hopes of the Greeks and their confidence to begin the war always depended on Pallas’s aid. But from that moment when the impious son of Tydeus, Diomede, and Ulysses inventor of wickedness, approached the fateful Palladium to snatch |
| Palladium cæsis summæ custodibus arcis, corripuere sacram effigiem manibusque cruentis virgineas ausi divæ contingere vittas, ex illo fluere ac retro sublapsa referri spes Danaum, fractæ vires, aversa deæ mens. | 170 | it from its sacred temple, killing the guards on the citadel’s heights, and dared to seize the holy statue, and touch the sacred ribbons of the goddess with blood-soaked hands: from that moment the hopes of the Greeks receded, and slipping backwards ebbed: their power fragmented, and the mind of the goddess opposed them. |
| nec dubiis ea signa dedit Tritonia monstris. vix positum castris simulacrum : arsere coruscæ luminibus flammæ arrectis, salsusque per artus sudor iit, terque ipsa solo (mirabile dictu) emicuit parmamque ferens hastamque trementem. | 175 | Pallas gave sign of this, and not with dubious portents, for scarcely was the statue set up in camp, when glittering flames shone from the upturned eyes, a salt sweat ran over its limbs, and (wonderful to tell) she herself darted from the ground with shield on her arm, and spear quivering. |
| extemplo temptanda fuga canit æquora Calchas, nec posse Argolicis exscindi Pergama telis omina ni repetant Argis numenque reducant quod pelago et curvis secum avexere carinis. et nunc quod patrias vento petiere Mycenas, | 180 | Calchas immediately proclaimed that the flight by sea must be attempted, and that Troy cannot be uprooted by Argive weapons, unless they renew the omens at Argos, and take the goddess home, whom they have indeed taken by sea in their curved ships. And now they are heading for their native Mycenæ with the wind, |
| arma deosque parant comites pelagoque remenso improvisi aderunt ; ita digerit omina Calchas. hanc pro Palladio moniti, pro numine læso effigiem statuere, nefas quæ triste piaret. hanc tamen immensam Calchas attollere molem | 185 | obtaining weapons and the friendship of the gods, re-crossing the sea to arrive unexpectedly, So Calchas reads the omens. Warned by him, they’ve set up this statue of a horse for the wounded goddess, instead of the Palladium, to atone severely for their sin. And Calchas ordered them |
| roboribus textis cæloque educere jussit, ne recipi portis aut duci in mœnia posset, neu populum antiqua sub religione tueri. nam si vestra manus violasset dona Minervæ, tum magnum exitium (quod di prius omen in ipsum | 190 | to raise the huge mass of woven timbers, raised to the sky, so the gates would not take it, nor could it be dragged inside the walls, or watch over the people in their ancient rites. Since if your hands violated Minerva’s gift, then utter ruin (may the gods first turn that prediction |
| convertant!) Priami imperio Phrygibusque futurum ; sin manibus vestris vestram ascendisset in urbem, ultro Asiam magno Pelopea ad mœnia bello venturam, et nostros ea fata manere nepotes. » Talibus insidiis perjurique arte Sinonis | 195 | on themselves!) would come to Priam and the Trojans: yet if it ascended into your citadel, dragged by your hands, Asia would come to the very walls of Pelops, in mighty war, and a like fate would await our children.” Through these tricks and the skill of perjured Sinon, the thing was |
| credita res, captique dolis lacrimisque coactis quos neque Tydides nec Larisæus Achilles, non anni domuere decem, non mille carinæ. Hic aliud majus miseris multoque tremendum objicitur magis atque improvida pectora turbat. | 200 | credited, and we were trapped, by his wiliness, and false tears, we, who were not conquered by Diomede, or Larissan Achilles, nor by the ten years of war, nor those thousand ships. Then something greater and more terrible befalls us wretches, and stirs our unsuspecting souls. |
| Laocoon, ductus Neptuno sorte sacerdos, sollemnis taurum ingentem mactabat ad aras. ecce autem gemini a Tenedo tranquilla per alta (horresco referens) immensis orbibus angues incumbunt pelago pariterque ad litora tendunt ; | 205 | Laocoön, chosen by lot as priest of Neptune, was sacrificing a huge bull at the customary altar. See, a pair of serpents with huge coils, snaking over the sea from Tenedos through the tranquil deep (I shudder to tell it), and heading for the shore side by side: their fronts lift high |
| pectora quorum inter fluctus arrecta jubæque sanguineæ superant undas, pars cetera pontum pone legit sinuatque immensa volumine terga. fit sonitus spumante salo ; jamque arva tenebant ardentisque oculos suffecti sanguine et igni | 210 | over the tide, and their blood-red crests top the waves, the rest of their body slides through the ocean behind, and their huge backs arch in voluminous folds. There’s a roar from the foaming sea: now they reach the shore, and with burning eyes suffused with blood and fire, |
| sibila lambebant linguis vibrantibus ora. diffugimus visu exsangues. illi agmine certo Laocoonta petunt ; et primum parva duorum corpora natorum serpens amplexus uterque implicat et miseros morsu depascitur artus ; | 215 | lick at their hissing jaws with flickering tongues. Blanching at the sight we scatter. They move on a set course towards Laocoön: and first each serpent entwines the slender bodies of his two sons, and biting at them, devours their wretched limbs: |
| post ipsum auxilio subeuntem ac tela ferentem corripiunt spirisque ligant ingentibus ; et jam bis medium amplexi, bis collo squamea circum terga dati superant capite et cervicibus altis. ille simul manibus tendit divellere nodos | 220 | then as he comes to their aid, weapons in hand, they seize him too, and wreathe him in massive coils: now encircling his waist twice, twice winding their scaly folds around his throat, their high necks and heads tower above him. He strains to burst the knots with his hands, |
| perfusus sanie vittas atroque veneno, clamores simul horrendos ad sidera tollit : qualis mugitus, fugit quum saucius aram taurus et incertam excussit cervice securim. at gemini lapsu delubra ad summa dracones | 225 | his sacred headband drenched in blood and dark venom, while he sends terrible shouts up to the heavens, like the bellowing of a bull that has fled wounded, from the altar, shaking the useless axe from its neck. But the serpent pair escape, slithering away to the high temple, |
| effugiunt sævæque petunt Tritonidis arcem, sub pedibusque deæ clipeique sub orbe teguntur. tum vero tremefacta novus per pectora cunctis insinuat pavor, et scelus expendisse merentem Laocoonta ferunt, sacrum qui cuspide robur | 230 | and seek the stronghold of fierce Pallas, to hide there under the goddess’s feet, and the circle of her shield. Then in truth a strange terror steals through each shuddering heart, and they say that Laocoön has justly suffered for his crime in wounding the sacred oak-tree with his spear, |
| læserit et tergo sceleratam intorserit hastam. ducendum ad sedes simulacrum orandaque divæ numina conclamant. dividimus muros et mœnia pandimus urbis. accingunt omnes operi pedibusque rotarum | 235 | by hurling its wicked shaft into the trunk. “Pull the statue to her house”, they shout, “and offer prayers to the goddess’s divinity.” We breached the wall, and opened up the defenses of the city. All prepare themselves for the work and they set up wheels |
| subjiciunt lapsus, et stuppea vincula collo intendunt ; scandit fatalis machina muros feta armis. pueri circum innuptæque puellæ sacra canunt funemque manu contingere gaudent ; illa subit mediæque minans illabitur urbi. | 240 | allowing movement under its feet, and stretch hemp ropes round its neck. That engine of fate mounts our walls pregnant with armed men. Around it boys, and virgin girls, sing sacred songs, and delight in touching their hands to the ropes: Up it glides and rolls threateningly into the midst of the city. |
| o patria, o divum domus Ilium et incluta bello mœnia Dardanidum! quater ipso in limine portæ substitit atque utero sonitum quater arma dedere ; instamus tamen immemores cæcique furore et monstrum infelix sacrata sistimus arce. | 245 | O my country, O Ilium house of the gods, and you, Trojan walls famous in war! Four times it sticks at the threshold of the gates, and four times the weapons clash in its belly: yet we press on regardless, blind with frenzy, and site the accursed creature on top of our sacred citadel. |
| tunc etiam fatis aperit Cassandra futuris ora dei jussu non umquam credita Teucris. nos delubra deum miseri, quibus ultimus esset ille dies, festa velamus fronde per urbem. Vertitur interea cælum et ruit Oceano nox | 250 | Even then Cassandra, who, by the god’s decree, is never to be believed by Trojans, reveals our future fate with her lips. We unfortunate ones, for whom that day is our last, clothe the gods’ temples, throughout the city, with festive branches. Meanwhile the heavens turn, and night rushes from the Ocean, |
| involvens umbra magna terramque polumque Myrmidonumque dolos ; fusi per mœnia Teucri conticuere ; sopor fessos complectitur artus. et jam Argiva phalanx instructis navibus ibat a Tenedo tacitæ per amica silentia lunæ | 255 | wrapping the earth, and sky, and the Myrmidons’ tricks, in its vast shadow: through the city the Trojans fall silent: sleep enfolds their weary limbs. And now the Greek phalanx of battle-ready ships sailed from Tenedos, in the benign stillness of the silent moon, |
| litora nota petens, flammas quum regia puppis extulerat, fatisque deum defensus iniquis inclusos utero Danaos et pinea furtim laxat claustra Sinon. illos patefactus ad auras reddit equus lætique cavo se robore promunt | 260 | seeking the known shore, when the royal galley raised a torch, and Sinon, protected by the gods’ unjust doom, sets free the Greeks imprisoned by planks of pine, in the horses’ belly. Opened, it releases them to the air, and sliding down a lowered rope, Thessandrus, and Sthenelus, |
| Thessandrus Sthenelusque duces et dirus Ulixes, demissum lapsi per funem, Acamasque Thoasque Pelidesque Neoptolemus primusque Machaon et Menelaus et ipse doli fabricator Epeos. invadunt urbem somno vinoque sepultam ; | 265 | the leaders, and fatal Ulysses, emerge joyfully from their wooden cave, with Acamas, Thoas, Peleus’s son Neoptolemus, the noble Machaon, Menelaus, and Epeus who himself devised this trick. They invade the city that’s drowned in sleep and wine, |
| cæduntur vigiles, portisque patentibus omnis accipiunt socios atque agmina conscia jungunt. Tempus erat quo prima quies mortalibus ægris incipit et dono divum gratissima serpit. in somnis, ecce, ante oculos mæstissimus Hector | 270 | kill the watchmen, welcome their comrades at the open gates, and link their clandestine ranks. It was the hour when first sleep begins for weary mortals, and steals over them as the sweetest gift of the gods. See, in dream, before my eyes, Hector seemed to stand there, |
| visus adesse mihi largosque effundere fletus, raptatus bigis ut quondam, aterque cruento pulvere perque pedes trajectus lora tumentis. ei mihi, qualis erat, quantum mutatus ab illo Hectore qui redit exuvias indutus Achilli | 275 | saddest of all and pouring out great tears, torn by the chariot, as once he was, black with bloody dust, and his swollen feet pierced by the thongs. Ah, how he looked! How changed he was from that Hector who returned wearing Achilles’s armor, |
| vel Danaum Phrygios jaculatus puppibus ignis! squalentem barbam et concretos sanguine crinis vulneraque illa gerens, quæ circum plurima muros accepit patrios. ultro flens ipse videbar compellare virum et mæstas expromere voces : | 280 | or who set Trojan flames to the Greek ships! His beard was ragged, his hair matted with blood, bearing those many wounds he received dragged around the walls of his city. And I seemed to weep myself, calling out to him, and speaking to him in words of sorrow: |
| « o lux Dardaniæ, spes o fidissima Teucrum, quæ tantæ tenuere moræ? quibus Hector ab oris exspectate venis? ut te post multa tuorum funera, post varios hominumque urbisque labores defessi aspicimus! quæ causa indigna serenos | 285 | “Oh light of the Troad, surest hope of the Trojans, what has so delayed you? What shore do you come from Hector, the long-awaited? Weary from the many troubles of our people and our city I see you, oh, after the death of so many of your kin! What shameful events have marred |
| fœdavit vultus? aut cur hæc vulnera cerno? » ille nihil, nec me quærentem vana moratur, sed graviter gemitus imo de pectore ducens, « heu fuge, nate dea, teque his », ait, « eripe flammis. hostis habet muros ; ruit alto a culmine Troja. | 290 | that clear face? And why do I see these wounds?’ He dœs not reply, nor dœs he wait on my idle questions, but dragging heavy sighs from the depths of his heart, he says: “Ah! Son of the goddess, fly, tear yourself from the flames. The enemy has taken the walls: Troy falls from her high place. |
| sat patriæ Priamoque datum : si Pergama dextra defendi possent, etiam hac defensa fuissent. sacra suosque tibi commendat Troja penatis ; hos cape fatorum comites, his mœnia quære magna pererrato statues quæ denique ponto. » | 295 | Enough has been given to Priam and your country: if Pergama could be saved by any hand, it would have been saved by this. Troy entrusts her sacred relics and household gods to you: take them as friends of your fate, seek mighty walls for them, those you will found at last when you have wandered the seas.” |
| sic ait et manibus vittas Vestamque potentem æternumque adytis effert penetralibus ignem. Diverso interea miscentur mœnia luctu, et magis atque magis, quamquam secreta parentis Anchisæ domus arboribusque obtecta recessit, | 300 | So he speaks, and brings the sacred headbands in his hands from the innermost shrine, potent Vesta, and the undying flame. Meanwhile the city is confused with grief, on every side, and though my father Anchises’s house is remote, secluded and hidden by trees, the sounds grow clearer and clearer, |
| clarescunt sonitus armorumque ingruit horror. excutior somno et summi fastigia tecti ascensu supero atque arrectis auribus asto : in segetem veluti quum flamma furentibus Austris incidit, aut rapidus montano flumine torrens | 305 | and the terror of war sweeps upon it. I shake off sleep, and climb to the highest roof-top, and stand there with ears strained: as when fire attacks a wheat-field when the south-wind rages, or the rushing torrent from a mountain stream covers the fields, |
| sternit agros, sternit sata læta boumque labores præcipitisque trahit silvas ; stupet inscius alto accipiens sonitum saxi de vertice pastor. tum vero manifesta fides, Danaumque patescunt insidiæ. jam Deiphobi dedit ampla ruinam | 310 | drowns the ripe crops, the labor of oxen, and brings down the trees headlong, and the dazed shepherd, unaware, hears the echo from a high rocky peak. Now the truth is obvious, and the Greek plot revealed. Now the vast hall of Deiphobus is given to ruin |
| Volcano superante domus, jam proximus ardet Vcalegon ; Sigea igni freta lata relucent. exoritur clamorque virum clangorque tubarum. arma amens capio ; nec sat rationis in armis, sed glomerare manum bello et concurrere in arcem | 315 | the fire over it: now Ucalegon’s nearby blazes: the wide Sigean straits throw back the glare. Then the clamor of men and the blare of trumpets rises. Frantically I seize weapons: not because there is much use for weapons, but my spirit burns to gather men for battle |
| cum sociis ardent animi ; furor iraque mentem præcipitat, pulchrumque mori succurrit in armis. Ecce autem telis Panthus elapsus Achivum, Panthus Othryades, arcis Phœbique sacerdos, sacra manu victosque deos parvumque nepotem | 320 | and race to the citadel with my friends: madness and anger hurl my mind headlong, and I think it beautiful to die fighting. Now, see, Panthus escaping the Greek spears, Panthus, son of Othrys, Apollo’s priest on the citadel, dragging along with his own hands the sacred relics, |
| ipse trahit cursuque amens ad limina tendit. « quo res summa loco, Panthu? quam prendimus arcem? » vix ea fatus eram gemitu quum talia reddit : « venit summa dies et ineluctabile tempus Dardaniæ. fuimus Trœs, fuit Ilium et ingens | 325 | the conquered gods, his little grandchild, running frantically to my door: “Where’s the best advantage, Panthus, what position should we take?” I’d barely spoken, when he answered with a groan: “The last day comes, Troy’s inescapable hour. Troy is past, Ilium is past, and the great glory of the Trojans: |
| gloria Teucrorum ; ferus omnia Juppiter Argos transtulit ; incensa Danai dominantur in urbe. arduus armatos mediis in mœnibus astans fundit equus victorque Sinon incendia miscet insultans. portis alii bipatentibus assunt, | 330 | Jupiter carries all to Argos: the Greeks are lords of the burning city. The horse, standing high on the ramparts, pours out warriors, and Sinon the conqueror exultantly stirs the flames. Others are at the wide-open gates, as many thousands |
| milia quot magnis umquam venere Mycenis ; obsedere alii telis angusta viarum oppositis ; stat ferri acies mucrone corusco stricta, parata neci ; vix primi prœlia temptant portarum vigiles et cæco Marte resistunt. » | 335 | as ever came from great Mycenæ: more have blocked the narrow streets with hostile weapons: a line of standing steel with naked flickering blades is ready for the slaughter: barely the first few guards at the gates attempt to fight, and they resist in blind conflict.” |
| talibus Othryadæ dictis et numine divum in flammas et in arma feror, quo tristis Erinys, quo fremitus vocat et sublatus ad æthera clamor. addunt se socios Rhipeus et maximus armis Epytus, oblati per lunam, Hypanisque Dymasque | 340 | By these words from Othrys’ son, and divine will, I’m thrust amongst the weapons and the flames, where the dismal Fury sounds, and the roar, and the clamor rising to the sky. Friends joined me, visible in the moonlight, Ripheus, and Epytus, mighty in battle, Hypanis and Dymas, |
| et lateri agglomerant nostro, juvenisque Corœbus Mygdonides — illis ad Trojam forte diebus venerat insano Cassandræ incensus amore et gener auxilium Priamo Phrygibusque ferebat, infelix qui non sponsæ præcepta furentis | 345 | gathered to my side, and young Corœbus, Mygdon’s son: by chance he’d arrived in Troy at that time, burning with mad love for Cassandra, and brought help, as a potential son-in-law, to Priam, and the Trojans, unlucky man, who didn’t listen to the prophecy |
| audierit! quos ubi confertos ardere in prœlia vidi, incipio super his : « juvenes, fortissima frustra pectora, si vobis audentem extrema cupido certa sequi, quæ sit rebus fortuna videtis : | 350 | of his frenzied bride! When I saw them crowded there eager for battle, I began as follows: “Warriors, bravest of frustrated spirits, if your ardent desire is fixed on following me to the end, you can see our cause’s fate. |
| excessere omnes adytis arisque relictis di quibus imperium hoc steterat ; succurritis urbi incensæ : moriamur et in media arma ruamus. una salus victis nullam sperare salutem. » sic animis juvenum furor additus. inde, lupi ceu | 355 | All the gods by whom this empire was supported have departed, leaving behind their temples and their altars: you aid a burning city: let us die and rush into battle. The beaten have one refuge, to have no hope of refuge.” So their young spirits were roused to fury. Then, like ravaging |
| raptores atra in nebula, quos improba ventris exegit cæcos rabies catulique relicti faucibus exspectant siccis, per tela, per hostis vadimus haud dubiam in mortem mediæque tenemus urbis iter ; nox atra cava circumvolat umbra. | 360 | wolves in a dark mist, driven blindly by the cruel rage of their bellies, leaving their young waiting with thirsty jaws, we pass through our enemies, to certain death, and make our way to the heart of the city: dark night envelops us in deep shadow. |
| quis cladem illius noctis, quis funera fando explicet aut possit lacrimis æquare labores? urbs antiqua ruit multos dominata per annos ; plurima perque vias sternuntur inertia passim corpora perque domos et religiosa deorum | 365 | Who could tell of that destruction in words, or equal our pain with tears? The ancient city falls, she who ruled for so many years: crowds of dead bodies lie here and there in the streets, among the houses, and on the sacred thresholds of the gods. |
| limina. nec soli pœnas dant sanguine Teucri ; quondam etiam victis redit in præcordia virtus victoresque cadunt Danai. crudelis ubique luctus, ubique pavor et plurima mortis imago. Primus se Danaum magna comitante caterva | 370 | Nor is it Trojans alone who pay the penalty with their blood: courage returns at times to the hearts of the defeated and the Greek conquerors die. Cruel mourning is everywhere, everywhere there is panic, and many a form of death. |
| Androgeos offert nobis, socia agmina credens inscius, atque ultro verbis compellat amicis : « festinate, viri! nam quæ tam sera moratur segnities? alii rapiunt incensa feruntque Pergama : vos celsis nunc primum a navibus itis? » | 375 | First, Androgeos, meets us, with a great crowd of Greeks around him, unknowingly thinking us allied troops, and calls to us in friendly speech as well: “Hurry, men! What sluggishness makes you delay so? The others are raping and plundering burning Troy: are you only now arriving from the tall ships?” |
| dixit, et extemplo (neque enim responsa dabantur fida satis) sensit medios delapsus in hostis. obstipuit retroque pedem cum voce repressit. improvisum aspris veluti qui sentibus anguem pressit humi nitens trepidusque repente refugit | 380 | He spoke, and straight away (since no reply given was credible enough) he knew he’d fallen into the enemy fold. He was stunned, drew back, and stifled his voice. Like a man who unexpectedly treads on a snake in rough briars, as he strides over the ground, and shrinks back in sudden fear |
| attollentem iras et cærula colla tumentem, haud secus Androgeos visu tremefactus abibat. irruimus densis et circumfundimur armis, ignarosque loci passim et formidine captos sternimus ; aspirat primo Fortuna labori. | 385 | as it rears in anger and swells its dark-green neck, so Androgeos, shuddering at the sight of us, drew back. We charge forward and surround them closely with weapons, and ignorant of the place, seized by terror, as they are, we slaughter them wholesale. Fortune favors our first efforts. |
| atque hic successu exsultans animisque Corœbus « o socii, qua prima », inquit, « Fortuna salutis monstrat iter, quaque ostendit se dextra, sequamur : mutemus clipeos Danaumque insignia nobis aptemus. dolus an virtus, quis in hoste requirat? | 390 | And at this Corœbus, exultant with courage and success, cries: “Oh my friends, where fortune first points out the path to safety, and shows herself a friend, let us follow. Let’s change our shields adopt Greek emblems. Courage or deceit: who’ll question it in war? |
| arma dabunt ipsi. » sic fatus deinde comantem Androgei galeam clipeique insigne decorum induitur laterique Argivum accommodat ensem. hoc Rhipeus, hoc ipse Dymas omnisque juventus læta facit : spoliis se quisque recentibus armat. | 395 | They’ll arm us themselves.” With these words, he takes up Androgeos’s plumed helmet, his shield with its noble markings, and straps the Greek’s sword to his side. Ripheus dœs likewise, Dymas too, and all the warriors delight in it. Each man arms himself with the fresh spoils. We pass on |
| vadimus immixti Danais haud numine nostro multaque per cæcam congressi prœlia noctem conserimus, multos Danaum demittimus Orco. diffugiunt alii ad navis et litora cursu fida petunt ; pars ingentem formidine turpi | 400 | mingling with the Greeks, with gods that are not our known, and clash, in many an armed encounter, in the blind night, and we send many a Greek down to Orcus. Some scatter to the ships, and run for safer shores, some, in humiliated terror, climb the vast horse again |
| scandunt rursus equum et nota conduntur in alvo. Heu nihil invitis fas quemquam fidere divis! ecce trahebatur passis Priameia virgo crinibus a templo Cassandra adytisque Minervæ ad cælum tendens ardentia lumina frustra, | 405 | and hide in the womb they know. “Ah, put no faith in anything the will of the gods opposes! See, Priam’s virgin daughter dragged, with streaming hair, from the sanctuary and temple of Minerva, lifting her burning eyes to heaven in vain: |
| lumina, nam teneras arcebant vincula palmas. non tulit hanc speciem furiata mente Corœbus et sese medium injecit periturus in agmen ; consequimur cuncti et densis incurrimus armis. hic primum ex alto delubri culmine telis | 410 | her eyes, since cords restrained her gentle hands. Corœbus could not stand the sight, maddened in mind, and hurled himself among the ranks, seeking death. We follow him, and, weapons locked, charge together. Here, at first, we were overwhelmed by Trojan spears, |
| nostrorum obruimur oriturque miserrima cædes armorum facie et Grajarum errore jubarum. tum Danai gemitu atque ereptæ virginis ira undique collecti invadunt, acerrimus Ajax et gemini Atridæ Dolopumque exercitus omnis : | 415 | hurled from the high summit of the temple, and wretched slaughter was caused by the look of our armor, and the confusion arising from our Greek crests. Then the Danaans, gathering from all sides, groaning with anger at the girl being pulled away from them, rush us, |
| adversi rupto ceu quondam turbine venti confligunt, Zephyrusque Notusque et lætus Eois Eurus equis ; stridunt silvæ sævitque tridenti spumeus atque imo Nereus ciet æquora fundo. illi etiam, si quos obscura nocte per umbram | 420 | Ajax the fiercest, the two Atrides, all the Greek host: just as, at the onset of a tempest, conflicting winds clash, the west, the south, and the east that joys in the horses of dawn: the forest roars, brine-wet Nereus rages with his trident, and stirs the waters from their lowest depths. Even those we have scattered by a ruse, in the dark of night, |
| fudimus insidiis totaque agitavimus urbe, apparent ; primi clipeos mentitaque tela agnoscunt atque ora sono discordia signant. ilicet obruimur numero, primusque Corœbus Penelei dextra divæ armipotentis ad aram | 425 | and driven right through the city, re-appear: for the first time they recognise our shields and deceitful weapons, and realise our speech differs in sound to theirs. In a moment we’re overwhelmed by weight of numbers: first Corœbus falls, by the armed goddess’s altar, at the hands |
| procumbit ; cadit et Rhipeus, justissimus unus qui fuit in Teucris et servantissimus æqui (dis aliter visum); pereunt Hypanisque Dymasque confixi a sociis ; nec te tua plurima, Panthu, labentem pietas nec Apollinis infula texit. | 430 | of Peneleus: and Ripheus, who was the most just of all the Trojans, and keenest for what was right (the gods’ vision was otherwise): Hypanis and Dymas die at the hands of allies: and your great piety, Panthus, and Apollo’s sacred headband can not defend you in your downfall. |
| Iliaci cineres et flamma extrema meorum, testor, in occasu vestro nec tela nec ullas vitavisse vices, Danaum et, si fata fuissent ut caderem, meruisse manu. divellimur inde, Iphitus et Pelias mecum (quorum Iphitus ævo | 435 | Ashes of Ilium, death flames of my people, be witness that, at your ruin, I did not evade the Danaan weapons, nor the risks, and, if it had been my fate to die, I earned it with my sword. Then we are separated, Iphitus and Pelias with me, Iphitus weighed down by the years, |
| jam gravior, Pelias et vulnere tardus Ulixi), protinus ad sedes Priami clamore vocati. hic vero ingentem pugnam, ceu cetera nusquam bella forent, nulli tota morerentur in urbe, sic Martem indomitum Danaosque ad tecta ruentis | 440 | and Pelias, slow-footed, wounded by Ulysses: immediately we’re summoned to Priam’s palace by the clamor. Here’s a great battle indeed, as if the rest of the war were nothing, as if others were not dying throughout the whole city, so we see wild War and the Greeks rushing to the palace, |
| cernimus obsessumque acta testudine limen. hærent parietibus scalæ postisque sub ipsos nituntur gradibus clipeosque ad tela sinistris protecti objiciunt, prensant fastigia dextris. Dardanidæ contra turris ac tota domorum | 445 | and the entrance filled with a press of shields. Ladders cling to the walls: men climb the stairs under the very doorposts, with their left hands holding defensive shields against the spears, grasping the sloping stone with their right. In turn, the Trojans pull down the turrets and roof-tiles |
| culmina convellunt ; his se, quando ultima cernunt, extrema jam in morte parant defendere telis, auratasque trabes, veterum decora alta parentum, devolvunt ; alii strictis mucronibus imas obsedere fores, has servant agmine denso. | 450 | of the halls, prepared to defend themselves even in death, seeing the end near them, with these as weapons: and send the gilded roof-beams down, the glory of their ancient fathers. Others with naked swords block the inner doors: these they defend in massed ranks. |
| instaurati animi regis succurrere tectis auxilioque levare viros vimque addere victis. Limen erat cæcæque fores et pervius usus tectorum inter se Priami, postesque relicti a tergo, infelix qua se, dum regna manebant, | 455 | Our spirits were reinspired, to bring help to the king’s palace, to relieve our warriors with our aid, and add power to the beaten. There was an entrance with hidden doors, and a passage in use between Priam’s halls, and a secluded gateway beyond, which the unfortunate Andromache, while the kingdom stood, |
| sæpius Andromache ferre incomitata solebat ad soceros et avo puerum Astyanacta trahebat. evado ad summi fastigia culminis, unde tela manu miseri jactabant irrita Teucri. turrim in præcipiti stantem summisque sub astra | 460 | often used to traverse, going, unattended, to her husband’s parents, taking the little Astyanax to his grandfather. I reached the topmost heights of the pediment from which the wretched Trojans were hurling their missiles in vain. A turret standing on the sloping edge, and rising from the roof |
| eductam tectis, unde omnis Troja videri et Danaum solitæ naves et Achaica castra, aggressi ferro circum, qua summa labantis juncturas tabulata dabant, convellimus altis sedibus impulimusque ; ea lapsa repente ruinam | 465 | to the sky, was one from which all Troy could be seen, the Danaan ships, and the Greek camp: and attacking its edges with our swords, where the upper levels offered weaker mortar, we wrenched it from its high place, and sent it flying: falling suddenly it dragged all to ruin with a roar, |
| cum sonitu trahit et Danaum super agmina late incidit. ast alii subeunt, nec saxa nec ullum telorum interea cessat genus. Vestibulum ante ipsum primoque in limine Pyrrhus exsultat telis et luce coruscus aëna : | 470 | and shattered far and wide over the Greek ranks. But more arrived, and meanwhile neither the stones nor any of the various missiles ceased to fly. In front of the courtyard itself, in the very doorway of the palace, Pyrrhus exults, glittering with the sheen of bronze: |
| qualis ubi in lucem coluber mala gramina pastus, frigida sub terra tumidum quem bruma tegebat, nunc, positis novus exuviis nitidusque juventa, lubrica convolvit sublato pectore terga arduus ad solem, et linguis micat ore trisulcis. | 475 | like a snake, fed on poisonous herbs, in the light, that cold winter has held, swollen, under the ground, and now, gleaming with youth, its skin sloughed, ripples its slimy back, lifts its front high towards the sun, and darts its triple-forked tongue from its jaws. |
| una ingens Periphas et equorum agitator Achillis, armiger Automedon, una omnis Scyria pubes succedunt tecto et flammas ad culmina jactant. ipse inter primos correpta dura bipenni limina perrumpit postisque a cardine vellit | 480 | Huge Periphas, and Automedon the armor-bearer, driver of Achilles’s team, and all the Scyrian youths, advance on the palace together and hurl firebrands onto the roof. Pyrrhus himself among the front ranks, clutching a double-axe, breaks through the stubborn gate, and pulls the bronze doors |
| æratos ; jamque excisa trabe firma cavavit robora et ingentem lato dedit ore fenestram. apparet domus intus et atria longa patescunt ; apparent Priami et veterum penetralia regum, armatosque vident stantis in limine primo. | 485 | from their hinges: and now, hewing out the timber, he breaches the solid oak and opens a huge window with a gaping mouth. The palace within appears, and the long halls are revealed: the inner sanctums of Priam, and the ancient kings, appear, and armed men are seen standing on the very threshold. |
| at domus interior gemitu miseroque tumultu miscetur, penitusque cavæ plangoribus ædes femineis ululant ; ferit aurea sidera clamor. tum pavidæ tectis matres ingentibus errant amplexæque tenent postis atque oscula figunt. | 490 | But, inside the palace, groans mingle with sad confusion, and, deep within, the hollow halls howl with women’s cries: the clamor strikes the golden stars. Trembling mothers wander the vast building, clasping the doorposts, and placing kisses on them. Pyrrhus drives forward, |
| instat vi patria Pyrrhus ; nec claustra nec ipsi custodes sufferre valent ; labat ariete crebro janua, et emoti procumbunt cardine postes. fit via vi ; rumpunt aditus primosque trucidant immissi Danai et late loca milite complent. | 495 | with his father Achilles’s strength, no barricades nor the guards themselves can stop him: the door collapses under the ram’s blows, and the posts collapse, wrenched from their sockets. Strength makes a road: the Greeks, pour through, force a passage, slaughter the front ranks, and fill the wide space with their men. |
| non sic, aggeribus ruptis quum spumeus amnis exiit oppositasque evicit gurgite moles, fertur in arva furens cumulo camposque per omnis cum stabulis armenta trahit. vidi ipse furentem cæde Neoptolemum geminosque in limine Atridas, | 500 | A foaming river is not so furious, when it floods, bursting its banks, overwhelms the barriers against it, and rages in a mass through the fields, sweeping cattle and stables across the whole plain. I saw Pyrrhus myself, on the threshold, mad with slaughter, and the two sons of Atreus: |
| vidi Hecubam centumque nurus Priamumque per aras sanguine fœdantem quos ipse sacraverat ignis. quinquaginta illi thalami, spes tanta nepotum, barbarico postes auro spoliisque superbi procubuere ; tenent Danai qua deficit ignis. | 505 | I saw Hecuba, her hundred women, and Priam at the altars, polluting with blood the flames that he himself had sanctified. Those fifty chambers, the promise of so many offspring, the doorposts, rich with spoils of barbarian gold, crash down: the Greeks possess what the fire spares. |
| Forsitan et Priami fuerint quæ fata requiras. urbis uti captæ casum convulsaque vidit limina tectorum et medium in penetralibus hostem, arma diu senior desueta trementibus ævo circumdat nequiquam umeris et inutile ferrum | 510 | And maybe you ask, what was Priam’s fate. When he saw the end of the captive city, the palace doors wrenched away, and the enemy among the inner rooms, the aged man clasped his long-neglected armor on his old, trembling shoulders, and fastened on his useless sword, |
| cingitur, ac densos fertur moriturus in hostis. ædibus in mediis nudoque sub ætheris axe ingens ara fuit juxtaque veterrima laurus incumbens aræ atque umbra complexa penatis. hic Hecuba et natæ nequiquam altaria circum, | 515 | and hurried into the thick of the enemy seeking death. In the center of the halls, and under the sky’s naked arch, was a large altar, with an ancient laurel nearby, that leant on the altar, and clothed the household gods with shade. Here Hecuba, and her daughters, like doves driven |
| præcipites atra ceu tempestate columbæ, condensæ et divum amplexæ simulacra sedebant. ipsum autem sumptis Priamum juvenalibus armis ut vidit, « quæ mens tam dira, miserrime conjunx, impulit his cingi telis? aut quo ruis? » inquit. | 520 | by a dark storm, crouched uselessly by the shrines, huddled together, clutching at the statues of the gods. And when she saw Priam himself dressed in youthful armor she cried: “What mad thought, poor husband, urges you to fasten on these weapons? Where do you run? |
| « non tali auxilio nec defensoribus istis tempus eget ; non, si ipse meus nunc afforet Hector. huc tandem concede ; hæc ara tuebitur omnis, aut moriere simul. » sic ore effata recepit ad sese et sacra longævum in sede locavit. | 525 | The hour demands no such help, nor defenses such as these, not if my own Hector were here himself. Here, I beg you, this altar will protect us all or we’ll die together.” So she spoke and drew the old man towards her, and set him down on the sacred steps. |
| Ecce autem elapsus Pyrrhi de cæde Polites, unus natorum Priami, per tela, per hostis porticibus longis fugit et vacua atria lustrat saucius. illum ardens infesto vulnere Pyrrhus insequitur, jam jamque manu tenet et premit hasta. | 530 | See, Polites, one of Priam’s sons, escaping Pyrrhus’s slaughter, runs down the long hallways, through enemies and spears, and, wounded, crosses the empty courts. Pyrrhus chases after him, eager to strike him, and grasps at him now, and now, with his hand, at spear-point. |
| ut tandem ante oculos evasit et ora parentum, concidit ac multo vitam cum sanguine fudit. hic Priamus, quamquam in media jam morte tenetur, non tamen abstinuit nec voci iræque pepercit : « at tibi pro scelere, » exclamat, « pro talibus ausis | 535 | When finally he reached the eyes and gaze of his parents, he fell, and poured out his life in a river of blood. Priam, though even now in death’s clutches, did not spare his voice at this, or hold back his anger: “If there is any justice in heaven, that cares about such things, |
| di, si qua est cælo pietas quæ talia curet, persolvant grates dignas et præmia reddant debita, qui nati coram me cernere letum fecisti et patrios fœdasti funere vultus. at non ille, satum quo te mentiris, Achilles | 540 | may the gods repay you with fit thanks, and due reward for your wickedness, for such acts, you who have made me see my own son’s death in front of my face, and defiled a father’s sight with murder. Yet Achilles, whose son you falsely claim to be, was no |
| talis in hoste fuit Priamo ; sed jura fidemque supplicis erubuit corpusque exsangue sepulcro reddidit Hectoreum meque in mea regna remisit. » sic fatus senior telumque imbelle sine ictu conjecit, rauco quod protinus ære repulsum, | 545 | such enemy to Priam: he respected the suppliant’s rights, and honor, and returned Hector’s bloodless corpse to its sepulchre, and sent me home to my kingdom.” So the old man spoke, and threw his ineffectual spear without strength, which immediately spun from the clanging bronze |
| et summo clipei nequiquam umbone pependit. cui Pyrrhus : « referes ergo hæc et nuntius ibis Pelidæ genitori. illi mea tristia facta degeneremque Neoptolemum narrare memento. nunc morere. » hoc dicens altaria ad ipsa trementem | 550 | and hung uselessly from the center of the shield’s boss. Pyrrhus spoke to him: “Then you can be messenger, carry the news to my father, to Peleus’s son: remember to tell him of degenerate Pyrrhus, and of my sad actions: now die.” Saying this he dragged him, trembling, |
| traxit et in multo lapsantem sanguine nati, implicuitque comam læva, dextraque coruscum extulit ac lateri capulo tenus abdidit ensem. hæc finis Priami fatorum, hic exitus illum sorte tulit Trojam incensam et prolapsa videntem | 555 | and slithering in the pool of his son’s blood, to the very altar, and twined his left hand in his hair, raised the glittering sword in his right, and buried it to the hilt in his side. This was the end of Priam’s life: this was the death that fell to him by lot, seeing Troy ablaze and its citadel toppled, he who was |
| Pergama, tot quondam populis terrisque superbum regnatorem Asiæ. jacet ingens litore truncus, avulsumque umeris caput et sine nomine corpus. At me tum primum sævus circumstetit horror. obstipui ; subiit cari genitoris imago, | 560 | once the magnificent ruler of so many Asian lands and peoples. A once mighty body lies on the shore, the head shorn from its shoulders, a corpse without a name. Then for the first time a wild terror gripped me. I stood amazed: my dear father’s image rose before me |
| ut regem æquævum crudeli vulnere vidi vitam exhalantem, subiit deserta Creusa et direpta domus et parvi casus Juli. respicio et quæ sit me circum copia lustro. deservere omnes defessi, et corpora saltu | 565 | as I saw a king, of like age, with a cruel wound, breathing his life away: and my Creusa, forlorn, and the ransacked house, and the fate of little Julus. I looked back, and considered the troops that were round me. They had all left me, wearied, and hurled their bodies to earth, |
| ad terram misere aut ignibus ægra dedere. [Jamque adeo super unus eram, quum limina Vestæ servantem et tacitam secreta in sede latentem Tyndarida aspicio ; dant claram incendia lucem erranti passimque oculos per cuncta ferenti. | 570 | or sick with misery dropped into the flames. So I was alone now, when I saw the daughter of Tyndareus, Helen, close to Vesta’s portal, hiding silently in the secret shrine: the bright flames gave me light, as I wandered, gazing everywhere, randomly. |
| illa sibi infestos eversa ob Pergama Teucros et Danaum pœnam et deserti conjugis iras præmetuens, Trojæ et patriæ communis Erinys, abdiderat sese atque aris invisa sedebat. exarsere ignes animo ; subit ira cadentem | 575 | Afraid of Trojans angered at the fall of Troy, Greek vengeance, and the fury of a husband she deserted, she, the mutual curse of Troy and her own country, had concealed herself and crouched, a hated thing, by the altars. Fire blazed in my spirit: anger rose to avenge my fallen land, |
| ulcisci patriam et sceleratas sumere pœnas. « scilicet hæc Spartam incolumis patriasque Mycenas aspiciet, partoque ibit regina triumpho? conjugiumque domumque patris natosque videbit Iliadum turba et Phrygiis comitata ministris? | 580 | and to exact the punishment for her wickedness. “Shall she, unharmed, see Sparta again and her native Mycenæ, and see her house and husband, parents and children, and go in the triumphant role of a queen, attended by a crowd of Trojan women and Phrygian servants? |
| occiderit ferro Priamus? Troja arserit igni? Dardanium totiens sudarit sanguine litus? non ita. namque etsi nullum memorabile nomen feminea in pœna est, habet hæc victoria laudem ; exstinxisse nefas tamen et sumpsisse merentis | 585 | When Priam has been put to the sword? Troy consumed with fire? The Dardanian shore soaked again and again with blood? No. Though there’s no great glory in a woman’s punishment, and such a conquest wins no praise, still I will be praised for extinguishing wickedness and exacting well-earned |
| laudabor pœnas, animumque explesse juvabit ultricis ~famam et cineres satiasse meorum. » talia jactabam et furiata mente ferebar,] quum mihi se, non ante oculis tam clara, videndam obtulit et pura per noctem in luce refulsit | 590 | punishment, and I’ll delight in having filled my soul with the flame of revenge, and appeased my people’s ashes.” I blurted out these words, and was rushing on with raging mind, when my dear mother came to my vision, never before so bright to my eyes, shining with pure light in the night, |
| alma parens, confessa deam qualisque videri cælicolis et quanta solet, dextraque prehensum continuit roseoque hæc insuper addidit ore : « nate, quis indomitas tantus dolor excitat iras? quid furis? aut quonam nostri tibi cura recessit? | 595 | goddess for sure, such as she may be seen by the gods, and taking me by the right hand, stopped me, and, then, imparted these words to me from her rose-tinted lips: “My son, what pain stirs such uncontrollable anger? Why this rage? Where has your care for what is ours vanished? |
| non prius aspicies ubi fessum ætate parentem liqueris Anchisen, superet conjunxne Creusa Ascaniusque puer? quos omnis undique Grajæ circum errant acies et, ni mea cura resistat, jam flammæ tulerint inimicus et hauserit ensis. | 600 | First will you not see whether Creusa, your wife, and your child Ascanius still live, and where you have left your father Anchises worn-out with age? The Greek ranks surround them on all sides, and if my love did not protect them, the flames would have caught them before now, and the enemy swords drunk of their blood. |
| non tibi Tyndaridis facies invisa Lacænæ culpatusve Paris, divum inclementia, divum has evertit opes sternitque a culmine Trojam. aspice (namque omnem, quæ nunc obducta tuenti mortalis hebetat visus tibi et umida circum | 605 | You do not hate the face of the Spartan daughter of Tyndareus, nor is Paris to blame: the ruthlessness of the gods, of the gods, brought down this power, and toppled Troy from its heights. See (for I’ll tear away all the mist that now, shrouding your sight, dims your mortal vision, and darkens everything with moisture: |
| caligat, nubem eripiam ; tu ne qua parentis jussa time neu præceptis parere recusa): hic, ubi disjectas moles avulsaque saxis saxa vides, mixtoque undantem pulvere fumum, Neptunus muros magnoque emota tridenti | 610 | don’t be afraid of what your mother commands, or refuse to obey her wisdom): here, where you see shattered heaps of stone torn from stone, and smoke billowing mixed with dust, Neptune is shaking the walls, and the foundations, stirred by his mighty trident, and tearing the whole city up by it roots. |
| fundamenta quatit totamque a sedibus urbem eruit. hic Juno Scæas sævissima portas prima tenet sociumque furens a navibus agmen ferro accincta vocat. jam summas arces Tritonia, respice, Pallas | 615 | There, Juno, the fiercest, is first to take the Scæan Gate, and, sword at her side, calls on her troops from the ships, in rage. Now, see, Tritonian Pallas, standing on the highest towers, |
| insedit nimbo effulgens et Gorgone sæva. ipse pater Danais animos virisque secundas sufficit, ipse deos in Dardana suscitat arma. eripe, nate, fugam finemque impone labori ; nusquam abero et tutum patrio te limine sistam. » | 620 | sending lightning from the storm-cloud, and her grim Gorgon breastplate. Father Jupiter himself supplies the Greeks with courage, and fortunate strength, himself excites the gods against the Trojan army. Hurry your departure, son, and put an end to your efforts. I will not leave you, and I will place you safe at your father’s door.” She spoke, and hid herself |
| dixerat et spissis noctis se condidit umbris. apparent diræ facies inimicaque Trojæ numina magna deum. Tum vero omne mihi visum considere in ignis Ilium et ex imo verti Neptunia Troja : | 625 | in the dense shadows of night. Dreadful shapes appeared, and the vast powers of gods opposed to Troy. Then in truth all Ilium seemed to me to sink in flames, and Neptune’s Troy was toppled from her base: |
| ac veluti summis antiquam in montibus ornum quum ferro accisam crebrisque bipennibus instant eruere agricolæ certatim, illa usque minatur et tremefacta comam concusso vertice nutat, vulneribus donec paulatim evicta supremum | 630 | just as when foresters on the mountain heights compete to uproot an ancient ash tree, struck time and again by axe and blade, it threatens continually to fall, with trembling foliage and shivering crown, till gradually vanquished by the blows it groans at last, |
| congemuit traxitque jugis avulsa ruinam. descendo ac ducente deo flammam inter et hostis expedior : dant tela locum flammæque recedunt. Atque ubi jam patriæ perventum ad limina sedis antiquasque domos, genitor, quem tollere in altos | 635 | and torn from the ridge, crashes down in ruin. I descend, and, led by a goddess, am freed from flames and enemies: the spears give way, and the flames recede. And now, when I reached the threshold of my father’s house, and my former home, my father, whom it was my first desire |
| optabam primum montis primumque petebam, abnegat excisa vitam producere Troja exsiliumque pati. « vos o, quibus integer ævi sanguis, » ait, « solidæque suo stant robore vires, vos agitate fugam. | 640 | to carry into the high mountains, and whom I first sought out, refused to extend his life or endure exile, since Troy had fallen. “Oh, you,” he cried, “whose blood has the vigor of youth, and whose power is unimpaired in its force, it’s for you to take flight. |
| me si cælicolæ voluissent ducere vitam, has mihi servassent sedes. satis una superque vidimus excidia et captæ superavimus urbi. sic o sic positum affati discedite corpus. ipse manu mortem inveniam ; miserebitur hostis | 645 | As for me, if the gods had wished to lengthen the thread of my life, they’d have spared my house. It is more than enough that I saw one destruction, and survived one taking of the city. Depart, saying farewell to my body lying here so, yes so. I shall find death with my own hand: |
| exuviasque petet. facilis jactura sepulcri. jam pridem invisus divis et inutilis annos demoror, ex quo me divum pater atque hominum rex fulminis afflavit ventis et contigit igni. » Talia perstabat memorans fixusque manebat. | 650 | the enemy will pity me, and look for plunder. The loss of my burial is nothing. Clinging to old age for so long, I am useless, and hated by the gods, ever since the father of the gods and ruler of men breathed the winds of his lightning-bolt onto me, and touched me with fire.” So he persisted in saying, and remained adamant. |
| nos contra effusi lacrimis conjunxque Creusa Ascaniusque omnisque domus, ne vertere secum cuncta pater fatoque urgenti incumbere vellet. abnegat inceptoque et sedibus hæret in isdem. rursus in arma feror mortemque miserrimus opto. | 655 | We, on our side, Creusa, my wife, and Ascanius, all our household, weeping bitterly, determined that he should not destroy everything along with himself, and crush us by urging our doom. He refused and clung to his place and his purpose. I hurried to my weapons again, and, miserably, longed for death, |
| nam quod consilium aut quæ jam fortuna dabatur? « mene efferre pedem, genitor, te posse relicto sperasti tantumque nefas patrio excidit ore? si nihil ex tanta superis placet urbe relinqui, et sedet hoc animo perituræque addere Trojæ | 660 | since what tactic or opportunity was open to us now? “ Did you think I could leave you, father, and depart? Did such sinful words fall from your lips? If it pleases the gods to leave nothing of our great city standing, if this is set in your mind, if it delights you to add yourself |
| teque tuosque juvat, patet isti janua leto, jamque aderit multo Priami de sanguine Pyrrhus, natum ante ora patris, patrem qui obtruncat ad aras. hoc erat, alma parens, quod me per tela, per ignis eripis, ut mediis hostem in penetralibus utque | 665 | and all that’s yours to the ruins of Troy, the door is open to that death: soon Pyrrhus comes, drenched in Priam’s blood, he who butchers the son in front of the father, the father at the altar. Kind mother, did you rescue me from fire and sword for this, to see the enemy in the depths of my house, |
| Ascanium patremque meum juxtaque Creusam alterum in alterius mactatos sanguine cernam? arma, viri, ferte arma ; vocat lux ultima victos. reddite me Danais ; sinite instaurata revisam prœlia. numquam omnes hodie moriemur inulti. » | 670 | and Ascanius, and my father, and Creusa, slaughtered, thrown together in a heap, in one another’s blood? Weapons men, bring weapons: the last day calls to the defeated. Lead me to the Greeks again: let me revisit the battle anew. This day we shall not all perish unavenged.” |
| Hinc ferro accingor rursus clipeoque sinistram insertabam aptans meque extra tecta ferebam. ecce autem complexa pedes in limine conjunx hærebat, parvumque patri tendebat Julum : « si periturus abis, et nos rape in omnia tecum ; | 675 | So, again, I fasten on my sword, slip my left arm into the shield’s strap, adjust it, and rush from the house. But see, my wife clings to the threshold, clasps my foot, and holds little Julus up towards his father: “If you go to die, take us with you too, at all costs: but if |
| sin aliquam expertus sumptis spem ponis in armis, hanc primum tutare domum. cui parvus Julus, cui pater et conjunx quondam tua dicta relinquor? » Talia vociferans gemitu tectum omne replebat, quum subitum dictuque oritur mirabile monstrum. | 680 | as you’ve proved you trust in the weapons you wear, defend this house first. To whom do you abandon little Julus, and your father, and me, I who was once spoken of as your wife?” Crying out like this she filled the whole house with her groans, when suddenly a wonder, marvellous to speak of, occurred. |
| namque manus inter mæstorumque ora parentum ecce levis summo de vertice visus Juli fundere lumen apex, tactuque innoxia mollis lambere flamma comas et circum tempora pasci. nos pavidi trepidare metu crinemque flagrantem | 685 | See, between the hands and faces of his grieving parents, a gentle light seemed to shine from the crown of Julus’s head, and a soft flame, harmless in its touch, licked at his hair, and grazed his forehead. Trembling with fear, we hurry to flick away the blazing strands, |
| excutere et sanctos restinguere fontibus ignis. at pater Anchises oculos ad sidera lætus extulit et cælo palmas cum voce tetendit : « Juppiter omnipotens, precibus si flecteris ullis, aspice nos, hoc tantum, et si pietate meremur, | 690 | and extinguish the sacred fires with water. But Anchises, my father, lifts his eyes to the heavens, in delight, and raises his hands and voice to the sky: “All-powerful Jupiter, if you’re moved by any prayers, see us, and, grant but this: if we are worthy through our virtue, |
| da deinde auxilium, pater, atque hæc omina firma. » Vix ea fatus erat senior, subitoque fragore intonuit lævum, et de cælo lapsa per umbras stella facem ducens multa cum luce cucurrit. illam summa super labentem culmina tecti | 695 | show us a sign of it, Father, and confirm your omen.” The old man had barely spoken when, with a sudden crash, it thundered on the left, and a star, through the darkness, slid from the sky, and flew, trailing fire, in a burst of light. We watched it glide over the highest rooftops, |
| cernimus Idæa claram se condere silva signantemque vias ; tum longo limite sulcus dat lucem et late circum loca sulphure fumant. hic vero victus genitor se tollit ad auras affaturque deos et sanctum sidus adorat. | 700 | and bury its brightness, and the sign of its passage, in the forests of Mount Ida: then the furrow of its long track gave out a glow, and, all around, the place smoked with sulphur. At this my father, truly overcome, raised himself towards the sky, and spoke to the gods, and proclaimed the sacred star. |
| « Jam jam nulla mora est ; sequor et qua ducitis assum, di patrii ; servate domum, servate nepotem. vestrum hoc augurium, vestroque in numine Troja est. cedo equidem nec, nate, tibi comes ire recuso. » dixerat ille, et jam per mœnia clarior ignis | 705 | “Now no delay: I follow, and where you lead, there am I. Gods of my fathers, save my line, save my grandson. This omen is yours, and Troy is in your divine power. I accept, my son, and I will not refuse to go with you.” He speaks, and now the fire is more audible, |
| auditur, propiusque æstus incendia volvunt. « ergo age, care pater, cervici imponere nostræ ; ipse subibo umeris nec me labor iste gravabit ; quo res cumque cadent, unum et commune periclum, una salus ambobus erit. mihi parvus Julus | 710 | through the city, and the blaze rolls its tide nearer. “Come then, dear father, clasp my neck: I will carry you on my shoulders: that task won’t weigh on me. Whatever may happen, it will be for us both, the same shared risk, and the same salvation. Let little Julus come with me, |
| sit comes, et longe servet vestigia conjunx. vos, famuli, quæ dicam animis advertite vestris. est urbe egressis tumulus templumque vetustum desertæ Cereris, juxtaque antiqua cupressus religione patrum multos servata per annos ; | 715 | and let my wife follow our footsteps at a distance. You servants, give your attention to what I’m saying. At the entrance to the city there’s a mound, an ancient temple of forsaken Ceres, and a venerable cypress nearby, protected through the years by the reverence of our fathers: |
| hanc ex diverso sedem veniemus in unam. tu, genitor, cape sacra manu patriosque penatis ; me bello e tanto digressum et cæde recenti attrectare nefas, donec me flumine vivo abluero. » | 720 | let’s head to that one place by diverse paths. You, father, take the sacred objects, and our country’s gods, in your hands: until I’ve washed in running water, it would be a sin for me, coming from such fighting and recent slaughter, to touch them.” |
| hæc fatus latos umeros subjectaque colla veste super fulvique insternor pelle leonis, succedoque oneri ; dextræ se parvus Julus implicuit sequiturque patrem non passibus æquis ; pone subit conjunx. ferimur per opaca locorum, | 725 | So saying, bowing my neck, I spread a cloak made of a tawny lion’s hide over my broad shoulders, and bend to the task: little Julus clasps his hand in mine, and follows his father’s longer strides. My wife walks behind. We walk on through the shadows |
| et me, quem dudum non ulla injecta movebant tela neque adverso glomerati examine Graji, nunc omnes terrent auræ, sonus excitat omnis suspensum et pariter comitique onerique timentem. jamque propinquabam portis omnemque videbar | 730 | of places, and I whom till then no shower of spears, nor crowd of Greeks in hostile array, could move, now I’m terrified by every breeze, and startled by every noise, anxious, and fearful equally for my companion and my burden. And now I was near the gates, and thought I had completed |
| evasisse viam, subito quum creber ad auris visus adesse pedum sonitus, genitorque per umbram prospiciens « nate, » exclamat, « fuge, nate ; propinquant. ardentis clipeos atque æra micantia cerno. » hic mihi nescio quod trepido male numen amicum | 735 | my journey, when suddenly the sound of approaching feet filled my hearing, and, peering through the darkness, my father cried: “My son, run my son, they are near us: I see their glittering shields and gleaming bronze.” Some hostile power, at this, scattered my muddled wits. |
| confusam eripuit mentem. namque avia cursu dum sequor et nota excedo regione viarum, heu misero conjunx fatone erepta Creusa substitit, erravitne via seu lapsa resedit, incertum ; nec post oculis est reddita nostris. | 740 | for while I was following alleyways, and straying from the region of streets we knew, did my wife Creusa halt, snatched away from me by wretched fate? Or did she wander from the path or collapse with weariness? Who knows? She was never restored to our sight, |
| nec prius amissam respexi animumve reflexi quam tumulum antiquæ Cereris sedemque sacratam venimus : hic demum collectis omnibus una defuit, et comites natumque virumque fefellit. quem non incusavi amens hominumque deorumque, | 745 | nor did I look back for my lost one, or cast a thought behind me, until we came to the mound, and ancient Ceres’s sacred place. Here when all were gathered together at last, one was missing, and had escaped the notice of friends, child and husband. What man or god did I not accuse in my madness: |
| aut quid in eversa vidi crudelius urbe? Ascanium Anchisenque patrem Teucrosque penatis commendo sociis et curva valle recondo ; ipse urbem repeto et cingor fulgentibus armis. stat casus renovare omnis omnemque reverti | 750 | what did I know of in the city’s fall crueller than this? I place Ascanius, and my father Anchises, and the gods of Troy, in my companions’ care, and conceal them in a winding valley: I myself seek the city once more, and take up my shining armor. I’m determined to incur every risk again, and retrace |
| per Trojam et rursus caput objectare periclis. principio muros obscuraque limina portæ, qua gressum extuleram, repeto et vestigia retro observata sequor per noctem et lumine lustro : horror ubique animo, simul ipsa silentia terrent. | 755 | all Troy, and once more expose my life to danger. First I look for the wall, and the dark threshold of the gate from which my path led, and I retrace the landmarks of my course in the night, scanning them with my eye. Everywhere the terror in my heart, and the silence itself, |
| inde domum, si forte pedem, si forte tulisset, me refero : irruerant Danai et tectum omne tenebant. ilicet ignis edax summa ad fastigia vento volvitur ; exsuperant flammæ, furit æstus ad auras. procedo et Priami sedes arcemque reviso : | 760 | dismay me. Then I take myself homewards, in case by chance, by some chance, she has made her way there. The Greeks have invaded, and occupied, the whole house. Suddenly eager fire, rolls over the rooftop, in the wind: the flames take hold, the blaze rages to the heavens. I pass by and see again Priam’s palace and the citadel. |
| et jam porticibus vacuis Junonis asylo custodes lecti Phœnix et dirus Ulixes prædam asservabant. huc undique Troja gaza incensis erepta adytis, mensæque deorum crateresque auro solidi, captivaque vestis | 765 | Now Phœnix, and fatal Ulysses, the chosen guards, watch over the spoils, in the empty courts of Juno’s sanctuary. Here the Trojan treasures are gathered from every part, ripped from the blazing shrines, tables of the gods, solid gold bowls, and plundered robes. |
| congeritur. pueri et pavidæ longo ordine matres stant circum. ausus quin etiam voces jactare per umbram implevi clamore vias, mæstusque Creusam nequiquam ingeminans iterumque iterumque vocavi. | 770 |
Mothers and trembling sons stand round in long ranks. I even dared to hurl my shouts through the shadows, filling the streets with my clamor, and in my misery, redoubling my useless cries, again and again. |
| quærenti et tectis urbis sine fine ruenti infelix simulacrum atque ipsius umbra Creusæ visa mihi ante oculos et nota major imago. obstipui, steteruntque comæ et vox faucibus hæsit. tum sic affari et curas his demere dictis : | 775 | Searching, and raging endlessly among the city roofs, the unhappy ghost and true shadow of Creusa appeared before my eyes, in a form greater than I’d known. I was dumbfounded, my hair stood on end, and my voice stuck in my throat. Then she spoke and with these words |
| « quid tantum insano juvat indulgere dolori, o dulcis conjunx? non hæc sine numine divum eveniunt ; nec te comitem hinc portare Creusam fas, aut ille sinit superi regnator Olympi. longa tibi exsilia et vastum maris æquor arandum, | 780 | mitigated my distress: “Oh sweet husband, what use is it to indulge in such mad grief? This has not happened without the divine will: neither its laws nor the ruler of great Olympus let you take Creusa with you, away from here. Yours is long exile, you must plough |
| et terram Hesperiam venies, ubi Lydius arva inter opima virum leni fluit agmine Thybris. illic res lætæ regnumque et regia conjunx parta tibi ; lacrimas dilectæ pelle Creusæ. non ego Myrmidonum sedes Dolopumve superbas | 785 | a vast reach of sea: and you will come to Hesperia’s land, where Lydian Tiber flows in gentle course among the farmers’ rich fields. There, happiness, kingship and a royal wife will be yours. Banish these tears for your beloved Creusa. I, a Trojan woman, and daughter-in-law to divine Venus, |
| aspiciam aut Grais servitum matribus ibo, Dardanis et divæ Veneris nurus ; sed me magna deum genetrix his detinet oris. jamque vale et nati serva communis amorem. » hæc ubi dicta dedit, lacrimantem et multa volentem | 790 | shall never see the noble halls of the Dolopians, or Myrmidons, or go as slave to some Greek wife: instead the great mother of the gods keeps me on this shore. Now farewell, and preserve your love for the son we share.” When she had spoken these words, leaving me weeping |
| dicere deservit, tenuisque recessit in auras. ter conatus ibi collo dare bracchia circum ; ter frustra comprensa manus effugit imago, par levibus ventis volucrique simillima somno. sic demum socios consumpta nocte reviso. | 795 | and wanting to say so many things, she faded into thin air. Three times I tried to throw my arms about her neck: three times her form fled my hands, clasped in vain, like the light breeze, most of all like a winged dream. So at last when night was done, I returned to my friends. |
| Atque hic ingentem comitum affluxisse novorum invenio admirans numerum, matresque virosque, collectam exsilio pubem, miserabile vulgus. undique convenere animis opibusque parati in quascumque velim pelago deducere terras. | 800 | And here, amazed, I found that a great number of new companions had streamed in, women and men, a crowd gathering for exile, a wretched throng. They had come from all sides, ready, with courage and wealth, for whatever land I wished to lead them to, across the seas. |
| jamque jugis summæ surgebat Lucifer Idæ ducebatque diem, Danaique obsessa tenebant limina portarum, nec spes opis ulla dabatur. cessi et sublato montis genitore petivi. | And now Lucifer was rising above the heights of Ida, bringing the dawn, and the Greeks held the barricaded entrances to the gates, nor was there any hope of rescue. I desisted, and, carrying my father, took to the hills. |
| Liber III | ⤊ | |
| P. VERGILII MARONIS ÆNEIDOS LIBER TERTIUS | ||
| Postquam res Asiæ Priamique evertere gentem immeritam visum superis, ceciditque superbum Ilium et omnis humo fumat Neptunia Troja, diversa exsilia et desertas quærere terras auguriis agimur divum, classemque sub ipsa | 5 | After the gods had seen fit to destroy Asia’s power and Priam’s innocent people, and proud Ilium had fallen, and all of Neptune’s Troy breathed smoke from the soil, we were driven by the gods’ prophecies to search out distant exile, and deserted lands, and we built a fleet |
| Antandro et Phrygiæ molimur montibus Idæ, incerti quo fata ferant, ubi sistere detur, contrahimusque viros. vix prima inceperat æstas et pater Anchises dare fatis vela jubebat, litora quum patriæ lacrimans portusque relinquo | 10 | below Antandros and the peaks of Phrygian Ida, unsure where fate would carry us, or where we’d be allowed to settle, and we gathered our forces together. Summer had barely begun, when Anchises, my father, ordered us to set sail with destiny: I left my native shore with tears, the harbor and the fields |
| et campos ubi Troja fuit ; feror exsul in altum cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis. Terra procul vastis colitur Mavortia campis (Thraces arant) acri quondam regnata Lycurgo, hospitium antiquum Trojæ sociique penates | 15 | where Troy once stood. I travelled the deep, an exile, with my friends and my son, and the great gods of our house. Far off is a land of vast plains where Mars is worshipped (worked by the Thracians) once ruled by fierce Lycurgus, a friend of Troy in the past, and with gods who were allies, |
| dum fortuna fuit. feror huc et litore curvo mœnia prima loco fatis ingressus iniquis Æneadasque meo nomen de nomine fingo. sacra Dionææ matri divisque ferebam auspicibus cœptorum operum, superoque nitentem | 20 | while fortune lasted. I went there, and founded my first city named Æneadæ from my name, on the shore in the curving bay, beginning it despite fate’s adversity. I was making a sacrifice to the gods, and my mother Venus, Dione’s daughter, with auspices for the work begun, and had killed |
| cælicolum regi mactabam in litore taurum. forte fuit juxta tumulus, quo cornea summo virgulta et densis hastilibus horrida myrtus. accessi viridemque ab humo convellere silvam conatus, ramis tegerem ut frondentibus aras, | 25 | a fine bull on the shore, for the supreme king of the sky-lords. By chance, there was a mound nearby, crowned with cornel bushes, and bristling with dense spikes of myrtle. I went near, and trying to tear up green wood from the soil to decorate the altar with leafy branches, I saw |
| horrendum et dictu video mirabile monstrum. nam quæ prima solo ruptis radicibus arbos vellitur, huic atro liquuntur sanguine guttæ et terram tabo maculant. mihi frigidus horror membra quatit gelidusque coit formidine sanguis. | 30 | a wonder, dreadful and marvellous to tell of. From the first bush, its broken roots torn from the ground, drops of dark blood dripped, and stained the earth with fluid. An icy shiver gripped my limbs, and my blood chilled with terror. |
| rursus et alterius lentum convellere vimen insequor et causas penitus temptare latentis ; ater et alterius sequitur de cortice sanguis. multa movens animo Nymphas venerabar agrestis Gradivumque patrem, Geticis qui præsidet arvis, | 35 | Again I went on to pluck a stubborn shoot from another, probing the hidden cause within: and dark blood flowed from the bark of the second. Troubled greatly in spirit, I prayed to the Nymphs of the wild, and father Gradivus, who rules the Thracian fields, |
| rite secundarent visus omenque levarent. tertia sed postquam majore hastilia nisu aggredior genibusque adversæ obluctor harenæ, (eloquar an sileam?) gemitus lacrimabilis imo auditur tumulo et vox reddita fertur ad auris : | 40 | to look with due kindness on this vision, and lessen its significance. But when I attacked the third with greater effort, straining with my knees against the sand (to speak or be silent?), a mournful groan was audible from deep in the mound, and a voice came to my ears: |
| « quid miserum, Ænea, laceras? jam parce sepulto, parce pias scelerare manus. non me tibi Troja externum tulit aut cruor hic de stipite manat. heu fuge crudelis terras, fuge litus avarum : nam Polydorus ego. hic confixum ferrea texit | 45 | “Why do you wound a poor wretch, Æneas? Spare me now in my tomb, don’t stain your virtuous hands, Troy bore me, who am no stranger to you, nor dœs this blood flow from some dull block. Oh, leave this cruel land: leave this shore of greed. For I am Polydorus. Here a crop of iron spears |
| telorum seges et jaculis increvit acutis. » tum vero ancipiti mentem formidine pressus obstipui steteruntque comæ et vox faucibus hæsit. Hunc Polydorum auri quondam cum pondere magno infelix Priamus furtim mandarat alendum | 50 | carpeted my transfixed corpse, and has ripened into sharp spines.” Then truly I was stunned, my mind crushed by anxious dread, my hair stood up on end, and my voice stuck in my throat. Priam, the unfortunate, seeing the city encircled by the siege, and despairing of Trojan arms, once sent this Polydorus, secretly, with a great weight of gold, to be raised, by the Thracian king. |
| Thrēicio regi, quum jam diffideret armis Dardaniæ cingique urbem obsidione videret. ille, ut opes fractæ Teucrum et Fortuna recessit, res Agamemnonias victriciaque arma secutus fas omne abrumpit : Polydorum obtruncat, et auro | 55 | When the power of Troy was broken, and her fortunes ebbed, the Thracian broke every divine law, to follow Agamemnon’s cause, and his victorious army, murders Polydorus, and takes |
| vi potitur — quid non mortalia pectora cogis, auri sacra fames! — postquam pavor ossa reliquit, delectos populi ad proceres primumque parentem monstra deum refero, et quæ sit sententia posco. omnibus idem animus, scelerata excedere terra, | 60 | the gold by force. Accursed hunger for gold, to what do you not drive human hearts! When terror had left my bones I referred this divine vision to the people’s appointed leaders, my father above all, and asked them what they thought. All were of one mind, to leave this wicked land, and depart |
| linqui pollutum hospitium et dare classibus Austros. ergo instauramus Polydoro funus, et ingens aggeritur tumulo tellus ; stant Manibus aræ cæruleis mæstæ vittis atraque cupresso, et circum Iliades crinem de more solutæ ; | 65 | a place of hospitality defiled, and sail our fleet before the wind. So we renewed the funeral rites for Polydorus, and piled the earth high on his barrow: sad altars were raised to the Shades, with dark sacred ribbons and black cypress, the Trojan women around, hair streaming, |
| inferimus tepido spumantia cymbia lacte sanguinis et sacri pateras, animamque sepulcro condimus et magna supremum voce ciemus. Inde ubi prima fides pelago, placataque venti dant maria et lenis crepitans vocat Auster in altum, | 70 | as is the custom: we offered foaming bowls of warm milk, and dishes of sacrificial blood, and bound the spirit to its tomb, and raised a loud shout of farewell. Then as soon as we’ve confidence in the waves, and the winds grant us calm seas, and the soft whispering breeze calls to the deep, |
| deducunt socii navis et litora complent ; provehimur portu terræque urbesque recedunt. sacra mari colitur medio gratissima tellus Nereidum matri et Neptuno Ægæo, quam pius arquitenens oras et litora circum | 75 | my companions float the ships and crowd to the shore. We set out from harbor, and lands and cities recede. In the depths of the sea lies a sacred island, dearest of all to the mother of the Nereids, and Ægean Neptune, that wandered by coasts and shores, until Apollo, |
| errantem Mycono e celsa Gyaroque revinxit, immotamque coli dedit et contemnere ventos. huc feror, hæc fessos tuto placidissima portu accipit ; egressi veneramur Apollinis urbem. rex Anius, rex idem hominum Phœbique sacerdos, | 80 | affectionately, tied it to high Myconos, and Gyaros, making it fixed and inhabitable, scorning the storms. I sail there: it welcomes us peacefully, weary as we are, to its safe harbor. Landing, we do homage to Apollo’s city. King Anius, both king of the people and high-priest of Apollo, |
| vittis et sacra redimitus tempora lauro occurrit ; veterem Anchisen agnovit amicum. jungimus hospitio dextras et tecta subimus. Templa dei saxo venerabar structa vetusto : « da propriam, Thymbræe, domum ; da mœnia fessis | 85 | his forehead crowned with the sacred headband and holy laurel, meets us, and recognises an old friend in Anchises: we clasp hands in greeting and enter his house. I paid homage to the god’s temple of ancient stone: “Grant us a true home, Apollo, grant a weary people walls, |
| et genus et mansuram urbem ; serva altera Trojæ Pergama, reliquias Danaum atque immitis Achilli. quem sequimur? quove ire jubes? ubi ponere sedes? da, pater, augurium atque animis illabere nostris. » vix ea fatus eram : tremere omnia visa repente, | 90 | and a race, and a city that will endure: protect this second citadel of Troy, that survives the Greeks and pitiless Achilles. Whom should we follow? Where do you command us to go? Where should we settle? Grant us an omen, father, to stir our hearts. I had scarcely spoken: suddenly everything seemed to tremble, |
| liminaque laurusque dei, totusque moveri mons circum et mugire adytis cortina reclusis. summissi petimus terram et vox fertur ad auris : « Dardanidæ duri, quæ vos a stirpe parentum prima tulit tellus, eadem vos ubere læto | 95 | the god’s thresholds and his laurel crowns, and the whole hill round us moved, and the tripod groaned as the shrine split open. Humbly we seek the earth, and a voice comes to our ears: “Enduring Trojans, the land which first bore you from its parent stock, that same shall welcome you, restored, to its |
| accipiet reduces. antiquam exquirite matrem. hic domus Æneæ cunctis dominabitur oris et nati natorum et qui nascentur ab illis. » hæc Phœbus ; mixtoque ingens exorta tumultu lætitia, et cuncti quæ sint ea mœnia quærunt, | 100 | fertile breast. Search out your ancient mother. There the house of Æneas shall rule all shores, his children’s children, and those that are born to them.” So Phœbus spoke: and there was a great shout of joy mixed with confusion, and all asked what walls those were, and where |
| quo Phœbus vocet errantis jubeatque reverti. tum genitor veterum volvens monumenta virorum « audite, o proceres, » ait « et spes discite vestras. Creta Jovis magni medio jacet insula ponto, mons Idæus ubi et gentis cunabula nostræ. | 105 | it is Phœbus calls the wanderers to, commanding them to return. Then my father, thinking of the records of the ancients, said: “Listen, O princes, and learn what you may hope for. Crete lies in the midst of the sea, the island of mighty Jove, where Mount Ida is, the cradle of our race. |
| centum urbes habitant magnas, uberrima regna, maximus unde pater, si rite audita recordor, Teucrus Rhœteas primum est advectus in oras, optavitque locum regno. nondum Ilium et arces Pergameæ steterant ; habitabant vallibus imis. | 110 | They inhabit a hundred great cities, in the richest of kingdoms, from which our earliest ancestor, Teucer, if I remember the tale rightly, first sailed to Trojan shores, and chose a site for his royal capital. Until then Ilium and the towers of the citadel did not stand there: men lived in the depths of the valleys. |
| hinc mater cultrix Cybeli Corybantiaque æra Idæumque nemus, hinc fida silentia sacris, et juncti currum dominæ subiere leones. ergo agite et divum ducunt qua jussa sequamur : placemus ventos et Cnosia regna petamus. | 115 | The Mother who inhabits Cybele is Cretan, and the cymbals of the Corybantes, and the grove of Ida: from Crete came the faithful silence of her rites, and the yoked lions drawing the lady’s chariot. So come, and let us follow where the god’s command may lead, let us placate the winds, and seek out the Cretan kingdom. |
| nec longo distant cursu : modo Juppiter assit, tertia lux classem Cretæis sistet in oris. » sic fatus meritos aris mactavit honores, taurum Neptuno, taurum tibi, pulcher Apollo, nigram Hiemi pecudem, Zephyris felicibus albam. | 120 | It is no long journey away: if only Jupiter is with us, the third dawn will find our fleet on the Cretan shores.” So saying, he sacrificed the due offerings at the altars, a bull to Neptune, a bull to you, glorious Apollo, a black sheep to the Storm god, a white to the auspicious Westerlies. |
| Fama volat pulsum regnis cessisse paternis Idomenea ducem, desertaque litora Cretæ, hoste vacare domum sedesque astare relictas. linquimus Ortygiæ portus pelagoque volamus bacchatamque jugis Naxon viridemque Donusam, | 125 | A rumor spread that Prince Idomeneus had been driven from his father’s kingdom, and the Cretan shores were deserted, her houses emptied of enemies, and the abandoned homes waiting for us. We left Ortygia’s harbor, and sped over the sea, threading the foaming straits thick with islands, Naxos |
| Olearon niveamque Paron sparsasque per æquor Cycladas, et crebris legimus freta concita terris. nauticus exoritur vario certamine clamor : hortantur socii Cretam proavosque petamus. prosequitur surgens a puppi ventus euntis, | 130 | with its Bacchic worship in the hills, green Donysa, Olearos, snow-white Paros, and the Cyclades, scattered over the waters. The sailors’ cries rose, as they competed in their various tasks: the crew shouted: “We’re headed for Crete, and our ancestors.” A wind rising astern sent us on our way, and at last |
| et tandem antiquis Curetum allabimur oris. ergo avidus muros optatæ molior urbis Pergameamque voco, et lætam cognomine gentem hortor amare focos arcemque attollere tectis. Jamque fere sicco subductæ litore puppes, | 135 | we glided by the ancient shores of the Curetes. Then I worked eagerly on the walls of our chosen city, and called it Pergamum, and exhorted my people, delighting in the name, to show love for their homes, and build a covered fortress. Now the ships were usually beached on the dry sand: |
| conubiis arvisque novis operata juventus, jura domosque dabam, subito quum tabida membris corrupto cæli tractu miserandaque venit arboribusque satisque lues et letifer annus. linquebant dulcis animas aut ægra trahebant | 140 | the young men were busy with weddings and their fresh fields: I was deciding on laws and homesteads: suddenly, from some infected region of the sky, came a wretched plague, corrupting bodies, trees, and crops, and a season of death. They relinquished sweet life, or dragged their sick limbs |
| corpora ; tum sterilis exurere Sirius agros, arebant herbæ et victum seges ægra negabat. rursus ad oraclum Ortygiæ Phœbumque remenso hortatur pater ire mari veniamque precari, quam fessis finem rebus ferat, unde laborum | 145 | around: then Sirius blazed over barren fields: the grass withered, and the sickly harvest denied its fruits. My father urged us to retrace the waves, and revisit the oracle of Apollo at Delos, and beg for protection, ask where the end might be to our weary fate, where he commands |
| temptare auxilium jubeat, quo vertere cursus. Nox erat et terris animalia somnus habebat : effigies sacræ divum Phrygiique penates, quos mecum a Troja mediisque ex ignibus urbis extuleram, visi ante oculos astare jacentis | 150 | that we seek help for our trouble, where to set our course. It was night, and sleep had charge of earth’s creatures: The sacred statues of the gods, the Phrygian Penates, that I had carried with me from Troy, out of the burning city, seemed to stand there before my eyes, as I lay in sleep, |
| in somnis multo manifesti lumine, qua se plena per insertas fundebat luna fenestras ; tum sic affari et curas his demere dictis : « quod tibi delato Ortygiam dicturus Apollo est, hic canit et tua nos en ultro ad limina mittit. | 155 | perfectly clear in the light, where the full moon streamed through the window casements: then they spoke to me and with their words dispelled my cares: “Apollo speaks here what he would say to you, on reaching Delos, and sends us besides, as you see, to your threshold. |
| nos te Dardania incensa tuaque arma secuti, nos tumidum sub te permensi classibus æquor, idem venturos tollemus in astra nepotes imperiumque urbi dabimus. tu mœnia magnis magna para longumque fugæ ne linque laborem. | 160 | When Troy burned we followed you and your weapons, we crossed the swelling seas with you on your ships, we too shall raise your descendants yet to be, to the stars, and grant empire to your city. Build great walls for the great, and do not shrink from the long labor of exile. |
| mutandæ sedes. non hæc tibi litora suasit Delius aut Cretæ jussit considere Apollo. est locus, Hesperiam Graji cognomine dicunt, terra antiqua, potens armis atque ubere glæbæ ; Œnotri coluere viri ; nunc fama minores | 165 | Change your country. These are not the shores that Delian Apollo urged on you, he did not order you to settle in Crete. There is a place the Greeks call Hesperia by name, an ancient land powerful in arms and in richness of the soil: There the Œnotrians lived: now the rumor is that |
| Italiam dixisse ducis de nomine gentem. hæ nobis propriæ sedes, hinc Dardanus ortus Iasiusque pater, genus a quo principe nostrum. surge age et hæc lætus longævo dicta parenti haud dubitanda refer : Corythum terrasque requirat | 170 | a younger race has named it Italy after their leader. That is our true home, Dardanus and father Iasius, from whom our race first came, sprang from there. Come, bear these words of truth joyfully to your old father, that he might seek Corythus and Ausonia’s lands: |
| Ausonias ; Dictæa negat tibi Juppiter arva. » talibus attonitus visis et voce deorum (nec sopor illud erat, sed coram agnoscere vultus velatasque comas præsentiaque ora videbar ; tum gelidus toto manabat corpore sudor) | 175 | Jupiter denies the fields of Dicte to you.” Amazed by such a vision, and the voices of the gods, (it was not a dream, but I seemed to recognise their expression, before me, their wreathed hair, their living faces: then a cold sweat bathed all my limbs) |
| corripio e stratis corpus tendoque supinas ad cælum cum voce manus et munera libo intemerata focis. perfecto lætus honore Anchisen facio certum remque ordine pando. agnovit prolem ambiguam geminosque parentis, | 180 | my body leapt from the bed, and I lifted my voice and upturned palms to heaven, and offered pure gifts on the hearth-fire. The rite completed, with joy I told Anchises of this revelation, revealing it all in order. He understood about the ambiguity in our origins, and the dual |
| seque novo veterum deceptum errore locorum. tum memorat : « nate, Iliacis exercite fatis, sola mihi talis casus Cassandra canebat. nunc repeto hæc generi portendere debita nostro et sæpe Hesperiam, sæpe Itala regna vocare. | 185 | descent, and that he had been deceived by a fresh error, about our ancient country. Then he spoke: “My son, troubled by Troy’s fate, Only Cassandra prophesied such an outcome. Now I remember her foretelling that this was destined for our race, and often spoke of Hesperia, and the Italian kingdom. |
| sed quis ad Hesperiæ venturos litora Teucros crederet? aut quem tum vates Cassandra moveret? cedamus Phœbo et moniti meliora sequamur. » sic ait, et cuncti dicto paremus ovantes. hanc quoque deserimus sedem paucisque relictis | 190 | Who’d believe that Trojans would travel to Hesperia’s shores? Who’d have been moved by Cassandra, the prophetess, then? Let’s trust to Apollo, and, warned by him, take the better course.” So he spoke, and we were delighted to obey his every word. We departed this home as well, and, leaving some people behind, |
| vela damus vastumque cava trabe currimus æquor. Postquam altum tenuere rates nec jam amplius ullæ apparent terræ, cælum undique et undique pontus, tum mihi cæruleus supra caput astitit imber noctem hiememque ferens, et inhorruit unda tenebris. | 195 | set sail, and ran through the vast ocean in our hollow ships. When the fleet had reached the high seas and the land was no longer seen, sky and ocean on all sides, then a dark-blue rain cloud settled overhead, bringing night and storm, and the waves bristled with shadows. |
| continuo venti volvunt mare magnaque surgunt æquora, dispersi jactamur gurgite vasto ; involvere diem nimbi et nox umida cælum abstulit, ingeminant abruptis nubibus ignes, excutimur cursu et cæcis erramus in undis. | 200 | Immediately the winds rolled over the water and great seas rose: we were scattered here and there in the vast abyss. Storm-clouds shrouded the day, and the night mists hid the sky: lightning flashed again from the torn clouds. We were thrown off course, and wandered the blind waves. |
| ipse diem noctemque negat discernere cælo nec meminisse viæ media Palinurus in unda. tris adeo incertos cæca caligine soles erramus pelago, totidem sine sidere noctes. quarto terra die primum se attollere tandem | 205 | Palinurus himself was unable to tell night from day in the sky, and could not determine his path among the waves. So for three days, and as many starless nights, we wandered uncertainly, in a dark fog, over the sea. At last, on the fourth day, land was first seen to rise, |
| visa, aperire procul montis ac volvere fumum. vela cadunt, remis insurgimus ; haud mora, nautæ annixi torquent spumas et cærula verrunt. servatum ex undis Strophadum me litora primum excipiunt. Strophades Grajo stant nomine dictæ | 210 | revealing far off mountains and rolling smoke. The sails fell, we stood to the oars: without pause, the sailors, at full stretch, churned the foam, and swept the blue sea. Free of the waves I’m welcomed first by the shores of the Strophades, the Clashing Islands. The Strophades |
| insulæ Ïonio in magno, quas dira Celæno Harpyiæque colunt aliæ, Phineia postquam clausa domus mensasque metu liquere priores. tristius haud illis monstrum, nec sævior ulla pestis et ira deum Stygiis sese extulit undis. | 215 | are fixed now in the great Ionian Sea, but are called by the Greek name. There dread Celæno and the rest of the Harpies live, since Phineus’s house was denied them, and they left his tables where they fed, in fear. No worse monsters than these, no crueller plague, ever rose from the waters of Styx, at the gods’ anger. |
| virginei volucrum vultus, fœdissima ventris proluvies uncæque manus et pallida semper ora fame. huc ubi delati portus intravimus, ecce læta boum passim campis armenta videmus | 220 | These birds have the faces of virgin girls, foulest excrement flowing from their bellies, clawed hands, and faces always thin with hunger. Now when, arriving here, we enter port, we see fat herds of cattle scattered over the plains, |
| caprigenumque pecus nullo custode per herbas. irruimus ferro et divos ipsumque vocamus in partem prædamque Jovem ; tum litore curvo exstruimusque toros dapibusque epulamur opimis. at subitæ horrifico lapsu de montibus assunt | 225 | and flocks of goats, unguarded, in the meadows. We rush at them with our swords, calling on Jove himself and the gods to join us in our plunder: then we build seats on the curving beach, and feast on the rich meats. But suddenly the Harpies arrive, in a fearsome swoop |
| Harpyiæ et magnis quatiunt clangoribus alas, diripiuntque dapes contactuque omnia fœdant immundo ; tum vox tætrum dira inter odorem. rursum in secessu longo sub rupe cavata [arboribus clausam circum atque horrentibus umbris] | 230 | from the hills, flapping their wings with a huge noise, snatching at the food, and fouling everything with their filthy touch: then there’s a deadly shriek amongst the foul stench. We set out the tables again, and relight the altar fires, in a deep recess under an overhanging rock, |
| instruimus mensas arisque reponimus ignem ; rursum ex diverso cæli cæcisque latebris turba sonans prædam pedibus circumvolat uncis, polluit ore dapes. sociis tunc arma capessant edico, et dira bellum cum gente gerendum. | 235 | closed off by trees and trembling shadows: again from another part of the sky, some hidden lair, the noisy crowd hovers, with taloned feet around their prey, polluting the food with their mouths. Then I order my friends to take up their weapons and make war on that dreadful race. |
| haud secus ac jussi faciunt tectosque per herbam disponunt ensis et scuta latentia condunt. ergo ubi delapsæ sonitum per curva dedere litora, dat signum specula Misenus ab alta ære cavo. invadunt socii et nova prœlia temptant, | 240 | They do exactly that, obeying orders, placing hidden swords in the grass, and burying their shields out of sight. Then when the birds swoop, screaming, along the curved beach, Misenus, from his high lookout, gives the signal on hollow bronze. My friends charge, and, in a new kind of battle, attempt |
| obscenas pelagi ferro fœdare volucris. sed neque vim plumis ullam nec vulnera tergo accipiunt, celerique fuga sub sidera lapsæ semesam prædam et vestigia fœda relinquunt. una in præcelsa consedit rupe Celæno, | 245 | to wound these foul ocean birds with their swords. But they don’t register the blows to their plumage, or the wounds to their backs, they flee quickly, soaring beneath the heavens, leaving behind half-eaten food, and the traces of their filth. Only Celæno, ominous prophetess, settles on a high cliff, |
| infelix vates, rumpitque hanc pectore vocem ; « bellum etiam pro cæde boum stratisque juvencis, Laomedontiadæ, bellumne inferre paratis et patrio Harpyias insontis pellere regno? accipite ergo animis atque hæc mea figite dicta, | 250 | and bursts out with this sound from her breast: “Are you ready to bring war to us, sons of Laomedon, is it war, for the cows you killed, the bullocks you slaughtered, driving the innocent Harpies from their father’s country? Take these words of mine to your hearts then, and set them there. |
| quæ Phœbo pater omnipotens, mihi Phœbus Apollo prædixit, vobis Furiarum ego maxima pando. Italiam cursu petitis ventisque vocatis : ibitis Italiam portusque intrare licebit. sed non ante datam cingetis mœnibus urbem | 255 | I, the eldest of the Furies, reveal to you what the all-powerful Father prophesied to Apollo, and Phœbus Apollo to me. Italy is the path you take, and, invoking the winds, you shall go to Italy, and enter her harbors freely: but you will not surround the city granted you with walls |
| quam vos dira fames nostræque injuria cædis ambesas subigat malis absumere mensas. » dixit, et in silvam pennis ablata refugit. at sociis subita gelidus formidine sanguis deriguit : cecidere animi, nec jam amplius armis, | 260 | until dire hunger, and the sin of striking at us, force you to consume your very tables with devouring jaws.” She spoke, and fled back to the forest borne by her wings. But my companions’ chill blood froze with sudden fear: their courage dropped, and they told me to beg for peace, |
| sed votis precibusque jubent exposcere pacem, sive deæ seu sint diræ obscenæque volucres. et pater Anchises passis de litore palmis numina magna vocat meritosque indicit honores : « di, prohibete minas ; di, talem avertite casum | 265 | with vows and prayers, forgoing weapons, no matter if these were goddesses or fatal, vile birds. And my father Anchises, with outstretched hands, on the shore, called to the great gods and declared the due sacrifice: “Gods, avert these threats, gods, prevent these acts, |
| et placidi servate pios. » tum litore funem deripere excussosque jubet laxare rudentis. tendunt vela Noti : fugimus spumantibus undis qua cursum ventusque gubernatorque vocabat. jam medio apparet fluctu nemorosa Zacynthos | 270 | and, in peace, protect the virtuous!” Then he ordered us to haul in the cables from the shore, unfurl and spread the sails. South winds stretched the canvas: we coursed over foaming seas, wherever the winds and the helmsman dictated our course. Now wooded Zacynthus appeared amongst the waves, |
| Dulichiumque Sameque et Neritos ardua saxis. effugimus scopulos Ithacæ, Lærtia regna, et terram altricem sævi exsecramur Ulixi. mox et Leucatæ nimbosa cacumina montis et formidatus nautis aperitur Apollo. | 275 | Dulichium, Same and Neritos’s steep cliffs. We ran past Lærtes’s kingdom, Ithacas’s reefs, and cursed the land that reared cruel Ulysses. Soon the cloudy heights of Mount Leucata were revealed, as well, and Apollo’s headland, feared by sailors. |
| hunc petimus fessi et parvæ succedimus urbi ; ancora de prora jacitur, stant litore puppes. Ergo insperata tandem tellure potiti lustramurque Jovi votisque incendimus aras, Actiaque Iliacis celebramus litora ludis. | 280 | We headed wearily for it, and approached the little town: the anchor was thrown from the prow, the stern rested on the beach. So, beyond hope, achieving land at last, we purify ourselves for Jove, and light offerings on the altars, and celebrate Trojan games on the shore of Actium. |
| exercent patrias oleo labente palæstras nudati socii : juvat evasisse tot urbes Argolicas mediosque fugam tenuisse per hostis. interea magnum sol circumvolvitur annum et glacialis hiems Aquilonibus asperat undas. | 285 | My naked companions, slippery with oil, indulge in the wrestling-bouts of their homeland: it’s good to have slipped past so many Greek cities and held our course in flight through the midst of the enemy. Meanwhile the sun rolls through the long year and icy winter stirs the waves with northerly gales: |
| ære cavo clipeum, magni gestamen Abantis, postibus adversis figo et rem carmine signo : Æneas hæc de danais victoribus arma ; linquere tum portus jubeo et considere transtris. certatim socii feriunt mare et æquora verrunt : | 290 | I fix a shield of hollow bronze, once carried by mighty Abas, on the entrance pillars, and mark the event with a verse: ÆNEAS DEVOTES THESE ARMS SEIZED FROM GREEK VICTORS; then I order them to man the benches and leave harbor: in rivalry, my friends strike the sea and sweep the waves. |
| protinus āerias Phæacum abscondimus arces litoraque Epiri legimus portuque subimus Chaonio et celsam Buthroti accedimus urbem. Hic incredibilis rerum fama occupat auris, Priamiden Helenum Grajas regnare per urbis | 295 | We soon leave behind the windblown heights of Phæacia, pass the shores of Epirus, enter Chaonia’s harbor and approach the lofty city of Buthrotum. Here a rumor of something unbelievable greeted our ears: Priam’s son, Helenus, reigning over Greek cities, |
| conjugio Æacidæ Pyrrhi sceptrisque potitum, et patrio Andromachen iterum cessisse marito. obstipui, miroque incensum pectus amore compellare virum et casus cognoscere tantos. progredior portu classis et litora linquens, | 300 | having won the wife and kingdom of Pyrrhus, Æacus’s scion, Andromache being given again to a husband of her race. I was astounded, and my heart burned with an amazing passion to speak to the man, and learn of such events. I walked from the harbor, leaving the fleet and the shore, |
| sollemnis quum forte dapes et tristia dona ante urbem in luco falsi Simœntis ad undam libabat cineri Andromache manisque vocabat Hectoreum ad tumulum, viridi quem cæspite inanem et geminas, causam lacrimis, sacraverat aras. | 305 | when, by chance, in a sacred grove near the city, by a false Simois, Andromache was making an annual offering, sad gifts, to Hector’s ashes, and calling his spirit to the tomb, an empty mound of green turf, and twin altars, she had sanctified, |
| ut me conspexit venientem et Troja circum arma amens vidit, magnis exterrita monstris deriguit visu in medio, calor ossa reliquit, labitur, et longo vix tandem tempore fatur : « verane te facies, verus mihi nuntius affers, | 310 | a place for tears. When she saw me approaching and recognised, with amazement, Trojan weapons round her, she froze as she gazed, terrified by these great wonders, and the heat left her limbs. She half-fell and after a long while, scarcely able to, said: “Are you a real person, a real messenger come here to me, |
| nate dea? vivisne? aut, si lux alma recessit, Hector ubi est? » dixit, lacrimasque effudit et omnem implevit clamore locum. vix pauca furenti subjicio et raris turbatus vocibus hisco : « vivo equidem vitamque extrema per omnia duco ; | 315 | son of the goddess? Are you alive? Or if the kindly light has faded, where then is Hector?” She spoke, and poured out her tears, and filled the whole place with her weeping. Given her frenzy, I barely replied with a few words, and, moved, I spoke disjointedly: “Surely, I live, and lead a life full of extremes: don’t be unsure, |
| ne dubita, nam vera vides. heu! quis te casus dejectam conjuge tanto excipit, aut quæ digna satis fortuna revisit, Hectoris Andromache? Pyrrhin conubia servas? » dejecit vultum et demissa voce locuta est : | 320 | for you see truly. Ah! What fate has overtaken you, fallen from so great a husband? Or has good fortune worthy enough for Hector’s Andromache, visited you again? Are you still Pyrrhus’s wife?” She lowered her eyes and spoke quietly: |
| « o felix una ante alias Priameja virgo, hostilem ad tumulum Trojæ sub mœnibus altis jussa mori, quæ sortitus non pertulit ullos nec victoris heri tetigit captiva cubile! nos patria incensa diversa per æquora vectæ | 325 | “O happy beyond all others was that virgin daughter of Priam, commanded to die beside an enemy tomb, under Troy’s high walls, who never suffered fate’s lottery, or, as a prisoner, reached her victorious master’s bed! Carried over distant seas, my country set afire, I endured |
| stirpis Achilleæ fastus juvenemque superbum servitio enixæ tulimus ; qui deinde secutus Ledæam Hermionen Lacedæmoniosque hymenæos me famulo famulamque Heleno transmisit habendam. ast illum ereptæ magno flammatus amore | 330 | the scorn of Achilles’s son, and his youthful arrogance, giving birth as a slave: he, who then, pursuing Hermione, Helen’s daughter, and a Spartan marriage, transferred me to Helenus’s keeping, a servant to a servant. But Orestes, inflamed by great love for his stolen bride, |
| conjugis et scelerum furiis agitatus Orestes excipit incautum patriasque obtruncat ad aras. morte Neoptolemi regnorum reddita cessit pars Heleno, qui Chaonios cognomine campos Chaoniamque omnem Trojano a Chaone dixit, | 335 | and driven by the Furies for his crime, caught him, unawares, and killed him by his father’s altar. At Pyrrhus’s death a part of the kingdom passed, by right to Helenus, who named the Chaonian fields, and all Chaonia, after Chaon of Troy, and built a Pergamus, |
| Pergamaque Iliacamque jugis hanc addidit arcem. sed tibi qui cursum venti, quæ fata dedere? aut quisnam ignarum nostris deus appulit oris? quid puer Ascanius? superatne et vescitur aura? quem tibi jam Troja — | 340 | and this fortress of Ilium, on the mountain ridge. But what winds, what fates, set your course for you? Or what god drives you, unknowingly, to our shores? What of the child, Ascanius? Dœs he live, and graze on air, he whom Creusa bore to you in vanished Troy? |
| ecqua tamen puero est amissæ cura parentis? ecquid in antiquam virtutem animosque virilis et pater Æneas et avunculus excitat Hector? » talia fundebat lacrimans longosque ciebat incassum fletus, quum sese a mœnibus heros | 345 | Has he any love still for his lost mother? Have his father Æneas and his uncle Hector roused in him any of their ancient courage or virile spirit?” Weeping, she poured out these words, and was starting a long vain lament, when heroic Helenus, Priam’s son, |
| Priamides multis Helenus comitantibus affert, agnoscitque suos lætusque ad limina ducit, et multum lacrimas verba inter singula fundit. procedo et parvam Trojam simulataque magnis Pergama et arentem Xanthi cognomine rivum | 350 | approached from the city, with a large retinue, and recognised us as his own, and lead us, joyfully, to the gates, and poured out tears freely at every word. I walked on, and saw a little Troy, and a copy of the great citadel, and a dry stream, named after the Xanthus, |
| agnosco, Scææque amplector limina portæ ; nec non et Teucri socia simul urbe fruuntur. illos porticibus rex accipiebat in amplis : aulai medio libabant pocula Bacchi impositis auro dapibus, paterasque tenebant. | 355 | and embraced the doorposts of a Scæan Gate. My Trojans enjoyed the friendly city with me no less. The king received them in a broad colonnade: they poured out cups of wine in the center of a courtyard, and held out their dishes while food was served on gold. |
| Jamque dies alterque dies processit, et auræ vela vocant tumidoque inflatur carbasus Austro : his vatem aggredior dictis ac talia quæso : « Trojugena, interpres divum, qui numina Phœbi, qui tripodas Clarii et laurus, qui sidera sentis | 360 | Now day after day has gone by, and the breezes call to the sails, and the canvas swells with a rising Southerly: I go to Helenus, the seer, with these words and ask: “Trojan-born, agent of the gods, you who know Apollo’s will, the tripods, the laurels at Claros, the stars, the language |
| et volucrum linguas et præpetis omina pennæ, fare age (namque omnis cursum mihi prospera dixit religio, et cuncti suaserunt numine divi Italiam petere et terras temptare repostas ; sola novum dictuque nefas Harpyia Celæno | 365 | of birds, and the omens of their wings in flight, come, speak (since a favorable oracle told me all my route, and all the gods in their divinity urged me to seek Italy, and explore the furthest lands: only the Harpy, Celæno, predicts fresh portents, |
| prodigium canit et tristis denuntiat iras obscenamque famem), quæ prima pericula vito? quidve sequens tantos possim superare labores? » hic Helenus cæsis primum de more juvencis exorat pacem divum vittasque resolvit | 370 | evil to tell of, and threatens bitter anger and vile famine) first, what dangers shall I avoid? Following what course can I overcome such troubles?” Helenus, first sacrificing bullocks according to the ritual, obtained the gods’ grace, then loosened the headband |
| sacrati capitis, meque ad tua limina, Phœbe, ipse manu multo suspensum numine ducit, atque hæc deinde canit divino ex ore sacerdos: « Nate dea (nam te majoribus ire per altum auspiciis manifesta fides ; sic fata deum rex | 375 | from his holy brow, and led me, anxious at so much divine power, with his own hand, to your threshold Apollo, and then the priest prophesied this, from the divine mouth: “Son of the goddess, since the truth is clear, that you sail the deep blessed by the higher powers (so the king of the gods |
| sortitur volvitque vices, is vertitur ordo), pauca tibi e multis, quo tutior hospita lustres æquora et Ausonio possis considere portu, expediam dictis ; prohibent nam cetera Parcæ scire Helenum farique vetat Saturnia Juno. | 380 | allots our fates, and rolls the changes, so the order alters), I’ll explain a few things of many, in my words to you, so you may travel foreign seas more safely, and can find rest in an Italian haven: for the Fates forbid Helenus to know further, and Saturnian Juno denies him speech. |
| principio Italiam, quam tu jam rere propinquam vicinosque, ignare, paras invadere portus, longa procul longis via dividit invia terris. ante et Trinacria lentandus remus in unda et salis Ausonii lustrandum navibus æquor | 385 | Firstly, a long pathless path, by long coastlines, separates you from that far-off Italy, whose neighboring port you intend to enter, unknowingly thinking it nearby. Before you can build your city in a safe land, you must bend the oar in Sicilian waters, |
| infernique lacus Æææque insula Circæ, quam tuta possis urbem componere terra. signa tibi dicam, tu condita mente teneto : quum tibi sollicito secreti ad fluminis undam litoreis ingens inventa sub ilicibus sus | 390 | and pass the levels of the Italian seas, in your ships, the infernal lakes, and Ææan Circe’s island. I’ll tell you of signs: keep them stored in your memory. When, in your distress, you find a huge sow lying on the shore, by the waters of a remote river, under the oak trees, |
| triginta capitum fetus enixa jacebit, alba solo recubans, albi circum ubera nati, is locus urbis erit, requies ea certa laborum. nec tu mensarum morsus horresce futuros : fata viam invenient aderitque vocatus Apollo. | 395 | that has farrowed a litter of thirty young, a white sow, lying on the ground, with white piglets round her teats, that place shall be your city, there’s true rest from your labors. And do not dread that gnawing of tables, in your future: the fates will find a way, Apollo will be there at your call. |
| has autem terras Italique hanc litoris oram, proxima quæ nostri perfunditur æquoris æstu, effuge ; cuncta malis habitantur mœnia Grais. hic et Narycii posuerunt mœnia Locri, et Sallentinos obsedit milite campos | 400 | But avoid these lands, and this nearer coastline of the Italian shore, washed by our own ocean tide: hostile Greeks inhabit every town. The Narycian Locri have built a city here, and Lyctian Idomeneus has filled the plain |
| Lyctius Idomeneus ; hic illa ducis Melibœi parva Philoctetæ subnixa Petelia muro. quin ubi transmissæ steterint trans æquora classes et positis aris jam vota in litore solves, purpureo velare comas adopertus amictu, | 405 | with soldiers: here is that little Petelia, of Philoctetes, leader of the Melibœans, relying on its walls. Then when your fleet has crossed the sea, and anchored and the altars are raised for your offerings on the shore, veil your hair, clothed in your purple robes, so that |
| ne qua inter sanctos ignis in honore deorum hostilis facies occurrat et omina turbet. hunc socii morem sacrorum, hunc ipse teneto ; hac casti maneant in religione nepotes. ast ubi digressum Siculæ te admoverit oræ | 410 | in worshipping the gods no hostile face may intrude among the sacred flames, and disturb the omens. Let your friends adopt this mode of sacrifice, and yourself: and let your descendants remain pure in this religion. But when the wind carries you, on leaving, to the Sicilian shore, |
| ventus, et angusti rarescent claustra Pelori, læva tibi tellus et longo læva petantur æquora circuitu ; dextrum fuge litus et undas. hæc loca vi quondam et vasta convulsa ruina (tantum ævi longinqua valet mutare vetustas) | 415 | and the barriers of narrow Pelorus open ahead, make for the seas and land to port, in a long circuit: avoid the shore and waters on the starboard side. They say, when the two were one continuous stretch of land, they one day broke apart, torn by the force of a vast upheaval (time’s remote antiquity enables such great changes). |
| dissiluisse ferunt, quum protinus utraque tellus una foret : venit medio vi pontus et undis Hesperium Siculo latus abscidit, arvaque et urbes litore diductas angusto interluit æstu. dextrum Scylla latus, lævum implacata Charybdis | 420 | The sea flowed between them with force, and severed the Italian from the Sicilian coast, and a narrow tideway washes the cities and fields on separate shores. Scylla holds the right side, implacable Charybdis the left, |
| obsidet, atque imo barathri ter gurgite vastos sorbet in abruptum fluctus rursusque sub auras erigit alternos, et sidera verberat unda. at Scyllam cæcis cohibet spelunca latebris ora exsertantem et navis in saxa trahentem. | 425 | who, in the depths of the abyss, swallows the vast flood three times into the downward gulf and alternately lifts it to the air, and lashes the heavens with her waves. But a cave surrounds Scylla with dark hiding-places, and she thrusts her mouths out, and drags ships onto the rocks. |
| prima hominis facies et pulchro pectore virgo pube tenus, postrema immani corpore pistrix delphinum caudas utero commissa luporum. præstat Trinacrii metas lustrare Pachyni cessantem, longos et circumflectere cursus, | 430 | Above she has human shape, and is a girl, with lovely breasts, a girl, down to her sex, below it she is a sea-monster of huge size, with dolphins’ tails joined to a belly formed of wolves. It is better to round the point of Pachynus, lingering, and circling Sicily on a long course, |
| quam semel informem vasto vidisse sub antro Scyllam et cæruleis canibus resonantia saxa. præterea, si qua est Heleno prudentia vati, si qua fides, animum si veris implet Apollo, unum illud tibi, nate dea, proque omnibus unum | 435 | than to once catch sight of hideous Scylla in her vast cave and the rocks that echo to her sea-dark hounds. Beyond this, if Helenus has any knowledge, if the seer can be believed, if Apollo fills his spirit with truth, son of the goddess, I will say this one thing, this one thing |
| prædicam et repetens iterumque iterumque monebo, Junonis magnæ primum prece numen adora, Junoni cane vota libens dominamque potentem supplicibus supera donis : sic denique victor Trinacria finis Italos mittere relicta. | 440 | that is worth all, and I’ll repeat the warning again and again, honor great Juno’s divinity above all, with prayer, and recite your vows to Juno freely, and win over that powerful lady with humble gifts: so at last you’ll leave Sicily behind and reach the coast of Italy, victorious. |
| huc ubi delatus Cumæam accesseris urbem divinosque lacus et Averna sonantia silvis, insanam vatem aspicies, quæ rupe sub ima fata canit foliisque notas et nomina mandat. quæcumque in foliis descripsit carmina virgo | 445 | Once brought there, approach the city of Cumæ, the ghostly lakes, and Avernus, with its whispering groves, gaze on the raving prophetess, who sings the fates deep in the rock, and commits names and signs to leaves. Whatever verses the virgin writes on the leaves, |
| digerit in numerum atque antro seclusa relinquit : illa manent immota locis neque ab ordine cedunt. verum eadem, verso tenuis quum cardine ventus impulit et teneras turbavit janua frondes, numquam deinde cavo volitantia prendere saxo | 450 | she arranges in order, and stores them high up in her cave. They stay in place, motionless, and keep in rank: but once a light breeze ruffles them, at the turn of a hinge, and the opening door disturbs the delicate leaves, she never thinks to retrieve them, as they flutter through the rocky cave, |
| nec revocare situs aut jungere carmina curat : inconsulti abeunt sedemque odere Sibyllæ. hic tibi ne qua moræ fuerint dispendia tanti, quamvis increpitent socii et vi cursus in altum vela vocet, possisque sinus implere secundos, | 455 | or to return them to their places, or reconstitute the prophecies: men go away unanswered, and detest the Sibyl’s lair. Though your friends complain, and though your course calls your sails urgently to the deep, and a following wind might fill the canvas, don’t overvalue the loss in any delay, |
| quin adeas vatem precibusque oracula poscas ipsa canat vocemque volens atque ora resolvat. illa tibi Italiæ populos venturaque bella et quo quemque modo fugiasque ferasque laborem expediet, cursusque dabit venerata secundos. | 460 | but visit the prophetess, and beg her with prayers to speak the oracle herself, and loose her voice through willing lips. She will rehearse the peoples of Italy, the wars to come, and how you might evade or endure each trial, and, shown respect, she’ll grant you a favorable journey. |
| hæc sunt quæ nostra liceat te voce moneri. vade age et ingentem factis fer ad æthera Trojam. » Quæ postquam vates sic ore effatus amico est, dona dehinc auro gravia ac secto elephanto imperat ad navis ferri, stipatque carinis | 465 | These are the things you can be warned of by my voice. Go now, and by your actions raise great Troy to the stars.” After the seer had spoken these words with benign lips, he ordered heavy gifts of gold and carved ivory to be carried to our ships, and stored massive silverware |
| ingens argentum Dodonæosque lebetas, loricam consertam hamis auroque trilicem, et conum insignis galeæ cristasque comantis, arma Neoptolemi. sunt et sua dona parenti. addit equos, additque duces, | 470 | in the holds, cauldrons from Dodona, a hooked breastplate woven with triple-linked gold, and a fine conical helmet with a crest of horse-hair, Pyrrhus’s armor. There were gifts of his own for my father too. Helenus added horses and sea-pilots: he manned |
| remigium supplet, socios simul instruit armis. Interea classem velis aptare jubebat Anchises, fieret vento mora ne qua ferenti. quem Phœbi interpres multo compellat honore : « conjugio, Anchisa, Veneris dignate superbo, | 475 | our oars: he also equipped my friends with weapons. Meanwhile Anchises ordered us to rig sails on the ships, so the rushing wind would not be lost, by our delay. Apollo’s agent spoke to him with great respect: “Anchises, worthy of proud marriage with Venus, |
| cura deum, bis Pergameis erepte ruinis, ecce tibi Ausoniæ tellus : hanc arripe velis. et tamen hanc pelago præterlabare necesse est : Ausoniæ pars illa procul quam pandit Apollo. vade, » ait « o felix nati pietate. quid ultra | 480 | cared for by the gods, twice saved from the ruins of Troy, behold your land of Italy: sail and take it. But still you must slide past it on the seas: the part of Italy that Apollo named is far away. Go onward, happy in your son’s love. Why should I say more, |
| provehor et fando surgentis demoror Austros? » nec minus Andromache digressu mæsta supremo fert picturatas auri subtemine vestis et Phrygiam Ascanio chlamydem (nec cedit honore) textilibusque onerat donis, ac talia fatur : | 485 | and delay your catching the rising wind?” Andromache also, grieved at this final parting, brought robes embroidered with gold weave, and a Phrygian cloak for Ascanius, nor did she fail to honor him, and loaded him down with gifts of cloth, and said: |
| « accipe et hæc, manuum tibi quæ monumenta mearum sint, puer, et longum Andromachæ testentur amorem, conjugis Hectoreæ. cape dona extrema tuorum, o mihi sola mei super Astyanactis imago. sic oculos, sic ille manus, sic ora ferebat ; | 490 | “Take these as well, my child, remembrances for you from my hand, and witness of the lasting love of Andromache, Hector’s wife. Take these last gifts from your kin, O you, the sole image left to me of my Astyanax. He had the same eyes, the same hands, the same lips: |
| et nunc æquali tecum pubesceret ævo. » hos ego digrediens lacrimis affabar obortis : « vivite felices, quibus est fortuna peracta jam sua : nos alia ex aliis in fata vocamur. vobis parta quies : nullum maris æquor arandum, | 495 | and now he would be growing up like you, equal in age.” My tears welled as I spoke these parting words: “Live happily, you whose fortunes are already determined: we are summoned onwards from destiny to destiny. For you, peace is achieved: you’ve no need to plough the levels |
| arva neque Ausoniæ semper cedentia retro quærenda. effigiem Xanthi Trojamque videtis quam vestræ fecere manus, melioribus, opto, auspiciis, et quæ fuerit minus obvia Grais. si quando Thybrim vicinaque Thybridis arva | 500 | of the sea, you’ve no need to seek Italy’s ever-receding fields. I wish that you might gaze at your likeness of Xanthus, and a Troy built by your own hands, under happier auspices, one which might be less exposed to the Greeks. If I ever reach the Tiber, and the Tiber’s neighboring fields, |
| intraro gentique meæ data mœnia cernam, cognatas urbes olim populosque propinquos, Epiro Hesperiam (quibus idem Dardanus auctor atque idem casus), unam faciemus utramque Trojam animis : maneat nostros ea cura nepotes. » | 505 | and gaze on city walls granted to my people, we’ll one day make one Troy, in spirit, from each of our kindred cities and allied peoples, in Epirus, in Italy, who have the same Dardanus for ancestor, the same history: let it be left to our descendants care.” |
| Provehimur pelago vicina Ceraunia juxta, unde iter Italiam cursusque brevissimus undis. sol ruit interea et montes umbrantur opaci ; sternimur optatæ gremio telluris ad undam sortiti remos passimque in litore sicco | 510 | We sail on over the sea, close to the Ceraunian cliffs nearby, on course for Italy, and the shortest path over the waves. Meanwhile the sun is setting and the darkened hills are in shadow. Having shared oars, we stretch out, near the waves, on the surface of the long-desired land, and, scattered across the dry beach, |
| corpora curamus, fessos sopor irrigat artus. necdum orbem medium Nox Horis acta subibat : haud segnis strato surgit Palinurus et omnis explorat ventos atque auribus æra captat ; sidera cuncta notat tacito labentia cælo, | 515 | we rest our bodies: sleep refreshes our weary limbs. Night, lead by the Hours, is not yet in mid-course: Palinurus rises alertly from his couch, tests all the winds, and listens to the breeze: he notes all the stars gliding through the silent sky, |
| Arcturum pluviasque Hyadas geminosque Triones, armatumque auro circumspicit Oriona. postquam cuncta videt cælo constare sereno, dat clarum e puppi signum ; nos castra movemus temptamusque viam et velorum pandimus alas. | 520 | Arcturus, the rainy Pleiades, both the Bears, and surveys Orion, armed with gold. When he sees that all tallies, and the sky is calm, he sounds a loud call from the ship’s stern: we break camp, attempt our route, and spread the winged sails. |
| Jamque rubescebat stellis Aurora fugatis quum procul obscuros collis humilemque videmus Italiam. Italiam primus conclamat Achates, Italiam læto socii clamore salutant. tum pater Anchises magnum cratera corona | 525 | And now Dawn blushes as she puts the stars to flight, when we see, far off, dark hills and low-lying Italy. First Achates proclaims Italy, then my companions hail Italy with a joyful shout. Then my father Anchises took up a large bowl, filled it with wine, |
| induit implevitque mero, divosque vocavit stans celsa in puppi : « di maris et terræ tempestatumque potentes, ferte viam vento facilem et spirate secundi. » crebrescunt optatæ auræ portusque patescit | 530 | and standing in the high stern, called to the heavens: “You gods, lords of the sea and earth and storms, carry us onward on a gentle breeze, and breathe on us with kindness!” The wind we longed-for rises, now as we near, a harbor opens, |
| jam propior, templumque apparet in arce Minervæ ; vela legunt socii et proras ad litora torquent. portus ab euroo fluctu curvatus in arcum, objectæ salsa spumant aspergine cautes, ipse latet : gemino demittunt bracchia muro | 535 | and a temple is visible on Minerva’s Height. My companions furl the sails and turn the prows to shore. The harbor is carved in an arc by the eastern tides: its jutting rocks boil with salt spray, so that it itself is hidden: towering cliffs extend their arms in a twin wall, |
| turriti scopuli refugitque ab litore templum. quattuor hic, primum omen, equos in gramine vidi tondentis campum late, candore nivali. et pater Anchises « bellum, o terra hospita, portas : bello armantur equi, bellum hæc armenta minantur. | 540 | and the temple lies back from the shore. Here I see four horses in the long grass, white as snow, grazing widely over the plain, our first omen. And my father Anchises cries: “O foreign land, you bring us war: horses are armed for war, war is what this herd threatens. |
| sed tamen idem olim curru succedere sueti quadripedes et frena jugo concordia ferre : spes et pacis » ait. tum numina sancta precamur Palladis armisonæ, quæ prima accepit ovantis, et capita ante aras Phrygio velamur amictu, | 545 | Yet those same creatures one day can be yoked to a chariot, and once yoked will suffer the bridle in harmony: there’s also hope of peace.” Then we pray to the sacred power of Pallas, of the clashing weapons, first to receive our cheers, and clothed in Phrygian robes we veiled our heads before the altar, |
| præceptisque Heleni, dederat quæ maxima, rite Junoni Argivæ jussos adolemus honores. Haud mora, continuo perfectis ordine votis cornua velatarum obvertimus antemnarum, Grajugenumque domos suspectaque linquimus arva. | 550 | and following the urgent command Helenus had given, we duly made burnt offerings to Argive Juno as ordered. Without delay, as soon as our vows are fully paid, we haul on the ends of our canvas-shrouded yard-arms, and leave the home of the Greek race, and the fields we mistrust. |
| hinc sinus Herculei (si vera est fama) Tarenti cernitur, attollit se diva Lacinia contra, Caulonisque arces et navifragum Scylaceum. tum procul e fluctu Trinacria cernitur Ætna, et gemitum ingentem pelagi pulsataque saxa | 555 | Then Tarentum’s bay is seen, Hercules’s city if the tale is true: Lacinian Juno’s temple rises against it, Caulon’s fortress, and Scylaceum’s shore of shipwreck. Then far off Sicilian Etna appears from the waves, and we hear the loud roar of the sea, and the distant |
| audimus longe fractasque ad litora voces, exsultantque vada atque æstu miscentur harenæ. et pater Anchises « nimirum hic illa Charybdis : hos Helenus scopulos, hæc saxa horrenda canebat. eripite, o socii, pariterque insurgite remis. » | 560 | tremor of the rocks, and the broken murmurs of the shore, the shallows boil, and sand mixes with the flood. Then my father, Anchises, said: “This must be Charybdis: these are the cliffs, these are the horrendous rocks Helenus foretold. Pull away, O comrades, and stand to the oars together.” |
| haud minus ac jussi faciunt, primusque rudentem contorsit lævas proram Palinurus ad undas ; lævam cuncta cohors remis ventisque petivit. tollimur in cælum curvato gurgite, et idem subducta ad Manis imos desedimus unda. | 565 | They do no less than they’re asked, and Palinurus is the first to heave his groaning ship into the portside waves: all our company seek port with oars and sail. We climb to heaven on the curving flood, and again sink down with the withdrawing waves to the depths of Hades. |
| ter scopuli clamorem inter cava saxa dedere, ter spumam elisam et rorantia vidimus astra. interea fessos ventus cum sole reliquit, ignarique viæ Cyclopum allabimur oris. Portus ab accessu ventorum immotus et ingens | 570 | The cliffs boom three times in their rocky caves, three times we see the spray burst, and the dripping stars. Then the wind and sunlight desert weary men, and not knowing the way we drift to the Cyclopes’s shore. There’s a harbor, itself large and untroubled by the passing winds, |
| ipse : sed horrificis juxta tonat Ætna ruinis, interdumque atram prorumpit ad æthera nubem turbine fumantem piceo et candente favilla, attollitque globos flammarum et sidera lambit ; interdum scopulos avulsaque viscera montis | 575 | but Etna rumbles nearby with fearsome avalanches, now it spews black clouds into the sky, smoking, with pitch-black turbulence, and glowing ashes, and throws up balls of flame, licking the stars: now it hurls high the rocks it vomits, and the mountain’s |
| erigit eructans, liquefactaque saxa sub auras cum gemitu glomerat fundoque exæstuat imo. fama est Enceladi semustum fulmine corpus urgeri mole hac, ingentemque insuper Ætnam impositam ruptis flammam exspirare caminis, | 580 | torn entrails, and gathers molten lava together in the air with a roar, boiling from its lowest depths. The tale is that Enceladus’s body, scorched by the lightning-bolt, is buried by that mass, and piled above him, mighty Etna breathes flames from its riven furnaces, |
| et fessum quotiens mutet latus, intremere omnem murmure Trinacriam et cælum subtexere fumo. noctem illam tecti silvis immania monstra perferimus, nec quæ sonitum det causa videmus. nam neque erant astrorum ignes nec lucidus æthra | 585 | and as often as he turns his weary flank, all Sicily quakes and rumbles, and clouds the sky with smoke. That night we hide in the woods, enduring the dreadful shocks, unable to see what the cause of the sound is, since there are no heavenly fires, no bright pole |
| siderea polus, obscuro sed nubila cælo, et lunam in nimbo nox intempesta tenebat. Postera jamque dies primo surgebat Eoo umentemque Aurora polo dimoverat umbram, quum subito e silvis macie confecta suprema | 590 | in the starry firmament, but clouds in a darkened sky, and the dead of night holds the moon in shroud. Now the next day was breaking with the first light of dawn, and Aurora had dispersed the moist shadows from the sky, when suddenly the strange form of an unknown man came out |
| ignoti nova forma viri miserandaque cultu procedit supplexque manus ad litora tendit. respicimus. dira illuvies immissaque barba, consertum tegimen spinis : at cetera Grajus, et quondam patriis ad Trojam missus in armis. | 595 | of the woods, exhausted by the last pangs of hunger, pitifully dressed, and stretched his hands in supplication towards the shore. We looked back. Vile with filth, his beard uncut, his clothing fastened together with thorns: but otherwise a Greek, once sent to Troy in his country’s armor. |
| isque ubi Dardanios habitus et Troja vidit arma procul, paulum aspectu conterritus hæsit continuitque gradum ; mox sese ad litora præceps cum fletu precibusque tulit : « per sidera testor, per superos atque hoc cæli spirabile lumen, | 600 | When he saw the Dardan clothes and Trojan weapons, far off, he hesitated a moment, frightened at the sight, and checked his steps: then ran headlong to the beach, with tears and prayers: “The stars be my witness, the gods, the light in the life-giving sky, Trojans, |
| tollite me, Teucri. quascumque abducite terras : hoc sat erit. scio me Danais e classibus unum et bello Iliacos fateor petiisse penatis. pro quo, si sceleris tanta est injuria nostri, spargite me in fluctus vastoque immergite ponto ; | 605 | take me with you: carry me to any country whatsœver, that will be fine by me. I know I’m from one of the Greek ships, and I confess that I made war against Trojan gods, if my crime is so great an injury to you, scatter me over the waves for it, or drown me in the vast ocean: |
| si pereo, hominum manibus periisse juvabit. » dixerat et genua amplexus genibusque volutans hærebat ; qui sit fari, quo sanguine cretus, hortamur, quæ deinde agitet fortuna fateri. ipse pater dextram Anchises haud multa moratus | 610 | if I die I’ll delight in dying at the hands of men.” He spoke and clung to my knees, embracing them and grovelling there. We urged him to say who he was, born of what blood, then to say what fate pursued him. Without much delay, my father Anchises himself gave |
| dat juveni atque animum præsenti pignore firmat. ille hæc deposita tandem formidine fatur : « sum patria ex Ithaca, comes infelicis Ulixi, nomine Achæmenides, Trojam genitore Adamasto paupere (mansissetque utinam fortuna!) profectus. | 615 | the young man his hand, lifting his spirits by this ready trust. At last he set his fears aside and told us: “I’m from the land of Ithaca, a companion of unlucky Ulysses, Achæmenides by name, and, my father Adamastus being poor, (I wish fate had kept me so!) I set out for Troy. |
| hic me, dum trepidi crudelia limina linquunt, immemores socii vasto Cyclopis in antro deservere. domus sanie dapibusque cruentis, intus opaca, ingens. ipse arduus, altaque pulsat sidera (di talem terris avertite pestem!) | 620 | My comrades left me here in the Cyclops’ vast cave, forgetting me, as they hurriedly left that grim threshold. It’s a house of blood and gory feasts, vast and dark inside. He himself is gigantic, striking against the high stars — gods, remove plagues like that from the earth! — |
| nec visu facilis nec dictu affabilis ulli ; visceribus miserorum et sanguine vescitur atro. vidi egomet duo de numero quum corpora nostro prensa manu magna medio resupinus in antro frangeret ad saxum, sanieque aspersa natarent | 625 | not pleasant to look at, affable to no one. He eats the dark blood and flesh of wretched men. I saw myself how he seized two of our number in his huge hands, and reclining in the center of the cave, broke them on the rock, so the threshold, drenched, swam with blood: |
| limina ; vidi atro quum membra fluentia tabo manderet et tepidi tremerent sub dentibus artus — haud impune quidem, nec talia passus Ulixes oblitusve sui est Ithacus discrimine tanto. nam simul expletus dapibus vinoque sepultus | 630 | I saw how he gnawed their limbs, dripping with dark clots of gore, and the still-warm bodies quivered in his jaws. Yet he did not go unpunished: Ulysses didn’t suffer it, nor did the Ithacan forget himself in a crisis. As soon as the Cyclops, full of flesh and sated with wine, |
| cervicem inflexam posuit, jacuitque per antrum immensus saniem eructans et frusta cruento per somnum commixta mero, nos magna precati numina sortitique vices una undique circum fundimur, et telo lumen terebramus acuto | 635 | relaxed his neck, and lay, huge in size, across the cave, drooling gore and blood and wine-drenched fragments in his sleep, we prayed to the great gods, and our roles fixed, surrounded him on all sides, and stabbed his one huge eye, |
| ingens quod torva solum sub fronte latebat, Argolici clipei aut Phœbeæ lampadis instar, et tandem læti sociorum ulciscimur umbras. sed fugite, o miseri, fugite atque ab litore funem rumpite. | 640 | solitary, and half-hidden under his savage brow, like a round Greek shield, or the sun-disc of Phœbus, with a sharpened stake: and so we joyfully avenged the spirits of our friends. But fly from here, wretched men, and cut your mooring ropes. |
| nam qualis quantusque cavo Polyphemus in antro lanigeras claudit pecudes atque ubera pressat, centum alii curva hæc habitant ad litora vulgo infandi Cyclopes et altis montibus errant. tertia jam lunæ se cornua lumine complent | 645 | Since, like Polyphemus, who pens woolly flocks in the rocky cave, and milks their udders, there are a hundred other appalling Cyclopes, the same in shape and size, everywhere inhabiting the curved bay, and wandering the hills. The moon’s horns have filled with light three times now, while I |
| quum vitam in silvis inter deserta ferarum lustra domosque traho vastosque ab rupe Cyclopas prospicio sonitumque pedum vocemque tremesco. victum infelicem, bacas lapidosaque corna, dant rami, et uulsis pascunt radicibus herbæ. | 650 | have been dragging my life out in the woods, among the lairs and secret haunts of wild creatures, watching the huge Cyclopes from the cliffs, trembling at their voices and the sound of their feet. The branches yield a miserable supply of fruits and stony cornelian cherries, and the grasses, torn up by their roots, feed me. |
| omnia collustrans hanc primum ad litora classem conspexi venientem. huic me, quæcumque fuisset, addixi : satis est gentem effugisse nefandam. vos animam hanc potius quocumque absumite leto. » Vix ea fatus erat summo quum monte videmus | 655 | Watching for everything, I saw, for the first time, this fleet approaching shore. Whatever might happen, I surrendered myself to you: it’s enough for me to have escaped that wicked people. I’d rather you took this life of mine by any death whatsœver.” He’d barely spoken, when we saw the shepherd Polyphemus |
| ipsum inter pecudes vasta se mole moventem pastorem Polyphemum et litora nota petentem, monstrum horrendum, informe, ingens, cui lumen ademptum. trunca manum pinus regit et vestigia firmat ; lanigeræ comitantur oves ; ea sola voluptas | 660 | himself, moving his mountainous bulk on the hillside among the flocks, and heading for the familiar shore, a fearful monster, vast and shapeless, robbed of the light. A lopped pine-trunk in his hand steadied and guided his steps: his fleecy sheep accompanied him: |
| solamenque mali. postquam altos tetigit fluctus et ad æquora venit, luminis effossi fluidum lavit inde cruorem dentibus infrendens gemitu, graditurque per æquor jam medium, necdum fluctus latera ardua tinxit. | 665 | his sole delight and the solace for his evils. As soon as he came to the sea and reached the deep water, he washed away the blood oozing from the gouged eye-socket, groaning and gnashing his teeth. Then he walked through the depths of the waves, without the tide wetting his vast thighs. |
| nos procul inde fugam trepidi celerare recepto supplice sic merito tacitique incidere funem, vertimus et proni certantibus æquora remis. sensit, et ad sonitum vocis vestigia torsit. verum ubi nulla datur dextra affectare potestas | 670 | Anxiously we hurried our departure from there, accepting the worthy suppliant on board, and cutting the cable in silence: then leaning into our oars, we vied in sweeping the sea. He heard, and bent his course towards the sound of splashing. But when he was denied the power to set hands on us, |
| nec potis Ïonios fluctus æquare sequendo, clamorem immensum tollit, quo pontus et omnes intremuere undæ, penitusque exterrita tellus Italiæ curvisque immugiit Ætna cavernis. at genus e silvis Cyclopum et montibus altis | 675 | and unable to counter the force of the Ionian waves, in pursuit, he raised a mighty shout, at which the sea and all the waves shook, and the land of Italy was frightened far inland, and Etna bellowed from its winding caverns, but the tribe of Cyclopes, roused from their woods and high mountains, |
| excitum ruit ad portus et litora complent. cernimus astantis nequiquam lumine torvo Ætnæos fratres cælo capita alta ferentis, concilium horrendum : quales cum vertice celso āeriæ quercus aut coniferæ cyparissi | 680 | rushed to the harbor, and crowded the shore. We saw them standing there, impotently, wild-eyed, the Ætnean brotherhood, heads towering into the sky, a fearsome gathering: like tall oaks rooted on a summit, or cone-bearing cypresses, |
| constiterunt, silva alta Jovis lucusve Dianæ. præcipitis metus acer agit quocumque rudentis excutere et ventis intendere vela secundis. contra jussa monent Heleni, Scyllam atque Charybdim inter, utrimque viam leti discrimine parvo, | 685 | in Jove’s high wood or Diana’s grove. Acute fear drove us on to pay out the ropes on whatever tack and spread our sails to any favorable wind. Helenus’s orders warned against taking a course between Scylla and Charybdis, a hair’s breadth from death |
| ni teneant cursus : certum est dare lintea retro. ecce autem Boreas angusta ab sede Pelori missus adest : vivo prætervehor ostia saxo Pantagiæ Megarosque sinus Thapsumque jacentem. talia monstrabat relegens errata retrorsus | 690 | on either side: we decided to beat back again. When, behold, a northerly arrived from the narrow headland of Pelorus: I sailed past the natural rock mouth of the Pantagias, Megara’s bay, and low-lying Thapsus. Such were the shores Achæmenides, the friend of unlucky Ulysses, |
| litora Achæmenides, comes infelicis Ulixi. Sicanio prætenta sinu jacet insula contra Plemyrium undosum ; nomen dixere priores Ortygiam. Alpheum fama est huc Elidis amnem occultas egisse vias subter mare, qui nunc | 695 | showed me, sailing his wandering journey again, in reverse. An island lies over against wave-washed Plemyrium, stretched across a Sicilian bay: named Ortygia by men of old. The story gœs that Alpheus, a river of Elis, forced a hidden path here under the sea, and merges |
| ore, Arethusa, tuo Siculis confunditur undis. jussi numina magna loci veneramur, et inde exsupero præpingue solum stagnantis Helori. hinc altas cautes projectaque saxa Pachyni radimus, et fatis numquam concessa moveri | 700 | with the Sicilian waters of your fountain Arethusa. As commanded we worshipped the great gods of this land, and from there I passed marshy Helorus’s marvellously rich soil. Next we passed the tall reefs and jutting rocks of Pachynus, and Camerina appeared in the distance, granted |
| apparet Camerina procul campique Geloi, immanisque Gela fluvii cognomine dicta. arduus inde Acragas ostentat maxima longe mœnia, magnanimum quondam generator equorum ; teque datis linquo ventis, palmosa Selinus, | 705 | immoveable, by prophecy, and the Geloan plains, and Gela named after its savage river. Then steep Acragas, once the breeder of brave horses, showed its mighty ramparts in the distance: and granted the wind, I left palmy Selinus, and passed |
| et vada dura lego saxis Lilybeia cæcis. hinc Drepani me portus et illætabilis ora accipit. hic pelagi tot tempestatibus actus heu, genitorem, omnis curæ casusque levamen, amitto Anchisen. hic me, pater optime, fessum | 710 | the tricky shallows of Lilybæum with their blind reefs. Next the harbor of Drepanum, and its joyless shore, received me. Here, alas, I lost my father, Anchises, my comfort in every trouble and misfortune, I, who’d been driven by so many ocean storms: here you left me, |
| deseris, heu, tantis nequiquam erepte periclis! nec vates Helenus, quum multa horrenda moneret, hos mihi prædixit luctus, non dira Celæno. hic labor extremus, longarum hæc meta viarum, hinc me digressum vestris deus appulit oris. | 715 | weary, best of fathers, saved from so many dangers in vain! Helenus, the seer, did not prophesy this grief of mine, when he warned me of many horrors, nor did grim Celæno. This was my last trouble, this the end of my long journey: leaving there, the god drove me to your shores.’ |
| Sic pater Æneas intentis omnibus unus fata renarrabat divum cursusque docebat. conticuit tandem factoque hic fine quievit. | So our ancestor Æneas, as all listened to one man, recounted divine fate, and described his journey. At last he stopped, and making an end here, rested. |
| Liber IV | ⤊ | |
| P. VERGILII MARONIS ÆNEIDOS LIBER QUARTUS | ||
| At regina gravi jamdudum saucia cura vulnus alit venis et cæco carpitur igni. multa viri virtus animo multusque recursat gentis honos ; hærent infixi pectore vultus verbaque nec placidam membris dat cura quietem. | 5 | But the queen, wounded long since by intense love, feeds the hurt with her life-blood, weakened by hidden fire. The hero’s courage often returns to mind, and the nobility of his race: his features and his words cling fixedly to her heart, and love will not grant restful calm to her body. |
| postera Phœbea lustrabat lampade terras umentemque Aurora polo dimoverat umbram, quum sic unanimam alloquitur male sana sororem : « Anna soror, quæ me suspensam insomnia terrent! quis novus hic nostris successit sedibus hospes, | 10 | The new day’s Dawn was lighting the earth with Phœbus’s brightness, and dispelling the dew-wet shadows from the sky, when she spoke ecstatically to her sister, her kindred spirit: “Anna, sister, how my dreams terrify me with anxieties! Who is this strange guest who has entered our house, |
| quem sese ore ferens, quam forti pectore et armis! credo equidem — nec vana fides — genus esse deorum. degeneres animos timor arguit. heu, quibus ille jactatus fatis! quæ bella exhausta canebat! si mihi non animo fixum immotumque sederet | 15 | with what boldness he speaks, how resolute in mind and warfare! Truly I think — and it’s no idle saying — that he’s born of a goddess. Fear reveals the ignoble spirit. Alas! What misfortunes test him! What battles he spoke of, that he has undergone! If my mind was not set, fixedly and immovably, |
| ne cui me vinclo vellem sociare jugali, postquam primus amor deceptam morte fefellit ; si non pertæsum thalami tædæque fuisset, huic uni forsan potui succumbere culpæ. Anna (fatebor enim) miseri post fata Sychæi | 20 | never to join myself with any man in the bonds of marriage, because first-love betrayed me, cheated me through dying: if I were not wearied by marriage and bridal-beds, perhaps I might succumb to this one temptation. Anna, yes I confess, since my poor husband Sychæus’s death |
| conjugis et sparsos fraterna cæde penatis solus hic inflexit sensus animumque labantem impulit. agnosco veteris vestigia flammæ. sed mihi vel tellus optem prius ima dehiscat vel pater omnipotens adigat me fulmine ad umbras, | 25 | when the altars were blood-stained by my murderous brother, he’s the only man who’s stirred my senses, troubled my wavering mind. I know the traces of the ancient flame. But I pray rather that earth might gape wide for me, to its depths, or the all-powerful father hurl me with his lightning-bolt |
| pallentis umbras Erebo noctemque profundam, ante, pudor, quam te violo aut tua jura resolvo. ille meos, primus qui me sibi junxit, amores abstulit ; ille habeat secum servetque sepulcro. » sic effata sinum lacrimis implevit obortis. | 30 | down to the shadows, to the pale ghosts, and deepest night of Erebus, before I violate you, Honour, or break your laws. He who first took me to himself has stolen my love: let him keep it with him, and guard it in his grave.” So saying her breast swelled with her rising tears. |
| Anna refert : « o luce magis dilecta sorori, solane perpetua mærens carpere juventa nec dulcis natos Veneris nec præmia noris? id cinerem aut manis credis curare sepultos? esto : ægram nulli quondam flexere mariti, | 35 | Anna replied: “O you, who are more beloved to your sister than the light, will you wear your whole youth away in loneliness and grief, and not know Venus’s sweet gifts or her children? Do you think that ashes or sepulchral spirits care? Granted that in Libya or Tyre before it, no suitor ever |
| non Libyæ, non ante Tyro ; despectus Ïarbas ductoresque alii, quos Africa terra triumphis dives alit : placitone etiam pugnabis amori? nec venit in mentem quorum consederis arvis? hinc Gætulæ urbes, genus insuperabile bello, | 40 | dissuaded you from sorrowing: and Iarbas and the other lords whom the African soil, rich in fame, bears, were scorned: will you still struggle against a love that pleases? Do you not recall to mind in whose fields you settled? Here Gætulian cities, a people unsurpassed in battle, |
| et Numidæ infreni cingunt et inhospita Syrtis ; hinc deserta siti regio lateque furentes Barcæi. quid bella Tyro surgentia dicam germanique minas? dis equidem auspicibus reor et Junone secunda | 45 | unbridled Numidians, and inhospitable Syrtis, surround you: there, a region of dry desert, with Barcæans raging around. And what of your brother’s threats, and war with Tyre imminent? The Trojan ships made their way here with the wind, with gods indeed helping them I think, and with Juno’s favor. |
| hunc cursum Iliacas vento tenuisse carinas. quam tu urbem, soror, hanc cernes, quæ surgere regna conjugio tali! Teucrum comitantibus armis Punica se quantis attollet gloria rebus! tu modo posce deos veniam, sacrisque litatis | 50 | What a city you’ll see here, sister, what a kingdom rise, with such a husband! With a Trojan army marching with us, with what great actions Punic glory will soar! Only ask the gods for their help, and, propitiating them |
| indulge hospitio causasque innecte morandi, dum pelago desævit hiems et aquosus Orion, quassatæque rates, dum non tractabile cælum. » His dictis impenso animum flammavit amore spemque dedit dubiæ menti solvitque pudorem. | 55 | with sacrifice, indulge your guest, spin reasons for delay, while winter, and stormy Orion, rage at sea, while the ships are damaged, and the skies are hostile.” By saying this she inflames the queen’s burning heart with love and raises hopes in her anxious mind, and weakens her sense |
| principio delubra adeunt pacemque per aras exquirunt ; mactant lectas de more bidentis legiferæ Cereri Phœboque patrique Lyæo, Junoni ante omnis, cui vincla jugalia curæ. ipsa tenens dextra pateram pulcherrima Dido | 60 | of shame. First they visit the shrines and ask for grace at the altars: they sacrifice chosen animals according to the rites, to Ceres, the law-maker, and Phœbus, and father Lycæus, and to Juno above all, in whose care are the marriage ties: Dido herself, supremely lovely, holding the cup in her hand, |
| candentis vaccæ media inter cornua fundit, aut ante ora deum pinguis spatiatur ad aras, instauratque diem donis, pecudumque reclusis pectoribus inhians spirantia consulit exta. heu, vatum ignaræ mentes! quid vota furentem, | 65 | pours the libation between the horns of a white heifer or walks to the rich altars, before the face of the gods, celebrates the day with gifts, and gazes into the opened chests of victims, and reads the living entrails. Ah, the unknowing minds of seers! What use are prayers |
| quid delubra juvant? est mollis flamma medullas interea et tacitum vivit sub pectore vulnus. uritur infelix Dido totaque vagatur urbe furens, qualis conjecta cerva sagitta, quam procul incautam nemora inter Cresia fixit | 70 | or shrines to the impassioned? Meanwhile her tender marrow is aflame, and a silent wound is alive in her breast. Wretched Dido burns, and wanders frenzied through the city, like an unwary deer struck by an arrow, that a shepherd hunting with his bow has fired at from a distance, in the Cretan woods, |
| pastor agens telis liquitque volatile ferrum nescius : illa fuga silvas saltusque peragrat Dictæos ; hæret lateri letalis harundo. nunc media Ænean secum per mœnia ducit Sidoniasque ostentat opes urbemque paratam, | 75 | leaving the winged steel in her, without knowing. She runs through the woods and glades of Dicte: the lethal shaft hangs in her side. Now she leads Æneas with her round the walls showing her Sidonian wealth and the city she’s built: |
| incipit effari mediaque in voce resistit ; nunc eadem labente die conuivia quærit, Iliacosque iterum demens audire labores exposcit pendetque iterum narrantis ab ore. post ubi digressi, lumenque obscura vicissim | 80 | she begins to speak, and stops in mid-flow: now she longs for the banquet again as day wanes, yearning madly to hear about the Trojan adventures once more and hangs once more on the speaker’s lips. Then when they have departed, and the moon in turn |
| luna premit suadentque cadentia sidera somnos, sola domo mæret vacua stratisque relictis incubat — illum absens absentem auditque videtque — aut gremio Ascanium genitoris imagine capta detinet, infandum si fallere possit amorem. | 85 | has quenched her light and the setting constellations urge sleep, she grieves, alone in the empty hall, and lies on the couch he left. Absent she hears him absent, sees him, or hugs Ascanius on her lap, taken with this image of his father, so as to deceive her silent passion. |
| non cœptæ assurgunt turres, non arma juventus exercet portusve aut propugnacula bello tuta parant : pendent opera interrupta minæque murorum ingentes æquataque machina cælo. Quam simul ac tali persensit peste teneri | 90 | The towers she started no longer rise, the young men no longer carry out their drill, or work on the harbor and the battlements for defense in war: the interrupted work is left hanging, the huge threatening walls, the sky-reaching cranes. As soon as Juno, Jupiter’s beloved wife, saw clearly that Dido |
| cara Jovis conjunx nec famam obstare furori, talibus aggreditur Venerem Saturnia dictis : « egregiam vero laudem et spolia ampla refertis tuque puerque tuus (magnum et memorabile numen), una dolo divum si femina victa duorum est. | 95 | was gripped by such heart-sickness, and her reputation no obstacle to love, she spoke to Venus in these words: “You and that son of yours, certainly take the prize, and plenty of spoils: a great and memorable show of divine power, whereby one woman’s trapped by the tricks of two gods. |
| nec me adeo fallit veritam te mœnia nostra suspectas habuisse domos Karthaginis altæ. sed quis erit modus, aut quo nunc certamine tanto? quin potius pacem æternam pactosque hymenæos exercemus? habes tota quod mente petisti : | 100 | But the truth’s not escaped me, you’ve always held the halls of high Carthage under suspicion, afraid of my city’s defenses. But where can that end? Why such rivalry, now? Why don’t we work on eternal peace instead, and a wedding pact? You’ve achieved all that your mind was set on: |
| ardet amans Dido traxitque per ossa furorem. communem hunc ergo populum paribusque regamus auspiciis ; liceat Phrygio seruire marito dotalisque tuæ Tyrios permittere dextræ. » Olli (sensit enim simulata mente locutam, | 105 | Dido’s burning with passion, and she’s drawn the madness into her very bones. Let’s rule these people together with equal sway: let her be slave to a Trojan husband, and entrust her Tyrians to your hand, as the dowry.” Venus began the reply to her like this (since she knew |
| quo regnum Italiæ Libycas averteret oras) sic contra est ingressa Venus : « quis talia demens abnuat aut tecum malit contendere bello? si modo quod memoras factum fortuna sequatur. sed fatis incerta feror, si Juppiter unam | 110 | she’d spoken with deceit in her mind to divert the empire from Italy’s shores to Libya’s): “Who’d be mad enough to refuse such an offer or choose to make war on you, so long as fate follows up what you say with action? But fortune makes me uncertain, as to whether Jupiter wants |
| esse velit Tyriis urbem Trojaque profectis, miscerive probet populos aut fœdera jungi. tu conjunx, tibi fas animum temptare precando. perge, sequar. » tum sic excepit regia Juno : « mecum erit iste labor. nunc qua ratione quod instat | 115 | a single city for Tyrians and Trojan exiles, and approves the mixing of races and their joining in league together. You’re his wife: you can test his intent by asking. Do it: I’ll follow.” Then royal Juno replied like this: “That task’s mine. Now listen and I’ll tell you briefly |
| confieri possit, paucis (adverte) docebo. venatum Æneas unaque miserrima Dido in nemus ire parant, ubi primos crastinus ortus extulerit Titan radiisque retexerit orbem. his ego nigrantem commixta grandine nimbum, | 120 | how the purpose at hand can be achieved. Æneas and poor Dido plan to go hunting together in the woods, when the sun first shows tomorrow’s dawn, and reveals the world in his rays. While the lines are beating, and closing the thickets with nets, |
| dum trepidant alæ saltusque indagine cingunt, desuper infundam et tonitru cælum omne ciebo. diffugient comites et nocte tegentur opaca : speluncam Dido dux et Trojanus eandem devenient. adero et, tua si mihi certa voluntas, | 125 | I’ll pour down dark rain mixed with hail from the sky, and rouse the whole heavens with my thunder. They’ll scatter, and be lost in the dark of night: Dido and the Trojan leader will reach the same cave. I’ll be there, and if I’m assured of your good will, |
| conubio jungam stabili propriamque dicabo. hic hymenæus erit. » non adversata petenti annuit atque dolis risit Cytherea repertis. Oceanum interea surgens Aurora reliquit. it portis jubare exorto delecta juventus, | 130 | I’ll join them firmly in marriage, and speak for her as his own: this will be their wedding-night.” Not opposed to what she wanted, Venus agreed, and smiled to herself at the deceit she’d found. Meanwhile Dawn surges up and leaves the ocean. Once she has risen, the chosen men pour from the gates: |
| retia rara, plagæ, lato venabula ferro, Massylique ruunt equites et odora canum vis. reginam thalamo cunctantem ad limina primi Pœnorum exspectant, ostroque insignis et auro stat sonipes ac frena ferox spumantia mandit. | 135 | Massylian horsemen ride out, with wide-meshed nets, snares, broad-headed hunting spears, and a pack of keen-scented hounds. The queen lingers in her rooms, while Punic princes wait at the threshold: her horse stands there, bright in purple and gold, and champs fiercely at the foaming bit. |
| tandem progreditur magna stipante caterva Sidoniam picto chlamydem circumdata limbo ; cui pharetra ex auro, crines nodantur in aurum, aurea purpuream subnectit fibula vestem. nec non et Phrygii comites et lætus Julus | 140 | At last she appears, with a great crowd around her, dressed in a Sidonian robe with an embroidered hem. Her quiver’s of gold, her hair knotted with gold, a golden brooch fastens her purple tunic. Her Trojan friends and joyful Julus are with her: |
| incedunt. ipse ante alios pulcherrimus omnis infert se socium Æneas atque agmina jungit. qualis ubi hibernam Lyciam Xanthique fluenta deserit ac Delum maternam invisit Apollo instauratque choros, mixtique altaria circum | 145 | Æneas himself, the most handsome of them all, moves forward and joins his friendly troop with hers. Like Apollo, leaving behind the Lycian winter, and the streams of Xanthus, and visiting his mother’s Delos, to renew the dancing, Cretans and Dryopes and painted |
| Cretesque Dryopesque fremunt pictique Agathyrsi ; ipse jugis Cynthi graditur mollique fluentem fronde premit crinem fingens atque implicat auro, tela sonant umeris : haud illo segnior ibat Æneas, tantum egregio decus enitet ore. | 150 | Agathyrsians, mingling around his altars, shouting: he himself striding over the ridges of Cynthus, his hair dressed with tender leaves, and clasped with gold, the weapons rattling on his shoulder: so Æneas walks, as lightly, beauty like the god’s shining from his noble face. |
| postquam altos ventum in montis atque invia lustra, ecce feræ saxi dejectæ vertice capræ decurrere jugis ; alia de parte patentis transmittunt cursu campos atque agmina cervi pulverulenta fuga glomerant montisque relinquunt. | 155 | When they reach the mountain heights and pathless haunts, see the wild goats, disturbed on their stony summits, course down the slopes: in another place deer speed over the open field, massing together in a fleeing herd among clouds of dust, leaving the hillsides behind. |
| at puer Ascanius mediis in vallibus acri gaudet equo jamque hos cursu, jam præterit illos, spumantemque dari pecora inter inertia votis optat aprum, aut fulvum descendere monte leonem. Interea magno misceri murmure cælum | 160 | But the young Ascanius among the valleys, delights in his fiery horse, passing this rider and that at a gallop, hoping that amongst these harmless creatures a boar, with foaming mouth, might answer his prayers, or a tawny lion, down from the mountain. Meanwhile the sky becomes filled with a great rumbling: |
| incipit, insequitur commixta grandine nimbus, et Tyrii comites passim et Trojana juventus Dardaniusque nepos Veneris diversa per agros tecta metu petiere ; ruunt de montibus amnes. speluncam Dido dux et Trojanus eandem | 165 | rain mixed with hail follows, and the Tyrian company and the Trojan men, with Venus’s Dardan grandson, scatter here and there through the fields, in their fear, seeking shelter: torrents stream down from the hills. Dido and the Trojan leader reach the very same cave. |
| deveniunt, prima et Tellus et pronuba Juno dant signum ; fulsere ignes et conscius æther conubiis summoque ulularunt vertice Nymphæ. ille dies primus leti primusque malorum causa fuit ; neque enim specie famave movetur | 170 | Primeval Earth and Juno of the Nuptials give their signal: lightning flashes, the heavens are party to their union, and the Nymphs howl on the mountain heights. That first day is the source of misfortune and death. Dido’s no longer troubled by appearances or reputation, |
| nec jam furtivum Dido meditatur amorem : conjugium vocat, hoc prætexit nomine culpam. Extemplo Libyæ magnas it Fama per urbes, Fama, malum qua non aliud velocius ullum : mobilitate viget virisque acquirit eundo, | 175 | she no longer thinks of a secret affair: she calls it marriage: and with that name disguises her sin. Rumour raced at once through Libya’s great cities, Rumour, compared with whom no other is as swift. She flourishes by speed, and gains strength as she gœs: |
| parva metu primo, mox sese attollit in auras ingrediturque solo et caput inter nubila condit. illam Terra parens ira irritata deorum extremam, ut perhibent, Cœo Enceladoque sororem progenuit pedibus celerem et pernicibus alis, | 180 | first limited by fear, she soon reaches into the sky, walks on the ground, and hides her head in the clouds. Earth, incited to anger against the gods, so they say, bore her last, a monster, vast and terrible, fleet-winged and swift-footed, sister to Cœus and Enceladus, |
| monstrum horrendum, ingens, cui quot sunt corpore plumæ, tot vigiles oculi subter (mirabile dictu), tot linguæ, totidem ora sonant, tot surrigit auris. nocte volat cæli medio terræque per umbram stridens, nec dulci declinat lumina somno ; | 185 | who for every feather on her body has as many watchful eyes below (marvellous to tell), as many tongues speaking, as many listening ears. She flies, screeching, by night through the shadows between earth and sky, never closing her eyelids |
| luce sedet custos aut summi culmine tecti turribus aut altis, et magnas territat urbes, tam ficti pravique tenax quam nuntia veri. hæc tum multiplici populos sermone replebat gaudens, et pariter facta atque infecta canebat : | 190 | in sweet sleep: by day she sits on guard on tall roof-tops or high towers, and scares great cities, as tenacious of lies and evil, as she is messenger of truth. Now in delight she filled the ears of the nations with endless gossip, singing fact and fiction alike: |
| venisse Ænean Trojano sanguine cretum, cui se pulchra viro dignetur jungere Dido ; nunc hiemem inter se luxu, quam longa, fovere regnorum immemores turpique cupidine captos. hæc passim dea fœda virum diffundit in ora. | 195 | Æneas has come, born of Trojan blood, a man whom lovely Dido deigns to unite with: now they’re spending the whole winter together in indulgence, forgetting their royalty, trapped by shameless passion. The vile goddess spread this here and there on men’s lips. |
| protinus ad regem cursus detorquet Ïarban incenditque animum dictis atque aggerat iras. Hic Hammone satus rapta Garamantide nympha templa Jovi centum latis immania regnis, centum aras posuit vigilemque sacraverat ignem, | 200 | Immediately she slanted her course towards King Iarbas and inflamed his mind with words and fuelled his anger. He, a son of Jupiter Ammon, by a raped Garamantian Nymph, had set up a hundred great temples, a hundred altars, to the god, in his broad kingdom, and sanctified ever-living fires, the gods’ |
| excubias divum æternas, pecudumque cruore pingue solum et variis florentia limina sertis. isque amens animi et rumore accensus amaro dicitur ante aras media inter numina divum multa Jovem manibus supplex orasse supinis : | 205 | eternal guardians: the floors were soaked with sacrificial blood, and the thresholds flowery with mingled garlands. They say he often begged Jove humbly with upraised hands, in front of the altars, among the divine powers, maddened in spirit and set on fire by bitter rumor: |
| « Juppiter omnipotens, cui nunc Maurusia pictis gens epulata toris Lenæum libat honorem, aspicis hæc? an te, genitor, quum fulmina torques nequiquam horremus, cæcique in nubibus ignes terrificant animos et inania murmura miscent? | 210 | “All-powerful Jupiter, to whom the Moors, on their embroidered divans, banqueting, now pour a Bacchic offering, do you see this? Do we shudder in vain when you hurl your lightning bolts, father, and are those idle fires in the clouds that terrify our minds, and flash among the empty rumblings? |
| femina, quæ nostris errans in finibus urbem exiguam pretio posuit, cui litus arandum cuique loci leges dedimus, conubia nostra reppulit ac dominum Ænean in regna recepit. et nunc ille Paris cum semiviro comitatu, | 215 | A woman, wandering within my borders, who paid to found a little town, and to whom we granted coastal lands to plough, to hold in tenure, scorns marriage with me, and takes Æneas into her country as its lord. And now like some Paris, with his pack of eunuchs, |
| Mæonia mentum mitra crinemque madentem subnexus, rapto potitur : nos munera templis quippe tuis ferimus famamque fovemus inanem. » Talibus orantem dictis arasque tenentem audiit Omnipotens, oculosque ad mœnia torsit | 220 | a Phrygian cap, tied under his chin, on his greasy hair, he’s master of what he’s snatched: while I bring gifts indeed to temples, said to be yours, and cherish your empty reputation. As he gripped the altar, and prayed in this way, the All-powerful one listened, and turned his gaze towards |
| regia et oblitos famæ melioris amantis. tum sic Mercurium alloquitur ac talia mandat : « vade age, nate, voca Zephyros et labere pennis Dardaniumque ducem, Tyria Karthagine qui nunc exspectat fatisque datas non respicit urbes, | 225 | the royal city, and the lovers forgetful of their true reputation. Then he spoke to Mercury and commanded him so: “Off you go, my son, call the winds and glide on your wings, and talk to the Trojan leader who malingers in Tyrian Carthage now, and gives no thought to the cities the fates will grant him, |
| alloquere et celeris defer mea dicta per auras. non illum nobis genetrix pulcherrima talem promisit Grajumque ideo bis vindicat armis ; sed fore qui gravidam imperiis belloque frementem Italiam regeret, genus alto a sanguine Teucri | 230 | and carry my words there on the quick breeze. This is not what his loveliest of mothers suggested to me, nor why she rescued him twice from Greek armies: he was to be one who’d rule Italy, pregnant with empire, and crying out for war, he’d produce a people of Teucer’s |
| proderet, ac totum sub leges mitteret orbem. si nulla accendit tantarum gloria rerum nec super ipse sua molitur laude laborem, Ascanione pater Romanas invidet arces? quid struit? aut qua spe inimica in gente moratur | 235 | high blood, and bring the whole world under the rule of law. If the glory of such things dœsn’t inflame him, and he dœsn’t exert himself for his own honor, dœs he begrudge the citadels of Rome to Ascanius? What dœs he plan? With what hopes dœs he stay |
| nec prolem Ausoniam et Lavinia respicit arva? naviget! hæc summa est, hic nostri nuntius esto. » Dixerat. ille patris magni parere parabat imperio : et primum pedibus talaria nectit aurea, quæ sublimem alis sive æquora supra | 240 | among alien people, forgetting Ausonia and the Lavinian fields? Let him sail: that’s it in total, let that be my message.” He finished speaking. The god prepared to obey his great father’s order, and first fastened the golden sandals to his feet that carry him high on the wing over land and sea, like the storm. |
| seu terram rapido pariter cum flamine portant. tum virgam capit : hac animas ille evocat Orco pallentis, alias sub Tartara tristia mittit, dat somnos adimitque, et lumina morte resignat. illa fretus agit ventos et turbida tranat | 245 | Then he took up his wand: he calls pale ghosts from Orcus with it, sending others down to grim Tartarus, gives and takes away sleep, and opens the eyes of the dead. Relying on it, he drove the winds, and flew through |
| nubila. jamque volans apicem et latera ardua cernit Atlantis duri cælum qui vertice fulcit, Atlantis, cinctum assidue cui nubibus atris piniferum caput et vento pulsatur et imbri, nix umeros infusa tegit, tum flumina mento | 250 | the stormy clouds. Now in his flight he saw the steep flanks and the summit of strong Atlas, who holds the heavens on his head, Atlas, whose pine-covered crown is always wreathed in dark clouds and lashed by the wind and rain: fallen snow clothes his shoulders: while rivers fall |
| præcipitant senis, et glacie riget horrida barba. hic primum paribus nitens Cyllenius alis constitit ; hinc toto præceps se corpore ad undas misit avi similis, quæ circum litora, circum piscosos scopulos humilis volat æquora juxta. | 255 | from his ancient chin, and his rough beard bristles with ice. There Cyllenian Mercury first halted, balanced on level wings: from there, he threw his whole body headlong towards the waves, like a bird that flies low close to the sea, round the coasts and the rocks rich in fish. |
| haud aliter terras inter cælumque volabat litus harenosum ad Libyæ, ventosque secabat materno veniens ab avo Cyllenia proles. ut primum alatis tetigit magalia plantis, Ænean fundantem arces ac tecta novantem | 260 | So the Cyllenian-born flew between heaven and earth to Libya’s sandy shore, cutting the winds, coming from Atlas, his mother Maia’s father. As soon as he reached the builders’ huts, on his winged feet, he saw Æneas establishing towers and altering roofs. |
| conspicit. atque illi stellatus jaspide fulva ensis erat Tyrioque ardebat murice læna demissa ex umeris, dives quæ munera Dido fecerat, et tenui telas discreverat auro. continuo invadit : « tu nunc Karthaginis altæ | 265 | His sword was starred with tawny jasper, and the cloak that hung from his shoulder blazed with Tyrian purple, a gift that rich Dido had made, weaving the cloth with golden thread. Mercury challenged him at once: “For love of a wife |
| fundamenta locas pulchramque uxorius urbem exstruis? heu, regni rerumque oblite tuarum! ipse deum tibi me claro demittit Olympo regnator, cælum et terras qui numine torquet, ipse hæc ferre jubet celeris mandata per auras : | 270 | are you now building the foundations of high Carthage and a pleasing city? Alas, forgetful of your kingdom and fate! The king of the gods himself, who bends heaven and earth to his will, has sent me down to you from bright Olympus: he commanded me himself to carry these words through |
| quid struis? aut qua spe Libycis teris otia terris? si te nulla movet tantarum gloria rerum [nec super ipse tua moliris laude laborem,] Ascanium surgentem et spes heredis Juli respice, cui regnum Italiæ Romanaque tellus | 275 | the swift breezes. What do you plan? With what hopes do you waste idle hours in Libya’s lands? If you’re not stirred by the glory of destiny, and won’t exert yourself for your own fame, think of your growing Ascanius, and the expectations of him, as Julus your heir, to whom will be owed the kingdom |
| debetur. » tali Cyllenius ore locutus mortalis visus medio sermone reliquit et procul in tenuem ex oculis evanuit auram. At vero Æneas aspectu obmutuit amens, arrectæque horrore comæ et vox faucibus hæsit. | 280 | of Italy, and the Roman lands.” So Mercury spoke, and, while speaking, vanished from mortal eyes, and melted into thin air far from their sight. Æneas, stupefied at the vision, was struck dumb, and his hair rose in terror, and his voice stuck in his throat. |
| ardet abire fuga dulcisque relinquere terras, attonitus tanto monitu imperioque deorum. heu quid agat? quo nunc reginam ambire furentem audeat affatu? quæ prima exordia sumat? atque animum nunc huc celerem nunc dividit illuc | 285 | He was eager to be gone, in flight, and leave that sweet land, shocked by the warning and the divine command. Alas! What to do? With what speech dare he tackle the love-sick queen? What opening words should he choose? And he cast his mind back and forth swiftly, |
| in partisque rapit varias perque omnia versat. hæc alternanti potior sententia visa est : Mnesthea Sergestumque vocat fortemque Serestum, classem aptent taciti sociosque ad litora cogant, arma parent et quæ rebus sit causa novandis | 290 | considered the issue from every aspect, and turned it every way. This seemed the best decision, given the alternatives: he called Mnestheus, Sergestus and brave Serestus, telling them to fit out the fleet in silence, gather the men on the shore, ready the ships’ tackle, and hide the reason |
| dissimulent ; sese interea, quando optima Dido nesciat et tantos rumpi non speret amores, temptaturum aditus et quæ mollissima fandi tempora, quis rebus dexter modus. ocius omnes imperio læti parent et jussa facessunt. | 295 | for these changes of plan. He in the meantime, since the excellent Dido knew nothing, and would not expect the breaking off of such a love, would seek an approach, the tenderest moment to speak, and a favorable means. They all gladly obeyed his command at once, and did his bidding. |
| At regina dolos (quis fallere possit amantem?) præsensit, motusque excepit prima futuros omnia tuta timens. eadem impia Fama furenti detulit armari classem cursumque parari. sævit inops animi totamque incensa per urbem | 300 | But the queen sensed his tricks (who can deceive a lover?) and was first to anticipate future events, fearful even of safety. That same impious Rumor brought her madness: they are fitting out the fleet, and planning a journey. Her mind weakened, she raves, and, on fire, runs wild |
| bacchatur, qualis commotis excita sacris Thyias, ubi audito stimulant trieterica Baccho orgia nocturnusque vocat clamore Cithæron. tandem his Ænean compellat vocibus ultro : « dissimulare etiam sperasti, perfide, tantum | 305 | through the city: like a Mænad, thrilled by the shaken emblems of the god, when the biennial festival rouses her, and, hearing the Bacchic cry, Mount Cithæron summons her by night with its noise. Of her own accord she finally reproaches Æneas in these words: “Faithless one, did you really think you could hide |
| posse nefas tacitusque mea decedere terra? nec te noster amor nec te data dextera quondam nec moritura tenet crudeli funere Dido? quin etiam hiberno moliri sidere classem et mediis properas Aquilonibus ire per altum, | 310 | such wickedness, and vanish from my land in silence? Will my love not hold you, nor the pledge I once gave you, nor the promise that Dido will die a cruel death? Even in winter do you labor over your ships, cruel one, so as to sail the high seas at the height of the northern gales? |
| crudelis? quid, si non arva aliena domosque ignotas peteres, et Troja antiqua maneret, Troja per undosum peteretur classibus æquor? mene fugis? per ego has lacrimas dextramque tuam te (quando aliud mihi jam miseræ nihil ipsa reliqui), | 315 | Why? If you were not seeking foreign lands and unknown settlements, but ancient Troy still stood, would Troy be sought out by your ships in wave-torn seas? Is it me you run from? I beg you, by these tears, by your own right hand (since I’ve left myself no other recourse in my misery), |
| per conubia nostra, per inceptos hymenæos, si bene quid de te merui, fuit aut tibi quicquam dulce meum, miserere domus labentis et istam, oro, si quis adhuc precibus locus, exue mentem. te propter Libycæ gentes Nomadumque tyranni | 320 | by our union, by the marriage we have begun, if ever I deserved well of you, or anything of me was sweet to you, pity this ruined house, and if there is any room left for prayer, change your mind. The Libyan peoples and Numidian rulers hate me because of you: |
| odere, infensi Tyrii ; te propter eundem exstinctus pudor et, qua sola sidera adibam, fama prior. cui me moribundam deseris hospes (hoc solum nomen quoniam de conjuge restat)? quid moror? an mea Pygmalion dum mœnia frater | 325 | my Tyrians are hostile: because of you all shame too is lost, the reputation I had, by which alone I might reach the stars. My guest, since that’s all that is left me from the name of husband, to whom do you relinquish me, a dying woman? Why do I stay? Until Pygmalion, my brother, destroys |
| destruat aut captam ducat Gætulus Ïarbas? saltem si qua mihi de te suscepta fuisset ante fugam suboles, si quis mihi parvulus aula luderet Æneas, qui te tamen ore referret, non equidem omnino capta ac deserta viderer. » | 330 | the city, or Iarbas the Gætulian takes me captive? If I’d at least conceived a child of yours before you fled, if a little Æneas were playing about my halls, whose face might still recall yours, I’d not feel myself so utterly deceived and forsaken.” |
| Dixerat. ille Jovis monitis immota tenebat lumina et obnixus curam sub corde premebat. tandem pauca refert : « ego te, quæ plurima fando enumerare vales, numquam, regina, negabo promeritam, nec me meminisse pigebit Elissæ | 335 | She had spoken. He set his gaze firmly on Jupiter’s warnings, and hid his pain steadfastly in his heart. He replied briefly at last: “O queen, I will never deny that you deserve the most that can be spelt out in speech, nor will I regret my thoughts of you, Elissa, |
| dum memor ipse mei, dum spiritus hos regit artus. pro re pauca loquar. neque ego hanc abscondere furto speravi (ne finge) fugam, nec conjugis umquam prætendi tædas aut hæc in fœdera veni. me si fata meis paterentur ducere vitam | 340 | while memory itself is mine, and breath controls these limbs. I’ll speak about the reality a little. I did not expect to conceal my departure by stealth (don’t think that), nor have I ever held the marriage torch, or entered into that pact. If the fates had allowed me to live my life under my own |
| auspiciis et sponte mea componere curas, urbem Trojanam primum dulcisque meorum reliquias colerem, Priami tecta alta manerent, et recidiva manu posuissem Pergama victis. sed nunc Italiam magnam Gryneus Apollo, | 345 | auspices, and attend to my own concerns as I wished, I should first have cared for the city of Troy and the sweet relics of my family, Priam’s high roofs would remain, and I’d have recreated Pergama, with my own hands, for the defeated. But now it is Italy that Apollo of Grynium, |
| Italiam Lyciæ jussere capessere sortes ; hic amor, hæc patria est. si te Karthaginis arces Phœnissam Libycæque aspectus detinet urbis, quæ tandem Ausonia Teucros considere terra invidia est? et nos fas extera quærere regna. | 350 | Italy, that the Lycian oracles, order me to take: that is my desire, that is my country. If the turrets of Carthage and the sight of your Libyan city occupy you, a Phœnician, why then begrudge the Trojans their settling of Ausonia’s lands? It is right for us too to search out a foreign kingdom. |
| me patris Anchisæ, quotiens umentibus umbris nox operit terras, quotiens astra ignea surgunt, admonet in somnis et turbida terret imago ; me puer Ascanius capitisque injuria cari, quem regno Hesperiæ fraudo et fatalibus arvis. | 355 | As often as night cloaks the earth with dew-wet shadows, as often as the burning constellations rise, the troubled image of my father Anchises warns and terrifies me in dream: about my son Ascanius and the wrong to so dear a person, whom I cheat of a Hesperian kingdom, and pre-destined fields. |
| nunc etiam interpres divum Jove missus ab ipso (testor utrumque caput) celeris mandata per auras detulit : ipse deum manifesto in lumine vidi intrantem muros vocemque his auribus hausi. desine meque tuis incendere teque querelis ; | 360 | Now even the messenger of the gods, sent by Jupiter himself, (I swear it on both our heads), has brought the command on the swift breeze: I saw the god himself in broad daylight enter the city and these very ears drank of his words. Stop rousing yourself and me with your complaints. |
| Italiam non sponte sequor. » Talia dicentem jamdudum aversa tuetur huc illuc volvens oculos totumque pererrat luminibus tacitis et sic accensa profatur : « nec tibi diva parens generis nec Dardanus auctor, | 365 | I do not take course for Italy of my own free will.” As he was speaking she gazed at him with hostility, casting her eyes here and there, considering the whole man with a silent stare, and then, incensed, she spoke: “Deceiver, your mother was no goddess, nor was Dardanus |
| perfide, sed duris genuit te cautibus horrens Caucasus Hyrcanæque admorunt ubera tigres. nam quid dissimulo aut quæ me ad majora reservo? num fletu ingemuit nostro? num lumina flexit? num lacrimas victus dedit aut miseratus amantem est? | 370 | the father of your race: harsh Caucasus engendered you on the rough crags, and Hyrcanian tigers nursed you. Why pretend now, or restrain myself waiting for something worse? Did he groan at my weeping? Did he look at me? Did he shed tears in defeat, or pity his lover? |
| quæ quibus anteferam? jam jam nec maxima Juno nec Saturnius hæc oculis pater aspicit æquis. nusquam tuta fides. ejectum litore, egentem excepi et regni demens in parte locavi. amissam classem, socios a morte reduxi | 375 | What is there to say after this? Now neither greatest Juno, indeed, nor Jupiter, son of Saturn, are gazing at this with friendly eyes. Nowhere is truth safe. I welcomed him as a castaway on the shore, a beggar, and foolishly gave away a part of my kingdom: I saved his lost fleet, and his friends from death. |
| (heu furiis incensa feror!): nunc augur Apollo, nunc Lyciæ sortes, nunc et Jove missus ab ipso interpres divum fert horrida jussa per auras. scilicet is superis labor est, ea cura quietos sollicitat. neque te teneo neque dicta refello : | 380 | Ah! Driven by the Furies, I burn: now prophetic Apollo, now the Lycian oracles, now even a divine messenger sent by Jove himself carries his orders through the air. This is the work of the gods indeed, this is a concern to trouble their calm. I do not hold you back, or refute your words: |
| i, sequere Italiam ventis, pete regna per undas. spero equidem mediis, si quid pia numina possunt, supplicia hausurum scopulis et nomine Dido sæpe vocaturum. sequar atris ignibus absens et, quum frigida mors anima seduxerit artus, | 385 | go, seek Italy on the winds, find your kingdom over the waves. Yet if the virtuous gods have power, I hope that you will drain the cup of suffering among the reefs, and call out Dido’s name again and again. Absent, I’ll follow you with dark fires, and when icy death has divided my soul and body, my ghost |
| omnibus umbra locis adero. dabis, improbe, pœnas. audiam et hæc Manis veniet mihi fama sub imos. » his medium dictis sermonem abrumpit et auras ægra fugit seque ex oculis avertit et aufert, linquens multa metu cunctantem et multa parantem | 390 | will be present everywhere. Cruel one, you’ll be punished. I’ll hear of it: that news will reach me in the depths of Hades.” Saying this, she broke off her speech mid-flight, and fled the light in pain, turning from his eyes, and going, leaving him fearful and hesitant, ready to say more. |
| dicere. suscipiunt famulæ collapsaque membra marmoreo referunt thalamo stratisque reponunt. At pius Æneas, quamquam lenire dolentem solando cupit et dictis avertere curas, multa gemens magnoque animum labefactus amore | 395 | Her servants received her and carried her failing body to her marble chamber, and laid her on her bed. But dutiful Æneas, though he desired to ease her sadness by comforting her and to turn aside pain with words, still, with much sighing, and a heart shaken by the strength of her love, |
| jussa tamen divum exsequitur classemque revisit. tum vero Teucri incumbunt et litore celsas deducunt toto navis. natat uncta carina, frondentisque ferunt remos et robora silvis infabricata fugæ studio. | 400 | followed the divine command, and returned to the fleet. Then the Trojans truly set to work and launched the tall ships all along the shore. They floated the resinous keels, and ready for flight, they brought leafy branches and untrimmed trunks, from the woods, as oars. |
| migrantis cernas totaque ex urbe ruentis : ac velut ingentem formicæ farris acervum quum populant hiemis memores tectoque reponunt, it nigrum campis agmen prædamque per herbas convectant calle angusto ; pars grandia trudunt | 405 | You could see them hurrying and moving from every part of the city. Like ants that plunder a vast heap of grain, and store it in their nest, mindful of winter: a dark column gœs through the fields, and they carry their spoils along a narrow track through the grass: some heave |
| obnixæ frumenta umeris, pars agmina cogunt castigantque moras, opere omnis semita fervet. quis tibi tum, Dido, cernenti talia sensus, quosve dabas gemitus, quum litora fervere late prospiceres arce ex summa, totumque videres | 410 | with their shoulders against a large seed, and push, others tighten the ranks and punish delay, the whole path’s alive with work. What were your feelings Dido at such sights, what sighs did you give, watching the shore from the heights of the citadel, everywhere alive, and seeing the whole |
| misceri ante oculos tantis clamoribus æquor! improbe Amor, quid non mortalia pectora cogis! ire iterum in lacrimas, iterum temptare precando cogitur et supplex animos summittere amori, ne quid inexpertum frustra moritura relinquat. | 415 | sea, before your eyes, confused with such cries! Cruel Love, to what do you not drive the human heart: to burst into tears once more, to see once more if he can be compelled by prayers, to humbly submit to love, lest she leave anything untried, dying in vain. |
| « Anna, vides toto properari litore circum : undique convenere ; vocat jam carbasus auras, puppibus et læti nautæ imposuere coronas. hunc ego si potui tantum sperare dolorem, et perferre, soror, potero. miseræ hoc tamen unum | 420 | “Anna, you see them scurrying all round the shore: they’ve come from everywhere: the canvas already invites the breeze, and the sailors, delighted, have set garlands on the sterns. If I was able to foresee this great grief, sister, then I’ll be able to endure it too. Yet still do one thing |
| exsequere, Anna, mihi ; solam nam perfidus ille te colere, arcanos etiam tibi credere sensus ; sola viri mollis aditus et tempora noras. i, soror, atque hostem supplex affare superbum : non ego cum Danais Trojanam exscindere gentem | 425 | for me in my misery, Anna: since the deceiver cultivated only you, even trusting you with his private thoughts: and only you know the time to approach the man easily. Go, sister, and speak humbly to my proud enemy. I never took the oath, with the Greeks at Aulis, |
| Aulide juravi classemve ad Pergama misi, nec patris Anchisæ cinerem manisve revelli : cur mea dicta negat duras demittere in auris? quo ruit? extremum hoc miseræ det munus amanti : exspectet facilemque fugam ventosque ferentis. | 430 | to destroy the Trojan race, or sent a fleet to Pergama, or disturbed the ashes and ghost of his father Anchises: why dœs he pitilessly deny my words access to his hearing? Where dœs he run to? Let him give his poor lover this last gift: let him wait for an easy voyage and favorable winds. |
| non jam conjugium antiquum, quod prodidit, oro, nec pulchro ut Latio careat regnumque relinquat : tempus inane peto, requiem spatiumque furori, dum mea me victam doceat fortuna dolere. extremam hanc oro veniam (miserere sororis), | 435 | I don’t beg now for our former tie, that he has betrayed, nor that he give up his beautiful Latium, and abandon his kingdom: I ask for insubstantial time: peace and space for my passion, while fate teaches my beaten spirit to grieve. I beg for this last favor (pity your sister): |
| quam mihi quum dederit cumulatam morte remittam. » Talibus orabat, talisque miserrima fletus fertque refertque soror. sed nullis ille movetur fletibus aut voces ullas tractabilis audit ; fata obstant placidasque viri deus obstruit auris. | 440 | when he has granted it me, I’ll repay all by dying.” Such are the prayers she made, and such are those her unhappy sister carried and re-carried. But he was not moved by tears, and listened to no words receptively: Fate barred the way, and a god sealed the hero’s gentle hearing. |
| ac velut annoso validam quum robore quercum Alpini Boreæ nunc hinc nunc flatibus illinc eruere inter se certant ; it stridor, et altæ consternunt terram concusso stipite frondes ; ipsa hæret scopulis et quantum vertice ad auras | 445 | As when northerly blasts from the Alps blowing here and there vie together to uproot an oak tree, tough with the strength of years: there’s a creak, and the trunk quivers and the topmost leaves strew the ground: but it clings to the rocks, and its roots |
| ætherias, tantum radice in Tartara tendit : haud secus assiduis hinc atque hinc vocibus heros tunditur, et magno persentit pectore curas ; mens immota manet, lacrimæ volvuntur inanes. Tum vero infelix fatis exterrita Dido | 450 | stretch as far down to Tartarus as its crown dœs towards the heavens: so the hero was buffeted by endless pleas from this side and that, and felt the pain in his noble heart. His purpose remained fixed: tears fell uselessly. Then the unhappy Dido, truly appalled by her fate, |
| mortem orat ; tædet cæli convexa tueri. quo magis inceptum peragat lucemque relinquat, vidit, turicremis quum dona imponeret aris, (horrendum dictu) latices nigrescere sacros fusaque in obscenum se vertere vina cruorem ; | 455 | prayed for death: she was weary of gazing at the vault of heaven. And that she might complete her purpose, and relinquish the light more readily, when she placed her offerings on the altar alight with incense, she saw (terrible to speak of!) the holy water blacken, and the wine she had poured change to vile blood. |
| hoc visum nulli, non ipsi effata sorori. præterea fuit in tectis de marmore templum conjugis antiqui, miro quod honore colebat, velleribus niveis et festa fronde revinctum : hinc exaudiri voces et verba vocantis | 460 | She spoke of this vision to no one, not even her sister. There was a marble shrine to her former husband in the palace, that she’d decked out, also, with marvellous beauty, with snow-white fleeces, and festive greenery: from it she seemed to hear voices and her husband’s words |
| visa viri, nox quum terras obscura teneret, solaque culminibus ferali carmine bubo sæpe queri et longas in fletum ducere voces ; multaque præterea vatum prædicta priorum terribili monitu horrificant. agit ipse furentem | 465 | calling her, when dark night gripped the earth: and the lonely owl on the roofs often grieved with ill-omened cries, drawing out its long call in a lament: and many a prophecy of the ancient seers terrified her with its dreadful warning. Harsh Æneas himself persecuted |
| in somnis ferus Æneas, semperque relinqui sola sibi, semper longam incomitata videtur ire viam et Tyrios deserta quærere terra, Eumenidum veluti demens videt agmina Pentheus et solem geminum et duplices se ostendere Thebas, | 470 | her, in her crazed sleep: always she was forsaken, alone with herself, always she seemed to be travelling companionless on some long journey, seeking her Tyrian people in a deserted landscape: like Pentheus, deranged, seeing the Furies file past, and twin suns and a twin Thebes revealed to view, |
| aut Agamemnonius scænis agitatus Orestes, armatam facibus matrem et serpentibus atris quum fugit ultricesque sedent in limine Diræ. Ergo ubi concepit furias evicta dolore decrevitque mori, tempus secum ipsa modumque | 475 | or like Agamemnon’s son Orestes driven across the stage when he flees his mother’s ghost armed with firebrands and black snakes, while the avenging Furies crouch on the threshold. So that when, overcome by anguish, she harboured the madness, and determined on death, she debated with herself over the time |
| exigit, et mæstam dictis aggressa sororem consilium vultu tegit ac spem fronte serenat : « inveni, germana, viam (gratare sorori) quæ mihi reddat eum vel eo me solvat amantem. Oceani finem juxta solemque cadentem | 480 | and the method, and going to her sorrowful sister with a face that concealed her intent, calm, with hope on her brow, said: “Sister, I’ve found a way (rejoice with your sister) that will return him to me, or free me from loving him. Near the ends of the Ocean and where the sun sets |
| ultimus Æthiopum locus est, ubi maximus Atlas axem umero torquet stellis ardentibus aptum : hinc mihi Massylæ gentis monstrata sacerdos, Hesperidum templi custos, epulasque draconi quæ dabat et sacros servabat in arbore ramos, | 485 | Ethiopia lies, the furthest of lands, where Atlas, mightiest of all, turns the sky set with shining stars: I’ve been told of a priestess, of Massylian race, there, a keeper of the temple of the Hesperides, who gave the dragon its food, and guarded the holy branches of the tree, |
| spargens umida mella soporiferumque papaver. hæc se carminibus promittit solvere mentes quas velit, ast aliis duras immittere curas, sistere aquam fluviis et vertere sidera retro, nocturnosque movet Manis : mugire videbis | 490 | scattering the honeydew and sleep-inducing poppies. With her incantations she promises to set free what hearts she wishes, but bring cruel pain to others: to stop the rivers flowing, and turn back the stars: she wakes nocturnal Spirits: you’ll see earth yawn |
| sub pedibus terram et descendere montibus ornos. testor, cara, deos et te, germana, tuumque dulce caput, magicas invitam accingier artis. tu secreta pyram tecto interiore sub auras erige, et arma viri thalamo quæ fixa reliquit | 495 | under your feet, and the ash trees march from the hills. You, and the gods, and your sweet life, are witness, dear sister, that I arm myself with magic arts unwillingly. Build a pyre, secretly, in an inner courtyard, open to the sky, and place the weapons on it which that impious man left |
| impius exuviasque omnis lectumque jugalem, quo perii, super imponas : abolere nefandi cuncta viri monumenta juvat monstratque sacerdos. » hæc effata silet, pallor simul occupat ora. non tamen Anna novis prætexere funera sacris | 500 | hanging in my room, and the clothes, and the bridal bed that undid me: I want to destroy all memories of that wicked man, and the priestess commends it.” Saying this she fell silent: at the same time a pallor spread over her face. Anna did not yet realise that her sister |
| germanam credit, nec tantos mente furores concipit aut graviora timet quam morte Sychæi. ergo jussa parat. At regina, pyra penetrali in sede sub auras erecta ingenti tædis atque ilice secta, | 505 | was disguising her own funeral with these strange rites, her mind could not conceive of such intensity, and she feared nothing more serious than when Sychæus died. So she prepared what was demanded. But when the pyre of cut pine and oak was raised high, |
| intenditque locum sertis et fronde coronat funerea ; super exuvias ensemque relictum effigiemque toro locat haud ignara futuri. stant aræ circum et crinis effusa sacerdos ter centum tonat ore deos, Erebumque Chaosque | 510 | in an innermost court open to the sky, the queen hung the place with garlands, and wreathed it with funereal foliage: she laid his sword and clothes and picture on the bed, not unmindful of the ending. Altars stand round about, and the priestess, with loosened hair, intoned the names of three hundred gods, of Erebus, Chaos, |
| tergeminamque Hecaten, tria virginis ora Dianæ. sparserat et latices simulatos fontis Averni, falcibus et messæ ad lunam quæruntur aënis pubentes herbæ nigri cum lacte veneni ; quæritur et nascentis equi de fronte revulsus | 515 | and the triple Hecate, the three faces of virgin Diana. And she sprinkled water signifying the founts of Avernus: there were herbs too acquired by moonlight, cut with a bronze sickle, moist with the milk of dark venom: and a caul acquired by tearing it from a newborn colt’s brow, |
| et matri præreptus amor. ipsa mola manibusque piis altaria juxta unum exuta pedem vinclis, in veste recincta, testatur moritura deos et conscia fati sidera ; tum, si quod non æquo fœdere amantis | 520 | forestalling the mother’s love. She herself, near the altars, with sacred grain in purified hands, one foot free of constraint, her clothing loosened, called on the gods to witness her coming death, and on the stars conscious of fate: then she prayed to whatever just and attentive power |
| curæ numen habet justumque memorque, precatur. Nox erat et placidum carpebant fessa soporem corpora per terras, silvæque et sæva quierant æquora, quum medio volvuntur sidera lapsu, quum tacet omnis ager, pecudes pictæque volucres, | 525 | there might be, that cares for unrequited lovers. It was night, and everywhere weary creatures were enjoying peaceful sleep, the woods and the savage waves were resting, while stars wheeled midway in their gliding orbit, while all the fields were still, and beasts and colourful birds, |
| quæque lacus late liquidos quæque aspera dumis rura tenent, somno positæ sub nocte silenti. [lenibant curas et corda oblita laborum.] at non infelix animi Phœnissa, neque umquam solvitur in somnos oculisve aut pectore noctem | 530 | those that live on wide scattered lakes, and those that live in rough country among the thorn-bushes, were sunk in sleep in the silent night. But not the Phœnician, unhappy in spirit, she did not relax in sleep, or receive the darkness into her eyes |
| accipit : ingeminant curæ rursusque resurgens sævit amor magnoque irarum fluctuat æstu. sic adeo insistit secumque ita corde volutat : « en, quid ago? rursusne procos irrisa priores experiar, Nomadumque petam conubia supplex, | 535 | and breast: her cares redoubled, and passion, alive once more, raged, and she swelled with a great tide of anger. So she began in this way turning it over alone in her heart: “See, what can I do? Be mocked trying my former suitors, seeking marriage humbly with Numidians whom I |
| quos ego sim totiens jam dedignata maritos? Iliacas igitur classis atque ultima Teucrum jussa sequar? quiane auxilio juvat ante levatos et bene apud memores veteris stat gratia facti? quis me autem, fac velle, sinet ratibusve superbis | 540 | have already disdained so many times as husbands? Shall I follow the Trojan fleet then and that Teucrian’s every whim? Because they might delight in having been helped by my previous aid, or because gratitude for past deeds might remain truly fixed in their memories? Indeed who, given I wanted to, would let me, or would take |
| invisam accipiet? nescis heu, perdita, necdum Laomedonteæ sentis perjuria gentis? quid tum? sola fuga nautas comitabor ovantis? an Tyriis omnique manu stipata meorum inferar et, quos Sidonia vix urbe revelli, | 545 | one they hate on board their proud ships? Ah, lost girl, do you not know or feel yet the treachery of Laomedon’s race? What then? Shall I go alone, accompanying triumphant sailors? Or with all my band of Tyrians clustered round me? Shall I again drive my men to sea in pursuit, those whom I could barely tear away from their Sidonian city, |
| rursus agam pelago et ventis dare vela jubebo? quin morere ut merita es, ferroque averte dolorem. tu lacrimis evicta meis, tu prima furentem his, germana, malis oneras atque objicis hosti. non licuit thalami expertem sine crimine vitam | 550 | and order them to spread their sails to the wind? Rather die, as you deserve, and turn away sorrow with steel. You, my sister, conquered by my tears, in my madness, you first burdened me with these ills, and exposed me to my enemy. I was not allowed to pass my life without blame, free of marriage, |
| degere more feræ, talis nec tangere curas ; non servata fides cineri promissa Sychæo. » Tantos illa suo rumpebat pectore questus : Æneas celsa in puppi jam certus eundi carpebat somnos rebus jam rite paratis. | 555 | in the manner of some wild creature, never knowing such pain: I have not kept the vow I made to Sychæus’s ashes.” Such was the lament that burst from her heart. Now that everything was ready, and he was resolved on going, Æneas was snatching some sleep, on the ship’s high stern. |
| huic se forma dei vultu redeuntis eodem obtulit in somnis rursusque ita visa monere est, omnia Mercurio similis, vocemque coloremque et crinis flavos et membra decora juventa : « nate dea, potes hoc sub casu ducere somnos, | 560 | That vision appeared again in dream admonishing him, similar to Mercury in every way, voice and colouring, golden hair, and youth’s graceful limbs: “Son of the Goddess, can you consider sleep in this disaster, |
| nec quæ te circum stent deinde pericula cernis, demens, nec Zephyros audis spirare secundos? illa dolos dirumque nefas in pectore versat certa mori, variosque irarum concitat æstus. non fugis hinc præceps, dum præcipitare potestas? | 565 | can’t you see the danger of it that surrounds you, madman or hear the favorable west winds blowing? Determined to die, she broods on mortal deceit and sin, and is tossed about on anger’s volatile flood. Won’t you flee from here, in haste, while you can hasten? |
| jam mare turbari trabibus sævasque videbis collucere faces, jam fervere litora flammis, si te his attigerit terris Aurora morantem. heja age, rumpe moras! varium et mutabile semper femina. » sic fatus nocti se immiscuit atræ. | 570 | Soon you’ll see the water crowded with ships, cruel firebrands burning, soon the shore will rage with flame, if the Dawn finds you lingering in these lands. Come, now, end your delay! Woman is ever fickle and changeable.” So he spoke, and blended with night’s darkness. |
| Tum vero Æneas subitis exterritus umbris corripit e somno corpus sociosque fatigat præcipitis : « vigilate, viri, et considite transtris ; solvite vela citi. deus æthere missus ab alto festinare fugam tortosque incidere funis | 575 | Then Æneas, terrified indeed by the sudden apparition, roused his body from sleep, and called to his friends: “ Quick, men, awake, and man the rowing-benches: run and loosen the sails. Know that a god, sent from the heavens, urges us again to speed our flight, and cut the twisted hawsers. |
| ecce iterum instimulat. sequimur te, sancte deorum, quisquis es, imperioque iterum paremus ovantes. adsis o placidusque juves et sidera cælo dextra feras. » dixit vaginaque eripit ensem fulmineum strictoque ferit retinacula ferro. | 580 | We follow you, whœver you may be, sacred among the gods, and gladly obey your commands once more. Oh, be with us, calm one, help us, and show stars favorable to us in the sky.” He spoke, and snatched his shining sword from its sheath, and struck the cable with the naked blade. All were possessed |
| idem omnis simul ardor habet, rapiuntque ruuntque ; litora deservere, latet sub classibus æquor, annixi torquent spumas et cærula verrunt. Et jam prima novo spargebat lumine terras Tithoni croceum linquens Aurora cubile. | 585 | at once with the same ardor: They snatched up their goods, and ran: abandoning the shore: the water was clothed with ships: setting to, they churned the foam and swept the blue waves. And now, at dawn, Aurora, leaving Tithonus’s saffron bed, was scattering fresh daylight over the earth. |
| regina e speculis ut primam albescere lucem vidit et æquatis classem procedere velis, litoraque et vacuos sensit sine remige portus, terque quaterque manu pectus percussa decorum flaventisque abscissa comas « pro Juppiter! ibit | 590 | As soon as the queen saw the day whiten, from her tower, and the fleet sailing off under full canvas, and realised the shore and harbor were empty of oarsmen, she struck her lovely breast three or four times with her hand, and tearing at her golden hair, said: “Ah, Jupiter, is he to leave, |
| hic, » ait « et nostris illuserit advena regnis? non arma expedient totaque ex urbe sequentur, diripientque rates alii navalibus? ite, ferte citi flammas, date tela, impellite remos! quid loquor? aut ubi sum? quæ mentem insania mutat? | 595 | is a foreigner to pour scorn on our kingdom? Shall my Tyrians ready their armor, and follow them out of the city, and others drag our ships from their docks? Go, bring fire quickly, hand out the weapons, drive the oars! What am I saying? Where am I? What madness twists my thoughts? Wretched Dido, is it now |
| infelix Dido, nunc te facta impia tangunt? tum decuit, quum sceptra dabas. en dextra fidesque, quem secum patrios ajunt portare penatis, quem subiisse umeris confectum ætate parentem! non potui abreptum divellere corpus et undis | 600 | that your impious actions hurt you? The right time was then, when you gave him the crown. So this is the word and loyalty of the man whom they say bears his father’s gods around, of the man who carried his age-worn father on his shoulders? Couldn’t I have seized hold of him, torn his body apart, |
| spargere? non socios, non ipsum absumere ferro Ascanium patriisque epulandum ponere mensis? verum anceps pugnæ fuerat fortuna. fuisset : quem metui moritura? faces in castra tulissem implessemque foros flammis natumque patremque | 605 | and scattered him on the waves? And put his friends to the sword, and Ascanius even, to feast on, as a course at his father’s table? True the fortunes of war are uncertain. Let them be so: as one about to die, whom had I to fear? I should have set fire to his camp, filled the decks with flames, and extinguishing |
| cum genere exstinxem, memet super ipsa dedissem. Sol, qui terrarum flammis opera omnia lustras, tuque harum interpres curarum et conscia Juno, nocturnisque Hecate triviis ululata per urbes et Diræ ultrices et di morientis Elissæ, | 610 | father and son, and their whole race, given up my own life as well. O Sun, you who illuminate all the works of this world, and you Juno, interpreter and knower of all my pain, and Hecate howled to, in cities, at midnight crossroads, you, avenging Furies, and you, gods of dying Elissa, |
| accipite hæc, meritumque malis advertite numen et nostras audite preces. si tangere portus infandum caput ac terris adnare necesse est, et sic fata Jovis poscunt, hic terminus hæret, at bello audacis populi vexatus et armis, | 615 | acknowledge this, direct your righteous will to my troubles, and hear my prayer. If it must be that the accursed one should reach the harbor, and sail to the shore: if Jove’s destiny for him requires it, there his goal: still, troubled in war by the armies of a proud race, |
| finibus extorris, complexu avulsus Juli auxilium imploret videatque indigna suorum funera ; nec, quum se sub leges pacis iniquæ tradiderit, regno aut optata luce fruatur, sed cadat ante diem mediaque inhumatus harena. | 620 | exiled from his territories, torn from Julus’s embrace, let him beg help, and watch the shameful death of his people: then, when he has surrendered, to a peace without justice, may he not enjoy his kingdom or the days he longed for, but let him die before his time, and lie unburied on the sand. |
| hæc precor, hanc vocem extremam cum sanguine fundo. tum vos, o Tyrii, stirpem et genus omne futurum exercete odiis, cinerique hæc mittite nostro munera : nullus amor populis nec fœdera sunto. exoriare aliquis nostris ex ossibus ultor | 625 | This I pray, these last words I pour out with my blood. Then, O Tyrians, pursue my hatred against his whole line and the race to come, and offer it as a tribute to my ashes. Let there be no love or treaties between our peoples. Rise, some unknown avenger, from my dust, who will pursue |
| qui face Dardanios ferroque sequare colonos, nunc, olim, quocumque dabunt se tempore vires. litora litoribus contraria, fluctibus undas imprecor, arma armis : pugnent ipsique nepotesque. » Hæc ait, et partis animum versabat in omnis, | 630 | the Trojan colonists with fire and sword, now, or in time to come, whenever the strength is granted him. I pray that shore be opposed to shore, water to wave, weapon to weapon: let them fight, them and their descendants.” She spoke, and turned her thoughts this way and that, |
| invisam quærens quam primum abrumpere lucem. tum breviter Barcen nutricem affata Sychæi, namque suam patria antiqua cinis ater habebat : « Annam, cara mihi nutrix, huc siste sororem : dic corpus properet fluviali spargere lympha, | 635 | considering how to destroy her hateful life. Then she spoke briefly to Barce, Sychæus’s nurse, since dark ashes concealed her own, in her former country: “Dear nurse, bring my sister Anna here: tell her to hurry, and sprinkle herself with water from the river, |
| et pecudes secum et monstrata piacula ducat. sic veniat, tuque ipsa pia tege tempora vitta. sacra Jovi Stygio, quæ rite incepta paravi, perficere est animus finemque imponere curis Dardaniique rogum capitis permittere flammæ. » | 640 | and bring the sacrificial victims and noble offerings. Let her come, and you yourself veil your brow with sacred ribbons. My purpose is to complete the rites of Stygian Jupiter, that I commanded, and have duly begun, and put an end to sorrow, and entrust the pyre of that Trojan leader to the flames.” |
| sic ait, illa gradum studio celebrabat anili. at trepida et cœptis immanibus effera Dido sanguineam volvens aciem, maculisque trementis interfusa genas et pallida morte futura, interiora domus irrumpit limina et altos | 645 | So she said. The old woman zealously hastened her steps. But Dido restless, wild with desperate purpose, rolling her bloodshot eyes, her trembling cheeks stained with red flushes, yet pallid at approaching death, rushed into the house through its inner threshold, furiously |
| conscendit furibunda rogos ensemque recludit Dardanium, non hos quæsitum munus in usus. hic, postquam Iliacas vestis notumque cubile conspexit, paulum lacrimis et mente morata incubuitque toro dixitque novissima verba : | 650 | climbed the tall funeral pyre, and unsheathed a Trojan sword, a gift that was never acquired to this end. Then as she saw the Ilian clothing and the familiar couch, she lingered a while, in tears and thought, then cast herself on the bed, and spoke her last words: |
| « dulces exuviæ, dum fata deusque sinebat, accipite hanc animam meque his exsolvite curis. vixi et quem dederat cursum Fortuna peregi, et nunc magna mei sub terras ibit imago. urbem præclaram statui, mea mœnia vidi, | 655 | “Reminders, sweet while fate and the god allowed it, accept this soul, and loose me from my sorrows. I have lived, and I have completed the course that Fortune granted, and now my noble spirit will pass beneath the earth. I have built a bright city: I have seen its battlements, |
| ulta virum pœnas inimico a fratre recepi, felix, heu nimium felix, si litora tantum numquam Dardaniæ tetigissent nostra carinæ. » dixit, et os impressa toro « moriemur inultæ, sed moriamur » ait, « sic, sic juvat ire sub umbras. | 660 | avenging a husband I have exacted punishment on a hostile brother, happy, ah, happy indeed if Trojan keels had never touched my shores!” She spoke, and buried her face in the couch. “I shall die un-avenged, but let me die,” she cried. |
| hauriat hunc oculis ignem crudelis ab alto Dardanus, et nostræ secum ferat omina mortis. » dixerat, atque illam media inter talia ferro collapsam aspiciunt comites, ensemque cruore spumantem sparsasque manus. it clamor ad alta | 665 | “So, so I joy in travelling into the shadows. Let the cruel Trojan’s eyes drink in this fire, on the deep, and bear with him the evil omen of my death.” She had spoken, and in the midst of these words, her servants saw she had fallen on the blade, the sword frothed with blood, and her hands were stained. |
| atria : concussam bacchatur Fama per urbem. lamentis gemituque et femineo ululatu tecta fremunt, resonat magnis plangoribus æther, non aliter quam si immissis ruat hostibus omnis Karthago aut antiqua Tyros, flammæque furentes | 670 | A cry rose to the high ceiling: Rumour, run riot, struck the city. The houses sounded with weeping and sighs and women’s cries, the sky echœd with a mighty lamentation, as if all Carthage or ancient Tyre were falling to the invading enemy, and raging flames were rolling |
| culmina perque hominum volvantur perque deorum. audiit exanimis trepidoque exterrita cursu unguibus ora soror fœdans et pectora pugnis per medios ruit, ac morientem nomine clamat : « hoc illud, germana, fuit? me fraude petebas? | 675 |
over the roofs of men and gods. Her sister, terrified, heard it, and rushed through the crowd, tearing her cheeks with her nails, and beating her breast, and called out to the dying woman in accusation: “So this was the meaning of it, sister? Did you aim to cheat me? |
| hoc rogus iste mihi, hoc ignes aræque parabant? quid primum deserta querar? comitemne sororem sprevisti moriens? eadem me ad fata vocasses, idem ambas ferro dolor atque eadem hora tulisset. his etiam struxi manibus patriosque vocavi | 680 | This pyre of yours, this fire and altar were prepared for my sake? What shall I grieve for first in my abandonment? Did you scorn your sister’s company in dying? You should have summoned me to the same fate: the same hour the same sword’s hurt should have taken us both. I even built your pyre with these hands, and was I calling aloud on our father’s gods, |
| voce deos, sic te ut posita, crudelis, abessem? exstinxti te meque, soror, populumque patresque Sidonios urbemque tuam. date, vulnera lymphis abluam et, extremus si quis super halitus errat, ore legam. » sic fata gradus evaserat altos, | 685 | so that I would be absent, cruel one, as you lay here? You have extinguished yourself and me, sister: your people, your Sidonian ancestors, and your city. I should bathe your wounds with water and catch with my lips whatever dying breath still hovers.” So saying she climbed |
| semianimemque sinu germanam amplexa fovebat quum gemitu atque atros siccabat veste cruores. illa gravis oculos conata attollere rursus deficit ; infixum stridit sub pectore vulnus. ter sese attollens cubitoque annixa levavit, | 690 | the high levels, and clasped her dying sister to her breast, sighing, and stemming the dark blood with her dress. Dido tried to lift her heavy eyelids again, but failed: and the deep wound hissed in her breast. Lifting herself three times, she struggled to rise on her elbow: |
| ter revoluta toro est oculisque errantibus alto quæsivit cælo lucem ingemuitque reperta. Tum Juno omnipotens longum miserata dolorem difficilisque obitus Irim demisit Olympo quæ luctantem animam nexosque resolveret artus. | 695 | three times she fell back onto the bed, searching for light in the depths of heaven, with wandering eyes, and, finding it, sighed. Then all-powerful Juno, pitying the long suffering of her difficult death, sent Iris from Olympus, to release the struggling spirit, and captive body. For since |
| nam quia nec fato merita nec morte peribat, sed misera ante diem subitoque accensa furore, nondum illi flavum Proserpina vertice crinem abstulerat Stygioque caput damnaverat Orco. ergo Iris croceis per cælum roscida pennis | 700 | she had not died through fate, or by a well-earned death, but wretchedly, before her time, inflamed with sudden madness, Proserpine had not yet taken a lock of golden hair from her head, or condemned her soul to Stygian Orcus. So dew-wet Iris flew down through the sky, on saffron wings, |
| mille trahens varios adverso sole colores devolat et supra caput astitit : « hunc ego Diti sacrum jussa fero teque isto corpore solvo »: sic ait et dextra crinem secat, omnis et una dilapsus calor atque in ventos vita recessit. | 705 | trailing a thousand shifting colors across the sun, and hovered over her head. “I take this offering, sacred to Dis, as commanded, and release you from the body that was yours.” So she spoke, and cut the lock of hair with her right hand. All the warmth ebbed at once, and life vanished on the breeze. |
| Liber V | ⤊ | |
| P. VERGILII MARONIS ÆNEIDOS LIBER QUINTUS | ||
| Interea medium Æneas jam classe tenebat certus iter fluctusque atros Aquilone secabat mœnia respiciens, quæ jam infelicis Elissæ collucent flammis. quæ tantum accenderit ignem causa latet ; duri magno sed amore dolores | 5 | Meanwhile Æneas with the fleet was holding a fixed course now in the midst of the sea, cutting the waves, dark in a northerly wind, looking back at the city walls that were glowing now with unhappy Dido’s funeral flames. The reason that such a fire had been lit was unknown: but the cruel pain when a great love is |
| polluto, notumque furens quid femina possit, triste per augurium Teucrorum pectora ducunt. ut pelagus tenuere rates nec jam amplius ulla occurrit tellus, maria undique et undique cælum, olli cæruleus supra caput astitit imber | 10 | profaned, and the knowledge of what a frenzied woman might do, drove the minds of the Trojans to sombre forebodings. When the ships reached deep water and land was no longer in sight, but everywhere was sea, and sky was everywhere, then a dark-blue rain cloud hung overhead, bringing |
| noctem hiememque ferens et inhorruit unda tenebris. ipse gubernator puppi Palinurus ab alta : « heu quianam tanti cinxerunt æthera nimbi? quidve, pater Neptune, paras? » sic deinde locutus colligere arma jubet validisque incumbere remis, | 15 | night and storm, and the waves bristled with shadows. Palinurus the helmsman himself from the high stern cried: “Ah! Why have such storm clouds shrouded the sky? What do you intend, father Neptune?” So saying, next he ordered them to shorten sail, and bend to the heavy oars, |
| obliquatque sinus in ventum ac talia fatur : « magnanime Ænea, non, si mihi Juppiter auctor spondeat, hoc sperem Italiam contingere cælo. mutati transuersa fremunt et vespere ab atro consurgunt venti, atque in nubem cogitur āer. | 20 | then tacked against the wind, and spoke as follows: ‘Brave Æneas, I would not expect to make Italy with this sky, though guardian Jupiter promised it. The winds, rising from the darkened west, have shifted and roar across our path, and the air thickens for a storm. |
| nec nos obniti contra nec tendere tantum sufficimus. superat quoniam Fortuna, sequamur, quoque vocat vertamus iter. nec litora longe fida reor fraterna Erycis portusque Sicanos, si modo rite memor servata remetior astra. » | 25 | We cannot stand against it, or labor enough to weather it. Since Fortune overcomes us, let’s go with her, and set our course wherever she calls. I think your brother Eryx’s friendly shores are not far off, and the harbors of Sicily, if I only remember the stars I observed rightly.” |
| tum pius Æneas : « equidem sic poscere ventos jamdudum et frustra cerno te tendere contra. flecte viam velis. an sit mihi gratior ulla, quove magis fessas optem dimittere navis, quam quæ Dardanium tellus mihi servat Acesten | 30 | Then virtuous Æneas replied: “For my part I’ve seen for some time that the winds required it, and you’re steering into them in vain. Alter the course we sail. Is any land more welcome to me, any to which I’d prefer to steer my weary fleet, than that which protects my Trojan friend Acestes, |
| et patris Anchisæ gremio complectitur ossa? » hæc ubi dicta, petunt portus et vela secundi intendunt Zephyri ; fertur cita gurgite classis, et tandem læti notæ advertuntur harenæ. At procul ex celso miratus vertice montis | 35 | and holds the bones of my father Anchises to its breast?” Having said this they searched out the port, and following winds filled their sails: the ships sailed swiftly on the flood, and they turned at last in delight towards known shores. But Alcestes, on a high hill in the distance, wondered at the arrival |
| adventum sociasque rates occurrit Acestes, horridus in jaculis et pelle Libystidis ursæ, Troja Criniso conceptum flumine mater quem genuit. veterum non immemor ille parentum gratatur reduces et gaza lætus agresti | 40 | of friendly vessels, and met them, armed with javelins, in his Libyan she-bear’s pelt: he whom a Trojan mother bore, conceived of the river-god Crinisius. Not neglectful of his ancient lineage he rejoiced at their return, entertained them gladly with his rural riches, |
| excipit, ac fessos opibus solatur amicis. Postera quum primo stellas Oriente fugarat clara dies, socios in cœtum litore ab omni advocat Æneas tumulique ex aggere fatur : « Dardanidæ magni, genus alto a sanguine divum, | 45 | and comforted the weary with the assistance of a friend. When, in the following Dawn, bright day had put the stars to flight, Æneas called his companions together, from the whole shore, and spoke from a high mound: “Noble Trojans, people of the high lineage of the gods, |
| annuus exactis completur mensibus orbis, ex quo reliquias divinique ossa parentis condidimus terra mæstasque sacravimus aras ; jamque dies, nisi fallor, adest, quem semper acerbum, semper honoratum (sic di voluistis) habebo. | 50 | the year’s cycle is complete to the very month when we laid the bones, all that was left of my divine father, in the earth, and dedicated the sad altars. And now the day is here (that the gods willed) if I am not wrong, which I will always hold as bitter, always honored. |
| hunc ego Gætulis agerem si Syrtibus exsul, Argolicove mari deprensus et urbe Mycenæ, annua vota tamen sollemnisque ordine pompas exsequerer strueremque suis altaria donis. nunc ultro ad cineres ipsius et ossa parentis | 55 | If I were keeping it, exiled in Gætulian Syrtes, or caught on the Argive seas, or in Mycenæ’s city, I’d still conduct the yearly rite, and line of solemn procession, and heap up the due offerings on the altar. Now we even stand by the ashes and bones of my father |
| haud equidem sine mente, reor, sine numine divum assumus et portus delati intramus amicos. ergo agite et lætum cuncti celebremus honorem : poscamus ventos, atque hæc me sacra quotannis urbe velit posita templis sibi ferre dicatis. | 60 | (not for my part I think without the will and power of the gods) and carried to this place we have entered a friendly harbor. So come and let us all celebrate the sacrifice with joy: let us pray for a wind, and may he will me to offer these rites each year when my city is founded, in temples that are his. |
| bina boum vobis Troja generatus Acestes dat numero capita in navis ; adhibete penatis et patrios epulis et quos colit hospes Acestes. præterea, si nona diem mortalibus almum Aurora extulerit radiisque retexerit orbem, | 65 | Acestes, a Trojan born, gives you two head of oxen for every ship: Invite the household gods to our feast, our own and those whom Acestes our host worships. Also, when the ninth Dawn raises high the kindly light for mortal men, and reveals the world in her rays, |
| prima citæ Teucris ponam certamina classis ; quique pedum cursu valet, et qui viribus audax aut jaculo incedit melior levibusque sagittis, seu crudo fidit pugnam committere cæstu, cuncti assint meritæque exspectent præmia palmæ. | 70 | I will declare a Trojan Games: first a race between the swift ships: then those with ability in running, and those, daring in strength, who step forward, who are superior with javelin and slight arrows, or trust themselves to fight with rawhide gloves: let everyone be there and hope for the prize of a well-deserved |
| ore favete omnes et cingite tempora ramis. » Sic fatus velat materna tempora myrto. hoc Helymus facit, hoc ævi maturus Acestes, hoc puer Ascanius, sequitur quos cetera pubes. ille e concilio multis cum milibus ibat | 75 | palm branch. All be silent now, and wreathe your brows.” So saying he veiled his forehead with his mother’s myrtle. Helymus did likewise, Acestes of mature years, the boy Ascanius, and the rest of the people followed. Then he went with many thousands, from the gathering |
| ad tumulum magna medius comitante caterva. hic duo rite mero libans carchesia Baccho fundit humi, duo lacte novo, duo sanguine sacro, purpureosque jacit flores ac talia fatur : « salve, sancte parens, iterum ; salvete, recepti | 80 | to the grave-mound, in the midst of the vast accompanying throng. Here with due offering he poured two bowls of pure wine onto the ground, two of fresh milk, two of sacrificial blood, and, scattering bright petals, he spoke as follows: “Once more, hail, my sacred father: hail, spirit, |
| nequiquam cineres animæque umbræque paternæ. non licuit finis Italos fataliaque arva nec tecum Ausonium, quicumque est, quærere Thybrim. » dixerat hæc, adytis quum lubricus anguis ab imis septem ingens gyros, septena volumina traxit | 85 | ghost, ashes of my father, whom I rescued in vain. I was not allowed to search, with you, for Italy’s borders, our destined fields, or Ausonia’s Tiber, wherever it might be.” He had just finished speaking when a shining snake unwound each of its seven coils from the base of the shrine, |
| amplexus placide tumulum lapsusque per aras, cæruleæ cui terga notæ maculosus et auro squamam incendebat fulgor, ceu nubibus arcus mille jacit varios adverso sole colores. obstipuit visu Æneas. ille agmine longo | 90 | in seven large loops, placidly encircling the mound, and gliding among the altars, its back mottled with blue-green markings, and its scales burning with a golden sheen, as a rainbow forms a thousand varied colors in clouds opposite the sun. Æneas was stunned by the sight. Finally, with a long glide |
| tandem inter pateras et levia pocula serpens libavitque dapes rursusque innoxius imo successit tumulo et depasta altaria liquit. hoc magis inceptos genitori instaurat honores, incertus geniumne loci famulumne parentis | 95 | among the bowls and polished drinking cups, the serpent tasted the food, and, having fed, departed the altar, retreating harmlessly again into the depths of the tomb. Æneas returned more eagerly to the tribute to his father, uncertain whether to treat the snake as the guardian of the place, |
| esse putet ; cædit binas de more bidentis totque sues, totidem nigrantis terga juvencos, vinaque fundebat pateris animamque vocabat Anchisæ magni manisque Acheronte remissos. nec non et socii, quæ cuique est copia, læti | 100 | or as his father’s attendant spirit: he killed two sheep as customary, two pigs, and as many black-backed heifers: and poured wine from the bowls, and called on the spirit and shadow of great Anchises, released from Acheron. And his companions as well, brought gifts gladly, of which |
| dona ferunt, onerant aras mactantque juvencos ; ordine aëna locant alii fusique per herbam subjiciunt veribus prunas et viscera torrent. Exspectata dies aderat nonamque serena Auroram Phæthontis equi jam luce vehebant, | 105 | each had a store, piling high the altars, sacrificing bullocks: others set out rows of cauldrons, and scattered among the grass, placed live coals under the spits, and roasted the meat. The eagerly-awaited day had arrived, and now Phæthon’s horses brought a ninth dawn of cloudless light, |
| famaque finitimos et clari nomen Acestæ excierat ; læto complerant litora cœtu visuri Æneadas, pars et certare parati. munera principio ante oculos circoque locantur in medio, sacri tripodes viridesque coronæ | 110 | and Acestes’s name and reputation had roused the countryside: they thronged the shore, a joyous crowd, some to see Æneas and his men, others to compete. First the prizes were set out for them to see in the center of the circuit, sacred tripods, green crowns and palms, |
| et palmæ pretium victoribus, armaque et ostro perfusæ vestes, argenti aurique talenta ; et tuba commissos medio canit aggere ludos. Prima pares ineunt gravibus certamina remis quattuor ex omni delectæ classe carinæ. | 115 | rewards for the winners, armor, and clothes dyed with purple, and talents of silver and gold: and a trumpet sang out, from a central mound, that the games had begun. Four well-matched ships with heavy oars were chosen from the fleet for the first event. |
| velocem Mnestheus agit acri remige Pristim, mox Italus Mnestheus, genus a quo nomine Memmi, ingentemque Gyas ingenti mole Chimæram, urbis opus, triplici pubes quam Dardana versu impellunt, terno consurgunt ordine remi ; | 120 | Mnesthus, soon to be Mnesthus of Italy from whom the Memmian people are named, captains the Sea-Serpent, with its eager crew: Gyas, the vast Chimæra of huge bulk, a floating city, rowed by the Trojan men on three decks, with the oars raised in triple rows: |
| Sergestusque, domus tenet a quo Sergia nomen, Centauro invehitur magna, Scyllaque Cloanthus cærulea, genus unde tibi, Romane Cluenti. Est procul in pelago saxum spumantia contra litora, quod tumidis summersum tunditur olim | 125 | Sergestus, from whom the house of Sergia gets its name, sails in the great Centaur, and Cloanthus from whom your family derives, Cluentius of Rome, in the sea-green Scylla. There’s a rock far out at sea opposite the foaming shore, which, lashed by the swollen waves, is sometimes drowned, |
| fluctibus, hiberni condunt ubi sidera Cauri ; tranquillo silet immotaque attollitur unda campus et apricis statio gratissima mergis. hic viridem Æneas frondenti ex ilice metam constituit signum nautis pater, unde reverti | 130 | when wintry north-westerlies hide the stars: it is quiet in calm weather and flat ground is raised above the motionless water, a welcome haunt for sun-loving sea-birds. Here our ancestor Æneas set up a leafy oak-trunk as a mark, as a sign for the sailors to know where |
| scirent et longos ubi circumflectere cursus. tum loca sorte legunt ipsique in puppibus auro ductores longe effulgent ostroque decori ; cetera populea velatur fronde juventus nudatosque umeros oleo perfusa nitescit. | 135 | to turn back, and circle round the long course. Then they chose places by lot, and the captains themselves, on the sterns, gleamed from a distance, resplendent in purple and gold: the rest of the men were crowned with poplar leaves, and their naked shoulders glistened, shining with oil. |
| considunt transtris, intentaque bracchia remis ; intenti exspectant signum, exsultantiaque haurit corda pavor pulsans laudumque arrecta cupido. inde ubi clara dedit sonitum tuba, finibus omnes, haud mora, prosiluere suis ; ferit æthera clamor | 140 | They manned the benches, arms ready at the oars: readied for action they waited for the signal, and pounding fear, and the desire aroused for glory, devoured their leaping hearts. Then when the clear trumpet gave the signal, all immediately shot forward from the starting line, the sailor’s shouts |
| nauticus, adductis spumant freta versa lacertis. infindunt pariter sulcos, totumque dehiscit conuulsum remis rostrisque tridentibus æquor. non tam præcipites bijugo certamine campum corripuere ruuntque effusi carcere currus, | 145 | struck the heavens, as arms were plied the waters turned to foam. they cut the furrows together, and the whole surface gaped wide, ploughed by the oars and the three-pronged beaks. The speed is not as great when the two horse chariots hit the field in their race, shooting from their stalls: |
| nec sic immissis aurigæ undantia lora concussere jugis pronique in verbera pendent. tum plausu fremituque virum studiisque faventum consonat omne nemus, vocemque inclusa volutant litora, pulsati colles clamore resultant. | 150 | and the charioteers shake the rippling reins over their galloping team, straining forward to the lash. So the whole woodland echœs with applause, the shouts of men, and the partisanship of their supporters, the sheltered beach concentrates the sound and the hills, reverberating, return the clamor. |
| Effugit ante alios primisque elabitur undis turbam inter fremitumque Gyas ; quem deinde Cloanthus consequitur, melior remis, sed pondere pinus tarda tenet. post hos æquo discrimine Pristis Centaurusque locum tendunt superare priorem ; | 155 | Gyas runs before the pack, and glides forward on the waves, amongst the noise and confusion: Cloanthus follows next, his ship better manned, but held back by its weight. After them separated equally the Sea-Serpent and the Centaur strain to win a lead: |
| et nunc Pristis habet, nunc victam præterit ingens Centaurus, nunc una ambæ junctisque feruntur frontibus et longa sulcant vada salsa carina. jamque propinquabant scopulo metamque tenebant, quum princeps medioque Gyas in gurgite victor | 160 | now the Sea-Serpent has it, now the huge Centaur wins in front, now both sweep on together their bows level, their long keels ploughing the salt sea. Now they near the rock and are close to the marker, when Gyas, the leader, winning at the half-way point, |
| rectorem navis compellat voce Menœten : « quo tantum mihi dexter abis? huc derige cursum ; litus ama et læva stringat sine palmula cautes ; altum alii teneant. » dixit ; sed cæca Menœtes saxa timens proram pelagi detorquet ad undas. | 165 | calls out loudly to his pilot Menœtes: “Why so far adrift to starboard? Steer her course this way: hug the shore and graze the crags to port, oars raised: let others keep to deep water.” He spoke, but Menœtes fearing unseen reefs wrenched the prow towards the open sea. |
| « quo diversus abis? » iterum « pete saxa, Menœte! » cum clamore Gyas revocabat, et ecce Cloanthum respicit instantem tergo et propiora tenentem. ille inter navemque Gyæ scopulosque sonantis radit iter lævum interior subitoque priorem | 170 | “Why so far adrift?” again, “Head for the rocks, Menœtes!” he shouts to him forcefully, and behold, he sees Cloanthus right at his back and taking the riskier course. He squeezed a path between Gyas’s ship and the booming rocks inside to starboard, suddenly passing the leader, |
| præterit et metis tenet æquora tuta relictis. tum vero exarsit juveni dolor ossibus ingens nec lacrimis caruere genæ, segnemque Menœten oblitus decorisque sui sociumque salutis in mare præcipitem puppi deturbat ab alta ; | 175 | and, leaving the marker behind, reached safe water. Then indeed great indignation burned in the young man’s marrow, and there were tears on his cheeks, and forgetting his own pride and his crew’s safety he heaved the timid Menœtes headlong into the sea from the high stern: |
| ipse gubernaclo rector subit, ipse magister hortaturque viros clavumque ad litora torquet. at gravis ut fundo vix tandem redditus imo est jam senior madidaque fluens in veste Menœtes summa petit scopuli siccaque in rupe resedit. | 180 | he stood to the helm, himself captain and steersman, urged on his men, and turned for the shore. But when Menœtes old as he was, clawed his way back heavily and with difficulty at last from the sea floor, he climbed to the top of the crag and sat down on the dry rock dripping, in his wet |
| illum et labentem Teucri et risere natantem et salsos rident revomentem pectore fluctus. Hic læta extremis spes est accensa duobus, Sergesto Mnestheique, Gyan superare morantem. Sergestus capit ante locum scopuloque propinquat, | 185 | clothing. The Trojans laughed as he fell, and swam and laughed as he vomited the seawater from his chest. At this a joyful hope of passing Gyas, as he stalled, is aroused in Sergestus and Mnestheus, the two behind, Sergestus takes the leading place and nears the rock, |
| nec tota tamen ille prior præeunte carina ; parte prior, partim rostro premit æmula Pristis. at media socios incedens nave per ipsos hortatur Mnestheus : « nunc, nunc insurgite remis, Hectorei socii, Trojæ quos sorte suprema | 190 | still he’s not a full ship’s length in front, only part: the rival Sea-Serpent closes on him with her prow. Then, Mnesthus walking among his crew amidships exhorted them: “Now, now rise to the oars, comrades of Hector, you whom I chose as companions at Troy’s |
| delegi comites ; nunc illas promite viris, nunc animos, quibus in Gætulis Syrtibus usi Ïonioque mari Maleæque sequacibus undis. non jam prima peto Mnestheus neque vincere certo (quamquam o!— sed superent quibus hoc, Neptune, dedisti); | 195 | last fatal hour: now, exert all that strength, that spirit you showed in the Gætulian shoals, the Ionian Sea, and Cape Malea’s pursuing waves. Now I, Mnesthus, do not seek to be first or try to win — let those conquer whom you have granted to do so, Neptune — |
| extremos pudeat rediisse : hoc vincite, cives, et prohibete nefas. » olli certamine summo procumbunt : vastis tremit ictibus ærea puppis subtrahiturque solum, tum creber anhelitus artus aridaque ora quatit, sudor fluit undique rivis. | 200 | but oh, it would be shameful to return last: achieve this for us, countrymen, and prevent our disgrace.” They bend to it with fierce rivalry: the bronze stern shudders at their powerful strokes: and the sea-floor drops away beneath them: then shallow breathing makes limbs and parched lips quiver. and their sweat runs down in streams. |
| attulit ipse viris optatum casus honorem : namque furens animi dum proram ad saxa suburget interior spatioque subit Sergestus iniquo, infelix saxis in procurrentibus hæsit. concussæ cautes et acuto in murice remi | 205 | Chance brings the men the glory that they long for. When Segestus, his spirit raging, forces his bows, on the inside, towards the rocks, and enters dangerous water, unhappily he strikes the jutting reef. The cliff shakes, the oars jam against them, and snap |
| obnixi crepuere illisaque prora pependit. consurgunt nautæ et magno clamore morantur ferratasque trudes et acuta cuspide contos expediunt fractosque legunt in gurgite remos. at lætus Mnestheus successuque acrior ipso | 210 | on the sharp edges of stone, and the prow hangs there, snagged. The sailors leap up, and, shouting aloud at the delay, gather iron-tipped poles and sharply-pointed boathooks, and rescue their smashed oars from the water. But Mnesthus, delighted, and made eager by his success, |
| agmine remorum celeri ventisque vocatis prona petit maria et pelago decurrit aperto. qualis spelunca subito commota columba, cui domus et dulces latebroso in pumice nidi, fertur in arva volans plausumque exterrita pennis | 215 | with a swift play of oars, and a prayer to the winds. heads for home waters and courses the open sea, as a dove, whose nest and sweet chicks are hidden among the rocks, suddenly startled from some hollow, takes flight for the fields, frightened from her cover, |
| dat tecto ingentem, mox ære lapsa quieto radit iter liquidum celeris neque commovet alas : sic Mnestheus, sic ipsa fuga secat ultima Pristis æquora, sic illam fert impetus ipse volantem. et primum in scopulo luctantem deserit alto | 220 | and beats her wings loudly, but soon gliding in still air skims her clear path, barely moving her swift pinions: in this way Mnestheus and the Sea-Dragon herself furrow the final stretch of water in flight, and her impetus alone, carries her on her winged path. Firstly he leaves Segestus behind struggling on the raised rock |
| Sergestum brevibusque vadis frustraque vocantem auxilia et fractis discentem currere remis. inde Gyan ipsamque ingenti mole Chimæram consequitur ; cedit, quoniam spoliata magistro est. solus jamque ipso superest in fine Cloanthus, | 225 | then in shoal water, calling vainly for help, and learning how to race with shattered oars. Then he overhauls Gyas and the Chimæra’s huge bulk: which, deprived of her helmsman now, gives way. Now Cloanthus alone is left ahead, near to the finish, |
| quem petit et summis annixus viribus urget. Tum vero ingeminat clamor cunctique sequentem instigant studiis, resonatque fragoribus æther. hi proprium decus et partum indignantur honorem ni teneant, vitamque volunt pro laude pacisci ; | 230 | Mnestheus heads for him and chases closely exerting all his powers. Then indeed the shouts redouble, and together all enthusiastically urge on the pursuer. The former crew are unhappy lest they fail to keep the honor that is theirs and the glory already in their possession, and would sell their lives for fame. |
| hos successus alit : possunt, quia posse videntur. et fors æquatis cepissent præmia rostris, ni palmas ponto tendens utrasque Cloanthus fudissetque preces divosque in vota vocasset : « di, quibus imperium est pelagi, quorum æquora curro, | 235 | the latter feed on success: they can because they think they can. And with their prow alongside they might have snatched the prize, if Cloanthus had not stretched out his hands over the sea and poured out his prayers, and called to the gods in longing. “Gods, whose empire is the ocean, whose waters I course, |
| vobis lætus ego hoc candentem in litore taurum constituam ante aras voti reus, extaque salsos projiciam in fluctus et vina liquentia fundam. » dixit, eumque imis sub fluctibus audiit omnis Nereidum Phorcique chorus Panopeaque virgo, | 240 | On shore, I will gladly set a snow-white bull before your altars, in payment of my vows, throw the entrailsinto the saltwater, and pour out pure wine.” He spoke, and all the Nereids, Phorcus’s choir, and virgin Panopea, |
| et pater ipse manu magna Portunus euntem impulit : illa Noto citius volucrique sagitta ad terram fugit et portu se condidit alto. tum satus Anchisa cunctis ex more vocatis victorem magna præconis voce Cloanthum | 245 | heard him in the wave’s depths, and father Portunus drove him on his track, with his great hand: the ship ran to shore, swifter than south wind or flying arrow, and plunged into the deep harbor. Then Anchises’s son, calling them all together as is fitting, by the herald’s loud cry declares Cloanthus the winner, |
| declarat viridique advelat tempora lauro, muneraque in navis ternos optare juvencos vinaque et argenti magnum dat ferre talentum. ipsis præcipuos ductoribus addit honores : victori chlamydem auratam, quam plurima circum | 250 | and wreathes his forehead with green laurel, and tells him to choose three bullocks, and wine, and a large talent of silver as gifts for the ships. He adds special honors for the captains: a cloak worked in gold for the victor, edged |
| purpura mæandro duplici Melibœa cucurrit, intextusque puer frondosa regius Ida velocis jaculo cervos cursuque fatigat acer, anhelanti similis, quem præpes ab Ida sublimem pedibus rapuit Jovis armiger uncis ; | 255 | with Melibœan deep purple in a double meandering line, Ganymede the boy-prince woven on it, as if breathless with eagerness, running with his javelin, chasing the swift stags on leafy Ida: whom Jupiter’s eagle, carrier of the lightning-bolt, has now snatched up into the air, from Ida, with taloned feet: |
| longævi palmas nequiquam ad sidera tendunt custodes, sævitque canum latratus in auras. at qui deinde locum tenuit virtute secundum, levibus huic hamis consertam auroque trilicem loricam, quam Demoleo detraxerat ipse | 260 | his aged guards stretch their hands to the sky in vain, and the barking dogs snap at the air. He gives to the warrior, who took second place by his prowess, a coat of mail for his own, with polished hooks, in triple woven gold, a beautiful thing and a defense in battle, that he himself as victor had taken |
| victor apud rapidum Simœnta sub Ilio alto, donat habere, viro decus et tutamen in armis. vix illam famuli Phegeus Sagarisque ferebant multiplicem conixi umeris ; indutus at olim Demoleos cursu palantis Troas agebat. | 265 |
from Demoleos, by the swift Simois, below the heights of Ilium. Phegeus and Sagaris, his servants, can barely carry its folds, on straining shoulders: though, wearing it, Demoleus used to drive the scattered Trojans at a run. He grants the third prize of a pair of bronze cauldrons |
| tertia dona facit geminos ex ære lebetas cymbiaque argento perfecta atque aspera signis. jamque adeo donati omnes opibusque superbi puniceis ibant evincti tempora tænis, quum sævo e scopulo multa vix arte revulsus | 270 | and bowls made of silver with designs in bold relief. Now they have all received their gifts and are walking off, foreheads tied with scarlet ribbons, proud of their new wealth, when Segestus, who showing much skill has with difficulty |
| amissis remis atque ordine debilis uno irrisam sine honore ratem Sergestus agebat. qualis sæpe viæ deprensus in aggere serpens, ærea quem obliquum rota transiit aut gravis ictu seminecem liquit saxo lacerumque viator ; | 275 | got clear of the cruel rock, oars missing and one tier useless, brings in his boat, to mockery and no glory. As a snake, that a bronze-rimmed wheel has crossed obliquely, is often caught on the curb of a road, or like one that a passer-by has crushed with a heavy blow from a stone and left half-dead, |
| nequiquam longos fugiens dat corpore tortus parte ferox ardensque oculis et sibila colla arduus attollens ; pars vulnere clauda retentat nexantem nodis seque in sua membra plicantem : tali remigio navis se tarda movebat ; | 280 | writhes its long coils, trying in vain to escape, part aggressive, with blazing eyes, and hissing, its neck raised high in the air, part held back by the constraint of its wounds, struggling to follow with its coils, and twining back on its own length: so the ship moves slowly on with wrecked oars: |
| vela facit tamen et velis subit ostia plenis. Sergestum Æneas promisso munere donat servatam ob navem lætus sociosque reductos. olli serva datur operum haud ignara Minervæ, Cressa genus, Pholœ, geminique sub ubere nati. | 285 | nevertheless she makes sail, and under full sail reaches harbor. Æneas presents Sergestus with the reward he promised, happy that the ship is saved, and the crew rescued. He is granted a Cretan born slave-girl, Pholœ, not unskilled in the arts of Minerva, nursing twin boys at her breast. |
| Hoc pius Æneas misso certamine tendit gramineum in campum, quem collibus undique curvis cingebant silvæ, mediaque in valle theatri circus erat ; quo se multis cum milibus heros consessu medium tulit exstructoque resedit. | 290 | Once this race was done Æneas headed for a grassy space, circled round about by curving wooded hillsides, forming an amphitheatre at the valley’s centre: the hero took himself there in the midst of the throng many thousands strong, and occupied a raised throne. |
| hic, qui forte velint rapido contendere cursu, invitat pretiis animos, et præmia ponit. undique conveniunt Teucri mixtique Sicani, Nisus et Euryalus primi, Euryalus forma insignis viridique juventa, | 295 | Here if any by chance wanted to compete in the footrace he tempted their minds with the reward, and set the prizes. Trojans and Sicilians gathered together from all sides, Nisus and Euryalus the foremost among them, Euryalus famed for his beauty, and in the flower of youth, |
| Nisus amore pio pueri ; quos deinde secutus regius egregia Priami de stirpe Diores ; hunc Salius simul et Patron, quorum alter Acarnan, alter ab Arcadio Tegeææ sanguine gentis ; tum duo Trinacrii juvenes, Helymus Panopesque | 300 | Nisus famed for his devoted affection for the lad: next came princely Diores, of Priam’s royal blood, then Salius and Patron together, one an Arcanian, the other of Arcadian blood and Tegean race: then two young Sicilians, Helymus and Panopes, |
| assueti silvis, comites senioris Acestæ ; multi præterea, quos fama obscura recondit. Æneas quibus in mediis sic deinde locutus : « accipite hæc animis lætasque advertite mentes. nemo ex hoc numero mihi non donatus abibit. | 305 | used to the forests, companions of old Acestes: and many others too, whose fame is lost in obscurity. Then Æneas amongst them spoke as follows: “Take these words to heart, and give pleasurable attention. None of your number will go away without a reward from me. |
| Cnosia bina dabo levato lucida ferro spicula cælatamque argento ferre bipennem ; omnibus hic erit unus honos. tres præmia primi accipient flavaque caput nectentur oliva. primus equum phaleris insignem victor habeto ; | 310 | I’ll give two Cretan arrows, shining with polished steel, for each man, to take away, and a double-headed axe chased with silver: all who are present will receive the same honor. The first three will share prizes, and their heads will be crowned with pale-green olive: let the first as winner take a horse |
| alter Amazoniam pharetram plenamque sagittis Thrēiciis, lato quam circum amplectitur auro balteus et tereti subnectit fibula gemma ; tertius Argolica hac galea contentus abito. » Hæc ubi dicta, locum capiunt signoque repente | 315 | decorated with trappings: the second an Amazonian quiver, filled with Thracian arrows, looped with a broad belt of gold and fastened by a clasp with a polished gem: let the third leave content with this Argive helmet.” When he had finished they took their places and, suddenly, |
| corripiunt spatia audito limenque relinquunt, effusi nimbo similes. simul ultima signant, primus abit longeque ante omnia corpora Nisus emicat et ventis et fulminis ocior alis ; proximus huic, longo sed proximus intervallo, | 320 | on hearing the signal, they left the barrier and shot onto the course, streaming out like a storm cloud, gaze fixed on the goal. Nisus was off first, and darted away, ahead of all the others, faster than the wind or the winged lightning-bolt: Salius followed behind him, but a long way behind: |
| insequitur Salius ; spatio post deinde relicto tertius Euryalus ; Euryalumque Helymus sequitur ; quo deinde sub ipso ecce volat calcemque terit jam calce Diores incumbens umero, spatia et si plura supersint | 325 | then after a space Euryalus was third: Helymus pursued Euryalus, and there was Diores speeding near him, now touching foot to foot, leaning at his shoulder: if the course had been longer he’d have |
| transeat elapsus prior ambiguumque relinquat. jamque fere spatio extremo fessique sub ipsam finem adventabant, levi cum sanguine Nisus labitur infelix, cæsis ut forte juvencis fusus humum viridisque super madefecerat herbas. | 330 | slipped past him, and left the outcome in doubt. Now, wearied, almost at the end of the track, they neared the winning post itself, when the unlucky Nisus fell in some slippery blood, which when the bullocks were killed had chanced to drench the ground and the green grass. |
| hic juvenis jam victor ovans vestigia presso haud tenuit titubata solo, sed pronus in ipso concidit immundoque fimo sacroque cruore. non tamen Euryali, non ille oblitus amorum : nam sese opposuit Salio per lubrica surgens ; | 335 | Here the youth, already rejoicing at winning, failed to keep his sliding feet on the ground, but fell flat, straight in the slimy dirt and sacred blood. But he didn’t forget Euryalus even then, nor his love: but, picking himself up out of the wet, obstructed Salius, |
| ille autem spissa jacuit revolutus harena, emicat Euryalus et munere victor amici prima tenet, plausuque volat fremituque secundo. post Helymus subit et nunc tertia palma Diores. hic totum caveæ consessum ingentis et ora | 340 | who fell head over heels onto the thick sand. Euryalus sped by and, darting onwards to applause and the shouts of his supporters, took first place, winning with his friend’s help. Helymus came in behind him, then Diores, now in third place. At this Salius filled the whole vast amphitheatre, and the faces |
| prima patrum magnis Salius clamoribus implet, ereptumque dolo reddi sibi poscit honorem. tutatur favor Euryalum lacrimæque decoræ, gratior et pulchro veniens in corpore virtus. adjuvat et magna proclamat voce Diores, | 345 | of the foremost elders, with his loud clamor, demanding to be given the prize stolen from him by a trick. His popularity protects Euryalus, and fitting tears, and ability is more pleasing in a beautiful body. Diores encourages him, and protests in a loud voice, |
| qui subiit palmæ frustraque ad præmia venit ultima, si primi Salio reddentur honores. tum pater Æneas « Vestra » inquit « munera vobis certa manent, pueri et palmam movet ordine nemo ; me liceat casus miserari insontis amici. » | 350 | having reached the palm, but claiming the last prize in vain, if the highest honor gœs to Salius. Then Æneas the leader said, “Your prizes are still yours, lads, and no one is altering the order of attainment: but allow me to take pity on an unfortunate friend’s fate.” |
| sic fatus tergum Gætuli immane leonis dat Salio villis onerosum atque unguibus aureis. hic Nisus « si tanta » inquit « sunt præmia victis, et te lapsorum miseret, quæ munera Niso digna dabis, primam merui qui laude coronam | 355 | So saying he gives Salius the huge pelt of a Gætulian lion, heavy with shaggy fur, its claws gilded. At this Nisus comments: “If these are the prizes for losing, and you pity the fallen, what fitting gift will you grant to Nisus, who would have earned first place through merit |
| ni me, quæ Salium, fortuna inimica tulisset? » et simul his dictis faciem ostentabat et udo turpia membra fimo. risit pater optimus olli et clipeum efferri jussit, Didymaonis artes, Neptuni sacro Danais de poste refixum. | 360 | if ill luck had not dogged me, as it did Salius?” And with that he shows his face and limbs drenched with foul mud. The best of leaders smiles at him, and orders a shield to be brought, the work of Didymaon, once unpinned by the Greeks from Neptune’s sacred threshold: |
| hoc juvenem egregium præstanti munere donat. Post, ubi confecti cursus et dona peregit, « Nunc, si cui virtus animusque in pectore præsens, adsit et evinctis attollat bracchia palmis »: sic ait, et geminum pugnæ proponit honorem, | 365 | this outstanding prize he gives to the noble youth. When the races were done and the gifts allotted, Æneas cried: “Now, he who has skill and courage in his heart, let him stand here and raise his arms, his fists bound in hide.” So saying he set out the double prize for the boxing, |
| victori velatum auro vittisque juvencum, ensem atque insignem galeam solacia victo. nec mora ; continuo vastis cum viribus effert ora Dares magnoque virum se murmure tollit, solus qui Paridem solitus contendere contra, | 370 | a bullock for the winner, dressed with gold and sacred ribbons, and a sword and a noble helmet to console the defeated. Without delay Dares, hugely strong, raised his face and rose, to a great murmur from the crowd, he who alone used to compete with Paris, |
| idemque ad tumulum quo maximus occubat Hector victorem Buten immani corpore, qui se Bebrycia veniens Amyci de gente ferebat, perculit et fulva moribundum extendit harena. talis prima Dares caput altum in prœlia tollit, | 375 | and by that same mound where mighty Hector lies he struck the victorious Butes, borne of the Bebrycian race of Amycus, as he came forward, vast in bulk, and stretched him dying on the yellow sand. Such was Dares who lifted his head up for the bout at once, |
| ostenditque umeros latos alternaque jactat bracchia protendens et verberat ictibus auras. quæritur huic alius ; nec quisquam ex agmine tanto audet adire virum manibusque inducere cæstus. ergo alacris cunctosque putans excedere palma | 380 | showed his broad shoulders, stretched his arms out, sparring to right and left, and threw punches at the air. A contestant was sought for him, but no one from all that crowd dared face the man, or pull the gloves on his hands. So, cheerfully thinking they had all conceded the prize, he stands |
| Æneæ stetit ante pedes, nec plura moratus tum læva taurum cornu tenet atque ita fatur : « Nate dea, si nemo audet se credere pugnæ, quæ finis standi? quo me decet usque teneri? ducere dona jube. » cuncti simul ore fremebant | 385 | before Æneas, and without more delay holds the bullock’s horn in his left hand and says: “Son of the goddess, if no one dare commit himself to fight, when will my standing here end? How long is it right for me to be kept waiting? Order me to lead your gift away.” All the Trojans together shout their approval, |
| Dardanidæ reddique viro promissa jubebant. Hic gravis Entellum dictis castigat Acestes, proximus ut viridante toro consederat herbæ : « Entelle, heroum quondam fortissime frustra, tantane tam patiens nullo certamine tolli | 390 | and demand that what was promised be granted him. At this Entellus upbraids Acestes, sitting next to him on a stretch of green grass, with grave words: “Entellus, once the bravest of herœs, was it all in vain, will you let so great a prize be carried off without a struggle, |
| dona sines? ubi nunc nobis deus ille, magister nequiquam memoratus, Eryx? ubi fama per omnem Trinacriam et spolia illa tuis pendentia tectis? » ille sub hæc : « Non laudis amor nec gloria cessit pulsa metu ; sed enim gelidus tardante senecta | 395 | and so tamely? Where’s our divine master, Eryx, now, famous to no purpose? Where’s your name throughout Sicily, and why are those spoils of battle hanging in your house?” To this Entellus replies: “It’s not that quelled by fear, pride or love of fame has died: but my chill blood is dull with age’s sluggishness, |
| sanguis hebet, frigentque effetæ in corpore vires. si mihi quæ quondam fuerat quaque improbus iste exsultat fidens, si nunc foret illa juventas, haud equidem pretio inductus pulchroque juvenco venissem, nec dona moror. » sic deinde locutus | 400 | and the vigor in my body is lifeless and exhausted. If I had what I once had, which that boaster enjoys and relies on, if that youthfulness were mine now, then I’d certainly have stepped forward, but not seduced by prizes or handsome bullocks: I don’t care about gifts.” |
| in medium geminos immani pondere cæstus projecit, quibus acer Eryx in prœlia suetus ferre manum duroque intendere bracchia tergo. obstipuere animi : tantorum ingentia septem terga boum plumbo insuto ferroque rigebant. | 405 | Having spoken he throws a pair of gloves of immense weight which fierce Eryx, binding the tough hide onto his hands, used to fight in, into the middle of the ring. Their minds are stunned: huge pieces of hide from seven massive oxen are stiff with the iron and lead sewn into them. Above all |
| ante omnis stupet ipse Dares longeque recusat, magnanimusque Anchisiades et pondus et ipsa huc illuc vinclorum immensa volumina versat. tum senior talis referebat pectore voces : « quid, si quis cæstus ipsius et Herculis arma | 410 | Dares himself is astonished, and declines the bout from a distance, and Anchises’s noble son turns the huge volume and weight of the gloves backwards and forwards. Then the older man speaks like this, from his heart: “What if you’d seen the arms and gloves of Hercules |
| vidisset tristemque hoc ipso in litore pugnam? hæc germanus Eryx quondam tuus arma gerebat (sanguine cernis adhuc sparsoque infecta cerebro), his magnum Alciden contra stetit, his ego suetus, dum melior viris sanguis dabat, æmula necdum | 415 | himself, and the fierce fight on this very shore? Your brother Eryx once wore these (you see that they’re still stained with blood and brain matter) He faced great Hercules in them: I used to fight in them when more vigorous blood granted me strength, |
| temporibus geminis canebat sparsa senectus. sed si nostra Dares hæc Trojus arma recusat idque pio sedet Æneæ, probat auctor Acestes, æquemus pugnas. Erycis tibi terga remitto (solve metus), et tu Trojanos exue cæstus. » | 420 | and envious age had not yet sprinkled my brow with snow. But if a Trojan, Dares, shrinks from these gloves of ours, and good Æneas accepts it, and Acestes my sponsor agrees, let’s level the odds. I’ll forgo the gloves of Eryx (banish your fears): you, throw off your Trojan ones.” |
| hæc fatus duplicem ex umeris rejecit amictum et magnos membrorum artus, magna ossa lacertosque exuit atque ingens media consistit harena. tum satus Anchisa cæstus pater extulit æquos et paribus palmas amborum innexuit armis. | 425 | So speaking he flings his double-sided cloak from his shoulders, baring the massive muscles of his limbs, his thighs with their huge bones, and stands, a giant, in the center of the arena. Then our ancestor, Anchises’s son, lifts up a like pair of gloves, and protects the hands of both contestants equally. |
| constitit in digitos extemplo arrectus uterque bracchiaque ad superas interritus extulit auras. abduxere retro longe capita ardua ab ictu immiscentque manus manibus pugnamque lacessunt, ille pedum melior motu fretusque juventa, | 430 | Immediately each takes up his stance, poised on his tœs, and fearlessly raises his arms high in front of him. Keeping their heads up and well away from the blows they begin to spar, fist to fist, and provoke a battle, the one better at moving his feet, relying on his youth, |
| hic membris et mole valens ; sed tarda trementi genua labant, vastos quatit æger anhelitus artus. multa viri nequiquam inter se vulnera jactant, multa cavo lateri ingeminant et pectore vastos dant sonitus, erratque auris et tempora circum | 435 | the other powerful in limbs and bulk: but his slower legs quiver, his knees are unsteady, and painful gasps shake his huge body. They throw many hard punches at each other but in vain, they land many on their curved flanks, or their chests are thumped loudly, gloves often stray to ears |
| crebra manus, duro crepitant sub vulnere malæ. stat gravis Entellus nisuque immotus eodem corpore tela modo atque oculis vigilantibus exit. ille, velut celsam oppugnat qui molibus urbem aut montana sedet circum castella sub armis, | 440 | and brows, and jaws rattle under the harsh blows. Entellus stands solidly, not moving, in the same stance, avoiding the blows with his watchful eyes and body alone. Dares, like someone who lays siege to a towering city, or surrounds a mountain fortress with weapons, |
| nunc hos, nunc illos aditus, omnemque pererrat arte locum et variis adsultibus irritus urget. ostendit dextram insurgens Entellus et alte extulit, ille ictum venientem a vertice velox prævidit celerique elapsus corpore cessit ; | 445 | tries this opening and that, seeking everywhere, with his art, and presses hard with varied but useless assaults. Then Entellus standing up to him, extends his raised right: the other, foreseeing the downward angle of the imminent blow, slides his nimble body aside, and retreats: |
| Entellus viris in ventum effudit et ultro ipse gravis graviterque ad terram pondere vasto concidit, ut quondam cava concidit aut Erymantho aut Ida in magna radicibus eruta pinus. consurgunt studiis Teucri et Trinacria pubes ; | 450 | Entellus wastes his effort on the air and the heavy man falls to the ground heavily, with his whole weight, as a hollow pine-tree, torn up by its roots, sometimes falls on Mount Erymanthus or mighty Mount Ida. The Trojans and the Sicilan youths leap up eagerly: |
| it clamor cælo primusque accurrit Acestes æquævumque ab humo miserans attollit amicum. at non tardatus casu neque territus heros acrior ad pugnam redit ac vim suscitat ira ; tum pudor incendit viris et conscia virtus, | 455 | a shout lifts to the sky, and Acestes is the first to run forward and with sympathy raises his old friend from the ground. But that hero, not slowed or deterred by his fall, returns more eagerly to the fight, and generates power from anger. Then shame and knowledge of his own ability revive his strength, |
| præcipitemque Daren ardens agit æquore toto nunc dextra ingeminans ictus, nunc ille sinistra. nec mora nec requies : quam multa grandine nimbi culminibus crepitant, sic densis ictibus heros creber utraque manu pulsat versatque Dareta. | 460 | and he drives Dares in fury headlong across the whole arena, doubling his punches now, to right and left. No pause, or rest: like the storm clouds rattling their dense hailstones on the roof, as heavy are the blows from either hand, as the hero continually batters at Dares and destroys him. |
| Tum pater Æneas procedere longius iras et sævire animis Entellum haud passus acerbis, sed finem imposuit pugnæ fessumque Dareta eripuit mulcens dictis ac talia fatur : « Infelix, quæ tanta animum dementia cepit? | 465 | Then Æneas, their leader, would not allow the wrath to continue longer, nor Entellus to rage with such bitterness of spirit, but put an end to the contest, and rescued the weary Dares, speaking gently to him with these words: “Unlucky man, why let such savagery depress your spirits? |
| Non viris alias conversaque numina sentis? cede deo. » dixitque et prœlia voce diremit. ast illum fidi æquales genua ægra trahentem jactantemque utroque caput crassumque cruorem ore ejectantem mixtosque in sanguine dentes | 470 | Don’t you see another has the power: the gods have changed sides? Yield to the gods.” He spoke and, speaking, broke up the fight. But Dare’s loyal friends led him away to the ships, his weakened knees collapsing, his head swaying from side to side, spitting out clots of blood from his mouth, teeth amongst them. |
| ducunt ad navis ; galeamque ensemque vocati accipiunt, palmam Entello taurumque relinquunt. hic victor superans animis tauroque superbus « Nate dea, vosque hæc » inquit « cognoscite, Teucri, et mihi quæ fuerint juvenali in corpore vires | 475 | Called back they accept the helmet and sword, leaving the winner’s palm and the bullock for Entellus. At this the victor exultant in spirit and glorying in the bullock, said: “Son of the Goddess, and all you Trojans, know now what physical strength I had in my youth, |
| et qua servetis revocatum a morte Dareta. » dixit, et adversi contra stetit ora juvenci qui donum astabat pugnæ, durosque reducta libravit dextra media inter cornua cæstus arduus, effractoque illisit in ossa cerebro : | 480 | and from what fate you’ve recalled and rescued Dares.” He spoke and planted himself opposite the bullock, still standing there as prize for the bout, then, drawing back his right fist, aimed the hard glove between the horns and broke its skull scattering the brains: the ox |
| sternitur exanimisque tremens procumbit humi bos. ille super talis effundit pectore voces : « hanc tibi, Eryx, meliorem animam pro morte Daretis persolvo ; hic victor cæstus artemque repono. » Protinus Æneas celeri certare sagitta | 485 | fell quivering to the ground, stretched out lifeless. Standing over it he poured these words from his chest: “Eryx, I offer you this, the better animal, for Dares’s life: the winner here, I relinquish the gloves and my art.” Immediately Æneas invites together all who might wish |
| invitat qui forte velint et præmia dicit, ingentique manu malum de nave Seresti erigit et volucrem trajecto in fune columbam, quo tendant ferrum, malo suspendit ab alto. convenere viri dejectamque ærea sortem | 490 | to compete with their swift arrows, and sets out the prizes. With a large company he raises a mast from Serestus’s ship, and ties a fluttering dove, at which they can aim their shafts, to a cord piercing the high mast. The men gather and a bronze helmet receives the lots |
| accepit galea, et primus clamore secundo Hyrtacidæ ante omnis exit locus Hippocoontis ; quem modo navali Mnestheus certamine victor consequitur, viridi Mnestheus evinctus oliva. tertius Eurytion, tuus, o clarissime, frater, | 495 | tossed into it: the first of them all to be drawn, to cheers of support, is Hippocoon son of Hyrtaces, followed by Mnestheus, the winner of the boat race a while ago: Mnestheus crowned with green olive. Eurytion’s the third, your brother, O famous Pandorus, |
| Pandare, qui quondam jussus confundere fœdus in medios telum torsisti primus Achivos. extremus galeaque ima subsedit Acestes, ausus et ipse manu juvenum temptare laborem. tum validis flexos incurvant viribus arcus | 500 | who, ordered to wreck the treaty, in the past, was the first to hurl his spear amongst the Greeks. Acestes is the last name out from the depths of the helmet, daring to try his own hand at the youthful contest. Then they take arrows from their quivers, and, each man |
| pro se quisque viri et depromunt tela pharetris, primaque per cælum nervo stridente sagitta Hyrtacidæ juvenis volucris diverberat auras, et venit adversique infigitur arbore mali. intremuit malus micuitque exterrita pennis | 505 | for himself, with vigorous strength, bends the bow into an arc, and first through the air from the twanging string the son of Hyrcanus’s shaft, cutting the swift breeze, reaches the mark, and strikes deep into the mast. The mast quivered, the bird fluttered its wings in fear, |
| ales, et ingenti sonuerunt omnia plausu. post acer Mnestheus adducto constitit arcu alta petens, pariterque oculos telumque tetendit. ast ipsam miserandus avem contingere ferro non valuit ; nodos et vincula linea rupit | 510 | and there was loud applause from all sides. Then Mnestheus eagerly took his stand with bent bow, aiming high, his arrow notched level with his eyes. But to his dismay he was not able to hit the bird herself with the shaft, but broke the knots of hemp cord |
| quis innexa pedem malo pendebat ab alto ; illa Notos atque atra volans in nubila fugit. tum rapidus, jamdudum arcu contenta parato tela tenens, fratrem Eurytion in vota vocavit, jam vacuo lætam cælo speculatus et alis | 515 | that tied her foot as it hung from the mast: she fled to the north wind and the dark clouds, in flight. Then Eurytion who had been holding his bow ready, with drawn arrow for some time, called on his brother to note his vow, quickly eyed the dove, enjoying the freedom of the skies, |
| plaudentem nigra figit sub nube columbam. decidit exanimis vitamque reliquit in astris ætheriis fixamque refert delapsa sagittam. Amissa solus palma superabat Acestes, qui tamen āerias telum contendit in auras | 520 | and transfixed her, as she beat her wings beneath a dark cloud. She dropped lifeless, leaving her spirit with the starry heavens, and, falling, brought back to earth the shaft that pierced her. Acestes alone remained: the prize was lost: yet he still shot his arrow high into the air, |
| ostentans artemque pater arcumque sonantem. hic oculis subitum objicitur magnoque futurum augurio monstrum ; docuit post exitus ingens seraque terrifici cecinerunt omina vates. namque volans liquidis in nubibus arsit harundo | 525 | showing an older man’s skill, the bow twanging. Then a sudden wonder appeared before their eyes, destined to be of great meaning: the time to come unveiled its crucial outcome, and great seers of the future celebrated it as an omen. The arrow, flying through the passing clouds, caught fire |
| signavitque viam flammis tenuisque recessit consumpta in ventos, cælo ceu sæpe refixa transcurrunt crinemque volantia sidera ducunt. attonitis hæsere animis superosque precati Trinacrii Teucrique viri, nec maximus omen | 530 | marked out its path with flames, then vanished into thin air, as shooting stars, loosed from heaven often transit the sky, drawing their tresses after them. Astonished, the Trinacrians and Trojans stood rooted to the spot, praying to the gods: nor did their great leader Æneas |
| abnuit Æneas, sed lætum amplexus Acesten muneribus cumulat magnis ac talia fatur : « sume, pater, nam te voluit rex magnus Olympi talibus auspiciis exsortem ducere honores. ipsius Anchisæ longævi hoc munus habebis, | 535 | reject the sign, but embracing the joyful Acestes, loaded him with handsome gifts and spoke as follows: “Take these, old man: since the high king of Olympus shows, by these omens, that he wishes you to take extraordinary honors. You shall have this gift, owned by aged Anchises himself, |
| cratera impressum signis, quem Thracius olim Anchisæ genitori in magno munere Cisseus ferre sui dederat monumentum et pignus amoris. » sic fatus cingit viridanti tempora lauro et primum ante omnis victorem appellat Acesten. | 540 | a bowl engraved with figures, that Cisseus of Thrace once long ago gave Anchises my father as a memento of himself, and as a pledge of his friendship.” So saying he wreathed his brow with green laurel and proclaimed Acestes the highest victor among them all. |
| nec bonus Eurytion prælato invidit honori, quamvis solus avem cælo dejecit ab alto. proximus ingreditur donis qui vincula rupit, extremus volucri qui fixit harundine malum. At pater Æneas nondum certamine misso | 545 | Nor did good Eurytion begrudge the special prize, though he alone brought the bird down from the sky. Next he who cut the cord stepped forward for his reward, and lastly he who’s swift shaft had transfixed the mast. But before the match is complete Æneas the leader |
| custodem ad sese comitemque impubis Juli Epytiden vocat, et fidam sic fatur ad aurem : « Vade age et Ascanio, si jam puerile paratum agmen habet secum cursusque instruxit equorum, ducat avo turmas et sese ostendat in armis | 550 | calls Epytides to him, companion and guardian of young Julus, and speaks into his loyal ear: “Off! Go! Tell Ascanius, if he has his troop of boys ready with him, and is prepared for the horse-riding to show himself with his weapons, and lead them out |
| dic » ait. ipse omnem longo decedere circo infusum populum et campos jubet esse patentis. incedunt pueri pariterque ante ora parentum frenatis lucent in equis, quos omnis euntis Trinacriæ mirata fremit Trojæque juventus. | 555 | in honor of his grandfather.” He himself orders the whole crowd of people to leave the lengthy circuit, emptying the field. The boys arrive, and glitter together on their bridled horses under their fathers’ gaze, and the men of Troy and Sicily murmur in admiration as they go by. |
| omnibus in morem tonsa coma pressa corona ; cornea bina ferunt præfixa hastilia ferro, pars levis umero pharetras ; it pectore summo flexilis obtorti per collum circulus auri. tres equitum numero turmæ ternique vagantur | 560 | They all have their hair properly circled by a cut garland: they each carry two cornel-wood spears tipped with steel, some have shining quivers on their shoulders: a flexible torque of twisted gold sits high on their chests around the neck. The troops of horse are three in number, and three leaders |
| ductores ; pueri bis seni quemque secuti agmine partito fulgent paribusque magistris. una acies juvenum, ducit quam parvus ovantem nomen avi referens Priamus, tua clara, Polite, progenies, auctura Italos ; quem Thracius albis | 565 | ride ahead: two groups of six boys follow each, commanded alike and set out in gleaming ranks. One line of youths is led joyfully by little Priam, recalling his grandfather’s name, your noble child, Polites, seed of the Italians: whom a piebald |
| portat equus bicolor maculis, vestigia primi alba pedis frontemque ostentans arduus albam. alter Atys, genus unde Atii duxere Latini, parvus Atys pueroque puer dilectus Julo. extremus formaque ante omnis pulcher Julus | 570 | Thracian horse carries, showing white pasterns as it steps, and a high white forehead. Next is Atys, from whom the Latin Atii trace their line, little Atys, a boy loved by the boy Julus. Last, and most handsome of all in appearance, |
| Sidonio est invectus equo, quem candida Dido esse sui dederat monumentum et pignus amoris. cetera Trinacriis pubes senioris Acestæ fertur equis. excipiunt plausu pavidos gaudentque tuentes | 575 | Julus himself rides a Sidonian horse, that radiant Dido had given him as a remembrance of herself, and a token of her love. The rest of the youths ride the Sicilian horses of old Acestes. The Trojans greet the shy lads with applause, and delight |
| Dardanidæ, veterumque agnoscunt ora parentum. postquam omnem læti consessum oculosque suorum lustravere in equis, signum clamore paratis Epytides longe dedit insonuitque flagello. olli discurrere pares atque agmina terni | 580 | in gazing at them, seeing their ancient families in their faces. When they have ridden happily round the whole assembly under the eyes of their kin, Epytides with a prolonged cry gives the agreed signal and cracks his whip. They gallop apart in two equal detachments, the three |
| diductis solvere choris, rursusque vocati convertere vias infestaque tela tulere. inde alios ineunt cursus aliosque recursus adversi spatiis, alternosque orbibus orbis impediunt pugnæque cient simulacra sub armis ; | 585 | groups parting company, and dissolving their columns, then, recalled, they wheel round, and charge with level lances. Then they perform other figures and counter-figures in opposing ranks, and weave in circles inside counter-circles, and perform a simulated battle with weapons. |
| et nunc terga fuga nudant, nunc spicula vertunt infensi, facta pariter nunc pace feruntur. ut quondam Creta fertur Labyrinthus in alta parietibus textum cæcis iter ancipitemque mille viis habuisse dolum, qua signa sequendi | 590 | Now their backs are exposed in flight, now they turn their spears to charge, now ride side by side in peace. Like the Labyrinth in mountainous Crete, they say, that contained a path winding between blind walls, wandering with guile through a thousand turnings, |
| frangeret indeprensus et inremeabilis error ; haud alio Teucrum nati vestigia cursu impediunt texuntque fugas et prœlia ludo, delphinum similes qui per maria umida nando Carpathium Libycumque secant [luduntque per undas]. | 595 | so that undetected and irretraceable errors might foil any guidelines that might be followed: so the Trojan children twine their steps in just such a pattern, weaving battle and flight, in their display, like dolphins swimming through the ocean streams, cutting the Carpathian |
| hunc morem cursus atque hæc certamina primus Ascanius, Longam muris quum cingeret Albam, rettulit et priscos docuit celebrare Latinos, quo puer ipse modo, secum quo Troja pubes ; Albani docuere suos ; hinc maxima porro | 600 | and Libyan waters, and playing among the waves. Ascanius first revived this kind of riding, and this contest, when he encircled Alba Longa with walls, and taught the Early Latins to celebrate it in the way he and the Trojan youth had done together: the Albans taught their children: mighty Rome |
| accepit Roma et patrium servavit honorem ; Trojaque nunc pueri, Trojanum dicitur agmen. hac celebrata tenus sancto certamina patri. Hinc primum Fortuna fidem mutata novavit. dum variis tumulo referunt sollemnia ludis, | 605 | received it from them in turn, and preserved the ancestral rite: and today the boys are called “Troy” and their procession “Trojan’. So the games are completed celebrating Æneas’s sacred father. Here Fortune first alters, switching loyalties. While they, with their various games, are paying due honors to the tomb, |
| Irim de cælo misit Saturnia Juno Iliacam ad classem ventosque aspirat eunti, multa movens necdum antiquum saturata dolorem. illa viam celerans per mille coloribus arcum nulli visa cito decurrit tramite virgo. | 610 | Saturnian Juno sends Iris down from the sky to the Trojan fleet, breathing out a breeze for her passage, thinking deeply about her ancient grievance which is yet unsatisfied. Iris, hurrying on her way along a rainbow’s thousand colors speeds swiftly down her track, a girl unseen. |
| conspicit ingentem concursum et litora lustrat desertosque videt portus classemque relictam. at procul in sola secretæ Troades acta amissum Anchisen flebant, cunctæque profundum pontum aspectabant flentes. heu tot vada fessis | 615 | She views the great crowd, and scans the shore, sees the harbor deserted, and the ships abandoned. But far away on the lonely sands the Trojan women are weeping Anchises’s loss, and all, weeping, gaze at the deep ocean. “Ah, what waves and seas are still left |
| et tantum superesse maris, vox omnibus una ; urbem orant, tædet pelagi perferre laborem. ergo inter medias sese haud ignara nocendi conjicit et faciemque deæ vestemque reponit ; fit Berœ, Tmarii conjunx longæva Dorycli, | 620 | for weary folk!” They are all of one voice. They pray for a city: they tire of enduring suffering on the waves. So Iris, not ignorant of mischief, darts among them, setting aside the appearance and robes of a goddess: becoming Berœ, the old wife of Tmarian Doryclus, |
| cui genus et quondam nomen natique fuissent, ac sic Dardanidum mediam se matribus infert. « o miseræ, quas non manus » inquit « Achaica bello traxerit ad letum patriæ sub mœnibus! o gens infelix, cui te exitio Fortuna reservat? | 625 | who had once had family, sons, and a famous name. and as such moves among the Trojan mothers, saying: “O wretched ones, whom Greek hands failed to drag to death in the war beneath our native walls! O unhappy people what fate dœs Fortune reserve for you? |
| septima post Trojæ excidium jam vertitur æstas, quum freta, quum terras omnis, tot inhospita saxa sideraque emensæ ferimur, dum per mare magnum Italiam sequimur fugientem et volvimur undis. hic Erycis fines fraterni atque hospes Acestes : | 630 | The seventh summer is on the turn since Troy’s destruction, and we endure the crossing of every sea and shore, so many inhospitable stones and stars, while we chase over the vast sea after an Italy that flees from us, tossing upon the waves. Here are the borders of our brother Eryx and our host Acestes: |
| quis prohibet muros jacere et dare civibus urbem? o patria et rapti nequiquam ex hoste penates, nullane jam Trojæ dicentur mœnia? nusquam Hectoreos amnis, Xanthum et Simœnta, videbo? quin agite et mecum infaustas exurite puppis. | 635 | what stops us building walls and granting our citizens a city? O fatherland, O gods of our houses, rescued from the enemy in vain, will no city now be called Troy? Shall I see nowhere a Xanthus or a Simois, Hector’s rivers? Come now, and burn these accursed ships with me. |
| nam mihi Cassandræ per somnum vatis imago ardentis dare visa faces : « hic quærite Trojam ; hic domus est » inquit « vobis. » jam tempus agi res, nec tantis mora prodigiis. en quattuor aræ Neptuno ; deus ipse faces animumque ministrat. » | 640 | For the ghost of Cassandra, the prophetess, seemed to hand me burning torches in dream: “Seek Troy here: here is your home” she said. Now is the time for deeds, not delay, given such portents. See, four altars to Neptune: the god himself lends us fire and the courage.” |
| hæc memorans prima infensum vi corripit ignem sublataque procul dextra conixa coruscat et jacit. arrectæ mentes stupefactaque corda Iliadum. hic una e multis, quæ maxima natu, Pyrgo, tot Priami natorum regia nutrix : | 645 | So saying she first of all firmly seizes the dangerous flame and, straining to lift it high, brandishes it, and hurls it. The minds of the Trojan women are startled, and their wits stunned. Here, one of the crowd, Pyrgo, the eldest, the royal nurse of so many of Priam’s sons, says: |
| « non Berœ vobis, non hæc Rhœteia, matres, est Dorycli conjunx ; divini signa decoris ardentisque notate oculos, qui spiritus illi, qui vultus vocisque sonus vel gressus eunti. ipsa egomet dudum Berœn digressa reliqui | 650 | “This is not Berœ, you women, this is no wife of Rhœtitian Doryclus: look at the signs of divine beauty and the burning eyes, the spirit she possesses, her form, the sound of her voice, her footsteps as she moves. Just now I myself left Berœ, sick and unhappy, that she alone |
| ægram, indignantem tali quod sola careret munere nec meritos Anchisæ inferret honores. » hæc effata. at matres primo ancipites oculisque malignis ambiguæ spectare rates miserum inter amorem | 655 | was missing so important a rite and could not pay Anchises the offerings due to him.” So she speaks. At first the women gaze in uncertainty at the ships, with angry glances, torn between a wretched yearning for the land |
| præsentis terræ fatisque vocantia regna, quum dea se paribus per cælum sustulit alis ingentemque fuga secuit sub nubibus arcum. tum vero attonitæ monstris actæque furore conclamant, rapiuntque focis penetralibus ignem, | 660 | they have reached, and the kingdom fate calls them to, when the goddess, climbs the sky on soaring wings, cutting a giant rainbow in her flight through the clouds. Then truly amazed at the wonder, and driven by madness, they cry out and some snatch fire from the innermost hearths, |
| pars spoliant aras, frondem ac virgulta facesque conjiciunt. furit immissis Volcanus habenis transtra per et remos et pictas abiete puppis. Nuntius Anchisæ ad tumulum cuneosque theatri incensas perfert navis Eumelus, et ipsi | 665 | others strip the altars, and throw on leaves and twigs and burning brands. Fire rages unchecked among the benches, and oars, and the hulls of painted pine. Eumelus carries the news of the burning ships to Anchises’s tomb and the ranks of the ampitheatre, and looking behind them |
| respiciunt atram in nimbo volitare favillam. primus et Ascanius, cursus ut lætus equestris ducebat, sic acer equo turbata petivit castra, nec exanimes possunt retinere magistri. « Quis furor iste novus? quo nunc, quo tenditis » inquit | 670 | they themselves see dark ash floating upwards in a cloud. Ascanius is first to turn his horse eagerly towards the troubled encampment, as joyfully as he led his galloping troop, and his breathless guardians cannot reign him back. “What new madness is this? He cries. “What now, what do you |
| « heu miseræ cives? non hostem inimicaque castra Argivum, vestras spes uritis. en, ego vester Ascanius! » — galeam ante pedes projecit inanem, qua ludo indutus belli simulacra ciebat. accelerat simul Æneas, simul agmina Teucrum. | 675 | aim at, wretched women? You’re burning your own hopes not the enemy, nor a hostile Greek camp. See I am your Ascanius!” And he flung his empty helmet in front of his feet, that he’d worn as he’d inspired his pretence of battle in play. Æneas hurries there too, and the Trojan companies. |
| ast illæ diversa metu per litora passim diffugiunt, silvasque et sicubi concava furtim saxa petunt ; piget incepti lucisque, suosque mutatæ agnoscunt excussaque pectore Juno est. Sed non idcirco flamma atque incendia viris | 680 | But the women scatter in fear here and there along the shore, and stealthily head for the woods and any cavernous rocks: they hate what they’ve done and the light, with sober minds they recognise their kin, and Juno is driven from their hearts. But the roaring flames don’t lose their indomitable fury |
| indomitas posuere ; udo sub robore vivit stuppa vomens tardum fumum, lentusque carinas est vapor et toto descendit corpore pestis, nec vires heroum infusaque flumina prosunt. tum pius Æneas umeris abscindere vestem | 685 | just for that: the pitch is alight under the wet timbers, slowly belching smoke, the keel is gradually burned, and the pestilence sinks through a whole hull, nor are heroic strength or floods of water any use. Then virtuous Æneas tears the clothes from his chest, |
| auxilioque vocare deos et tendere palmas : « Juppiter omnipotens, si nondum exosus ad unum Trojanos, si quid pietas antiqua labores respicit humanos, da flammam evadere classi nunc, pater, et tenuis Teucrum res eripe leto ; | 690 | and calls on the gods for help, lifting his hands: “All-powerful Jupiter, if you don’t hate the Trojans to a man, if your former affection has regard for human suffering, let the fleet escape the flames now, Father, and save our slender Trojan hopes from ruin: |
| vel tu, quod superest, infesto fulmine morti, si mereor, demitte tuaque hic obrue dextra. » vix hæc ediderat quum effusis imbribus atra tempestas sine more furit tonitruque tremescunt ardua terrarum et campi ; ruit æthere toto | 695 | or if I deserve this, send what is left of us to death with your angry lightning-bolt, and overwhelm us with your hand.” He had barely spoken, when a dark storm with pouring rain rages without check and the high hills and plains quake with thunder: a murky downpour falls |
| turbidus imber aqua densisque nigerrimus Austris, implenturque super puppes, semusta madescunt robora, restinctus donec vapor omnis et omnes quattuor amissis servatæ a peste carinæ. At pater Æneas casu concussus acerbo | 700 | from the whole sky, the blackest of heavy southerlies, and the ships are brimming, the half-burnt timbers soaked, until all the heat is quenched, and all the hulls except four, are saved from the pestilence. But Æneas, the leader, stunned by the bitter blow, |
| nunc huc ingentis, nunc illuc pectore curas mutabat versans, Siculisne resideret arvis oblitus fatorum, Italasne capesseret oras. tum senior Nautes, unum Tritonia Pallas quem docuit multaque insignem reddidit arte — | 705 | pondered his great worries, turning them this way and that in his mind. Should he settle in Sicily’s fields, forgetting his destiny, or strike out for Italian shores? Then old Nautes, whom alone Tritonian Pallas had taught, and rendered famous for his great skill (she gave him |
| hæc responsa dabat, vel quæ portenderet ira magna deum vel quæ fatorum posceret ordo ; isque his Ænean solatus vocibus infit : « Nate dea, quo fata trahunt retrahuntque sequamur ; quidquid erit, superanda omnis fortuna ferendo est. | 710 | answers, telling what the great gods’ anger portended, or what the course of destiny demanded), began to solace Æneas with these words: “Son of the Goddess, let us follow wherever fate ebbs or flows, whatever comes, every fortune may be conquered by endurance. |
| est tibi Dardanius divinæ stirpis Acestes : hunc cape consiliis socium et conjunge volentem, huic trade amissis superant qui navibus et quos pertæsum magni incepti rerumque tuarum est. longævosque senes ac fessas æquore matres | 715 | You have Trojan Acestes of the line of the gods: let him share your decisions and be a willing partner, entrust to him those who remain from the lost ships, and those tired of your great venture and your affairs: Select also aged men and women exhausted by the sea, |
| et quidquid tecum invalidum metuensque pericli est delige, et his habeant terris sine mœnia fessi ; urbem appellabunt permisso nomine Acestam. » Talibus incensus dictis senioris amici tum vero in curas animo diducitur omnis ; | 720 | and anyone with you who is frail, or afraid of danger, and let the weary have their city in this land: and if agreed they will call it by Acestes’s name.” Then roused by such words from an aged friend, Æneas’s heart was truly torn between so many cares. |
| et Nox atra polum bigis subvecta tenebat. visa dehinc cælo facies delapsa parentis Anchisæ subito talis effundere voces : « Nate, mihi vita quondam, dum vita manebat, care magis, nate Iliacis exercite fatis, | 725 | And now black Night in her chariot, borne upwards, occupied the heavens: and the likeness of his father Anchises seemed to glide down from the sky, and speak so: “Son, dearer to me than life, when life remained, my son, troubled by Troy’s fate, I come here |
| imperio Jovis huc venio, qui classibus ignem depulit, et cælo tandem miseratus ab alto est. consiliis pare quæ nunc pulcherrima Nautes dat senior ; lectos juvenes, fortissima corda, defer in Italiam. gens dura atque aspera cultu | 730 | at Jove’s command, he who drove the fire from the ships, and at last takes pity on you from high heaven. Follow the handsome advice that old Nautus gives: take chosen youth, and the bravest hearts, to Italy. In Latium you must subdue a tough race, harshly trained. |
| debellanda tibi Latio est. Ditis tamen ante infernas accede domos et Averna per alta congressus pete, nate, meos. non me impia namque Tartara habent, tristes umbræ, sed amœna piorum concilia Elysiumque colo. huc casta Sibylla | 735 | Yet, first, go to the infernal halls of Dis, and in deep Avernus seek a meeting with me, my son. For impious Tartarus, with its sad shades, dœs not hold me, I live in Elysium, and the lovely gatherings of the blessed. Here the chaste Sibyl will bring you, with much blood of |
| nigrarum multo pecudum te sanguine ducet. tum genus omne tuum et quæ dentur mœnia disces. jamque vale ; torquet medios Nox umida cursus et me sævus equis Oriens afflavit anhelis. » dixerat et tenuis fugit ceu fumus in auras. | 740 | black sheep. Then you’ll learn all about your race, and the city granted you. Now: farewell. Dew-wet Night turns mid-course, and cruel Morning, with panting steeds, breathes on me.” He spoke and fled like smoke into thin air. |
| Æneas « quo deinde ruis? quo proripis? » inquit, « quem fugis? aut quis te nostris complexibus arcet? » hæc memorans cinerem et sopitos suscitat ignis, Pergameumque Larem et canæ penetralia Vestæ farre pio et plena supplex veneratur acerra. | 745 | “Where are you rushing to? Æneas cried, “Where are you hurrying? Who do you flee? Who bars you from my embrace?” So saying he revived the embers of the slumbering fires, and paid reverence, humbly, with sacred grain and a full censer, to the Trojan Lar, and the inner shrine of white-haired Vesta. |
| Extemplo socios primumque accersit Acesten et Jovis imperium et cari præcepta parentis edocet et quæ nunc animo sententia constet. haud mora consiliis, nec jussa recusat Acestes : transcribunt urbi matres populumque volentem | 750 | Immediately he summoned his companions, Acestes first of all, and told them of Jove’s command, and his dear father’s counsel, and the decision he had reached in his mind. There was little delay in their discussions, and Acestes did not refuse to accept his orders. They transferred the women to the new city’s roll, and settled |
| deponunt, animos nil magnæ laudis egentis. ipsi transtra novant flammisque ambesa reponunt robora navigiis, aptant remosque rudentisque, exigui numero, sed bello vivida virtus. interea Æneas urbem designat aratro | 755 | there those who wished, spirits with no desire for great glory. They themselves, thinned in their numbers, but with manhood fully alive to war, renewed the rowing benches, and replaced the timbers of the ships burnt by fire, and fitted oars and rigging. Meanwhile Æneas marked out the city limits with a plough |
| sortiturque domos ; hoc Ilium et hæc loca Trojam esse jubet. gaudet regno Trojanus Acestes indicitque forum et patribus dat jura vocatis. tum vicina astris Erycino in vertice sedes fundatur Veneri Idaliæ, tumuloque sacerdos | 760 | and allocated houses: he declared that this was Ilium and this place Troy. Acestes the Trojan revelled in his kingdom, appointed a court, and gave out laws to the assembled senate. Then a shrine of Venus of Idalia was dedicated, close to the stars, on the tip of Eryx, and they added |
| ac lucus late sacer additus Anchiseo. Jamque dies epulata novem gens omnis, et aris factus honos : placidi straverunt æquora venti creber et aspirans rursus vocat Auster in altum. exoritur procurva ingens per litora fletus ; | 765 | a stretch of sacred grove, and a priest, to Anchises’s tomb. When all the people had feasted for nine days, and offerings had been made at the altars, gentle winds calmed the waves and a strong Southerly called them again to sea. A great weeping rose along the curving shore: |
| complexi inter se noctemque diemque morantur. ipsæ jam matres, ipsi, quibus aspera quondam visa maris facies et non tolerabile numen, ire volunt omnemque fugæ perferre laborem. quos bonus Æneas dictis solatur amicis | 770 | a day and a night they clung together in delay. Now the women themselves, to whom the face of the ocean had once seemed cruel, and its name intolerable, wish to go and suffer all the toils of exile. Good Æneas comforts them with kind words |
| et consanguineo lacrimans commendat Acestæ. tris Eryci vitulos et Tempestatibus agnam cædere deinde jubet solvique ex ordine funem. ipse caput tonsæ foliis evinctus olivæ stans procul in prora pateram tenet, extaque salsos | 775 | and commends them to his kinsman Acestes with tears. Then he orders three calves to be sacrificed to Eryx, a lamb to the Storm-gods, and for the hawsers to be duly freed. He himself, standing some way off on the prow, his brow wreathed with leaves of cut olive, holds a cup, throws the entrails |
| porricit in fluctus ac vina liquentia fundit. prosequitur surgens a puppi ventus euntis. certatim socii feriunt mare et æquora verrunt ; At Venus interea Neptunum exercita curis alloquitur talisque effundit pectore questus : | 780 | into the salt waves, and pours out the clear wine. A wind, rising astern, follows their departure: his friends in rivalry, strike the waves, and sweep the waters. But meanwhile Venus, tormented by anxiety speaks to Neptune, and pours out her complaints in this manner: |
| « Junonis gravis ira neque exsaturabile pectus cogunt me, Neptune, preces descendere in omnis ; quam nec longa dies pietas nec mitigat ulla, nec Jovis imperio fatisque infracta quiescit. non media de gente Phrygum exedisse nefandis | 785 | “O Neptune, Juno’s heavy anger, and her implacable heart, force me to descend to every kind of prayer, she whom no length of time nor any piety can move, nor dœs she rest, unwearied by fate or Jove’s commands. It’s not enough that in her wicked hatred she’s consumed a city, |
| urbem odiis satis est nec pœnam traxe per omnem reliquias Trojæ : cineres atque ossa peremptæ insequitur. causas tanti sciat illa furoris. ipse mihi nuper Libycis tu testis in undis quam molem subito excierit : maria omnia cælo | 790 | at the heart of Phrygia, and dragged the survivors of Troy through extremes of punishment: she pursues the bones and ashes of the slaughtered. She alone knows the reason for such fury. You yourself are witness to the trouble she stirred lately in Libyan waters: she confused the whole sea |
| miscuit Æoliis nequiquam frēta procellis, in regnis hoc ausa tuis. per scelus ecce etiam Trojanis matribus actis exussit fœde puppis et classe subegit amissa socios ignotæ linquere terræ. | 795 | with the sky, daring to do this within your realm, relying vainly on Æolus’s violent storm-winds. See, how, rousing the Trojan women, in her wickedness, and disgracefully, she has burnt their fleet, and, with ships lost, to leave their friends behind on an unknown shore. |
| quod superest, oro, liceat dare tuta per undas vela tibi, liceat Laurentem attingere Thybrim, si concessa peto, si dant ea mœnia Parcæ. » tum Saturnius hæc domitor maris edidit alti : « fas omne est, Cytherea, meis te fidere regnis, | 800 | I beg you to let the rest sail safely through your seas, let them reach Laurentine Tiber, if I ask what is allowed, if the Fates grant them their city.” Then the son of Saturn, the master of the deep oceans, said this: “You’ve every right to trust in my realms, Cytherea, |
| unde genus ducis. merui quoque ; sæpe furores compressi et rabiem tantam cælique marisque. nec minor in terris, Xanthum Simœntaque testor, Æneæ mihi cura tui. quum Troja Achilles exanimata sequens impingeret agmina muris, | 805 | from which you draw your own origin. Also I’ve earned it: I’ve often controlled the rage and fury of sea and sky. Nor has my concern been less for your Æneas on land (I call Xanthus and Simois as witnesses). When Achilles chased the Trojan ranks, in their panic, forcing them to the wall, |
| milia multa daret leto, gemerentque repleti amnes nec reperire viam atque evolvere posset in mare se Xanthus, Pelidæ tunc ego forti congressum Ænean nec dis nec viribus æquis nube cava rapui, cuperem quum vertere ab imo | 810 | and sent many thousands to death, and the rivers choked and groaned, and Xanthus could not find his course or roll down to the sea, then it was I who caught up Æneas in a thick mist, as he met that brave son of Peleus, when neither the gods nor his own strength favored him, |
| structa meis manibus perjuræ mœnia Trojæ. nunc quoque mens eadem perstat mihi ; pelle timores. tutus, quos optas, portus accedet Averni. unus erit tantum amissum quem gurgite quæres ; unum pro multis dabitur caput. » | 815 | though I longed to destroy the walls of lying Troy, that my hands had built, from the ground up. Now also my mind remains the same: dispel your fears. He will reach the harbors of Avernus, safely, as you ask. There will only be one, lost in the waves, whom you will look for: one life that will be given for the many.” |
| his ubi læta deæ permulsit pectora dictis, jungit equos auro genitor, spumantiaque addit frena feris manibusque omnis effundit habenas. cæruleo per summa levis volat æquora curru ; subsidunt undæ tumidumque sub axe tonanti | 820 | When he had soothed the goddess’s heart, she joying at his words, Father Neptune yoked his wild horses with gold, set the bits in their foaming mouths, and, with both hands, gave them free rein. He sped lightly over the ocean in his sea-green chariot, the waves subsided and the expanse of swollen waters grew calm under the thunderous axle: |
| sternitur æquor aquis, fugiunt vasto æthere nimbi. tum variæ comitum facies, immania cete, et senior Glauci chorus Inousque Palæmon Tritonesque citi Phorcique exercitus omnis ; læva tenet Thetis et Melite Panopeaque virgo, | 825 | the storm-clouds vanished from the open sky. Then came his multi-formed followers, great whales, Glaucus’s aged band, Palæmon Ino’s son, the swift Tritons, and all of Phorcus’s host: the left hand taken by Thetis, Melite and virgin Panopea, |
| Nisæe Spioque Thaliaque Cymodoceque. Hic patris Æneæ suspensam blanda vicissim gaudia pertemptant mentem ; jubet ocius omnis attolli malos, intendi bracchia velis. una omnes fecere pedem pariterque sinistros, | 830 | Nesæa, and Spio, Thalia, and Cymodoce. At this, soothing joy in turn pervaded father Æneas’s anxious mind: he ordered all to raise their masts quickly, and the sails to be unfurled from the yard-arms. Together they hauled on the ropes and let out the canvas as one, |
| nunc dextros solvere sinus ; una ardua torquent cornua detorquentque ; ferunt sua flamina classem. princeps ante omnis densum Palinurus agebat agmen ; ad hunc alii cursum contendere jussi. jamque fere mediam cæli Nox umida metam | 835 | now to port and now to starboard: together they swung the high yards about: benign winds drove the fleet along. Palinurus, first of them all, led the close convoy: the rest were ordered to set their course by his. And now dew-wet Night had just reached her zenith |
| contigerat, placida laxabant membra quiete sub remis fusi per dura sedilia nautæ, quum levis ætheriis delapsus Somnus ab astris æra dimovit tenebrosum et dispulit umbras, te, Palinure, petens, tibi somnia tristia portans | 840 | in the sky: the sailors relaxed their limbs in quiet rest stretched out on the hard benches beneath the oars: when Sleep, gliding lightly down from the heavenly stars, parted the gloomy air, and scattered the shadows, seeking you, bringing you dark dreams, Palinurus, |
| insonti ; puppique deus consedit in alta Phorbanti similis funditque has ore loquelas : « Iaside Palinure, ferunt ipsa æquora classem, æquatæ spirant auræ, datur hora quieti. pone caput fessosque oculos furare labori. | 845 | though you were innocent: the god settled on the high stern, appearing as Phorbas, and poured these words from his mouth: “Palinurus, son of Iasus, the seas themselves steer the fleet, the breezes blow steadily, this hour is granted for rest. Lay down your head and rob your weary eyes of labor. |
| ipse ego paulisper pro te tua munera inibo. » cui vix attollens Palinurus lumina fatur : « mene salis placidi vultum fluctusque quietos ignorare jubes? mene huic confidere monstro? Ænean credam (quid enim?) fallacibus auris | 850 | For a little while, I myself will take on your duty for you.” Palinurus, barely lifting his gaze, spoke to him: “Do you tell me to trust the sea’s placid face, the calm waves? Shall I set my faith on this monster? Why should I entrust Æneas to the deceptive breeze, |
| et cæli totiens deceptus fraude sereni? » talia dicta dabat, clavumque affixus et hærens nusquam amittebat oculosque sub astra tenebat. ecce deus ramum Lethæo rore madentem vique soporatum Stygia super utraque quassat | 855 | I whom a clear sky has deceived so often?” So he spoke and clinging hard to the tiller never relaxed his hold, and held his sight on the stars. Behold, despite his caution, the god shook a branch, wet with Lethe’s dew, soporific with Styx’s power, |
| tempora, cunctantique natantia lumina solvit. vix primos inopina quies laxaverat artus, et super incumbens quum puppis parte revulsa cumque gubernaclo liquidas projecit in undas præcipitem ac socios nequiquam sæpe vocantem ; | 860 | over his brow, and set free his swimming eyes. The first sudden drowse had barely relaxed his limbs, when Sleep leant above him and threw him headlong into the clear waters, tearing away the tiller and part of the stern, he calling to his friends often, in vain: |
| ipse volans tenuis se sustulit ales ad auras. currit iter tutum non setius æquore classis promissisque patris Neptuni interrita fertur. jamque adeo scopulos Sirenum advecta subibat, difficilis quondam multorumque ossibus albos | 865 | while the god raised his wings in flight into the empty air. The fleet sailed on its way over the sea, as safely as before, gliding on, unaware, as father Neptune had promised. And now drawn onwards it was close to the Sirens’s cliffs, tricky of old, and white with the bones of many men, (now the rocks, |
| (tum rauca assiduo longe sale saxa sonabant), quum pater amisso fluitantem errare magistro sensit, et ipse ratem nocturnis rexit in undis multa gemens casuque animum concussus amici : « o nimium cælo et pelago confise sereno, | 870 | far off, boomed loud with the unending breakers) when the leader realised his ship was wallowing adrift, her helmsman lost, and he himself steered her through the midnight waters, sighing deeply, and shocked at heart by his friend’s fate: “Oh, far too trustful of the calm sea, and the sky, |
| nudus in ignota, Palinure, jacebis harena. » | you’ll lie naked, Palinurus, on an unknown shore.” |
| Liber VI | ⤊ | |
| P. VERGILII MARONIS ÆNEIDOS LIBER SEXTUS | ||
| Sic fatur lacrimans, classique immittit habenas et tandem Euboicis Cumarum allabitur oris. obvertunt pelago proras ; tum dente tenaci ancora fundabat navis et litora curvæ prætexunt puppes. Juvenum manus emicat ardens | 5 | So Æneas spoke, weeping, gave his fleet full rein, and glided at last to the shores of Eubœan Cumæ. They turned their prows to the sea, secured the ships’ anchors, by the grip of their flukes, and the curved boats lined the beach. The youthful band leapt eagerly |
| litus in Hesperium ; quærit pars semina flammæ abstrusa in venis silicis, pars densa ferarum tecta rapit silvas inventaque flumina monstrat. at pius Æneas arces quibus altus Apollo præsidet horrendæque procul secreta Sibyllæ, | 10 | to the Hesperian shore: some sought the means of fire contained in veins of flint, some raided the woods the dense coverts of game, pointing out streams they found. But pious Æneas sought the summits, where Apollo rules on high, and the vast cavern nearby, the secret place |
| antrum immane, petit, magnam cui mentem animumque Delius inspirat vates aperitque futura. jam subeunt Triviæ lucos atque aurea tecta. Dædalus, ut fama est, fugiens Minoja regna præpetibus pennis ausus se credere cælo | 15 | of the terrifying Sibyl, in whom the Delian prophet inspires greatness of mind and spirit, and reveals the future. Soon they entered the grove of Diana, and the golden house. Dædalus, so the story gœs, fleeing from Minos’s kingdom, dared to trust himself to the air on swift wings, |
| insuetum per iter gelidas enavit ad Arctos, Chalcidicaque levis tandem super astitit arce. redditus his primum terris tibi, Phœbe, sacravit remigium alarum posuitque immania templa. in foribus letum Androgeo ; tum pendere pœnas | 20 | and, gliding on unknown paths to the frozen North, hovered lightly at last above the Chalcidian hill. First returning to earth here, he dedicated his oar-like wings to you Phœbus, and built a gigantic temple. On the doors the Death of Androgeos: then the Athenians, |
| Cecropidæ jussi (miserum!) septena quotannis corpora natorum ; stat ductis sortibus urna. contra elata mari respondet Cnosia tellus : hic crudelis amor tauri suppostaque furto Pasiphæ mixtumque genus prolesque biformis | 25 | Crecrops’s descendants, commanded, sadly, to pay annual tribute of seven of their sons: there the urn stands with the lots drawn. Facing it, rising from the sea, the Cretan land is depicted: and here the bull’s savage passion, Pasiphæ’s secret union, and the Minotaur, hybrid offspring, |
| Minotaurus inest, Veneris monumenta nefandæ, hic labor ille domus et inextricabilis error ; magnum reginæ sed enim miseratus amorem Dædalus ipse dolos tecti ambagesque resolvit, cæca regens filo vestigia. tu quoque magnam | 30 | that mixture of species, proof of unnatural relations: the artwork here is that palace, and its inextricable maze: and yet Dædalus himself, pitying the noble princess Ariadne’s love, unravelled the deceptive tangle of corridors, guiding Theseus’s blind footsteps with the clue of thread. |
| partem opere in tanto, sineret dolor, Icare, haberes. bis conatus erat casus effingere in auro, bis patriæ cecidere manus. quin protinus omnia perlegerent oculis, ni jam præmissus Achates afforet atque una Phœbi Triviæque sacerdos, | 35 | You’d have shared largely in such a work, Icarus, if grief had allowed, he’d twice attempted to fashion your fate in gold, twice your father’s hands fell. Eyes would have read the whole continuously, if Achetes had not arrived from his errand, with Deiophobe, Glaucus’s daughter, |
| Deiphobe Glauci, fatur quæ talia regi : « non hoc ista sibi tempus spectacula poscit ; nunc grege de intacto septem mactare juvencos præstiterit, totidem lectas ex more bidentis. » talibus affata Ænean (nec sacra morantur | 40 | the priestess of Phœbus and Diana, who spoke to the leader: “This moment dœsn’t require your sightseeing: it would be better to sacrifice seven bullocks from a virgin herd, and as many carefully chosen two-year old sheep.” Having spoken to Æneas in this way (without delay they sacrificed |
| jussa viri) Teucros vocat alta in templa sacerdos. Excisum Euboicæ latus ingens rupis in antrum, quo lati ducunt aditus centum, ostia centum, unde ruunt totidem voces, responsa Sibyllæ. ventum erat ad limen, quum virgo « poscere fata | 45 | as ordered) the priestess called the Trojans to her high shrine. The vast flank of the Eubœan cliff is pitted with caves, from which a hundred wide tunnels, a hundred mouths lead, from which as many voices rush: the Sibyl’s replies. They had come to the threshold, when the virgin cried out: |
| tempus » ait ; « deus ecce deus! » cui talia fanti ante fores subito non vultus, non color unus, non comptæ mansere comæ ; sed pectus anhelum, et rabie fera corda tument, majorque videri nec mortale sonans, afflata est numine quando | 50 | “It is time to question the Oracle, behold, the god, the god!” As she so spoke in front of the doors, suddenly neither her face nor color were the same, nor did her hair remain bound, but her chest heaved, her heart swelled with wild frenzy, she seemed taller, and sounded not-human, for now |
| jam propiore dei. « cessas in vota precesque, Tros » ait « Ænea? cessas? neque enim ante dehiscent attonitæ magna ora domus. » et talia fata conticuit. gelidus Teucris per dura cucurrit ossa tremor, funditque preces rex pectore ab imo : | 55 | the power of the god is closer. “Are you slow with your vows and prayers, Æneas of Troy, are you slow?” she cried. “The great lips of the House of Inspiration will not open without.” And so saying she fell silent. An icy shudder ran to the Trojans’ very spines, and their leader poured out heartfelt prayers: |
| « Phœbe, gravis Trojæ semper miserate labores, Dardana qui Paridis derexti tela manusque corpus in Æacidæ, magnas obeuntia terras tot maria intravi duce te penitusque repostas Massylum gentis prætentaque Syrtibus arva : | 60 | “Phœbus, you who always pitied Troy’s intense suffering, who guided the hand of Paris, and the Dardan arrow, against Achilles’s body, with you as leader I entered all those seas, encircling vast lands, and penetrated the remote Massilian tribes and the fields edged by Syrtes: |
| jam tandem Italiæ fugientis prendimus oras. hac Trojana tenus fuerit fortuna secuta ; uos quoque Pergameæ jam fas est parcere genti, dique deæque omnes, quibus obstitit Ilium et ingens gloria Dardaniæ. tuque, o sanctissima vates, | 65 | now at last we have the coast of elusive Italy in our grasp: Troy’s ill fortune only followed us as far as here. You too with justice can spare the Trojan race, and all you gods and goddesses to whom the great glory of Ilium and Dardania was an offence. O most sacred of prophetesses, |
| præscia venturi, da (non indebita posco regna meis fatis) Latio considere Teucros errantisque deos agitataque numina Trojæ. tum Phœbo et Triviæ solido de marmore templum instituam festosque dies de nomine Phœbi. | 70 | you who see the future, (I ask for no lands not owed me by my destiny) grant that we Trojans may settle Latium, with the exiled gods and storm-tossed powers of Troy. Then I’ll dedicate a temple of solid marble to Phœbus and Diana Trivia, and sacred days in Phœbus’s name. |
| te quoque magna manent regnis penetralia nostris : hic ego namque tuas sortis arcanaque fata dicta meæ genti ponam, lectosque sacrabo, alma, viros. foliis tantum ne carmina manda, ne turbata volent rapidis ludibria ventis ; | 75 | A noble inner shrine waits for you too in our kingdom. There, gracious one, I will place your oracles, and mystic utterances spoken to my people, and consecrate picked men. Only do not write your verses on the leaves, lest they fly, disordered playthings of the rushing winds: chant them |
| ipsa canas oro. » finem dedit ore loquendi. At Phœbi nondum patiens immanis in antro bacchatur vates, magnum si pectore possit excussisse deum ; tanto magis ille fatigat os rabidum, fera corda domans, fingitque premendo. | 80 | from your own mouth.” He put an end to his mouth’s speaking. But the wild prophetess raged in her cavern, not yet submitting to Phœbus, as if she might shake the great god from her spirit: yet he exhausted her raving mouth all the more, taming her wild heart, shaping her by constraint. |
| ostia jamque domus patuere ingentia centum sponte sua vatisque ferunt responsa per auras : « o tandem magnis pelagi defuncte periclis (sed terræ graviora manent), in regna Lavini Dardanidæ venient (mitte hanc de pectore curam), | 85 | And now the shrine’s hundred mighty lips have opened of themselves, and carry the seer’s answer through the air: “Oh, you who are done with all the perils of the sea, (yet greater await you on land) the Trojans will come to the realm of Lavinium (put that care from your heart): |
| sed non et venisse volent. bella, horrida bella, et Thybrim multo spumantem sanguine cerno. non Simois tibi nec Xanthus nec Dorica castra defuerint ; alius Latio jam partus Achilles, natus et ipse dea ; nec Teucris addita Juno | 90 | but will not enjoy their coming. War, fierce war, I see: and the Tiber foaming with much blood. You will not lack a Simois, a Xanthus, a Greek camp: even now another Achilles is born in Latium, he too the son of a goddess: nor will Juno, the Trojans’ bane, |
| usquam aberit, quum tu supplex in rebus egenis quas gentis Italum aut quas non oraveris urbes! causa mali tanti conjunx iterum hospita Teucris externique iterum thalami. tu ne cede malis, sed contra audentior ito, | 95 | be ever far away, while you, humbled and destitute, what races and cities of Italy will you not beg in! Once again a foreign bride is the cause of all these Trojan ills, once more an alien marriage. Do not give way to misfortunes, meet them more bravely, |
| qua tua te Fortuna sinet. via prima salutis (quod minime reris) Graja pandetur ab urbe. » Talibus ex adyto dictis Cumæa Sibylla horrendas canit ambages antroque remugit, obscuris vera involvens : ea frena furenti | 100 | as your destiny allows. The path of safety will open up for you from where you least imagine it, a Greek city.” With such words, the Sibyl of Cumæ chants fearful enigmas, from her shrine, echoing from the cave, tangling truths and mysteries: as she raves, Apollo |
| concutit et stimulos sub pectore vertit Apollo. ut primum cessit furor et rabida ora quierunt, incipit Æneas heros : « non ulla laborum, o virgo, nova mi facies inopinave surgit ; omnia præcepi atque animo mecum ante peregi. | 105 | thrashes the reins, and twists the spur under her breast. When the frenzy quietens, and the mad mouth hushes, Æneas, the Hero, begins: “O Virgin, no new, unexpected kind of suffering appears: I’ve foreseen them all and travelled them before, in my own spirit. |
| unum oro : quando hic inferni janua regis dicitur et tenebrosa palus Acheronte refuso, ire ad conspectum cari genitoris et ora contingat ; doceas iter et sacra ostia pandas. illum ego per flammas et mille sequentia tela | 110 | One thing I ask: for they say the gate of the King of Darkness is here, and the shadowy marsh, Acheron’s overflow: let me have sight of my dear father, his face: show me the way, open wide the sacred doors. I saved him, brought him out from the thick of the enemy, through the flames, |
| eripui his umeris medioque ex hoste recepi ; ille meum comitatus iter maria omnia mecum atque omnis pelagique minas cælique ferebat, invalidus, viris ultra sortemque senectæ. quin, ut te supplex peterem et tua limina adirem, | 115 | on these shoulders, with a thousand spears behind me: companion on my journey, he endured with me all the seas, all the threats of sky and ocean, weak, beyond his power, and his allotted span of old age. He ordered me, with prayers, to seek you out, humbly, |
| idem orans mandata dabat. gnatique patrisque, alma, precor, miserere (potes namque omnia, nec te nequiquam lucis Hecate præfecit Avernis), si potuit manis accersere conjugis Orpheus Thrēicia fretus cithara fidibusque canoris, | 120 | and approach your threshold: I ask you, kindly one, pity both father and son: since you are all power, not for nothing has Hecate set you to rule the groves of Avernus. If Orpheus could summon the shade of his wife, relying on his Thracian lyre, its melodious strings: |
| si fratrem Pollux alterna morte redemit itque reditque viam totiens. quid Thesea, magnum quid memorem Alciden? et mi genus ab Jove summo. » Talibus orabat dictis arasque tenebat, quum sic orsa loqui vates : « sate sanguine divum, | 125 | if Pollux, crossing that way, and returning, so often, could redeem his brother by dying in turn — and great Theseus, what of him, or Hercules? — well, my race too is Jupiter’s on high.” With these words he prayed, and grasped the altar, as the priestess began to speak: “Trojan son of Anchises, |
| Tros Anchisiade, facilis descensus Averno : noctes atque dies patet atri janua Ditis ; sed revocare gradum superasque evadere ad auras, hoc opus, hic labor est. pauci, quos æquus amavit Juppiter aut ardens evexit ad æthera virtus, | 130 | sprung from the blood of the gods, the path to hell is easy: black Dis’s door is open night and day: but to retrace your steps, and go out to the air above, that is work, that is the task. Some sons of the gods have done it, whom favoring Jupiter loved, or whom burning virtue |
| dis geniti potuere : tenent media omnia silvæ, Cocytusque sinu labens circumuenit atro. quod si tantus amor menti, si tanta cupido est bis Stygios innare lacus, bis nigra videre Tartara, et insano juvat indulgere labori, | 135 | lifted to heaven. Woods cover all the middle part, and Cocytus is round it, sliding in dark coils. But if such desire is in your mind, such a longing to sail the Stygian lake twice, and twice see Tartarus, and if it delights you to indulge in insane effort, |
| accipe quæ peragenda prius : latet arbore opaca aureus et foliis et lento vimine ramus, Junoni infernæ dictus sacer ; hunc tegit omnis lucus et obscuris claudunt convallibus umbræ. sed non ante datur telluris operta subire | 140 | listen to what you must first undertake. Hidden in a dark tree is a golden bough, golden in leaves and pliant stem, sacred to Persephone, the underworld’s Juno, all the groves shroud it, and shadows enclose the secret valleys. But only one who’s taken a gold-leaved fruit from the tree |
| auricomos quam quis decerpserit arbore fetus. hoc sibi pulchra suum ferri Proserpina munus instituit ; primo avulso non deficit alter aureus, et simili frondescit virga metallo. ergo alte vestiga oculis et rite repertum | 145 | is allowed to enter earth’s hidden places. This lovely Proserpine has commanded to be brought to her as a gift: a second fruit of gold never fails to appear when the first one’s picked, the twig’s leafed with the same metal. So look for it up high, and when you’ve found it with your eyes, |
| carpe manu ; namque ipse volens facilisque sequetur, si te fata vocant ; aliter non viribus ullis uincere nec duro poteris convellere ferro. præterea jacet exanimum tibi corpus amici (heu nescis) totamque incestat funere classem, | 150 | take it, of right, in your hand: since, if the Fates have chosen you, it will come away easily, freely of itself: otherwise you won’t conquer it by any force, or cut it with the sharpest steel. And the inanimate body of your friend lies there (Ah! You do not know) and taints your whole fleet with death, |
| dum consulta petis nostroque in limine pendes. sedibus hunc refer ante suis et conde sepulcro. duc nigras pecudes ; ea prima piacula sunto. sic demum lucos Stygis et regna invia vivis aspicies. » dixit, pressoque obmutuit ore. | 155 | while you seek advice and hang about our threshold. Carry him first to his place and bury him in the tomb. Lead black cattle there: let those be your first offerings of atonement. Only then can you look on the Stygian groves, and the realms forbidden to the living.” She spoke and with closed lips fell silent. |
| Æneas mæsto defixus lumina vultu ingreditur linquens antrum, cæcosque volutat eventus animo secum. cui fidus Achates it comes et paribus curis vestigia figit. multa inter sese vario sermone serebant, | 160 | Leaving the cave, Æneas walked away, with sad face and downcast eyes, turning their dark fate over in his mind. Loyal Achates walked at his side and fashioned his steps with similar concern. They engaged in intricate discussion between them, |
| quem socium exanimum vates, quod corpus humandum diceret. atque illi Misenum in litore sicco, ut venere, vident indigna morte peremptum, Misenum Æoliden, quo non præstantior alter ære ciere viros Martemque accendere cantu. | 165 | as to who the dead friend, the body to be interred, was, whom the priestess spoke of. And as they passed along they saw Misenus, ruined by shameful death, on the dry sand, Misenus, son of Æolus, than whom none was more outstanding in rousing men with the war-trumpet, kindling conflict with music. |
| Hectoris hic magni fuerat comes, Hectora circum et lituo pugnas insignis obibat et hasta. postquam illum vita victor spoliavit Achilles, Dardanio Æneæ sese fortissimus heros addiderat socium, non inferiora secutus. | 170 | He was great Hector’s friend: with Hector he went to battle, distinguished by his spear and trumpet. When victorious Achilles despoiled Hector of life, this most courageous hero joined the company of Trojan Æneas, serving no lesser a man. But when, |
| sed tum, forte cava dum personat æquora concha, demens, et cantu vocat in certamina divos, æmulus exceptum Triton, si credere dignum est, inter saxa virum spumosa immerserat unda. ergo omnes magno circum clamore fremebant, | 175 | by chance, he foolishly made the ocean sound to a hollow conch-shell, and called gods to compete in playing, if the tale can be believed, Triton overheard him and drowned him in the foaming waves among the rocks. So, with pious Æneas to the fore, they all mourned |
| præcipue pius Æneas. tum jussa Sibyllæ, haud mora, festinant flentes aramque sepulcri congerere arboribus cæloque educere certant. itur in antiquam silvam, stabula alta ferarum ; procumbunt piceæ, sonat icta securibus ilex | 180 | round the body with loud clamor. Then, without delay, weeping, they hurried to carry out the Sibyl’s orders, and labored to pile tree-trunks as a funeral pyre, raising it to the heavens. They enter the ancient wood, the deep coverts of wild creatures: the pine-trees fell, the oaks rang to the blows of the axe, |
| fraxineæque trabes cuneis et fissile robur scinditur, advolvunt ingentis montibus ornos. Nec non Æneas opera inter talia primus hortatur socios paribusque accingitur armis. atque hæc ipse suo tristi cum corde volutat | 185 | ash trunks and fissile oak were split with wedges, and they rolled large rowan trees down from the hills. Æneas was no less active in such efforts, encouraging his companions, and employing similar tools. And he turned things over in his own saddened mind, |
| aspectans silvam immensam, et sic forte precatur : « si nunc se nobis ille aureus arbore ramus ostendat nemore in tanto! quando omnia vere heu nimium de te vates, Misene, locuta est. » vix ea fatus erat, geminæ quum forte columbæ | 190 | gazing at the immense forest, and by chance prayed so: “If only that golden bough would show itself to us now, on some such tree, among the woods! For the prophetess spoke truly of you Misenus, alas, only too truly.” He had barely spoken when by chance a pair of doves |
| ipsa sub ora viri cælo venere volantes, et viridi sedere solo ; tum maximus heros maternas agnovit avis lætusque precatur : « este duces, o, si qua via est, cursumque per auras derigite in lucos ubi pinguem dives opacat | 195 | came flying down from the sky, beneath his very eyes, and settled on the green grass. Then the great hero knew they were his mother’s birds, and prayed in his joy: “O be my guides, if there is some way, and steer a course through the air, to that grove where the rich branch |
| ramus humum. tuque, o, dubiis ne defice rebus, diva parens. » sic effatus vestigia pressit observans quæ signa ferant, quo tendere pergant. pascentes illæ tantum prodire volando quantum acie possent oculi servare sequentum. | 200 | casts its shadow on fertile soil. And you mother, O goddess, don’t fail me in time of doubt.” So saying he halted his footsteps, observing what signs the doves might give, and which direction they might take. As they fed they went forward in flight just as far as, following, his eyes could keep them in sight. |
| inde ubi venere ad fauces grave olentis Averni, tollunt se celeres liquidumque per æra lapsæ sedibus optatis gemina super arbore sidunt, discolor unde auri per ramos aura refulsit. quale solet silvis brumali frigore viscum | 205 | Then, when they reached the foul jaws of stinking Avernus, they quickly rose and, gliding through the clear air, perched on the longed-for dual-natured tree, from which the alien gleam of gold shone out, among the branches. Just as mistletœ, that dœs not form a tree of its own, |
| fronde virere nova, quod non sua seminat arbos, et croceo fetu teretis circumdare truncos, talis erat species auri frondentis opaca ilice, sic leni crepitabat brattea vento. corripit Æneas extemplo avidusque refringit | 210 | grows in the woods in the cold of winter, with a foreign leaf, and surrounds a smooth trunk with yellow berries: such was the vision of this leafy gold in the dark oak-tree, so the foil tinkled in the light breeze. Æneas immediately plucked it, eagerly breaking the tough |
| cunctantem, et vatis portat sub tecta Sibyllæ. Nec minus interea Misenum in litore Teucri flebant et cineri ingrato suprema ferebant. principio pinguem tædis et robore secto ingentem struxere pyram, cui frondibus atris | 215 | bough, and carried it to the cave of the Sibylline prophetess. Meanwhile, on the shore, the Trojans were weeping bitterly for Misenus and paying their last respects to his senseless ashes. First they raised a huge pyre, heavy with cut oak and pine, |
| intexunt latera et feralis ante cupressos constituunt, decorantque super fulgentibus armis. pars calidos latices et aëna undantia flammis expediunt, corpusque lavant frigentis et unguunt. fit gemitus. tum membra toro defleta reponunt | 220 | weaving the sides with dark foliage, set funereal cypress in front, and decorated it above with shining weapons. Some heated water, making the cauldrons boil on the flames, and washed and anointed the chill corpse. They made lament. Then, having wept, they placed his limbs on the couch, |
| purpureasque super vestis, velamina nota, conjiciunt. pars ingenti subiere feretro, triste ministerium, et subjectam more parentum aversi tenuere facem. congesta cremantur turea dona, dapes, fuso crateres olivo. | 225 | and threw purple robes over them, his usual dress. Some raised the great bier, a sad duty, and, with averted faces, set a torch below, in ancestral fashion. Gifts were heaped on the flames, of incense, foodstuffs, bowls brimming with olive-oil. |
| postquam collapsi cineres et flamma quievit, reliquias vino et bibulam lavere favillam, ossaque lecta cado texit Corynæus æno. idem ter socios pura circumtulit unda spargens rore levi et ramo felicis olivæ, | 230 | When the ashes collapsed, and the blaze died, they washed the remains of the parched bones in wine, and Corynæus, collecting the fragments, closed them in a bronze urn. Also he circled his comrades three times with pure water to purify them, sprinkling fine dew from a full olive branch, |
| lustravitque viros dixitque novissima verba. at pius Æneas ingenti mole sepulcrum imponit suaque arma viro remumque tubamque monte sub āerio, qui nunc Misenus ab illo dicitur æternumque tenet per sæcula nomen. | 235 | and spoke the words of parting. And virtuous Æneas heaped up a great mound for his tomb, with the hero’s own weapons, his trumpet and oar, beneath a high mountain which is called Misenus now after him, and preserves his ever-living name throughout the ages. |
| His actis propere exsequitur præcepta Sibyllæ. spelunca alta fuit vastoque immanis hiatu, scrupea, tuta lacu nigro nemorumque tenebris, quam super haud ullæ poterant impune volantes tendere iter pennis : talis sese halitus atris | 240 | This done, he quickly carried out the Sibyl’s orders. There was a deep stony cave, huge and gaping wide, sheltered by a dark lake and shadowy woods, over which nothing could extend its wings in safe flight, since such a breath flowed from those black jaws, |
| faucibus effundens supera ad convexa ferebat. [unde locum Graji dixerunt nomine Aornum.] quattuor hic primum nigrantis terga juvencos constituit frontique invergit vina sacerdos, et summas carpens media inter cornua sætas | 245 | and was carried to the over-arching sky, that the Greeks called it by the name Aornos, that is Avernus, or the Bird-less. Here the priestess first of all tethered four black heifers, poured wine over their foreheads, and placed the topmost bristles that she plucked, growing |
| ignibus imponit sacris, libamina prima, uoce vocans Hecaten cæloque Ereboque potentem. supponunt alii cultros tepidumque cruorem succipiunt pateris. ipse atri velleris agnam Æneas matri Eumenidum magnæque sorori | 250 | between their horns, in the sacred fire, as a first offering, calling aloud to Hecate, powerful in Heaven and Hell. Others slit the victim’s throats and caught the warm blood in bowls. Æneas himself sacrificed a black-fleeced lamb to Night, mother of the Furies, and Earth, her mighty sister, |
| ense ferit, sterilemque tibi, Proserpina, vaccam ; tum Stygio regi nocturnas incohat aras et solida imponit taurorum viscera flammis, pingue super oleum fundens ardentibus extis. ecce autem primi sub limina solis et ortus | 255 | and a barren heifer to you, Persephone. Then he kindled the midnight altars for the Stygian King, and placed whole carcasses of bulls on the flames, pouring rich oil over the blazing entrails. See now, at the dawn light of the rising sun, |
| sub pedibus mugire solum et juga cœpta moveri silvarum, visæque canes ululare per umbram adventante dea. « procul, o procul este, profani, » conclamat vates, « totoque absistite luco ; tuque invade viam vaginaque eripe ferrum : | 260 | the ground bellowed under their feet, the wooded hills began to move, and, at the coming of the Goddess, dogs seemed to howl in the shadows. “Away, stand far away, O you profane ones,” the priestess cried, ‘absent yourselves from all this grove: and you now, Æneas, be on your way, and tear your sword |
| nunc animis opus, Ænea, nunc pectore firmo. » tantum effata furens antro se immisit aperto ; ille ducem haud timidis vadentem passibus æquat. Di, quibus imperium est animarum, umbræque silentes et Chaos et Phlegethon, loca nocte tacentia late, | 265 | from the sheathe: you need courage, and a firm mind, now.” So saying, she plunged wildly into the open cave: he, fearlessly, kept pace with his vanishing guide. You gods, whose is the realm of spirits, and you, dumb shadows, and Chaos, Phlegethon, wide silent places of the night, |
| sit mihi fas audita loqui, sit numine vestro pandere res alta terra et caligine mersas. Ibant obscuri sola sub nocte per umbram perque domos Ditis vacuas et inania regna : quale per incertam lunam sub luce maligna | 270 | let me tell what I have heard: by your power, let me reveal things buried in the deep earth, and the darkness. On they went, hidden in solitary night, through gloom, through Dis’s empty halls, and insubstantial kingdom, like a path through a wood, in the faint light |
| est iter in silvis, ubi cælum condidit umbra Juppiter, et rebus nox abstulit atra colorem. vestibulum ante ipsum primisque in faucibus Orci Luctus et ultrices posuere cubilia Curæ, pallentesque habitant Morbi tristisque Senectus, | 275 | under a wavering moon, when Jupiter has buried the sky in shadow, and black night has stolen the color from things. Right before the entrance, in the very jaws of Orcus, Grief and vengeful Care have made their beds, and pallid Sickness lives there, and sad Old Age, |
| et Metus et malesuada Fames ac turpis Egestas, terribiles visu formæ, Letumque Labosque ; tum consanguineus Leti Sopor et mala mentis Gaudia, mortiferumque adverso in limine Bellum, ferreique Eumenidum thalami et Discordia demens | 280 | and Fear, and persuasive Hunger, and vile Need, forms terrible to look on, and Death and Pain: then Death’s brother Sleep, and Evil Pleasure of the mind, and, on the threshold opposite, death-dealing War, and the steel chambers of the Furies, and mad Discord, |
| vipereum crinem vittis innexa cruentis. in medio ramos annosaque bracchia pandit ulmus opaca, ingens, quam sedem Somnia vulgo vana tenere ferunt, foliisque sub omnibus hærent. multaque præterea variarum monstra ferarum, | 285 | her snaky hair entwined with blood-wet ribbons. In the center a vast shadowy elm spreads its aged trunks and branches: the seat, they say, that false Dreams hold, thronging, clinging beneath every leaf. And many other monstrous shapes of varied creatures, |
| Centauri in foribus stabulant Scyllæque biformes et centumgeminus Briareus ac belua Lernæ horrendum stridens, flammisque armata Chimæra, Gorgones Harpyiæque et forma tricorporis umbræ. corripit hic subita trepidus formidine ferrum | 290 | are stabled by the doors, Centaurs and bi-formed Scylla, and hundred-armed Briareus, and the Lernean Hydra, hissing fiercely, and the Chimæra armed with flame, Gorgons, and Harpies, and the triple bodied shade, Geryon. At this, trembling suddenly with terror, Æneas grasped |
| Æneas strictamque aciem venientibus offert, et ni docta comes tenuis sine corpore vitas admoneat volitare cava sub imagine formæ, irruat et frustra ferro diverberet umbras. Hinc via Tartarei quæ fert Acherontis ad undas. | 295 | his sword, and set the naked blade against their approach: and, if his knowing companion had not warned him that these were tenuous bodiless lives flitting about with a hollow semblance of form, he would have rushed at them, and hacked at the shadows uselessly with his sword. |
| turbidus hic cæno vastaque voragine gurges æstuat atque omnem Cocyto eructat harenam. portitor has horrendus aquas et flumina servat terribili squalore Charon, cui plurima mento canities inculta jacet, stant lumina flamma, | 300 | From here there is a road that leads to the waters of Tartarean Acheron. Here thick with mud a whirlpool seethes in the vast depths, and spews all its sands into Cocytus. A grim ferryman watches over the rivers and streams, Charon, dreadful in his squalor, with a mass of unkempt white hair straggling from his chin: flames glow in his eyes, |
| sordidus ex umeris nodo dependet amictus. ipse ratem conto subigit velisque ministrat et ferruginea subvectat corpora cumba, jam senior, sed cruda deo viridisque senectus. huc omnis turba ad ripas effusa ruebat, | 305 | a dirty garment hangs, knotted from his shoulders. He poles the boat and trims the sails himself, and ferries the dead in his dark skiff, old now, but a god’s old age is fresh and green. Here all the crowd streams, hurrying to the shores, |
| matres atque viri defunctaque corpora vita magnanimum heroum, pueri innuptæque puellæ, impositique rogis juvenes ante ora parentum : quam multa in silvis autumni frigore primo lapsa cadunt folia, aut ad terram gurgite ab alto | 310 | women and men, the lifeless bodies of noble herœs, boys and unmarried girls, sons laid on the pyre in front of their father’s eyes: as many as the leaves that fall in the woods at the first frost of autumn, as many as the birds |
| quam multæ glomerantur aves, ubi frigidus annus trans pontum fugat et terris immittit apricis. stabant orantes primi transmittere cursum tendebantque manus ripæ ulterioris amore. navita sed tristis nunc hos nunc accipit illos, | 315 | that flock to land from ocean deeps, when the cold of the year drives them abroad and despatches them to sunnier countries. They stood there, pleading to be first to make the crossing, stretching out their hands in longing for the far shore. But the dismal boatman accepts now these, now those, |
| ast alios longe summotos arcet harena. Æneas miratus enim motusque tumultu « dic, » ait, « o virgo, quid vult concursus ad amnem? quidve petunt animæ? vel quo discrimine ripas hæ linquunt, illæ remis vada livida verrunt? » | 320 | but driving others away, keeps them far from the sand. Then Æneas, stirred and astonished at the tumult, said: “O virgin, tell me, what dœs this crowding to the river mean? What do the souls want? And by what criterion do these leave the bank, and those sweep off with the oars on the leaden stream?” |
| olli sic breviter fata est longæva sacerdos : « Anchisa generate, deum certissima proles, Cocyti stagna alta vides Stygiamque paludem, di cujus jurare timent et fallere numen. hæc omnis, quam cernis, inops inhumataque turba est ; | 325 | The ancient priestess spoke briefly to him, so: “Son of Anchises, true child of the gods, you see the deep pools of Cocytus, and the Marsh of Styx, by whose name the gods fear to swear falsely. All this crowd, you see, were destitute and unburied: |
| portitor ille Charon ; hi, quos vehit unda, sepulti. nec ripas datur horrendas et rauca fluenta transportare prius quam sedibus ossa quierunt. centum errant annos volitantque hæc litora circum ; tum demum admissi stagna exoptata revisunt. » | 330 | that ferryman is Charon: those the waves carry were buried: he may not carry them from the fearful shore on the harsh waters before their bones are at rest in the earth. They roam for a hundred years and flit around these shores: only then are they admitted, and revisit the pools they long for.” |
| constitit Anchisa satus et vestigia pressit multa putans sortemque animo miseratus iniquam. cernit ibi mæstos et mortis honore carentis Leucaspim et Lyciæ ductorem classis Oronten, quos simul a Troja ventosa per æquora vectos | 335 | The son of Anchises halted, and checked his footsteps, thinking deeply, and pitying their sad fate in his heart. He saw Leucaspis and Orontes, captain of the Lycian fleet, there, grieving and lacking honor in death, whom a Southerly overwhelmed, as they sailed together from Troy on the windswept |
| obruit Auster, aqua involvens navemque virosque. Ecce gubernator sese Palinurus agebat, qui Libyco nuper cursu, dum sidera servat, exciderat puppi mediis effusus in undis. hunc ubi vix multa mæstum cognovit in umbra, | 340 | waters, engulfing both the ship and crew in the waves. Behold, there came the helmsman, Palinurus, who fell from the stern on the Libyan passage, flung into the midst of the waves, as he watched the stars. When Æneas had recognised him with difficulty |
| sic prior alloquitur : « quis te, Palinure, deorum eripuit nobis medioque sub æquore mersit? dic age. namque mihi, fallax haud ante repertus, hoc uno responso animum delusit Apollo, qui fore te ponto incolumem finisque canebat | 345 | sorrowing among the deep shadows, he spoke first, saying: “What god tore you from us, Palinurus, and drowned you mid-ocean? For in this one prophecy Apollo has misled me, he whom I never found false before, he said that you would be safe |
| venturum Ausonios. en hæc promissa fides est? » ille autem : « neque te Phœbi cortina fefellit, dux Anchisiade, nec me deus æquore mersit. namque gubernaclum multa vi forte revulsum, cui datus hærebam custos cursusque regebam, | 350 | at sea and reach Ausonia’s shores. Is this the truth of his promise?” But he replied: “Phœbus’s tripod did not fail you, Anchises, my captain, nor did a god drown me in the deep. By chance the helm was torn from me with violence, as I clung there, on duty as ordered, steering our course, |
| præcipitans traxi mecum. maria aspera juro non ullum pro me tantum cepisse timorem, quam tua ne spoliata armis, excussa magistro, deficeret tantis navis surgentibus undis. tris Notus hibernas immensa per æquora noctes | 355 | and I dragged it headlong with me. I swear by the cruel sea that I feared less for myself than for your ship, lest robbed of its gear, and cleared of its helmsman, it might founder among such surging waves. The Southerly drove me violently through the vast seas |
| vexit me violentus aqua ; vix lumine quarto prospexi Italiam summa sublimis ab unda. paulatim adnabam terræ ; jam tuta tenebam, ni gens crudelis madida cum veste gravatum prensantemque uncis manibus capita aspera montis | 360 | for three stormy nights: high on the crest of a wave, in the fourth dawn, I could just make out Italy. Gradually I swam to shore: grasped now at safety, but as I caught at the sharp tips of the rocks, weighed down by my water-soaked clothes, the savage people |
| ferro invasisset prædamque ignara putasset. nunc me fluctus habet versantque in litore venti. quod te per cæli jucundum lumen et auras, per genitorem oro, per spes surgentis Juli, eripe me his, invicte, malis : aut tu mihi terram | 365 | attacked me with knives, ignorantly thinking me a prize. Now the waves have me, and the winds roll me along the shore. Unconquered one, I beg you, by the sweet light and air of heaven, by your father, and your hopes in Julus to come, save me from this evil: either find Velia’s harbor again |
| inice, namque potes, portusque require Velinos ; aut tu, si qua via est, si quam tibi diva creatrix ostendit (neque enim, credo, sine numine divum flumina tanta paras Stygiamque innare paludem), da dextram misero et tecum me tolle per undas, | 370 | (for you can) and sprinkle earth on me, or if there is some way, if your divine mother shows you one (since you’d not attempt to sail such waters, and the Stygian marsh, without a god’s will, I think) then give this wretch your hand and take me with you through the waves |
| sedibus ut saltem placidis in morte quiescam. » talia fatus erat cœpit quum talia vates : « unde hæc, o Palinure, tibi tam dira cupido? tu Stygias inhumatus aquas amnemque severum Eumenidum aspicies, ripamve injussus adibis? | 375 | that at least I might rest in some quiet place in death.” So he spoke, and the priestess began to reply like this: “Where dœs this dire longing of yours come from, O Palinurus? Can you see the Stygian waters, unburied, or the grim river of the Furies, Cocytus, or come unasked to the shore? |
| desine fata deum flecti sperare precando, sed cape dicta memor, duri solacia casus. nam tua finitimi, longe lateque per urbes prodigiis acti cælestibus, ossa piabunt et statuent tumulum et tumulo sollemnia mittent, | 380 | Cease to hope that divine fate can be tempered by prayer. But hold my words in your memory, as a comfort in your hardship: the nearby peoples, from cities far and wide, will be moved by divine omens to worship your bones, and build a tomb, and send offerings to the tomb, and the place will have |
| æternumque locus Palinuri nomen habebit. » his dictis curæ emotæ pulsusque parumper corde dolor tristi ; gaudet cognomine terra. Ergo iter inceptum peragunt fluvioque propinquant. navita quos jam inde ut Stygia prospexit ab unda | 385 | Palinurus as its everlasting name.” His anxiety was quelled by her words, and, for a little while, grief was banished from his sad heart: he delighted in the land being so named. So they pursued their former journey, and drew near the river. Now when the Boatman saw them from the Stygian wave |
| per tacitum nemus ire pedemque advertere ripæ, sic prior aggreditur dictis atque increpat ultro : « quisquis es, armatus qui nostra ad flumina tendis, fare age, quid venias, jam istinc et comprime gressum. umbrarum hic locus est, somni noctisque soporæ : | 390 | walking through the silent wood, and directing their footsteps towards its bank, he attacked them verbally, first, and unprompted, rebuking them: “Whœver you are, who come armed to my river, tell me, from over there, why you’re here, and halt your steps. This is a place of shadows, of Sleep and drowsy Night: |
| corpora viva nefas Stygia vectare carina. nec vero Alciden me sum lætatus euntem accepisse lacu, nec Thesea Pirithoumque, dis quamquam geniti atque invicti viribus essent. Tartareum ille manu custodem in vincla petivit | 395 | I’m not allowed to carry living bodies in the Stygian boat. Truly it was no pleasure for me to take Hercules on his journey over the lake, nor Theseus and Pirithous, though they may have been children of gods, unrivalled in strength. The first came for Cerberus the watchdog of Tartarus, |
| ipsius a solio regis traxitque trementem ; hi dominam Ditis thalamo deducere adorti. » quæ contra breviter fata est Amphrysia vates : « nullæ hic insidiæ tales (absiste moveri), nec vim tela ferunt ; licet ingens janitor antro | 400 | and dragged him away quivering from under the king’s throne: the others were after snatching our Queen from Dis’s chamber.” To this the prophetess of Amphrysian Apollo briefly answered: “There’s no such trickery here (don’t be disturbed), our weapons offer no affront: your huge guard-dog |
| æternum latrans exsanguis terreat umbras, casta licet patrui servet Proserpina limen. Trojus Æneas, pietate insignis et armis, ad genitorem imas Erebi descendit ad umbras. si te nulla movet tantæ pietatis imago, | 405 | can terrify the bloodless shades with his eternal howling: chaste Proserpine can keep to her uncle’s threshold. Æneas the Trojan, renowned in piety and warfare, gœs down to the deepest shadows of Erebus, to his father. If the idea of such affection dœs not move you, still you |
| at ramum hunc » (aperit ramum qui veste latebat) « agnoscas. » tumida ex ira tum corda residunt ; nec plura his : ille admirans venerabile donum fatalis virgæ longo post tempore visum cæruleam advertit puppim ripæque propinquat. | 410 | must recognise this bough.” (She showed the branch, hidden in her robes.) Then the anger in his swollen breast subsided. No more was said. Marvelling at the revered offering, of fateful twigs, seen again after so long, he turned the stern of the dark skiff towards them and neared the bank. |
| inde alias animas, quæ per juga longa sedebant, deturbat laxatque foros ; simul accipit alveo ingentem Ænean. gemuit sub pondere cumba sutilis et multam accepit rimosa paludem. tandem trans fluvium incolumis vatemque virumque | 415 | Then he turned off the other souls who sat on the long benches, cleared the gangways: and received mighty Æneas on board. The seamed skiff groaned with the weight and let in quantities of marsh-water through the chinks. At last, the river crossed, he landed the prophetess and the hero |
| informi limo glaucaque exponit in ulva. Cerberus hæc ingens latratu regna trifauci personat adverso recubans immanis in antro. cui vates horrere videns jam colla colubris melle soporatam et medicatis frugibus offam | 420 | safe, on the unstable mud, among the blue-grey sedge. Huge Cerberus sets these regions echoing with his triple-throated howling, crouching monstrously in a cave opposite. Seeing the snakes rearing round his neck, the prophetess threw him a pellet, a soporific of honey and drugged wheat. |
| objicit. ille fame rabida tria guttura pandens corripit objectam, atque immania terga resolvit fusus humi totoque ingens extenditur antro. occupat Æneas aditum custode sepulto evaditque celer ripam inremeabilis undæ. | 425 | Opening his three throats, in rabid hunger, he seized what she threw and, flexing his massive spine, sank to earth spreading his giant bulk over the whole cave-floor. With the guard unconscious Æneas won to the entrance, and quickly escaped the bank of the river of no return. |
| Continuo auditæ voces vagitus et ingens infantumque animæ flentes, in limine primo quos dulcis vitæ exsortis et ab ubere raptos abstulit atra dies et funere mersit acerbo ; hos juxta falso damnati crimine mortis. | 430 | Immediately a loud crying of voices was heard, the spirits of weeping infants, whom a dark day stole at the first threshold of this sweet life, those chosen to be torn from the breast, and drowned in bitter death. Nearby are those condemned to die on false charges. |
| nec vero hæ sine sorte datæ, sine judice, sedes : quæsitor Minos urnam movet ; ille silentum consiliumque vocat vitasque et crimina discit. proxima deinde tenent mæsti loca, qui sibi letum insontes peperere manu lucemque perosi | 435 | Yet their place is not ordained without the allotted jury: Minos, the judge, shakes the urn: he convenes the voiceless court, and hears their lives and sins. Then the next place is held by those gloomy spirits who, innocent of crime, died by their own hand, and, hating the light, threw away |
| projecere animas. quam vellent æthere in alto nunc et pauperiem et duros perferre labores! fas obstat, tristisque palus inamabilis undæ alligat et noujes Styx interfusa cœrcet. nec procul hinc partem fusi monstrantur in omnem | 440 | their lives. How willingly now they’d endure poverty and harsh suffering, in the air above! Divine Law prevents it, and the sad marsh and its hateful waters binds them, and nine-fold Styx confines them. Not far from there the Fields of Mourning are revealed, |
| Lugentes campi ; sic illos nomine dicunt. hic quos durus amor crudeli tabe peredit secreti celant calles et myrtea circum silva tegit ; curæ non ipsa in morte relinquunt. his Phædram Procrinque locis mæstamque Eriphylen | 445 | spread out on all sides: so they name them. There, those whom harsh love devours with cruel pining are concealed in secret walkways, encircled by a myrtle grove: even in death their troubles do not leave them. Here Æneas saw Phædra, and Procris, and sad Eriphyle, |
| crudelis nati monstrantem vulnera cernit, Euadnenque et Pasiphæn ; his Laodamia it comes et juvenis quondam, nunc femina, Cæneus rursus et in veterem fato revoluta figuram. inter quas Phœnissa recens a vulnere Dido | 450 | displaying the wounds made by her cruel son, Evadne, and Pasiphæ: with them walked Laodamia, and Cæneus, now a woman, once a young man, returned by her fate to her own form again. Among them Phœnician Dido wandered, in the great wood, |
| errabat silva in magna ; quam Trojus heros ut primum juxta stetit agnovitque per umbras obscuram, qualem primo qui surgere mense aut videt aut vidisse putat per nubila lunam, demisit lacrimas dulcique affatus amore est : | 455 | her wound still fresh. As soon as the Trojan hero stood near her and knew her, shadowy among the shadows, like a man who sees, or thinks he sees, the new moon rising through a cloud, as its month begins, he wept tears and spoke to her with tender affection: |
| « infelix Dido, verus mihi nuntius ergo venerat exstinctam ferroque extrema secutam? funeris heu tibi causa fui? per sidera juro, per superos et si qua fides tellure sub ima est, invitus, regina, tuo de litore cessi. | 460 | “Dido, unhappy spirit, was the news, that came to me of your death, true then, taking your life with a blade? Alas, was I the cause of your dying? I swear by the stars, by the gods above, by whatever truth may be in the depths of the earth, I left your shores unwillingly, my queen. |
| sed me jussa deum, quæ nunc has ire per umbras, per loca senta situ cogunt noctemque profundam, imperiis egere suis ; nec credere quivi hunc tantum tibi me discessu ferre dolorem. siste gradum teque aspectu ne subtrahe nostro. | 465 | I was commanded by gods, who drove me by their decrees, that now force me to go among the shades, through places thorny with neglect, and deepest night: nor did I think my leaving there would ever bring such grief to you. Halt your footsteps and do not take yourself from my sight. |
| quem fugis? extremum fato quod te alloquor hoc est. » talibus Æneas ardentem et torva tuentem lenibat dictis animum lacrimasque ciebat. illa solo fixos oculos aversa tenebat nec magis incepto vultum sermone movetur | 470 | Whom do you flee? This is the last speech with you that fate allows.” With such words Æneas would have calmed her fiery spirit and wild looks, and provoked her tears. She turned away, her eyes fixed on the ground, no more altered in expression by the speech he had begun |
| quam si dura silex aut stet Marpesia cautes. tandem corripuit sese atque inimica refugit in nemus umbriferum, conjunx ubi pristinus illi respondet curis æquatque Sychæus amorem. nec minus Æneas casu percussus iniquo | 475 | than if hard flint stood there, or a cliff of Parian marble. At the last she tore herself away, and, hostile to him, fled to the shadowy grove where Sychæus, her husband in former times, responded to her suffering, and gave her love for love. Æneas, no less shaken by the injustice of fate, |
| prosequitur lacrimis longe et miseratur euntem. Inde datum molitur iter, jamque arva tenebant ultima, quæ bello clari secreta frequentant. hic illi occurrit Tydeus, hic inclutus armis Parthenopæus et Adrasti pallentis imago, | 480 | followed her, far off, with his tears, and pitied her as she went. From there he labored on the way that was granted them. And soon they reached the most distant fields, the remote places where those famous in war crowd together. Here Tydeus met him, Parthenopæus glorious in arms, and the pale form of Adrastus: |
| hic multum fleti ad superos belloque caduci Dardanidæ, quos ille omnis longo ordine cernens ingemuit, Glaucumque Medontaque Thersilochumque, tris Antenoridas Cererique sacrum Polybœten, Idæumque etiam currus, etiam arma tenentem. | 485 | here were the Trojans, wept for deeply above, fallen in war, whom, seeing them all in their long ranks, he groaned at, Glaucus, Medon and Thersilochus, the three sons of Antenor, Polybœtes, the priest of Ceres, and Idæus still with his chariot, and his weapons. |
| circumstant animæ dextra lævaque frequentes, nec vidisse semel satis est ; juvat usque morari et conferre gradum et veniendi discere causas. at Danaum proceres Agamemnoniæque phalanges ut videre virum fulgentiaque arma per umbras, | 490 | The spirits stand there in crowds to left and right. They are not satisfied with seeing him only once: they delight in lingering on, walking beside him, and learning the reason for his coming. But the Greek princes and Agamemnon’s phalanxes, |
| ingenti trepidare metu ; pars vertere terga, ceu quondam petiere rates, pars tollere vocem exiguam : inceptus clamor frustratur hiantis. Atque hic Priamiden laniatum corpore toto Deiphobum videt et lacerum crudeliter ora, | 495 | trembled with great fear, when they saw the hero, and his gleaming weapons, among the shades: some turned to run, as they once sought their ships: some raised a faint cry, the noise they made belying their gaping mouths. And he saw Deiphobus there, Priam’s son, his whole body |
| ora manusque ambas, populataque tempora raptis auribus et truncas inhonesto vulnere naris. vix adeo agnovit pavitantem ac dira tegentem supplicia, et notis compellat vocibus ultro : « Deiphobe armipotens, genus alto a sanguine Teucri, | 500 | mutilated, his face brutally torn, his face and hands both, the ears ripped from his ruined head, his nostrils sheared by an ugly wound. Indeed Æneas barely recognised the quivering form, hiding its dire punishment, even as he called to him, unprompted, in familiar tones: “Deiphobus, powerful in war, born of Teucer’s noble blood, |
| quis tam crudelis optavit sumere pœnas? cui tantum de te licuit? mihi fama suprema nocte tulit fessum vasta te cæde Pelasgum procubuisse super confusæ stragis acervum. tunc egomet tumulum Rhœteo in litore inanem | 505 | who chose to work such brutal punishment on you? Who was allowed to treat you so? Rumor has it that on that final night, wearied by endless killing of Greeks, you sank down on a pile of the slaughtered. Then I set up an empty tomb on the Rhœtean shore, |
| constitui et magna manis ter voce vocavi. nomen et arma locum servant ; te, amice, nequivi conspicere et patria decedens ponere terra. » ad quæ Priamides : « nihil o tibi, amice, relictum ; omnia Deiphobo solvisti et funeris umbris. | 510 | and called on your spirit three times in a loud voice. Your name and weapons watch over the site: I could not see you, friend, to set you, as I left, in your native soil.” To this Priam’s son replied: “O my friend, you’ve neglected nothing: you’ve paid all that’s due to Deiophobus and a dead man’s spirit. My own destiny, |
| sed me fata mea et scelus exitiale Lacænæ his mersere malis ; illa hæc monumenta reliquit. namque ut supremam falsa inter gaudia noctem egerimus, nosti : et nimium meminisse necesse est. quum fatalis equus saltu super ardua venit | 515 | and that Spartan woman’s deadly crime, drowned me in these sorrows: she left me these memorials. You know how we passed that last night in illusory joy: and you must remember it only too well. When the fateful Horse came leaping the walls of Troy, |
| Pergama et armatum peditem gravis attulit alvo, illa chorum simulans euhantis orgia circum ducebat Phrygias ; flammam media ipsa tenebat ingentem et summa Danaos ex arce vocabat. tum me confectum curis somnoque gravatum | 520 | pregnant with the armed warriors it carried in its womb, she led the Trojan women about, wailing in dance, aping the Bacchic rites: she held a huge torch in their midst, signalling to the Greeks from the heights of the citadel. I was then in our unlucky marriage-chamber, worn out with care, |
| infelix habuit thalamus, pressitque jacentem dulcis et alta quies placidæque simillima morti. egregia interea conjunx arma omnia tectis emovet, et fidum capiti subduxerat ensem : intra tecta vocat Menelaum et limina pandit, | 525 | and heavy with sleep, a sweet deep slumber weighing on me as I lay there, the very semblance of peaceful death. Meanwhile that illustrious wife of mine removed every weapon from the house, even stealing my faithful sword from under my head: she calls Menelaus into the house and throws open the doors, |
| scilicet id magnum sperans fore munus amanti, et famam exstingui veterum sic posse malorum. quid moror? irrumpunt thalamo, comes additus una hortator scelerum Æolides. di, talia Grais instaurate, pio si pœnas ore reposco. | 530 | hoping I suppose it would prove a great gift for her lover, and in that way the infamy of her past sins might be erased. Why drag out the tale? They burst into the room, and with them Ulysses the Æolid, their co-inciter to wickedness. Gods, so repay the Greeks, if these lips I pray for vengeance with are virtuous. |
| sed te qui vivum casus, age fare vicissim, attulerint. pelagine venis erroribus actus an monitu divum? an quæ te fortuna fatigat, ut tristis sine sole domos, loca turbida, adires? » Hac vice sermonum roseis Aurora quadrigis | 535 | But you, in turn, tell what fate has brought you here, living. Do you come here, driven by your wandering on the sea, or exhorted by the gods? If not, what misfortune torments you, that you enter these sad sunless houses, this troubled place?” While they spoke Aurora and her rosy chariot had passed |
| jam medium ætherio cursu trajecerat axem ; et fors omne datum traherent per talia tempus, sed comes admonuit breviterque affata Sibylla est : « nox ruit, Ænea ; nos flendo ducimus horas. hic locus est, partis ubi se via findit in ambas : | 540 | the zenith of her ethereal path, and they might perhaps have spent all the time allowed in such talk, but the Sibyl, his companion, warned him briefly saying: “Night approaches, Æneas: we waste the hours with weeping. This is the place where the path splits itself in two: |
| dextera quæ Ditis magni sub mœnia tendit, hac iter Elysium nobis ; at læva malorum exercet pœnas et ad impia Tartara mittit. » Deiphobus contra : « ne sævi, magna sacerdos ; discedam, explebo numerum reddarque tenebris. | 545 | there on the right is our road to Elysium, that runs beneath the walls of mighty Dis: but the left works punishment on the wicked, and sends them on to godless Tartarus.” Deiophobus replied: “Do not be angry, great priestess: I will leave: I will make up the numbers, and return to the darkness. |
| i decus, i, nostrum ; melioribus utere fatis. » tantum effatus, et in verbo vestigia torsit. Respicit Æneas subito et sub rupe sinistra mœnia lata videt triplici circumdata muro, quæ rapidus flammis ambit torrentibus amnis, | 550 | Go now glory of our race: enjoy a better fate.” So he spoke, and in speaking turned away. Æneas suddenly looked back, and, below the left hand cliff, he saw wide battlements, surrounded by a triple wall, and encircled by a swift river of red-hot flames, |
| Tartareus Phlegethon, torquetque sonantia saxa. porta adversa ingens solidoque adamante columnæ, uis ut nulla virum, non ipsi exscindere bello cælicolæ valeant ; stat ferrea turris ad auras, Tisiphoneque sedens palla succincta cruenta | 555 | the Tartarean Phlegethon, churning with echoing rocks. A gate fronts it, vast, with pillars of solid steel, that no human force, not the heavenly gods themselves, can overturn by war: an iron tower rises into the air, and seated before it, Tisiphone, clothed in a blood-wet dress, |
| vestibulum exsomnis servat noctesque diesque. hinc exaudiri gemitus et sæva sonare verbera, tum stridor ferri tractæque catenæ. constitit Æneas strepitumque exterritus hausit. « quæ scelerum facies? o virgo, effare ; quibusue | 560 | keeps guard of the doorway, sleeplessly, night and day. Groans came from there, and the cruel sound of the lash, then the clank of iron, and dragging chains. Æneas halted, and stood rooted, terrified by the noise. “What evil is practised here? O Virgin, tell me: by what torments |
| urgentur pœnis? quis tantus plangor ad auras? » tum vates sic orsa loqui : « dux inclute Teucrum, nulli fas casto sceleratum insistere limen ; sed me quum lucis Hecate præfecit Avernis, ipsa deum pœnas docuit perque omnia duxit. | 565 | are they oppressed? Why are there such sounds in the air?” Then the prophetess began to speak as follows: “Famous leader of the Trojans, it is forbidden for the pure to cross the evil threshold: but when Hecate appointed me to the wood of Avernus, she taught me the divine torments, and guided me through them all. |
| Cnosius hæc Rhadamanthus habet durissima regna castigatque auditque dolos subigitque fateri quæ quis apud superos furto lætatus inani distulit in seram commissa piacula mortem. continuo sontis ultrix accincta flagello | 570 | Cretan Rhadamanthus rules this harshest of kingdoms, and hears their guilt, extracts confessions, and punishes whœver has deferred atonement for their sins too long till death, delighting in useless concealment, in the world above. Tisiphone the avenger, armed with her whip, leaps on the guilty immediately, |
| Tisiphone quatit insultans, torvosque sinistra intentans anguis vocat agmina sæva sororum. tum demum horrisono stridentes cardine sacræ panduntur portæ ; cernis custodia qualis vestibulo sedeat, facies quæ limina servet? | 575 | lashes them, and threatening them with the fierce snakes in her left hand, calls to her savage troop of sisters. Then at last the accursed doors open, screeching on jarring hinges. You comprehend what guardian sits at the door, what shape watches the threshold? Well still fiercer is the monstrous Hydra inside, |
| quinquaginta atris immanis hiatibus Hydra sævior intus habet sedem. tum Tartarus ipse bis patet in præceps tantum tenditque sub umbras quantus ad ætherium cæli suspectus Olympum. hic genus antiquum Terræ, Titania pubes, | 580 | with her fifty black gaping jaws. There Tartarus itself falls sheer, and stretches down into the darkness: twice as far as we gaze upwards to heavenly Olympus. Here the Titanic race, the ancient sons of Earth, |
| fulmine dejecti fundo volvuntur in imo. hic et Aloidas geminos immania vidi corpora, qui manibus magnum rescindere cælum aggressi superisque Jovem detrudere regnis. vidi et crudelis dantem Salmonea pœnas, | 585 | hurled down by the lightning-bolt, writhe in the depths. And here I saw the two sons of Alœus, giant forms, who tried to tear down the heavens with their hands, and topple Jupiter from his high kingdom. And I saw Salmoneus paying a savage penalty |
| dum flammas Jovis et sonitus imitatur Olympi. quattuor hic invectus equis et lampada quassans per Grajum populos mediæque per Elidis urbem ibat ovans, divumque sibi poscebat honorem, demens, qui nimbos et non imitabile fulmen | 590 | for imitating Jove’s lightning, and the Olympian thunder. Brandishing a torch, and drawn by four horses he rode in triumph among the Greeks, through Elis’s city, claiming the gods’ honors as his own, a fool, who mimicked the storm-clouds and the inimitable thunderbolt |
| ære et cornipedum pulsu simularet equorum. at pater omnipotens densa inter nubila telum contorsit, non ille faces nec fumea tædis lumina, præcipitemque immani turbine adegit. nec non et Tityon, Terræ omniparentis alumnum, | 595 | with bronze cymbals and the sound of horses’ hoof-beats. But the all-powerful father hurled his lighting from dense cloud, not for him fiery torches, or pine-branches’ smoky light and drove him headlong with the mighty whirlwind. And Tityus was to be seen as well, the foster-child |
| cernere erat, per tota novem cui jugera corpus porrigitur, rostroque immanis vultur obunco immortale jecur tondens fecundaque pœnis uiscera rimaturque epulis habitatque sub alto pectore, nec fibris requies datur ulla renatis. | 600 | of Earth, our universal mother, whose body stretches over nine acres, and a great vulture with hooked beak feeds on his indestructible liver, and his entrails ripe for punishment, lodged deep inside the chest, groping for his feast, no respite given to the ever-renewing tissue. |
| quid memorem Lapithas, Ixiona Pirithoumque? quos super atra silex jam jam lapsura cadentique imminet assimilis ; lucent genialibus altis aurea fulcra toris, epulæque ante ora paratæ regifico luxu ; Furiarum maxima juxta | 605 | Shall I speak of the Lapiths, Ixion, Pirithous, over whom hangs a dark crag that seems to slip and fall? High couches for their feast gleam with golden frames, and a banquet of royal luxury is spread before their eyes: nearby the eldest Fury, crouching, prevents their fingers touching |
| accubat et manibus prohibet contingere mensas, exsurgitque facem attollens atque intonat ore. hic, quibus invisi fratres, dum vita manebat, pulsatusve parens et fraus innexa clienti, aut qui divitiis soli incubuere repertis | 610 | the table: rising up, and brandishing her torch, with a voice of thunder. Here are those who hated their brothers, in life, or struck a parent, or contrived to defraud a client, or who crouched alone over the riches they’d made, |
| nec partem posuere suis (quæ maxima turba est), quique ob adulterium cæsi, quique arma secuti impia nec veriti dominorum fallere dextras, inclusi pœnam exspectant. ne quære doceri quam pœnam, aut quæ forma viros fortunave mersit. | 615 | without setting any aside for their kin (their crowd is largest), those who were killed for adultery, or pursued civil war, not fearing to break their pledges to their masters: shut in they see their punishment. Don’t ask to know that punishment, or what kind of suffering drowns them. |
| saxum ingens volvunt alii, radiisque rotarum districti pendent ; sedet æternumque sedebit infelix Theseus, Phlegyasque miserrimus omnis admonet et magna testatur voce per umbras : “ discite justitiam, moniti ; et non temnere divos. ” | 620 | Some roll huge stones, or hang spread-eagled on wheel-spokes: wretched Theseus sits still, and will sit for eternity: Phlegyas, the most unfortunate, warns them all and bears witness in a loud voice among the shades: ‘Learn justice: be warned, and don’t despise the gods.’ |
| vendidit hic auro patriam dominumque potentem imposuit ; fixit leges pretio atque refixit ; hic thalamum invasit natæ vetitosque hymenæos : ausi omnes immane nefas ausoque potiti. non, mihi si linguæ centum sint oraque centum, | 625 | Here’s one who sold his country for gold, and set up a despotic lord: this one made law and remade it for a price: he entered his daughter’s bed and a forbidden marriage: all of them dared monstrous sin, and did what they dared. Not if I had a hundred tongues, a hundred mouths, |
| ferrea vox, omnis scelerum comprendere formas, omnia pœnarum percurrere nomina possim. » Hæc ubi dicta dedit Phœbi longæva sacerdos, « sed jam age, carpe viam et susceptum perfice munus ; acceleremus » ait ; « Cyclopum educta caminis | 630 | a voice of iron, could I tell all the forms of wickedness or spell out the names of every torment.” When she had spoken of this, the aged priestess of Apollo said: “But come now, travel the road, and complete the task set for you: let us hurry, I see the battlements that were forged |
| mœnia conspicio atque adverso fornice portas, hæc ubi nos præcepta jubent deponere dona. » dixerat et pariter gressi per opaca viarum corripiunt spatium medium foribusque propinquant. occupat Æneas aditum corpusque recenti | 635 | in the Cyclopean fires, and the gates in the arch opposite us where we are told to set down the gifts as ordered.” She spoke and keeping step they hastened along the dark path crossing the space between and arriving near the doors. Æneas gained the entrance, sprinkled fresh water |
| spargit aqua ramumque adverso in limine figit. His demum exactis, perfecto munere divæ, devenere locos lætos et amœna virecta fortunatorum nemorum sedesque beatas. largior hic campos æther et lumine vestit | 640 | over his body, and set up the branch on the threshold before him. Having at last achieved this, the goddess’s task fulfilled, they came to the pleasant places, the delightful grassy turf of the Fortunate Groves, and the homes of the blessed. Here freer air and radiant light clothe the plain, |
| purpureo, solemque suum, sua sidera norunt. pars in gramineis exercent membra palæstris, contendunt ludo et fulva luctantur harena ; pars pedibus plaudunt choreas et carmina dicunt. nec non Thrēicius longa cum veste sacerdos | 645 | and these have their own sun, and their own stars. Some exercise their bodies in a grassy gymnasium, compete in sports and wrestle on the yellow sand: others tread out the steps of a dance, and sing songs. There Orpheus too, the long-robed priest of Thrace, |
| obloquitur numeris septem discrimina vocum, jamque eadem digitis, jam pectine pulsat eburno. hic genus antiquum Teucri, pulcherrima proles, magnanimi herœs nati melioribus annis, Ilusque Assaracusque et Trojæ Dardanus auctor. | 650 | accompanies their voices with the seven-note scale, playing now with fingers, now with the ivory quill. Here are Teucer’s ancient people, loveliest of children, great-hearted herœs, born in happier years, Ilus, Assaracus, and Dardanus founder of Troy. |
| arma procul currusque virum miratur inanis ; stant terra defixæ hastæ passimque soluti per campum pascuntur equi. quæ gratia currum armorumque fuit vivis, quæ cura nitentis pascere equos, eadem sequitur tellure repostos. | 655 | Æneas marvels from a distance at their idle chariots and their weapons: their spears fixed in the ground, and their horses scattered freely browsing over the plain: the pleasure they took in chariots and armor while alive, the care in tending shining horses, follows them below the earth. |
| conspicit, ecce, alios dextra lævaque per herbam vescentis lætumque choro pæana canentis inter odoratum lauris nemus, unde superne plurimus Eridani per silvam volvitur amnis. hic manus ob patriam pugnando vulnera passi, | 660 | Look, he sees others on the grass to right and left, feasting, and singing a joyful pæan in chorus, among the fragrant groves of laurel, out of which the Eridanus’s broad river flows through the woodlands to the world above. Here is the company of those who suffered wounds fighting |
| quique sacerdotes casti, dum vita manebat, quique pii vates et Phœbo digna locuti, inventas aut qui vitam excoluere per artis quique sui memores aliquos fecere merendo : omnibus his nivea cinguntur tempora vitta. | 665 | for their country: and those who were pure priests, while they lived, and those who were faithful pœts, singers worthy of Apollo, and those who improved life, with discoveries in Art or Science, and those who by merit caused others to remember them: the brows of all these were bound with white headbands. |
| quos circumfusos sic est affata Sibylla, Musæum ante omnis (medium nam plurima turba hunc habet atque umeris exstantem suspicit altis): « dicite, felices animæ tuque optime vates, quæ regio Anchisen, quis habet locus? illius ergo | 670 | As they crowded round, the Sibyl addressed them, Musæus above all: since he holds the center of the vast crowd, all looking up to him, his tall shoulders towering above: “Blessed spirits, and you, greatest of Pœts, say what region or place contains Anchises. We have |
| venimus et magnos Erebi tranavimus amnis. » atque huic responsum paucis ita reddidit heros : « nulli certa domus ; lucis habitamus opacis, riparumque toros et prata recentia rivis incolimus. sed vos, si fert ita corde voluntas, | 675 | come here, crossing the great rivers of Erebus, for him.” And the hero replied to her briefly in these words: “None of us have a fixed abode: we live in the shadowy woods, and make couches of river-banks, and inhabit fresh-water meadows. But climb this ridge, if your hearts-wish so inclines, |
| hoc superate jugum, et facili jam tramite sistam. » dixit, et ante tulit gressum camposque nitentis desuper ostentat ; dehinc summa cacumina linquunt. At pater Anchises penitus convalle virenti inclusas animas superumque ad lumen ituras | 680 | and I will soon set you on an easy path.” He spoke and went on before them, and showed them the bright plains below: then they left the mountain heights. But deep in a green valley his father Anchises was surveying the spirits enclosed there, destined |
| lustrabat studio recolens, omnemque suorum forte recensebat numerum, carosque nepotes fataque fortunasque virum moresque manusque. isque ubi tendentem adversum per gramina vidit Ænean, alacris palmas utrasque tetendit, | 685 | for the light above, thinking carefully, and was reviewing as it chanced the numbers of his own folk, his dear grandsons, and their fate and fortunes as men, and their ways and works. And when he saw Æneas heading towards him over the grass he stretched out both his hands eagerly, his face |
| effusæque genis lacrimæ et vox excidit ore : « venisti tandem, tuaque exspectata parenti uicit iter durum pietas? datur ora tueri, nate, tua et notas audire et reddere voces? sic equidem ducebam animo rebarque futurum | 690 | streaming with tears, and a cry issued from his lips: “Have you come at last, and has the loyalty your father expected conquered the harsh road? Is it granted me to see your face, my son, and hear and speak in familiar tones? I calculated it in my mind, and thought it would be so, |
| tempora dinumerans, nec me mea cura fefellit. quas ego te terras et quanta per æquora vectum accipio! quantis jactatum, nate, periclis! quam metui ne quid Libyæ tibi regna nocerent! » ille autem : « tua me, genitor, tua tristis imago | 695 | counting off the hours, nor has my trouble failed me. From travel over what lands and seas, do I receive you! What dangers have hurled you about, my son! How I feared the realms of Libya might harm you!” He answered: “Father, your image, yours, appearing to me |
| sæpius occurrens hæc limina tendere adegit ; stant sale Tyrrheno classes. da jungere dextram, da, genitor, teque amplexu ne subtrahe nostro. » sic memorans largo fletu simul ora rigabat. ter conatus ibi collo dare bracchia circum ; | 700 | so often, drove me to reach this threshold: My ships ride the Etruscan waves. Father, let me clasp your hand, let me, and do not draw away from my embrace.” So speaking, his face was also drowned in a flood of tears. Three times he tries to throw his arms round his father’s neck, |
| ter frustra comprensa manus effugit imago, par levibus ventis volucrique simillima somno. Interea videt Æneas in valle reducta seclusum nemus et virgulta sonantia silvæ, Lethæumque domos placidas qui prænatat amnem. | 705 | three times, clasped in vain, that semblance slips though his hands, like the light breeze, most of all like a winged dream. And now Æneas saw a secluded grove in a receding valley, with rustling woodland thickets, and the river of Lethe gliding past those peaceful places. |
| hunc circum innumeræ gentes populique volabant : ac veluti in pratis ubi apes æstate serena floribus insidunt variis et candida circum lilia funduntur, strepit omnis murmure campus. horrescit visu subito causasque requirit | 710 | Innumerable tribes and peoples hovered round it: just as, in the meadows, on a cloudless summer’s day, the bees settle on the multifarious flowers, and stream round the bright lilies, and all the fields hum with their buzzing. Æneas was thrilled by the sudden sight, and, in ignorance, |
| inscius Æneas, quæ sint ea flumina porro, quive viri tanto complerint agmine ripas. tum pater Anchises : « animæ, quibus altera fato corpora debentur, Lethæi ad fluminis undam securos latices et longa oblivia potant. | 715 | asked the cause: what the river is in the distance, who the men are crowding the banks in such numbers. Then his father Anchises answered: “They are spirits, owed a second body by destiny, and they drink the happy waters, and a last forgetting, at Lethe’s stream. |
| has equidem memorare tibi atque ostendere coram iampridem, hanc prolem cupio enumerare meorum, quo magis Italia mecum lætere reperta. » « o pater, anne aliquas ad cælum hinc ire putandum est sublimis animas iterumque ad tarda reverti | 720 | Indeed, for a long time I’ve wished to tell you of them, and show you them face to face, to enumerate my children’s descendants, so you might joy with me more at finding Italy.” “O father, is it to be thought that any spirits go from here to the sky above, returning again to dull matter? |
| corpora? quæ lucis miseris tam dira cupido? » « Dicam equidem nec te suspensum, nate, tenebo » suscipit Anchises atque ordine singula pandit. « Principio cælum ac terras camposque liquentis lucentemque globum lunæ Titaniaque astra | 725 | What such dire desire for light drives poor souls?” “Indeed I’ll tell you, son, not keep you in doubt,” Anchises answered, and revealed each thing in order. “Firstly, a spirit within them nourishes the sky and earth, the watery plains, the shining orb of the moon, and Titan’s star, and Mind, flowing through matter, |
| spiritus intus alit, totamque infusa per artus mens agitat molem et magno se corpore miscet. inde hominum pecudumque genus vitæque volantum et quæ marmoreo fert monstra sub æquore pontus. igneus est ollis vigor et cælestis origo | 730 | vivifies the whole mass, and mingles with its vast frame. From it come the species of man and beast, and winged lives, and the monsters the sea contains beneath its marbled waves. The power of those seeds is fiery, and their origin divine, |
| seminibus, quantum non noxia corpora tardant terrenique hebetant artus moribundaque membra. hinc metuunt cupiuntque, dolent gaudentque, neque auras dispiciunt clausæ tenebris et carcere cæco. quin et supremo cum lumine vita reliquit, | 735 | so long as harmful matter dœsn’t impede them and terrestrial bodies and mortal limbs don’t dull them. Through those they fear and desire, and grieve and joy, and enclosed in night and a dark dungeon, can’t see the light. Why, when life leaves them at the final hour, |
| non tamen omne malum miseris nec funditus omnes corporeæ excedunt pestes, penitusque necesse est multa diu concreta modis inolescere miris. ergo exercentur pœnis veterumque malorum supplicia expendunt : aliæ panduntur inanes | 740 | still all of the evil, all the plagues of the flesh, alas, have not completely vanished, and many things, long hardened deep within, must of necessity be ingrained, in strange ways. So they are scourged by torments, and pay the price for former sins: some are hung, stretched out, |
| suspensæ ad ventos, aliis sub gurgite vasto infectum eluitur scelus aut exuritur igni : quisque suos patimur manis. exinde per amplum mittimur Elysium et pauci læta arva tenemus, donec longa dies perfecto temporis orbe | 745 | to the hollow winds, the taint of wickedness is cleansed for others in vast gulfs, or burned away with fire: each spirit suffers its own: then we are sent through wide Elysium, and we few stay in the joyous fields, for a length of days, till the cycle of time, |
| concretam exemit labem, purumque relinquit ætherium sensum atque aurai simplicis ignem. has omnis, ubi mille rotam volvere per annos, Lethæum ad fluvium deus evocat agmine magno, scilicet immemores supera ut convexa revisant | 750 | complete, removes the hardened stain, and leaves pure ethereal thought, and the brightness of natural air. All these others the god calls in a great crowd to the river Lethe, after they have turned the wheel for a thousand years, so that, truly forgetting, they can revisit the vault above, |
| rursus, et incipiant in corpora velle reverti. » Dixerat Anchises natumque unaque Sibyllam conventus trahit in medios turbamque sonantem, et tumulum capit unde omnis longo ordine posset adversos legere et venientum discere vultus. | 755 | and begin with a desire to return to the flesh.” Anchises had spoken, and he drew the Sibyl and his son, both together, into the middle of the gathering and the murmuring crowd, and chose a hill from which he could see all the long ranks opposite, and watch their faces as they came by him. |
| « Nunc age, Dardaniam prolem quæ deinde sequatur gloria, qui maneant Itala de gente nepotes, illustris animas nostrumque in nomen ituras, expediam dictis, et te tua fata docebo. ille, vides, pura juvenis qui nititur hasta, | 760 | “Come, I will now explain what glory will pursue the children of Dardanus, what descendants await you of the Italian race, illustrious spirits to march onwards in our name, and I will teach you your destiny. See that boy, who leans on a headless spear, |
| proxima sorte tenet lucis loca, primus ad auras ætherias Italo commixtus sanguine surget, Silvius, Albanum nomen, tua postuma proles, quem tibi longævo serum Lavinia conjunx educet silvis regem regumque parentem, | 765 | he is fated to hold a place nearest the light, first to rise to the upper air, sharing Italian blood, Silvius, of Alban name, your last-born son, who your wife Lavinia, late in your old age, will give birth to in the wood, a king and the father of kings, |
| unde genus Longa nostrum dominabitur Alba. proximus ille Procas, Trojanæ gloria gentis, et Capys et Numitor et qui te nomine reddet Silvius Æneas, pariter pietate vel armis egregius, si umquam regnandam acceperit Albam. | 770 | through whom our race will rule in Alba Longa. Next to him is Procas, glory of the Trojan people, and Capys and Numitor, and he who’ll revive your name, Silvius Æneas, outstanding like you in virtue and arms, if he might at last achieve the Alban throne. |
| qui juvenes! quantas ostentant, aspice, viris atque umbrata gerunt civili tempora quercu! hi tibi Nomentum et Gabios urbemque Fidenam, hi Collatinas imponent montibus arces, Pometios Castrumque Inui Bolamque Coramque ; | 775 | What men! See what authority they display, their foreheads shaded by the civic oak-leaf crown! They will build Nomentum, Gabii, and Fidenæ’s city: Collatia’s fortress in the hills, Pometii and the Fort of Inus, and Bola, and Cora. |
| hæc tum nomina erunt, nunc sunt sine nomine terræ. quin et avo comitem sese Mavortius addet Romulus, Assaraci quem sanguinis Ilia mater educet. viden, ut geminæ stant vertice cristæ et pater ipse suo superum jam signat honore? | 780 | Those will be names that are now nameless land. Yes, and a child of Mars will join his grandfather to accompany him, Romulus, whom his mother Ilia will bear, of Assaracus’s line. See how Mars’s twin plumes stand on his crest, and his father marks him out for the world above with his own emblems? |
| en hujus, nate, auspiciis illa incluta Roma imperium terris, animos æquabit Olympo, septemque una sibi muro circumdabit arces, felix prole virum : qualis Berecyntia mater invehitur curru Phrygias turrita per urbes | 785 | Behold, my son, under his command glorious Rome will match earth’s power and heaven’s will, and encircle seven hills with a single wall, happy in her race of men: as Cybele, the Berecynthian “Great Mother’, crowned with turrets, rides through the Phrygian cities, delighting |
| læta deum partu, centum complexa nepotes, omnis cælicolas, omnis supera alta tenentis. huc geminas nunc flecte acies, hanc aspice gentem Romanosque tuos. hic Cæsar et omnis Juli progenies magnum cæli ventura sub axem. | 790 | in her divine children, clasping a hundred descendants, all gods, all dwelling in the heights above. Now direct your eyes here, gaze at this people, your own Romans. Here is Cæsar, and all the offspring of Julus destined to live under the pole of heaven. |
| hic vir, hic est, tibi quem promitti sæpius audis, Augustus Cæsar, divi genus, aurea condet sæcula qui rursus Latio regnata per arva Saturno quondam, super et Garamantas et Indos proferet imperium ; jacet extra sidera tellus, | 795 | This is the man, this is him, whom you so often hear promised you, Augustus Cæsar, son of the Deified, who will make a Golden Age again in the fields where Saturn once reigned, and extend the empire beyond the Libyans and the Indians (to a land that lies outside the zodiac’s belt, |
| extra anni solisque vias, ubi cælifer Atlas axem umero torquet stellis ardentibus aptum. hujus in adventum jam nunc et Caspia regna responsis horrent divum et Mæotia tellus, et septemgemini turbant trepida ostia Nili. | 800 | beyond the sun’s ecliptic and the year’s, where sky-carrying Atlas turns the sphere, inset with gleaming stars, on his shoulders): Even now the Caspian realms, and Mæotian earth, tremble at divine prophecies of his coming, and the restless mouths of the seven-branched Nile are troubled. |
| nec vero Alcides tantum telluris obivit, fixerit æripedem cervam licet, aut Erymanthi pacarit nemora et Lernam tremefecerit arcu ; nec qui pampineis victor juga flectit habenis Liber, agens celso Nysæ de vertice tigris. | 805 | Truly, Hercules never crossed so much of the earth, though he shot the bronze-footed Arcadian deer, brought peace to the woods of Erymanthus, made Lerna tremble at his bow: nor did Bacchus, who steers his chariot, in triumph, with reins made of vines, guiding his tigers down from Nysa’s high peak. |
| et dubitamus adhuc virtutem extendere factis, aut metus Ausonia prohibet consistere terra? quis procul ille autem ramis insignis olivæ sacra ferens? nosco crinis incanaque menta regis Romani primam qui legibus urbem | 810 | Do we really hesitate still to extend our power by our actions, and dœs fear prevent us settling the Italian lands? Who is he, though, over there, distinguished by his olive branches, carrying offerings? I know the hair and the white-bearded chin of a king of Rome, Numa, called to supreme authority |
| fundabit, Curibus parvis et paupere terra missus in imperium magnum. cui deinde subibit otia qui rumpet patriæ residesque movebit Tullus in arma viros et jam desueta triumphis agmina. quem juxta sequitur jactantior Ancus | 815 | from little Cures’s poverty-stricken earth, who will secure our first city under the rule of law. Then Tullus will succeed him who will shatter the country’s peace, and call to arms sedentary men, ranks now unused to triumphs. The over-boastful Ancus follows him closely, |
| nunc quoque jam nimium gaudens popularibus auris. uis et Tarquinios reges animamque superbam ultoris Bruti, fascisque videre receptos? consulis imperium hic primus sævasque securis accipiet, natosque pater nova bella moventis | 820 | delighting too much even now in the people’s opinion. Will you look too at Tarquin’s dynasty, and the proud spirit of Brutus the avenger, the rods of office reclaimed? He’ll be the first to win a consul’s powers and the savage axes, and when the sons foment a new civil war, the father |
| ad pœnam pulchra pro libertate vocabit, infelix, utcumque ferent ea facta minores : uincet amor patriæ laudumque immensa cupido. quin Decios Drusosque procul sævumque securi aspice Torquatum et referentem signa Camillum. | 825 | will call them to account, for lovely freedom’s sake: ah, to be pitied, whatever posterity says of his actions: his love of country will prevail, and great appetite for glory. Ah, see over there, the Decii and Drusi, and Torquatus brutal with the axe, and Camillus rescuing the standards. |
| illæ autem paribus quas fulgere cernis in armis, concordes animæ nunc et dum nocte prementur, heu quantum inter se bellum, si lumina vitæ attigerint, quantas acies stragemque ciebunt, aggeribus socer Alpinis atque arce Monœci | 830 | But those others, you can discern, shining in matching armor, souls in harmony now, while they are cloaked in darkness, ah, if they reach the light of the living, what civil war what battle and slaughter, they’ll cause, Julius Cæsar, the father-in-law, down from the Alpine ramparts, from the fortress |
| descendens, gener adversis instructus Eois! ne, pueri, ne tanta animis assuescite bella neu patriæ validas in viscera vertite viris ; tuque prior, tu parce, genus qui ducis Olympo, projice tela manu, sanguis meus! — | 835 | of Monœcus: Pompey, the son-in-law, opposing with Eastern forces. My sons, don’t inure your spirits to such wars, never turn the powerful forces of your country on itself: You be the first to halt, you, who derive your race from heaven: hurl the sword from your hand, who are of my blood! |
| ille triumphata Capitolia ad alta Corintho uictor aget currum cæsis insignis Achivis. eruet ille Argos Agamemnoniasque Mycenas ipsumque Æaciden, genus armipotentis Achilli, ultus avos Trojæ templa et temerata Minervæ. | 840 | There’s Mummius: triumphing over Corinth, he’ll drive his chariot, victorious, to the high Capitol, famed for the Greeks he’s killed: and Æmilius Paulus, who, avenging his Trojan ancestors, and Minerva’s desecrated shrine, will destroy Agamemnon’s Mycenæ, and Argos, and Perseus the Æacid himself, descendant of war-mighty Achilles. |
| quis te, magne Cato, tacitum aut te, Cosse, relinquat? quis Gracchi genus aut geminos, duo fulmina belli, Scipiadas, cladem Libyæ, parvoque potentem Fabricium vel te sulco, Serrane, serentem? quo fessum rapitis, Fabii? tu Maximus ille es, | 845 | Who would pass over you in silence, great Cato, or you Cossus, or the Gracchus’s race, or the two Scipios, war’s lightning bolts, the scourges of Libya, or you Fabricius, powerful in poverty, or you, Regulus Serranus, sowing your furrow with seed? Fabii, where do you hurry my weary steps? You, Fabius |
| unus qui nobis cunctando restituis rem. Excudent alii spirantia mollius æra (credo equidem), vivos ducent de marmore vultus, orabunt causas melius, cælique meatus describent radio et surgentia sidera dicent : | 850 | Maximus, the Delayer, are he who alone renews our State. Others (I can well believe) will hammer out bronze that breathes with more delicacy than we, draw out living features from the marble; plead their causes better; trace with instruments the movement of the skies, and tell the rising of the constellations; |
| tu regere imperio populos, Romane, memento (hæ tibi erunt artes), pacique imponere morem, parcere subjectis et debellare superbos. » Sic pater Anchises, atque hæc mirantibus addit : « aspice, ut insignis spoliis Marcellus opimis | 855 | remember, Roman, it is for you to rule the nations with your power, (that will be your skill) to crown peace with law, to spare the conquered, and subdue the proud.” So father Anchises spoke, and while they marvelled, added: “See, how Claudius Marcellus, distinguished by the Supreme Prize, |
| ingreditur victorque viros supereminet omnis. hic rem Romanam magno turbante tumultu sistet eques, sternet Pœnos Gallumque rebellem, tertiaque arma patri suspendet capta Quirino. » atque hic Æneas (una namque ire videbat | 860 | comes forward, and towers, victorious, over other men. As a knight, he’ll support the Roman State, turbulent with fierce confusion, strike the Cathaginians and rebellious Gauls, and dedicate captured weapons, a third time, to father Quirinus.” And, at this, Æneas said (since he saw a youth of outstanding |
| egregium forma juvenem et fulgentibus armis, sed frons læta parum et dejecto lumina vultu) « quis, pater, ille, virum qui sic comitatur euntem? filius, anne aliquis magna de stirpe nepotum? qui strepitus circa comitum! quantum instar in ipso! | 865 | beauty with shining armor, walking with Marcellus, but his face lacking in joy, and his eyes downcast): “Father, who is this who accompanies him on his way? His son: or another of his long line of descendants? What murmuring round them! What presence he has! |
| sed nox atra caput tristi circumvolat umbra. » tum pater Anchises lacrimis ingressus obortis : « o gnate, ingentem luctum ne quære tuorum ; ostendent terris hunc tantum fata nec ultra esse sinent. nimium vobis Romana propago | 870 | But dark night, with its sad shadows, hovers round his head.” Then his father Anchises, with welling tears, replied: “O, do not ask about your people’s great sorrow, my son. The Fates will only show him to the world, not allow him to stay longer. The Roman people would seem |
| visa potens, superi, propria hæc si dona fuissent. quantos ille virum magnam Mavortis ad urbem campus aget gemitus! vel quæ, Tiberine, videbis funera, quum tumulum præterlabere recentem! nec puer Iliaca quisquam de gente Latinos | 875 | too powerful to you gods, if this gift were lasting. What mourning from mankind that Field of Mars will deliver to the mighty city! And what funeral processions you, Tiber, will see, as you glide past his new-made tomb! No boy of the line of Ilius shall so exalt his Latin |
| in tantum spe tollet avos, nec Romula quondam ullo se tantum tellus jactabit alumno. heu pietas, heu prisca fides invictaque bello dextera! non illi se quisquam impune tulisset obvius armato, seu quum pedes iret in hostem | 880 | ancestors by his show of promise, nor will Romulus’s land ever take more pride in one of its sons. Alas for virtue, alas for the honor of ancient times, and a hand invincible in war! No one might have attacked him safely when armed, whether he met the enemy on foot, |
| seu spumantis equi foderet calcaribus armos. heu, miserande puer, si qua fata aspera rumpas, tu Marcellus eris. manibus date lilia plenis purpureos spargam flores animamque nepotis his saltem accumulem donis, et fungar inani | 885 | or dug his spurs into the flank of his foaming charger. Ah, boy to be pitied, if only you may shatter harsh fate, you’ll be a Marcellus! Give me handfuls of white lilies, let me scatter radiant flowers, let me load my scion’s spirit with those gifts at least, in discharging that poor duty.” |
| munere. » Sic tota passim regione vagantur āeris in campis latis atque omnia lustrant. quæ postquam Anchises natum per singula duxit incenditque animum famæ venientis amore, exim bella viro memorat quæ deinde gerenda, | 890 | So they wander here and there through the whole region, over the wide airy plain, and gaze at everything. And when Anchises has led his son through each place, and inflamed his spirit with love of the glory that is to come, he tells him then of the wars he must soon fight, |
| Laurentisque docet populos urbemque Latini, et quo quemque modo fugiatque feratque laborem. Sunt geminæ Somni portæ, quarum altera fertur cornea, qua veris facilis datur exitus umbris, altera candenti perfecta nitens elephanto, | 895 | and teaches him about the Laurentine peoples, and the city of Latinus, and how to avoid or face each trial. There are two gates of Sleep: one of which is said to be of horn, through which an easy passage is given to true shades, the other gleams with the whiteness of polished ivory, but through it |
| sed falsa ad cælum mittunt insomnia Manes. His ibi tum natum Anchises unaque Sibyllam prosequitur dictis portaque emittit eburna, ille viam secat ad navis sociosque revisit. Tum se ad Cajetæ recto fert limite portum. | 900 | the Gods of the Dead send false dreams to the world above. After his words, Anchises accompanies his son there, and, frees him, together with the Sibyl, through the ivory gate. Æneas makes his way to the ships and rejoins his friends: then coasts straight to Caieta’s harbor along the shore. |
| ancora de prora jacitur ; stant litore puppes. | The anchors are thrown from the prows: on the shore the sterns rest. |
| Liber VII | ⤊ | |
| P. VERGILII MARONIS ÆNEIDOS LIBER SEPTIMUS | ||
| Tu quoque litoribus nostris, Æneia nutrix, æternam moriens famam, Cajeta, dedisti ; et nunc servat honos sedem tuus, ossaque nomen Hesperia in magna, si qua est ea gloria, signat. At pius exsequiis Æneas rite solutis, | 5 | Caieta, Æneas’s nurse, you too have granted eternal fame to our shores in dying: tributes still protect your grave, and your name marks your bones in great Hesperia, if that is glory. Now, as soon as the open sea was calm, having paid |
| aggere composito tumuli, postquam alta quierunt æquora, tendit iter velis portumque relinquit. aspirant auræ in noctem nec candida cursus luna negat, splendet tremulo sub lumine pontus. proxima Circææ raduntur litora terræ, | 10 | the last rites due to custom, and raised a funeral mound, Æneas the good left the harbor and sailed on his way. The breezes blew through the night, and a radiant moon was no inhibitor to their voyage, the sea gleaming in the tremulous light. The next shores they touched were Circe’s lands, |
| dives inaccessos ubi Solis filia lucos adsiduo resonat cantu, tectisque superbis urit odoratam nocturna in lumina cedrum arguto tenuis percurrens pectine telas. hinc exaudiri gemitus iræque leonum | 15 | where that rich daughter of the sun makes the hidden groves echo with continual chanting, and burns fragrant cedar for nocturnal light in her proud palace, as she sets her melodious shuttle running through the fine warp. From there the angry roar of lions could be heard, |
| vincla recusantum et sera sub nocte rudentum, sætigerique sues atque in præsæpibus ursi sævire ac formæ magnorum ululare luporum, quos hominum ex facie dea sæva potentibus herbis induerat Circe in vultus ac terga ferarum. | 20 | chafing at their ropes, and sounding late into the night, and the rage of bristling wild-boars, and caged bears, and the howling shapes of huge wolves, whom Circe, cruel goddess, had altered from human appearance to the features and forms of creatures, using powerful herbs. |
| quæ ne monstra pii paterentur talia Trœs delati in portus neu litora dira subirent, Neptunus ventis implevit vela secundis, atque fugam dedit et præter vada fervida vexit. Jamque rubescebat radiis mare et æthere ab alto | 25 | But Neptune filled their sails with following winds, so that Troy’s virtuous race should not suffer so monstrous a fate entering the harbor, and disembarking on that fatal shore, and carried them past the boiling shallows, granting them escape. Now the sea was reddening with the sun’s rays, and saffron Aurora |
| Aurora in roseis fulgebat lutea bigis, quum venti posuere omnisque repente resedit flatus, et in lento luctantur marmore tonsæ. atque hic Æneas ingentem ex æquore lucum prospicit. hunc inter fluvio Tiberinus amœno | 30 | in her rose-coloured chariot, shone from the heights of heaven, when the winds dropped and every breeze suddenly fell away, and the oars labored slowly in the water. At this moment, gazing from the sea, Æneas saw a vast forest. Through it the Tiber’s lovely river, with swirling eddies full of golden sand, |
| verticibus rapidis et multa flavus harena in mare prorumpit. variæ circumque supraque assuetæ ripis volucres et fluminis alveo æthera mulcebant cantu lucoque volabant. flectere iter sociis terræque advertere proras | 35 | bursts to the ocean. Countless birds, around and above, that haunt the banks and streams, were delighting the heavens with their song and flying through the groves. He ordered his friends to change course and turn their prows towards land, and joyfully entered the shaded river. |
| imperat et lætus fluvio succedit opaco. Nunc age, qui reges, Erato, quæ tempora, rerum quis Latio antiquo fuerit status, advena classem quum primum Ausoniis exercitus appulit oris, expediam, et primæ revocabo exordia pugnæ. | 40 | Come now, Erato, and I’ll tell of the kings, the times, the state of ancient Latium, when that foreign troop first landed on Ausonia’s shores, and I’ll recall the first fighting from its very beginning. You goddess, you must prompt your pœt. I’ll tell of brutal war, |
| tu vatem, tu, diva, mone. dicam horrida bella, dicam acies actosque animis in funera reges, Tyrrhenamque manum totamque sub arma coactam Hesperiam. major rerum mihi nascitur ordo, majus opus moveo. Rex arva Latinus et urbes | 45 | I’ll tell of battle action, and princes driven to death by their courage, of Trojan armies, and all of Hesperia forced to take up arms. A greater order of things is being born, greater is the work that I attempt. King Latinus, now old in years, ruled fields |
| jam senior longa placidas in pace regebat. hunc Fauno et nympha genitum Laurente Marica accipimus ; Fauno Picus pater, isque parentem te, Saturne, refert, tu sanguinis ultimus auctor. filius huic fato divum prolesque virilis | 50 | and towns, in the tranquillity of lasting peace. We hear he was the child of Faunus and the Laurentine nymph, Marica. Faunus’s father was Pictus, and he boasts you, Saturn, as his, you the first founder of the line. By divine decree, Latinus had no male heir, his son |
| nulla fuit, primaque oriens erepta juventa est. sola domum et tantas servabat filia sedes jam matura viro, jam plenis nubilis annis. multi illam magno e Latio totaque petebant Ausonia ; petit ante alios pulcherrimus omnis | 55 | having been snatched from him in the dawn of first youth. There was only a daughter to keep house in so noble a palace, now ready for a husband, now old enough to be a bride. Many sought her hand, from wide Latium and all Ausonia, Turnus above all, the most handsome, of powerful ancestry, |
| Turnus, avis atavisque potens, quem regia conjunx adjungi generum miro properabat amore ; sed variis portenta deum terroribus obstant. laurus erat tecti medio in penetralibus altis sacra comam multosque metu servata per annos, | 60 | whom the queen hastened to link to her as her son-in-law with wonderful affection. But divine omens, with their many terrors, prevented it. There was a laurel, with sacred leaves, in the high inner court in the middle of the palace, that had been guarded with reverence for many years. |
| quam pater inventam, primas quum conderet arces, ipse ferebatur Phœbo sacrasse Latinus, Laurentisque ab ea nomen posuisse colonis. hujus apes summum densæ (mirabile dictu) stridore ingenti liquidum trans æthera vectæ | 65 | It was said that Lord Latinus himself had discovered it, when he first built his fortress, and dedicated it to Apollo, and from it had named the settlers Laurentines. A dense cloud of bees (marvellous to tell) borne through the clear air, with a mighty humming, |
| obsedere apicem, et pedibus per mutua nexis examen subitum ramo frondente pependit. continuo vates « externum cernimus » inquit « adventare virum et partis petere agmen easdem partibus ex isdem et summa dominarier arce. » | 70 | settled in the very top of the tree, and hung there, their feet all tangled together, in a sudden swarm. Immediately the prophet cried: “I see a foreign hero, approaching, and, from a like direction, an army seeks this same place, to rule from the high citadel.” |
| præterea, castis adolet dum altaria tædis, et juxta genitorem astat Lavinia virgo, visa (nefas) longis comprendere crinibus ignem atque omnem ornatum flamma crepitante cremari, regalisque accensa comas, accensa coronam | 75 | Then as he lit the altars with fresh pine torches, as virgin Lavinia stood there next to her father she seemed (horror!) to catch the fire in her long tresses, and all her finery to burn in crackling flame, her royally dressed tresses set alight, her crown alight, remarkable |
| insignem gemmis ; tum fumida lumine fulvo involvi ac totis Volcanum spargere tectis. id vero horrendum ac visu mirabile ferri : namque fore illustrem fama fatisque canebant ipsam, sed populo magnum portendere bellum. | 80 | for its jewels: then wreathed in smoke and yellow light, she seemed to scatter sparks through all the palace. Truly it was talked of as a shocking and miraculous sight: for they foretold she would be bright with fame and fortune, but it signified a great war for her people. |
| At rex sollicitus monstris oracula Fauni, fatidici genitoris, adit lucosque sub alta consulit Albunea, nemorum quæ maxima sacro fonte sonat sævamque exhalat opaca mephitim. hinc Italæ gentes omnisque Œnotria tellus | 85 | Then the king, troubled by the wonder, visited the oracle of Faunus, his far-speaking father, and consulted the groves below high Albunea, mightiest of forests, that echœd with the sacred fountain, and breathed a deadly vapor from the dark. The people of Italy, and all the Œnotrian lands, sought answers |
| in dubiis responsa petunt ; huc dona sacerdos quum tulit et cæsarum ovium sub nocte silenti pellibus incubuit stratis somnosque petivit, multa modis simulacra videt volitantia miris et varias audit voces fruiturque deorum | 90 | to their doubts, from that place: when the priest brought offerings there, and, found sleep, in the silent night, lying on spread fleeces of sacrificed sheep, he saw there many ghosts flitting in marvellous forms, and heard various voices, had speech |
| colloquio atque imis Acheronta affatur Avernis. hic et tum pater ipse petens responsa Latinus centum lanigeras mactabat rite bidentis, atque harum effultus tergo stratisque jacebat velleribus : subita ex alto vox reddita luco est : | 95 | with the gods, and talked with Acheron, in the depths of Avernus. And here the king, Latinus, himself seeking an answer, slaughtered a hundred woolly sheep according to the rite, and lay there supported by their skins and woolly fleeces: Suddenly a voice emerged from the deep wood: |
| « ne pete conubiis natam sociare Latinis, o mea progenies, thalamis neu crede paratis ; externi venient generi, qui sanguine nostrum nomen in astra ferant, quorumque a stirpe nepotes omnia sub pedibus, qua sol utrumque recurrens | 100 | “O my son, don’t try to ally your daughter in a Latin marriage, don’t place your faith in the intended wedding: strangers will come to be your kin, who’ll lift our name to the stars by their blood, and the children of whose race shall see all, where the circling sun |
| aspicit Oceanum, vertique regique videbunt. » hæc responsa patris Fauni monitusque silenti nocte datos non ipse suo premit ore Latinus, sed circum late volitans jam Fama per urbes Ausonias tulerat, quum Laomedontia pubes | 105 | views both oceans, turning obediently beneath their feet.” Latinus failed to keep this reply of his Father’s quiet, this warning given in the silent night, and already Rumor flying far and wide had carried it through the Ausonian cities, when the children of Laomedon |
| gramineo ripæ religavit ab aggere classem. Æneas primique duces et pulcher Julus corpora sub ramis deponunt arboris altæ, instituuntque dapes et adorea liba per herbam subjiciunt epulis (sic Juppiter ipse monebat) | 110 | came to moor their ships by the river’s grassy banks. Æneas, handsome Julus, and the foremost leaders, settled their limbs under the branches of a tall tree, and spread a meal: they set wheat cakes for a base under the food (as Jupiter himself inspired them) |
| et Cereale solum pomis agrestibus augent. consumptis hic forte aliis, ut vertere morsus exiguam in Cererem penuria adegit edendi, et violare manu malisque audacibus orbem fatalis crusti patulis nec parcere quadris : | 115 | and added wild fruits to these tables of Ceres. When the poor fare drove them to set their teeth into the thin discs, the rest being eaten, and to break the fateful circles of bread boldly with hands and jaws, not sparing the quartered cakes, Julus, jokingly, |
| « heus, etiam mensas consumimus? » inquit Julus, nec plura, alludens. ea vox audita laborum prima tulit finem, primamque loquentis ab ore eripuit pater ac stupefactus numine pressit. continuo « salve fatis mihi debita tellus | 120 | said no more than: “Ha! Are we eating the tables too?” That voice on first being heard brought them to the end of their labors, and his father, as the words fell from the speaker’s lips, caught them up and stopped him, awestruck at the divine will. Immediately he said: “Hail, land destined to me |
| vosque » ait « o fidi Trojæ salvete penates : hic domus, hæc patria est. genitor mihi talia namque (nunc repeto) Anchises fatorum arcana reliquit : « quum te, nate, fames ignota ad litora vectum accisis coget dapibus consumere mensas, | 125 | by fate, and hail to you, O faithful gods of Troy: here is our home, here is our country. For my father Anchises (now I remember) left this secret of fate with me: “Son, when you’re carried to an unknown shore, food is lacking, and you’re forced to eat the tables, then look for a home |
| tum sperare domos defessus, ibique memento prima locare manu molirique aggere tecta." hæc erat illa fames, hæc nos suprema manebat exitiis positura modum. quare agite et primo læti cum lumine solis | 130 | in your weariness: and remember first thing to set your hand on a site there, and build your houses behind a rampart.” This was the hunger he prophesied, the last thing remaining, to set a limit to our ruin…come then, and with the sun’s dawn light let’s cheerfully discover |
| quæ loca, quive habeant homines, ubi mœnia gentis, vestigemus et a portu diversa petamus. nunc pateras libate Jovi precibusque vocate Anchisen genitorem, et vina reponite mensis. » Sic deinde effatus frondenti tempora ramo | 135 | what place this is, what men live here, where this people’s city is, and let’s explore from the harbor in all directions. Now pour libations to Jove and call, with prayer, on my father Anchises, then set out the wine once more.” So saying he wreathed his forehead with a leafy spray, |
| implicat et geniumque loci primamque deorum Tellurem Nymphasque et adhuc ignota precatur flumina, tum Noctem Noctisque orientia signa Idæumque Jovem Phrygiamque ex ordine matrem inuocat, et duplicis cæloque Ereboque parentis. | 140 | and prayed to the spirit of the place, and to Earth the oldest of goddesses, and to the Nymphs, and the yet unknown rivers: then he invoked Night and Night’s rising constellations, and Idæan Jove, and the Phrygian Mother, in order, and his two parents, one in heaven, one in Erebus. |
| hic pater omnipotens ter cælo clarus ab alto intonuit, radiisque ardentem lucis et auro ipse manu quatiens ostendit ab æthere nubem. diditur hic subito Trojana per agmina rumor advenisse diem quo debita mœnia condant. | 145 | At this the all-powerful Father thundered three times from the clear sky, and revealed a cloud in the ether, bright with rays of golden light, shaking it with his own hand. Then the word ran suddenly through the Trojan lines that the day had come to found their destined city. |
| certatim instaurant epulas atque omine magno crateras læti statuunt et vina coronant. Postera quum prima lustrabat lampade terras orta dies, urbem et finis et litora gentis diversi explorant : hæc fontis stagna Numici, | 150 | They rivalled each other in celebration of the feast, and delighted by the fine omen, set out the bowls and crowned the wine-cups. Next day when sunrise lit the earth with her first flames, they variously discovered the city, shores and limits of this nation: here was the pool of Numicius’s fountain, |
| hunc Thybrim fluvium, hic fortis habitare Latinos. tum satus Anchisa delectos ordine ab omni centum oratores augusta ad mœnia regis ire jubet, ramis velatos Palladis omnis, donaque ferre viro pacemque exposcere Teucris. | 155 | this was the River Tiber, here the brave Latins lived. Then Anchises’s son ordered a hundred envoys, chosen from every rank, all veiled in Pallas’s olive leaves to go to the king’s noble fortress, carrying gifts for a hero, and requesting peace towards the Trojans. |
| haud mora, festinant jussi rapidisque feruntur passibus. ipse humili designat mœnia fossa moliturque locum, primasque in litore sedes castrorum in morem pinnis atque aggere cingit. jamque iter emensi turris ac tecta Latinorum | 160 | Without delay, they hastened as ordered, travelling at a swift pace. He himself marked out walls with a shallow ditch, toiled at the site, and surrounded the first settlement on those shores with a rampart and battlement, in the style of a fortified camp. And now his men had pursued their journey and they saw |
| ardua cernebant juvenes muroque subibant. ante urbem pueri et primævo flore juventus exercentur equis domitantque in pulvere currus, aut acris tendunt arcus aut lenta lacertis spicula contorquent, cursuque ictuque lacessunt : | 165 | Latinus’s turrets and high roofs, and arrived beneath the walls. Boys, and men in the flower of youth, were practising horsemanship outside the city, breaking in their mounts in clouds of dust, or bending taut bows, or hurling firm spears with their arms, challenging each other to race or box: |
| quum prævectus equo longævi regis ad auris nuntius ingentis ignota in veste reportat advenisse viros. ille intra tecta vocari imperat et solio medius consedit avito. Tectum augustum, ingens, centum sublime columnis | 170 | when a messenger, racing ahead on his horse, reported to the ears of the aged king that powerful warriors in unknown dress had arrived. The king ordered them to be summoned to the palace, and took his seat, in the center, on his ancestral throne. Huge and magnificent, raised on a hundred columns, |
| urbe fuit summa, Laurentis regia Pici, horrendum silvis et religione parentum. hic sceptra accipere et primos attollere fascis regibus omen erat ; hoc illis curia templum, hæ sacris sedes epulis ; hic ariete cæso | 175 | his roof was the city’s summit, the palace of Laurentian Picus, sanctified by its grove and the worship of generations. It was auspicious for a king to receive the sceptre here and first lift the fasces, the rods of office: this shrine was their curia, their senate house, the place of their sacred feasts, here the elders, |
| perpetuis soliti patres considere mensis. quin etiam veterum effigies ex ordine avorum antiqua e cedro, Italusque paterque Sabinus vitisator curvam servans sub imagine falcem, Saturnusque senex Janique bifrontis imago | 180 | after lambs were sacrificed, sat down at an endless line of tables. There standing in ranks at the entrance were the statues of ancestors of old, in ancient cedar-wood, Italus, and father Sabinus, the vine-grower, depicted guarding a curved pruning-hook, and aged Saturn, and the image of Janus bi-face, and other kings from the beginning, |
| vestibulo astabant, aliique ab origine reges, Martiaque ob patriam pugnando vulnera passi. multaque præterea sacris in postibus arma, captivi pendent currus curvæque secures et cristæ capitum et portarum ingentia claustra | 185 | and herœs wounded in battle, fighting for their country. Many weapons too hung on the sacred doorposts, captive chariots, curved axes, helmet crests, the massive bars of city gates, spears, shields and the ends of prows torn from ships. |
| spiculaque clipeique ereptaque rostra carinis. ipse Quirinali lituo parvaque sedebat succinctus trabea lævaque ancile gerebat Picus, equum domitor, quem capta cupidine conjunx aurea percussum virga versumque venenis | 190 | There Picus, the Horse-Tamer, sat, holding the lituus, the augur’s Quirinal staff, and clothed in the trabea, the purple-striped toga, and carrying the ancile, the sacred shield, in his left hand, he, whom his lover, Circe, captivated by desire, struck with her golden rod: changed him with magic drugs |
| fecit avem Circe sparsitque coloribus alas. Tali intus templo divum patriaque Latinus sede sedens Teucros ad sese in tecta vocavit, atque hæc ingressis placido prior edidit ore : « dicite, Dardanidæ (neque enim nescimus et urbem | 195 | to a woodpecker, and speckled his wings with color. Such was the temple of the gods in which Latinus, seated on the ancestral throne, called the Trojans to him in the palace, and as they entered spoke first, with a calm expression: “Sons of Dardanus (for your city and people are not unknown |
| et genus, auditique advertitis æquore cursum), quid petitis? quæ causa rates aut cujus egentis litus ad Ausonium tot per vada cærula vexit? sive errore viæ seu tempestatibus acti, qualia multa mari nautæ patiuntur in alto, | 200 | to us, and we heard of your journey towards us on the seas), what do you wish? What reason, what need has brought your ships to Ausonian shores, over so many azure waves? Whether you have entered the river mouth, and lie in harbor, after straying from your course, or driven here by storms, |
| fluminis intrastis ripas portuque sedetis, ne fugite hospitium, neve ignorate Latinos Saturni gentem haud vinclo nec legibus æquam, sponte sua veterisque dei se more tenentem. atque equidem memini (fama est obscurior annis) | 205 | such things as sailors endure on the deep ocean, don’t shun our hospitality, and don’t neglect the fact that the Latins are Saturn’s people, just, not through constraint or law, but of our own free will, holding to the ways of the ancient god. And I remember in truth (though the tale is obscured by time) |
| Auruncos ita ferre senes, his ortus ut agris Dardanus Idæas Phrygiæ penetrarit ad urbes Thrēiciamque Samum, quæ nunc Samothracia fertur. hinc illum Corythi Tyrrhena ab sede profectum aurea nunc solio stellantis regia cæli | 210 | that the Auruncan elders told how Dardanus, sprung from these shores, penetrated the cities of Phrygian Ida, and Thracian Samos, that is now called Samothrace. Setting out from here, from his Etruscan home, Corythus, now the golden palace of the starlit sky grants him a throne, |
| accipit et numerum divorum altaribus auget. » Dixerat, et dicta Ilioneus sic voce secutus : « rex, genus egregium Fauni, nec fluctibus actos atra subegit hiems vestris succedere terris, nec sidus regione viæ litusve fefellit : | 215 | and he increases the number of divine altars.” He finished speaking, and Ilioneus, following, answered so: “King, illustrious son of Faunus, no dark tempest, driving us though the waves, forced us onto your shores, no star or coastline deceived us in our course: |
| consilio hanc omnes animisque volentibus urbem afferimur pulsi regnis, quæ maxima quondam extremo veniens sol aspiciebat Olympo. ab Jove principium generis, Jove Dardana pubes gaudet avo, rex ipse Jovis de gente suprema : | 220 | we travelled to this city by design, and with willing hearts, exiled from our kingdom, that was once the greatest that the sun gazed on, as he travelled from the edge of heaven. The founder of our race is Jove, the sons of Dardanus enjoy Jove as their ancestor, our king himself is of Jove’s high race: |
| Trojus Æneas tua nos ad limina misit. quanta per Idæos sævis effusa Mycenis tempestas ierit campos, quibus actus uterque Europæ atque Asiæ fatis concurrerit orbis, audiit et si quem tellus extrema refuso | 225 | Trojan, Æneas, sends us to your threshold. The fury of the storm that poured from fierce Mycenæ, and crossed the plains of Ida, and how the two worlds of Europe and Asia clashed, driven by fate, has been heard by those whom the most distant lands banish to where Ocean circles back, |
| summovet Oceano et si quem extenta plagarum quattuor in medio dirimit plaga solis iniqui. diluvio ex illo tot vasta per æquora vecti dis sedem exiguam patriis litusque rogamus innocuum et cunctis undamque auramque patentem. | 230 | and those whom the zone of excessive heat, stretched between the other four, separates from us. Sailing out of that deluge, over many wastes of sea, we ask a humble home for our country’s gods, and a harmless stretch of shore, and air and water accessible to all. |
| non erimus regno indecores, nec vestra feretur fama levis tantique abolescet gratia facti, nec Trojam Ausonios gremio excepisse pigebit. fata per Æneæ juro dextramque potentem, sive fide seu quis bello est expertus et armis : | 235 | We’ll be no disgrace to the kingdom, nor will your reputation be spoken of lightly, nor gratitude for such an action fade, nor Ausonia regret taking Troy to her breast. I swear by the destiny of Æneas, and the power of his right hand, whether proven by any man in loyalty, or war and weapons, |
| multi nos populi, multæ (ne temne, quod ultro præferimus manibus vittas ac verba precantia) et petiere sibi et voluere adjungere gentes ; sed nos fata deum vestras exquirere terras imperiis egere suis. hinc Dardanus ortus, | 240 | many are the peoples, many are the nations (do not scorn us because we offer peace-ribbons, and words of prayer, unasked) who themselves sought us and wished to join with us: but through divine destiny we sought out your shores to carry out its commands. Dardanus sprang from here, |
| huc repetit jussisque ingentibus urget Apollo Tyrrhenum ad Thybrim et fontis vada sacra Numici. dat tibi præterea fortunæ parva prioris munera, reliquias Troja ex ardente receptas. hoc pater Anchises auro libabat ad aras, | 245 | Apollo recalls us to this place, and, with weighty orders, drives us to Tuscan Tiber, and the sacred waters of the Numician fount. Moreover our king offers you these small tokens of his former fortune, relics snatched from burning Troy. His father Anchises poured libations at the altar from this gold, |
| hoc Priami gestamen erat quum jura vocatis more daret populis, sceptrumque sacerque tiaras Iliadumque labor vestes. » Talibus Ilionei dictis defixa Latinus obtutu tenet ora soloque immobilis hæret, | 250 | this was Priam’s burden when by custom he made laws for the assembled people, the sceptre, and sacred turban, and the clothes, labored on by the daughters of Ilium.” At Ilioneus’s words Latinus kept his face set firmly downward, fixed motionless towards the ground, moving his eyes |
| intentos volvens oculos. nec purpura regem picta movet nec sceptra movent Priameia tantum quantum in conubio natæ thalamoque moratur, et veteris Fauni volvit sub pectore sortem : hunc illum fatis externa ab sede profectum | 255 | alone intently. It is not the embroidered purple that moves the king nor Priam’s sceptre, so much as his dwelling on his daughter’s marriage and her bridal-bed, and he turns over in his mind old Faunus’s oracle: this must be the man, from a foreign house, prophesied |
| portendi generum paribusque in regna vocari auspiciis, huic progeniem virtute futuram egregiam et totum quæ viribus occupet orbem. tandem lætus ait : « di nostra incepta secundent auguriumque suum! dabitur, Trojane, quod optas. | 260 | by the fates as my son-in-law, and summoned to reign with equal powers, whose descendants will be illustrious in virtue, and whose might will take possession of all the world. At last he spoke, joyfully: “May the gods favor this beginning, and their prophecy. Trojan, what you wish shall be granted. |
| munera nec sperno : non vobis rege Latino divitis uber agri Trojæve opulentia deerit. ipse modo Æneas, nostri si tanta cupido est, si jungi hospitio properat sociusque vocari, adveniat, vultus neve exhorrescat amicos : | 265 | I do not reject your gifts: you will not lack the wealth of fertile fields, or Troy’s wealth, while Latinus is king. Only, if Æneas has such longing for us, if he is eager to join us in friendship and be called our ally, let him come himself and not be afraid of a friendly face: it will be |
| pars mihi pacis erit dextram tetigisse tyranni. vos contra regi mea nunc mandata referte : est mihi nata, viro gentis quam jungere nostræ non patrio ex adyto sortes, non plurima cælo monstra sinunt ; generos externis affore ab oris, | 270 | part of the pact, to me, to have touched your leader’s hand. Now you in turn take my reply to the king: I have a daughter whom the oracles from my father’s shrine, and many omens from heaven, will not allow to unite with a husband of our race: sons will come from foreign shores, |
| hoc Latio restare canunt, qui sanguine nostrum nomen in astra ferant. hunc illum poscere fata et reor et, si quid veri mens augurat, opto. » hæc effatus equos numero pater eligit omni (stabant ter centum nitidi in præsæpibus altis); | 275 | whose blood will raise our name to the stars: this they prophesy is in store for Latium,. I both think and, if my mind foresees the truth, I hope that this is the man destiny demands.” So saying the king selected stallions from his whole stable (three hundred stood there sleekly in their high stalls): |
| omnibus extemplo Teucris jubet ordine duci instratos ostro alipedes pictisque tapetis (aurea pectoribus demissa monilia pendent, tecti auro fulvum mandunt sub dentibus aurum), absenti Æneæ currum geminosque jugalis | 280 | immediately he ordered one to be led to each Trojan by rank, caparisoned in purple, swift-footed, with embroidered housings (gold collars hung low over their chests, covered in gold, they even champed bits of yellow gold between their teeth), and for the absent Æneas there was a chariot, with twin horses, |
| semine ab ætherio spirantis naribus ignem, illorum de gente patri quos dædala Circe supposita de matre nothos furata creavit. talibus Æneadæ donis dictisque Latini sublimes in equis redeunt pacemque reportant. | 285 | of heaven’s line, blowing fire from their nostrils, bastards of that breed of her father’s, the Sun, that cunning Circe had produced, by mating them with a mortal mare. The sons of Æneas, mounting the horses, rode back with these words and gifts of Latinus, bearing peace. |
| Ecce autem Inachiis sese referebat ab Argis sæva Jovis conjunx aurasque invecta tenebat, et lætum Ænean classemque ex æthere longe Dardaniam Siculo prospexit ab usque Pachyno. moliri jam tecta videt, jam fidere terræ, | 290 | But behold, the ferocious wife of Jove returning from Inachus’s Argos, winging her airy way, saw the delighted Æneas and his Trojan fleet, from the distant sky, beyond Sicilian Pachynus. She gazed at them, already building houses, already confident |
| deseruisse rates : stetit acri fixa dolore. tum quassans caput hæc effundit pectore dicta : « heu stirpem invisam et fatis contraria nostris fata Phrygum! num Sigeis occumbere campis, num capti potuere capi? num incensa cremavit | 295 | in their land, the ships deserted: she halted pierced by a bitter pang. Then shaking her head, she poured these words from her breast: “Ah loathsome tribe, and Trojan destiny, opposed to my own destiny! Could they not have fallen on the Sigean plains, could they not have been held as captives? Could burning Troy |
| Troja viros? medias acies mediosque per ignis invenere viam. at, credo, mea numina tandem fessa jacent, odiis aut exsaturata quievi. quin etiam patria excussos infesta per undas ausa sequi et profugis toto me opponere ponto. | 300 | not have consumed these men? They find a way through the heart of armies and flames. And I think my powers must be exhausted at last, or I have come to rest, my anger sated. Why, when they were thrown out of their country I ventured to follow hotly through the waves, and challenge them on every ocean. |
| absumptæ in Teucros vires cælique marisque. quid Syrtes aut Scylla mihi, quid vasta Charybdis profuit? optato conduntur Thybridis alveo securi pelagi atque mei. Mars perdere gentem immanem Lapithum valuit, concessit in iras | 305 | The forces of sea and sky have been wasted on these Trojans. What use have the Syrtes been to me, or Scylla, or gaping Charybdis? They take refuge in their longed-for Tiber’s channel, indifferent to the sea and to me. Mars had the power to destroy the Lapiths’ vast race, the father of the gods himself |
| ipse deum antiquam genitor Calydona Dianæ, quod scelus aut Lapithas tantum aut Calydona merentem? ast ego, magna Jovis conjunx, nil linquere inausum quæ potui infelix, quæ memet in omnia verti, vincor ab Ænea. quod si mea numina non sunt | 310 | conceded ancient Calydon, given Diana’s anger, and for what sin did the Lapiths or Calydon, deserve all that? But I, Jove’s great Queen, who in my wretchedness had the power to leave nothing untried, who have turned myself to every means, am conquered by Æneas. But if my divine strength is not |
| magna satis, dubitem haud equidem implorare quod usquam est : flectere si nequeo superos, Acheronta movebo. non dabitur regnis, esto, prohibere Latinis, atque immota manet fatis Lavinia conjunx : at trahere atque moras tantis licet addere rebus, | 315 | enough, I won’t hesitate to seek help wherever it might be: if I cannot sway the gods, I’ll stir the Acheron. I accept it’s not granted to me to withhold the Latin kingdom, and by destiny Lavinia will still, unalterably, be his bride: but I can draw such things out and add delays, |
| at licet amborum populos exscindere regum. hac gener atque socer cœant mercede suorum : sanguine Trojano et Rutulo dotabere, virgo, et Bellona manet te pronuba. nec face tantum Cisseis prægnas ignis enixa jugalis ; | 320 | and I can destroy the people of these two kings. Let father and son-in-law unite at the cost of their nations’ lives: virgin, your dowry will be Rutulian and Trojan blood, and Bellona, the goddess of war, waits to attend your marriage. Nor was it Hecuba, Cisseus’s daughter, alone who was pregnant with a fire-brand, or gave birth to nuptial flames. |
| quin idem Veneri partus suus et Paris alter, funestæque iterum recidiva in Pergama tædæ. » Hæc ubi dicta dedit, terras horrenda petivit ; luctificam Allecto dirarum ab sede dearum infernisque ciet tenebris, cui tristia bella | 325 | Why, Venus is alike in her child, another Paris, another funeral torch for a resurrected Troy.” When she had spoken these words, fearsome, she sought the earth: and summoned Allecto, the grief-bringer, from the house of the Fatal Furies, from the infernal shadows: in whose |
| iræque insidiæque et crimina noxia cordi. odit et ipse pater Pluton, odere sorores Tartareæ monstrum : tot sese vertit in ora, tam sævæ facies, tot pullulat atra colubris. quam Juno his acuit verbis ac talia fatur : | 330 | mind are sad wars, angers and deceits, and guilty crimes. A monster, hated by her own father Pluto, hateful to her Tartarean sisters: she assumes so many forms, her features are so savage, she sports so many black vipers. Juno roused her with these words, saying: |
| « hunc mihi da proprium, virgo sata Nocte, laborem, hanc operam, ne noster honos infractave cedat fama loco, neu conubiis ambire Latinum Æneadæ possint Italosve obsidere finis. tu potes unanimos armare in prœlia fratres | 335 | “Grant me a favor of my own, virgin daughter of Night, this service, so that my honor and glory are not weakened, and give way, and the people of Æneas cannot woo Latinus with intermarriage, or fill the bounds of Italy. You’ve the power to rouse brothers, who are one, to conflict, |
| atque odiis versare domos, tu verbera tectis funereasque inferre faces, tibi nomina mille, mille nocendi artes. fecundum concute pectus, disjice compositam pacem, sere crimina belli ; arma velit poscatque simul rapiatque juventus. » | 340 | and overturn homes with hatred: you bring the scourge and the funeral torch into the house: you’ve a thousand names, and a thousand noxious arts. Search your fertile breast, shatter the peace accord, sow accusations of war: let men in a moment need, demand and seize their weapons.” |
| Exim Gorgoneis Allecto infecta venenis principio Latium et Laurentis tecta tyranni celsa petit, tacitumque obsedit limen Amatæ, quam super adventu Teucrum Turnique hymenæis femineæ ardentem curæque iræque coquebant. | 345 | So Allecto, steeped in the Gorgon’s poison, first searches out Latium and the high halls of the Laurentine king, and sits at the silent threshold of Queen Amata, whom concerns and angers have troubled, with a woman’s passion, concerning the Trojan’s arrival, and Turnus’s marriage. |
| huic dea cæruleis unum de crinibus anguem conjicit, inque sinum præcordia ad intima subdit, quo furibunda domum monstro permisceat omnem. ille inter vestis et levia pectora lapsus volvitur attactu nullo, fallitque furentem | 350 | The goddess flings a snake at her from her dark locks, and plunges it into the breast, to her innermost heart, so that maddened by the creature, she might trouble the whole palace. Sliding between her clothing, and her polished breast, it winds itself unfelt and unknown to the frenzied woman, |
| vipeream inspirans animam ; fit tortile collo aurum ingens coluber, fit longæ tænia vittæ innectitque comas et membris lubricus errat. ac dum prima lues udo sublapsa veneno pertemptat sensus atque ossibus implicat ignem | 355 | breathing its viperous breath: the powerful snake becomes her twisted necklace of gold, becomes the loop of her long ribbon, knots itself in her hair, and roves slithering down her limbs. And while at first the sickness, sinking within as liquid venom, pervades her senses, and clasps her bones with fire, |
| necdum animus toto percepit pectore flammam, mollius et solito matrum de more locuta est, multa super natæ lacrimans Phrygiisque hymenæis : « exsulibusne datur ducenda Lavinia Teucris, o genitor, nec te miseret natæque tuique? | 360 | and before her mind has felt the flame through all its thoughts, she speaks, softly, and in a mother’s usual manner, weeping greatly over the marriage of her daughter to the Trojan: “O, have you her father no pity for your daughter or yourself? |
| nec matris miseret, quam primo Aquilone relinquet perfidus alta petens abducta virgine prædo? at non sic Phrygius penetrat Lacedæmona pastor, Ledæamque Helenam Trojanas vexit ad urbes? quid tua sancta fides? quid cura antiqua tuorum | 365 | Have you no pity for her mother, when the faithless seducer will leave with the first north-wind, seeking the deep, with the girl as prize? Wasn’t it so when Paris, that Phrygian shepherd, entered Sparta, and snatched Leda’s Helen off to the Trojan cities? What of your sacred pledge? What of your former care for your own |
| et consanguineo totiens data dextera Turno? si gener externa petitur de gente Latinis, idque sedet, Faunique premunt te jussa parentis, omnem equidem sceptris terram quæ libera nostris dissidet externam reor et sic dicere divos. | 370 | people, and your right hand given so often to your kinsman Turnus? If a son-in-law from a foreign tribe is sought for the Latins, and it’s settled, and your father Faunus’s command weighs on you, then I myself think that every land free of our rule that is distant, is foreign: and so the gods declare. |
| et Turno, si prima domus repetatur origo, Inachus Acrisiusque patres mediæque Mycenæ. » His ubi nequiquam dictis experta Latinum contra stare videt, penitusque in viscera lapsum serpentis furiale malum totamque pererrat, | 375 | And if the first origins of his house are traced, Inachus and Acrisius are ancestors of Turnus, and Mycenæ his heartland.” When, though trying in vain with words, she sees Latinus stand firm against her, and when the snake’s maddening venom has seeped deep into her flesh, and permeated throughout, |
| tum vero infelix ingentibus excita monstris immensam sine more furit lymphata per urbem. ceu quondam torto volitans sub verbere turbo, quem pueri magno in gyro vacua atria circum intenti ludo exercent — ille actus habena | 380 | then, truly, the unhappy queen, goaded by monstrous horrors, rages madly unrestrainedly through the vast city. As a spinning-top, sometimes, that boys intent on play thrash in a circle round an empty courtyard, turns under the whirling lash, |
| curvatis fertur spatiis ; stupet inscia supra impubesque manus mirata volubile buxum ; dant animos plagæ : non cursu segnior illo per medias urbes agitur populosque ferocis. quin etiam in silvas simulato numine Bacchi | 385 | — driven with the whip it moves in curving tracks: and the childish crowd marvel over it in innocence, gazing at the twirling boxwood: and the blows grant it life: so she is driven through the heart of cities and proud peoples, on a course that is no less swift. Moreover, she runs to the woods, pretending Bacchic possession, |
| majus adorta nefas majoremque orsa furorem evolat et natam frondosis montibus abdit, quo thalamum eripiat Teucris tædasque moretur, euhœ Bacche fremens, solum te virgine dignum vociferans : etenim mollis tibi sumere thyrsos, | 390 | setting out on a greater sin, and creating a wider frenzy, and hides her daughter among the leafy mountains, to rob the Trojans of their wedding and delay the nuptials, shrieking “Euhœ” to Bacchus, crying “You alone are worthy of this virgin: it’s for you in truth she lifts the soft thyrsus, |
| te lustrare choro, sacrum tibi pascere crinem. fama volat, furiisque accensas pectore matres idem omnis simul ardor agit nova quærere tecta. deservere domos, ventis dant colla comasque ; ast aliæ tremulis ululatibus æthera complent | 395 | you she circles in the dance, for you she grows her sacred hair.” Rumor travels: and the same frenzy drives all the women, inflamed, with madness in their hearts, to seek strange shelter. They leave their homes, and bare their head and neck to the winds: while others are already filling the air with vibrant howling |
| pampineasque gerunt incinctæ pellibus hastas. ipsa inter medias flagrantem fervida pinum sustinet ac natæ Turnique canit hymenæos sanguineam torquens aciem, torvumque repente clamat : « io matres, audite, ubi quæque, Latinæ : | 400 | carrying vine-wrapped spears, and clothed in fawn-skins. The wild Queen herself brandishes a blazing pine-branch in their midst, turning her bloodshot gaze on them, and sings the wedding-song for Turnus and her daughter, and, suddenly fierce, cries out: “O, women of Latium, wherever you are, hear me: |
| si qua piis animis manet infelicis Amatæ gratia, si juris materni cura remordet, solvite crinalis vittas, capite orgia mecum. » talem inter silvas, inter deserta ferarum reginam Allecto stimulis agit undique Bacchi. | 405 | if you still have regard for unhappy Amata in your pious hearts, if you’re stung with concern for a mother’s rights, loose the ties from your hair, join the rites with me.” So Allecto drives the Queen with Bacchic goad, far and wide, through the woods, among the wild creatures’ lairs. |
| Postquam visa satis primos acuisse furores consiliumque omnemque domum vertisse Latini, protinus hinc fuscis tristis dea tollitur alis audacis Rutuli ad muros, quam dicitur urbem Acrisioneis Danæ fundasse colonis | 410 | When she saw she had stirred these first frenzies enough, and had disturbed Latinus’s plans, and his whole household, the grim goddess was carried from there, at once, on dark wings, to the walls of Turnus, the brave Rutulian, the city they say that Danæ, blown there by a violent southerly, built |
| præcipiti delata Noto. locus Ardea quondam dictus avis, et nunc magnum manet Ardea nomen, sed fortuna fuit —: tectis hic Turnus in altis jam mediam nigra carpebat nocte quietem. Allecto torvam faciem et furialia membra | 415 | with her Acrisian colonists. The place was once called Ardea by our ancestors, and Ardea still remains as a great name, its good-fortune past. Here, in the dark of night, Turnus was now in a deep sleep, in his high palace. Allecto changed her fierce appearance and fearful shape, |
| exuit, in vultus sese transformat anilis et frontem obscenam rugis arat, induit albos cum vitta crinis, tum ramum innectit olivæ ; fit Calybe Junonis anus templique sacerdos, et juveni ante oculos his se cum vocibus offert : | 420 | transformed her looks into those of an old woman, furrowed her ominous brow with wrinkles, assumed white hair and sacred ribbon, then twined an olive spray there: she became Calybe, Juno’s old servant, and priestess of her temple, and offered herself to the young man’s eyes with these words: |
| « Turne, tot incassum fusos patiere labores, et tua Dardaniis transcribi sceptra colonis? rex tibi conjugium et quæsitas sanguine dotes abnegat, externusque in regnum quæritur heres. i nunc, ingratis offer te, irrise, periclis ; | 425 | “Turnus, will you see all your efforts wasted in vain, and your sceptre handed over to Trojan settlers? The king denies you your bride and the dowry looked for by your race, and a stranger is sought as heir to the throne. Go then, be despised, offer yourself, un-thanked, to danger: |
| Tyrrhenas, i, sterne acies, tege pace Latinos. hæc adeo tibi me, placida quum nocte jaceres, ipsa palam fari omnipotens Saturnia jussit. quare age et armari pubem portisque moveri lætus in arva para, et Phrygios qui flumine pulchro | 430 | go, cut down the Tuscan ranks, protect the Latins with peace! This that I now say to you, as you lie there in the calm of night, Saturn’s all-powerful daughter herself ordered me to speak openly. So rise, and ready your men, gladly, to arm and march from the gates to the fields, and set fire to the painted ships |
| consedere duces pictasque exure carinas. cælestum vis magna jubet. rex ipse Latinus, ni dare conjugium et dicto parere fatetur, sentiat et tandem Turnum experiatur in armis. » Hic juvenis vatem irridens sic orsa vicissim | 435 | anchored in our noble river, and the Trojan leaders with them. The vast power of the gods demands it. Let King Latinus himself feel it, unless he agrees to keep his word and give you your bride, and let him at last experience Turnus armed.” At this the warrior, mocking the priestess, opened his mouth in turn: |
| ore refert : « classis invectas Thybridis undam non, ut rere, meas effugit nuntius auris ; ne tantos mihi finge metus ; nec regia Juno immemor est nostri. sed te victa situ verique effeta senectus, | 440 | “The news that a fleet has entered Tiber’s waters has not escaped my notice, as you think: don’t imagine it’s so great a fear to me. Nor is Queen Juno unmindful of me. But you, O mother, old age, conquered by weakness |
| o mater, curis nequiquam exercet, et arma regum inter falsa vatem formidine ludit. cura tibi divum effigies et templa tueri ; bella viri pacemque gerent quis bella gerenda. » Talibus Allecto dictis exarsit in iras. | 445 | and devoid of truth, troubles with idle cares, and mocks a prophetess, amidst the wars of kings, with imaginary terrors. Your duty’s to guard the gods’ statues and their temples: men will make war and peace, by whom war’s to be made.” Allecto blazed with anger at these words. |
| at juveni oranti subitus tremor occupat artus, deriguere oculi : tot Erinys sibilat hydris tantaque se facies aperit ; tum flammea torquens lumina cunctantem et quærentem dicere plura reppulit, et geminos erexit crinibus anguis, | 450 | And, as the young man spoke, a sudden tremor seized his body, and his eyes became fixed, the Fury hissed with so many snakes, such a form revealed itself: then turning her fiery gaze on him, she pushed him away as he hesitated, trying to say more, and raised up a pair of serpents amidst her hair, |
| verberaque insonuit rabidoque hæc addidit ore : « en ego victa situ, quam veri effeta senectus arma inter regum falsa formidine ludit. respice ad hæc : assum dirarum ab sede sororum, bella manu letumque gero. » | 455 | and cracked her whip, and added this through rabid lips: “See me, conquered by weakness, whom old age, devoid of truth, mocks with imaginary terrors amongst the wars of kings. Look on this: I am here from the house of the Fatal Sisters, and I bring war and death in my hand.” |
| sic effata facem juveni conjecit et atro lumine fumantis fixit sub pectore tædas. olli somnum ingens rumpit pavor, ossaque et artus perfundit toto proruptus corpore sudor. arma amens fremit, arma toro tectisque requirit ; | 460 | So saying, she flung a burning branch at the youth, and planted the brand, smoking with murky light, in his chest. An immense terror shattered his sleep, and sweat, pouring from his whole body drenched flesh and bone. Frantic, he shouted for weapons, looked for weapons by the bedside, |
| sævit amor ferri et scelerata insania belli, ira super : magno veluti quum flamma sonore virgea suggeritur costis undantis æni exsultantque æstu latices, furit intus aquai fumidus atque alte spumis exuberat amnis, | 465 | and through the palace: desire for the sword raged in him, and the accursed madness of war, anger above all: as when burning sticks are heaped, with a fierce crackling, under the belly of a raging cauldron, and the depths dance with the heat, the smoking mixture seethes inside, the water bubbles high with foam, the liquid can no longer |
| nec jam se capit unda, volat vapor ater ad auras. ergo iter ad regem polluta pace Latinum indicit primis juvenum et jubet arma parari, tutari Italiam, detrudere finibus hostem ; se satis ambobus Teucrisque venire Latinisque. | 470 | contain itself, and dark vapor rises into the air. So, violating the peace, he commanded his young leaders to march against King Latinus, and ordered the troops to be readied, to defend Italy, to drive the enemy from her borders: his approach itself would be enough for both Trojans and Latins. |
| hæc ubi dicta dedit divosque in vota vocavit, certatim sese Rutuli exhortantur in arma. hunc decus egregium formæ movet atque juventæ, hunc atavi reges, hunc claris dextera factis. Dum Turnus Rutulos animis audacibus implet, | 475 | When he gave the word, and called the gods to witness his vows, the Rutuli vied in urging each other to arm. This man is moved by Turnus’s youth and outstanding nobility of form, that by his royal line, this one again by his glorious deeds. While Turnus was rousing the Rutulians with fiery courage, |
| Allecto in Teucros Stygiis se concitat alis, arte nova, speculata locum, quo litore pulcher insidiis cursuque feras agitabat Julus. hic subitam canibus rabiem Cocytia virgo objicit et noto naris contingit odore, | 480 | Allecto hurled herself towards the Trojans, on Stygian wings, spying out, with fresh cunning, the place on the shore where handsome Julus was hunting wild beasts on foot with nets. Hades’s Virgin drove his hounds to sudden frenzy, touching their muzzles with a familiar scent, |
| ut cervum ardentes agerent ; quæ prima laborum causa fuit belloque animos accendit agrestis. cervus erat forma præstanti et cornibus ingens, Tyrrhidæ pueri quem matris ab ubere raptum nutribant Tyrrhusque pater, cui regia parent | 485 | so that they eagerly chased down a stag: this was a prime cause of trouble, rousing the spirits of the countrymen to war. There was a stag of outstanding beauty, with huge antlers, that, torn from its mother’s teats, Tyrrhus and his sons had raised, the father being the man to whom the king’s herds submitted, |
| armenta et late custodia credita campi. assuetum imperiis soror omni Silvia cura mollibus intexens ornabat cornua sertis, pectebatque ferum puroque in fonte lavabat. ille manum patiens mensæque assuetus erili | 490 | and who was trusted with managing his lands far and wide. Silvia, their sister, training it to her commands with great care, adorned its antlers, twining them with soft garlands, grooming the wild creature, and bathing it in a clear spring. Tame to the hand, and used to food from the master’s table, it wandered the woods, |
| errabat silvis rursusque ad limina nota ipse domum sera quamvis se nocte ferebat. hunc procul errantem rabidæ venantis Juli commovere canes, fluvio quum forte secundo deflueret ripaque æstus viridante levaret. | 495 | and returned to the familiar threshold, by itself, however late at night. Now while it strayed far a-field, Julus the huntsman’s frenzied hounds started it, by chance, as it moved downstream, escaping the heat by the grassy banks. |
| ipse etiam eximiæ laudis succensus amore Ascanius curvo derexit spicula cornu ; nec dextræ erranti deus afuit, actaque multo perque uterum sonitu perque ilia venit harundo. saucius at quadripes nota intra tecta refugit | 500 | Julus himself inflamed also with desire for high honors, aimed an arrow from his curved bow, the goddess unfailingly guiding his errant hand, and the shaft, flying with a loud hiss, pierced flank and belly. But the wounded creature fleeing to its familiar home, |
| successitque gemens stabulis, questuque cruentus atque imploranti similis tectum omne replebat. Silvia prima soror palmis percussa lacertos auxilium vocat et duros conclamat agrestis. olli (pestis enim tacitis latet aspera silvis) | 505 | dragged itself groaning to its stall, and, bleeding, filled the house with its cries, like a person begging for help. Silvia, the sister, beating her arms with her hands in distress, was the first to call for help, summoning the tough countrymen. They arrived quickly (since a savage beast haunted the silent woods) |
| improvisi assunt, hic torre armatus obusto, stipitis hic gravidi nodis ; quod cuique repertum rimanti telum ira facit. vocat agmina Tyrrhus, quadrifidam quercum cuneis ut forte coactis scindebat rapta spirans immane securi. | 510 | one with a fire-hardened stake, one with a heavy knotted staff: anger made a weapon of whatever each man found as he searched around. Tyrrhus called out his men: since by chance he was quartering an oak by driving wedges, he seized his axe, breathing savagely. |
| At sæva e speculis tempus dea nacta nocendi ardua tecta petit stabuli et de culmine summo pastorale canit signum cornuque recuruo Tartaream intendit vocem, qua protinus omne contremuit nemus et silvæ insonuere profundæ ; | 515 | Then the cruel goddess, seeing the moment to do harm, found the stable’s steep roof, and sounded the herdsmen’s call, sending a voice from Tartarus through the twisted horn, so that each grove shivered, and the deep woods echœd: |
| audiit et Triviæ longe lacus, audiit amnis sulpurea Nar albus aqua fontesque Velini, et trepidæ matres pressere ad pectora natos. tum vero ad vocem celeres, qua bucina signum dira dedit, raptis concurrunt undique telis | 520 | Diana’s distant lake at Nemi heard it: white Nar’s river, with its sulphurous waters, heard: and the fountains of Velinus: while anxious mothers clasped their children to their breasts. Then the rough countrymen snatching up their weapons, gathered more quickly, and from every side, to the noise with which |
| indomiti agricolæ, nec non et Troja pubes Ascanio auxilium castris effundit apertis. derexere acies. non jam certamine agresti stipitibus duris agitur sudibusve præustis, sed ferro ancipiti decernunt atraque late | 525 | that dread trumpet sounded the call, nor were the Trojan youth slow to open their camp, and send out help to Ascanius. The lines were deployed. They no longer competed with solid staffs, and fire-hardened stakes, in a rustic quarrel, but fought it out with double-edged blades, and a dark crop |
| horrescit strictis seges ensibus, æraque fulgent sole lacessita et lucem sub nubila jactant : fluctus uti primo cœpit quum albescere vento, paulatim sese tollit mare et altius undas erigit, inde imo consurgit ad æthera fundo. | 530 | of naked swords bristled far and wide: bronze shone struck by the sun, and hurled its light up to the clouds: as when a wave begins to whiten at the wind’s first breath, and the sea swells little by little, and raises higher waves, then surges to heaven out of its profoundest depths. |
| hic juvenis primam ante aciem stridente sagitta, natorum Tyrrhi fuerat qui maximus, Almo, sternitur ; hæsit enim sub gutture vulnus et udæ vocis iter tenuemque inclusit sanguine vitam. corpora multa virum circa seniorque Galæsus, | 535 | Here young Almo, in the front ranks, the eldest of Tyrrhus’s sons, was downed by a hissing arrow: the wound opened beneath his throat, choking the passage of liquid speech, and failing breath, with blood. The bodies of many men were round him, old Galæsus |
| dum paci medium se offert, justissimus unus qui fuit Ausoniisque olim ditissimus arvis : quinque greges illi balantum, quina redibant armenta, et terram centum vertebat aratris. Atque ea per campos æquo dum Marte geruntur, | 540 | among them, killed in the midst of offering peace, who was one of the most just of men, and the wealthiest in Ausonian land: five flocks bleated for him, five herds returned from his fields, and a hundred ploughs furrowed the soil. While they fought over the plain, in an equally-matched contest, |
| promissi dea facta potens, ubi sanguine bellum imbuit et primæ commisit funera pugnæ, deserit Hesperiam et cæli conversa per auras Junonem victrix affatur voce superba : « en, perfecta tibi bello discordia tristi ; | 545 | the goddess, having, by her actions, succeeded in what she’d promised, having steeped the battle in blood, and brought death in the first skirmish, left Hesperia, and wheeling through the air of heaven spoke to Juno, in victory, in a proud voice: “Behold, for you, discord is completed with sad war: |
| dic in amicitiam cœant et fœdera jungant. quandoquidem Ausonio respersi sanguine Teucros, hoc etiam his addam, tua si mihi certa voluntas : finitimas in bella feram rumoribus urbes, accendamque animos insani Martis amore | 550 | tell them now to unite as friends, or join in alliance. Since I’ve sprinkled the Trojans with Ausonian blood, I’ll even add this to it, if I’m assured that it’s your wish I’ll bring neighboring cities into the war, with rumor, inflaming their minds with love of war’s madness, so that they come |
| undique ut auxilio veniant ; spargam arma per agros. » tum contra Juno : « terrorum et fraudis abunde est : stant belli causæ, pugnatur comminus armis, quæ fors prima dedit sanguis novus imbuit arma. talia conjugia et talis celebrent hymenæos | 555 | with aid from every side: I’ll sow the fields with weapons.” Then Juno answered: “That’s more than enough terror and treachery: the reasons for war are there: armed, they fight hand to hand, and the weapons that chance first offered are stained with fresh blood. Such be the marriage, such be the wedding-rites that this |
| egregium Veneris genus et rex ipse Latinus. te super ætherias errare licentius auras haud pater ille velit, summi regnator Olympi. cede locis. ego, si qua super fortuna laborum est, ipsa regam. » talis dederat Saturnia voces ; | 560 | illustrious son of Venus, and King Latinus himself, celebrate. The Father, the ruler of high Olympus, dœs not wish you to wander too freely in the ethereal heavens. Leave this place. Whatever chance for trouble remains I will handle.” So spoke Saturn’s daughter: |
| illa autem attollit stridentis anguibus alas Cocytique petit sedem supera ardua linquens. est locus Italiæ medio sub montibus altis, nobilis et fama multis memoratus in oris, Amsancti valles ; densis hunc frondibus atrum | 565 | Now, the Fury raised her wings, hissing with serpents, and sought her home in Cocytus, leaving the heights above. There’s a place in Italy, at the foot of high mountains, famous, and mentioned by tradition, in many lands, the valley of Amsanctus: woods thick with leaves hem it in, |
| urget utrimque latus nemoris, medioque fragosus dat sonitum saxis et torto vertice torrens. hic specus horrendum et sævi spiracula Ditis monstrantur, ruptoque ingens Acheronte vorago pestiferas aperit fauces, quis condita Erinys, | 570 | darkly, on both sides, and in the center a roaring torrent makes the rocks echo, and coils in whirlpools. There a fearful cavern, a breathing-hole for cruel Dis, is shown, and a vast abyss, out of which Acheron bursts, holds open its baleful jaws, into which the Fury, |
| invisum numen, terras cælumque levabat. Nec minus interea extremam Saturnia bello imponit regina manum. ruit omnis in urbem pastorum ex acie numerus, cæsosque reportant Almonem puerum fœdatique ora Galæsi, | 575 | that hated goddess, plunged, freeing earth and sky. Meanwhile Saturn’s royal daughter was no less active, setting a final touch to the war. The whole band of herdsmen rushed into the city from the battle, bringing back the dead, the boy Almo, and Galæsus, with a mangled face, |
| implorantque deos obtestanturque Latinum. Turnus adest medioque in crimine cædis et igni terrorem ingeminat : Teucros in regna vocari, stirpem admisceri Phrygiam, se limine pelli. tum quorum attonitæ Baccho nemora avia matres | 580 | and invoking the gods, and entreating Latinus. Turnus was there, and ,at the heart of the outcry, he redoubled their terror of fire and slaughter: “Trojans are called upon to reign: Phrygian stock mixes with ours: I am thrust from the door.” Then those whose women, inspired by Bacchus, pranced about |
| insultant thiasis (neque enim leve nomen Amatæ) undique collecti cœunt Martemque fatigant. ilicet infandum cuncti contra omina bellum, contra fata deum perverso numine poscunt. certatim regis circumstant tecta Latini ; | 585 | in the pathless woods, in the god’s dance (for Amata’s name is not trivial), drawing together from every side, gathered to make their appeal to Mars. Immediately, with perverse wills, all clamored for war’s atrocities, despite the omens, despite the god’s decrees. They vied together in surrounding King Latinus’s palace: |
| ille velut pelago rupes immota resistit, ut pelagi rupes magno veniente fragore, quæ sese multis circum latrantibus undis mole tenet ; scopuli nequiquam et spumea circum saxa fremunt laterique illisa refunditur alga. | 590 | like an immoveable rock in the ocean, he stood firm, like a rock in the ocean, when a huge breaker falls, holding solid amongst a multitude of howling waves, while round about the cliffs and foaming reefs roar, in vain, and seaweed, hurled against its sides, is washed back again. |
| verum ubi nulla datur cæcum exsuperare potestas consilium, et sævæ nutu Junonis eunt res, multa deos aurasque pater testatus inanis « frangimur heu fatis » inquit « ferimurque procella! ipsi has sacrilego pendetis sanguine pœnas, | 595 | As no power was really granted him to conquer their blind will, and events moved to cruel Juno’s orders, with many appeals to the gods and the helpless winds, the old man cried: “Alas, we are broken by fate, and swept away by the storm! Oh, wretched people, you’ll pay the price yourselves |
| o miseri. te, Turne, nefas, te triste manebit supplicium, votisque deos venerabere seris. nam mihi parta quies, omnisque in limine portus funere felici spolior. » nec plura locutus sæpsit se tectis rerumque reliquit habenas. | 600 | for this, with sacrilegious blood. You, Turnus, your crime and its punishment await you, and too late you’ll entreat the gods with prayers. My share is rest, yet at the entrance to the harbor I’m robbed of all contentment in dying.” Speaking no more he shut himself in the palace, and let fall the reins of power. |
| Mos erat Hesperio in Latio, quem protinus urbes Albanæ coluere sacrum, nunc maxima rerum Roma colit, quum prima movent in prœlia Martem, sive Getis inferre manu lacrimabile bellum Hyrcanisve Arabisve parant, seu tendere ad Indos | 605 | There was a custom in Hesperian Latium, which the Alban cities always held sacred, as great Rome dœs now, when they first rouse Mars to battle, whether they prepare to take sad war in their hands to the Getæ, the Hyrcanians, or the Arabs, or to head East |
| Auroramque sequi Parthosque reposcere signa : sunt geminæ Belli portæ (sic nomine dicunt) religione sacræ et sævi formidine Martis ; centum ærei claudunt vectes æternaque ferri robora, nec custos absistit limine Janus. | 610 | pursuing the Dawn, to reclaim their standards from Parthia: there are twin gates of War (so they are named), sanctified by religion, and by dread of fierce Mars: a hundred bars of bronze, and iron’s eternal strength, lock them, and Janus the guardian never leaves the threshold. |
| has, ubi certa sedet patribus sententia pugnæ, ipse Quirinali trabea cinctuque Gabino insignis reserat stridentia limina consul, ipse vocat pugnas ; sequitur tum cetera pubes, æreaque assensu conspirant cornua rauco. | 615 | When the final decision of the city fathers is for battle, the Consul himself, dressed in the Quirine toga, folded in the Gabine manner, unbars these groaning doors, himself, and himself invokes the battle: then the rest of the men do so too, and bronze horns breathe their hoarse assent. |
| hoc et tum Æneadis indicere bella Latinus more jubebatur tristisque recludere portas. abstinuit tactu pater aversusque refugit fœda ministeria, et cæcis se condidit umbris. tum regina deum cælo delapsa morantis | 620 | Latinus was also commanded to declare war in this way on Æneas’s people, and unbolt the sad gates, but the old man held back his hand, and shrank from the vile duty, hiding himself in dark shadows. Then the Queen of the gods, gliding from the sky, |
| impulit ipsa manu portas, et cardine verso Belli ferratos rumpit Saturnia postis. ardet inexcita Ausonia atque immobilis ante ; pars pedes ire parat campis, pars arduus altis pulverulentus equis furit ; omnes arma requirunt. | 625 | set the reluctant doors in motion, with her own hand: Saturn’s daughter forced open the iron gates of War on their hinges. Italy, once peaceful and immoveable, was alight. Some prepared to cross the plains on foot, others stirred the deep dust on noble horses: all demanded weapons. |
| pars levis clipeos et spicula lucida tergent aruina pingui subiguntque in cote securis ; signaque ferre juvat sonitusque audire tubarum. quinque adeo magnæ positis incudibus urbes tela novant, Atina potens Tiburque superbum, | 630 | Others polished smooth shields, and bright javelins, with thick grease, and sharpened axes on grindstones: they delighted in carrying standards and hearing the trumpet call. So five great cities set up anvils and forged new weapons: powerful Atina, proud Tibur, |
| Ardea Crustumerique et turrigeræ Antemnæ. tegmina tuta cavant capitum flectuntque salignas umbonum cratis ; alii thoracas ænos aut levis ocreas lento ducunt argento ; vomeris huc et falcis honos, huc omnis aratri | 635 | Ardea, Crustumeri, and towered Antemnæ. They beat out helmets to protect their heads, and wove wickerwork frames for shields: others hammered breastplates of bronze, and shiny greaves of malleable silver: to this they yielded pride in the share’s blade and the sickle, all their |
| cessit amor ; recoquunt patrios fornacibus ensis. classica jamque sonant, it bello tessera signum ; hic galeam tectis trepidus rapit, ille trementis ad juga cogit equos, clipeumque auroque trilicem loricam induitur fidoque accingitur ense. | 640 | passion for the plough: they recast their father’s swords in the furnace. And now the trumpets began to sound, the word that signalled war went round: this man, in alarm, snatched his helmet from his home, another harnessed quivering horses to the yoke, took up his shield, and triple-linked coat of mail, and fastened on his faithful sword. |
| Pandite nunc Helicona, deæ, cantusque movete, qui bello exciti reges, quæ quemque secutæ complerint campos acies, quibus Itala jam tum floruerit terra alma viris, quibus arserit armis ; et meministis enim, divæ, et memorare potestis ; | 645 | Now Muses, open wide Helicon, and begin a song of kings who were roused to war: what ranks of followers each one had, filling the plain: with what men even then Italy’s rich earth flowered: with what armies she shone: since, goddesses, you remember, and have the power to tell: |
| ad nos vix tenuis famæ perlabitur aura. Primus init bellum Tyrrhenis asper ab oris contemptor divum Mezentius agminaque armat. filius huic juxta Lausus, quo pulchrior alter non fuit excepto Laurentis corpore Turni ; | 650 | while a faint breath of their fame has barely reached us. First fierce Mezentius enters the war, that scorner of gods, from the Tuscan shore, and rouses his troops to arms. His son, Lausus, is beside him, than whom no other is more handsome in form, except Laurentine Turnus. |
| Lausus, equum domitor debellatorque ferarum, ducit Agyllina nequiquam ex urbe secutos mille viros, dignus patriis qui lætior esset imperiis et cui pater haud Mezentius esset. Post hos insignem palma per gramina currum | 655 | Lausus, the tamer of horses, who subdues wild beasts, leads a thousand men from Agylla’s town, who follow him in vain, deserving to be happier than under his father’s rule, a father who might perhaps not be a Mezentius. Aventinus follows them, the handsome son of handsome Hercules, |
| victoresque ostentat equos satus Hercule pulchro pulcher Aventinus, clipeoque insigne paternum centum anguis cinctamque gerit serpentibus Hydram ; collis Aventini silva quem Rhea sacerdos furtivum partu sub luminis edidit oras, | 660 | displaying his palm-crowned chariot and victorious horses, over the turf, and carries his father’s emblem on his shield: a hundred snakes, and the Hydra wreathed with serpents: the priestess Rhea brought him to the shores of light, in a secret birth, in the woods, on the Aventine Hill, |
| mixta deo mulier, postquam Laurentia victor Geryone exstincto Tirynthius attigit arva, Tyrrhenoque boves in flumine lavit Hiberas. pila manu sævosque gerunt in bella dolones, et tereti pugnant mucrone veruque Sabello. | 665 | a woman mated to a god when Tyrinthian Hercules, the conqueror who slew Geryon, came to the Laurentine fields, and bathed his Spanish cattle in the Tuscan stream. His men carry javelins and grim pikes, in their hands, to war, and fight with polished swords and Sabellian spears. |
| ipse pedes, tegimen torquens immane leonis, terribili impexum sæta cum dentibus albis indutus capiti, sic regia tecta subibat, horridus Herculeoque umeros innexus amictu. Tum gemini fratres Tiburtia mœnia linquunt, | 670 | He himself, on foot, a huge lion skin swinging, with terrifying unkempt mane, and with its white teeth crowning his head, enters the royal palace, just like that, a savage, with Hercules’s clothing fastened round his shoulders. Then twin-brothers, Catillus, and brave Coras, |
| fratris Tiburti dictam cognomine gentem, Catillusque acerque Coras, Argiva juventus, et primam ante aciem densa inter tela feruntur : ceu duo nubigenæ quum vertice montis ab alto descendunt Centauri Homolen Othrymque nivalem | 675 | Argive youths, leaving the walls of Tibur, and a people named after their brother Tiburtus, borne into the forefront of the army, among the dense spears, like cloud-born Centaurs descending from a high peak in the mountains, leaving Homole and snow-covered Othrys |
| linquentes cursu rapido ; dat euntibus ingens silva locum et magno cedunt virgulta fragore. Nec Prænestinæ fundator defuit urbis, Volcano genitum pecora inter agrestia regem inventumque focis omnis quem credidit ætas, | 680 | in their swift course: the vast woods give way as they go, and, with a loud crash, the thickets yield to them. Nor is Cæculus the founder of Præneste’s city missing, who as every age has believed was born a king, to Vulcan, among the wild cattle, and discovered on the hearth, |
| Cæculus. hunc legio late comitatur agrestis : quique altum Præneste viri quique arva Gabinæ Junonis gelidumque Anienem et roscida rivis Hernica saxa colunt, quos dives Anagnia pascis, quos, Amasene pater. non illis omnibus arma | 685 | he’s followed by a rustic army drawn from far and wide, men who live in steep Præneste, and the fields of Juno of Gabii, and beside cool Anio, and among the Hernican rocks dew-wet from the streams: those you nurture, rich Anagnia, and you father Amasenus. They don’t all have weapons |
| nec clipei currusve sonant ; pars maxima glandes liventis plumbi spargit, pars spicula gestat bina manu, fulvosque lupi de pelle galeros tegmen habent capiti ; vestigia nuda sinistri instituere pedis, crudus tegit altera pero. | 690 | or shields, or rumbling chariots: most fling pellets of blue lead, some carry twin darts in their hand, and have reddish caps of wolf-skin for headgear: the left foot is bare as they walk, a boot of raw hide protects the other. |
| At Messapus, equum domitor, Neptunia proles, quem neque fas igni cuiquam nec sternere ferro, jam pridem resides populos desuetaque bello agmina in arma vocat subito ferrumque retractat. hi Fescenninas acies Æquosque Faliscos, | 695 | And Messapus, Neptune’s son, tamer of horses, whom no one’s permitted to fell with fire or steel, now suddenly calls to arms his settled tribes, and troops unused to war, and grasps the sword again. These hold Fescennium’s lines and Æqui Falisci’s, |
| hi Soractis habent arces Flaviniaque arva et Cimini cum monte lacum lucosque Capenos. ibant æquati numero regemque canebant : ceu quondam nivei liquida inter nubila cycni quum sese e pastu referunt et longa canoros | 700 | those Soracte’s heights and Flavinium’s fields, and Ciminus’s lake and hill, and Capena’s groves. They march to a steady beat, and sing of their king: as the river Cayster and the Asian meadows, struck from afar, echo sometimes, when the snowy swans, among the flowing clouds, |
| dant per colla modos, sonat amnis et Asia longe pulsa palus. nec quisquam æratas acies examine tanto misceri putet, āeriam sed gurgite ab alto urgeri volucrum raucarum ad litora nubem. | 705 | return from pasture, and make melodious music from their long throats. No one would think that bronze-clad ranks were joined in such a crowd, but an airy cloud of strident birds driving shore-wards from the deep gulf. |
| Ecce Sabinorum prisco de sanguine magnum agmen agens Clausus magnique ipse agminis instar, Claudia nunc a quo diffunditur et tribus et gens per Latium, postquam in partem data Roma Sabinis. una ingens Amiterna cohors priscique Quirites, | 710 | Behold, Clausus, of ancient Sabine blood, leading a great army, and worth a great army in his own right. Now the Claudian tribe and race has spread, from him, through Latium, since Rome was shared with the Sabines. With him, a vast company from Amiternum, and ancient Quirites |
| Ereti manus omnis oliviferæque Mutuscæ ; qui Nomentum urbem, qui Rosea rura Velini, qui Tetricæ horrentis rupes montemque Severum Casperiamque colunt Forulosque et flumen Himellæ, qui Tiberim Fabarimque bibunt, quos frigida misit | 715 | from Cures, all the forces of Eretum, and olive-clad Mutusca: those who live in Nomentum town, and the Rosean fields, by Lake Velinus, those from Tetrica’s bristling cliffs, and from Mount Severus, and Casperia and Foruli, and from beside Himella’s stream, those who drink the Tiber and Fabaris, those cold Nursia sent, |
| Nursia, et Ortinæ classes populique Latini, quosque secans infaustum interluit Allia nomen : quam multi Libyco volvuntur marmore fluctus sævus ubi Orion hibernis conditur undis, vel quum sole novo densæ torrentur aristæ | 720 | and the armies of Orta and the Latin peoples, and those whom Allia, unlucky name, flows between and divides: as many as the waves that swell in Libya’s seas, when fierce Orion’s buried by the wintry waters, or thick as the ears of corn scorched by the early sun, |
| aut Hermi campo aut Lyciæ flaventibus arvis. scuta sonant pulsuque pedum conterrita tellus. Hinc Agamemnonius, Trojani nominis hostis, curru jungit Halæsus equos Turnoque ferocis mille rapit populos, vertunt felicia Baccho | 725 | in the plain of Hermus, or Lycia’s yellow fields. The shields clang, and the earth is terrified by the tramp of feet. Next Halæsus, Agamemnon’s son, hostile to the Trojan name, harnesses his horses to his chariot, and hastens a thousand warlike tribes to Turnus, men who turn the fertile |
| Massica qui rastris, et quos de collibus altis Aurunci misere patres Sidicinaque juxta æquora, quique Cales linquunt amnisque vadosi accola Volturni, pariterque Saticulus asper Oscorumque manus. teretes sunt aclydes illis | 730 | Massic soil for Bacchus, and those the Auruncan elders have sent from the high hills, and the Sidicine levels nearby, those who have left Cales behind, and those who live by Volturnus’s shallow river, and by their side the rough Saticulan and the Oscan men. Polished javelins are their |
| tela, sed hæc lento mos est aptare flagello. lævas cætra tegit, falcati comminus enses. Nec tu carminibus nostris indictus abibis, Œbale, quem generasse Telon Sebethide nympha fertur, Teleboum Capreas quum regna teneret, | 735 | weapons, but their custom is to attach a flexible leash. A shield protects their left, with curved swords for close fighting. Nor shall you, Œbalus, go un-sung in our verses, you whom they say the nymph Sebethis bore to Telon, who is old now, when he held the throne of Teleboan |
| jam senior ; patriis sed non et filius arvis contentus late jam tum dicione premebat Sarrastis populos et quæ rigat æquora Sarnus, quique Rufras Batulumque tenent atque arva Celemnæ, et quos maliferæ despectant mœnia Abellæ, | 740 | Capreæ: but not content with his father’s fields, even then the son exercised his power over the Sarrastrian peoples, and the plains that Sarnus waters, and those who hold Rufræ and Batulum and Celemna’s fields, who are used to throwing their spears in the Teuton fashion: |
| Teutonico ritu soliti torquere catēīas ; tegmina quis capitum raptus de subere cortex æratæque micant peltæ, micat æreus ensis. Et te montosæ misere in prœlia Nersæ, Ufens, insignem fama et felicibus armis, | 745 | and those apple-growers that the ramparts of Abella look down on, whose head-cover is bark stripped from a cork-tree: and their bronze shields gleam, their swords gleam with bronze. And you too Ufens, sent to battle from mountainous Nersæ, well known to fame, and fortunate in arms, whose people |
| horrida præcipue cui gens assuetaque multo venatu nemorum, duris Æquicula glæbis. armati terram exercent semperque recentis convectare juvat prædas et vivere rapto. Quin et Marruvia venit de gente sacerdos | 750 | of the hard Æquian earth, are especially tough, and hunt extensively in the forests. They plough the earth while armed, and always delight in carrying off fresh spoils, and living on plunder. There came a priest as well, of the Marruvian race, |
| fronde super galeam et felici comptus oliva Archippi regis missu, fortissimus Umbro, vipereo generi et graviter spirantibus hydris spargere qui somnos cantuque manuque solebat, mulcebatque iras et morsus arte levabat. | 755 | sent by King Archippus, sporting a frond of fruitful olive above his helmet, Umbro the most-valiant, who, by incantation and touch, was able to shed sleep on the race of vipers and water-snakes with poisonous breath, soothing their anger, and curing their bites, by his arts. |
| sed non Dardaniæ medicari cuspidis ictum evaluit neque eum juvere in vulnera cantus somniferi et Marsis quæsitæ montibus herbæ. te nemus Angitiæ, vitrea te Fucinus unda, te liquidi flevere lacus. | 760 | But he had no power to heal a blow from a Trojan spear-point, nor did sleep-inducing charms, or herbs found on Marsian hills, help him against wounds. For you, Angitia’s grove wept: Fucinus’s glassy wave, for you: for you, the crystal lakes. |
| Ibat et Hippolyti proles pulcherrima bello, Virbius, insignem quem mater Aricia misit, eductum Egeriæ lucis umentia circum litora, pinguis ubi et placabilis ara Dianæ. namque ferunt fama Hippolytum, postquam arte novercæ | 765 | And Virbius, Hippolytus’s son, most handsome, went to the war, whom his mother Aricia sent in all his glory, He was reared in Egeria’s groves, round the marshy shores, where Diana’s altar stands, rich and forgiving. For they tell in story that Hippolytus, after he had fallen prey |
| occiderit patriasque explerit sanguine pœnas turbatis distractus equis, ad sidera rursus ætheria et superas cæli venisse sub auras, Pæoniis revocatum herbis et amore Dianæ. tum pater omnipotens aliquem indignatus ab umbris | 770 | to his stepmother Phædra’s cunning, and, torn apart by stampeding horses, had paid the debt due to his father with his blood, came again to the heavenly stars, and the upper air beneath the sky, recalled by Apollo’s herbs and Diana’s love. Then the all-powerful father, indignant that any mortal |
| mortalem infernis ad lumina surgere vitæ, ipse repertorem medicinæ talis et artis fulmine Phœbigenam Stygias detrusit ad undas. at Trivia Hippolytum secretis alma recondit sedibus et nymphæ Egeriæ nemorique relegat, | 775 | should rise from the shadows to the light of life, hurled Æsculapius, Apollo’s son, the discoverer of such skill and healing, down to the Stygian waves. But kindly Diana hid Hippolytus in a secret place, and sent him to the nymph Egeria, to her grove, |
| solus ubi in silvis Italis ignobilis ævum exigeret versoque ubi nomine Virbius esset. unde etiam templo Triviæ lucisque sacratis cornipedes arcentur equi, quod litore currum et juvenem monstris pavidi effudere marinis. | 780 | where he might spend his life alone, unknown, in the Italian woods, his name altered to Virbius. So too horses are kept away from the temple of Diana Trivia, and the sacred groves, they who, frightened by sea-monsters, spilt chariot and youth across the shore. |
| filius ardentis haud setius æquore campi exercebat equos curruque in bella ruebat. Ipse inter primos præstanti corpore Turnus vertitur arma tenens et toto vertice supra est. cui triplici crinita juba galea alta Chimæram | 785 | Nonetheless his son was lashing fiery horses over the level plain and racing to war in a chariot. Turnus himself went to and from, among the front ranks, grasping his weapons, pre-eminent in form, overtopping the rest by a head. His tall helmet was crowned with a triple plume, holding up |
| sustinet Ætnæos efflantem faucibus ignis ; tam magis illa fremens et tristibus effera flammis quam magis effuso crudescunt sanguine pugnæ. at levem clipeum sublatis cornibus Io auro insignibat, jam sætis obsita, jam bos, | 790 | a Chimæra, breathing the fires of Etna from its jaws, snarling the more, and the more savage with sombre flames the more violent the battle becomes, the more blood is shed. But on his polished shield was Io, with uplifted horns, fashioned in gold, already covered with hair, already a heifer, |
| argumentum ingens, et custos virginis Argus, cælataque amnem fundens pater Inachus urna. insequitur nimbus peditum clipeataque totis agmina densentur campis, Argivaque pubes Auruncæque manus, Rutuli veteresque Sicani, | 795 | a powerful emblem, and Argus, that virgin’s watcher, and old Inachus pouring his river out of an engraved urn. A cloud of infantry followed, and the ranks with shields were thick along the plain, Argive men and Auruncan troops, Rutulians and old Sicanians, |
| et Sacranæ acies et picti scuta Labici ; qui saltus, Tiberine, tuos sacrumque Numici litus arant Rutulosque exercent vomere collis Circæumque jugum, quis Juppiter Anxurus arvis præsidet et viridi gaudens Feronia luco ; | 800 | and the Sacranian lines, and Labicians, their shields painted: and those who farmed your woodland pastures, Tiber, and Numicius’s holy shore, and those whose ploughshare turns Rutulian hills or Circe’s headland, those whose fields Jupiter of Anxur guards, or Feronia, pleased with her green groves: |
| qua Saturæ jacet atra palus gelidusque per imas quærit iter vallis atque in mare conditur Vfens. Hos super advenit Volsca de gente Camilla agmen agens equitum et florentis ære catervas, bellatrix, non illa colo calathisve Minervæ | 805 | those from where Satura’s black marsh lies, and from where chill Ufens finds his valley’s course, and is buried in the sea. Besides all these came Camilla, of the Volscian race, leading her line of horse, and troops gleaming with bronze, a warrior girl, her hands not trained to Minerva’s distaff, |
| femineas assueta manus, sed prœlia virgo dura pati cursuque pedum prævertere ventos. illa vel intactæ segetis per summa volaret gramina nec teneras cursu læsisset aristas, vel mare per medium fluctu suspensa tumenti | 810 | and basket of wool, but toughened to endure a fight, and, with her quickness of foot, out-strip the winds. She might have skimmed the tips of the stalks of uncut corn, and not bruised their delicate ears with her running: or, hanging above the swelling waves, taken her path through |
| ferret iter celeris nec tingeret æquore plantas. illam omnis tectis agrisque effusa juventus turbaque miratur matrum et prospectat euntem, attonitis inhians animis ut regius ostro velet honos levis umeros, ut fibula crinem | 815 | the heart of the deep, and not dipped her quick feet in the sea. All of the young men flooding from houses and fields, and the crowds of women marvelled, and gazed, at her as she went by, in open-mouthed wonder at how the splendor of royal purple draped her smooth shoulders, how her brooch clasped her hair |
| auro internectat, Lyciam ut gerat ipsa pharetram et pastoralem præfixa cuspide myrtum. | with gold, how she herself carried her Lycian quiver, and a shepherd’s myrtle staff, tipped with the point of a spear. |
| Liber VIII | ⤊ | |
| P. VERGILII MARONIS ÆNEIDOS LIBER OCTAVUS | ||
| Ut belli signum Laurenti Turnus ab arce extulit et rauco strepuerunt cornua cantu, utque acris concussit equos utque impulit arma, extemplo turbati animi, simul omne tumultu conjurat trepido Latium sævitque juventus | 5 | When Turnus raised the war-banner on the Laurentine citadel, and the trumpets blared out their harsh music, when he roused his fiery horses and clashed his weapons, hearts were promptly stirred, all Latium together swore allegiance in restless commotion, and young men |
| effera. ductores primi Messapus et Ufens contemptorque deum Mezentius undique cogunt auxilia et latos vastant cultoribus agros. mittitur et magni Venulus Diomedis ad urbem qui petat auxilium, et Latio consistere Teucros, | 10 | raged wildly. The main leaders, Messapus, Ufens and Mezentius, scorner of gods, gathered their forces from every side, stripping the broad acres of farmers. And Venulus was sent to great Diomedes’s city, Arpi, to seek help, and explain that the Trojans were planted in Latium, |
| advectum Ænean classi victosque penatis inferre et fatis regem se dicere posci edoceat, multasque viro se adjungere gentis Dardanio et late Latio increbrescere nomen : quid struat his cœptis, quem, si fortuna sequatur, | 15 | Æneas had arrived with his fleet, carrying his vanquished gods, and pronouncing himself a king summoned by destiny, that many tribes were joining the Trojan hero, and his name was spreading far and wide in Latium. What Æneas was intending given these beginnings, what outcome he desired from the war, if fortune |
| eventum pugnæ cupiat, manifestius ipsi quam Turno regi aut regi apparere Latino. Talia per Latium. quæ Laomedontius heros cuncta videns magno curarum fluctuat æstu, atque animum nunc huc celerem nunc dividit illuc | 20 | followed him, might be seen more clearly by Diomedes, himself, than by King Turnus or King Latinus. So it was in Latium. Meanwhile the Trojan hero of Laomedon’s line, seeing all this, tosses on a vast sea of cares, and swiftly casts his mind this way and that, seizing |
| in partisque rapit varias perque omnia versat, sicut aquæ tremulum labris ubi lumen aënis sole repercussum aut radiantis imagine lunæ omnia pervolitat late loca, jamque sub auras erigitur summique ferit laquearia tecti. | 25 | on various ideas, turning everything over: as when tremulous light from the water in a bronze bowl, thrown back by sunshine, or the moon’s radiant image, flickers far and wide over everything, then angles upwards, and strikes the panelled ceiling overhead. |
| nox erat et terras animalia fessa per omnis alituum pecudumque genus sopor altus habebat, quum pater in ripa gelidique sub ætheris axe Æneas, tristi turbatus pectora bello, procubuit seramque dedit per membra quietem. | 30 | It was night, and through all the land, deep sleep gripped weary creatures, bird and beast, when Æneas, the leader, lay down on the river-bank, under the cold arch of the heavens, his heart troubled by war’s sadness, and at last allowed his body to rest. |
| huic deus ipse loci fluvio Tiberinus amœno populeas inter senior se attollere frondes visus (eum tenuis glauco velabat amictu carbasus, et crinis umbrosa tegebat harundo), tum sic affari et curas his demere dictis : | 35 |
Old Tiberinus himself, the god of the place, appeared to him, rising from his lovely stream, among the poplar leaves (fine linen cloaked him in a blue-grey mantle, and shadowy reeds hid his hair), Then he spoke, and with his words removed all cares: |
| « O sate gente deum, Trojanam ex hostibus urbem qui revehis nobis æternaque Pergama servas, exspectate solo Laurenti arvisque Latinis, hic tibi certa domus, certi (ne absiste) penates. neu belli terrere minis ; tumor omnis et iræ | 40 |
“O seed of the race of gods, who bring our Trojan city back from the enemy, and guard the eternal fortress, long looked-for on Laurentine soil, and in Latin fields, here is your house, and your house’s gods, for sure (do not desist), don’t fear the threat of war, |
| concessere deum. jamque tibi, ne vana putes hæc fingere somnum, litoreis ingens inventa sub ilicibus sus triginta capitum fetus enixa jacebit, alba solo recubans, albi circum ubera nati. | 45 |
the gods’ swollen anger has died away. And now, lest you think this sleep’s idle fancy, you’ll find a huge sow lying on the shore, under the oak trees, that has farrowed a litter of thirty young, a white sow, lying on the ground, with white piglets round her teats, |
| [hic locus urbis erit, requies ea certa laborum,] ex quo ter denis urbem redeuntibus annis Ascanius clari condet cognominis Albam. haud incerta cano. nunc qua ratione quod instat expedias victor, paucis (adverte) docebo. | 50 |
That place shall be your city, there’s true rest from your labors. By this in a space of thirty years Ascanius will found the city of Alba, bright name. I do not prophesy unsurely. Now (attend), in a few words I’ll explain how you can emerge the victor from what will come. |
| Arcades his oris, genus a Pallante profectum, qui regem Evandrum comites, qui signa secuti, delegere locum et posuere in montibus urbem Pallantis proavi de nomine Pallanteum. hi bellum assidue ducunt cum gente Latina ; | 55 | Arcadians have chosen a site on this coast, a race descended from Pallas, friends of King Evander, who followed his banner, and located their city in the hills, named, from their ancestor Pallas, Pallantium. They wage war endlessly with the Latin race: summon them |
| hos castris adhibe socios et fœdera junge. ipse ego te ripis et recto flumine ducam, adversum remis superes subvectus ut amnem. surge age, nate dea, primisque cadentibus astris Junoni fer rite preces, iramque minasque | 60 | as allies to your camp, and join in league with them. I’ll guide you myself along the banks by the right channels, so you can defeat the opposing current with your oars. Rise, now, son of the goddess, and, as the first stars set, offer the prayers due to Juno, and with humble vows |
| supplicibus supera votis. mihi victor honorem persolves. ego sum pleno quem flumine cernis stringentem ripas et pinguia culta secantem, cæruleus Thybris, cælo gratissimus amnis. hic mihi magna domus, celsis caput urbibus exit. » | 65 | overcome her anger and her threats. Pay me honor as victor. I am him whom you see scouring the banks, with my full stream, and cutting through rich farmlands, blue Tiber, the river most dear to heaven. Here is my noble house, my fount flows through noble cities.” |
| Dixit, deinde lacu fluvius se condidit alto ima petens ; nox Ænean somnusque reliquit. surgit et ætherii spectans orientia solis lumina rite cavis undam de flumine palmis sustinet ac talis effundit ad æthera voces : | 70 | He spoke: then the river plunged into a deep pool, seeking its floor: night and sleep left Æneas. He rose and, looking towards the heavenly sun’s eastern light, raised water from the stream in his cupped hands, and poured out this prayer to heaven: |
| « Nymphæ, Laurentes Nymphæ, genus amnibus unde est, tuque, o Thybri tuo genitor cum flumine sancto, accipite Ænean et tandem arcete periclis. quo te cumque lacus miserantem incommoda nostra fonte tenent, quocumque solo pulcherrimus exis, | 75 | “Nymphs, Laurentine Nymphs, from whom come the tribe of rivers, and you, O Father Tiber, and your sacred stream, receive Æneas, and shield him at last from danger. In whatever fountain the water holds you, pitying our trials, from whatever soil you flow in your supreme beauty, |
| semper honore meo, semper celebrabere donis corniger Hesperidum fluvius regnator aquarum. adsis o tantum et propius tua numina firmes. » sic memorat, geminasque legit de classe biremis remigioque aptat, socios simul instruit armis. | 80 | you will always be honored by my tributes, by my gifts, horned river, ruler of the Hesperian waters. O, only be with me and prove your will by your presence.” So he spoke, and chose two galleys from his fleet, manned them with oarsmen, and also equipped his men with weapons. |
| Ecce autem subitum atque oculis mirabile monstrum, candida per silvam cum fetu concolor albo procubuit viridique in litore conspicitur sus ; quam pius Æneas tibi enim, tibi, maxima Juno, mactat sacra ferens et cum grege sistit ad aram. | 85 | But behold a sudden wonder, marvellous to the sight, gleaming white through the trees, a sow the same color as her white litter, seen lying on the green bank: dutiful Æneas, carrying the sacred vessel, sets her with her young before the altar and sacrifices her to you, to you indeed, most powerful Juno. |
| Thybris ea fluvium, quam longa est, nocte tumentem leniit, et tacita refluens ita substitit unda, mitis ut in morem stagni placidæque paludis sterneret æquor aquis, remo ut luctamen abesset. ergo iter inceptum celerant rumore secundo : | 90 | Tiber calmed his swelling flood all that night long, and flowing backwards stilled his silent wave, so that he spread his watery levels as in a gentle pool, or placid swamp, so it would be effortless for the oars. Therefore they sped on the course begun, with happy |
| labitur uncta vadis abies ; mirantur et undæ, miratur nemus insuetum fulgentia longe scuta virum fluvio pictasque innare carinas. olli remigio noctemque diemque fatigant et longos superant flexus, variisque teguntur | 95 | murmurs, the oiled pine slipped through the shallows: the waves marvelled, the woods marvelled, unused to the far-gleaming shields of herœs, and the painted ships floating in the river. They wore out a night and a day with their rowing navigated long bends, were shaded by many kinds of trees, |
| arboribus, viridisque secant placido æquore silvas. sol medium cæli conscenderat igneus orbem quum muros arcemque procul ac rara domorum tecta vident, quæ nunc Romana potentia cælo æquavit, tum res inopes Evandrus habebat. | 100 | and cut through the green woods, over the calm levels. The fiery sun had climbed to the mid-point of the sky’s arc, when they saw walls and a fort in the distance, and the scattered roofs of houses, which Roman power has now raised heavenwards: then Evander owned a poor affair. They turned the prows |
| ocius advertunt proras urbique propinquant. Forte die sollemnem illo rex Arcas honorem Amphitryoniadæ magno divisque ferebat ante urbem in luco. Pallas huic filius una, una omnes juvenum primi pauperque senatus | 105 | quickly towards land, and approached the town. By chance that day the Arcadian king was making solemn offering to Hercules, Amphitryon’s mighty son, and other gods in a grove in front of the city. His son Pallas was with him, and with him were all the leading young men, and his impoverished senate |
| tura dabant, tepidusque cruor fumabat ad aras. ut celsas videre rates atque inter opacum adlabi nemus et tacitos incumbere remis, terrentur visu subito cunctique relictis consurgunt mensis. audax quos rumpere Pallas | 110 | offering incense, and the warm blood smoked on the altars. When they saw the noble ships: that they were gliding through the shadowy woods, rowing with silent oars: they were alarmed at the sudden sight and rose together, leaving the tables. But proud Pallas ordered them not to break off |
| sacra vetat raptoque volat telo obvius ipse, et procul e tumulo : « ivuenes, quæ causa subegit ignotas temptare vias? quo tenditis? » inquit. « qui genus? unde domo? pacemne huc fertis an arma? » tum pater Æneas puppi sic fatur ab alta | 115 | the rites, and seizing his spear flew off to meet the strangers himself, and at some distance shouted from a hillock: “Warriors what motive drives you to try unknown paths? Where are you heading? What people are you? Where from? Do you bring peace or war?” Then Æneas the leader spoke from the high stern, |
| paciferæque manu ramum prætendit olivæ : « Trojugenas ac tela vides inimica Latinis, quos illi bello profugos egere superbo. Evandrum petimus. ferte hæc et dicite lectos Dardaniæ venisse duces socia arma rogantis. » | 120 | holding out a branch of olive in peace: “You are looking at men of Trojan birth, and spears hostile to the Latins, men whom they force to flee through arrogant warfare. We seek Evander. Take my message and say that the chosen leaders of Troy have come, asking for armed alliance.” |
| obstipuit tanto percussus nomine Pallas : « egredere o quicumque es » ait « coramque parentem alloquere ac nostris succede penatibus hospes. » excepitque manu dextramque amplexus inhæsit ; progressi subeunt luco fluviumque relinquunt. | 125 | Pallas was amazed, awestruck by that great name: “O whœver you may be, disembark, and speak to my father face to face, and come beneath our roof as a guest.” And he took his hand and gripped it tight in welcome: they left the river, and went on into the grove. |
| Tum regem Æneas dictis affatur amicis : « optime Grajugenum, cui me Fortuna precari et vitta comptos voluit prætendere ramos, non equidem extimui Danaum quod ductor et Arcas quodque a stirpe fores geminis conjunctus Atridis ; | 130 | Then Æneas spoke to King Evander, in words of friendship: “Noblest of the sons of Greece, whom Fortune determines me to make request of, offering branches decked with sacred ribbons: indeed I did not fear your being a leader of Greeks, an Arcadian, and joined to the race of the twin sons of Atreus, |
| sed mea me virtus et sancta oracula divum cognatique patres, tua terris didita fama, conjunxere tibi et fatis egere volentem. Dardanus, Iliacæ primus pater urbis et auctor, Electra, ut Graji perhibent, Atlantide cretus, | 135 | since my own worth, and the god’s holy oracles, our fathers being related, your fame known throughout the world, connect me to you, and bring me here willingly, through destiny. Dardanus, our early ancestor, and leader of Troy’s city, born of Atlantean Electra, as the Greeks assert, voyaged |
| advehitur Teucros ; Electram maximus Atlas edidit, ætherios umero qui sustinet orbis. vobis Mercurius pater est, quem candida Maja Cyllenæ gelido conceptum vertice fudit ; at Majam, auditis si quicquam credimus, Atlas, | 140 | to Troy’s Teucrian people: and mightiest Atlas begot Electra, he who supports the heavenly spheres on his shoulders. Your ancestor is Mercury, whom lovely Maia conceived, and gave birth to on Cyllene’s cold heights: and Atlas, if we credit what we hear, begot Maia, |
| idem Atlas generat cæli qui sidera tollit. sic genus amborum scindit se sanguine ab uno. his fretus non legatos neque prima per artem temptamenta tui pepigi ; me, me ipse meumque objeci caput et supplex ad limina veni. | 145 | that same Atlas who lifts the starry sky. So both our races branch from the one root. Relying on this, I decided on no envoys, no prior attempts through diplomacy: myself, I set before you, myself and my own life, and come humbly to your threshold. |
| gens eadem, quæ te, crudeli Daunia bello insequitur ; nos si pellant nihil afore credunt quin omnem Hesperiam penitus sua sub juga mittant, et mare quod supra teneant quodque alluit infra. accipe daque fidem. sunt nobis fortia bello | 150 | The same Daunian race pursues us with war, as you yourself, indeed they think if they drive us out, nothing will stop them bringing all Hesperia completely under their yoke, and owning the seas that wash the eastern and western shores. Accept and offer friendship. We have brave hearts |
| pectora, sunt animi et rebus spectata juventus. » Dixerat Æneas. ille os oculosque loquentis jamdudum et totum lustrabat lumine corpus. tum sic pauca refert : « ut te, fortissime Teucrum, accipio agnoscoque libens! ut verba parentis | 155 | in battle, soldiers and spirits proven in action.” Æneas spoke. Evander scanned his face, eyes and form, for a long time with his gaze, as he was speaking. Then he replied briefly, so: “How gladly I know, and welcome you, bravest of Trojans! How it brings back |
| et vocem Anchisæ magni vultumque recordor! nam memini Hesionæ visentem regna sororis Laomedontiaden Priamum Salamina petentem protinus Arcadiæ gelidos invisere finis. tum mihi prima genas vestibat flore juventas, | 160 | your father’s speech, the voice and features of noble Anchises! For I recall how Priam, son of Laomedon, visiting the realms of his sister, Hesione, and seeking Salamis, came on further to see the chill territories of Arcadia. In those days first youth clothed my cheeks with bloom, |
| mirabarque duces Teucros, mirabar et ipsum Laomedontiaden ; sed cunctis altior ibat Anchises : mihi mens juvenali ardebat amore compellare virum et dextræ conjungere dextram ; accessi et cupidus Phenei sub mœnia duxi. | 165 | and I marvelled at the Trojan leaders, and marvelled at the son of Laomedon himself: but Anchises as he walked was taller than all. My mind burned with youthful desire to address the hero, and clasp his hand in mine: I approached and led him eagerly inside the walls of Pheneus. |
| ille mihi insignem pharetram Lyciasque sagittas discedens chlamydemque auro dedit intertextam, frenaque bina meus quæ nunc habet aurea Pallas. ergo et quam petitis juncta est mihi fœdere dextra, et lux quum primum terris se crastina reddet, | 170 | On leaving he gave me a noble quiver of Lycian arrows, a cloak woven with gold, and a pair of golden bits, that my Pallas now owns. So the hand of mine you look for is joined in alliance, and when tomorrow’s dawn returns to the earth, |
| auxilio lætos dimittam opibusque juvabo. interea sacra hæc, quando huc venistis amici, annua, quæ differre nefas, celebrate faventes nobiscum, et jam nunc sociorum assuescite mensis. » Hæc ubi dicta, dapes jubet et sublata reponi | 175 | I’ll send you off cheered by my help, and aid you with stores. Meanwhile, since you come to us as friends, favor us by celebrating this annual festival, which it is wrong to delay, and become accustomed to your friends’ table.” When he had spoken he ordered the food and drink |
| pocula gramineoque viros locat ipse sedili, præcipuumque toro et villosi pelle leonis accipit Ænean solioque invitat acerno. tum lecti juvenes certatim aræque sacerdos viscera tosta ferunt taurorum, onerantque canistris | 180 | that had been removed to be replaced, and seated the warriors himself on the turf benches. He welcomed Æneas as the principal guest, and invited him to a maple-wood throne covered by a shaggy lion’s pelt. Then the altar priest with young men he had chosen competed to bring on the roast meat from the bulls, |
| dona laboratæ Cereris, Bacchumque ministrant. vescitur Æneas simul et Trojana juventus perpetui tergo bovis et lustralibus extis. Postquam exempta fames et amor compressus edendi, rex Evandrus ait : « non hæc sollemnia nobis, | 185 | pile the baked bread in baskets, and serve the wine. Æneas and the men of Troy feasted on an entire chine of beef, and the sacrificial organs. When hunger had been banished, and desire for food sated, King Evander said: “No idle superstition, or ignorance |
| has ex more dapes, hanc tanti numinis aram vana superstitio veterumque ignara deorum imposuit : sævis, hospes Trojane, periclis servati facimus meritosque novamus honores. jam primum saxis suspensam hanc aspice rupem, | 190 | of the ancient gods, forced these solemn rites of ours, this ritual banquet, this altar to so great a divinity, upon us. We perform them, and repeat the honors due, Trojan guest, because we were saved from cruel perils. Now look first at this rocky overhanging cliff, how its bulk |
| disjectæ procul ut moles desertaque montis stat domus et scopuli ingentem traxere ruinam. hic spelunca fuit vasto summota recessu, semihominis Caci facies quam dira tenebat solis inaccessam radiis ; semperque recenti | 195 | is widely shattered, and the mountain lair stands deserted, and the crags have been pulled down in mighty ruin. There was a cave here, receding to vast depths, untouched by the sun’s rays, inhabited by the fell shape of Cacus, the half-human, and the ground was always warm |
| cæde tepebat humus, foribusque affixa superbis ora virum tristi pendebant pallida tabo. huic monstro Volcanus erat pater : illius atros ore vomens ignis magna se mole ferebat. attulit et nobis aliquando optantibus ætas | 200 | with fresh blood, and the heads of men, insolently nailed to the doors, hung there pallid with sad decay. Vulcan was father to this monster: and, as he moved his massive bulk, he belched out his dark fires. Now at last time brought what we wished, the presence |
| auxilium adventumque dei. nam maximus ultor tergemini nece Geryonæ spoliisque superbus Alcides aderat taurosque hac victor agebat ingentis, vallemque boves amnemque tenebant. at furis Caci mens effera, ne quid inausum | 205 | and assistance of a god. Hercules, the greatest of avengers, appeared, proud of the killing and the spoils of three-fold Geryon, driving his great bulls along as victor, and his cattle occupied the valley and the river. And Cacus, his mind mad with frenzy, lest any |
| aut intractatum scelerisve dolive fuisset, quattuor a stabulis præstanti corpore tauros avertit, totidem forma superante juvencas. atque hos, ne qua forent pedibus vestigia rectis, cauda in speluncam tractos versisque viarum | 210 | wickedness or cunning be left un-dared or un-tried drove off four bulls of outstanding quality, and as many heifers of exceptional beauty, from their stalls. and, so there might be no forward-pointing spoor, the thief dragged them into his cave by the tail, and, reversing |
| indiciis raptor saxo occultabat opaco ; quærenti nulla ad speluncam signa ferebant. interea, quum jam stabulis saturata moveret Amphitryoniades armenta abitumque pararet, discessu mugire boves atque omne querelis | 215 | the signs of their tracks, hid them in the stony dark: no one seeking them would find a trail to the cave. Meanwhile, as Hercules, Amphitryon’s son, was moving the well-fed herd from their stalls, and preparing to leave, the cattle lowed as they went out, all the woods were filled |
| impleri nemus et colles clamore relinqui. reddidit una boum vocem vastoque sub antro mugiit et Caci spem custodita fefellit. hic vero Alcidæ furiis exarserat atro felle dolor : rapit arma manu nodisque gravatum | 220 | with their complaining, and the sound echœd from the hills. One heifer returned their call, and lowed from the deep cave, and foiled Cacus’s hopes from her prison. At this Hercules’s indignation truly blazed, with a venomous dark rage: he seized weapons in his hand, and his heavy |
| robur, et āerii cursu petit ardua montis. tum primum nostri Cacum videre timentem turbatumque oculis ; fugit ilicet ocior Euro speluncamque petit, pedibus timor addidit alas. ut sese inclusit ruptisque immane catenis | 225 | knotted club, and quickly sought the slopes of the high mountain. Then for the first time my people saw Cacus afraid, confusion in his eyes: he fled at once, swifter than the East Wind, heading for his cave: fear lent wings to his feet. As he shut himself in, and blocked the entrance securely, |
| dejecit saxum, ferro quod et arte paterna pendebat, fultosque emuniit objice postis, ecce furens animis aderat Tirynthius omnemque accessum lustrans huc ora ferebat et illuc, dentibus infrendens. ter totum fervidus ira | 230 | throwing against it a giant rock, hung there in chains by his father’s craft, by shattering the links, behold Hercules arrived in a tearing passion, turning his head this way and that, scanning every approach, and gnashing his teeth. Hot with rage, three times he circled the whole |
| lustrat Aventini montem, ter saxea temptat limina nequiquam, ter fessus valle resedit. stabat acuta silex præcisis undique saxis speluncæ dorso insurgens, altissima visu, dirarum nidis domus opportuna volucrum. | 235 | Aventine Hill, three times he tried the stony doorway in vain, three times he sank down, exhausted, in the valley. A sharp pinnacle of flint, the rock shorn away on every side, stood, tall to see, rising behind the cave, a suitable place for vile birds to nest. |
| hanc, ut prona jugo lævum incumbebat ad amnem, dexter in adversum nitens concussit et imis avulsam solvit radicibus, inde repente impulit ; impulsu quo maximus intonat æther, dissultant ripæ refluitque exterritus amnis. | 240 | He shook it, where it lay, it’s ridge sloping towards the river on the left, straining at it from the right, loosening its deepest roots, and tearing it out, then suddenly hurling it away, the highest heavens thundered with the blow, the banks broke apart, and the terrified river recoiled. |
| at specus et Caci detecta apparuit ingens regia, et umbrosæ penitus patuere cavernæ, non secus ac si qua penitus vi terra dehiscens infernas reseret sedes et regna recludat pallida, dis invisa, superque immane barathrum | 245 | But Cacus’s den and his vast realm stood revealed, and the shadowy caverns within lay open, no differently than if earth, gaping deep within, were to unlock the infernal regions by force, and disclose the pallid realms, hated by the gods, and the vast abyss |
| cernatur, trepident immisso lumine Manes. ergo insperata deprensum luce repente inclusumque cavo saxo atque insueta rudentem desuper Alcides telis premit, omniaque arma advocat et ramis vastisque molaribus instat. | 250 | be seen from above, and the spirits tremble at incoming light. So Hercules, calling upon all his weapons, hurled missiles at Cacus from above, caught suddenly in unexpected daylight, penned in the hollow rock, with unaccustomed howling, and rained boughs and giant blocks of stone on him. |
| ille autem, neque enim fuga jam super ulla pericli, faucibus ingentem fumum (mirabile dictu) evomit involvitque domum caligine cæca prospectum eripiens oculis, glomeratque sub antro fumiferam noctem commixtis igne tenebris. | 255 | He on the other hand, since there was no escape now from the danger, belched thick smoke from his throat (marvellous to tell) and enveloped the place in blind darkness, blotting the view from sight, and gathering smoke-laden night in the cave, a darkness mixed with fire. |
| non tulit Alcides animis, seque ipse per ignem præcipiti jecit saltu, qua plurimus undam fumus agit nebulaque ingens specus æstuat atra. hic Cacum in tenebris incendia vana vomentem corripit in nodum complexus, et angit inhærens | 260 | Hercules in his pride could not endure it, and he threw himself, with a headlong leap, through the flames, where the smoke gave out its densest billows, and black mist heaved in the great cavern. Here, as Cacus belched out useless flame in the darkness, Hercules seized him in a knot-like clasp, and, clinging, choked him |
| elisos oculos et siccum sanguine guttur. panditur extemplo foribus domus atra revulsis abstractæque boves abiuratæque rapinæ cælo ostenduntur, pedibusque informe cadaver protrahitur. nequeunt expleri corda tuendo | 265 | the eyes squeezed, and the throat drained of blood. Immediately the doors were ripped out, and the dark den exposed, the stolen cattle, and the theft Cacus denied, were revealed to the heavens, and the shapeless carcass dragged out by the feet. The people could not get their fill of gazing |
| terribilis oculos, vultum villosaque sætis pectora semiferi atque exstinctos faucibus ignis. ex illo celebratus honos lætique minores servavere diem, primusque Potitius auctor et domus Herculei custos Pinaria sacri. | 270 | at the hideous eyes, the face, and shaggy bristling chest of the half-man, and the ashes of the jaw’s flames. Because of that this rite is celebrated, and happy posterity remembers the day: and Potitius, the first, the founder, with the Pinarian House as guardians of the worship of Hercules, |
| hanc aram luco statuit, quæ maxima semper dicetur nobis et erit quæ maxima semper. quare agite, o juvenes, tantarum in munere laudum cingite fronde comas et pocula porgite dextris, communemque vocate deum et date vina volentes. » | 275 | set up this altar in the grove, which shall be spoken of for ever by us as “The Mightiest’, and the mightiest it shall be for ever. Come now, O you young men, wreathe your hair with leaves, hold out wine-cups in your right hands, in honor of such great glory, and call on the god we know, and pour out the wine with a will.” |
| dixerat, Herculea bicolor quum populus umbra velavitque comas foliisque innexa pependit, et sacer implevit dextram scyphus. ocius omnes in mensam læti libant divosque precantur. Devexo interea propior fit Vesper Olympo. | 280 | He spoke, while grey-green poplar veiled his hair with Hercules’s own shade, hanging down in a knot of leaves, and the sacred cup filled his hand. Quickly they all poured a joyful libation on the table, and prayed to the gods. Meanwhile, evening drew nearer in the heavens, |
| jamque sacerdotes primusque Potitius ibant pellibus in morem cincti, flammasque ferebant. instaurant epulas et mensæ grata secundæ dona ferunt cumulantque oneratis lancibus aras. tum Salii ad cantus incensa altaria circum | 285 | and now the priests went out, Potitius leading, clothed in pelts as customary, and carrying torches. They restarted the feast, bringing welcome offerings as a second course, and piled the altars with heaped plates. Then the Salii, the dancing priests, came to sing round |
| populeis assunt evincti tempora ramis, hic juvenum chorus, ille senum, qui carmine laudes Herculeas et facta ferunt : ut prima novercæ monstra manu geminosque premens eliserit anguis, ut bello egregias idem disjecerit urbes, | 290 | the lighted altars, their foreheads wreathed with sprays of poplar, one band of youths, another of old men, who praised the glories and deeds of Hercules in song: how as an infant he strangled the twin snakes in his grip, monsters sent by Juno his stepmother: how too he destroyed cities incomparable in war, |
| Trojamque Œchaliamque, ut duros mille labores rege sub Eurystheo fatis Junonis iniquæ pertulerit. « tu nubigenas, invicte, bimembris Hylæumque Pholumque manu, tu Cresia mactas prodigia et vastum Nemeæ sub rupe leonem. | 295 | Troy and Œchalia: how he endured a thousand hard labors destined for him by cruel Juno, through King Eurystheus: “You, unconquerable one, you slew the cloud-born Centaurs, bi-formed Hylæus and Pholus, with your hand: the monstrous Cretan Bull: and the huge lion below the cliffs of Nemea. |
| te Stygii tremuere lacus, te janitor Orci ossa super recubans antro semesa cruento ; nec te ullæ facies, non terruit ipse Typhœus arduus arma tenens ; non te rationis egentem Lernæus turba capitum circumstetit anguis. | 300 | The Stygian Lake trembled before you: Cerberus, Hell’s guardian, lying on half-eaten bones in his blood-drenched cave: No shape, not Typheus himself, armed and towering upwards, daunted you: your brains were not lacking when Lerna’s Hydra surrounded you with its swarm of heads. |
| salve, vera Jovis proles, decus addite divis, et nos et tua dexter adi pede sacra secundo. » talia carminibus celebrant ; super omnia Caci speluncam adjiciunt spirantemque ignibus ipsum. consonat omne nemus strepitu collesque resultant. | 305 | Hail, true child of Jove, a glory added to the gods, visit us and your rites with grace and favoring feet.” Such things they celebrated in song, adding to all this Cacus’s cave, and the fire-breather himself. All the grove rang with sound, and the hills echœd. |
| Exim se cuncti divinis rebus ad urbem perfectis referunt. ibat rex obsitus ævo, et comitem Ænean juxta natumque tenebat ingrediens varioque viam sermone levabat. miratur facilisque oculos fert omnia circum | 310 | Then they all returned to the city, the sacred rites complete. The king walked clothed with years, and kept Æneas and his son near him for company, lightening the road with various talk. Æneas marvelled, and scanned his eyes about |
| Æneas, capiturque locis et singula lætus exquiritque auditque virum monumenta priorum. tum rex Evandrus Romanæ conditor arcis : « hæc nemora indigenæ Fauni Nymphæque tenebant gensque virum truncis et duro robore nata, | 315 | eagerly, captivated by the place, and delighted to enquire about and learn each tale of the men of old. So King Evander, founder of Rome’s citadel, said: “The local Nymphs and Fauns once lived in these groves, and a race of men born of trees with tough timber, |
| quis neque mos neque cultus erat, nec jungere tauros aut componere opes norant aut parcere parto, sed rami atque asper victu venatus alebat. primus ab ætherio venit Saturnus Olympo arma Jovis fugiens et regnis exsul ademptis. | 320 | who had no laws or culture, and didn’t know how to yoke oxen or gather wealth, or lay aside a store, but the branches fed them, and the hunter’s wild fare. Saturn was the first to come down from heavenly Olympus, fleeing Jove’s weapons, and exiled from his lost realm. |
| is genus indocile ac dispersum montibus altis composuit legesque dedit, Latiumque vocari maluit, his quoniam latuisset tutus in oris. aurea quæ perhibent illo sub rege fuere sæcula : sic placida populos in pace regebat, | 325 | He gathered together the untaught race, scattered among the hills, and gave them laws, and chose to call it Latium, from latere, ‘to hide’, since he had hidden in safety on these shores. Under his reign was the Golden Age men speak of: in such tranquil peace did he rule the nations, |
| deterior donec paulatim ac decolor ætas et belli rabies et amor successit habendi. tum manus Ausonia et gentes venere Sicanæ, sæpius et nomen posuit Saturnia tellus ; tum reges asperque immani corpore Thybris, | 330 | until little by little an inferior, tarnished age succeeded, with war’s madness, and desire for possessions. Then the Ausonian bands came, and the Siconian tribes, while Saturn’s land of Latium often laid aside her name: then the kings, and savage Thybris, of vast bulk, |
| a quo post Itali fluvium cognomine Thybrim diximus ; amisit verum vetus Albula nomen. me pulsum patria pelagique extrema sequentem Fortuna omnipotens et ineluctabile fatum his posuere locis, matrisque egere tremenda | 335 | after whom we Italians call our river by the name of Tiber: the ancient Albula has lost her true name. As for me, exiled from my country and seeking the limits of the ocean, all-powerful Chance, and inescapable fate, settled me in this place, |
| Carmentis nymphæ monita et deus auctor Apollo. » Vix ea dicta, dehinc progressus monstrat et aram et Carmentalem Romani nomine portam quam memorant, nymphæ priscum Carmentis honorem, vatis fatidicæ, cecinit quæ prima futuros | 340 | driven on by my mother the Nymph Carmentis’s dire warnings, and my guardian god Apollo.” He had scarcely spoken when advancing he pointed out the altar and what the Romans call the Carmental Gate, in ancient tribute to the Nymph Carmentis, the far-seeing prophetess, who first foretold |
| Æneadas magnos et nobile Pallanteum. hinc lucum ingentem, quem Romulus acer asylum rettulit, et gelida monstrat sub rupe Lupercal Parrhasio dictum Panos de more Lycæi. nec non et sacri monstrat nemus Argileti | 345 | the greatness of Æneas’s sons, the glory of Pallanteum. Next he pointed to a vast grove, which brave Romulus would restore as a sanctuary, and the Lupercal, the Wolf’s Cave, under a cold cliff, named in the Arcadian way for the wolf-god, Lycæan Pan. And he also pointed out the grove of sacred Argiletum |
| testaturque locum et letum docet hospitis Argi. hinc ad Tarpejam sedem et Capitolia ducit aurea nunc, olim silvestribus horrida dumis. jam tum religio pavidos terrebat agrestis dira loci, jam tum silvam saxumque tremebant. | 350 | calling the place to witness, relating the death of Argus his guest. He leads him from here to the Tarpeian Rock and the Capitol, now all gold, once bristling with wild thorns. Even then the dreadful holiness of the place awed the fearful country folk, even then they trembled at the wood and the rock. |
| « hoc nemus, hunc » inquit « frondoso vertice collem (quis deus incertum est) habitat deus ; Arcades ipsum credunt se vidisse Jovem, quum sæpe nigrantem ægida concuteret dextra nimbosque cieret. hæc duo præterea disjectis oppida muris, | 355 | “A god inhabits this grove,” he said, ‘ and this hill with its leafy summit, (which god is unknown): my Arcadians believe they have seen Jove himself, as his right hand has often shaken his darkening shield, and called up the storm clouds. Moreover you can see in these two townships |
| reliquias veterumque vides monumenta virorum. hanc Janus pater, hanc Saturnus condidit arcem ; Janiculum huic, illi fuerat Saturnia nomen. » talibus inter se dictis ad tecta subibant pauperis Evandri, passimque armenta videbant | 360 | with broken walls, the memorials and relics of men of old. Father Janus built this fort, Saturn that: this was named the Janiculum, that the Saturnia.” Talking among themselves they came to the house of the impoverished Evander, and saw cattle here and there, lowing |
| Romanoque foro et lautis mugire Carinis. ut ventum ad sedes, « hæc » inquit « limina victor Alcides subiit, hæc illum regia cepit. aude, hospes, contemnere opes et te quoque dignum finge deo, rebusque veni non asper egenis. » | 365 | where the Roman Forum and the fashionable Carinæ would be. When they reached the house, Evander said: “Victorious Hercules stooped to entering this doorway, this palace charmed him. My guest, dare to scorn wealth, and make yourself worthy too to be a god: don’t be scathing about the lack of possessions.” |
| dixit, et angusti subter fastigia tecti ingentem Ænean duxit stratisque locavit effultum foliis et pelle Libystidis ursæ : nox ruit et fuscis tellurem amplectitur alis. At Venus haud animo nequiquam exterrita mater | 370 | He spoke, and led mighty Æneas beneath the confines of his sloping roof, and allotted him a mattress stuffed with leaves, and the pelt of a Libyan bear: Night fell, and embraced the earth with her darkening wings. Now Venus, a mother fearful, and not without reason, in her mind, |
| Laurentumque minis et duro mota tumultu Volcanum alloquitur, thalamoque hæc conjugis aureo incipit et dictis divinum aspirat amorem : « dum bello Argolici vastabant Pergama reges debita casurasque inimicis ignibus arces, | 375 | troubled by the Laurentine threats, and fierce uprising, spoke to Vulcan, her husband, in their golden bridal chamber, beginning this way, breathing divine passion into her words: “I didn’t ask weapons of your skill or power, dearest husband, nor any help for my poor people, while the Argive kings |
| non ullum auxilium miseris, non arma rogavi artis opisque tuæ, nec te, carissime conjunx, incassumve tuos volui exercere labores, quamvis et Priami deberem plurima natis, et durum Æneæ flevissem sæpe laborem. | 380 | destroyed doomed Troy in the war, her citadel fated to fall to hostile flames: no, I didn’t want to exercise you or your skills in vain, though I owed much indeed to Priam’s sons, and often wept at Æneas’s cruel suffering. |
| nunc Jovis imperiis Rutulorum constitit oris : ergo eadem supplex venio et sanctum mihi numen arma rogo, genetrix nato. te filia Nerei, te potuit lacrimis Tithonia flectere conjunx. aspice qui cœant populi, quæ mœnia clausis | 385 | Now at Jove’s command he has set foot on Rutulian shores, so I come likewise as a suppliant and ask arms of the power sacred to me, a mother on behalf of her son. Thetis, Nereus’s daughter, and Aurora, Tithonus’s wife, could move you with tears. See what nations gather, what cities, closing their gates, |
| ferrum acuant portis in me excidiumque meorum. » dixerat et niveis hinc atque hinc diva lacertis cunctantem amplexu molli fovet. ille repente accepit solitam flammam, notusque medullas intravit calor et labefacta per ossa cucurrit, | 390 | are sharpening their swords against me, to destroy my people.” She had spoken, and as he hesitated, the goddess caressed him in a tender embrace, on this side and on that, in her snowy arms. At once he felt the familiar flame, and that warmth he knew penetrated him to the marrow, and ran through his melting bones, |
| non secus atque olim tonitru quum rupta corusco ignea rima micans percurrit lumine nimbos ; sensit læta dolis et formæ conscia conjunx. tum pater æterno fatur devinctus amore : « quid causas petis ex alto? fiducia cessit | 395 | no differently than when, with a peal of thunder, a forked streak of fire tears through the storm-clouds with dazzling light: his partner felt it, delighted with her cleverness and conscious of her beauty. Then old Vulcan spoke, chained by immortal love: “Why do you seek instances from the past? Goddess, where |
| quo tibi, diva, mei? similis si cura fuisset, tum quoque fas nobis Teucros armare fuisset ; nec pater omnipotens Trojam nec fata vetabant stare decemque alios Priamum superesse per annos. et nunc, si bellare paras atque hæc tibi mens est, | 400 | has your faith in me gone? If your anxiety then was the same, it would have been right for me too to arm the Trojans then: neither fate nor the almighty Father refused to let Troy stand, or Priam live, ten years more. And so now, if war is your intent, and your mind is set on it, cease to doubt your powers, entreating |
| quidquid in arte mea possum promittere curæ, quod fieri ferro liquidove potest electro, quantum ignes animæque valent, absiste precando viribus indubitare tuis. » ea verba locutus optatos dedit amplexus placidumque petivit | 405 | whatever care I can promise in my craft, whatever can be made of iron and molten electrum, whatever fire and air can do.” Saying these words he gave her a desired embrace, and sinking |
| conjugis infusus gremio per membra soporem. Inde ubi prima quies medio jam noctis abactæ curriculo expulerat somnum, quum femina primum, cui tolerare colo vitam tenuique Minerva impositum, cinerem et sopitos suscitat ignis | 410 | onto his wife’s breast, sought gentle sleep in every limb. When, in vanishing night’s mid-course, first rest has conquered the need for sleep: when a woman, who supports life with distaff and the humble work Minerva imposes, first wakes the ashes, and slumbering flames, |
| noctem addens operi, famulasque ad lumina longo exercet penso, castum ut servare cubile conjugis et possit parvos educere natos : haud secus ignipotens nec tempore segnior illo mollibus e stratis opera ad fabrilia surgit. | 415 | adding night hours to her toil, and maintains her servants at their endless task, by lamplight, to keep her husband’s bed pure, and raise her young sons: just so, the god, with the power of fire, rose now from his soft bed, no idler at that hour, to labor at the forge. |
| insula Sicanium juxta latus Æoliamque erigitur Liparen fumantibus ardua saxis, quam subter specus et Cyclopum exesa caminis antra Ætnæa tonant, validique incudibus ictus auditi referunt gemitus, striduntque cavernis | 420 | An island, its rocks smoking, rises steeply by the Sicilian coast, near the flanks of Æolian Lipare. Beneath it a cave, and the galleries of Etna, eaten at by the Cyclopean furnaces, resound, and the groans from the anvils are heard echoing the heavy blows, |
| stricturæ Chalybum et fornacibus ignis anhelat, Volcani domus et Volcania nomine tellus. hoc tunc ignipotens cælo descendit ab alto. ferrum exercebant vasto Cyclopes in antro, Brontesque Steropesque et nudus membra Pyracmon. | 425 | and masses of Chalybean steel hiss in the caverns, and fire breathes through the furnaces. It is Vulcan’s home and called Vulcania. Here then the god with the power of fire descended from the heavens. In the huge cave the Cyclopes, Brontes, Steropes, and bare-limbed Pyrcamon, were forging iron. |
| his informatum manibus jam parte polita fulmen erat, toto genitor quæ plurima cælo dejicit in terras, pars imperfecta manebat. tris imbris torti radios, tris nubis aquosæ addiderant, rutuli tris ignis et alitis Austri. | 430 | They held a lightning-bolt, shaped with their hands, like many of those the Father hurls from all over the sky, part of it polished, part still left to do. They’d added three shafts of spiralling rain, three of watery cloud, three of reddening fire, and the winged south wind. |
| fulgores nunc terrificos sonitumque metumque miscebant operi flammisque sequacibus iras. parte alia Marti currumque rotasque volucris instabant, quibus ille viros, quibus excitat urbes ; ægidaque horriferam, turbatæ Palladis arma, | 435 | now they were blending terrifying flashes, into the work, sounds and fears, and fury with following flames. Elsewhere they pressed on with a chariot for Mars, with winged wheels, with which he rouses men, with which he rouses cities: and a chilling ægis, the breastplate of Pallas, |
| certatim squamis serpentum auroque polibant conexosque anguis ipsamque in pectore divæ Gorgona desecto vertentem lumina collo. « tollite cuncta » inquit « cœptosque auferte labores, Ætnæi Cyclopes, et huc advertite mentem : | 440 | competing to burnish its serpent scales of gold, its interwoven snakes, and the Gorgon herself on the goddess’s breast, with severed neck and rolling eyes: “Away with all this,” he shouts, ‘remove the work you’ve started, Cyclopes of Etna, and turn your minds to this: |
| arma acri facienda viro. nunc viribus usus, nunc manibus rapidis, omni nunc arte magistra. præcipitate moras. » nec plura effatus, at illi ocius incubuere omnes pariterque laborem sortiti. fluit æs rivis aurique metallum | 445 | you’re to make arms for a brave hero. Now you need strength, swift hands now, all the art now of a master. An end to delay.” He said no more, but they all bent quickly to the toil, and shared the labor equally. Bronze and golden ore flowed in streams, |
| vulnificusque chalybs vasta fornace liquescit. ingentem clipeum informant, unum omnia contra tela Latinorum, septenosque orbibus orbis impediunt. alii ventosis follibus auras accipiunt redduntque, alii stridentia tingunt | 450 | and steel, that deals wounds, melted in a vast furnace. They shaped a giant shield, one to stand against all the weapons of Latium, layering it seven times, disc on disc. Some sucked in air and blew it out again with panting bellows, others dipped the hissing bronze |
| æra lacu ; gemit impositis incudibus antrum ; illi inter sese multa vi bracchia tollunt in numerum, versantque tenaci forcipe massam. Hæc pater Æoliis properat dum Lemnius oris, Evandrum ex humili tecto lux suscitat alma | 455 | in the lake: the cavern groaned beneath the weight of anvils. With mighty force they lifted their arms together in rhythm, and turned the mass of metal, gripping it with pincers. While the lord of Lemnos hastened the work on the Æolian shore, the kindly light, and the dawn song of the birds |
| et matutini volucrum sub culmine cantus. consurgit senior tunicaque inducitur artus et Tyrrhena pedum circumdat vincula plantis. tum lateri atque umeris Tegeæum subligat ensem demissa ab læva pantheræ terga retorquens. | 460 | beneath the eaves, called Evander from his humble house. The old man rose, clothed his body in a tunic and strapped Tyrrhenian sandals to the soles of his feet. Then he fastened his Tegæan sword over his shoulder and to his side, flinging back a panther’s hide on the left. |
| nec non et gemini custodes limine ab alto præcedunt gressumque canes comitantur erilem. hospitis Æneæ sedem et secreta petebat sermonum memor et promissi muneris heros. nec minus Æneas se matutinus agebat ; | 465 | Two guard dogs besides ran ahead from the high threshold, and accompanied their master’s steps. The hero made his way to his guest Æneas’s secluded lodging, thinking of his words, and the help he had promised. Æneas was no less |
| filius huic Pallas, illi comes ibat Achates. congressi jungunt dextras mediisque residunt ædibus et licito tandem sermone fruuntur. rex prior hæc : « maxime Teucrorum ductor, quo sospite numquam | 470 | early to rise: his son Pallas walked with the one, Achates with the other. They clasped hands as they met, sat down among the houses, and finally enjoyed open conversation. The king was the first to begin, so: “Greatest leader of the Teucrians, for my part while you’re safe |
| res equidem Trojæ victas aut regna fatebor, nobis ad belli auxilium pro nomine tanto exiguæ vires ; hinc Tusco claudimur amni, hinc Rutulus premit et murum circumsonat armis. sed tibi ego ingentis populos opulentaque regnis | 475 | and sound I’ll never accept that the kingdom and power of Troy have been overthrown, our strength in war is inadequate to such a name: on this side we are shut in by the Tuscan river, while on that the Rutulian presses us, and thunders in arms round our walls. But I propose to affiliate mighty peoples to you, |
| jungere castra paro, quam fors inopina salutem ostentat : fatis huc te poscentibus affers. haud procul hinc saxo incolitur fundata vetusto urbis Agyllinæ sedes, ubi Lydia quondam gens, bello præclara, jugis insedit Etruscis. | 480 | and a war-camp rich in kingships, help that chance unpredictably reveals. You arrive at fate’s command. Not far from here is the site of Argylla’s city, built of ancient stone, where the Lydian race, famous in war, once settled the Etruscan heights. |
| hanc multos florentem annos rex deinde superbo imperio et sævis tenuit Mezentius armis. quid memorem infandas cædes, quid facta tyranni effera? di capiti ipsius generique reservent! mortua quin etiam jungebat corpora vivis | 485 | For many years it flourished, until King Mezentius ruled it with arrogant power, and savage weaponry. Why recount the tyrant’s wicked murders and vicious acts? May the gods reserve such for his life and race! He even tied corpses to living bodies, as a means |
| componens manibusque manus atque oribus ora, tormenti genus, et sanie taboque fluentis complexu in misero longa sic morte necabat. at fessi tandem cives infanda furentem armati circumsistunt ipsumque domumque, | 490 | of torture, placing hand on hand and face against face, so killing by a lingering death, in that wretched embrace, that ooze of disease and decomposition. But the weary citizens at last armed themselves surrounded the atrocious madman in his palace, |
| obtruncant socios, ignem ad fastigia jactant. ille inter cædem Rutulorum elapsus in agros confugere et Turni defendier hospitis armis. ergo omnis furiis surrexit Etruria justis, regem ad supplicium præsenti Marte reposcunt. | 495 | mowed down his supporters, and fired the roof. Amongst the carnage he escaped and fled to Rutulian soil, protected by Turnus’s allied army. So all Etruria has risen in rightful anger, demanding the king for punishment, with the threat of immediate war. |
| his ego te, Ænea, ductorem milibus addam. toto namque fremunt condensæ litore puppes signaque ferre jubent, retinet longævus haruspex fata canens : « o Mæoniæ delecta juventus, flos veterum virtusque virum, quos justus in hostem | 500 | Æneas, I’ll make you leader of those thousands. For their ships clamor densely on the shore, and they order the banners to advance, but an aged soothsayer holds them back, singing of destiny: “O chosen warriors of Mæonia, the flower, the honor of our ancient race, whom just resentment sends against |
| fert dolor et merita accendit Mezentius ira, nulli fas Italo tantam subjungere gentem : externos optate duces. » tum Etrusca resedit hoc acies campo monitis exterrita divum. ipse oratores ad me regnique coronam | 505 | the enemy, and whom Mezentius fires with rightful anger, no man of Italy may control such a people as you: choose foreigners as leaders.” So the Etruscan ranks camped on that plain, fearful of this warning from the gods. Tarchon himself has sent ambassadors to me, with the royal |
| cum sceptro misit mandatque insignia Tarchon, succedam castris Tyrrhenaque regna capessam. sed mihi tarda gelu sæclisque effeta senectus invidet imperium seræque ad fortia vires. natum exhortarer, ni mixtus matre Sabella | 510 | sceptre and crown, entrusting me with the insignia: I to come to the camp, and take the Tuscan throne. But the slow frost of old age wearied by the years, and strength now beyond acts of valor, begrudge me the command. I would urge my son to it, except that of mixed blood |
| hinc partem patriæ traheret. tu, cujus et annis et generi fatum indulget, quem numina poscunt, ingredere, o Teucrum atque Italum fortissime ductor. hunc tibi præterea, spes et solacia nostri, Pallanta adjungam ; sub te tolerare magistro | 515 | with a Sabine mother, he takes part of his nationality from her. You, O bravest leader of Trojans and Italians, to whose race and years destiny is favorable, whom the divine will calls, accept. Moreover I’ll add Pallas here, our hope and comfort: let him become accustomed under your guidance |
| militiam et grave Martis opus, tua cernere facta assuescat, primis et te miretur ab annis. Arcadas huic equites bis centum, robora pubis lecta dabo, totidemque suo tibi nomine Pallas. » Vix ea fatus erat, defixique ora tenebant | 520 | to endure military service, and the grave work of war, witness your actions, and admire you from his early years. I’ll grant him two hundred Arcadian horsemen, the choice flower of our manhood, and Pallas will grant the same to you himself.” He had scarcely finished, and Æneas, Anchises’s son, |
| Æneas Anchisiades et fidus Achates, multaque dura suo tristi cum corde putabant, ni signum cælo Cytherea dedisset aperto. namque improviso vibratus ab æthere fulgor cum sonitu venit et ruere omnia visa repente, | 525 | and loyal Achates, with eyes downcast, were thinking of many a difficulty, in their own sombre minds, when Cytherea sent a sign from a cloudless sky. For lightning came flashing unexpectedly from heaven, with thunder, and suddenly all seemed to quake, |
| Tyrrhenusque tubæ mugire per æthera clangor. suspiciunt, iterum atque iterum fragor increpat ingens. arma inter nubem cæli in regione serena per sudum rutilare vident et pulsa tonare. obstipuere animis alii, sed Trojus heros | 530 | and, through the air, a Tyrrhenian trumpet blast seemed to bray. They looked upwards, a great crash sounded again and again. In a calm region of the sky among the clouds they saw weapons reddening in the bright air, and heard the noise of blows. The others were astounded but the Trojan hero knew |
| agnovit sonitum et divæ promissa parentis. tum memorat : « ne vero, hospes, ne quære profecto quem casum portenta ferant : ego poscor Olympo. hoc signum cecinit missuram diva creatrix, si bellum ingrueret, Volcaniaque arma per auras | 535 | the sounds as those of things which his mother had promised. Then he cried: “My friend, indeed, do not wonder I beg you as to what these marvels might prophesy: I am called by Olympus. The goddess who bore me foretold she would send this sign if war was near, and bring |
| laturam auxilio. heu quantæ miseris cædes Laurentibus instant! quas pœnas mihi, Turne, dabis! quam multa sub undas scuta virum galeasque et fortia corpora volves, Thybri pater! poscant acies et fœdera rumpant. » | 540 | weapons from Vulcan through the air to aid me. Alas what slaughter awaits the wretched Laurentines! What a price you’ll pay me, Turnus! What shields and helmets and bodies of the brave you’ll roll beneath your waves, father Tiber! Let them ask for battle and break their treaties.” |
| Hæc ubi dicta dedit, solio se tollit ab alto et primum Herculeis sopitas ignibus aras excitat, hesternumque larem parvosque penatis lætus adit ; mactat lectas de more bidentis Evandrus pariter, pariter Trojana juventus. | 545 | Having spoken, he raised himself from his high throne, and firstly revived the dormant altars with Herculean fire, then gladly visited yesterday’s Lar and the humble household gods. Evander and the Trojan warriors equally sacrificed chosen ewes according to the rite. |
| post hinc ad navis graditur sociosque revisit, quorum de numero qui sese in bella sequantur præstantis virtute legit ; pars cetera prona fertur aqua segnisque secundo defluit amni, nuntia ventura Ascanio rerumque patrisque. | 550 | Next he went to the ships and met again with his comrades, choosing the most outstanding in courage to follow him to war: the others slipped downstream, floating effortlessly on the helpful current, carrying news to Ascanius of his father and his fortunes. Horses were granted |
| dantur equi Teucris Tyrrhena petentibus arva ; ducunt exsortem Æneæ, quem fulva leonis pellis obit totum præfulgens unguibus aureis. Fama volat parvam subito vulgata per urbem ocius ire equites Tyrrheni ad limina regis. | 555 | to the Trojans who were to take the Tyrrhenian field: They lead out a choice mount for Æneas, clothed in a tawny lion’s pelt with gleaming gilded claws. A rumor suddenly flew through the little town, proclaiming that horsemen were riding fast to the Tyrrhene king’s shores. |
| vota metu duplicant matres, propiusque periclo it timor et major Martis jam apparet imago. tum pater Evandrus dextram complexus euntis hæret inexpletus lacrimans ac talia fatur : « o mihi præteritos referat si Juppiter annos, | 560 | Mothers, in alarm, redoubled their prayers, and fear drew near with danger, and now the war god’s image loomed larger. Then old Evander, clasping his son’s hand as he departed, clung to him weeping incessantly and spoke as follows: “O, if Jupiter would bring back the years that have vanished, |
| qualis eram quum primam aciem Præneste sub ipsa stravi scutorumque incendi victor acervos et regem hac Erulum dextra sub Tartara misi, nascenti cui tris animas Feronia mater (horrendum dictu) dederat, terna arma movenda — | 565 | I to be as I was when I felled the foremost ranks under Præneste’s very walls, and as victor heaped up the shields, and sent King Erulus down to Tartarus, by this right hand, he to whom at his birth his mother Feronia (strange to tell) gave three lives, triple weapons to wield — to be three times |
| ter leto sternendus erat ; cui tunc tamen omnis abstulit hæc animas dextra et totidem exuit armis : non ego nunc dulci amplexu divellerer usquam, nate, tuo, neque finitimo Mezentius umquam huic capiti insultans tot ferro sæva dedisset | 570 | brought low in death: who at last in a moment this right hand stripped of all his lives, and equally of all his weapons: I would never be torn as now from your sweet embrace, my son, never would Mezentius have poured insults on this neighbor’s head, caused so many cruel deaths |
| funera, tam multis viduasset civibus urbem. at vos, o superi, et divum tu maxime rector Juppiter, Arcadii, quæso, miserescite regis et patrias audite preces. si numina vestra incolumem Pallanta mihi, si fata reservant, | 575 | with the sword, or widowed the city of so many of her sons. But you, powers above, and you, Jupiter, mighty ruler of the gods, take pity I beg you on this Arcadian king, and hear a father’s prayer. If your will, and fate, keep my Pallas safe, |
| si visurus eum vivo et venturus in unum, vitam oro, patior quemuis durare laborem. sin aliquem infandum casum, Fortuna, minaris, nunc, nunc o liceat crudelem abrumpere vitam, dum curæ ambiguæ, dum spes incerta futuri, | 580 | if I live to see him and be together with him, I ask for life: I have the patience to endure any hardship. But if you threaten any unbearable disaster, Fortune, now, oh now, let me break the thread of cruel existence, while fear hangs in doubt, while hope’s uncertain of the future. |
| dum te, care puer, mea sola et sera voluptas, complexu teneo, gravior neu nuntius auris vulneret. » hæc genitor digressu dicta supremo fundebat ; famuli collapsum in tecta ferebant. Jamque adeo exierat portis equitatus apertis | 585 | while you, beloved boy, my late and only joy, are held in my embrace, and let no evil news wound my ears.” These were the words the father poured out at their last parting: then his servants carried him, overcome, into the palace. And now the horsemen had ridden from the opened gates, |
| Æneas inter primos et fidus Achates, inde alii Trojæ proceres ; ipse agmine Pallas it medio chlamyde et pictis conspectus in armis, qualis ubi Oceani perfusus Lucifer unda, quem Venus ante alios astrorum diligit ignis, | 590 | Æneas, and loyal Achetes, among the first: then the other princes of Troy, Pallas himself travelling mid-column, notable in his cloak and engraved armor, like the Morning-Star, whom Venus loves above all the other starry fires, when, having bathed in Ocean’s wave, |
| extulit os sacrum cælo tenebrasque resolvit. stant pavidæ in muris matres oculisque sequuntur pulveream nubem et fulgentis ære catervas. olli per dumos, qua proxima meta viarum, armati tendunt ; it clamor, et agmine facto | 595 | he raises his sacred head in heaven, and melts the dark. Mothers stand fearfully on the battlements, and with their eyes follow the cloud of dust, the squadrons bright with bronze. The armed men pass through the undergrowth where the route is most direct: a shout rises, and they form column, |
| quadripedante putrem sonitu quatit ungula campum. est ingens gelidum lucus prope Cæritis amnem, religione patrum late sacer ; undique colles inclusere cavi et nigra nemus abiete cingunt. Silvano fama est veteres sacrasse Pelasgos, | 600 | and with the thunder of their hooves shake the broken ground. There’s a large grove by the chilly stream of Cære, held sacred far and wide, in ancestral reverence: the hollow hills enclose it on all sides, and surround the wood with dark fir trees. The tale is that the ancient Pelasgians, who once held |
| arvorum pecorisque deo, lucumque diemque, qui primi finis aliquando habuere Latinos. haud procul hinc Tarcho et Tyrrheni tuta tenebant castra locis, celsoque omnis de colle videri jam poterat legio et latis tendebat in arvis. | 605 | the Latin borders, dedicated this wood and a festive day to Silvanus, god of the fields and the herds. Not far from here, Tarchon and the Tyrrhenians were camped in a safe place, and now all their troops could be seen, from the high ground, scattered widely over the fields. |
| huc pater Æneas et bello lecta juventus succedunt, fessique et equos et corpora curant. At Venus ætherios inter dea candida nimbos dona ferens aderat ; natumque in valle reducta ut procul egelido secretum flumine vidit, | 610 | Æneas, the leader, and the young men chosen for war, arrived, and refreshed their horses and their weary bodies. Then Venus, bright goddess, came bearing gifts through the ethereal clouds: and when she saw her son from far away who had retired in secret to the valley by the cool stream, |
| talibus affata est dictis seque obtulit ultro : « en perfecta mei promissa conjugis arte munera. ne mox aut Laurentis, nate, superbos aut acrem dubites in prœlia poscere Turnum. » dixit, et amplexus nati Cytherea petivit, | 615 | she went to him herself, unasked, and spoke these words: “See the gifts brought to perfection by my husband’s skill, as promised. You need not hesitate, my son, to quickly challenge the proud Laurentines, or fierce Turnus, to battle.” Cytherea spoke, and invited her son’s embrace, and placed |
| arma sub adversa posuit radiantia quercu. ille deæ donis et tanto lætus honore expleri nequit atque oculos per singula volvit, miraturque interque manus et bracchia versat terribilem cristis galeam flammasque vomentem, | 620 | the shining weapons under an oak tree opposite. He cannot have enough of turning his gaze over each item, delighting in the goddess’s gift and so high an honor, admiring, and turning the helmet over with hands and arms, with its fearsome crest and spouting flames, |
| fatiferumque ensem, loricam ex ære rigentem, sanguineam, ingentem, qualis quum cærula nubes solis inardescit radiis longeque refulget ; tum levis ocreas electro auroque recocto, hastamque et clipei non enarrabile textum. | 625 | and the fateful sword, the stiff breastplate of bronze, dark-red and huge, like a bluish cloud when it’s lit by the rays of the sun, and glows from afar: then the smooth greaves, of electrum and refined gold, the spear, and the shield’s indescribable detail. |
| illic res Italas Romanorumque triumphos haud vatum ignarus venturique inscius ævi fecerat ignipotens, illic genus omne futuræ stirpis ab Ascanio pugnataque in ordine bella. fecerat et viridi fetam Mavortis in antro | 630 | There the lord with the power of fire, not unversed in prophecy, and knowledge of the centuries to come, had fashioned the history of Italy, and Rome’s triumphs: there was every future generation of Ascanius’s stock, and the sequence of battles they were to fight. He had also shown the she-wolf, having just littered, |
| procubuisse lupam, geminos huic ubera circum ludere pendentis pueros et lambere matrem impavidos, illam tereti cervice reflexa mulcere alternos et corpora fingere lingua. nec procul hinc Romam et raptas sine more Sabinas | 635 | lying on the ground, in the green cave of Mars, the twin brothers, Romulus and Remus, playing, hanging on her teats, and fearlessly sucking at their foster-mother. Bending her neck back smoothly she caressed them in turn, and licked their limbs with her tongue. Not far from that he had placed Rome, the Sabine women, |
| consessu caveæ, magnis Circensibus actis, addiderat, subitoque novum consurgere bellum Romulidis Tatioque seni Curibusque severis. post idem inter se posito certamine reges armati Jovis ante aram paterasque tenentes | 640 | lawlessly snatched from the seated crowd, when the great games were held in the Circus: and the sudden surge of fresh warfare between Romulus’s men, and the aged Tatius and his austere Cures. Next, the same two kings stood armed in front of Jove’s altar, |
| stabant et cæsa jungebant fœdera porca. haud procul inde citæ Mettum in diversa quadrigæ distulerant (at tu dictis, Albane, maneres!), raptabatque viri mendacis viscera Tullus per silvam, et sparsi rorabant sanguine vepres. | 645 | holding the wine-cups and joined in league, sacrificing a sow, the new-built palace bristling with Romulus’s thatch. Then, not far from that, four-horse chariots driven in different directions tore Mettus apart (Alban, you should have kept your word, though!), and Tullus dragged the liar’s entrails through the woods, the briars wet with sprinkled blood. |
| nec non Tarquinium ejectum Porsenna jubebat accipere ingentique urbem obsidione premebat ; Æneadæ in ferrum pro libertate ruebant. illum indignanti similem similemque minanti aspiceres, pontem auderet quia vellere Cocles | 650 | There was Porsenna too, ordering Rome to admit the banished Tarquin, and gripping the city in a mighty siege: the scions of Æneas running on the sword for freedom’s sake. You could see Porsenna in angry, and in threatening, posture, because Cocles dared to tear down the bridge, |
| et fluvium vinclis innaret Clœlia ruptis. in summo custos Tarpejæ Manlius arcis stabat pro templo et Capitolia celsa tenebat, Romuleoque recens horrebat regia culmo. atque hic auratis volitans argenteus anser | 655 | because Clœlia broke her restraints and swam the river. At the top Manlius, guardian of the Tarpeian Citadel, stood before the temple, defending the high Capitol. And there the silvery goose, flying through the gilded |
| porticibus Gallos in limine adesse canebat ; Galli per dumos aderant arcemque tenebant defensi tenebris et dono noctis opacæ. aurea cæsaries ollis atque aurea vestis, virgatis lucent sagulis, tum lactea colla | 660 | colonnades, cackled that the Gauls were at the gate. The Gauls were there in the thicket, taking the Citadel, protected by the dark, the gift of shadowy night. Their hair was gold, and their clothes were gold, they shone in striped cloaks, their white necks |
| auro innectuntur, duo quisque Alpina coruscant gæsa manu, scutis protecti corpora longis. hic exsultantis Salios nudosque Lupercos lanigerosque apices et lapsa ancilia cælo extuderat, castæ ducebant sacra per urbem | 665 | torqued with gold, each waving two Alpine javelins in his hand, long shields defending their bodies. Here he had beaten out the leaping Salii and naked Luperci, the woolly priest’s caps, and the oval shields that fell from heaven, chaste mothers in cushioned carriages |
| pilentis matres in mollibus. hinc procul addit Tartareas etiam sedes, alta ostia Ditis, et scelerum pœnas, et te, Catilina, minaci pendentem scopulo Furiarumque ora trementem, secretosque pios, his dantem jura Catonem. | 670 | leading sacred images through the city. Far from these he had added the regions of Tartarus, the high gates of Dis, the punishment for wickedness, and you Catiline, hanging from a threatening cliff, trembling at the sight of the Furies: and the good, at a distance, Cato handing out justice. |
| hæc inter tumidi late maris ibat imago aurea, sed fluctu spumabant cærula cano, et circum argento clari delphines in orbem æquora verrebant caudis æstumque secabant. in medio classis æratas, Actia bella, | 675 | The likeness of the swollen sea flowed everywhere among these, in gold, though the flood foamed with white billows, and dolphins in bright silver swept the waters round about with arching tails, and cut through the surge. In the center bronze ships could be seen, the Battle of Actium, |
| cernere erat, totumque instructo Marte videres fervere Leucaten auroque effulgere fluctus. hinc Augustus agens Italos in prœlia Cæsar cum patribus populoque, penatibus et magnis dis, stans celsa in puppi, geminas cui tempora flammas | 680 | and you could make out all Leucate in feverish preparation for war, the waves gleaming with gold. On one side Augustus Cæsar stands on the high stern, leading the Italians to the conflict, with him the Senate, the People, the household gods, the great gods, his happy brow |
| læta vomunt patriumque aperitur vertice sidus. parte alia ventis et dis Agrippa secundis arduus agmen agens, cui, belli insigne superbum, tempora navali fulgent rostrata corona. hinc ope barbarica variisque Antonius armis, | 685 | shoots out twin flames, and his father’s star is shown on his head. Elsewhere Agrippa, favored by the winds and the gods leads his towering column of ships, his brow shines with the beaks of the naval crown, his proud battle distinction. On the other side Antony, with barbarous wealth and strange weapons, |
| victor ab Auroræ populis et litore rubro, Ægyptum virisque Orientis et ultima secum Bactra vehit, sequiturque (nefas) Ægyptia conjunx. una omnes ruere ac totum spumare reductis conuulsum remis rostrisque tridentibus æquor. | 690 | conqueror of eastern peoples and the Indian shores, bringing Egypt, and the might of the Orient, with him, and furthest Bactria: and his Egyptian consort follows him (the shame). All press forward together, and the whole sea foams, churned by the sweeping oars and the trident rams. |
| alta petunt ; pelago credas innare revulsas Cycladas aut montis concurrere montibus altos, tanta mole viri turritis puppibus instant. stuppea flamma manu telisque volatile ferrum spargitur, arva nova Neptunia cæde rubescunt. | 695 | They seek deep water: you’d think the Cycladic islands were uprooted and afloat on the flood, or high mountains clashed with mountains, so huge the mass with which the men attack the towering sterns. Blazing tow and missiles of winged steel shower from their hands, Neptune’s fields grow red with fresh slaughter. |
| regina in mediis patrio vocat agmina sistro, necdum etiam geminos a tergo respicit anguis. omnigenumque deum monstra et latrator Anubis contra Neptunum et Venerem contraque Minervam tela tenent. sævit medio in certamine Mavors | 700 | The queen in the center signals to her columns with the native sistrum, not yet turning to look at the twin snakes at her back. Barking Anubis, and monstrous gods of every kind brandish weapons against Neptune, Venus, and Minerva. Mars rages in the center of the contest, |
| cælatus ferro, tristesque ex æthere Diræ, et scissa gaudens vadit Discordia palla, quam cum sanguineo sequitur Bellona flagello. Actius hæc cernens arcum intendebat Apollo desuper ; omnis eo terrore Ægyptus et Indi, | 705 | engraved in steel, and the grim Furies in the sky, and Discord in a torn robe strides joyously, while Bellona follows with her blood-drenched whip. Apollo of Actium sees from above and bends his bow: at this |
| omnis Arabs, omnes vertebant terga Sabæi. ipsa videbatur ventis regina vocatis vela dare et laxos jam jamque immittere funis. illam inter cædes pallentem morte futura fecerat ignipotens undis et Ïāpyge ferri, | 710 | all Egypt, and India, all the Arabs and Sabæans turn and flee. The queen herself is seen to call upon the winds, set sail, and now, even now, spread the slackened canvas. The lord with the power of fire has fashioned her pallid with the coming of death, amidst the slaughter, carried onwards by the waves and wind of Ïapyx, |
| contra autem magno mærentem corpore Nilum pandentemque sinus et tota veste vocantem cæruleum in gremium latebrosaque flumina victos. at Cæsar, triplici invectus Romana triumpho mœnia, dis Italis votum immortale sacrabat, | 715 | while before her is Nile, mourning with his vast extent, opening wide his bays, and, with his whole tapestry, calling the vanquished to his dark green breast, and sheltering streams. Next Augustus, entering the walls of Rome in triple triumph, is dedicating his immortal offering to Italy’s gods, |
| maxima ter centum totam delubra per urbem. lætitia ludisque viæ plausuque fremebant ; omnibus in templis matrum chorus, omnibus aræ ; ante aras terram cæsi stravere juvenci. ipse sedens niveo candentis limine Phœbi | 720 | three hundred great shrines throughout the city. The streets are ringing with joy, playfulness, applause: a band of women in every temple, altars in every one: before the altars sacrificial steers cover the ground. He himself sits at the snow-white threshold of shining Apollo, |
| dona recognoscit populorum aptatque superbis postibus ; incedunt victæ longo ordine gentes, quam variæ linguis, habitu tam vestis et armis. hic Nomadum genus et discinctos Mulciber Afros, hic Lelegas Carasque sagittiferosque Gelonos | 725 | examines the gifts of nations, and hangs them on the proud gates. The conquered peoples walk past in a long line, as diverse in language as in weapons, or the fashion of their clothes. Here Vulcan has shown the Nomad race and loose-robed Africans, there the Leleges and Carians and Gelonians with their quivers: |
| finxerat ; Euphrates ibat jam mollior undis, extremique hominum Morini, Rhenusque bicornis, indomitique Dahæ, et pontem indignatus Araxes. Talia per clipeum Volcani, dona parentis, miratur rerumque ignarus imagine gaudet | 730 | Euphrates runs with quieter waves, and the Morini, remotest of mankind, the double-horned Rhine, the untamed Dahæ, and Araxes, resenting its restored bridge. Æneas marvels at such things on Vulcan’s shield, his mother’s gift, and delights in the images, not recognising the future events, |
| attollens umero famamque et fata nepotum. | lifting to his shoulder the glory and the destiny of his heirs. |
| Liber IX | ⤊ | |
| P. VERGILII MARONIS ÆNEIDOS LIBER NONUS | ||
| Atque ea diversa penitus dum parte geruntur, Irim de cælo misit Saturnia Juno audacem ad Turnum. luco tum forte parentis Pilumni Turnus sacrata valle sedebat. ad quem sic roseo Thaumantias ore locuta est : | 5 | While all these things were happening in various places, Saturnian Juno sent Iris from heaven to brave Turnus, who chanced to be sitting in a sacred valley, a grove to Pilumnus his father. To him Thaumas’s daughter spoke, from her rosy lips: |
| « Turne, quod optanti divum promittere nemo auderet, volvenda dies en attulit ultro. Æneas urbe et sociis et classe relicta sceptra Palatini sedemque petit Evandri. nec satis : extremas Corythi penetravit ad urbes | 10 | “Turnus, see, the circling days, unasked, have brought what you wished, but what no god dared to promise. Æneas leaving the city, his friends and ships, seeks the Palatine kingdom, and Evander’s house. Unsatisfied he has reached Corythus’s furthest cities, |
| Lydorumque manum, collectos armat agrestis. quid dubitas? nunc tempus equos, nunc poscere currus. rumpe moras omnis et turbata arripe castra. » dixit, et in cælum paribus se sustulit alis ingentemque fuga secuit sub nubibus arcum. | 15 | and, gathering men from the country, arms Lydian troops. Why wait? Now is the time to call on horse and chariot. End all delays: seize their camp, in its confusion.” She spoke, and rose into the sky on level wings, tracing a vast arc against the clouds in her flight. |
| agnovit juvenis duplicisque ad sidera palmas sustulit ac tali fugientem est voce secutus : « Iri, decus cæli, quis te mihi nubibus actam detulit in terras? unde hæc tam clara repente tempestas? medium video discedere cælum | 20 | The youth knew her, raised both his hands to the heavens, and sent these words after her as she flew: “Iris, glory of the sky, who sent you down through the clouds, to me, on earth? Where dœs this sudden bright moment spring from? I see the sky split apart |
| palantisque polo stellas. sequor omina tanta, quisquis in arma vocas. » et sic effatus ad undam processit summoque hausit de gurgite lymphas multa deos orans, oneravitque æthera votis. Jamque omnis campis exercitus ibat apertis | 25 | at its zenith, and the stars that roam the pole. I follow so mighty an omen, whœver calls me to arms.” Saying this he went to the river and scooped water from the surface of the stream, calling often to the gods, and weighting the air with prayers. Now the whole army, rich in horses, rich in ornate clothes, |
| dives equum, dives pictai vestis et auri ; Messapus primas acies, postrema cœrcent Tyrrhidæ juvenes, medio dux agmine Turnus, [vertitur arma tenens et toto vertice supra est.] ceu septem surgens sedatis amnibus altus | 30 | and gold, was engaged in moving over the open fields: Messapus controlling the front ranks, Tyrrhus’s sons the rear, Turnus, the leader, in the center of the line, comes grasping his weapons, overtopping the rest by a head; like the deep Ganges, swelling in silence, through |
| per tacitum Ganges aut pingui flumine Nilus quum refluit campis et jam se condidit alveo. hic subitam nigro glomerari pulvere nubem prospiciunt Teucri ac tenebras insurgere campis. primus ab adversa conclamat mole Caicus : | 35 | his seven placid streams, or Nile when his rich stream inundates the fields, soon sinking down into his course. The Trojans suddenly see a black dust cloud gathering there, and darkness rising over the plain. Caicus shouted first from the forward rampart: |
| « quis globus, o cives, caligine volvitur atra? ferte citi ferrum, date tela, ascendite muros, hostis adest, heja! » ingenti clamore per omnis condunt se Teucri portas et mœnia complent. namque ita discedens præceperat optimus armis | 40 | “What’s that rolling mass of black fog, countrymen? Bring your swords, quickly: hand out spears: mount the walls: ah, the enemy is here!” With a great clamor the Trojans retreated through the gates, and filled the ramparts. For Æneas, wisest in warfare, had commanded, on leaving, |
| Æneas : si qua interea fortuna fuisset, neu struere auderent aciem neu credere campo ; castra modo et tutos servarent aggere muros. ergo etsi conferre manum pudor iraque monstrat, objiciunt portas tamen et præcepta facessunt, | 45 | if anything chanced in the meantime, they were not to dare to form ranks or trust themselves to the open field: they were only to guard the camp and walls, safe behind the ramparts. So, though anger and shame counselled the troops to fight, still they shut the gates and followed his orders, |
| armatique cavis exspectant turribus hostem. Turnus, ut ante volans tardum præcesserat agmen viginti lectis equitum comitatus et urbi improvisus adest, maculis quem Thracius albis portat equus cristaque tegit galea aurea rubra, | 50 | awaiting the enemy, armed, within their hollow turrets. But Turnus had galloped forward ahead of his slow column, accompanied by twenty chosen horsemen, and reached the city unexpectedly: a piebald Thracian horse carried him, a golden helmet with a crimson crest protected his head. |
| « ecquis erit mecum, juvenes, qui primus in hostem —? en, » ait et jaculum attorquens emittit in auras, principium pugnæ, et campo sese arduus infert. clamorem excipiunt socii fremituque sequuntur horrisono ; Teucrum mirantur inertia corda, | 55 | “Men,” he shouted, “is there anyone who’ll be first with me among the enemy — ? Look,” and twirling a javelin sent it skyward to start the fight, and rode proudly over the field. His friends welcomed him with a shout, and followed with fearful battle-cries: marvelling at the Trojan’s dull souls, |
| non æquo dare se campo, non obvia ferre arma viros, sed castra fovere. huc turbidus atque huc lustrat equo muros aditumque per avia quærit. ac veluti pleno lupus insidiatus ovili quum fremit ad caulas ventos perpessus et imbris | 60 | not trusting themselves to a level field, nor facing men carrying weapons, but hugging the camp. He rode to and fro wildly round the walls, seeking a way in where there was none. Like a wolf, lying in wait by a full sheepfold, that snarls by the pens at midnight, enduring the wind and rain, |
| nocte super media ; tuti sub matribus agni balatum exercent, ille asper et improbus ira sævit in absentis ; collecta fatigat edendi ex longo rabies et siccæ sanguine fauces : haud aliter Rutulo muros et castra tuenti | 65 | the lambs bleating safe beneath their mothers, and rages against the prey out of reach, fierce and persistent in its anger, tormented by its dry, bloodless jaws, and the fierceness of its long-increasing hunger: so as Turnus scanned the wall and camp, the Rutulian’s anger |
| ignescunt iræ, duris dolor ossibus ardet. qua temptet ratione aditus, et quæ via clausos excutiat Teucros vallo atque effundat in æquum? classem, quæ lateri castrorum adjuncta latebat, aggeribus sæptam circum et fluvialibus undis, | 70 | was alight, and indignation burned in his harsh marrow. How could he try and enter, and hurl the penned-up Trojans from their rampart, and scatter them over the plain? He attacked the ships, that lay close to a flank of the camp, defended by earthworks, and the flowing river, |
| invadit sociosque incendia poscit ovantis atque manum pinu flagranti fervidus implet. tum vero incumbunt (urget præsentia Turni), atque omnis facibus pubes accingitur atris. diripuere focos : piceum fert fumida lumen | 75 | calling out to his exultant friends for fire, and fervently grasped a blazing pine-brand in his hand. Then they set to (urged on by Turnus’s presence) and all the men armed themselves with dark torches. They stripped the hearths: the smoking branches threw |
| tæda et commixtam Volcanus ad astra favillam. Quis deus, o Musæ, tam sæva incendia Teucris avertit? tantos ratibus quis depulit ignis? dicite : prisca fides facto, sed fama perennis. tempore quo primum Phrygia formabat in Ida | 80 | a pitchy glow, and Vulcan hurled the cloud of ashes to heaven. O Muse, what god, turned away such fierce flames from the Trojans? Who drove such savage fires from the ships? Tell me: belief in the story’s ancient, its fame is eternal. In the days when Æneas first built his fleet on Phrygian Ida |
| Æneas classem et pelagi petere alta parabat, ipsa deum fertur genetrix Berecyntia magnum vocibus his affata Jovem : « da, nate, petenti, quod tua cara parens domito te poscit Olympo. pinea silva mihi multos dilecta per annos, | 85 | and prepared to set out over the deep ocean, they say the Mother of the gods herself, Berecyntian Cybele, spoke so to great Jupiter: “My son, lord of Olympus, grant what your dear mother asks of you in request. There was a pine-forest a delight to me for many years |
| lucus in arce fuit summa, quo sacra ferebant, nigranti picea trabibusque obscurus acernis. has ego Dardanio juveni, quum classis egeret, læta dedi ; nunc sollicitam timor anxius angit. solve metus atque hoc precibus sine posse parentem, | 90 | a grove on the summit of the mountain, where they brought offerings, dark with blackened firs and maple trunks. I gave these gladly to the Trojan youth, since he lacked a fleet: now, troubled, anxious fear torments me. Relieve my fears, and let your mother by her prayers ensure |
| ne cursu quassatæ ullo neu turbine venti vincantur : prosit nostris in montibus ortas. » filius huic contra, torquet qui sidera mundi : « o genetrix, quo fata vocas? aut quid petis istis? mortaline manu factæ immortale carinæ | 95 | they are not destroyed, shattered by voyaging or violent storm: let their origin on our mountain be of aid to them.” Her son, who turns the starry globe, replied: “O, my mother, to what do you summon fate? What do you seek for them? Should keels made by mortal hands have eternal rights? |
| fas habeant? certusque incerta pericula lustret Æneas? cui tanta deo permissa potestas? immo, ubi defunctæ finem portusque tenebunt Ausonios olim, quæcumque evaserit undis Dardaniumque ducem Laurentia vexerit arva, | 100 | Should Æneas travel in certainty through uncertain dangers? To what god are such powers permitted? No, one day when they’ve served their purpose, and reached an Italian haven, I’ll take away, from those that escape the waves, and bear the Trojan chief |
| mortalem eripiam formam magnique jubebo æquoris esse deas, qualis Nereia Doto et Galatea secant spumantem pectore pontum. » dixerat idque ratum Stygii per flumina fratris, per pice torrentis atraque voragine ripas | 105 | to Laurentine fields, their mortal shape, and command them to be goddesses of the vast ocean, like Doto, Nereus’s child, and Galatea, who part the foaming sea with their breasts.” He spoke, and swore his assent, by his Stygian brother’s rivers, by the banks that seethe with pitch on the black abyss, |
| annuit, et totum nutu tremefecit Olympum. Ergo aderat promissa dies et tempora Parcæ debita complerant, quum Turni injuria Matrem admonuit ratibus sacris depellere tædas. hic primum nova lux oculis offulsit et ingens | 110 | and with his nod shook all Olympus. So the day he had promised came, and the Fates fulfilled their appointed hour, when Turnus’s injury to the sacred fleet prompted the Mother to defend them from the flames. At first a strange light flared to the watchers, and a huge cloud |
| visus ab Aurora cælum transcurrere nimbus Idæique chori ; tum vox horrenda per auras excidit et Troum Rutulorumque agmina complet : « ne trepidate meas, Teucri, defendere navis neve armate manus ; maria ante exurere Turno | 115 | was seen to travel across the sky from the east, with bands of her Idæan attendants: then a terrible voice rang through the air, echoing among the Trojan and Rutulian lines: “Trojans, don’t rush to defend the ships, or take up arms. Turnus can burn the ocean, sooner than my sacred pines. Go free, |
| quam sacras dabitur pinus. vos ite solutæ, ite deæ pelagi ; genetrix jubet. » et sua quæque continuo puppes abrumpunt vincula ripis delphinumque modo demersis æquora rostris ima petunt. hinc virgineæ (mirabile monstrum) | 120 | you Goddesses of the sea: your mother commands it.” And at once each ship tore her cable loose from the bank: they dipped their noses like dolphins, and sought the watery deep. Then (strange wonder) |
| [quot prius æratæ steterant ad litora proræ] reddunt se totidem facies pontoque feruntur. Obstipuere animis Rutuli, conterritus ipse turbatis Messapus equis, cunctatur et amnis rauca sonans revocatque pedem Tiberinus ab alto. | 125 | as many bronze-beaked ships as had formerly stood at the shore, that many virgin shapes re-surfaced, and swam about the sea. The Rutulians were amazed in mind, Messapus himself was awe-struck, his horses panicked: and even the noisy flow of the river halted, as Tiber retreated from the deep. |
| at non audaci Turno fiducia cessit ; ultro animos tollit dictis atque increpat ultro : « Trojanos hæc monstra petunt, his Juppiter ipse auxilium solitum eripuit : non tela neque ignis exspectant Rutulos. ergo maria invia Teucris, | 130 | But brave Turnus’s confidence never wavered: and he raised their spirits as well, and chided them: “These marvels are aimed at the Trojans, Jupiter himself has deprived them of their usual allies: those didn’t wait for Rutulian missiles and fires. So the seas are impassable |
| nec spes ulla fugæ : rerum pars altera adempta est, terra autem in nostris manibus, tot milia gentes arma ferunt Italæ. nil me fatalia terrent, si qua Phryges præ se jactant, responsa deorum ; sat fatis Venerique datum, tetigere quod arva | 135 | for the Trojans, and they have no hope of flight: other regions are lost to them, and this land is in our hands, so many thousands of Italy’s peoples are in arms. I’m not afraid of all the fateful omens from the gods these Phrygians openly boast of: enough has been granted to Venus and the Fates, |
| fertilis Ausoniæ Trœs. sunt et mea contra fata mihi, ferro sceleratam exscindere gentem conjuge prærepta ; nec solos tangit Atridas iste dolor, solisque licet capere arma Mycenis. “Sed periisse semel satis est” : peccare fuisset | 140 | since the Trojans have reached Ausonia’s fertile fields. I have my own counter destiny, to root out the guilty race, that has snatched my bride, with the sword. That’s a sorrow that dœsn’t touch Atrides alone, nor is Mycenæ alone allowed to take up arms. ‘But to die once is enough.’? To have sinned |
| ante satis, penitus modo non genus omne perosos femineum. quibus hæc medii fiducia valli fossarumque moræ, leti discrimina parva, dant animos ; at non viderunt mœnia Trojæ Neptuni fabricata manu considere in ignis? | 145 | before should be enough for these men, to whom confidence in a dividing wall, and slight obstacles to death, defensive moats, grant courage, to utterly detest well-nigh the whole tribe of women. Did they not witness the work of Neptune’s hands, the battlements of Troy, sink in flames? But you, |
| sed vos, o lecti, ferro qui scindere vallum apparat et mecum invadit trepidantia castra? non armis mihi Volcani, non mille carinis est opus in Teucros (addant se protinus omnes Etrusci socios) ; tenebras et inertia furta | 150 | O chosen ones, which of you is ready to uproot the ramparts with your steel, and invade their terrified camp with me? I don’t need Vulcan’s arms, or a thousand ships, against Trojans. Let all Etruria join them now in alliance. They need not fear darkness, or cowardly theft |
| Palladii cæsis late custodibus arcis ne timeant, nec equi cæca condemur in alvo : luce palam certum est igni circumdare muros. haud sibi cum Danais rem faxo et pube Pelasga esse ferant, decimum quos distulit Hector in annum. | 155 | of their Palladium, killing guards on the citadel’s heights’, we won’t hide in the dark belly of a horse: I intend to circle their walls in broad daylight with fire. I’ll make them concede it’s not Greeks, Pelasgic youth, they’re dealing with, whom Hector held till the tenth year. |
| nunc adeo, melior quoniam pars acta diei, quod superest, læti bene gestis corpora rebus procurate, viri, et pugnam sperate parari. » interea vigilum excubiis obsidere portas cura datur Messapo et mœnia cingere flammis. | 160 | Now, since the best part of the day’s gone, men, refresh yourselves with what’s left, pleased with work well done, and look forward to starting the battle.” Meanwhile the order was given to Messapus to picket the gates alertly with sentries and ring the ramparts with flames. |
| bis septem Rutuli muros qui milite servent delecti, ast illos centeni quemque sequuntur purpurei cristis juvenes auroque corusci. discurrunt variantque vices, fusique per herbam indulgent vino et vertunt crateras ænos. | 165 | Fourteen Rutulians were chosen to guard the walls with their men, each with a hundred soldiers under them, purple-plumed and glittering with gold. They ran about, took turns on watch, or lifted the bronze bowls and enjoyed their wine, |
| collucent ignes, noctem custodia ducit insomnem ludo. Hæc super e vallo prospectant Trœs et armis alta tenent, nec non trepidi formidine portas explorant pontisque et propugnacula jungunt, | 170 | stretched out on the grass. The fires shone, while the guards spent the watchful night in games. The armed Trojans held the heights, looking down on this from above, and also with anxious fears, checked the gates, built bulwarks and bridges, |
| tela gerunt. instat Mnestheus acerque Serestus, quos pater Æneas, si quando adversa vocarent, rectores juvenum et rerum dedit esse magistros. omnis per muros legio sortita periclum excubat exercetque vices, quod cuique tuendum est. | 175 | and disposed their weapons. Mnestheus and brave Serestus, whom Æneas their leader appointed to command the army and state, if adversity ever required it, urged them on. Sharing the risk, the whole company kept watch and served in turn, at whatever point was to be guarded by each. |
| Nisus erat portæ custos, acerrimus armis, Hyrtacides, comitem Æneæ quem miserat Ida venatrix jaculo celerem levibusque sagittis, et juxta comes Euryalus, quo pulchrior alter non fuit Æneadum Trojana neque induit arma, | 180 | Nisus, bravest of warriors, son of Hyrtacus, was a guard at the gates, he whom Ida the huntress had sent to accompany Æneas, agile with javelin and light darts, and Euryalus was with him, than whom none was more beautiful among the Ænedæ, or wearing Trojan armor, |
| ora puer prima signans intonsa juventa. his amor unus erat pariterque in bella ruebant ; tum quoque communi portam statione tenebant. Nisus ait : « Dine hunc ardorem mentibus addunt, Euryale, an sua cuique deus fit dira cupido? | 185 | a boy, whose unshaven face, showed the first bloom of youth. One love was theirs, and they charged side by side into battle: now they were also guarding the gate at the same sentry-post. Nisus said: “Euryalus, do the gods set this fire in our hearts, or dœs each man’s fatal desire become godlike to him? |
| aut pugnam aut aliquid jamdudum invadere magnum mens agitat mihi, nec placida contenta quiete est. cernis quæ Rutulos habeat fiducia rerum : lumina rara micant, somno vinoque soluti procubuere, silent late loca. percipe porro | 190 | My mind has long urged me to rush to battle, or high adventure, and is not content with peace and quiet. You see what confidence the Rutulians have in events: their lights shine far apart, and they lie drowned in sleep and wine, everywhere is quiet. Listen to what I’m now |
| quid dubitem et quæ nunc animo sententia surgat. Ænean acciri omnes, populusque patresque, exposcunt, mittique viros qui certa reportent. si tibi quæ posco promittunt (nam mihi facti fama sat est), tumulo videor reperire sub illo | 195 | thinking, and what purpose comes to mind. The army and the council all demand Æneas be recalled, and men be sent to report the facts to him. If they were to grant what I suggest to you (the glory of doing it is enough for me) I think I could find a way, |
| posse viam ad muros et mœnia Pallantea. » obstipuit magno laudum percussus amore Euryalus, simul his ardentem affatur amicum : « mene igitur socium summis adjungere rebus, Nise, fugis? solum te in tanta pericula mittam? | 200 | beyond that hill, to the walls and ramparts of Pallanteum.” Euryalus was dazzled, struck by a great desire for glory, and replied to his ardent friend at once, like this: “Nisus, do you shun my joining in this great deed, then? Shall I send you into such danger alone? |
| non ita me genitor, bellis assuetus Opheltes, Argolicum terrorem inter Trojæque labores sublatum erudiit, nec tecum talia gessi magnanimum Ænean et fata extrema secutus : est hic, est animus lucis contemptor et istum | 205 | That’s not how my father Opheltes, seasoned in war, educated me, raising me among Greek terrors and Troy’s ordeals, nor have I conducted myself so with you, following noble Æneas and the ends of fate. This is my spirit, one scornful of the day, that thinks |
| qui vita bene credat emi, quo tendis, honorem. » Nisus ad hæc : « equidem de te nil tale verebar, nec fas ; non ita me referat tibi magnus ovantem Juppiter aut quicumque oculis hæc aspicit æquis. sed si quis (quæ multa vides discrimine tali) | 210 | the honor you aim at well bought with life itself.” Nisus replied: “Indeed I had no such doubts of you, that would be wrong: not so will great Jupiter, or whœver looks at this action with favorable gaze, bring me back to you in triumph: but if (as you often see in such crises) |
| si quis in adversum rapiat casusve deusue, te superesse velim, tua vita dignior ætas. sit qui me raptum pugna pretiove redemptum mandet humo, solita aut si qua id Fortuna vetabit, absenti ferat inferias decoretque sepulcro. | 215 | if chance or some god sweeps me to disaster, I want you to survive: your youth is more deserving of life. Let there be someone to entrust me to earth, my body rescued from conflict, or ransomed for a price, or if Fortune denies the customary rites, to perform |
| neu matri miseræ tanti sim causa doloris, quæ te sola, puer, multis e matribus ausa persequitur, magni nec mœnia curat Acestæ. » ille autem : « causas nequiquam nectis inanis nec mea jam mutata loco sententia cedit. | 220 | them in my absence, and honor me with a stone. And don’t let me be a cause of grief to your poor mother, my boy, who alone among many mothers dared to follow you, without thought of staying in great Acestes’s city.” But the lad said: “You weave your excuses in vain, |
| acceleremus » ait. vigiles simul excitat, illi succedunt servantque vices ; statione relicta ipse comes Niso graditur regemque requirunt. Cetera per terras omnis animalia somno laxabant curas et corda oblita laborum : | 225 | my purpose won’t change or yield to yours. Let’s hurry,” and he roused guards, who came up to take their place: leaving his post he walked by Nisus’s side to seek the prince. Every other creature, throughout the land, was easing its cares with sleep, its heart forgetful of toil: |
| ductores Teucrum primi, delecta juventus, consilium summis regni de rebus habebant, quid facerent quisve Æneæ jam nuntius esset. stant longis annixi hastis et scuta tenentes castrorum et campi medio. tum Nisus et una | 230 | the Trojans’ chief captains, the pick of their manhood, were holding council on the most serious affairs of state, what to do, and who should go now as messenger to Æneas. They stood, between the camp and the plain, leaning on their long spears, holding their shields. Nisus and Euryalus, |
| Euryalus confestim alacres admittier orant : rem magnam pretiumque moræ fore. primus Julus accepit trepidos ac Nisum dicere jussit. tum sic Hyrtacides : « audite o mentibus æquis Æneadæ, neve hæc nostris spectentur ab annis | 235 | together, begged eagerly to be admitted at once: the matter being important, and worth the delay. Julus was first to welcome the impatient pair, and ordered Nisus to speak. So the son of Hyrtacus said: “Followers of Æneas, listen with fair minds, and don’t judge my words by our years. |
| quæ ferimus. Rutuli somno vinoque soluti conticuere ; locum insidiis conspeximus ipsi, qui patet in bivio portæ quæ proxima ponto. interrupti ignes aterque ad sidera fumus erigitur : si fortuna permittitis uti | 240 | The Rutulians are quiet, drowned in sleep and wine. We ourselves have seen a place for a sortie: it opens in a fork of the road by the nearest gate to the sea. There’s a gap between the fires, and black smoke rises to the stars. If you allow us to seize the chance, |
| quæsitum Ænean et mœnia Pallantea, mox hic cum spoliis ingenti cæde peracta affore cernetis. nec nos via fallit euntis : vidimus obscuris primam sub vallibus urbem venatu assiduo et totum cognovimus amnem. » | 245 | you’ll soon see us back again burdened with spoils after carrying out vast slaughter. The road will not deceive us as we seek Æneas and Pallanteum’s walls. In our frequent hunting through the secret valleys we’ve seen the outskirts of the city, and know the whole river.” |
| hic annis gravis atque animi maturus Aletes : « di patrii, quorum semper sub numine Troja est, non tamen omnino Teucros delere paratis, quum talis animos juvenum et tam certa tulistis pectora. » Sic memorans umeros dextrasque tenebat | 250 | To this Aletes, heavy with years and wise in mind, replied: “Gods of our fathers, under whose power Troy lies, you do not intend to obliterate the Trojan race as yet since you bring us such courage in our young men and such firm hearts.” So saying, he took them both by the shoulder |
| amborum et vultum lacrimis atque ora rigabat. « quæ vobis, quæ digna, viri, pro laudibus istis præmia posse rear solvi? pulcherrima primum di moresque dabunt vestri : tum cetera reddet actutum pius Æneas atque integer ævi | 255 | and hand while tears flooded his cheeks and lips. “What possible prize could I consider worthy to be granted you men for such a glorious action? The gods and tradition will give you the first and most beautiful one: then good Æneas, and Ascanius, |
| Ascanius meriti tanti non immemor umquam. » « immo ego vos, cui sola salus genitore reducto, » excipit Ascanius « per magnos, Nise, penatis Assaracique larem et canæ penetralia Vestæ obtestor, quæcumque mihi fortuna fidesque est, | 260 | who’s untouched by the years and never unmindful of such service, will immediately award the rest.” Ascanius interrupted: “Rather I entreat you both, Nisus, since my well-being depends on my father’s return, by the great gods of our house, by the Lar of Assaracus, and by grey-haired Vesta’s innermost shrine, I lay |
| in vestris pono gremiis. revocate parentem, reddite conspectum ; nihil illo triste recepto. bina dabo argento perfecta atque aspera signis pocula, devicta genitor quæ cepit Arisba, et tripodas geminos, auri duo magna talenta, | 265 | all my fortune and my promise in your lap, call my father back, give me a sight of him: there’s no sorrow if he’s restored. I’ll give you a pair of wine-cups, all of silver, with figures in relief, that my father captured when Arisba was taken, and twin tripods, two large talents of gold, |
| cratera antiquum quem dat Sidonia Dido. si vero capere Italiam sceptrisque potiri contigerit victori et prædæ dicere sortem, vidisti, quo Turnus equo, quibus ibat in armis aureus ; ipsum illum, clipeum cristasque rubentis | 270 | and an antique bowl Sidonian Dido gave me. If we truly manage to capture Italy, and take the sceptre, and assign the spoils by lot, you have seen the horse golden Turnus rode, and the armor he wore, I’ll separate from this moment, from the lots, that same horse, the shield, |
| excipiam sorti, jam nunc tua præmia, Nise. præterea bis sex genitor lectissima matrum corpora captivosque dabit suaque omnibus arma, insuper his campi quod rex habet ipse Latinus. te vero, mea quem spatiis propioribus ætas | 275 | and the crimson plumes as your reward, Nisus. Moreover my father will give you twelve women of choicest person, and male captives all with their own armor, and, beyond that, whatever land King Latinus owns himself. But now I truly welcome you wholly to my heart, Euryalus, |
| insequitur, venerande puer, jam pectore toto accipio et comitem casus complector in omnis. nulla meis sine te quæretur gloria rebus : seu pacem seu bella geram, tibi maxima rerum verborumque fides. » contra quem talia fatur | 280 | a boy to be revered, whose age I come closer to in time, and embrace you as a friend for every occasion. I’ll never seek glory in my campaigns without you: whether I enjoy peace or war, you’ll have my firmest trust in word and action.” Euryalus spoke like this in reply: |
| Euryalus : « me nulla dies tam fortibus ausis dissimilem arguerit ; tantum fortuna secunda aut adversa cadat. sed te super omnia dona unum oro : genetrix Priami de gente vetusta est mihi, quam miseram tenuit non Ilia tellus | 285 | “No day will ever find me separated from such bold action: inasmuch as fortune proves kind and not cruel. But I ask one gift above all from you: I have a mother, of Priam’s ancient race, unhappy woman, whom neither the land of Troy, nor King Acestes’s city |
| mecum excedentem, non mœnia regis Acestæ. hanc ego nunc ignaram hujus quodcumque pericli inque salutatam linquo (nox et tua testis dextera), quod nequeam lacrimas perferre parentis. at tu, oro, solare inopem et succurre relictæ. | 290 | could keep from accompanying me. I leave her now, ignorant of whatever risk to me there might be, and of my farewell, since ( this night and your right hand bear witness) I could not bear a mother’s tears. But I beg you, comfort |
| hanc sine me spem ferre tui, audentior ibo in casus omnis. » percussa mente dedere Dardanidæ lacrimas, ante omnis pulcher Julus, atque animum patriæ strinxit pietatis imago. tum sic effatur : | 295 | her helplessness and aid her loss. Let me carry this hope I place in you with me, I will meet all dangers more boldly.” Their spirits affected, the Trojans shed tears, noble Julus above all, and this image of filial love touched his heart. Then he said: |
| « Sponde digna tuis ingentibus omnia cœptis. namque erit ista mihi genetrix nomenque Creusæ solum defuerit, nec partum gratia talem parva manet. casus factum quicumque sequentur, per caput hoc juro, per quod pater ante solebat : | 300 | “Be sure I’ll do everything worthy of your great venture. She’ll be as my mother to me, only lacking her name Creusa: no small gratitude’s due to her for bearing such a son. Whatever the outcome of your action, I swear by this life, by which my father used once to swear: what I promised |
| quæ tibi polliceor reduci rebusque secundis, hæc eadem matrique tuæ generique manebunt. » sic ait illacrimans ; umero simul exuit ensem auratum, mira quem fecerat arte Lycaon Cnosius atque habilem vagina aptarat eburna. | 305 | to you when you return, your campaign successful, that same will accrue to your mother and your house.” So he spoke, in tears: and at the same time stripped the gilded sword from his shoulder, that Lycaon of Cnossos had made with marvellous art, and equipped for use with an ivory sheath. |
| dat Niso Mnestheus pellem horrentisque leonis exuvias, galeam fidus permutat Aletes. protinus armati incedunt ; quos omnis euntis primorum manus ad portas, juvenumque senumque, prosequitur votis. nec non et pulcher Julus, | 310 | Mnestheus gave Nisus a pelt, taken from a shaggy lion, loyal Aletes exchanged helmets. They armed, and left immediately: and the whole band of leaders, young and old, escorted them to the gate as they went, with prayers. And noble Julus too, with mature mind and duties |
| ante annos animumque gerens curamque virilem, multa patri mandata dabat portanda ; sed auræ omnia discerpunt et nubibus irrita donant. Egressi superant fossas noctisque per umbram castra inimica petunt, multis tamen ante futuri | 315 | beyond his years, gave them many commissions to carry to his father: but the winds were to scatter them all, and blow them vainly to the clouds. Leaving, they crossed the ditches, seeking the enemy camp in the shadow of night, destined yet to first bring many deaths. |
| exitio. passim somno vinoque per herbam corpora fusa vident, arrectos litore currus, inter lora rotasque viros, simul arma jacere, vina simul. prior Hyrtacides sic ore locutus : « Euryale, audendum dextra : nunc ipsa vocat res. | 320 | They saw bodies in drunken sleep, stretched here and there on the grass, chariots tilted upwards on the shore, men, among wheels and harness, and weapons and wine-cups lying about. Nisus, Hyrtacus’s son, spoke first, saying: “Euryalus, now the occasion truly calls for a daring |
| hac iter est. tu, ne qua manus se attollere nobis a tergo possit, custodi et consule longe ; hæc ego vasta dabo et lato te limite ducam. » sic memorat vocemque premit, simul ense superbum Rhamnetem aggreditur, qui forte tapetibus altis | 325 | right hand. This is our road. You must see that no arm’s raised against us at our back, and keep watch carefully: I’ll deal destruction here, and cut you a wide path.” So he spoke, and checked his speech, and at once drove his sword at proud Rhamnes, who chanced to be |
| exstructus toto proflabat pectore somnum, rex idem et regi Turno gratissimus augur, sed non augurio potuit depellere pestem. tris juxta famulos temere inter tela jacentis armigerumque Remi premit aurigamque sub ipsis | 330 | breathing deeply in sleep, piled with thick coverlets, He was King Turnus’s best-beloved augur, and a king himself, but he could not avert destruction with augury. Nisus killed three of his servants nearby, lying careless among their weapons, and Remus’s armor bearer, and his charioteer, |
| nactus equis ferroque secat pendentia colla. tum caput ipsi aufert domino truncumque relinquit sanguine singultantem ; atro tepefacta cruore terra torique madent. nec non Lamyrumque Lamumque et juvenem Serranum, illa qui plurima nocte | 335 | found at the horses’ feet: he severed lolling necks with his sword. Then he struck off the head of their lord himself, and left the trunk spurting blood, the ground and the bed drenched with dark warm blood. And Lamyrus too, and Lamum, and young Serranus, noted for his beauty, who had sported |
| luserat, insignis facie, multoque jacebat membra deo victus — felix, si protinus illum æquasset nocti ludum in lucemque tulisset : impastus ceu plena leo per ovilia turbans (suadet enim vesana fames) manditque trahitque | 340 | much that night, and lay there limbs drowned by much wine — happy if he’d carried on his game all night till dawn: So a starving lion churning through a full sheepfold, (driven by its raging hunger) gnaws and tears at the feeble flock |
| molle pecus mutumque metu, fremit ore cruento. nec minor Euryali cædes ; incensus et ipse perfurit ac multam in medio sine nomine plebem, Fadumque Herbesumque subit Rhœtumque Abarimque ignaros ; Rhœtum vigilantem et cuncta videntem, | 345 | mute with fear, and roars from its bloodstained mouth. Nor was Euryalus’s slaughter any less: he too raged, ablaze, and among the nameless crowd he attacked Fadus, and Herbesus, and Abaris, while they were unconscious: and Rhœtus, but Rhœtus was awake and saw it all, |
| sed magnum metuens se post cratera tegebat. pectore in adverso totum cui comminus ensem condidit assurgenti et multa morte recepit. purpuream vomit ille animam et cum sanguine mixta vina refert moriens, hic furto fervidus instat. | 350 | but crouched in fear behind a huge wine-bowl. As he rose, in close encounter, Euryalus plunged his whole blade into Rhœtus’s chest, and withdrew it red with death. Rhœtus choked out his life in dark blood, and, dying, brought up wine mixed with gore: the other pressed on fervently and stealthily. |
| jamque ad Messapi socios tendebat ; ibi ignem deficere extremum et religatos rite videbat carpere gramen equos, breviter quum talia Nisus (sensit enim nimia cæde atque cupidine ferri) « absistamus » ait, « nam lux inimica propinquat. | 355 | Now he approached Messapus’s followers: there he saw the outermost fires flickering, and the horses, duly tethered, cropping the grass: Nisus (seeing him carried away by slaughter and love of the sword’s power) said briefly: “Let’s go, since unhelpful dawn is near. Enough: vengeance |
| pœnarum exhaustum satis est, via facta per hostis. » multa virum solido argento perfecta relinquunt armaque craterasque simul pulchrosque tapetas. Euryalus phaleras Rhamnetis et aurea bullis cingula, Tiburti Remulo ditissimus olim | 360 | has been satisfied: a path has been made through the enemy.” They left behind many of the men’s weapons fashioned from solid silver, and wine-bowls and splendid hangings. Euryalus snatched Rhamnes’s trappings, and gold-studded sword-belt, gifts that wealthy Cædicus had once sent to Remulus |
| quæ mittit dona, hospitio quum jungeret absens, Cædicus ; ille suo moriens dat habere nepoti ; post mortem bello Rutuli pugnaque potiti : hæc rapit atque umeris nequiquam fortibus aptat. tum galeam Messapi habilem cristisque decoram | 365 | of Tibur, expressing friendship in absence: he when dying gave them to his grandson as his own, and after his death in turn the Rutulians captured them during the war in battle: now Euryalus fitted them over his brave shoulders, though in vain. Then he put on Messapus’s excellent helmet with its handsome |
| induit. excedunt castris et tuta capessunt. Interea præmissi equites ex urbe Latina, cetera dum legio campis instructa moratur, ibant et Turno regi responsa ferebant, ter centum, scutati omnes, Volcente magistro. | 370 | plumes. The left the camp and headed for safety. Meanwhile riders arrived, sent out from the Latin city, while the rest of the army waited in readiness, on the plain, bringing a reply for King Turnus: three hundred, carrying shields, led by Volcens. |
| jamque propinquabant castris murosque subibant quum procul hos lævo flectentis limite cernunt, et galea Euryalum sublustri noctis in umbra prodidit immemorem radiisque adversa refulsit. haud temere est visum. conclamat ab agmine Volcens : | 375 | They were already near the camp, and below the walls, when they saw the two men turning down a path on the left: his helmet, gleaming in the shadow of night, betrayed the unthinking Euryalus, and reflected back the rays. It was not seen in vain. Volcens shouted from his column: |
| « State, viri. quæ causa viæ? quive estis in armis? quove tenetis iter? » nihil illi tendere contra, sed celerare fugam in silvas et fidere nocti. Objiciunt equites sese ad divortia nota hinc atque hinc, omnemque aditum custode coronant. | 380 | “You men, halt, what’s the reason for your journey? Who are you, you’re armed? Where are you off to?” They offered no response, but hastened their flight to the woods, trusting to the dark. The riders closed off the known junctions, on every side, and surrounded each exit route with guards. |
| silva fuit late dumis atque ilice nigra horrida, quam densi complerant undique sentes ; rara per occultos lucebat semita callis. Euryalum tenebræ ramorum onerosaque præda impediunt, fallitque timor regione viarum. | 385 | The forest spread out widely, thick with brambles and holm-oaks, the dense thorns filling it on every side: there the path glinted through the secret glades. Euryalus was hampered by shadowy branches, and the weight of his plunder, and his fear confused the path’s direction. |
| Nisus abit ; jamque imprudens evaserat hostis atque locos qui post Albæ de nomine dicti Albani (tum rex stabula alta Latinus habebat), ut stetit et frustra absentem respexit amicum : « Euryale infelix, qua te regione reliqui? | 390 | Nisus was clear: and already unaware had escaped the enemy, and was at the place later called Alba from Alba Longa (at that time King Latinus had his noble stalls there) when he stopped, and looked back vainly for his missing friend. “Euryalus, unhappy boy, where did I separate from you? |
| quave sequar? » rursus perplexum iter omne revolvens fallacis silvæ simul et vestigia retro observata legit dumisque silentibus errat. audit equos, audit strepitus et signa sequentum ; nec longum in medio tempus, quum clamor ad auris | 395 | Which way shall I go?” he said, considering all the tangled tracks of the deceptive wood, and at the same time scanning the backward traces he could see, criss-crossing the silent thickets. He heard horses, heard the cries and signals of pursuit: and it was no great time before a shout reached his ears |
| pervenit ac videt Euryalum, quem jam manus omnis fraude loci et noctis, subito turbante tumultu, oppressum rapit et conantem plurima frustra. quid faciat? qua vi juvenem, quibus audeat armis eripere? an sese medios moriturus in enses | 400 | and he saw Euryalus, betrayed by the ground and the night, confused by the sudden tumult, whom the whole troop were dragging away, overpowered, struggling violently in vain. What can he do? With what force, or weapons, can he dare to rescue the youth? Should he hurl himself to his death among |
| inferat et pulchram properet per vulnera mortem? ocius adducto torquet hastile lacerto suspiciens altam Lunam et sic voce precatur : « Tu, dea, tu præsens nostro succurre labori, astrorum decus et nemorum Latonia custos. | 405 | the swords, and by his wounds hasten to a glorious end? He swiftly drew back his spear arm and gazing upwards at the moon above, prayed, with these words: “O you, goddess, O you, Latona’s daughter, glory of the stars, and keeper of the woods, be here and help us in our trouble. |
| si qua tuis umquam pro me pater Hyrtacus aris dona tulit, si qua ipse meis venatibus auxi suspendive tholo aut sacra ad fastigia fixi, hunc sine me turbare globum et rege tela per auras. » dixerat et toto conixus corpore ferrum | 410 | If ever my father, Hyrtacus, brought offerings on my behalf to your altars, if ever I added to them from my own hunting, hung them beneath your dome, or fixed them to the sacred eaves, let me throw their troop into confusion, guide my spear through the air.” He spoke and flung the steel, straining with his whole body. |
| conjicit. hasta volans noctis diverberat umbras et venit aversi in tergum Sulmonis ibique frangitur, ac fisso transit præcordia ligno. volvitur ille vomens calidum de pectore flumen frigidus et longis singultibus ilia pulsat. | 415 | The flying javelin divided the shadows, struck Sulmo’s back, as he turned, and snapped, the broken shaft piercing the heart. He rolled over, a hot stream pouring from his chest, and deep gasps shook his sides, as he grew cold. |
| diversi circumspiciunt. hoc acrior idem ecce aliud summa telum librabat ab aure. dum trepidant, it hasta Tago per tempus utrumque stridens trajectoque hæsit tepefacta cerebro. sævit atrox Volcens nec teli conspicit usquam | 420 | They gazed round them, in every direction. See, Nisus, all the more eager, levelled another spear against his ear. While they hesitated, the javelin hissed through both of Tagus’s temples, and fixed itself still warm in the pierced brain. Fierce Volcens raged, but could not spy out the author |
| auctorem nec quo se ardens immittere possit. « tu tamen interea calido mihi sanguine pœnas persolves amborum » inquit ; simul ense recluso ibat in Euryalum. tum vero exterritus, amens, conclamat Nisus nec se celare tenebris | 425 | of the act, nor any place that he could vent his fire. He rushed at Euryalus with his naked sword, as he cried out: “In the mean time you’ll pay in hot blood and give me revenge for both your crimes.” Then, truly maddened with fear, Nisus shouted aloud, unable |
| amplius aut tantum potuit perferre dolorem : « me, me, assum qui feci, in me convertite ferrum, o Rutuli! mea fraus omnis, nihil iste nec ausus nec potuit ; cælum hoc et conscia sidera testor ; tantum infelicem nimium dilexit amicum. » | 430 | to hide himself in the dark any longer, or endure such agony: On me, Rutulians, turn your steel on me, me who did the deed! The guilt is all mine, he neither dared nor had the power: the sky and the all-knowing stars be witnesses: he only loved his unfortunate friend too much.” |
| talia dicta dabat, sed viribus ensis adactus transadigit costas et candida pectora rumpit. volvitur Euryalus leto, pulchrosque per artus it cruor inque umeros cervix collapsa recumbit : purpureus veluti quum flos succisus aratro | 435 | He was still speaking, but the sword, powerfully driven, passed through the ribs and tore the white breast. Euryalus rolled over in death, and the blood flowed down his lovely limbs, and his neck, drooping, sank on his shoulder, like a bright flower scythed |
| languescit moriens, lassove papavera collo demisere caput pluvia quum forte gravantur. at Nisus ruit in medios solumque per omnis Volcentem petit, in solo Volcente moratur. quem circum glomerati hostes hinc comminus atque hinc | 440 | by the plough, bowing as it dies, or a poppy weighed down by a chance shower, bending its weary head. But Nisus rushed at them, seeking Volcens above all, intent on Volcens alone. The enemy gathered round him, to drive him off, |
| proturbant. instat non setius ac rotat ensem fulmineum, donec Rutuli clamantis in ore condidit adverso et moriens animam abstulit hosti. tum super exanimum sese projecit amicum confossus, placidaque ibi demum morte quievit. | 445 | in hand to hand conflict. He attacked none the less, whirling his sword like lightning, until he buried it full in the face of the shrieking Rutulian, and, dying, robbed his enemy of life. Then, pierced through, he threw himself on the lifeless body of his friend, and found peace at last in the calm of death. |
| Fortunati ambo! si quid mea carmina possunt, nulla dies umquam memori vos eximet ævo, dum domus Æneæ Capitoli immobile saxum accolet imperiumque pater Romanus habebit. Victores præda Rutuli spoliisque potiti | 450 | Happy pair! If my pœtry has the power, while the House of Æneas lives beside the Capitol’s immobile stone, and a Roman leader rules the Empire, no day will raze you from time’s memory. The victorious Rutulians, gaining new plunder, and the spoils, |
| Volcentem exanimum flentes in castra ferebant. nec minor in castris luctus Rhamnete reperto exsangui et primis una tot cæde peremptis, Serranoque Numaque. ingens concursus ad ipsa corpora seminecisque viros, tepidaque recentem | 455 | weeping carried the lifeless Volcens to the camp. Nor was there less grief in that camp when Rhamnes was discovered, drained of blood, and so many other leaders, killed in a single slaughter, with Serranus and Numa. A huge crowd rushed towards the corpses and the dying, and the place |
| cæde locum et pleno spumantis sanguine rivos. agnoscunt spolia inter se galeamque nitentem Messapi et multo phaleras sudore receptas. Et jam prima novo spargebat lumine terras Tithoni croceum linquens Aurora cubile. | 460 | fresh with hot killing, and foaming streams full of blood. Between them they identified the spoils, Messapus’s gleaming helmet, and his trappings re-won with such sweat. And now Aurora, early, leaving Tithonus’s saffron bed, sprinkled her fresh rays onto the earth. And now |
| jam sole infuso, jam rebus luce retectis Turnus in arma viros armis circumdatus ipse suscitat : æratasque acies in prœlia cogunt, quisque suos, variisque acuunt rumoribus iras. quin ipsa arrectis (visu miserabile) in hastis | 465 | as the sun streamed down, now as day revealed all things, Turnus armed himself, and roused his herœs to arms: they gathered their bronze-clad troops for the battle, each his own, and whetted their anger with various tales. They even fixed the heads of Euryalus and Nisus |
| præfigunt capita et multo clamore sequuntur Euryali et Nisi. Æneadæ duri murorum in parte sinistra opposuere aciem (nam dextera cingitur amni), ingentisque tenent fossas et turribus altis | 470 | on raised spears (wretched sight), and followed behind them, making a great clamor. The tough sons of Æneas had fixed their opposing lines on the left side of the ramparts (the right bordered on the river) and they held the wide ditches and stood grieving |
| stant mæsti ; simul ora virum præfixa movebant nota nimis miseris atroque fluentia tabo. Interea pavidam volitans pennata per urbem nuntia Fama ruit matrisque allabitur auris Euryali. at subitus miseræ calor ossa reliquit, | 475 | on the high turrets: moved as one, made wretched by seeing the heads of men they know only too well transfixed and streaming dark blood. Meanwhile winged Rumor, flying through the anxious town, sped the news, and stole to the ears of Euryalus’s mother. And suddenly all warmth left her helpless bones, |
| excussi manibus radii revolutaque pensa. evolat infelix et femineo ululatu scissa comam muros amens atque agmina cursu prima petit, non illa virum, non illa pericli telorumque memor, cælum dehinc questibus implet : | 480 | the shuttle was hurled from her hands, the thread unwound. The wretched woman rushed out and sought the ramparts and the front line, shrieking madly, her hair dishevelled: she ignored the soldiers, the danger, the weapons, then she filled the heavens with her lament: |
| « hunc ego te, Euryale, aspicio? tune ille senectæ sera meæ requies, potuisti linquere solam, crudelis? nec te sub tanta pericula missum affari extremum miseræ data copia matri? heu, terra ignota canibus data præda Latinis | 485 | “Is it you I see, Euryalus? You who brought peace at last to my old age, how could you bring yourself to leave me alone, cruel child? Why did you not give your poor mother the chance for a final goodbye when you were being sent into so much danger? Ah, you lie here in a strange land, given as prey to the carrion |
| alitibusque jaces! nec te tua funere mater produxi pressive oculos aut vulnera lavi, veste tegens tibi quam noctes festina diesque urgebam, et tela curas solabar anilis. quo sequar? aut quæ nunc artus avulsaque membra | 490 | birds and dogs of Latium! I, your mother, did not escort you in funeral procession, or close your eyes, or bathe your wounds, or shroud you with the robes I labored at night and day for you, soothing the cares of old age at the loom. Where shall I go? What earth now holds your body, |
| et funus lacerum tellus habet? hoc mihi de te, nate, refers? hoc sum terraque marique secuta? figite me, si qua est pietas, in me omnia tela conjicite, o Rutuli, me primam absumite ferro ; aut tu, magne pater divum, miserere, tuoque | 495 | your torn limbs, your mangled corpse? My son, is this what you bring home to me? Is this why I followed you by land and sea? O Rutulians, if you have feelings, pierce me: hurl all your spears at me: destroy me above all with your steel: or you, great father of the gods, pity me, and with |
| invisum hoc detrude caput sub Tartara telo, quando aliter nequeo crudelem abrumpere vitam. » hoc fletu concussi animi, mæstusque per omnis it gemitus, torpent infractæ ad prœlia vires. illam incendentem luctus Idæus et Actor | 500 | your lightning bolt, hurl this hated being down to Tartarus, since I can shatter this cruel life no other way.” This wailing shook their hearts, and a groan of sorrow swept them all: their strength for battle was numbed and weakened. She was igniting grief and Idæus and Actor, |
| Ilionei monitu et multum lacrimantis Juli corripiunt interque manus sub tecta reponunt. At tuba terribilem sonitum procul ære canoro increpuit, sequitur clamor cælumque remugit. accelerant acta pariter testudine Volsci | 505 | at Ilioneus’s order, with Julus weeping bitterly, caught her up, and carried her inside in their arms. But the war-trumpet, with its bronze singing, rang out its terrible sound, a clamor followed, that the sky re-echœd. The Volscians, raising their shields in line, ran forward, |
| et fossas implere parant ac vellere vallum ; quærunt pars aditum et scalis ascendere muros, qua rara est acies interlucetque corona non tam spissa viris. telorum effundere contra omne genus Teucri ac duris detrudere contis, | 510 | ready to fill in the ditches, and tear down the ramparts: Some tried for an entrance, and to scale the wall with ladders, where the ranks were thin, and a less dense cordon of men allowed the light through. The Trojans accustomed to defending their walls by endless warfare, hurled missiles at them |
| assueti longo muros defendere bello. saxa quoque infesto volvebant pondere, si qua possent tectam aciem perrumpere, quum tamen omnis ferre juvet subter densa testudine casus. nec jam sufficiunt. nam qua globus imminet ingens, | 515 | of every sort, and fended them off with sturdy poles. They rolled down stones too, deadly weights, in the hope of breaking through the well-protected ranks, which under their solid shields, however, rejoiced in enduring every danger. But soon even they were inadequate |
| immanem Teucri molem volvuntque ruuntque, quæ stravit Rutulos late armorumque resolvit tegmina. nec curant cæco contendere Marte amplius audaces Rutuli, sed pellere vallo missilibus certant. | 520 | since the Trojans rolled a vast rock to where a large formation threatened, and hurled it down, felling the Rutulians far and wide, and breaking their armored shell. The brave Rutulians no longer cared to fight blindly, but tried to clear the ramparts with missiles. |
| parte alia horrendus visu quassabat Etruscam pinum et fumiferos infert Mezentius ignis ; at Messapus equum domitor, Neptunia proles, rescindit vallum et scalas in mœnia poscit. Vos, o Calliope, precor, aspirate canenti | 525 | Elsewhere, Mezentius, deadly to behold, brandished Tuscan pine, and hurled smoking firebrands: while Messapus, tamer of horses, scion of Neptune, tore at the rampart, and called for scaling ladders. I pray to you, O Calliope, Muses, inspire my singing |
| quas ibi tum ferro strages, quæ funera Turnus ediderit, quem quisque virum demiserit Orco, et mecum ingentis oras evolvite belli. [et meministis enim, divæ, et memorare potestis.] Turris erat vasto suspectu et pontibus altis, | 530 | of the slaughter, the deaths Turnus dealt with his sword that day, and who each warrior was, that he sent down to Orcus, and open the lips of mighty war with me, since, goddesses, you remember, and have the power to tell: There was a turret, tall to look at, with high access-ways, |
| opportuna loco, summis quam viribus omnes expugnare Itali summaque evertere opum vi certabant, Trœs contra defendere saxis perque cavas densi tela intorquere fenestras. princeps ardentem conjecit lampada Turnus | 535 | and a good position, that all the Italians tried with utmost power to storm, and to dislodge with the utmost power of their efforts: the Trojans in turn defended themselves with stones and hurled showers of missiles through the open loopholes. Turnus was first to throw a blazing torch and root the flames |
| et flammam affixit lateri, quæ plurima vento corripuit tabulas et postibus hæsit adesis. turbati trepidare intus frustraque malorum velle fugam. dum se glomerant retroque residunt in partem quæ peste caret, tum pondere turris | 540 | in its flank, that, fanned by a strong wind, seized the planking, and clung to the entrances they devoured. The anxious men inside were afraid, and tried in vain to escape disaster. While they clung together and retreated to the side free from damage, the turret suddenly |
| procubuit subito et cælum tonat omne fragore. semineces ad terram immani mole secuta confixique suis telis et pectora duro transfossi ligno veniunt. vix unus Helenor et Lycus elapsi ; quorum primævus Helenor, | 545 | collapsed, and the whole sky echœd to the crash. Half-dead they fell to earth, the huge mass following, pierced by their own weapons, and their chests impaled on the harsh wood. Only Helenor and Lycus managed to escape: Helenor being in the prime of youth, one |
| Mæonio regi quem serva Licymnia furtim sustulerat vetitisque ad Trojam miserat armis, ense levis nudo parmaque inglorius alba. isque ubi se Turni media inter milia vidit, hinc acies atque hinc acies astare Latinas, | 550 | whom a Licymnian slave had secretly borne to the Mæonian king, and sent to Troy, with weapons he’d been forbidden, lightly armed with naked blade, and anonymous white shield. When he found himself in the midst of Turnus’s thousands, Latin ranks standing to right and left of him, |
| ut fera, quæ densa venantum sæpta corona contra tela furit seseque haud nescia morti inicit et saltu supra venabula fertur — haud aliter juvenis medios moriturus in hostis irruit et qua tela videt densissima tendit. | 555 | as a wild creature, hedged in by a close circle of hunters, rages against theirs weapons, and hurls itself, consciously, to death, and is carried by its leap on to the hunting spears, so the youth rushed to his death among the enemy, and headed for where the weapons appeared thickest. |
| at pedibus longe melior Lycus inter et hostis inter et arma fuga muros tenet, altaque certat prendere tecta manu sociumque attingere dextras. quem Turnus pariter cursu teloque secutus increpat his victor : « nostrasne evadere, demens, | 560 | But Lycus, quicker of foot, darting among the enemy and their arms reached the wall, and tried to grasp the high parapet with his hands, to reach his comrades’ grasp. Turnus following him closely on foot, with his spear, taunted in triumph: “Madman, did you hope to escape |
| sperasti te posse manus? » Simul arripit ipsum pendentem et magna muri cum parte revellit : qualis ubi aut leporem aut candenti corpore cycnum sustulit alta petens pedibus Jovis armiger uncis, quæsitum aut matri multis balatibus agnum | 565 | my reach?” He seized him, there and then, as he hung, and pulled him down, with a large piece of the wall, like an eagle, carrier of Jove’s lightning bolt, soaring high, lifting a hare or the snow-white body of a swan in its talons, or a wolf, Mars’s creature, snatching a lamb from the fold, |
| Martius a stabulis rapuit lupus. undique clamor tollitur : invadunt et fossas aggere complent, ardentis tædas alii ad fastigia jactant. Ilioneus saxo atque ingenti fragmine montis Lucetium portæ subeuntem ignisque ferentem, | 570 | that its mother searches for endlessly bleating. A shout rose on all sides: the Rutulians drove forwards, some filling the ditches with mounds of earth, others throwing burning brands onto the roofs. Ilioneus felled Lucetius with a rock, a vast fragment of the hillside, as he neared the gate, carrying fire, Liger |
| Emathiona Liger, Corynæum sternit Asilas, hic jaculo bonus, hic longe fallente sagitta, Ortygium Cæneus, victorem Cænea Turnus, Turnus Ityn Cloniumque, Dioxippum Promolumque et Sagarim et summis stantem pro turribus Idan, | 575 | killed Emathion, Asilas killed Corynæus, the first skilled with the javelin, the other with deceptive long-range arrows: Cænus felled Ortygius, Turnus victorious Cæneus, and Itys and Clonius, Dioxippus and Promolus, and Sagaris, and Idas as he stood on the highest tower, and Capys killed Privernus. |
| Privernum Capys. hunc primo levis hasta Themillæ strinxerat, ille manum projecto tegmine demens ad vulnus tulit ; ergo alis allapsa sagitta et lævo infixa est alte lateri, abditaque intus spiramenta animæ letali vulnere rupit. | 580 | Themillas had grazed him slightly first with his spear, foolishly he threw his shield down, and placed his hand on the wound: so the arrow winged silently, fixed itself deep in his left side, and, burying itself within, tore the breathing passages |
| stabat in egregiis Arcentis filius armis pictus acu chlamydem et ferrugine clarus Hibera, insignis facie, genitor quem miserat Arcens eductum Martis luco Symæthia circum flumina, pinguis ubi et placabilis ara Palici : | 585 | with a lethal wound. Arcens’ son stood there too in glorious armor, his cloak embroidered with scenes, bright with Spanish blue, a youth of noble features, whom his father Arcens had sent, reared in Mars’s grove by Symæthus’s streams, where the rich and gracious altars of Palicus stand: |
| stridentem fundam positis Mezentius hastis ipse ter adducta circum caput egit habena et media adversi liquefacto tempora plumbo diffidit ac multa porrectum extendit harena. Tum primum bello celerem intendisse sagittam | 590 | Mezentius, dropping his spears, whirled a whistling sling on its tight thong, three times round his head, and split his adversary’s forehead open in the middle, with the now-molten lead, stretching him full length in the deep sand. Then they say Ascanius first aimed his swift arrows |
| dicitur ante feras solitus terrere fugacis Ascanius, fortemque manu fudisse Numanum, cui Remulo cognomen erat, Turnique minorem germanam nuper thalamo sociatus habebat. is primam ante aciem digna atque indigna relatu | 595 | in war, used till now to terrify wild creatures in flight, and with his hand he felled brave Numanus, who was surnamed Remulus, and had lately won Turnus’s sister as his wife. Numanus marched ahead of the front rank, shouting words that were fitting and unfitting |
| vociferans tumidusque novo præcordia regno ibat et ingentem sese clamore ferebat : « non pudet obsidione iterum valloque teneri, bis capti Phryges, et morti prætendere muros? en qui nostra sibi bello conubia poscunt! | 600 | to repeat, his heart swollen with new-won royalty and boasting loudly of his greatness: “Twice conquered Trojans aren’t you ashamed to be besieged and shut behind ramparts again, fending off death with walls? Behold, these are the men who’d demand our brides through war! |
| quis deus Italiam, quæ vos dementia adegit? non hic Atridæ nec fandi fictor Ulixes : durum a stirpe genus natos ad flumina primum deferimus sævoque gelu duramus et undis ; venatu invigilant pueri silvasque fatigant, | 605 | What god, what madness has driven you to Italy? Here are no Atrides, no Ulysses, maker of fictions: a race from hardy stock, we first bring our newborn sons to the river, and toughen them with the water’s fierce chill: as children they keep watch in the chase, and weary the forest, |
| flectere ludus equos et spicula tendere cornu. at patiens operum parvoque assueta juventus aut rastris terram domat aut quatit oppida bello. omne ævum ferro teritur, versaque juvencum terga fatigamus hasta, nec tarda senectus | 610 | their play is to wheel their horses and shoot arrows from the bow: but patient at work, and used to little, our young men tame the earth with the hœ, or shake cities in battle. All our life we’re abraded by iron: we goad our bullocks’ flanks with a reversed spear, and slow age |
| debilitat viris animi mutatque vigorem : canitiem galea premimus, semperque recentis comportare juvat prædas et vivere rapto. vobis picta croco et fulgenti murice vestis, desidiæ cordi, juvat indulgere choreis, | 615 | dœsn’t weaken our strength of spirit, or alter our vigor: we set a helmet on our white hairs, and delight in collecting fresh spoils, and living on plunder. You wear embroidered saffron and gleaming purple, idleness pleases you, you delight in the enjoyment of dance, |
| et tunicæ manicas et habent redimicula mitræ. o vere Phrygiæ, neque enim Phryges, ite per alta Dindyma, ubi assuetis biforem dat tibia cantum. tympana vos buxusque vocat Berecyntia Matris Idææ ; sinite arma viris et cedite ferro. » | 620 | and your tunics have sleeves, and your hats have ribbons. O truly you Phrygian women, as you’re not Phrygian men, run over the heights of Dindymus, where a double-reed makes music for accustomed ears. The timbrels call to you, and the Berecynthian boxwood flute of the Mother of Ida: |
| Talia jactantem dictis ac dira canentem non tulit Ascanius, nervoque obversus equino contendit telum diversaque bracchia ducens constitit, ante Jovem supplex per vota precatus : « Juppiter omnipotens, audacibus annue cœptis. | 625 | leave weapons to men and abandon the sword.” Ascanius did not tolerate such boastful words and dire warnings, but facing him, fitted an arrow to the horsehair string, and, straining his arms apart, paused, and first prayed humbly to Jove making these vows: “All-powerful Jupiter, assent to my bold attempt. |
| ipse tibi ad tua templa feram sollemnia dona, et statuam ante aras aurata fronte juvencum candentem pariterque caput cum matre ferentem, jam cornu petat et pedibus qui spargat harenam. » audiit et cæli genitor de parte serena | 630 | I myself will bring gifts each year to your temple, and I’ll place before your altar a snow-white bullock with gilded forehead, carrying his head as high as his mother, already butting with his horns, and scattering sand with his hooves.” The Father heard, and thundered on the left |
| intonuit lævum, sonat una fatifer arcus. effugit horrendum stridens adducta sagitta perque caput Remuli venit et cava tempora ferro trajicit. « i, verbis virtutem illude superbis! bis capti Phryges hæc Rutulis responsa remittunt »: | 635 | from a clear sky, as one the fatal bow twanged. The taut arrow sped onwards with a dreadful hiss, and passed through Remulus’s brow, and split the hollow temples with its steel. “Go on, mock at virtue with proud words! This is the reply the twice-conquered Phrygians send the Rutulians”: |
| hoc tantum Ascanius. Teucri clamore sequuntur lætitiaque fremunt animosque ad sidera tollunt. Ætheria tum forte plaga crinitus Apollo desuper Ausonias acies urbemque videbat nube sedens, atque his victorem affatur Julum : | 640 | Ascanius said nothing more. The Trojans followed this with cheers, shouted for joy, and raised their spirits to the skies. Now, by chance, long-haired Apollo, seated in the cloudy skies, looked down on the Italian ranks and the town, and spoke to the victorious Julus as follows: |
| « macte nova virtute, puer, sic itur ad astra, dis genite et geniture deos. jure omnia bella gente sub Assaraci fato ventura resident, nec te Troja capit. » simul hæc effatus ab alto æthere se mittit, spirantis dimovet auras | 645 | “Blessings on your fresh courage, boy, scion of gods and ancestor of gods yet to be, so it is man rises to the stars. All the wars that destiny might bring will rightly cease under the rule of Assaracus’s house, Troy dœs not limit you.” With this he launched himself |
| Ascaniumque petit ; forma tum vertitur oris antiquum in Buten. (Hic Dardanio Anchisæ armiger ante fuit fidusque ad limina custos ; tum comitem Ascanio pater addidit.) ibat Apollo omnia longævo similis vocemque coloremque | 650 | from high heaven, parted the living air, and found Ascanius: then changed the form of his features to old Butes. He was once armor-bearer to Trojan Anchises, and faithful guardian of the threshold: then Ascanius’s father made him the boy’s companion. As he walked Apollo was like the old man in every way, |
| et crinis albos et sæva sonoribus arma, atque his ardentem dictis affatur Julum : « sit satis, Ænide, telis impune Numanum oppetiisse tuis. primam hanc tibi magnus Apollo concedit laudem et paribus non invidet armis ; | 655 | in voice and colouring, white hair, and clanging of harsh weapons, and he spoke these words to the ardent Julus: “Enough, son of Æneas, that Numanus has fallen to your bow and is un-avenged. Mighty Apollo grants you this first glory, and dœs not begrudge you your like weapons: |
| cetera parce, puer, bello. » sic orsus Apollo mortalis medio aspectus sermone reliquit et procul in tenuem ex oculis evanuit auram. agnovere deum proceres divinaque tela Dardanidæ pharetramque fuga sensere sonantem. | 660 | but avoid the rest of the battle, boy.” So Apollo spoke and in mid-speech left mortal sight and vanished far from men’s eyes into clear air. The Trojan princes recognised the god and his celestial weapons, and heard his quiver rattling as he flew. |
| ergo avidum pugnæ dictis ac numine Phœbi Ascanium prohibent, ipsi in certamina rursus succedunt animasque in aperta pericula mittunt. it clamor totis per propugnacula muris, intendunt acris arcus amentaque torquent. | 665 | So, given the god’s words and his divine will, they stopped Ascanius, eager for the fight, while themselves returning to the battle, and openly putting their lives at risk. The clamor rang through the towers along the whole wall, they bent their bows quickly and whirled their slings. |
| sternitur omne solum telis, tum scuta cavæque dant sonitum flictu galeæ, pugna aspera surgit : quantus ab occasu veniens pluvialibus Hædis verberat imber humum, quam multa grandine nimbi in vada præcipitant, quum Juppiter horridus Austris | 670 | The whole earth was strewn with spears: shields and hollow helmets clanged as they clashed together, the battle grew fierce: vast as a rainstorm from the west, lashing the ground beneath watery Auriga, and dense as the hail the clouds hurl into the waves, when Jupiter, bristling with southerlies, |
| torquet aquosam hiemem et cælo cava nubila rumpit. Pandarus et Bitias, Idæo Alcanore creti, quos Jovis eduxit luco silvestris Ïæra abietibus juvenes patriis et montibus æquos, portam, quæ ducis imperio commissa, recludunt | 675 | twirls the watery tempest, and bursts the sky’s cavernous vapors. Pandarus and Bitias, sons of Alcanor from Ida, whom Ïæra the wood-nymph bore in Jupiter’s grove, youths tall as the pine-trees on their native hills, threw open the gate entrusted to them by their leader’s command, and, relying on |
| freti armis, ultroque invitant mœnibus hostem. ipsi intus dextra ac læva pro turribus astant armati ferro et cristis capita alta corusci : quales āeriæ liquentia flumina circum sive Padi ripis Athesim seu propter amœnum | 680 | their weapons, drew the Rutulian enemy within the walls. They themselves stood in the gate, in front of the towers to right and left, steel armored, with plumes waving on their noble heads: just as twin oaks rise up into the air, by flowing rivers, on the banks of the Po, or by delightful Athesis, lifting |
| consurgunt geminæ quercus intonsaque cælo attollunt capita et sublimi vertice nutant. irrumpunt aditus Rutuli ut videre patentis : continuo Quercens et pulcher Aquiculus armis et præceps animi Tmarus et Mavortius Hæmon | 685 | their shaggy heads to the sky, and nodding their tall crowns. When they saw the entrance clear the Rutulians rushed through. At once Quercens and Aquicolus, handsome in his armor, Tmarus, impulsive at heart, and Hæmon, a son of Mars, |
| agminibus totis aut versi terga dedere aut ipso portæ posuere in limine vitam. tum magis increscunt animis discordibus iræ, et jam collecti Trœs glomerantur eodem et conferre manum et procurrere longius audent. | 690 | were routed with all their Rutulian ranks, and took to their heels, or laid down their lives on the very threshold of the gate. Then the anger grew fiercer in their fighting spirits, and soon the Trojans gathering massed in the same place, and dared to fight hand to hand, and advance further outside. |
| Ductori Turno diversa in parte furenti turbantique viros perfertur nuntius, hostem fervere cæde nova et portas præbere patentis. deserit inceptum atque immani concitus ira Dardaniam ruit ad portam fratresque superbos. | 695 | The news reached Turnus, the Rutulian leader, as he raged and troubled the lines in a distant part of the field, that the enemy, hot with fresh slaughter, were laying their doors wide open. He left what he had begun, and, roused to savage fury, he ran towards the Trojan gate, and the proud brothers. |
| et primum Antiphaten (is enim se primus agebat), Thebana de matre nothum Sarpedonis alti, conjecto sternit jaculo : volat Itala cornus æra per tenerum stomachoque infixa sub altum pectus abit ; reddit specus atri vulneris undam | 700 | And first he brought Antiphates down with a spear throw, (since he was first to advance), bastard son of noble Sarpedon by a Theban mother: the Italian cornel-wood shaft flew through the clear air and, fixing in his belly, ran deep up into his chest: the hollow of the dark wound released a foaming flow, |
| spumantem, et fixo ferrum in pulmone tepescit. tum Meropem atque Erymanta manu, tum sternit Aphidnum, tum Bitian ardentem oculis animisque frementem, non jaculo (neque enim jaculo vitam ille dedisset), sed magnum stridens contorta phalarica venit | 705 | and the metal became warm in the pierced lung. Then he overthrew Meropes and Erymas with his hand, and then Aphidnus, then Bitias, fire in his eyes, clamor in his heart, not to a spear (he would never have lost his life to a spear) but a javelin arrived with a great hiss, hurled |
| fulminis acta modo, quam nec duo taurea terga nec duplici squama lorica fidelis et auro sustinuit ; collapsa ruunt immania membra, dat tellus gemitum et clipeum super intonat ingens. talis in Euboico Bajarum litore quondam | 710 | and driven like a thunderbolt, that neither two bulls’ hides nor the faithful breastplate with double scales of gold could resist: the mighty limbs collapsed and fell, earth groaned and the huge shield clanged above him. So a rock pile sometimes falls on Baiæ’s Euboic shore, |
| saxea pila cadit, magnis quam molibus ante constructam ponto jaciunt, sic illa ruinam prona trahit penitusque vadis illisa recumbit ; miscent se maria et nigræ attolluntur harenæ, tum sonitu Prochyta alta tremit durumque cubile | 715 | first constructed of huge blocks, then toppled into the sea: as it falls it trails havoc behind, tumbles into the shallows and settles in the depths: the sea swirls in confusion, and the dark sand rises upwards, then Prochyta’s lofty island trembles at the sound and Ischia’s isle’s |
| Inarime Jovis imperiis imposta Typhœo. Hic Mars armipotens animum virisque Latinis addidit et stimulos acris sub pectore vertit, immisitque Fugam Teucris atrumque Timorem. undique conveniunt, quoniam data copia pugnæ, | 720 | harsh floor, laid down over Typhœus, at Jove’s command. At this Mars, powerful in war, gave the Latins strength and courage, and twisted his sharp goad in their hearts, and sent Rout and dark Fear against the Trojans. Given the chance for action, the Latins came together |
| bellatorque animo deus incidit. Pandarus, ut fuso germanum corpore cernit et quo sit fortuna loco, qui casus agat res, portam vi multa converso cardine torquet obnixus latis umeris, multosque suorum | 725 | from every side, and the god of battle possessed their souls. Pandarus, seeing his brother’s fallen corpse, and which side fortune was on, and what fate was driving events, pushed with a mighty heave of his broad shoulders and swung the gate on its hinges, leaving many a comrade |
| mœnibus exclusos duro in certamine linquit ; ast alios secum includit recipitque ruentis, demens, qui Rutulum in medio non agmine regem viderit irrumpentem ultroque incluserit urbi, immanem veluti pecora inter inertia tigrim. | 730 | locked outside the wall in the cruel conflict: but the rest he greeted as they rushed in and shut in there, with himself, foolishly, not seeing the Rutulian king bursting through among the mass, freely closing him inside the town, like a huge tiger among a helpless herd. |
| continuo nova lux oculis effulsit et arma horrendum sonuere, tremunt in vertice cristæ sanguineæ clipeoque micantia fulmina mittit. agnoscunt faciem invisam atque immania membra turbati subito Æneadæ. tum Pandarus ingens | 735 | At once fresh fire flashed from Turnus’s eyes his weapons clashed fearfully, the blood-red plumes on his helmet quivered, and lightning glittered from his shield. In sudden turmoil the sons of Æneas recognised that hated form and those huge limbs. Then great Pandarus sprang forward, |
| emicat et mortis fraternæ fervidus ira effatur : « non hæc dotalis regia Amatæ, nec muris cohibet patriis media Ardea Turnum. castra inimica vides, nulla hinc exire potestas. » olli surridens sedato pectore Turnus : | 740 | blazing with anger at his brother’s death, shouting: This is not Queen Amata’s palace, given in dowry, or the heart of Ardea, surrounding Turnus with his native walls. You see an enemy camp: you can’t escape from here.” Turnus, smiling, his thoughts calm, replied to him: |
| « incipe, si qua animo virtus, et consere dextram, hic etiam inventum Priamo narrabis Achillem. » dixerat. ille rudem nodis et cortice crudo intorquet summis annixus viribus hastam ; excepere auræ, vulnus Saturnia Juno | 745 | “Come then, if there’s courage in your heart, close with me: you can go tell Priam that, here too, you found an Achilles.” He spoke. Pandarus, straining with all his force, hurled his spear rough with knots and un-stripped bark: the wind took it, Saturnian Juno deflected |
| detorsit veniens, portæque infigitur hasta. « at non hoc telum, mea quod vi dextera versat, effugies, neque enim is teli nec vulneris auctor »: sic ait, et sublatum alte consurgit in ensem et mediam ferro gemina inter tempora frontem | 750 | the imminent blow, and the spear stuck fast in the gate. Turnus cried: “But you’ll not escape this weapon my right arm wields with power, the source of this weapon and wound is not such as you.” And he towered up, his sword lifted, and, with the blade, cleft the forehead in two between |
| dividit impubisque immani vulnere malas. fit sonus, ingenti concussa est pondere tellus ; collapsos artus atque arma cruenta cerebro sternit humi moriens, atque illi partibus æquis huc caput atque illuc umero ex utroque pependit. | 755 | the temples, down to the beardless jaw, in an evil wound. There was a crash: the ground shook under the vast weight. Pandarus, dying, lowered his failing limbs and brain-spattered weapons to the ground, and his skull split in half hung down on either side over both his shoulders. |
| Diffugiunt versi trepida formidine Trœs, et si continuo victorem ea cura subisset, rumpere claustra manu sociosque immittere portis, ultimus ille dies bello gentique fuisset. sed furor ardentem cædisque insana cupido | 760 | The Trojans turned and fled in sudden terror, and if Turnus had thought at once to burst the bolts by force, and let in his comrades through the gates, that would have been the end of the war and the nation. But rage and insane desire for slaughter drove him, |
| egit in adversos. principio Phalerim et succiso poplite Gygen excipit, hinc raptas fugientibus ingerit hastas in tergus, Juno viris animumque ministrat. addit Halyn comitem et confixa Phegea parma, | 765 | passionate, against the enemy. First he caught Phaleris and Gyges whom he hamstrung, then flung their spears, which he seized, at the backs of the fleeing crowd. Juno aided him in strength and spirit. He sent Halys and Phegeus, his shield pierced, to join them, |
| ignaros deinde in muris Martemque cientis Alcandrumque Haliumque Nœmonaque Prytanimque. Lyncea tendentem contra sociosque vocantem vibranti gladio conixus ab aggere dexter occupat, huic uno dejectum comminus ictu | 770 | then Alcander and Halius, Nœmon and Prytanis unawares, as they roused those on the walls to battle. As Lynceus calling to his comrades moved towards him, he anticipated him with a stroke of his glittering sword from the right-hand rampart, Lynceus’s head, severed |
| cum galea longe jacuit caput. inde ferarum vastatorem Amycum, quo non felicior alter unguere tela manu ferrumque armare veneno, et Clytium Æoliden et amicum Crethea Musis, Crethea Musarum comitem, cui carmina semper | 775 | by the single blow at close quarters, fell to the ground with the helmet some distance away. Then Amycus, that threat to wild creatures, than whom none was better at coating spears and arming steel with poison, and Clytius, son of Æolus, and Cretheus, friend to the Muses, Cretheus the Muses’ follower, to whom song and lyre |
| et citharæ cordi numerosque intendere nervis, semper equos atque arma virum pugnasque canebat. Tandem ductores audita cæde suorum conveniunt Teucri, Mnestheus acerque Serestus, palantisque vident socios hostemque receptum. | 780 | and striking measures on the strings were always a delight, always he sang of horses, of soldiers’ weapons and battles. At last the Trojan leaders, Mnestheus and brave Serestus, hearing of this slaughter of their men, arrived to see their troops scattered and the enemy within. |
| et Mnestheus : « quo deinde fugam, quo tenditis? » inquit. « quos alios muros, quæve ultra mœnia habetis? unus homo et vestris, o cives, undique sæptus aggeribus tantas strages impune per urbem ediderit? juvenum primos tot miserit Orco? | 785 | Mnestheus shouted: “Where are you running to, off where? What other walls or battlements do you have, but these? O citizens, shall one man, hemmed in on all sides by ramparts, cause such carnage through this our city, and go unpunished? Shall he send so many of our noblest youths to Orcus? |
| non infelicis patriæ veterumque deorum et magni Æneæ, segnes, miseretque pudetque? » talibus accensi firmantur et agmine denso consistunt. Turnus paulatim excedere pugna et fluvium petere ac partem quæ cingitur unda. | 790 | Cowards, have you no pity, no shame, for your wretched country, for your ancient gods, for great Æneas?” Inflamed by such words they were strengthened, and they halted, densely packed. Turnus little by little retreated from the fight, heading for the river, and a place embraced by the waves. |
| acrius hoc Teucri clamore incumbere magno et glomerare manum, ceu sævum turba leonem cum telis premit infensis ; at territus ille, asper, acerba tuens, retro redit et neque terga ira dare aut virtus patitur, nec tendere contra | 795 | The Trojans pressed towards him more fiercely, with a great clamor, and massed together, as a crowd of hunters with levelled spears close in on a savage lion: that, fearful but fierce, glaring in anger, gives ground, though fury and courage won’t let it turn its back, |
| ille quidem hoc cupiens potis est per tela virosque. haud aliter retro dubius vestigia Turnus improperata refert et mens exæstuat ira. quin etiam bis tum medios invaserat hostis, bis confusa fuga per muros agmina vertit ; | 800 | nor will men and spears allow it to attack, despite its wish. So Turnus wavering retraced his steps cautiously, his mind seething with rage. Even then he charged amongst the enemy twice, and twice sent them flying a confused rabble along the walls: |
| sed manus e castris propere coit omnis in unum nec contra viris audet Saturnia Juno sufficere ; āeriam cælo nam Juppiter Irim demisit germanæ haud mollia jussa ferentem, ni Turnus cedat Teucrorum mœnibus altis. | 805 | but the whole army quickly gathered en masse from the camp, and Saturnian Juno didn’t dare empower him against them, since Jupiter sent Iris down through the air from heaven, carrying no gentle commands for his sister, if Turnus did not leave the high Trojan ramparts. Therefore the warrior, overwhelmed |
| ergo nec clipeo juvenis subsistere tantum nec dextra valet, injectis sic undique telis obruitur. strepit assiduo cava tempora circum tinnitu galea et saxis solida æra fatiscunt discussæque jubæ, capiti nec sufficit umbo | 810 | by so many missiles hurled from every side, couldn’t so much as hold his own with shield and sword-arm. The helmet protecting his hollow temples rang with endless noise, the solid bronze gaped from the hail of stones, his crest was torn off, and his shield-boss couldn’t withstand the blows: the Trojans, with deadly Mnestheus |
| ictibus ; ingeminant hastis et Trœs et ipse fulmineus Mnestheus. tum toto corpore sudor liquitur et piceum (nec respirare potestas) flumen agit, fessos quatit æger anhelitus artus. tum demum præceps saltu sese omnibus armis | 815 | himself, redoubled their rain of javelins. Then the sweat ran all over Turnus’s body, and flowed in a dark stream (he’d no time to breathe) and an agonised panting shook his exhausted body. Then, finally, leaping headlong, he plunged down into the river |
| in fluvium dedit. ille suo cum gurgite flavo accepit venientem ac mollibus extulit undis et lætum sociis abluta cæde remisit. | in full armor. The Tiber welcomed him to its yellow flood as he fell, lifted him on its gentle waves, and, washing away the blood, returned him, overjoyed, to his friends. |
| Liber X | ⤊ | |
| P. VERGILII MARONIS ÆNEIDOS LIBER DECIMUS | ||
| Panditur interea domus omnipotentis Olympi conciliumque vocat divum pater atque hominum rex sideream in sedem, terras unde arduus omnis castraque Dardanidum aspectat populosque Latinos. considunt tectis bipatentibus, incipit ipse : | 5 | Meanwhile the palace of all-powerful Olympus was opened wide, and the father of the gods, and king of men, called a council in his starry house, from whose heights he gazed at every land, at Trojan camp, and Latin people. They took their seats in the hall with doors at east and west, |
| « cælicolæ magni, quianam sententia vobis versa retro tantumque animis certatis iniquis? abnueram bello Italiam concurrere Teucris. quæ contra vetitum discordia? quis metus aut hos aut hos arma sequi ferrumque lacessere suasit? | 10 | and he began: “Great sky-dwellers, why have you changed your decision, competing now, with such opposing wills? I commanded Italy not to make war on the Trojans. Why this conflict, against my orders? What fear has driven them both to take up arms and incite violence? |
| adveniet justum pugnæ (ne arcessite) tempus, quum fera Karthago Romanis arcibus olim exitium magnum atque Alpis immittet apertas : tum certare odiis, tum res rapuisse licebit. nunc sinite et placitum læti componite fœdus. » | 15 | The right time for fighting will arrive (don’t bring it on) when fierce Carthage, piercing the Alps, will launch great destruction on the Roman strongholds: then it will be fine to compete in hatred, and ravage things. Now let it alone, and construct a treaty, gladly, as agreed.” |
| Juppiter hæc paucis ; at non Venus aurea contra pauca refert : « o pater, o hominum rerumque æterna potestas (namque aliud quid sit quod jam implorare queamus?), cernis ut insultent Rutuli, Turnusque feratur | 20 | Jupiter’s speech was brief as this: but golden Venus’s reply was not: “O father, eternal judge of men and things (for who else is there I can make my appeal to now?) you see how the Rutulians exult, how Turnus is drawn |
| per medios insignis equis tumidusque secundo Marte ruat? non clausa tegunt jam mœnia Teucros ; quin intra portas atque ipsis prœlia miscent aggeribus murorum et inundant sanguine fossæ. Æneas ignarus abest. numquamne levari | 25 | by noble horses through the crowd, and, fortunate in war, rushes on proudly. Barred defenses no longer protect the Trojans: rather they join battle within the gates, and on the rampart walls themselves, and the ditches are filled with blood. Æneas is absent, unaware of this. Will you never let the siege |
| obsidione sines? muris iterum imminet hostis nascentis Trojæ nec non exercitus alter, atque iterum in Teucros Ætolis surgit ab Arpis Tydides. equidem credo, mea vulnera restant et tua progenies mortalia demoror arma. | 30 | be raised? A second enemy once again menaces and harasses new-born Troy, and again, from Ætolian Arpi, a Diomede rises. I almost think the wound I had from him still awaits me: your child merely delays the thrust of that mortal’s weapon. |
| si sine pace tua atque invito numine Trœs Italiam petiere, lvant peccata neque illos juueris auxilio ; sin tot responsa secuti quæ superi manesque dabant, cur nunc tua quisquam vertere jussa potest aut cur nova condere fata? | 35 | If the Trojans sought Italy without your consent, and despite your divine will, let them expiate the sin: don’t grant them help. But if they’ve followed the oracles of powers above and below, why should anyone change your orders now, and forge new destinies? |
| quid repetam exustas Erycino in litore classis, quid tempestatum regem ventosque furentis Æolia excitos aut actam nubibus Irim? nunc etiam manis (hæc intemptata manebat sors rerum) movet et superis immissa repente | 40 | Shall I remind you of their fleet, burned on the shores of Eryx? Or the king of the storms and his furious winds roused from Æolia, or Iris sent down from the clouds? Now Juno even stirs the dead (the only lot still left to use) and Allecto too, suddenly loosed on the upper world, |
| Allecto medias Italum bacchata per urbes. nil super imperio moveor. speravimus ista, dum fortuna fuit. vincant, quos vincere mavis. si nulla est regio Teucris quam det tua conjunx dura, per eversæ, genitor, fumantia Trojæ | 45 | runs wild through all the Italian cities. I no longer care about Empire. Though that was my hope while fortune was kind. Let those you wish to win prevail. Father, if there’s no land your relentless queen will grant the Trojans, I beg, by the smoking ruins of shattered Troy, let me bring |
| excidia obtestor : liceat dimittere ab armis incolumem Ascanium, liceat superesse nepotem. Æneas sane ignotis jactetur in undis et quacumque viam dederit Fortuna sequatur : hunc tegere et diræ valeam subducere pugnæ. | 50 | Ascanius, untouched, from among the weapons: let my grandson live. Æneas, yes, may be tossed on unknown seas, and go wherever Fortune grants a road: but let me have the power to protect the child and remove him from the fatal battle. |
| est Amathus, est celsa mihi Paphus atque Cythera Idaliæque domus : positis inglorius armis exigat hic ævum. magna dicione jubeto Karthago premat Ausoniam ; nihil urbibus inde obstabit Tyriis. quid pestem evadere belli | 55 | Amathus is mine, high Paphos and Cythera are mine, and Idalia’s temple: let him ground his weapons there, and live out inglorious years. Command that Carthage, with her great power, crush Italy: then there’ll be no obstacle to the Tyrian cities. What was the use in their escaping |
| juvit et Argolicos medium fugisse per ignis totque maris vastæque exhausta pericula terræ, dum Latium Teucri recidivaque Pergama quærunt? non satius cineres patriæ insedisse supremos atque solum quo Troja fuit? Xanthum et Simœnta | 60 | the plague of war, fleeing through the heart of Argive flames, enduring the dangers at sea, and in desolate lands, as long as the Trojans seek Latium and Troy re-born? Wouldn’t it have been better to build on those last embers of their country, on the soil where Troy once stood? |
| redde, oro, miseris iterumque revolvere casus da, pater, Iliacos Teucris. » tum regia Juno acta furore gravi : « quid me alta silentia cogis rumpere et obductum verbis vulgare dolorem? Ænean hominum quisquam divumque subegit | 65 | Give Xanthus and Simois back to these unfortunates, father, I beg you, and let the Trojans re-live the course of Ilium.” Then royal Juno goaded to savage frenzy, cried out: “Why do you make me shatter my profound silence, and utter words of suffering to the world? Did any god or man force Æneas to make war |
| bella sequi aut hostem regi se inferre Latino? Italiam petiit fatis auctoribus (esto) Cassandræ impulsus furiis : num linquere castra hortati sumus aut vitam committere ventis? num puero summam belli, num credere muros, | 70 | and attack King Latinus as an enemy? He sought Italy prompted by the Fates (so be it) impelled by Cassandra’s ravings: was he urged by me to leave the camp, and trust his life to the winds? To leave the outcome of war, and their defenses to a child: |
| Tyrrhenamque fidem aut gentis agitare quietas? quis deus in fraudem, quæ dura potentia nostra egit? ubi hic Juno demissave nubibus Iris? indignum est Italos Trojam circumdare flammis nascentem et patria Turnum consistere terra, | 75 | to disturb Tuscan good faith, and peaceful tribes? What goddess, what harsh powers of mine drove him to harm? Where is Juno in this, or Iris sent from the clouds? If it’s shameful that the Italians surround new-born Troy with flames, and Turnus make a stand on his native soil, |
| cui Pilumnus avus, cui diva Venilia mater : quid face Trojanos atra vim ferre Latinis, arva aliena jugo premere atque avertere prædas? quid soceros legere et gremiis abducere pactas, pacem orare manu, præfigere puppibus arma? | 80 | he whose ancestor is Pilumnus, divine Venilia his mother: what of the Trojans with smoking brands using force against the Latins, planting their yoke on others’ fields and driving off their plunder? Deciding whose daughters to marry, and dragging betrothed girls from their lover’s arms, offering peace with one hand, but decking their ships with weapons? You can steal |
| tu potes Ænean manibus subducere Grajum proque viro nebulam et ventos obtendere inanis, et potes in totidem classem convertere nymphas : nos aliquid Rutulos contra juvisse nefandum est? « Æneas ignarus abest” : ignarus et absit. | 85 | Æneas away from Greek hands and grant them fog and empty air instead of a man, and turn their fleet of ships into as many nymphs: is it wrong then for me to have given some help to the Rutulians? ‘Æneas is absent, unaware of this.’ Let him be absent and unaware. |
| est Paphus Idaliumque tibi, sunt alta Cythera : quid gravidam bellis urbem et corda aspera temptas? nosne tibi fluxas Phrygiæ res vertere fundo conamur? nos? an miseros qui Troas Achivis objecit? quæ causa fuit consurgere in arma | 90 | Paphos, Idalium, and high Cythera are yours? Why meddle then with a city pregnant with wars and fierce hearts? Is it I who try to uproot Troy’s fragile state from its base? Is it I? Or he who exposed the wretched Trojans to the Greeks? What reason was there for Europe and Asia to rise up |
| Europamque Asiamque et fœdera solvere furto? me duce Dardanius Spartam expugnavit adulter, aut ego tela dedi fovive Cupidine bella? tum decuit metuisse tuis : nunc sera querelis haud justis assurgis et irrita jurgia jactas. » | 95 | in arms, and dissolve their alliance, through treachery? Did I lead the Trojan adulterer to conquer Sparta? Did I give him weapons, or foment a war because of his lust? Then, you should have feared for your own: now, too late, you raise complaints without justice, and provoke useless quarrels.” |
| Talibus orabat Juno, cunctique fremebant cælicolæ assensu vario, ceu flamina prima quum deprensa fremunt silvis et cæca volutant murmura venturos nautis prodentia ventos. tum pater omnipotens, rerum cui prima potestas, | 100 | So Juno argued, and all the divinities of heaven murmured their diverse opinions, as when rising gales murmur in the woods and roll out their secret humming, warning sailors of coming storms. Then the all-powerful father, who has prime authority over things, |
| infit (eo dicente deum domus alta silescit et tremefacta solo tellus, silet arduus æther, tum Zephyri posuere, premit placida æquora pontus): « accipite ergo animis atque hæc mea figite dicta. quandoquidem Ausonios conjungi fœdere Teucris | 105 | began (the noble hall of the gods fell silent as he spoke, earth trembled underground, high heaven fell silent, the Zephyrs too were stilled, the sea calmed its placid waters). “Take my words to heart and fix them there. Since Italians and Trojans are not allowed to join |
| haud licitum, nec vestra capit discordia finem, quæ cuique est fortuna hodie, quam quisque secat spem, Tros Rutulusne fuat, nullo discrimine habebo, seu fatis Italum castra obsidione tenentur sive errore malo Trojæ monitisque sinistris. | 110 | in alliance, and your disagreement has no end, I will draw no distinction between them, Trojan or Rutulian, whatever luck each has today, whatever hopes they pursue, whether the camp’s under siege, because of Italy’s fortunes, or Troy’s evil wanderings and unhappy prophecies. |
| nec Rutulos solvo. sua cuique exorsa laborem fortunamque ferent. rex Juppiter omnibus idem. fata viam invenient. » Stygii per flumina fratris, per pice torrentis atraque voragine ripas annuit et totum nutu tremefecit Olympum. | 115 | Nor will I absolve the Rutulians. What each has instigated shall bring its own suffering and success. Jupiter is king of all, equally: the fates will determine the way.” He nodded, swearing it by the waters of his Stygian brother, by the banks that seethe with pitch, and the black chasm and made all Olympus tremble at his nod. |
| hic finis fandi. solio tum Juppiter aureo surgit, cælicolæ medium quem ad limina ducunt. Interea Rutuli portis circum omnibus instant sternere cæde viros et mœnia cingere flammis. at legio Æneadum vallis obsessa tenetur | 120 | So the speaking ended. Jupiter rose from his golden throne, and the divinities led him to the threshold, among them. Meanwhile the Rutulians gathered round every gate, to slaughter the men, and circle the walls with flames, while Æneas’s army was held inside their stockade, |
| nec spes ulla fugæ. miseri stant turribus altis nequiquam et rara muros cinxere corona Asius Imbrasides Hicetaoniusque Thymœtes Assaracique duo et senior cum Castore Thymbris, prima acies ; hos germani Sarpedonis ambo | 125 | imprisoned, with no hope of escape. Wretchedly they stood there on the high turrets, and circling the walls, a sparse ring. Asius, son of Imbrasus, Thymœtes, son of Hicetaon, the two Assaraci, and Castor with old Thymbris were the front rank: Sarpedon’s two brothers, Clarus and Thæmon, from noble Lycia, |
| et Clarus et Thæmon Lycia comitantur ab alta. fert ingens toto conixus corpore saxum, haud partem exiguam montis, Lyrnesius Acmon, nec Clytio genitore minor nec fratre Menestheo. hi jaculis, illi certant defendere saxis | 130 | were at their side. Acmon of Lyrnesus, no less huge than his father Clytius, or his brother Mnestheus, lifted a giant rock, no small fragment of a hillside, straining his whole body. Some tried to defend with javelins, some with stones, |
| molirique ignem nervoque aptare sagittas. ipse inter medios, Veneris justissima cura, Dardanius caput, ecce, puer detectus honestum, qualis gemma micat fulvum quæ dividit aurum, aut collo decus aut capiti, vel quale per artem | 135 | hurling fire and fitting arrows to the bow. See, the Trojan boy, himself, in their midst, Venus’s special care, his handsome head uncovered, sparkling like a jewel set in yellow gold adorning neck or forehead, gleaming like ivory, |
| inclusum buxo aut Oricia terebintho lucet ebur ; fusos cervix cui lactea crinis accipit et molli subnectens circulus auro. te quoque magnanimæ viderunt, Ismare, gentes vulnera derigere et calamos armare veneno, | 140 | inlaid skilfully in boxwood or Orician terebinth: his milk-white neck, and the circle of soft gold clasping it, received his flowing hair. Your great-hearted people saw you too Ismarus, dipping reed-shafts in venom, and aiming them |
| Mæonia generose domo, ubi pinguia culta exercentque viri Pactolusque irrigat auro. affuit et Mnestheus, quem pulsi pristina Turni aggere murorum sublimem gloria tollit, et Capys : hinc nomen Campanæ ducitur urbi. | 145 | to wound, from a noble Lydian house, there where men till rich fields, that the Pactolus waters with gold. There was Mnestheus as well, whom yesterday’s glory, of beating Turnus back from the wall’s embankment, exalted highly, and Capys: from him the name of the Campanian city comes. |
| Illi inter sese duri certamina belli contulerant : media Æneas freta nocte secabat. namque ut ab Evandro castris ingressus Etruscis regem adit et regi memorat nomenque genusque quidve petat quidve ipse ferat, Mezentius arma | 150 | Men were fighting each other in the conflict of bitter war: while Æneas, by night, was cutting through the waves. When, on leaving Evander and entering the Tuscan camp, he had met the king, announced his name and race, the help he sought, and that he himself offered, |
| quæ sibi conciliet, violentaque pectora Turni edocet, humanis quæ sit fiducia rebus admonet immiscetque preces, haud fit mora, Tarchon jungit opes fœdusque ferit ; tum libera fati classem conscendit jussis gens Lydia divum | 155 | what forces Mezentius was gathering to him, and the violence in Turnus’s heart, and then had warned how little faith can be placed in human powers, and had added his entreaties, Tarchon, joined forces with him without delay, and agreed a treaty: then fulfilling their fate |
| externo commissa duci. Æneia puppis prima tenet rostro Phrygios subjuncta leones, imminet Ida super, profugis gratissima Teucris. hic magnus sedet Æneas secumque volutat eventus belli varios, Pallasque sinistro | 160 | the Lydian people took to their ships by divine command, trusting to a ‘foreign’ leader. Æneas’s vessel took the van, adorned with Phrygian lions below her beak, Mount Ida towering above them, a delight to the exiled Trojans. There great Æneas sat and pondered the varying issues |
| affixus lateri jam quærit sidera, opacæ noctis iter, jam quæ passus terraque marique. Pandite nunc Helicona, deæ, cantusque movete, quæ manus interea Tuscis comitetur ab oris Ænean armetque rates pelagoque vehatur. | 165 | of the war, and Pallas sticking close to his left side, asked him now about the stars, their path through the dark night, and now about his adventures on land and sea. Now, goddesses, throw Helicon wide open: begin your song of the company that followed Æneas from Tuscan shores, arming the ships and riding over the seas. |
| Massicus ærata princeps secat æquora Tigri, sub quo mille manus juvenum, qui mœnia Clusi quique urbem liquere Cosas, quis tela sagittæ gorytique leves umeris et letifer arcus. una torvus Abas : huic totum insignibus armis | 170 | Massicus cut the waters at their head, in the bronze-armored Tiger, a band of a thousand warriors under him, leaving the walls of Clusium, and the city of Cosæ, whose weapons are arrows, held in light quivers over their shoulders, and deadly bows. Grim Abas was with him: whose ranks were all splendidly |
| agmen et aurato fulgebat Apolline puppis. sescentos illi dederat Populonia mater expertos belli juvenes, ast Ilua trecentos insula inexhaustis Chalybum generosa metallis. tertius ille hominum divumque interpres Asilas, | 175 | armored, his ship aglow with a gilded figure of Apollo. Populonia, the mother-city, had given him six hundred of her offspring, all expert in war, and the island of Ilva, rich with the Chalybes’ inexhaustible mines, three hundred. Asilas was third, that interpreter of gods and men, |
| cui pecudum fibræ, cæli cui sidera parent et linguæ volucrum et præsagi fulminis ignes, mille rapit densos acie atque horrentibus hastis. hos parere jubent Alpheæ ab origine Pisæ, urbs Etrusca solo. sequitur pulcherrimus Astyr, | 180 | to whom the entrails of beasts were an open book, the stars in the sky, the tongues of birds, the prophetic bolts of lightning. He hurried his thousand men to war, dense ranks bristling with spears. Pisa ordered them to obey, city of Alphean foundation, set on Etruscan soil. Then the most handsome Astur |
| Astyr equo fidens et versicoloribus armis. ter centum adjiciunt (mens omnibus una sequendi) qui Cærete domo, qui sunt Minionis in arvis, et Pyrgi veteres intempestæque Graviscæ. Non ego te, Ligurum ductor fortissime bello, | 185 | followed, Astur relying on horse and iridescent armor. Three hundred more (minded to follow as one) were added by those with their home in Cære, the fields by the Minio, ancient Pyrgi, unhealthy Graviscæ. I would not forget you, Cunerus, in war the bravest |
| transierim, Cunare, et paucis comitate Cupavo, cujus olorinæ surgunt de vertice pennæ (crimen, Amor, vestrum) formæque insigne paternæ. namque ferunt luctu Cycnum Phæthontis amati, populeas inter frondes umbramque sororum | 190 | Ligurian leader, or you with your small company, Cupavo, on whose crest the swan plumes rose, a sign of your father’s transformation (Cupid, your and your mother’s crime). For they say that Cycnus wept for his beloved Phæthon, singing amongst the poplar leaves, those shades of Phæthon’s |
| dum canit et mæstum Musa solatur amorem, canentem molli pluma duxisse senectam linquentem terras et sidera voce sequentem. filius æqualis comitatus classe catervas ingentem remis Centaurum promovet : ille | 195 | sisters, consoling his sorrowful passion with the Muse, and drew white age over himself, in soft plumage, relinquishing earth, and seeking the stars with song. His son, Cupavo, drove on the mighty Centaur, following the fleet, with troops of his own age: the figurehead towered |
| instat aquæ saxumque undis immane minatur arduus, et longa sulcat maria alta carina. Ille etiam patriis agmen ciet Ocnus ab oris, fatidicæ Mantus et Tusci filius amnis, qui muros matrisque dedit tibi, Mantua, nomen, | 200 | over the water, threatening from above to hurl a huge rock into the waves, the long keel ploughing through the deep ocean. Ocnus, also, called up troops from his native shores, he, the son of Manto the prophetess and the Tuscan river, who gave you your walls, Mantua, and his mother’s name, |
| Mantua dives avis, sed non genus omnibus unum : gens illi triplex, populi sub gente quaterni, ipsa caput populis, Tusco de sanguine vires. hinc quoque quingentos in se Mezentius armat, quos patre Benaco velatus harundine glauca | 205 | Mantua rich in ancestors, but not all of one race: there were three races there, under each race four tribes, herself the head of the tribes, her strength from Tuscan blood. From there too Mezentius drove five hundred to arm against him, lead in pine warships through the sea by a figure, the River Mincius, |
| Mincius infesta ducebat in æquora pinu. it gravis Aulestes centenaque arbore fluctum verberat assurgens, spumant vada marmore verso. hunc vehit immanis Triton et cærula concha exterrens freta, cui laterum tenus hispida nanti | 210 | the child of Lake Benacus, crowned with grey-green reeds. Aulestes ploughed on weightily, lashing the waves as he surged to the stroke of a hundred oars: the waters foamed as the surface churned. He sailed the huge Triton, whose conch shell alarmed the blue waves, it’s carved prow displayed a man’s form down to the waist, |
| frons hominem præfert, in pristim desinit alvus, spumea semifero sub pectore murmurat unda. Tot lecti proceres ter denis navibus ibant subsidio Trojæ et campos salis ære secabant. Jamque dies cælo concesserat almaque curru | 215 | as it sailed on, its belly ending in a sea-creature’s, while under the half-man’s chest the waves murmured with foam. Such was the count of princes chosen to sail in the thirty ships to the aid of Troy, and plough the salt plains with their bronze rams. Now daylight had vanished from the sky and kindly Phœbe |
| noctivago Phœbe medium pulsabat Olympum : Æneas (neque enim membris dat cura quietem) ipse sedens clavumque regit velisque ministrat. atque illi medio in spatio chorus, ecce, suarum occurrit comitum : nymphæ, quas alma Cybebe | 220 | was treading mid-heaven with her nocturnal team: Æneas (since care allowed his limbs no rest) sat there controlling the helm himself, and tending the sails. And see, in mid-course, a troop of his own friends appeared: the nymphs, whom gracious Cybele |
| numen habere maris nymphasque e navibus esse jusserat, innabant pariter fluctusque secabant, quot prius æratæ steterant ad litora proræ. agnoscunt longe regem lustrantque choreis ; quarum quæ fandi doctissima Cymodocea | 225 | had commanded to be goddesses of the sea, to be nymphs not ships, swam beside him and cut the flood, as many as the bronze prows that once lay by the shore. They knew the king from far off, and circled him dancing: and Cymodocea, following, most skilful of them in speech, |
| pone sequens dextra puppim tenet ipsaque dorso eminet ac læva tacitis surremigat undis. tum sic ignarum alloquitur : « Vigilasne, deum gens, Ænea? Vigila et velis immitte rudentis. Nos sumus, Idææ sacro de vertice pinus, | 230 | caught at the stern with her right hand, lifted her length herself, and paddled along with her left arm under the silent water. Then she spoke to the bemused man, so: “Are you awake, Æneas, child of the gods? Be awake: loose the sheets: make full sail. We are your fleet, now nymphs of the sea, once pines of Ida, |
| nunc pelagi nymphæ, classis tua. perfidus ut nos præcipitis ferro Rutulus flammaque premebat, rupimus invitæ tua vincula teque per æquor quærimus. hanc genetrix faciem miserata refecit et dedit esse deas ævumque agitare sub undis. | 235 | from her sacred peak. Against our will we broke our bonds when the treacherous Rutulian was pressing us hard, with fire and sword, and we have sought you over the waves. Cybele, the Mother, refashioned us in this form, from pity, granting that we became goddesses, spending life under the waves. |
| at puer Ascanius muro fossisque tenetur tela inter media atque horrentis Marte Latinos. jam loca jussa tenent forti permixtus Etrusco Arcas eques ; medias illis opponere turmas, ne castris jungant, certa est sententia Turno. | 240 | Now, your son Ascanius is penned behind walls and ditches, among weapons, and Latins bristling for a fight. The Arcadian Horse, mixed with brave Etruscans already hold the positions commanded: while Turnus’s certain purpose is to send his central squadrons against them, lest they reach the camp. |
| surge age et Aurora socios veniente vocari primus in arma jube, et clipeum cape quem dedit ipse invictum ignipotens atque oras ambiit auro. crastina lux, mea si non irrita dicta putaris, ingentis Rutulæ spectabit cædis acervos. » | 245 | Up then, in the rising dawn, call your friends with an order to arm, and take your invincible shield that the lord of fire gave you himself, that he circled with a golden rim. If you don’t think my words idle, tomorrow’s light will gaze on a mighty heap of Rutulian dead.” |
| dixerat et dextra discedens impulit altam haud ignara modi puppim : fugit illa per undas ocior et jaculo et ventos æquante sagitta. inde aliæ celerant cursus. stupet inscius ipse Tros Anchisiades, animos tamen omine tollit. | 250 | She spoke, and, knowing how, with her right hand, thrust the high stern on, as she left: it sped through the waves faster than a javelin, or an arrow equalling the wind. Then the others quickened speed. Amazed, the Trojan son of Anchises marvelled, yet his spirits lifted at the omen. |
| tum breviter supera aspectans convexa precatur : « alma parens Idæa deum, cui Dindyma cordi turrigeræque urbes bijugique ad frena leones, tu mihi nunc pugnæ princeps, tu rite propinques augurium Phrygibusque assis pede, diva, secundo. » | 255 | Then looking up to the arching heavens he briefly prayed: “Kind Cybele, Mother of the gods, to whom Dindymus, tower-crowned cities, and harnessed lions are dear, be my leader now in battle, duly further this omen, and be with your Trojans, goddess, with your favoring step.” |
| tantum effatus, et interea revoluta ruebat matura jam luce dies noctemque fugarat ; principio sociis edicit signa sequantur atque animos aptent armis pugnæque parent se. Jamque in conspectu Teucros habet et sua castra | 260 | He prayed like this, and meanwhile the wheeling day rushed in with a flood of light, chasing away the night: first he ordered his comrades to obey his signals, prepare their spirits for fighting, and ready themselves for battle. Now, he stood on the high stern, with the Trojans and his fort |
| stans celsa in puppi, clipeum cum deinde sinistra extulit ardentem. clamorem ad sidera tollunt Dardanidæ e muris, spes addita suscitat iras, tela manu jaciunt, quales sub nubibus atris Strymoniæ dant signa grues atque æthera tranant | 265 | in view, and at once lifted high the blazing shield, in his left hand. The Trojans on the walls raised a shout to the sky, new hope freshened their fury, they hurled their spears, just as Strymonian cranes under dark clouds, flying through the air, give noisy |
| cum sonitu, fugiuntque Notos clamore secundo. at Rutulo regi ducibusque ea mira videri Ausoniis, donec versas ad litora puppis respiciunt totumque allabi classibus æquor. ardet apex capiti cristisque a vertice flamma | 270 | cries, and fleeing the south wind, trail their clamor. This seemed strange to the Rutulian king and the Italian leaders, until looking behind them they saw the fleet turned towards shore, and the whole sea alive with ships. Æneas’s crest blazed, and a dark flame streamed from the top, |
| funditur et vastos umbo vomit aureus ignis : non secus ac liquida si quando nocte cometæ sanguinei lugubre rubent, aut Sirius ardor ille sitim morbosque ferens mortalibus ægris nascitur et lævo contristat lumine cælum. | 275 |
and the shield’s gold boss spouted floods of fire: just as when comets glow, blood-red and ominous in the clear night, or when fiery Sirius, bringer of drought and plague to frail mortals, rises and saddens the sky with sinister light. |
| Haud tamen audaci Turno fiducia cessit litora præcipere et venientis pellere terra. [ultro animos tollit dictis atque increpat ultro:] « quod votis optastis adest, perfringere dextra. in manibus Mars ipse viris. nunc conjugis esto | 280 | Still, brave Turnus did not lose hope of seizing the shore first, and driving the approaching enemy away from land. And he raised his men’s spirits as well, and chided them: “What you asked for in prayer is here, to break through with the sword. Mars himself empowers your hands, men! |
| quisque suæ tectique memor, nunc magna referto facta, patrum laudes. ultro occurramus ad undam dum trepidi egressisque labant vestigia prima. audentis Fortuna juvat. » hæc ait, et secum versat quos ducere contra | 285 | Now let each remember his wife and home, now recall the great actions, the glories of our fathers. And let’s meet them in the waves, while they’re unsure and their first steps falter as they land. Fortune favors the brave.” So he spoke, and asked himself whom to lead in attack |
| vel quibus obsessos possit concredere muros. Interea Æneas socios de puppibus altis pontibus exponit. multi servare recursus languentis pelagi et brevibus se credere saltu, per remos alii. speculatus litora Tarchon, | 290 | and whom he could trust the siege of the walls. Meanwhile Æneas landed his allies from the tall ships using gangways. Many waited for the spent wave to ebb and trusted themselves to the shallow water: others rowed. Tarchon, noting a strand where no waves heaved |
| qua vada non sperat nec fracta remurmurat unda, sed mare inoffensum crescenti allabitur æstu, advertit subito proras sociosque precatur : « nunc, o lecta manus, validis incumbite remis ; tollite, ferte rates, inimicam findite rostris | 295 | and no breaking waters roared, but the sea swept in smoothly with the rising tide, suddenly turned his prow towards it, exhorting his men: “Now, O chosen band, bend to your sturdy oars: lift, drive your boats, split this enemy shore |
| hanc terram, sulcumque sibi premat ipsa carina. frangere nec tali puppim statione recuso arrepta tellure semel. » quæ talia postquam effatus Tarchon, socii consurgere tonsis spumantisque rates arvis inferre Latinis, | 300 | with your beaks, let the keel itself plough a furrow. I don’t shrink from wrecking the ship in such a harbor once I’ve seized the land.” When Tarchon had finished speaking so, his comrades rose to the oars and drove their foam-wet ships onto the Latin fields, |
| donec rostra tenent siccum et sedere carinæ omnes innocuæ. sed non puppis tua, Tarchon : namque inflicta vadis, dorso dum pendet iniquo anceps sustentata diu fluctusque fatigat, solvitur atque viros mediis exponit in undis, | 305 | till the rams gained dry ground and all the hulls came to rest unharmed. But not yours, Tarchon, since, striking the shallows, she hung on an uneven ridge poised for a while, unbalanced, and, tiring the waves, broke and pitched her crew into the water, |
| fragmina remorum quos et fluitantia transtra impediunt retrahitque pedes simul unda relabens. Nec Turnum segnis retinet mora, sed rapit acer totam aciem in Teucros et contra in litore sistit. signa canunt. primus turmas invasit agrestis | 310 | broken oars and floating benches obstructed them and at the same time the ebbing waves sucked at their feet. But the long delay didn’t keep Turnus back: swiftly he moved his whole front against the Trojans, and stood against them on the shore. The trumpets sounded. Æneas, first, attacked the ranks |
| Æneas, omen pugnæ, stravitque Latinos occiso Therone, virum qui maximus ultro Ænean petit. huic gladio perque ærea suta, per tunicam squalentem auro latus haurit apertum. inde Lichan ferit exsectum jam matre perempta | 315 | of farmers, as a sign of battle, and toppled the Latins, killing Theron, noblest of men, who unprompted sought out Æneas. The sword drank from his side, pierced through the bronze joints, and the tunic scaled with gold. Then he struck Lichas, who had been cut from the womb |
| et tibi, Phœbe, sacrum : casus evadere ferri quo licuit parvo? nec longe Cissea durum immanemque Gyan sternentis agmina clava dejecit leto ; nihil illos Herculis arma nec validæ juvere manus genitorque Melampus, | 320 | of his dead mother and consecrated to you, Phœbus: why was he allowed to evade the blade at birth? Soon after, he toppled in death tough Cisseus, and huge Gyas, as they laid men low with their clubs: Hercules’s weapons were no help, nor their stout hands nor Melampus their father, |
| Alcidæ comes usque gravis dum terra labores præbuit. ecce Pharo, voces dum jactat inertis, intorquens jaculum clamanti sistit in ore. tu quoque, flaventem prima lanugine malas dum sequeris Clytium infelix, nova gaudia, Cydon, | 325 | Hercules’s friend, while earth granted him heavy labors. See, Æneas hurled his javelin as Pharus uttered words in vain, and planted it in his noisy gullet. You too, unhappy Cydon, as you followed Clytius, your new delight, his cheeks golden with youthful down, you too |
| Dardania stratus dextra, securus amorum qui juvenum tibi semper erant, miserande jaceres, ni fratrum stipata cohors foret obvia, Phorci progenies, septem numero, septenaque tela conjiciunt ; partim galea clipeoque resultant | 330 | would have fallen beneath the Trojan hand, and lain there, wretched, free of that love of youth that was ever yours, had the massed ranks of your brothers, not opposed him, the children of Phorcus, seven in number, seven the spears they threw: some glanced idly from helmet and shield, |
| irrita, deflexit partim stringentia corpus alma Venus. fidum Æneas affatur Achaten : « suggere tela mihi, non ullum dextera frustra torserit in Rutulos, steterunt quæ in corpore Grajum Iliacis campis. » tum magnam corripit hastam | 335 | some gentle Venus deflected, so they only grazed his body. Æneas spoke to faithful Achates: “Supply me with spears, those that lodged in the bodies of Greeks on Ilium’s plain: my right hand won’t hurl any at these Rutulians in vain.” Then he grasped a great javelin |
| et jacit : illa volans clipei transverberat æra Mæonis et thoraca simul cum pectore rumpit. huic frater subit Alcanor fratremque ruentem sustentat dextra : trajecto missa lacerto protinus hasta fugit servatque cruenta tenorem, | 340 | and threw it: flying on, it crashed through the bronze of Mæon’s shield, smashing breastplate and breast in one go. His brother Alcanor was there, supporting his brother with his right arm as he fell: piercing the arm, the spear flew straight on, keeping its blood-wet course, |
| dexteraque ex umero nervis moribunda pependit. tum Numitor jaculo fratris de corpore rapto Ænean petiit : sed non et figere contra est licitum, magnique femur perstrinxit Achatæ. Hic Curibus fidens primævo corpore Clausus | 345 | and the lifeless arm hung by the shoulder tendons. Then Numitor, ripping the javelin from his brother’s body, aimed at Æneas: but he could not strike at him in return, and grazed great Achates’s thigh. Now Clausus of Cures approached, relying on his youthful |
| advenit et rigida Dryopem ferit eminus hasta sub mentum graviter pressa, pariterque loquentis vocem animamque rapit trajecto gutture ; at ille fronte ferit terram et crassum vomit ore cruorem. tres quoque Threïcios Boreæ de gente suprema | 350 | strength, and hit Dryopes under the chin from a distance away, with his rigid spear, driven with force, and, piercing his throat as he spoke, took his voice and life together: he hit the ground with his forehead, and spewed thick blood from his mouth. Clausus toppled, in various ways, three Thracians too, |
| et tris quos Idas pater et patria Ismara mittit, per varios sternit casus. accurrit Halæsus Auruncæque manus, subit et Neptunia proles, insignis Messapus equis. expellere tendunt nunc hi, nunc illi : certatur limine in ipso | 355 | of Boreas’s exalted race, and three whom Idas their father and their native Ismarus sent out. Halæsus ran to join him, and the Auruncan Band, and Messapus, Neptune’s scion, with his glorious horses. Now one side, now the other strained to push back the enemy: the struggle was at the very |
| Ausoniæ. magno discordes æthere venti prœlia ceu tollunt animis et viribus æquis ; non ipsi inter se, non nubila, non mare cedit ; anceps pugna diu, stant obnixa omnia contra : haud aliter Trojanæ acies aciesque Latinæ | 360 | threshold of Italy. As warring winds, equal in force and purpose, rise to do battle in the vast heavens and between them neither yield either clouds or sea: the battle is long in doubt, all things stand locked in conflict: so the ranks of Troy clashed with the Latin ranks, |
| concurrunt, hæret pede pes densusque viro vir. At parte ex alia, qua saxa rotantia late intulerat torrens arbustaque diruta ripis, Arcadas insuetos acies inferre pedestris ut vidit Pallas Latio dare terga sequaci, | 365 | foot against foot, man pressed hard against man. But in another place, where a torrent had rolled and scattered boulders, with bushes torn from the banks, far and wide, Pallas, seeing his Arcadians unused to charging in ranks on foot turning to run from the pursuing Latins, because |
| aspera aquis natura loci dimittere quando suasit equos, unum quod rebus restat egenis, nunc prece, nunc dictis virtutem accendit amaris ; « quo fugitis, socii? per vos et fortia facta, per ducis Evandri nomen devictaque bella | 370 | the nature of the ground, churned by water, had persuaded them to leave their horses for once, now with prayers, and now with bitter words, the sole recourse in time of need, fired their courage: “Friends, where are you running to? Don’t trust to flight, by your brave deeds, by King Evander’s name, |
| spemque meam, patriæ quæ nunc subit æmula laudi, fidite ne pedibus. ferro rumpenda per hostis est via. qua globus ille virum densissimus urget, hac vos et Pallanta ducem patria alta reposcit. numina nulla premunt, mortali urgemur ab hoste | 375 | and the wars you’ve won, and my hopes, now seeking to emulate my father’s glory. We must hack a way through the enemy with our swords. Your noble country calls you and your leader Pallas, to where the ranks of men are densest. No gods attack us. We are mortals driven before a mortal fœ: |
| mortales ; totidem nobis animæque manusque. ecce maris magna claudit nos objice pontus, deest jam terra fugæ : pelagus Trojamne petamus? » hæc ait, et medius densos prorumpit in hostis. Obvius huic primum fatis adductus iniquis | 380 | we have as many lives, as many hands as they do. Look, the ocean closes us in with a vast barrier of water, there’s no land left to flee to: shall we seek the seas or Troy?” He spoke, and rushed into the midst of the close-packed enemy. Lagus met him first, drawn there by a hostile fate. |
| fit Lagus. hunc, vellit magno dum pondere saxum, intorto figit telo, discrimina costis per medium qua spina dabat, hastamque receptat ossibus hærentem. quem non super occupat Hisbo, ille quidem hoc sperans ; nam Pallas ante ruentem, | 385 | As he tore at a huge weight of stone, Pallas pierced him where the spine parts the ribs in two, with the spear he hurled, and plucked out the spear again as it lodged in the bone. Nor did Hisbo surprise him from above, hopeful though he was, since, as he rushed in, raging recklessly at his friend’s cruel death, |
| dum furit, incautum crudeli morte sodalis excipit atque ensem tumido in pulmone recondit. hinc Sthenium petit et Rhœti de gente vetusta Anchemolum thalamos ausum incestare novercæ. vos etiam, gemini, Rutulis cecidistis in arvis, | 390 | Pallas intercepted him first, and buried his sword in his swollen chest. Next Pallas attacked Sthenius, and Anchemolus, of Rhœtus’s ancient line, who had dared to violate his step-mother’s bed. You, twin brothers, also fell in the Rutulian fields, Laridus |
| Daucia, Laride Thymberque, simillima proles, indiscreta suis gratusque parentibus error ; at nunc dura dedit vobis discrimina Pallas. nam tibi, Thymbre, caput Evandrius abstulit ensis ; te decisa suum, Laride, dextera quærit | 395 | and Thymber, the sons of Daucus, so alike you were indistinguishable to kin, and a dear confusion to your parents: but now Pallas has given you a cruel separateness. For Evander’s sword swept off your head, Thymber: while your right hand, Laridus, sought its owner, |
| semianimesque micant digiti ferrumque retractant. Arcadas accensos monitu et præclara tuentis facta viri mixtus dolor et pudor armat in hostis. Tum Pallas bijugis fugientem Rhœtea præter trajicit. hoc spatium tantumque moræ fuit Ilo ; | 400 | and the dying fingers twitched and clutched again at the sword. Fired by his rebuke and seeing his glorious deeds, a mixture of remorse and pain roused the Arcadians against their enemy. Then Pallas pierced Rhœtus as he shot past in his chariot. Ilus gained that much time and that much respite, |
| Ilo namque procul validam derexerat hastam, quam medius Rhœteus intercipit, optime Teuthra, te fugiens fratremque Tyren, curruque volutus cædit semianimis Rutulorum calcibus arva. ac velut optato ventis æstate coortis | 405 | since he had launched his solid spear at Ilus from far off, which Rhœtus received, as he fled from you, noble Teuthras and your brother Tyres, and rolling from the chariot he struck the Rutulian fields with his heels as he died. As in summer, when a hoped-for wind has risen, |
| dispersa immittit silvis incendia pastor, correptis subito mediis extenditur una horrida per latos acies Volcania campos, ille sedens victor flammas despectat ovantis : non aliter socium virtus coit omnis in unum | 410 | the shepherd sets scattered fires in the woods, the spaces between catch light, and Vulcan’s bristling ranks extend over the broad fields, while the shepherd sits and gazes down in triumph over the joyful flames: so all your comrades’ courage united as one |
| teque juvat, Palla. sed bellis acer Halæsus tendit in adversos seque in sua colligit arma. hic mactat Ladona Pheretaque Demodocumque, Strymonio dextram fulgenti deripit ense elatam in jugulum, saxo ferit ora Thoantis | 415 | to aid you Pallas. But Halæsus, fierce in war, advanced against them and gathered himself behind his shield. He killed Ladon, Pheres and Demodocus, struck off Strymonius’s right hand, raised towards his throat, with his shining sword, and smashed Thoas in the face |
| ossaque dispersit cerebro permixta cruento. fata canens silvis genitor celarat Halæsum ; ut senior leto canentia lumina solvit, iniecere manum Parcæ telisque sacrarunt Evandri. quem sic Pallas petit ante precatus : | 420 | with a stone, scattering bone mixed with blood and brain. Halæsus’s father, prescient of fate, had hidden him in the woods: but when, in white-haired old age, the father closed his eyes in death, the Fates laid their hands on Halæsus and doomed him to Evander’s spear. Pallas attacked him first praying: |
| « da nunc, Thybri pater, ferro, quod missile libro, fortunam atque viam duri per pectus Halæsi. hæc arma exuviasque viri tua quercus habebit. » audiit illa deus ; dum texit Imaona Halæsus, Arcadio infelix telo dat pectus inermum. | 425 | “Grant luck to the spear I aim to throw, father Tiber, and a path through sturdy Halæsus’s chest. Your oak shall have the these weapons and the soldier’s spoils.” The god heard his prayer: while Halæsus covered Imaon he sadly exposed his unshielded chest to the Arcadian spear. |
| At non cæde viri tanta perterrita Lausus, pars ingens belli, sinit agmina : primus Abantem oppositum interimit, pugnæ nodumque moramque. sternitur Arcadiæ proles, sternuntur Etrusci et vos, o Grais imperdita corpora, Teucri. | 430 | But Lausus, a powerful force in the war, would not allow his troops to be dismayed by the hero’s great slaughter: first he killed Abas opposite, a knotty obstacle in the battle. The youth of Arcadia fell, the Etruscans fell, and you, O Trojans, men not even destroyed by the Greeks. |
| agmina concurrunt ducibusque et viribus æquis ; extremi addensent acies nec turba moveri tela manusque sinit. hinc Pallas instat et urget, hinc contra Lausus, nec multum discrepat ætas, egregii forma, sed quis Fortuna negarat | 435 | The armies met, equal in leadership and strength: the rear and front closed ranks, and the crush prevented weapons or hands from moving. Here, Pallas pressed and urged, there Lausus opposed him, not many years between them, both of outstanding presence, but Fortune had denied them |
| in patriam reditus. ipsos concurrere passus haud tamen inter se magni regnator Olympi ; mox illos sua fata manent majore sub hoste. Interea soror alma monet succedere Lauso Turnum, qui volucri curru medium secat agmen. | 440 | a return to their country. Yet the king of great Olympos did not allow them to meet face to face: their fate was waiting for them soon, at the hand of a greater opponent. Meanwhile Turnus’s gentle sister Juturna adjured him to help Lausus, and he parted the ranks between in his swift chariot. |
| ut vidit socios : « tempus desistere pugnæ ; solus ego in Pallanta feror, soli mihi Pallas debetur ; cuperem ipse parens spectator adesset. » hæc ait, et socii cesserunt æquore jusso. at Rutulum abscessu juvenis tum jussa superba | 445 | When he saw his comrades he cried: “It’s time to hold back from the fight: it’s for me alone to attack Pallas, Pallas is mine alone: I wish his father were here to see it.” And his comrades drew back from the field as ordered. When the Rutulians retired, then the youth, amazed at that proud |
| miratus stupet in Turno corpusque per ingens lumina volvit obitque truci procul omnia visu, talibus et dictis it contra dicta tyranni : « aut spoliis ego jam raptis laudabor opimis aut leto insigni : sorti pater æquus utrique est. | 450 | command, marvelled at Turnus, casting his eyes over the mighty body, surveying all of him from the distance with a fierce look, and answered the ruler’s words with these: “I’ll soon be praised for taking rich spoils, or for a glorious death: my father is equal to either fate for me: away with your threats.” |
| tolle minas. » fatus medium procedit in æquor ; frigidus Arcadibus coit in præcordia sanguis. desiluit Turnus bijugis, pedes apparat ire comminus ; utque leo, specula quum vidit ab alta stare procul campis meditantem in prœlia taurum, | 455 | So saying he marched down the center of the field: the blood gathered, chill, in Arcadian hearts. Turnus leapt from his chariot, preparing to close on foot, and the sight of the advancing Turnus, was no different than that of a lion, seeing from a high point a bull far off |
| advolat, haud alia est Turni venientis imago. hunc ubi contiguum missæ fore credidit hastæ, ire prior Pallas, si qua fors adjuvet ausum viribus imparibus, magnumque ita ad æthera fatur : « per patris hospitium et mensas, quas advena adisti, | 460 | on the plain contemplating battle, and rushing down. But Pallas came forward first, when he thought Turnus might be within spear-throw, so that chance might help him, in venturing his unequal strength, and so he spoke to the mighty heavens: “I pray you, Hercules, by my father’s hospitality and the feast |
| te precor, Alcide, cœptis ingentibus assis. cernat semineci sibi me rapere arma cruenta victoremque ferant morientia lumina Turni. » audiit Alcides juvenem magnumque sub imo corde premit gemitum lacrimasque effundit inanis. | 465 | to which you came as a stranger, assist my great enterprise. Let me strip the blood-drenched armor from his dying limbs, and let Turnus’s failing sight meet its conqueror.” Hercules heard the youth, and stifled a heavy sigh deep in his heart, and wept tears in vain. |
| tum genitor natum dictis affatur amicis : « stat sua cuique dies, breve et inreparabile tempus omnibus est vitæ ; sed famam extendere factis, hoc virtutis opus. Trojæ sub mœnibus altis tot gnati cecidere deum, quin occidit una | 470 | Then Jupiter the father spoke to Hercules, his son, with kindly words: “Every man has his day, the course of life is brief and cannot be recalled: but virtue’s task is this, to increase fame by deeds. So many sons of gods fell beneath the high walls of Troy, yes, and my own son |
| Sarpedon, mea progenies ; etiam sua Turnum fata vocant metasque dati pervenit ad ævi. » sic ait, atque oculos Rutulorum rejicit arvis. At Pallas magnis emittit viribus hastam vaginaque cava fulgentem deripit ensem. | 475 | Sarpedon among them: fate calls even for Turnus, and he too has reached the end of the years granted to him.” So he spoke, and turned his eyes from the Rutulian fields. Then Pallas threw his spear with all his might, and snatched his gleaming sword from its hollow sheath. |
| illa volans umeri surgunt qua tegmina summa incidit, atque viam clipei molita per oras tandem etiam magno strinxit de corpore Turni. hic Turnus ferro præfixum robur acuto in Pallanta diu librans jacit atque ita fatur : | 480 | The shaft flew and struck Turnus, where the top of the armor laps the shoulder, and forcing a way through the rim of his shield at last, even grazed his mighty frame. At this, Turnus hurled his oak spear tipped with sharp steel, long levelled at Pallas, saying: |
| « aspice num mage sit nostrum penetrabile telum. » dixerat ; at clipeum, tot ferri terga, tot āeris, quem pellis totiens obeat circumdata tauri, vibranti cuspis medium transverberat ictu loricæque moras et pectus perforat ingens. | 485 | “See if this weapon of mine isn’t of greater sharpness.” The spear-head, with a quivering blow, tore through the center of his shield, passed through all the layers of iron, of bronze, all the overlapping bull’s-hide, piercing the breastplate, and the mighty chest. |
| ille rapit calidum frustra de vulnere telum : una eademque via sanguis animusque sequuntur. corruit in vulnus (sonitum super arma dedere) et terram hostilem moriens petit ore cruento. quem Turnus super assistens : | 490 | Vainly he pulled the hot spear from the wound: blood and life followed, by one and the same path. He fell in his own blood (his weapons clanged over him) and he struck the hostile earth in death with gory lips. Then Turnus, standing over him, cried out: |
| « Arcades, hæc » inquit « memores mea dicta referte Evandro : qualem meruit, Pallanta remitto. quisquis honos tumuli, quidquid solamen humandi est, largior. haud illi stabunt Æneia parvo hospitia. » et lævo pressit pede talia fatus | 495 | “Arcadians, take note, and carry these words of mine to Evander: I return Pallas to him as he deserves. I freely give whatever honors lie in a tomb, whatever solace there is in burial. His hospitality to Æneas will cost him greatly.” So saying he planted his left foot on the corpse, |
| exanimem rapiens immania pondera baltei impressumque nefas : una sub nocte jugali cæsa manus juvenum fœde thalamique cruenti, quæ Clonus Eurytides multo cælaverat auro ; quo nunc Turnus ovat spolio gaudetque potitus. | 500 | and tore away the huge weight of Pallas’s belt, engraved with the Danaids’ crime: that band of young men foully murdered on the same wedding night: the blood-drenched marriage chambers: that Clonus, son of Eurytus had richly chased in gold. Now Turnus exulted at the spoil, and gloried in winning. |
| nescia mens hominum fati sortisque futuræ et servare modum rebus sublata secundis! Turno tempus erit magno quum optaverit emptum intactum Pallanta, et quum spolia ista diemque oderit. at socii multo gemitu lacrimisque | 505 | Oh, human mind, ignorant of fate or fortune to come, or of how to keep to the limits, exalted by favorable events! The time will come for Turnus when he’d prefer to have bought an untouched Pallas at great price, and will hate those spoils and the day. So his friends crowded round Pallas with many |
| impositum scuto referunt Pallanta frequentes. o dolor atque decus magnum rediture parenti, hæc te prima dies bello dedit, hæc eadem aufert, quum tamen ingentis Rutulorum linquis acervos! Nec jam fama mali tanti, sed certior auctor | 510 | groans and tears, and carried him back, lying on his shield. O the great grief and glory in returning to your father: that day first gave you to warfare, the same day took you from it, while nevertheless you left behind vast heaps of Rutulian dead! Now not merely a rumor of this great evil, but a more trustworthy |
| advolat Æneæ tenui discrimine leti esse suos, tempus versis succurrere Teucris. proxima quæque metit gladio latumque per agmen ardens limitem agit ferro, te, Turne, superbum cæde nova quærens. Pallas, Evander, in ipsis | 515 | messenger flew to Æneas, saying that his men were a hair’s breadth from death, that it was time to help the routed Trojans. Seeking you, Turnus, you, proud of your fresh slaughter, he mowed down his nearest enemies, with the sword, and fiercely drove a wide path through the ranks with its blade. Pallas, Evander, all was before |
| omnia sunt oculis, mensæ quas advena primas tunc adiit, dextræque datæ. Sulmone creatos quattuor hic juvenes, totidem quos educat Ufens, viventis rapit, inferias quos immolet umbris captivoque rogi perfundat sanguine flammas. | 520 | his eyes, the feast to which he had first come as a stranger, the right hands pledged in friendship. Then he captured four youths alive, sons of Sulmo, and as many reared by Ufens, to sacrifice to the shades of the dead, and sprinkle the flames of the pyre with the prisoners’ blood. |
| inde Mago procul infensam contenderat hastam : ille astu subit, at tremibunda supervolat hasta, et genua amplectens effatur talia supplex : « per patrios manis et spes surgentis Juli te precor, hanc animam serves gnatoque patrique. | 525 | Next he aimed a hostile spear at Magus from a distance: Magus moved in cleverly, and the spear flew over him, quivering, and he clasped the hero’s knees as a suppliant, and spoke as follows: “I beg you, by your father’s shade, by your hope in your boy Julus, preserve my life, for my son and my father. |
| est domus alta, jacent penitus defossa talenta cælati argenti, sunt auri pondera facti infectique mihi. non hic victoria Teucrum vertitur aut anima una dabit discrimina tanta. » dixerat. Æneas contra cui talia reddit : | 530 | I have a noble house: talents of chased silver lie buried there: I have masses of wrought and unwrought gold. Troy’s victory dœs not rest with me: one life will not make that much difference.” Æneas replied to him in this way: “Keep those many talents |
| « argenti atque auri memoras quæ multa talenta gnatis parce tuis. belli commercia Turnus sustulit ista prior jam tum Pallante perempto. hoc patris Anchisæ manes, hoc sentit Julus. » sic fatus galeam læva tenet atque reflexa | 535 | of silver and gold you mention for your sons. Turnus, before we spoke, did away with the courtesies of war, the moment he killed Pallas. So my father Anchises’s spirit thinks, so dœs Julus.” Saying this he held the helmet with his left hand and, bending |
| cervice orantis capulo tenus applicat ensem. nec procul Hæmonides, Phœbi Triviæque sacerdos, infula cui sacra redimibat tempora vitta, totus collucens veste atque insignibus albis. quem congressus agit campo, lapsumque superstans | 540 | the suppliant’s neck backwards, drove in his sword to the hilt. Hæmon’s son, a priest of Apollo and Diana, was not far away, the band with its sacred ribbons circling his temples, and all his robes and emblems shining white. Æneas met him and drove him over the plain, then, standing over the fallen man, killed him and cloaked |
| immolat ingentique umbra tegit, arma Serestus lecta refert umeris tibi, rex Gradive, tropæum. Instaurant acies Volcani stirpe creatus Cæculus et veniens Marsorum montibus Umbro. Dardanides contra furit : Anxuris ense sinistram | 545 | him in mighty darkness: Serestus collected and carried off his weapons on his shoulders, a trophy for you, King Gradivus. Cæculus, born of the race of Vulcan, and Umbro who came from the Marsian hills restored order, the Trojan raged against them: his sword sliced off Anxur’s |
| et totum clipei ferro dejecerat orbem (dixerat ille aliquid magnum vimque affore verbo crediderat, cæloque animum fortasse ferebat canitiemque sibi et longos promiserat annos); Tarquitus exsultans contra fulgentibus armis, | 550 | left arm, it fell to the ground with the whole disc of his shield (Anxur had shouted some boast, trusting the power of words, lifting his spirit high perhaps, promising himself white-haired old age and long years): then Tarquitus nearby, proud in his gleaming armor, |
| silvicolæ Fauno Dryope quem nympha crearat, obvius ardenti sese obtulit. ille reducta loricam clipeique ingens onus impedit hasta, tum caput orantis nequiquam et multa parantis dicere deturbat terræ, truncumque tepentem | 555 | whom the nymph Dryope had born to Faunus of the woods, exposed himself to fiery Æneas. He, drawing back his spear, pinned the breastplate and the huge weight of shield together: then as the youth begged in vain, and tried to utter a flow of words, he struck his head to the ground and, rolling the warm trunk over, |
| provolvens super hæc inimico pectore fatur : « istic nunc, metuende, jace. non te optima mater condet humi patrioque onerabit membra sepulcro : alitibus linquere feris, aut gurgite mersum unda feret piscesque impasti vulnera lambent. » | 560 | spoke these words above him, from a hostile heart: “Lie there now, one to be feared. No noble mother will bury you in the earth, nor weight your limbs with an ancestral tomb: you’ll be left for the carrion birds, or, sunk in the abyss, the flood will bear you, and hungry fish suck your wounds.” |
| protinus Antæum et Lucam, prima agmina Turni, persequitur, fortemque Numam fulvumque Camertem, magnanimo Volcente satum, ditissimus agri qui fuit Ausonidum et tacitis regnavit Amyclis. Ægæon qualis, centum cui bracchia dicunt | 565 | Then he caught up with Antæus, and Lucas, in Turnus’s front line, brave Numa and auburn Camers, son of noble Volcens, the wealthiest in Ausonian land, who ruled silent Amyclæ. Once his sword was hot, victorious Æneas raged over the whole plain, like Ægeaon, who had a hundred |
| centenasque manus, quinquaginta oribus ignem pectoribusque arsisse, Jovis quum fulmina contra tot paribus streperet clipeis, tot stringeret ensis : sic toto Æneas desævit in æquore victor ut semel intepuit mucro. quin ecce Niphæi | 570 | arms and a hundred hands they say, and breathed fire from fifty chests and mouths, when he clashed with as many like shields of his and drew as many swords against Jove’s lightning-bolts. See now he was headed |
| quadrijugis in equos adversaque pectora tendit. atque illi longe gradientem et dira frementem ut videre, metu versi retroque ruentes effunduntque ducem rapiuntque ad litora currus. Interea bijugis infert se Lucagus albis | 575 | towards the four-horse team of Niphæus’s chariot and the opposing front. And when the horses saw him taking great strides in his deadly rage, they shied and galloped in fear, throwing their master, and dragging the chariot to the shore. Meanwhile Lucagus and his brother Liger entered the fray |
| in medios fraterque Liger ; sed frater habenis flectit equos, strictum rotat acer Lucagus ensem. haud tulit Æneas tanto fervore furentis ; irruit adversaque ingens apparuit hasta. cui Liger : | 580 | in their chariot with two white horses: Liger handling the horses’ reins, fierce Lucagus waving his naked sword. Æneas could not tolerate such furious hot-headedness: he rushed at them, and loomed up gigantic with levelled spear. Liger said to him: “These are not Diomedes’s horses |
| « non Diomedis equos nec currum cernis Achilli aut Phrygiæ campos : nunc belli finis et ævi his dabitur terris. » vesano talia late dicta volant Ligeri. sed non et Trojus heros dicta parat contra, jaculum nam torquet in hostis. | 585 | that you see, nor Achille’s chariot, nor Phrygia’s plain: now you’ll be dealt an end to your war and life.” Such were the words that flew far, from foolish Liger’s lips. But the Trojan hero did not ready words in reply, he hurled his spear then against his enemies. |
| Lucagus ut pronus pendens in verbera telo admonuit bijugos, projecto dum pede lævo aptat se pugnæ, subit oras hasta per imas fulgentis clipei, tum lævum perforat inguen ; excussus curru moribundus volvitur arvis. | 590 | While Lucagus urged on his horses, leaning forward towards the spear’s blow, as, with left foot advanced, he prepared himself for battle, the spear entered the lower rim of his bright shield, then pierced the left thigh: thrown from the chariot he rolled on the ground in death: |
| quem pius Æneas dictis affatur amaris : « Lucage, nulla tuos currus fuga segnis equorum prodidit aut vanæ vertere ex hostibus umbræ : ipse rotis saliens juga deseris. » hæc ita fatus arripuit bijugos ; frater tendebat inertis | 595 | while noble Æneas spoke bitter words to him: “Lucagus, it was not the flight of your horses in fear that betrayed your chariot, or the enemy’s idle shadow that turned them: it was you, leaping from the wheels, who relinquished the reins.” So saying he grasped at the chariot: the wretched brother, |
| infelix palmas curru delapsus eodem : « per te, per qui te talem genuere parentes, vir Trojane, sine hanc animam et miserere precantis. » pluribus oranti Æneas : « haud talia dudum dicta dabas. morere et fratrem ne desere frater. » | 600 | Liger, who had fallen as well, held, out his helpless hands: “Trojan hero, by your own life, by your parents who bore such a son, take pity I beg you, without taking this life away.” As he begged more urgently, Æaneas said: “Those were not the words you spoke before. Die and don’t let brother desert brother.” |
| tum latebras animæ pectus mucrone recludit. talia per campos edebat funera ductor Dardanius torrentis aquæ vel turbinis atri more furens. tandem erumpunt et castra relinquunt Ascanius puer et nequiquam obsessa juventus. | 605 | Then he sliced open his chest where the life is hidden. Such were the deaths the Trojan leader caused across that plain, raging like a torrent of water or a dark tempest. At last his child, Ascanius, and the men who were besieged in vain, breaking free, left the camp. |
| Junonem interea compellat Juppiter ultro : « o germana mihi atque eadem gratissima conjunx, ut rebare, Venus (nec te sententia fallit) Trojanas sustentat opes, non vivida bello dextra viris animusque ferox patiensque pericli. » | 610 | Meanwhile Jupiter, unasked, spoke to Juno: “O my sister, and at the same time my dearest wife, as you thought (your judgement is not wrong) it is Venus who sustains the Trojans’ power, not their own right hands, so ready for war, nor their fierce spirits, tolerant of danger.” |
| cui Juno summissa : « quid, o pulcherrime conjunx, sollicitas ægram et tua tristia dicta timentem? si mihi, quæ quondam fuerat quamque esse decebat, vis in amore foret, non hoc mihi namque negares, omnipotens, quin et pugnæ subducere Turnum | 615 | Juno spoke submissively to him: “O loveliest of husbands why do you trouble me, who am ill, and fearful of your harsh commands? If my love had the power it once had, that is my right, you, all-powerful, would surely not deny me this, to withdraw Turnus from the conflict |
| et Dauno possem incolumem servare parenti. nunc pereat Teucrisque pio det sanguine pœnas. ille tamen nostra deducit origine nomen Pilumnusque illi quartus pater, et tua larga sæpe manu multisque oneravit limina donis. » | 620 | and save him, unharmed, for his father, Daunus. Let him die then, let him pay the Trojans in innocent blood. Yet he derives his name from our line: Pilumnus was his ancestor four generations back, and often weighted your threshold with copious gifts from a lavish hand.” |
| cui rex ætherii breviter sic fatur Olympi : « si mora præsentis leti tempusque caduco oratur juveni meque hoc ita ponere sentis, tolle fuga Turnum atque instantibus eripe fatis : hactenus indulsisse vacat. sin altior istis | 625 | The king of heavenly Olympus briefly replied to her like this: “If your prayer is for reprieve from imminent death for your doomed prince, and you understand I so ordain it, take Turnus away, in flight, snatch him from oncoming fate: there’s room for that much indulgence. But if thought |
| sub precibus venia ulla latet totumque moveri mutarive putas bellum, spes pascis inanis. » et Juno allacrimans : « quid si, quæ voce gravaris, mente dares atque hæc Turno rata vita maneret? nunc manet insontem gravis exitus, aut ego veri | 630 | of any greater favor hides behind your prayers, and you think this whole war may be deflected or altered, you nurture a vain hope.” And Juno, replied, weeping: “Why should your mind not grant what your tongue withholds, and life be left to Turnus? Now, guiltless, a heavy doom awaits him or I stray empty |
| vana feror. quod ut o potius formidine falsa ludar, et in melius tua, qui potes, orsa reflectas! » Hæc ubi dicta dedit, cælo se protinus alto misit agens hiemem nimbo succincta per auras, Iliacamque aciem et Laurentia castra petivit. | 635 | of truth. Oh, that I might be mocked by false fears, and that you, who are able to, might harbor kinder speech!” When she had spoken these words, she darted down at once from high heaven through the air, driving a storm before her, and wreathed in cloud, and sought the ranks of Ilium |
| tum dea nube cava tenuem sine viribus umbram in faciem Æneæ (visu mirabile monstrum) Dardaniis ornat telis, clipeumque jubasque divini assimulat capitis, dat inania verba, dat sine mente sonum gressusque effingit euntis, | 640 | and the Laurentine camp. Then from the cavernous mist the goddess decked out a weak and tenuous phantom, in the likeness of Æneas, with Trojan weapons (a strange marvel to behold), simulated his shield, and the plumes on his godlike head, gave it insubstantial speech, gave it sound without mind, and mimicked the way |
| morte obita qualis fama est volitare figuras aut quæ sopitos deludunt somnia sensus. at primas læta ante acies exsultat imago irritatque virum telis et voce lacessit. instat cui Turnus stridentemque eminus hastam | 645 | he walked: like shapes that flit, they say, after death, or dreams that in sleep deceive the senses. And the phantom flaunted itself exultantly in front of the leading ranks, provoking Turnus with spear casts, and exasperating him with words. Turnus ran at it, and hurled a hissing spear |
| conjicit ; illa dato vertit vestigia tergo. tum vero Ænean aversum ut cedere Turnus credidit atque animo spem turbidus hausit inanem : « quo fugis, Ænea? thalamos ne desere pactos ; hac dabitur dextra tellus quæsita per undas. » | 650 | from the distance: it turned its heels in flight. Then, as Turnus thought that Æneas had retreated and conceded, and in his confusion clung to this idle hope in his mind, he cried: “Where are you off to, Æneas? Don’t desert your marriage pact: this hand of mine will grant you the earth you looked for over the seas.” |
| talia vociferans sequitur strictumque coruscat mucronem, nec ferre videt sua gaudia ventos. Forte ratis celsi conjuncta crepidine saxi expositis stabat scalis et ponte parato, qua rex Clusinis advectus Osinius oris. | 655 | He pursued him, calling loudly, brandishing his naked sword, not seeing that the wind was carrying away his glory. It chanced that the ship, in which King Osinius sailed from Clusium’s shores, was moored to a high stone pier, with ladders released and gangway ready. The swift phantom |
| huc sese trepida Æneæ fugientis imago conjicit in latebras, nec Turnus segnior instat exsuperatque moras et pontis transilit altos. vix proram attigerat, rumpit Saturnia funem avulsamque rapit revoluta per æquora navem. | 660 | of fleeing Æneas sank into it to hide, and Turnus followed no less swiftly, conquering all obstacles and leapt up the high gangway. He had barely reached the prow when Saturn’s daughter snapped the cable, and, snatching the ship, swept it over the waters. |
| tum levis haud ultra latebras jam quærit imago, sed sublime volans nubi se immiscuit atræ ; illum autem Æneas absentem in prœlia poscit ; obvia multa virum demittit corpora morti, quum Turnum medio interea fert æquore turbo. | 665 | Then the vague phantom no longer sought to hide but, flying into the air, merged with a dark cloud. Meanwhile Æneas himself was challenging his missing enemy to battle: and sending many opposing warriors to their deaths, while the whirlwind was carrying Turnus over mid-sea. |
| respicit ignarus rerum ingratusque salutis et duplicis cum voce manus ad sidera tendit : « omnipotens genitor, tanton me crimine dignum duxisti et talis voluisti expendere pœnas? quo feror? unde abii? quæ me fuga quemve reducit? | 670 | Unaware of the truth, and ungrateful for his rescue, he looked back and raised clasped hands and voice to heaven: “All-powerful father, did you think me so worthy of punishment, did you intend me to pay such a price? Where am I being taken? From whom am I escaping? Why am I fleeing: how will I return? |
| Laurentisne iterum muros aut castra videbo? quid manus illa virum, qui me meaque arma secuti? quosque (nefas) omnis infanda in morte reliqui et nunc palantis video, gemitumque cadentum accipio? quid ago? aut quæ jam satis ima dehiscat | 675 | Will I see the walls and camp of Laurentium again? What of that company of men that followed me, and my standard? Have I left them all (the shame of it) to a cruel death, seeing them scattered now, hearing the groans as they fall? What shall I do? Where is the earth that could gape |
| terra mihi? vos o potius miserescite, venti ; in rupes, in saxa (volens vos Turnus adoro) ferte ratem sævisque vadis immittite syrtis, quo nec me Rutuli nec conscia fama sequatur. » hæc memorans animo nunc huc, nunc fluctuat illuc, | 680 | wide enough for me? Rather have pity on me, O winds: Drive the ship on the rocks, the reefs (I, Turnus, beg you, freely) or send it into the vicious quicksands, where no Rutulian, nor any knowing rumor of my shame can follow me? So saying he debated this way and that in his mind, |
| an sese mucrone ob tantum dedecus amens induat et crudum per costas exigat ensem, fluctibus an jaciat mediis et litora nando curva petat Teucrumque iterum se reddat in arma. ter conatus utramque viam, ter maxima Juno | 685 | whether he should throw himself on his sword, mad with such disgrace, and drive the cruel steel through his ribs, or plunge into the waves, and, by swimming, gain the curving bay, and hurl himself again at the Trojan weapons. Three times he attempted each: three times great Juno |
| continuit juvenemque animi miserata repressit. labitur alta secans fluctuque æstuque secundo et patris antiquam Dauni defertur ad urbem. At Jovis interea monitis Mezentius ardens succedit pugnæ Teucrosque invadit ovantis. | 690 | held him back, preventing him from heartfelt pity. He glided on, with the help of wave and tide, cutting the depths, and was carried to his father Daunus’s ancient city. But meanwhile fiery Mezentius, warned by Jupiter, took up the fight, and attacked the jubilant Trojans. |
| concurrunt Tyrrhenæ acies atque omnibus uni, uni odiisque viro telisque frequentibus instant. ille (velut rupes vastum quæ prodit in æquor, obvia ventorum furiis expostaque ponto, vim cunctam atque minas perfert cælique marisque | 695 | The Etruscan ranks closed up, and concentrated all their hatred, and showers of missiles, on him alone. He (like a vast cliff that juts out into the vast deep, confronting the raging winds, and exposed to the waves, suffering the force and threat of sky and sea, |
| ipsa immota manens) prolem Dolichaonis Hebrum sternit humi, cum quo Latagum Palmumque fugacem, sed Latagum saxo atque ingenti fragmine montis occupat os faciemque adversam, poplite Palmum succiso volvi segnem sinit, armaque Lauso | 700 | itself left unshaken) felled Hebrus, son of Dolichaon, to the earth, with him were Latagus and swift Palmus, but he anticipated Latagus, with a huge fragment of rock from the hillside in his mouth and face, while he hamstrung Palmus and left him writhing helplessly: he gave Lausus the armor |
| donat habere umeris et vertice figere cristas. nec non Evanthen Phrygium Paridisque Mimanta æqualem comitemque, una quem nocte Theano in lucem genitore Amyco dedit et face prægnas Cisseis regina Parim ; Paris urbe paterna | 705 | to protect his shoulders, and the plumes to wear on his crest. He killed Evanthes too, the Phrygian, and Mimas, Paris’s friend and peer, whom Theano bore to his father Amycus on the same night Hecuba, Cisseus’s royal daughter, pregnant with a firebrand, gave birth to Paris: Paris lies in the city |
| occubat, ignarum Laurens habet ora Mimanta. ac velut ille canum morsu de montibus altis actus aper, multos Vesulus quem pinifer annos defendit multosque palus Laurentia silva pastus harundinea, postquam inter retia ventum est, | 710 | of his fathers, the Laurentine shore holds the unknown Mimas. And as a boar, that piny Vesulus has sheltered for many years and Laurentine marshes have nourished with forests of reeds, is driven from the high hills, by snapping hounds, and halts when it reaches the nets, |
| substitit infremuitque ferox et inhorruit armos, nec cuiquam irasci propiusve accedere virtus, sed jaculis tutisque procul clamoribus instant ; haud aliter, justæ quibus est Mezentius iræ, non ulli est animus stricto concurrere ferro, | 715 | snorts fiercely, hackles bristling, no one brave enough to rage at it, or get up closer to it, but harrassing it with spears and shouts from a safe distance: so now, of those who are justly enraged at Mezentius, none has the courage to meet him with drawn sword; |
| missilibus longe et vasto clamore lacessunt. ille autem impavidus partis cunctatur in omnis dentibus infrendens et tergo decutit hastas : Venerat antiquis Corythi de finibus Acron, Grajus homo, infectos linquens profugus hymenæos. | 720 | they provoke him from a distance with their missiles and much shouting. But he, undismayed, halts, facing now this way and that, gnashing his teeth, shakes off the spears from his ox-hide shield. Acron, a Greek had arrived there from the ancient lands of Corythus, an exile, his marriage ceremony left incomplete. |
| hunc ubi miscentem longe media agmina vidit, purpureum pennis et pactæ conjugis ostro, impastus stabula alta leo ceu sæpe peragrans (suadet enim vesana fames), si forte fugacem conspexit capream aut surgentem in cornua cervum, | 725 | When Mezentius saw him in the distance, embroiled among the ranks, with crimson plumes, and in purple robes given by his promised bride, he rushed eagerly into the thick of the fœ, as a ravenous lion often ranges the high coverts (since a raging hunger drives it) and exults, with vast gaping jaws, |
| gaudet hians immane comasque arrexit et hæret visceribus super incumbens ; lavit improba tæter ora cruor — sic ruit in densos alacer Mezentius hostis. sternitur infelix Acron et calcibus atram | 730 | if it chances to see a fleeing rœ-deer, or a stag with growing horns, then clings crouching over the entrails, with bristling mane, its ferocious mouth washed hideously with blood. Thus raging Mezentius charged into the thick of the enemy. Unhappy Acron is slain, his heels pounding the dark earth |
| tundit humum exspirans infractaque tela cruentat. atque idem fugientem haud est dignatus Oroden sternere nec jacta cæcum dare cuspide vulnus ; obvius adversoque occurrit seque viro vir contulit, haud furto melior sed fortibus armis. | 735 | as he bleeds dying, and his weapons are broken. And he did not even deign to kill Orodes as he fled, or inflict a hidden wound with a thrust of his spear: he ran to meet him on the way, and opposed him man to man, getting the better of him by force of arms not stealth. |
| tum super abjectum posito pede nixus et hasta : « pars belli haud temnenda, viri, jacet altus Orodes. » conclamant socii lætum pæana secuti ; ille autem exspirans : « non me, quicumque es, inulto, victor, nec longum lætabere ; te quoque fata | 740 | Then setting his foot on the fallen man, and straining at his spear, he called out: “Soldiers, noble Orodes lies here, he was no small part of this battle.” His comrades shouted, taking up the joyful cry: Yet Orodes, dying, said: “Whœver you are, winner here, I’ll not go unavenged, nor will you rejoice for long: |
| prospectant paria atque eadem mox arva tenebis. » ad quem surridens mixta Mezentius ira : « nunc morere. ast de me divum pater atque hominum rex viderit. » hoc dicens eduxit corpore telum. olli dura quies oculos et ferreus urget | 745 | a like fate watches for you: you’ll soon lie in these same fields.” Mezentius replied, grinning with rage: “Die now, as for me, the father of gods and king of men will see to that.” So saying he withdrew his spear from the warrior’s body. Enduring rest, and iron sleep, pressed on Orodes’s eyes, |
| somnus, in æternam clauduntur lumina noctem. Cædicus Alcathoum obtruncat, Sacrator Hydaspen Partheniumque Rapo et prædurum viribus Orsen, Messapus Cloniumque Lycaoniumque Erichæten, illum infrenis equi lapsu tellure jacentem, | 750 | and their light was shrouded in eternal night. Cædicus killed Alcathous: Sacrator killed Hydapses: Rapo killed Parthenius, and Orses of outstanding strength. Messapus killed Clonius, and Ericetes, son of Lycaon, one lying on the ground fallen from his bridle-less horse, |
| hunc peditem. pedes et Lycius processerat Agis, quem tamen haud expers Valerus virtutis avitæ dejicit ; at Thronium Salius Saliumque Nealces insidiis, jaculo et longe fallente sagitta. Jam gravis æquabat luctus et mutua Mavors | 755 | the other still on his feet. Lycian Agis had advanced his feet but Valerus overthrew him, with no lack of his ancestors’ skill: Salius killed Thronius, and Nealces, famed for the javelin, and the deceptive long-distance arrow, in turn killed Salcius. Now grievous War dealt grief and death mutually: |
| funera ; cædebant pariter pariterque ruebant victores victique, neque his fuga nota neque illis. di Jovis in tectis iram miserantur inanem amborum et tantos mortalibus esse labores ; hinc Venus, hinc contra spectat Saturnia Juno. | 760 | they killed alike, and alike they died, winners and losers, and neither one nor the other knew how to flee. The gods in Jupiter’s halls pitied the useless anger of them both, and that such pain existed for mortal beings: here Venus gazed down, here, opposite, Saturnian Juno. |
| pallida Tisiphone media inter milia sævit. At vero ingentem quatiens Mezentius hastam turbidus ingreditur campo. quam magnus Orion, quum pedes incedit medii per maxima Nerei stagna viam scindens, umero supereminet undas, | 765 | Pale Tisiphone raged among the warring thousands. And now Mezentius shaking his mighty spear, advanced like a whirlwind over the field. Great as Orion, when he strides through Ocean’s deepest chasms, forging a way, his shoulders towering above the waves, or carrying |
| aut summis referens annosam montibus ornum ingrediturque solo et caput inter nubila condit, talis se vastis infert Mezentius armis. huic contra Æneas speculatus in agmine longo obvius ire parat. manet imperterritus ille | 770 | an ancient manna ash down from the mountain heights, walking the earth, with his head hidden in the clouds, so Mezentius advanced in his giant’s armor. Æneas, opposite, catching sight of him in the far ranks prepared to go and meet him. Mezentius stood there unafraid, |
| hostem magnanimum opperiens, et mole sua stat ; atque oculis spatium emensus quantum satis hastæ : « dextra mihi deus et telum, quod missile libro, nunc assint! voveo prædonis corpore raptis indutum spoliis ipsum te, Lause, tropæum | 775 | waiting for his great-hearted enemy, firm in his great bulk: and measuring with his eye what distance would suit his spear, saying: “Now let this right hand that is my god, and the weapon I level to throw, aid me! I vow that you yourself, Lausus, as token of my victory over Æneas, shall be dressed in the spoils stripped |
| Æneæ. » dixit, stridentemque eminus hastam jecit. at illa volans clipeo est excussa proculque egregium Antoren latus inter et ilia figit, Herculis Antoren comitem, qui missus ab Argis hæserat Evandro atque Itala consederat urbe. | 780 | from that robber’s corpse.” He spoke, and threw the hissing spear from far out. But, flying on, it glanced from the shield, and pierced the handsome Antores, nearby, between flank and thigh, Antores, friend of Hercules, sent from Argos who had joined Evander, and settled in an Italian city. |
| sternitur infelix alieno vulnere, cælumque aspicit et dulcis moriens reminiscitur Argos. tum pius Æneas hastam jacit ; illa per orbem ære cavum triplici, per linea terga tribusque transiit intextum tauris opus, imaque sedit | 785 | Unhappy man, he fell to a wound meant for another, and dying, gazing at the sky, remembered sweet Argos. Then virtuous Æneas hurled a spear: it passed through Mezentius’s curved shield of triple-bronze, through linen, and the interwoven layers of three bull’s hides, and lodged |
| inguine, sed viris haud pertulit. ocius ensem Æneas viso Tyrrheni sanguine lætus eripit a femine et trepidanti fervidus instat. ingemuit cari graviter genitoris amore, ut vidit, Lausus, lacrimæque per ora volutæ — | 790 | deep in the groin, but failed to drive home with force. Æneas, joyful at the sight of the Tuscan blood, snatched the sword from his side, and pressed his shaken enemy hotly. Lausus, seeing it, groaned heavily for love of his father, and tears rolled down his cheeks — |
| hic mortis duræ casum tuaque optima facta, si qua fidem tanto est operi latura vetustas, non equidem nec te, juvenis memorande, silebo — ille pedem referens et inutilis inque ligatus cedebat clipeoque inimicum hastile trahebat. | 795 | and here I’ll not be silent, for my part, about your harsh death, through fate, nor, if future ages place belief in such deeds, your actions, so glorious, nor you yourself, youth, worthy of remembrance — his father was retreating, yielding ground, helpless, hampered, dragging the enemy lance along with his shield. |
| proripuit juvenis seseque immiscuit armis, jamque assurgentis dextra plagamque ferentis Æneæ subiit mucronem ipsumque morando sustinuit ; socii magno clamore sequuntur, dum genitor nati parma protectus abiret, | 800 | The youth ran forward, and plunged into the fray, and, just as Æneas’s right hand lifted to strike a blow, he snatched at the sword-point, and checked him in delay: his friends followed with great clamor, and, with a shower of spears, forced the enemy to keep his distance till the father |
| telaque conjiciunt perturbantque eminus hostem missilibus. furit Æneas tectusque tenet se. ac velut effusa si quando grandine nimbi præcipitant, omnis campis diffugit arator omnis et agricola, et tuta latet arce viator | 805 | could withdraw, protected by his son’s shield. Æneas raged, but kept himself under cover. As every ploughman and farmer runs from the fields when storm-clouds pour down streams of hail, and the passer by shelters in a safe corner, under a river |
| aut amnis ripis aut alti fornice saxi, dum pluit in terris, ut possint sole reducto exercere diem : sic obrutus undique telis Æneas nubem belli, dum detonet omnis, sustinet et Lausum increpitat Lausoque minatur : | 810 | bank or an arch of high rock, while the rain falls to earth, so as to pursue the day’s work when the sun returns: so, overwhelmed by missiles from every side, Æneas endured the clouds of war, while they all thundered, and rebuked Lausus, and threatened Lausus, saying: |
| « quo moriture ruis majoraque viribus audes? fallit te incautum pietas tua. » nec minus ille exsultat demens, sævæ jamque altius iræ Dardanio surgunt ductori, extremaque Lauso Parcæ fila legunt. validum namque exigit ensem | 815 | “Why are you rushing to death, with courage beyond your strength? Your loyalty’s betraying you to foolishness.” Nevertheless the youth raged madly, and now fierce anger rose higher in the Trojan leader’s heart, and the Fates gathered together the last threads of Lausus’s life. For Æneas drove his sword |
| per medium Æneas juvenem totumque recondit ; transiit et parmam mucro, levia arma minacis, et tunicam molli mater quam neverat auro, implevitque sinum sanguis ; tum vita per auras concessit mæsta ad Manis corpusque reliquit. | 820 | firmly through the youth’s body, and buried it to the hilt: the point passed through his shield, too light for his threats, and the tunic of soft gold thread his mother had woven, blood filled its folds: then life left the body and fled, sorrowing, through the air to the spirits below. |
| At vero ut vultum vidit morientis et ora, ora modis Anchisiades pallentia miris, ingemuit miserans graviter dextramque tetendit, et mentem patriæ subiit pietatis imago. « quid tibi nunc, miserande puer, pro laudibus istis, | 825 | And when Anchises’s son saw the look on his dying face, that face pale with the wonderment of its ending, he groaned deeply with pity and stretched out his hand, as that reflection of his own love for his father touched his heart. “Unhappy child, what can loyal Æneas grant |
| quid pius Æneas tanta dabit indole dignum? arma, quibus lætatus, habe tua ; teque parentum manibus et cineri, si qua est ea cura, remitto. hoc tamen infelix miseram solabere mortem : Æneæ magni dextra cadis. » increpat ultro | 830 | to such a nature, worthy of these glorious deeds of yours? Keep the weapons you delighted in: and if it is something you are anxious about, I return you to the shades and ashes of your ancestors. This too should solace you, unhappy one, for your sad death: you died at the hands of great Æneas.” Also he rebuked |
| cunctantis socios et terra sublevat ipsum sanguine turpantem comptos de more capillos. Interea genitor Tiberini ad fluminis undam vulnera siccabat lymphis corpusque levabat arboris acclinis trunco. procul ærea ramis | 835 | Lausus’s comrades, and lifted their leader from the earth, where he was soiling his well-ordered hair with blood. Meanwhile the father, Mezentius, staunched his wounds by the waters of Tiber’s river, and rested his body by leaning against a tree trunk. His bronze helmet hung |
| dependet galea et prato gravia arma quiescunt. stant lecti circum juvenes ; ipse æger anhelans colla fovet fusus propexam in pectore barbam ; multa super Lauso rogitat, multumque remittit qui revocent mæstique ferant mandata parentis. | 840 | on a nearby branch, and his heavy armor lay peacefully on the grass. The pick of his warriors stood around: he himself, weak and panting eased his neck, his flowing beard streaming over his chest. Many a time he asked for Lausus, and many times sent men to carry him a sorrowing father’s orders and recall him. |
| at Lausum socii exanimem super arma ferebant flentes, ingentem atque ingenti vulnere victum. agnovit longe gemitum præsaga mali mens. canitiem multo deformat pulvere et ambas ad cælum tendit palmas et corpore inhæret. | 845 | But his weeping comrades were carrying the dead Lausus, on his armor, a great man conquered by a mighty wound. The mind prescient of evil, knew their sighs from far off. Mezentius darkened his white hair with dust, and lifted both hands to heaven, clinging to the body: |
| « tantane me tenuit vivendi, nate, voluptas, ut pro me hostili paterer succedere dextræ, quem genui? tuane hæc genitor per vulnera servor morte tua vivens? heu, nunc misero mihi demum exitium infelix, nunc alte vulnus adactum! | 850 | “My son, did such delight in living possess me, that I let you face the enemy force in my place, you whom I fathered? Is this father of yours alive through your death, saved by your wounds? Ah, now at last my exile is wretchedly driven home: and my wound, deeply! |
| idem ego, nate, tuum maculavi crimine nomen, pulsus ob invidiam solio sceptrisque paternis. debueram patriæ pœnas odiisque meorum : omnis per mortis animam sontem ipse dedissem! nunc vivo neque adhuc homines lucemque relinquo. | 855 | My son, I have also tarnished your name by my crime, driven in hatred from my fathers’ throne and sceptre. I have long owed reparation to my country and my people’s hatred: I should have yielded my guilty soul to death in any form! Now I live: I do not leave humankind yet, or the light, |
| sed linquam. » simul hoc dicens attollit in ægrum se femur et, quamquam vis alto vulnere tardat, haud dejectus equum duci jubet. hoc decus illi, hoc solamen erat, bellis hoc victor abibat omnibus. alloquitur mærentem et talibus infit : | 860 | but I will leave.” So saying he raised himself weakly on his thigh, and, despite all, ordered his horse to be brought, though his strength ebbed from the deep wound. His mount was his pride, and it was his solace, on it he had ridden victorious from every battle. He spoke to the sorrowful creature, in these words: |
| « Rhæbe, diu, res si qua diu mortalibus ulla est, viximus. aut hodie victor spolia illa cruenti et caput Æneæ referes Lausique dolorum ultor eris mecum, aut, aperit si nulla viam vis, occumbes pariter ; neque enim, fortissime, credo, | 865 | “Rhæbus, we have lived a long time, if anything lasts long for mortal beings. Today you will either carry the head of Æneas, and his blood-stained spoils, in victory, and avenge Lausus’s pain with me, or die with me, if no power opens that road to us: I don’t think that you, the bravest of creatures, will deign |
| jussa aliena pati et dominos dignabere Teucros. » dixit, et exceptus tergo consueta locavit membra manusque ambas jaculis oneravit acutis, ære caput fulgens cristaque hirsutus equina. sic cursum in medios rapidus dedit ; æstuat ingens | 870 | to suffer a stranger’s orders or a Trojan master.” He spoke, then, mounting, disposed his limbs as usual, and weighted each hand with a sharp javelin, his head gleaming with bronze, bristling with its horsehair crest. So he launched himself quickly into the fray. In that one heart |
| uno in corde pudor mixtoque insania luctu [et furiis agitatus amor et conscia virtus]. atque hic Ænean magna ter voce vocavit. Æneas agnovit enim lætusque precatur : « sic pater ille deum faciat, sic altus Apollo! | 875 | a vast flood of shame and madness mingled with grief. and love deranged by fury and the sense of valor. And now thrice he called to Æneas in a great voice. well did Æneas recognize it, and offered up a joyous prayer: “So may the father of the gods himself grant it, so Apollo on high! |
| Incipias conferre manum. » tantum effatus et infesta subit obvius hasta. ille autem : « quid me erepto, sævissime, nato terres? hæc via sola fuit qua perdere posses : nec mortem horremus nec divum parcimus ulli. | 880 | You, then, begin the conflict….” He spoke those words and moved against him with level spear. But Mezentius replied: “How can you frighten me, most savage of men, me, bereft of my son? That was the only way you could destroy me: I do not shrink from death, or halt for any god. |
| desine, nam venio moriturus et hæc tibi porto dona prius. » dixit, telumque intorsit in hostem ; inde aliud super atque aliud figitque volatque ingenti gyro, sed sustinet aureus umbo. ter circum astantem lævos equitavit in orbis | 885 | Cease, since I come here to die, and bring you, first, these gifts.” He spoke, and hurled a spear at his enemy: then landed another and yet another, wheeling in a wide circle, but the gilded shield withstood them. He rode three times round his careful enemy, Æneas on his left, |
| tela manu jaciens, ter secum Trojus heros immanem ærato circumfert tegmine silvam. inde ubi tot traxisse moras, tot spicula tædet vellere, et urgetur pugna congressus iniqua, multa movens animo jam tandem erumpit et inter | 890 | throwing javelins from his hand: three times the Trojan hero dragged round the huge thicket of spears fixed in his bronze shield. Then tired of all that drawn-out delay, of ripping out the shafts, pressed by the unequal conflict, planning hard, he finally broke free, |
| bellatoris equi cava tempora conjicit hastam. tollit se arrectum quadripes et calcibus auras verberat, effusumque equitem super ipse secutus implicat ejectoque incumbit cernuus armo. clamore incendunt cælum Trœsque Latinique. | 895 | hurling his spear straight between the war horse’s curved temples. The animal reared, and lashed the air with its hooves, and throwing its rider, followed him down, from above, entangling him, collapsing headlong onto him, its shoulder thrown. Trojans and Latins ignited the heavens with their shouts. |
| advolat Æneas vaginaque eripit ensem et super hæc : « ubi nunc Mezentius acer et illa effera vis animi? » contra Tyrrhenus, ut auras suspiciens hausit cælum mentemque recepit : « hostis amare, quid increpitas mortemque minaris? | 900 | Æneas ran to him, plucking his sword from its sheath and standing over him, cried: “Where is fierce Mezentius, now, and the savage force of that spirit?” The Tuscan replied, as, lifting his eyes to the sky, and gulping the air, he regained his thoughts: “Bitter enemy, why taunt, or threaten me in death? |
| nullum in cæde nefas, nec sic ad prœlia veni, nec tecum meus hæc pepigit mihi fœdera Lausus. unum hoc per si qua est victis venia hostibus oro : corpus humo patiare tegi. scio acerba meorum circumstare odia : hunc, oro, defende furorem | 905 | There is no sin in killing: I did not come to fight believing so, nor did my Lausus agree any treaty between you and me. I only ask, by whatever indulgence a fallen enemy might claim, that my body be buried in the earth. I know that my people’s fierce hatred surrounds me: protect me, I beg you, |
| et me consortem nati concede sepulcro. » hæc loquitur, juguloque haud inscius accipit ensem undantique animam diffundit in arma cruore. | from their anger, and let me share a tomb with my son.” So he spoke, and in full awareness received the sword in his throat, and poured out his life, over his armor, in a wave of blood. |
| Liber XI | ⤊ | |
| P. VERGILII MARONIS ÆNEIDOS LIBER UNDECIMUS | ||
| Oceanum interea surgens Aurora reliquit : Æneas, quamquam et sociis dare tempus humandis præcipitant curæ turbataque funere mens est, vota deum primo victor solvebat Eoo. ingentem quercum decisis undique ramis | 5 | Meanwhile Dawn rose and left the ocean waves: though Æneas’s sorrow urged him to spend his time on his comrades’ burial, and his mind was burdened by death, as victor, at first light, he discharged his vows to the gods. He planted a great oak trunk, its branches lopped all round, |
| constituit tumulo fulgentiaque induit arma, Mezenti ducis exuvias, tibi magne tropæum bellipotens ; aptat rorantis sanguine cristas telaque trunca viri, et bis sex thoraca petitum perfossumque locis, clipeumque ex ære sinistræ | 10 | on a tumulus, and decked it out as a trophy to you, great god of war, in the gleaming armor stripped from the leader, Mezentius: he fastened the crests to it, dripping with blood, the warrior’s broken spears, and the battered breastplate, pierced in twelve places: he tied the bronze shield to its left side, |
| subligat atque ensem collo suspendit eburnum. tum socios (namque omnis eum stipata tegebat turba ducum) sic incipiens hortatur ovantis : « maxima res effecta, viri ; timor omnis abesto, quod superest ; hæc sunt spolia et de rege superbo | 15 | and hung the ivory-hilted sword from its neck. Then he began to encourage his rejoicing comrades: “We have done great things, men: banish all fear of what’s left to do: these are the spoils of a proud king, the first fruits of victory, |
| primitiæ manibusque meis Mezentius hic est. nunc iter ad regem nobis murosque Latinos. arma parate, animis et spe præsumite bellum, ne qua mora ignaros, ubi primum vellere signa annuerint superi pubemque educere castris, | 20 | and this is Mezentius, fashioned by my hands. Now our path is towards King Latinus and his city walls. Look to your weapons, spiritedly, make war your expectation, so when the gods above give us the sign to take up our standards, and lead out our soldiers from the camp, no delay may halt us |
| impediat segnisve metu sententia tardet. interea socios inhumataque corpora terræ mandemus, qui solus honos Acheronte sub imo est. ite, » ait « egregias animas, quæ sanguine nobis hanc patriam peperere suo, decorate supremis | 25 | unawares, or wavering purpose hold us back through fear. Meanwhile let us commit to earth the unburied bodies of our friends, the only tribute recognised in Acheron’s depths. Go,” he said, “grace these noble spirits with your last gifts, who have won this country for us with their blood, |
| muneribus, mæstamque Evandri primus ad urbem mittatur Pallas, quem non virtutis egentem abstulit atra dies et funere mersit acerbo. » Sic ait illacrimans, recipitque ad limina gressum corpus ubi exanimi positum Pallantis Acœtes | 30 | and first let Pallas’s body be sent to Evander’s grieving city, he, whom a black day stole, though no way lacking in courage, and plunged in death’s bitterness.” So he spoke, weeping, and retraced his steps to the threshold where Pallas’s lifeless corpse was laid, watched |
| servabat senior, qui Parrhasio Evandro armiger ante fuit, sed non felicibus æque tum comes auspiciis caro datus ibat alumno. circum omnis famulumque manus Trojanaque turba et mæstum Iliades crinem de more solutæ. | 35 | by old Acœtes, who before had been armor-bearer to Arcadian Evander, but then, under less happy auspices, set out as the chosen guardian for his dear foster-child. All the band of attendants, and the Trojan crowd, stood around, and the Ilian women, hair loosened as customary in mourning. |
| ut vero Æneas foribus sese intulit altis ingentem gemitum tunsis ad sidera tollunt pectoribus, mæstoque immugit regia luctu. ipse caput nivei fultum Pallantis et ora ut vidit levique patens in pectore vulnus | 40 | As Æneas entered the tall doorway they struck their breasts, and raised a great cry to the heavens, and the royal pavilion rang with sad lamentation. When he saw the pillowed face and head of Pallas, pale as snow, and the open wound of the Ausonian spear |
| cuspidis Ausoniæ, lacrimis ita fatur obortis : « tene, » inquit « miserande puer, quum læta veniret, invidit Fortuna mihi, ne regna videres nostra neque ad sedes victor veherere paternas? non hæc Evandro de te promissa parenti | 45 | in his smooth chest, he spoke, his tears rising: “Unhappy child, when Fortune entered smiling was it she who begrudged you to me, so that you would not see my kingdom, or ride, victorious, to your father’s house? This was not the last promise I made your father, Evander, |
| discedens dederam, quum me complexus euntem mitteret in magnum imperium metuensque moneret acris esse viros, cum dura prœlia gente. et nunc ille quidem spe multum captus inani fors et vota facit cumulatque altaria donis, | 50 | on leaving, when he embraced me, sending me off to win a great empire, and warned me with trepidation that the enemy were brave, a tough race. And now, greatly deluded by false hopes, he perhaps is making vows, piling the altars high with gifts, |
| nos juvenem exanimum et nil jam cælestibus ullis debentem vano mæsti comitamur honore. infelix, nati funus crudele videbis! hi nostri reditus exspectatique triumphi? hæc mea magna fides? at non, Evandre, pudendis | 55 | while we, grieving, follow his son in vain procession, one who no longer owes any debt to the gods. Unhappy one, you will see the bitter funeral of your child! Is this how we return, is this our hoped-for triumph? Is this what my great promise amounted to? |
| vulneribus pulsum aspicies, nec sospite dirum optabis nato funus pater. ei mihi quantum præsidium, Ausonia, et quantum tu perdis, Jule! » Hæc ubi deflevit, tolli miserabile corpus imperat, et toto lectos ex agmine mittit | 60 | Yet, Evander, your eyes will not see a son struck down with shameful wounds, nor be a father praying for death, accursed because your son came home alive. Alas, how great was the protector, who is lost to you, Ausonia, and you, Julus.” When he had ended his lament, he ordered them to lift the sad corpse, and he sent a thousand men, chosen |
| mille viros qui supremum comitentur honorem intersintque patris lacrimis, solacia luctus exigua ingentis, misero sed debita patri. haud segnes alii cratis et molle feretrum arbuteis texunt virgis et vimine querno | 65 | from the ranks, to attend the last rites, and share the father’s tears, a meagre solace for so great a grief, but owed a father’s sorrow. Others, without delay, interwove the frame of a bier with twigs of oak, and shoots of arbutus, shading |
| exstructosque toros obtentu frondis inumbrant. hic juvenem agresti sublimem stramine ponunt : qualem virgineo demessum pollice florem seu mollis violæ seu languentis hyacinthi, cui neque fulgor adhuc nec dum sua forma recessit, | 70 | the bed they constructed with a covering of leaves. Here they placed the youth high on his rustic couch: like a flower plucked by a young girl’s fingers, a sweet violet or a drooping hyacinth, whose brightness and beauty have not yet faded, but whose native earth |
| non jam mater alit tellus virisque ministrat. tum geminas vestis auroque ostroque rigentis extulit Æneas, quas illi læta laborum ipsa suis quondam manibus Sidonia Dido fecerat et tenui telas discreverat auro. | 75 | no longer nourishes it, or gives it strength. Then Æneas brought two robes of rigid gold and purple that Sidonian Dido had made for him once, with her own hands, delighting in the labor, interweaving the fabric with gold thread. |
| harum unam juveni supremum mæstus honorem induit arsurasque comas obnubit amictu, multaque præterea Laurentis præmia pugnæ aggerat et longo prædam jubet ordine duci ; addit equos et tela quibus spoliaverat hostem. | 80 | Sorrowing, he draped the youth with one of these as a last honor, and veiled that hair, which would be burned, with its cloth, and heaped up many gifts as well from the Laurentine battle and ordered the spoils to be carried in a long line: he added horses and weapons stripped from the enemy. |
| vinxerat et post terga manus, quos mitteret umbris inferias, cæso sparsurus sanguine flammas, indutosque jubet truncos hostilibus armis ipsos ferre duces inimicaque nomina figi. ducitur infelix ævo confectus Acœtes, | 85 | He had the hands of those he sent as offerings to the shades, to sprinkle the flames with blood in dying, bound behind their backs, and ordered the leaders themselves to carry tree-trunks draped with enemy weapons, with the names of the fœ attached. Unhappy Acœtes, wearied with age, was led along, |
| pectora nunc fœdans pugnis, nunc unguibus ora, sternitur et toto projectus corpore terræ ; ducunt et Rutulo perfusos sanguine currus. post bellator equus positis insignibus Æthon it lacrimans guttisque umectat grandibus ora. | 90 | now bruising his chest with his fists, now marring his face with his nails, until he fell, full-length on the ground: and they led chariots drenched with Rutulian blood. Behind went the war-horse, Æthon, without his trappings, mourning, wetting his face with great tear drops. |
| hastam alii galeamque ferunt, nam cetera Turnus victor habet. tum mæsta phalanx Teucrique sequuntur Tyrrhenique omnes et versis Arcades armis. postquam omnis longe comitum præcesserat ordo, substitit Æneas gemituque hæc addidit alto : | 95 | Others carried Pallas’s spear and helmet, the rest Turnus held as victor. Then a grieving procession followed, Trojans, Etruscans, and Arcadians with weapons reversed. When all the ranks of his comrades had advanced far ahead, Æneas halted, and added this, with a deep sigh: |
| « nos alias hinc ad lacrimas eadem horrida belli fata vocant : salve æternum mihi, maxime Palla, æternumque vale. » nec plura effatus ad altos tendebat muros gressumque in castra ferebat. Jamque oratores aderant ex urbe Latina | 100 | “This same harsh fate of warfare calls me from here to other weeping: my salute for eternity to you, noble Pallas, and for eternity, farewell.” Without speaking more he turned his steps toward the camp and headed for the walls. And now ambassadors, shaded with olive branches, |
| velati ramis oleæ veniamque rogantes : corpora, per campos ferro quæ fusa jacebant, redderet ac tumulo sineret succedere terræ ; nullum cum victis certamen et æthere cassis ; parceret hospitibus quondam socerisque vocatis. | 105 | came from the Latin city, seeking favors: they asked him to return the bodies of men, felled by the sword, overflowing the plain, and allow them to be buried under a mound of earth. there could be no quarrel with the lost, devoid of the light: let him spare those who were once hosts and fathers of brides. |
| quos bonus Æneas haud aspernanda precantis prosequitur venia et verbis hæc insuper addit : « quænam vos tanto fortuna indigna, Latini, implicuit bello, qui nos fugiatis amicos? pacem me exanimis et Martis sorte peremptis | 110 | Æneas courteously granted prayers he could not refuse, and added these words as well: “Latins, what shameful mischance has entangled you in a war like this, so that you fly from being our friends? Do you seek peace for your dead killed by fate in battle? |
| oratis? equidem et vivis concedere vellem. nec veni, nisi fata locum sedemque dedissent, nec bellum cum gente gero ; rex nostra reliquit hospitia et Turni potius se credidit armis. æquius huic Turnum fuerat se opponere morti. | 115 | I would gladly grant it to the living too. I would not be here, if fate had not granted me a place, a home, nor do I wage war on your people: your king abandoned our friendship, and thought Turnus’s army greater. It would have been more just for Turnus himself to meet |
| si bellum finire manu, si pellere Teucros apparat, his mecum decuit concurrere telis : vixet cui vitam deus aut sua dextra dedisset. nunc ite et miseris supponite civibus ignem. » dixerat Æneas. illi obstipuere silentes | 120 | this death. If he seeks to end the war by force, and drive out the Trojans, he should have fought me with these weapons, he whom the gods, or his right hand granted life, would have survived. Now go and light the fires for your unfortunate countrymen.” Æneas had spoken. They were silent, struck dumb, |
| conversique oculos inter se atque ora tenebant. Tum senior semperque odiis et crimine Drances infensus juveni Turno sic ore vicissim orsa refert : « o fama ingens, ingentior armis, vir Trojane, quibus cælo te laudibus æquem? | 125 | and kept their faces and their gaze fixed on one another. Then Drances, an elder, always hostile to young Turnus, shown in his dislike and reproaches, replied in turn, so: “O, Trojan hero, great in fame, greater in battle, how can I praise you to the skies enough? Should I |
| justitiæne prius mirer belline laborum? nos vero hæc patriam grati referemus ad urbem et te, si qua viam dederit Fortuna, Latino jungemus regi. quærat sibi fœdera Turnus. quin et fatalis murorum attollere moles | 130 | wonder first at your justice, or your efforts in war? Indeed we will gratefully carry these words back to our native city, and if Fortune offers a way, we will ally you to our king. Let Turnus seek treaties for himself. It will be a delight even to raise those massive walls |
| saxaque subvectare umeris Trojana juvabit. » dixerat hæc unoque omnes eadem ore fremebant. bis senos pepigere dies, et pace sequestra per silvas Teucri mixtique impune Latini erravere jugis. ferro sonat alta bipenni | 135 | and lift the stones of Troy on our shoulders.” He spoke, and they all murmured assent with one voice. They fixed a twelve day truce, and with peace as mediator, Trojans and Latins wandered together, in safety, through the wooded hills. The tall ash rang to the two-edged axe, |
| fraxinus, evertunt actas ad sidera pinus, robora nec cuneis et olentem scindere cedrum nec plaustris cessant vectare gementibus ornos. Et jam Fama volans, tanti prænuntia luctus, Evandrum Evandrique domos et mœnia replet, | 140 | they felled pine-trees towering to the heavens, and they never ceased splitting the oaks, and fragrant cedars, with wedges, or carrying away the manna ash in rumbling wagons. And now Rumor filled Evander’s ears, and the palace’s and the city’s, flying there, bringing news of that great grief: |
| quæ modo victorem Latio Pallanta ferebat. Arcades ad portas ruere et de more vetusto funereas rapuere faces ; lucet via longo ordine flammarum et late discriminat agros. contra turba Phrygum veniens plangentia jungit | 145 | Rumor, that a moment since was carrying Pallas’s victory to Latium. The Arcadians ran to the gates, and following ancient custom, seized torches for the funeral: the road shone with the long ranks of flames, parting the distant fields. The Trojan column, approaching, merged its files of mourners |
| agmina. quæ postquam matres succedere tectis viderunt, mæstam incendunt clamoribus urbem. at non Evandrum potis est vis ulla tenere, sed venit in medios. feretro Pallante reposto procubuit super atque hæret lacrimansque gemensque, | 150 | with them. When the women saw them nearing the houses, grief set the city ablaze with its clamor. But no force could restrain Evander, and he ran into their midst, flung himself on Pallas’s body, once the bier was set down, clinging to it with tears and groans, till at last, he spoke, |
| et via vix tandem voci laxata dolore est : « non hæc, o Palla, dederas promissa parenti, cautius ut sævo velles te credere Marti. haud ignarus eram quantum nova gloria in armis et prædulce decus primo certamine posset. | 155 | his grief scarcely allowing a path for his voice: “O Pallas, this was not the promise you made your father, that you would enter this savage war with caution. I am not ignorant how great new pride in weapons can be, and honor won in a first conflict is very sweet. |
| primitiæ juvenis miseræ bellique propinqui dura rudimenta, et nulli exaudita deorum vota precesque meæ! tuque, o sanctissima conjunx, felix morte tua neque in hunc servata dolorem! contra ego vivendo vici mea fata, superstes | 160 | Alas for the first fruits of your young life, and your harsh schooling in a war so near us, and for my vows and prayers unheard by any god! Happy were you, O my most sacred Queen, in a death that saved you from this sorrow! I, by living on, have exceeded my fate, to survive as father |
| restarem ut genitor. Troum socia arma secutum obruerent Rutuli telis! animam ipse dedissem atque hæc pompa domum me, non Pallanta, referret! nec vos arguerim, Teucri, nec fœdera nec quas junximus hospitio dextras : sors ista senectæ | 165 | without son. I should have marched with the allied armies of Troy and been killed by those Rutulian spears! I should have given my life, and this pomp should have carried me, not Pallas, home! Yet I do not blame you, Trojans, or our treaty, or the hands we clasped in friendship: my white hairs are the cause of this. |
| debita erat nostræ. quod si immatura manebat mors gnatum, cæsis Volscorum milibus ante ducentem in Latium Teucros cecidisse juvabit. quin ego non alio digner te funere, Palla, quam pius Æneas et quam magni Phryges et quam | 170 | And if an untimely death awaited my son it is my joy that he fell leading the Trojans into Latium, killing Volscians in thousands. Indeed, Pallas, I thought you worthy of no other funeral than this that virtuous Æneas, the great Phyrgians, |
| Tyrrhenique duces, Tyrrhenum exercitus omnis. magna tropæa ferunt quos dat tua dextera leto ; tu quoque nunc stares immanis truncus in arvis, esset par ætas et idem si robur ab annis, Turne. sed infelix Teucros quid demoror armis? | 175 | the Etruscan leaders and all the Etruscans chose. Those, whom your right hand dealt death to, bring great trophies: Turnus, you too would be standing here, a vast tree-trunk hung with weapons, if years and mature strength had been alike in both. But why in my unhappiness do I keep the Trojans from war? |
| vadite et hæc memores regi mandata referte : quod vitam moror invisam Pallante perempto dextera causa tua est, Turnum gnatoque patrique quam debere vides. meritis vacat hic tibi solus fortunæque locus. non vitæ gaudia quæro, | 180 | Go, and remember to take this message to your king: if I prolong a life that’s hateful to me, now Pallas is dead, it’s because you know your right hand owes father and son the death of Turnus. That is the one path of kindness to me and success for you that lies open. I don’t ask for joy while alive, |
| nec fas, sed gnato manis perferre sub imos. » Aurora interea miseris mortalibus almam extulerat lucem referens opera atque labores : jam pater Æneas, jam curvo in litore Tarchon constituere pyras. huc corpora quisque suorum | 185 | (that’s not allowed me) but to carry it to my son deep among the shades.” Dawn, meanwhile, had raised her kindly light on high for wretched men, calling them again to work and toil: now Æneas the leader, now Tarchon, had erected pyres on the curving bay. Here according to ancestral custom they each |
| more tulere patrum, subjectisque ignibus atris conditur in tenebras altum caligine cælum. ter circum accensos cincti fulgentibus armis decurrere rogos, ter mæstum funeris ignem lustravere in equis ululatusque ore dedere. | 190 | brought the bodies of their people, and as the gloomy fires were lit beneath, the high sky was veiled in a dark mist. Three times they circled the blazing piles, clad in gleaming armor, three times they rounded the mournful funeral flames on horseback, and uttered wailing cries. |
| spargitur et tellus lacrimis, sparguntur et arma, it cælo clamorque virum clangorque tubarum. hic alii spolia occisis derepta Latinis conjiciunt igni, galeas ensisque decoros frenaque ferventisque rotas ; pars munera nota, | 195 | Tears sprinkled the earth, and sprinkled the armor, the clamor of men and blare of trumpets climbed to the heavens. Then some flung spoils, stripped from the slaughtered Latins, onto the fire, helmets and noble swords, bridles and swift wheels: |
| ipsorum clipeos et non felicia tela. multa boum circa mactantur corpora Morti, sætigerosque sues raptasque ex omnibus agris in flammam jugulant pecudes. tum litore toto ardentis spectant socios semustaque servant | 200 | others, gifts familiar to the dead, their shields and luckless weapons. Many head of cattle were sacrificed round these, to Death. They cut the throats of bristling boars, and flocks culled from the whole country, over the flames. Then they watched their comrades burn, all along the shore, and kept guard |
| busta, neque avelli possunt, nox umida donec invertit cælum stellis ardentibus aptum. Nec minus et miseri diversa in parte Latini innumeras struxere pyras, et corpora partim multa virum terræ infodiunt, avectaque partim | 205 | over the charred pyres, and could not tear themselves away till dew-wet night wheeled the sky round, inset with shining stars. Elsewhere too the wretched Latins built innumerable pyres. Some of the many corpses they buried in the earth, some they took |
| finitimos tollunt in agros urbique remittunt. cetera confusæque ingentem cædis acervum nec numero nec honore cremant ; tunc undique vasti certatim crebris collucent ignibus agri. tertia lux gelidam cælo dimoverat umbram : | 210 | and carried to the fields nearby, or sent onwards to the city. The rest, a vast pile of indiscriminate dead, they burnt without count, and without honors: then the wide fields on every side shone thick with fires, in emulation. The third dawn dispelled chill shadows from the sky: |
| mærentes altum cinerem et confusa ruebant ossa focis tepidoque onerabant aggere terræ. jam vero in tectis, prædivitis urbe Latini, præcipuus fragor et longi pars maxima luctus. hic matres miseræque nurus, hic cara sororum | 215 | grieving, they raked the bones, mixed with a depth of ash, from the pyres, and heaped a mound of warm earth over them. Meanwhile, the main clamor, and the heart of their prolonged lamentation, was inside the walls, in the city of rich Latinus. Here mothers and unhappy daughters-in-law, here the loving hearts |
| pectora mærentum puerique parentibus orbi dirum exsecrantur bellum Turnique hymenæos ; ipsum armis ipsumque jubent decernere ferro, qui regnum Italiæ et primos sibi poscat honores. ingravat hæc sævus Drances solumque vocari | 220 | of grieving sisters, and boys robbed of their fathers, cursed the dreadful war, and the marriage Turnus had intended, and demanded that he and he alone should fight it out with armor and blade, he who claimed for himself the kingdom of Italy, and the foremost honors. Cruelly, Drances added to this and testified that Turnus alone |
| testatur, solum posci in certamina Turnum. multa simul contra variis sententia dictis pro Turno, et magnum reginæ nomen obumbrat, multa virum meritis sustentat fama tropæis. Hos inter motus, medio in flagrante tumultu, | 225 | was summoned, that he alone was challenged to battle. At the same time many an opinion in varied words was against it, and for Turnus, and the Queen’s noble name protected him, while his great fame, and the trophies he’d earned, spoke for him. Amongst this stir, at the heart of the blaze of dissension, |
| ecce super mæsti magna Diomedis ab urbe legati responsa ferunt : nihil omnibus actum tantorum impensis operum, nil dona neque aurum nec magnas valuisse preces, alia arma Latinis quærenda, aut pacem Trojano ab rege petendum. | 230 | behold, to crown it all, the ambassadors brought an answer from Diomedes’s great city, sad that nothing had been achieved at the cost of all their efforts, presents and gold and heartfelt prayers had been useless, the Latins must find other armies or seek peace with the Trojan king. |
| deficit ingenti luctu rex ipse Latinus : fatalem Ænean manifesto numine ferri admonet ira deum tumulique ante ora recentes. ergo concilium magnum primosque suorum imperio accitos alta intra limina cogit. | 235 | King Latinus sank beneath this vast disappointment. The angry gods and the fresh graves before his eyes, had given warning that this fateful Æneas was clearly sent by divine will. So, summoning his high council, the leaders of his people, by royal command, he gathered them within his tall gates. |
| olli convenere fluuntque ad regia plenis tecta viis. sedet in mediis et maximus ævo et primus sceptris haud læta fronte Latinus. atque hic legatos Ætola ex urbe remissos quæ referant fari jubet, et responsa reposcit | 240 | They convened, streaming to the king’s palace, through the crowded streets. Latinus, the oldest and most powerful, seated himself at their center, with no pleasure in his aspect. And he ordered the ambassadors, back from the Ætolian city, to tell their news, asking for all the answers in order. |
| ordine cuncta suo. tum facta silentia linguis, et Venulus dicto parens ita farier infit: « Vidimus, o cives, Diomedem Argivaque castra, atque iter emensi casus superavimus omnis, contigimusque manum qua concidit Ilia tellus. | 245 | Then all tongues fell silent, and, obeying his order, Venulus began as follows: “O citizens, we have seen Diomedes and his Argive camp, completed our journey, overcome all dangers, and grasped that hand by which the land of Troy fell. |
| ille urbem Argyripam patriæ cognomine gentis victor Gargani condebat Ïapygis agris. postquam introgressi et coram data copia fandi, munera præferimus, nomen patriamque docemus, qui bellum intulerint, quæ causa attraxerit Arpos. | 250 | As victor over the Ïapygian fields, by the Garganus hills, he was founding the city of Argyripa, named after his father’s people. When we had entered, and were given leave to speak to him in person, we offered our gifts, and declared our name and country: who had made war on us: and what had brought us to Arpi. |
| auditis ille hæc placido sic reddidit ore : « o fortunatæ gentes, Saturnia regna, antiqui Ausonii, quæ vos fortuna quietos sollicitat suadetque ignota lacessere bella? quicumque Iliacos ferro violavimus agros | 255 | He listened and replied in this way with a calm look: “O fortunate nations, realms of Saturn, ancient peoples of Ausonia, what fortune troubles your peace and persuades you to invite base war? We who violated the fields of Troy with our blades, |
| (mitto ea quæ muris bellando exhausta sub altis, quos Simois premat ille viros) infanda per orbem supplicia et scelerum pœnas expendimus omnes, vel Priamo miseranda manus ; scit triste Minervæ sidus et Euboicæ cautes ultorque Caphereus. | 260 | (forgetting what we endured in battle beneath her high walls, or those warriors Simois drowned) have paid in atrocious suffering, and every kind of punishment, for our sins, throughout the world, a crew that even Priam would have pitied: Minerva’s dark star and that cliff of Eubœa, Caphereus the avenger, know it. |
| militia ex illa diversum ad litus abacti Atrides Protei Menelaus adusque columnas exsulat, Ætnæos vidit Cyclopas Ulixes. regna Neoptolemi referam versosque penatis Idomenei? Libycone habitantis litore Locros? | 265 | Menelaus, son of Atreus, driven from that warfare to distant shores, was exiled as far as Egypt, and the Pillars of Proteus, while Ulysses has viewed the Cyclopes of Ætna. Even Mycenean Agamemnon, leader of the mighty Greeks, was struck down at the hand of his wicked wife, when barely |
| ipse Mycenæus magnorum ductor Achivum conjugis infandæ prima inter limina dextra oppetiit, devictam Asiam subsedit adulter. invidisse deos, patriis ut redditus aris conjugium optatum et pulchram Calydona viderem? | 270 | over the threshold: he conquered Asia, but an adulterer lurked. Need I speak of the kingdom of Neoptolemus, Idomeneus’s household overthrown, or the Locrians living on Libya’s coast? How the gods begrudged me my return to my country’s altars: the wife I longed for: and lovely Calydon? |
| nunc etiam horribili visu portenta sequuntur et socii amissi petierunt æthera pennis fluminibusque vagantur aves (heu, dira meorum supplicia!) et scopulos lacrimosis vocibus implent. hæc adeo ex illo mihi jam speranda fuerunt | 275 | Even now visitations pursue me, dreadful to see: my lost comrades, as birds, sought the sky with their wings or haunt the streams (alas a dire punishment for my people!) and fill the cliffs with their mournful cries. This was the fate I should have expected from that moment |
| tempore cum ferro cælestia corpora demens appetii et Veneris violavi vulnere dextram. ne vero, ne me ad talis impellite pugnas. nec mihi cum Teucris ullum post eruta bellum Pergama nec veterum memini lætorve malorum. | 280 | when, in madness, I attacked Venus’s heavenly body with my sword, and harmed her hand by wounding it. Do not, in truth, do not urge me to such conflict. Since Troy’s towers have fallen I have no quarrel with Teucer’s race, nor have I joyful memories of those ancient evils. |
| munera quæ patriis ad me portatis ab oris vertite ad Ænean. stetimus tela aspera contra contulimusque manus : experto credite quantus in clipeum assurgat, quo turbine torqueat hastam. si duo præterea talis Idæa tulisset | 285 | Take the gifts your bring me, from your country, to Æneas. I have withstood his cruel weapons and fought him hand to hand: trust my knowledge of how he looms tall above his shield, with what power he hurls his spear. Had the Troad produced two other men like him, |
| terra viros, ultro Inachias venisset ad urbes Dardanus, et versis lugeret Græcia fatis. quidquid apud duræ cessatum est mœnia Trojæ, Hectoris Æneæque manu victoria Grajum hæsit et in decimum vestigia rettulit annum. | 290 | the Trojans would have reached the Greek cities, and Greece would be grieving, their fates reversed. During all that time we spent facing the walls of enduring Troy a Greek victory was stalled at the hands of Hector and Æneas, and denied us till the tenth year. |
| ambo animis, ambo insignes præstantibus armis, hic pietate prior. cœant in fœdera dextræ, qua datur ; ast armis concurrant arma cavete." et responsa simul quæ sint, rex optime, regis audisti et quæ sit magno sententia bello. » | 295 | Both were outstanding in courage and weaponry: Æneas was first in virtue. Join hands with him in confederation, as best you can, but beware of crossing swords with him.” Noblest of kings, you have heard, in one, what their king replies and what his counsels are concerning this great war.” |
| Vix ea legati, variusque per ora cucurrit Ausonidum turbata fremor, ceu saxa morantur quum rapidos amnis, fit clauso gurgite murmur vicinæque fremunt ripæ crepitantibus undis. ut primum placati animi et trepida ora quierunt, | 300 | The ambassadors had scarcely finished speaking when diverse murmurs passed swiftly among the troubled Italian faces, just as when rocks detain a flowing river a muttering rises from the imprisoned eddies, and the banks, that border it echo with splashing waves. As soon as thoughts were calmer and anxious lips were quiet, the king |
| præfatus divos solio rex infit ab alto: « Ante equidem summa de re statuisse, Latini, et vellem et fuerat melius, non tempore tali cogere concilium, quum muros assidet hostis. bellum importunum, cives, cum gente deorum | 305 | began to speak, from his high throne, first calling on the gods: “Latins, I wish we had decided on this vital matter before now, and it would have been better not to convene the council at such a moment, when the enemy is settled in front of our walls. Citizens we are waging a wrong-headed war with a divine race, |
| invictisque viris gerimus, quos nulla fatigant prœlia nec victi possunt absistere ferro. spem si quam ascitis Ætolum habuistis in armis, ponite. spes sibi quisque ; sed hæc quam angusta videtis. cetera qua rerum jaceant perculsa ruina, | 310 | unconquered warriors whom no battles weary, and who will not relinquish the sword even when beaten. If you had hopes of the alliance with Ætolian armies, forgo them. Each has his own hopes: but see how slight they are. As for the rest of our affairs, the utter ruin they lie in |
| ante oculos interque manus sunt omnia vestras. nec quemquam incuso : potuit quæ plurima virtus esse, fuit ; toto certatum est corpore regni. nunc adeo quæ sit dubiæ sententia menti, expediam et paucis (animos adhibete) docebo. | 315 | is in front of your eyes and under your hands. I accuse no one: what the utmost courage could do has been done: the conflict has taken all the strength of our kingdom. So let me explain the decision of my deliberating mind, and I will outline it briefly (apply your thoughts to it). |
| est antiquus ager Tusco mihi proximus amni, longus in occasum, finis super usque Sicanos ; Aurunci Rutulique serunt, et vomere duros exercent collis atque horum asperrima pascunt. hæc omnis regio et celsi plaga pinea montis | 320 | There’s an ancient domain of mine along the Tuscan river, stretching westward, to the Sicanian border and beyond: Auruncans and Rutulians work the stubborn hills with the plough, sow seed there, and use the roughest slopes as pasture. Let us yield all this region, with the pine-clad tract of high hills, |
| cedat amicitiæ Teucrorum, et fœderis æquas dicamus leges sociosque in regna vocemus : considant, si tantus amor, et mœnia condant. sin alios finis aliamque capessere gentem est animus possuntque solo decedere nostro, | 325 | to the Trojans in friendship, and spell out the just terms of a treaty, and invite them to share our kingdom: let them settle, if their desire is such, and build their city. But if their wish is to conquer other territories and some other nation, and they might leave our soil, |
| bis denas Italo texamus robore navis ; seu pluris complere valent, jacet omnis ad undam materies : ipsi numerumque modumque carinis præcipiant, nos æra, manus, navalia demus. præterea, qui dicta ferant et fœdera firment | 330 | let us fashion twenty ships of Italian oak: or more if they can fill them, all the timber lies close to the water: let them set out the number and design of their fleet themselves: we’ll give the labor, the shipyard and the bronze. Moreover, I want a hundred envoys to go to carry the news |
| centum oratores prima de gente Latinos ire placet pacisque manu prætendere ramos, munera portantis aurique eborisque talenta et sellam regni trabeamque insignia nostri. consulite in medium et rebus succurrite fessis. » | 335 | and seal the pact, Latins of noblest birth, holding out branches as peace tokens in their hands, and bearing gifts, talents of ivory and gold, and the throne and the robe, symbols of royalty. Consult together, and repair our weary fortunes.” |
| Tum Drances idem infensus, quem gloria Turni obliqua invidia stimulisque agitabat amaris, largus opum et lingua melior, sed frigida bello dextera, consiliis habitus non futtilis auctor, seditione potens (genus huic materna superbum | 340 | Then Drances, whom Turnus’s glory provoked with the bitter sting of secret envy, rose, hostile as before,: lavish of his wealth, and a better speaker, but with a hand frozen in battle: held to be no mean adviser in council, and powerful in a quarrel (his mother’s high birth |
| nobilitas dabat, incertum de patre ferebat), surgit et his onerat dictis atque aggerat iras : « rem nulli obscuram nostræ nec vocis egentem consulis, o bone rex : cuncti se scire fatentur quid fortuna ferat populi, sed dicere mussant. | 345 | granted him nobility, his father’s origin was uncertain): and with these words added weight and substance to their anger: “O gracious king, you consult us on a subject clear to all, and needing no speech from us: everyone acknowledges they know what the public good demands, but shrink from speech. |
| det libertatem fandi flatusque remittat, cujus ob auspicium infaustum moresque sinistros (dicam equidem, licet arma mihi mortemque minetur) lumina tot cecidisse ducum totamque videmus consedisse urbem luctu, dum Troja temptat | 350 | Let that man, through whose inauspicious leadership and perverse ways (speak I will though he threaten me with violence or death) we have seen so many glorious leaders fall, and the city sunk in mourning, while he attacks the Trojan camp, |
| castra fugæ fidens et cælum territat armis. unum etiam donis istis, quæ plurima mitti Dardanidis dicique jubes, unum, optime regum, adjicias, nec te ullius violentia vincat quin natam egregio genero dignisque hymenæis | 355 | trusting in flight, and frightens heaven with his weapons, let him grant freedom of speech, and cease his arrogance. Add one further gift to the many you order us to send and communicate to the Trojans, one more, gracious king, why not, as a father may, and let no man’s violence prevent you, give your daughter to an illustrious man in a marriage |
| des pater, et pacem hanc æterno fœdere jungas. quod si tantus habet mentes et pectora terror, ipsum obtestemur veniamque oremus ab ipso : cedat, jus proprium regi patriæque remittat. quid miseros totiens in aperta pericula civis | 360 | worthy of her, binding this peace with an everlasting contract. But if fear of doing such possesses our minds and hearts, let us appeal to the prince, and beg permission from him: to yield, and give up his rights in favor of his king and his country. O Turnus, you who are the source and reason for all these problems |
| projicis, o Latio caput horum et causa malorum? nulla salus bello, pacem te poscimus omnes, Turne, simul pacis solum inviolabile pignus. primus ego, invisum quem tu tibi fingis (et esse nil moror), en supplex venio. miserere tuorum, | 365 | for Latium, why do you so often hurl your wretched countrymen into obvious danger? There’s no remedy in war, we all ask you for peace, together with the sole inviolable pledge of peace. I first of all, whom you imagine to be your enemy (and I will not contest it) come as a suppliant. Pity your people, |
| pone animos et pulsus abi. sat funera fusi vidimus ingentis et desolavimus agros. aut, si fama movet, si tantum pectore robur concipis et si adeo dotalis regia cordi est, aude atque adversum fidens fer pectus in hostem. | 370 | set your pride aside, and conquered, give way. Routed, we have seen enough of death and made broad acres desolate. Or, if glory stirs you, if you harbor such strength of feeling, and if a palace as dowry is so dear to you, be bold, and carry yourself confidently against the enemy. |
| scilicet ut Turno contingat regia conjunx, nos animæ viles, inhumata infletaque turba, sternamur campis. etiam tu, si qua tibi vis, si patrii quid Martis habes, illum aspice contra qui vocat. » | 375 | Surely we whose lives are worthless should be scattered over the fields, unburied and unwept, so that Turnus might gain his royal bride? And you too, if you have any strength, if you have any of your father’s warlike spirit, you must look into the face of your challenger.” |
| Talibus exarsit dictis violentia Turni. dat gemitum rumpitque has imo pectore voces : « larga quidem semper, Drance, tibi copia fandi tum quum bella manus poscunt, patribusque vocatis primus ades. sed non replenda est curia verbis, | 380 | Turnus’s fury blazed at such a speech. He gasped and from the depths of his heart gave vent to these words: “Drances, it’s true you always have more than plenty to say whenever war calls for men, and you’re first to appear when the senate is called together. But there’s no need to fill the council-house with words, |
| quæ tuto tibi magna volant, dum distinet hostem agger murorum nec inundant sanguine fossæ. proinde tona eloquio (solitum tibi) meque timoris argue tu, Drance, quando tot stragis acervos Teucrorum tua dextra dedit, passimque tropæis | 385 | that fly so freely from you when you are safe, when the rampart walls keep the enemy off and the ditches are not yet drowned in blood. So thunder away, eloquently (as is your wont) Drances, and charge me with cowardice when your hand has produced like mounds of Trojan dead, and dotted the fields everywhere |
| insignis agros. possit quid vivida virtus experiare licet, nec longe scilicet hostes quærendi nobis ; circumstant undique muros. imus in adversos — quid cessas? an tibi Mavors ventosa in lingua pedibusque fugacibus istis | 390 | with trophies. You’re free to try what raw courage can do, and certainly we don’t need to search far for enemies: they’re surrounding the walls on every side. Shall we go against them? Why hesitate? Will your appetite for war always remain |
| semper erit? pulsus ego? aut quisquam merito, fœdissime, pulsum arguet, Iliaco tumidum qui crescere Thybrim sanguine et Evandri totam cum stirpe videbit procubuisse domum atque exutos Arcadas armis? | 395 | in your airy tongue and fleeing feet? I, beaten? You total disgrace, can anyone who sees the Tiber swollen with Trojan blood, and all Evander’s house and race toppled, and the Arcadians stripped of weapons, say with justice I am beaten? |
| haud ita me experti Bitias et Pandarus ingens et quos mille die victor sub Tartara misi, inclusus muris hostilique aggere sæptus. nulla salus bello? capiti cane talia, demens, Dardanio rebusque tuis. proinde omnia magno | 400 | Bitias, and giant Pandarus, and the thousand men that I as victor sent down to Tartarus in one day, did not find it so, imprisoned though I was by the walls, and hedged by enemy ramparts. No safety in war? Madman, chant suchlike against the Trojan’s head, and your possessions. Go on then, troubling everyone |
| ne cessa turbare metu atque extollere viris gentis bis victæ, contra premere arma Latini. nunc et Myrmidonum proceres Phrygia arma tremescunt, nunc et Tydides et Larisæus Achilles, amnis et Hadriacas retro fugit Aufidus undas. | 405 | with your great fears, and extolling the powers of a race twice-defeated, while disparaging Latinus’s army. Now even Myrmidon princes, now Diomede, Tydeus’s son, and Larissean Achilles, tremble at Trojan weapons, and Aufidus’s river flows backwards from the Adriatic waves. |
| vel quum se pavidum contra mea jurgia fingit, artificis scelus, et formidine crimen acerbat. numquam animam talem dextra hac (absiste moveri) amittes : habitet tecum et sit pectore in isto. nunc ad te et tua magna, pater, consulta revertor. | 410 | And what when he pretends he’s afraid to quarrel with me, the cunning rascal, and intensifies the charge with false terror. You’ll not lose a life like yours to my right hand (don’t shrink) keep it, let it remain in your breast. Now, old father, I return to you and your great debate. |
| si nullam nostris ultra spem ponis in armis, si tam deserti sumus et semel agmine verso funditus occidimus neque habet Fortuna regressum, oremus pacem et dextras tendamus inertis. quamquam o si solitæ quicquam virtutis adesset! | 415 | If you place no further hope in our forces, if we’re so desolate, if one reverse for our troops has utterly destroyed us, and our Fortunes cannot return, let’s stretch out our helpless hands, and sue for peace. Oh if only our traditional courage was here, though. |
| ille mihi ante alios fortunatusque laborum egregiusque animi, qui, ne quid tale videret, procubuit moriens et humum semel ore momordit. sin et opes nobis et adhuc intacta juventus auxilioque urbes Italæ populique supersunt, | 420 | That man to me would be happy in his efforts, and outstanding in spirit, who had fallen in death, so as not to see such things, and who had bitten the dust once and for all. Yet if we still have our wealth and manhood intact and nations and cities of Italy are still our allies, |
| sin et Trojanis quum multo gloria venit sanguine (sunt illis sua funera, parque per omnis tempestas), cur indecores in limine primo deficimus? cur ante tubam tremor occupat artus? multa dies variique labor mutabilis ævi | 425 | if the Trojans won glory with great bloodshed, (they too have their dead, the storm of war’s the same for all) why do we lose heart, shamefully, on the very threshold? Why dœs fear seize our limbs before the trumpets sound? Many things change for the better with time, and the various |
| rettulit in melius, multos alterna revisens lusit et in solido rursus Fortuna locavit. non erit auxilio nobis Ætolus et Arpi : at Messapus erit felixque Tolumnius et quos tot populi misere duces, nec parva sequetur | 430 | labors of altering years: Fortune toys with many a man, then, visiting him in turn, sets him on solid ground again. The Ætolian and his Arpi will be no help to us: but Messapus will, and Tolumnius, the fortunate, and all those leaders sent by many a people: no little glory |
| gloria delectos Latio et Laurentibus agris. est et Volscorum egregia de gente Camilla agmen agens equitum et florentis ære catervas. quod si me solum Teucri in certamina poscunt idque placet tantumque bonis communibus obsto, | 435 | will accrue to the flower of Latium and Laurentine fields. We have Camilla too, of the glorious Volscian nation, leading her troop of riders, and squadrons bright with bronze. But if the Trojans only call me to fight, and that’s your wish, if I’m so great an obstacle to the common good, Victory is far |
| non adeo has exosa manus Victoria fugit ut tanta quicquam pro spe temptare recusem. ibo animis contra, vel magnum præstet Achillem factaque Volcani manibus paria induat arma ille licet. vobis animam hanc soceroque Latino | 440 | from having fled these hands of mine with such hatred that I should refuse to try anything for a hope so sweet. I’d face him with courage though he outclassed great Achilles, and wore armor to match, fashioned by Vulcan’s hands. I, Turnus, not second in virtue to any of my ancestors, |
| Turnus ego, haud ulli veterum virtute secundus, devovi. solum Æneas vocat? et vocet oro ; nec Drances potius, sive est hæc ira deorum, morte luat, sive est virtus et gloria, tollat. » Illi hæc inter se dubiis de rebus agebant | 445 | dedicate my life to you all, and to Latinus, father of my bride, Æneas challenges me alone? I pray that he dœs so challenge: and, if the gods’ anger is in this, that it is not Drances rather than I who appeases them in death, or if there’s worth and glory, takes it all. Arguing among themselves, they debated the issues |
| certantes : castra Æneas aciemque movebat. nuntius ingenti per regia tecta tumultu ecce ruit magnisque urbem terroribus implet : instructos acie Tiberino a flumine Teucros Tyrrhenamque manum totis descendere campis. | 450 |
in doubt: while Æneas was moving his camp and lines. See, a messenger runs through the royal palace, with great commotion, filling the city with huge alarm: the Trojans, ready for battle, and the Etruscan ranks were sweeping down from the river Tiber, over the plain. |
| extemplo turbati animi concussaque vulgi pectora et arrectæ stimulis haud mollibus iræ. arma manu trepidi poscunt, fremit arma juventus, flent mæsti mussantque patres. hic undique clamor dissensu vario magnus se tollit in auras, | 455 | At once people’s minds were troubled, their hearts shaken, and their deep anger roused by the ungentle shock. Anxiously they called for weapons: weapons the young men shouted, while their sad fathers wept and murmured. And now a great clamor filled with discord rose to heaven |
| haud secus atque alto in luco quum forte catervæ consedere avium, piscosove amne Padusæ dant sonitum rauci per stagna loquacia cycni. « immo, » ait « o cives, » arrepto tempore Turnus, « cogite concilium et pacem laudate sedentes ; | 460 | on every side, as when a flock of birds settles by chance in some tall grove, or when the swans give their hoarse calls, among noisy pools, by Padusa’s fish-filled streams. “Yes, oh citizens,” Turnus cried, seizing his moment, ‘convene your council and sit there praising peace: |
| illi armis in regna ruunt. » nec plura locutus corripuit sese et tectis citus extulit altis. « tu, Voluse, armari Volscorum edice maniplis, duc » ait « et Rutulos. equitem Messapus in armis, et cum fratre Coras latis diffundite campis. | 465 | while they attack us with weapons.” He said no more but sprang up and went swiftly from the high halls. “You, Volusus,” he shouted, ‘tell the Volscian troops to arm, and lead the Rutulians. Messapus, and Coras with your brother, deploy the cavalry, under arms, over the wide plain. |
| pars aditus urbis firment turrisque capessant ; cetera, qua jusso, mecum manus inferat arma. » Ilicet in muros tota discurritur urbe. concilium ipse pater et magna incepta Latinus deserit ac tristi turbatus tempore differt, | 470 | Let some secure the city gates, and occupy the towers: the rest carry their weapons with me, where I order.” At once there was a rush to the walls all over the city. King Latinus himself left the council, dismayed by the darkness of the hour, and abandoned his great plan, reproaching himself |
| multaque se incusat qui non acceperit ultro Dardanium Ænean generumque asciverit urbi. præfodiunt alii portas aut saxa sudesque subvectant. bello dat signum rauca cruentum bucina. tum muros varia cinxere corona | 475 | again and again for not having freely received Trojan Æneas, and adopted him as his son-in-law for the city’s sake. Some dug trenches in front of the gates or carried stones and stakes. The harsh trumpet gave the cruel call to war. Then a diverse circle of mothers and sons |
| matronæ puerique, vocat labor ultimus omnis. nec non ad templum summasque ad Palladis arces subvehitur magna matrum regina caterva dona ferens, juxtaque comes Lavinia virgo, causa mali tanti, oculos dejecta decoros. | 480 | ringed the walls: this final trial summoned them all. Moreover the Queen, with a great crowd of women, drove to Pallas’s temple on the heights of the citadel carrying gifts, virgin Lavinia next to her as her companion, a source of so much trouble, her beautiful eyes cast down. |
| succedunt matres et templum ture vaporant et mæstas alto fundunt de limine voces : « armipotens, præses belli, Tritonia virgo, frange manu telum Phrygii prædonis, et ipsum pronum sterne solo portisque effunde sub altis. » | 485 | The women climbed to the temple, filled it with incense fumes, and poured out sad prayers from the high threshold: “Tritonian Virgin, mighty in weapons, ruler of war, shatter the spear of the Trojan robber, with your hand, hurl him flat on the earth, stretch him prone beneath our high gates.” |
| cingitur ipse furens certatim in prœlia Turnus. jamque adeo rutilum thoraca indutus aënis horrebat squamis surasque incluserat auro, tempora nudus adhuc, laterique accinxerat ensem, fulgebatque alta decurrens aureus arce | 490 | Turnus, in a fury of zeal, armed himself for battle. He was already dressed in his glowing breastplate, bristling with bronze scales, his legs sheathed in gold, his temples still bare, his sword buckled to his side, shining, splendid, as he ran down from the citadel’s heights, |
| exsultatque animis et spe jam præcipit hostem : qualis ubi abruptis fugit præsæpia vinclis tandem liber equus, campoque potitus aperto aut ille in pastus armentaque tendit equarum aut assuetus aquæ perfundi flumine noto | 495 | exultant in spirit, already anticipating the enemy in hope: like a stallion, breaking his tether and fleeing his stall, free at last, lord of the open plain, who either heads for the pastures and the herds of mares, or, used to bathing |
| emicat, arrectisque fremit cervicibus alte luxurians luduntque jubæ per colla, per armos. Obvia cui Volscorum acie comitante Camilla occurrit portisque ab equo regina sub ipsis desiluit, quam tota cohors imitata relictis | 500 | in some familiar river, gallops away, and, with head held high, neighs with pleasure, his mane playing over neck and shoulder. Camilla sped to meet him, accompanied by her Volscian troops, and alighted from her horse close by the gates, all her company leaving their mounts at her example, |
| ad terram defluxit equis ; tum talia fatur : « Turne, sui merito si qua est fiducia forti, audeo et Æneadum promitto occurrere turmæ solaque Tyrrhenos equites ire obvia contra. me sine prima manu temptare pericula belli, | 505 |
and slipping to earth: then she spoke as follows: “Turnus, if the brave may rightly have faith in themselves, I dare to, and promise to, encounter Æneas’s cavalry, and ride to meet the Etruscan horsemen alone. Let me attempt the first dangers of the battle with my hand |
| tu pedes ad muros subsiste et mœnia serva. » Turnus ad hæc oculos horrenda in virgine fixus : « o decus Italiæ virgo, quas dicere grates quasve referre parem? sed nunc, est omnia quando iste animus supra, mecum partire laborem. | 510 | while you stay by the walls and protect the ramparts.” Turnus replied, his gaze fixed on this amazing girl: “O virgin glory of Italy, how should I attempt to thank you or repay you? But as your spirit soars beyond us all, share the task with me. |
| Æneas, ut fama fidem missique reportant exploratores, equitum levia improbus arma præmisit, quaterent campos ; ipse ardua montis per deserta jugo superans adventat ad urbem. furta paro belli convexo in tramite silvæ, | 515 | Æneas, so rumor says, and scouts sent out confirm, has deployed his light cavalry to search the plains thoroughly: he himself climbing the ridge, marches through the desolate heights towards the town. I am preparing an ambush on a deep track in the woods, |
| ut bivias armato obsidam milite fauces. tu Tyrrhenum equitem collatis excipe signis ; tecum acer Messapus erit turmæque Latinæ Tiburtique manus, ducis et tu concipe curam. » sic ait, et paribus Messapum in prœlia dictis | 520 | so as to block both entrances to the gorge with armed men: you must wait for the Etruscan cavalry charge: brave Messapus will be with you, and the Latin troops, and Tiburtus’s band, and you must take command as leader.” So he spoke, and exhorted Messapus and all the allied generals |
| hortatur sociosque duces et pergit in hostem. Est curvo anfractu valles, accommoda fraudi armorumque dolis, quam densis frondibus atrum urget utrimque latus, tenuis quo semita ducit angustæque ferunt fauces aditusque maligni. | 525 | to battle, with similar words, then moved against the enemy. There’s a valley with a winding bend, suitable for the tricks and stratagems of warfare, crowded on both sides by a dark wall of dense leaves, to which a narrow track leads: it has a confined floor, and a difficult entrance. |
| hanc super in speculis summoque in vertice montis planities ignota jacet tutique receptus, seu dextra lævaque velis occurrere pugnæ sive instare jugis et grandia volvere saxa. huc juvenis nota fertur regione viarum | 530 | Above it, among the look-outs of the high mountain tops, lies a hidden level and a secure shelter, whether one wishes to attack to right or left, or make a stand on the ridge and roll huge boulders down. Here the warrior hurried by a well known network of paths |
| arripuitque locum et silvis insedit iniquis. Velocem interea superis in sedibus Opim, unam ex virginibus sociis sacraque caterva, compellabat et has tristis Latonia voces ore dabat : « graditur bellum ad crudele Camilla, | 535 | and taking position he occupied the treacherous woods. Meanwhile, in heaven’s halls, Diana, Latona’s daughter, spoke to swift Opis, one of her sacred band of virgin followers, and gave voice to these sorrowful words: “Camilla is going to the cruel war, O virgin, and is taking up |
| o virgo, et nostris nequiquam cingitur armis, cara mihi ante alias. neque enim novus iste Dianæ venit amor subitaque animum dulcedine movit. pulsus ob invidiam regno virisque superbas Priverno antiqua Metabus quum excederet urbe, | 540 | my weapons in vain. She’s dearer to me than all others, and this is no new love that comes to Diana, or moves my spirit with sudden sweetness. When Metabus was driven from his throne by hatred of his tyrannical power, and was leaving Privernum, |
| infantem fugiens media inter prœlia belli sustulit exsilio comitem, matrisque vocavit nomine Casmillæ mutata parte Camillam. ipse sinu præ se portans juga longa petebat solorum nemorum : tela undique sæva premebant | 545 | his ancient city, fleeing amidst the conflict of war, he took his child to share his exile, and, slightly altering her mother’s name Casmilla, called her Camilla. Carrying her in front of him at his breast he sought a long ridge of lonely forests: fierce weapons threatened him on every side, |
| et circumfuso volitabant milite Volsci. ecce fugæ medio summis Amasenus abundans spumabat ripis, tantus se nubibus imber ruperat. ille innare parans infantis amore tardatur caroque oneri timet. omnia secum | 550 | and the Volscians hovered round him with their troops. While they were still in mid-flight, see, the Ausenus overflowed, foaming to the top of its banks, so great a downpour burst from the clouds. He, preparing to swim across, was held back by love of his child, and fear for his dear burden. Quickly, |
| versanti subito vix hæc sententia sedit : telum immane manu valida quod forte gerebat bellator, solidum nodis et robore cocto, huic natam libro et silvestri subere clausam implicat atque habilem mediæ circumligat hastæ ; | 555 | debating all options with himself, he settled reluctantly on this idea: the warrior fastened his daughter to the giant spear, solid with knots and of seasoned oak, he chanced to be carrying in his strong hand, wrapping her in the bark of a cork-tree from the woods, and tying her wisely to the middle of the shaft: |
| quam dextra ingenti librans ita ad æthera fatur : « alma, tibi hanc, nemorum cultrix, Latonia virgo, ipse pater famulam voveo ; tua prima per auras tela tenens supplex hostem fugit. accipe, testor, diva tuam, quæ nunc dubiis committitur auris." | 560 | then balancing it in his mighty hand he cried out to the heavens: “Kind virgin daughter of Latona, dweller in the woods, I her father dedicate this child to your service: fleeing the enemy through the air, yours is the first weapon she clasps as a suppliant. Goddess I beg you to accept as your own this that I now commit to the uncertain breeze.” |
| dixit, et adducto contortum hastile lacerto immittit : sonuere undæ, rapidum super amnem infelix fugit in jaculo stridente Camilla. at Metabus magna propius jam urgente caterva dat sese fluvio, atque hastam cum virgine victor | 565 | He spoke, and drawing back his arm hurled the spinning shaft: the waters roared, and the wretched Camilla flew over the rushing river on the hissing steel. And Metabus, with a great crowd of his enemies pressing him closely, gave himself to the flood, and victoriously snatched his gift |
| gramineo, donum Triviæ, de cæspite vellit. non illum tectis ullæ, non mœnibus urbes accepere (neque ipse manus feritate dedisset), pastorum et solis exegit montibus ævum. hic natam in dumis interque horrentia lustra | 570 | to Diana from the grassy turf, the spear and the little maid. No city would accept him within their houses or their walls, (nor would he in his savagery have given himself up to them) he passed his life among shepherds on the lonely mountains. Here, among the thickets of savage lairs, he nourished |
| armentalis equæ mammis et lacte ferino nutribat teneris immulgens ubera labris. utque pedum primis infans vestigia plantis institerat, jaculo palmas armavit acuto spiculaque ex umero parvæ suspendit et arcum. | 575 | his child at the udders of a mare from the herd, and milk from wild creatures, squeezing the teats into her delicate mouth. As soon as the infant had taken her first steps, he placed a sharp lance in her hands, and hung bow and quiver from the little one’s shoulder. |
| pro crinali auro, pro longæ tegmine pallæ tigridis exuviæ per dorsum a vertice pendent. tela manu jam tum tenera puerilia torsit et fundam tereti circum caput egit habena Strymoniamque gruem aut album dejecit olorem. | 580 | A tiger’s pelt hung over head and down her back instead of a gold clasp for her hair, and a long trailing robe. Even then she was hurling childish spears with tender hand, whirling a smooth-thonged sling round her head, bringing down Strymonian cranes and snowy swans. |
| multæ illam frustra Tyrrhena per oppida matres optavere nurum ; sola contenta Diana æternum telorum et virginitatis amorem intemerata colit. vellem haud correpta fuisset militia tali conata lacessere Teucros : | 585 | Many a mother in Etruscan fortresses wished for her as a daughter-in-law in vain: she, pure, content with Diana alone, cherished her love of her weapons and maidenhood. I wish she had not been swept up into such warfare, trying to challenge the Trojans: she would be |
| cara mihi comitumque foret nunc una mearum. verum age, quandoquidem fatis urgetur acerbis, labere, nympha, polo finisque invise Latinos, tristis ubi infausto committitur omine pugna. hæc cape et ultricem pharetra deprome sagittam : | 590 | my darling, and one of my company still. Come now, nymph, since bitter fate drives her on, slip from the sky and seek out the Latin borders, where with evil omen they join in sad battle. Take these weapons and draw an avenging arrow from the quiver, |
| hac, quicumque sacrum violarit vulnere corpus, Tros Italusque, mihi pariter det sanguine pœnas. post ego nube cava miserandæ corpus et arma inspoliata feram tumulo patriæque reponam. » dixit, at illa levis cæli delapsa per auras | 595 | and if anyone violates her sacred flesh by wounding her, Trojan or Italian, pay me with their equal punishment in blood. Then I’ll carry the body and untouched weapons of the poor girl in a cavernous cloud to a sepulchre, and bury her in her own land.” She spoke, and Opis slid down with a sound through |
| insonuit nigro circumdata turbine corpus. At manus interea muris Trojana propinquat, Etruscique duces equitumque exercitus omnis compositi numero in turmas. fremit æquore toto insultans sonipes et pressis pugnat habenis | 600 | heaven’s light air, her body veiled in a dark whirlwind. In the meantime the Trojan band with the Etruscan leaders, and all the cavalry, approached the walls, marshalled in squadrons troop by troop. Warhorses neighing, cavorted over the whole area, fighting the tight rein, |
| huc conversus et huc ; tum late ferreus hastis horret ager campique armis sublimibus ardent. nec non Messapus contra celeresque Latini et cum fratre Coras et virginis ala Camillæ adversi campo apparent, hastasque reductis | 605 | prancing this way and that: the field bristled far and wide with the steel of spears, and the plain blazed with lifted weapons. On the other side, also, Messapus, and the swift Latins, Coras with his brother, and virgin Camilla’s wing appeared, opposing them on the plain, and drawing their right arms far back |
| protendunt longe dextris et spicula vibrant, adventusque virum fremitusque ardescit equorum. jamque intra jactum teli progressus uterque substiterat : subito erumpunt clamore furentisque exhortantur equos, fundunt simul undique tela | 610 | they thrust their lances forward, the spear-points quivered: the march of men and the neighing of horses increased. And now both halted their advance within a spear’s throw: they ran forward with a sudden shout and spurred on their maddened horses, spears showered from all sides at once |
| crebra nivis ritu, cælumque obtexitur umbra. continuo adversis Tyrrhenus et acer Aconteus conixi incurrunt hastis primique ruinam dant sonitu ingenti perfractaque quadripedantum pectora pectoribus rumpunt ; excussus Aconteus | 615 | as dense as snowflakes, and the sky was veiled in darkness. Immediately Tyrrhenus and brave Aconteus charged each other, with levelled spears, and were the first to fall with a mighty crash, shattering their horses’ breastbones as they collided: Aconteus, hurled like a thunderbolt |
| fulminis in morem aut tormento ponderis acti præcipitat longe et vitam dispergit in auras. Extemplo turbatæ acies, versique Latini rejiciunt parmas et equos ad mœnia vertunt ; Trœs agunt, princeps turmas inducit Asilas. | 620 | or a heavy stone shot from a catapult, was thrown some distance, and wasted his breath of life on the air. At once the ranks wavered, and the Latins slung their shields behind them, and turned their mounts towards the walls. The Trojans pursued, Asilas their leader heading the squadrons. |
| jamque propinquabant portis rursusque Latini clamorem tollunt et mollia colla reflectunt ; hi fugiunt penitusque datis referuntur habenis. qualis ubi alterno procurrens gurgite pontus nunc ruit ad terram scopulosque superjacit unda | 625 | Now they were nearing the gates when the Latins again raised a shout, and turned their horse’s responsive necks: the Trojans now fled, and retreated to a distance with loose reins, like the sea running in with alternate waves, now rushing to shore, dashing over the rocks |
| spumeus extremamque sinu perfundit harenam, nunc rapidus retro atque æstu revoluta resorbens saxa fugit litusque vado labente relinquit : bis Tusci Rutulos egere ad mœnia versos, bis rejecti armis respectant terga tegentes. | 630 | in a foaming flood, drenching the furthest sands with its swell, now retreating quickly, sucking rolling pebbles in its wash, leaving dry sand as the shallows ebbed: twice the Tuscans drove the routed Rutulians to the city, twice, repulsed, they looked behind, defending their backs with their shields. |
| tertia sed postquam congressi in prœlia totas implicuere inter se acies legitque virum vir, tum vero et gemitus morientum et sanguine in alto armaque corporaque et permixti cæde virorum semianimes volvuntur equi, pugna aspera surgit. | 635 | But when they clashed in a third encounter their lines locked tight, and man marked man, then truly, the battle swelled fiercely among the groans of the dying, with weapons, bodies, and horses in their death-thrœs, in pools of blood, entangled with slaughtered riders. |
| Orsilochus Remuli, quando ipsum horrebat adire, hastam intorsit equo ferrumque sub aure reliquit ; quo sonipes ictu furit arduus altaque jactat vulneris impatiens arrecto pectore crura, volvitur ille excussus humi. Catillus Ïollan | 640 | Orsilochus hurled a lance at Remulus’s horse, fearing to attack the man, and left the point embedded beneath its ear: The rearing charger, maddened by the blow, and unable to bear the wound, lifted its chest, and thrashed high with its forelegs, Remulus thrown clear, rolled on the ground. Catillus |
| ingentemque animis, ingentem corpore et armis dejicit Herminium, nudo cui vertice fulva cæsaries nudique umeri nec vulnera terrent ; tantus in arma patet. latos huic hasta per armos acta tremit duplicatque virum transfixa dolore. | 645 | felled Ïollas and Herminius, a giant in courage, a giant in torso and limbs, tawny hair on his head, his shoulders bare, for whom wounds held no terror he spread so wide in his armor. The driven spear passed quivering through his broad shoulders, and, piercing him, doubled him up with pain. Dark blood |
| funditur ater ubique cruor ; dant funera ferro certantes pulchramque petunt per vulnera mortem. At medias inter cædes exsultat Amazon unum exserta latus pugnæ, pharetrata Camilla, et nunc lenta manu spargens hastilia denset, | 650 | streamed everywhere: clashing with swords, they dealt death and sought a glorious ending through their wounds. But an Amazon exulted in the midst of the slaughter, with one breast bared for battle: Camilla, armed with her quiver: now she showered sturdy javelins, scattering them from her hands, |
| nunc validam dextra rapit indefessa bipennem ; aureus ex umero sonat arcus et arma Dianæ. illa etiam, si quando in tergum pulsa recessit, spicula converso fugientia derigit arcu. at circum lectæ comites, Larinaque virgo | 655 | now she lifted a strong battle-axe in her unwearied grasp: and Diana’s weapon, a golden bow, rattled on her shoulder. Even when she retreated, attacked from behind, she reversed her bow and fired arrows while fleeing. And around her were chosen comrades, virgin Larina, |
| Tullaque et æratam quatiens Tarpeia securim, Italides, quas ipsa decus sibi dia Camilla delegit pacisque bonas bellique ministras : quales Thrēiciæ quum flumina Thermodontis pulsant et pictis bellantur Amazones armis, | 660 | and Tulla, and Tarpeia wielding her axe of bronze, the Italides, daughters of Italy, whom noble Camilla chose herself as her glory, faithful servants in peace or war: such were the Amazons of Thrace, treading Thermodon’s streams, and fighting with ornate weapons, around |
| seu circum Hippolyten seu quum se Martia curru Penthesilea refert, magnoque ululante tumultu feminea exsultant lunatis agmina peltis. Quem telo primum, quem postremum, aspera virgo, dejicis? aut quot humi morientia corpora fundis? | 665 | Hippolyte, or when Penthesilea returned, in her chariot, and the ranks of women with crescent shields exulted. Whom did you strike, first and last, with your spear, fierce girl? How many bodies did you spill over the earth? |
| Eunæum Clytio primum patre, cujus apertum adversi longa transverberat abiete pectus. sanguinis ille vomens rivos cadit atque cruentam mandit humum moriensque suo se in vulnere versat. tum Lirim Pagasumque super, quorum alter habenas | 670 | Euneus, son of Clytius, was the first, whose exposed chest she pierced with her long shaft of pine, as he faced her. He fell, spewing streams of blood, and bit the gory dust, and, dying, writhed on his wound. Then she killed Liris and Pagasus too, one gathering |
| suffuso revolutus equo dum colligit, alter dum subit ac dextram labenti tendit inermem, præcipites pariterque ruunt. his addit Amastrum Hippotaden, sequiturque incumbens eminus hasta Tereaque Harpalycumque et Demophoonta Chromimque ; | 675 | the reins of his wounded horse as he rolled from it, the other nearing to stretch out a defenseless hand to the falling man, both flung headlong together. She added to them Amastrus, son of Hippotas, and, leaning forward to throw, sent her spear after Tereus, Harpalycus, Demophoon and Cromis: |
| quotque emissa manu contorsit spicula virgo, tot Phrygii cecidere viri. procul Ornytus armis ignotis et equo venator Ïapyge fertur, cui pellis latos umeros erepta juvenco pugnatori operit, caput ingens oris hiatus | 680 | and as many spears as the girl sent spinning from her hand, so many Trojan warriors fell. The huntsman Ornytus was riding far off, in unfamiliar armor, on his Ïapygian horse, the hide stripped from a bullock covering his broad shoulders, his head protected by a wolf’s huge gaping mask, |
| et malæ texere lupi cum dentibus albis, agrestisque manus armat sparus ; ipse cateruis vertitur in mediis et toto vertice supra est. hunc illa exceptum (neque enim labor agmine verso) trajicit et super hæc inimico pectore fatur : | 685 | and white-toothed jaws, a rustic’s hunting-spear in his hand: he moved along in the center of the army, a full head above the rest. Catching him she struck him (no effort in the routed ranks) then with pitiless heart spoke above him: |
| « silvis te, Tyrrhene, feras agitare putasti? advenit qui vestra dies muliebribus armis verba redargueret. nomen tamen haud leve patrum manibus hoc referes, telo cecidisse Camillæ. » Protinus Orsilochum et Buten, duo maxima Teucrum | 690 | “Did you think you chased prey in the forest, Tuscan? The day is here that proves your words wrong, with a woman’s weapons. But you’ll carry no small fame to your father’s shades, you fell to Camilla’s spear.” Then she killed Orsilochus and Butes, two of the largest Trojans, |
| corpora, sed Buten aversum cuspide fixit loricam galeamque inter, qua colla sedentis lucent et lævo dependet parma lacerto ; Orsilochum fugiens magnumque agitata per orbem eludit gyro interior sequiturque sequentem ; | 695 | Butes she fixed with a spear in the back, between breastplate and helmet, where the rider’s neck gleams and the shield hangs from the left arm: while fleeing from Orsilochus, chased in a wide circle, she eluded him, wheeling inside, pursuing the pursuer: |
| tum validam perque arma viro perque ossa securim altior exsurgens oranti et multa precanti congeminat ; vulnus calido rigat ora cerebro. incidit huic subitoque aspectu territus hæsit Appenninicolæ bellator filius Auni, | 700 | then, lifting herself higher, drove her strong axe, again and again, through armor and bone, as he begged and prayed desperately: the wounds staining his face with warm brain-matter. Now the warrior son of Aunus, met her, and suddenly halted, terrified at the sight, he a man of the Apennines, |
| haud Ligurum extremus, dum fallere fata sinebant. isque ubi se nullo jam cursu evadere pugnæ posse neque instantem reginam avertere cernit, consilio versare dolos ingressus et astu incipit hæc : « quid tam egregium, si femina forti | 705 | not the least of the lying Ligurians while fate allowed it. When he saw he couldn’t escape a fight by a turn of speed, or divert the queen from her attack, he tried to devise a stratagem with wit and cunning, as follows: “What’s so great about relying on a strong horse, woman? |
| fidis equo? dimitte fugam et te comminus æquo mecum crede solo pugnæque accinge pedestri : jam nosces ventosa ferat cui gloria fraudem. » dixit, at illa furens acrique accensa dolore tradit equum comiti paribusque resistit in armis | 710 | Forget flight, and trust yourself to fighting me on level ground, equip yourself to battle on foot: you’ll soon know whose windy boasting’s an illusion.” He spoke, and she, raging and burning with bitter resentment, handed her horse to a friend, and faced him with equal weapons. |
| ense pedes nudo puraque interrita parma. at juvenis vicisse dolo ratus avolat ipse (haud mora), conversisque fugax aufertur habenis quadripedemque citum ferrata calce fatigat. « vane Ligus frustraque animis elate superbis, | 715 | on foot and unafraid, with naked sword and plain shield. But the youth, sure he had won by guile, sped off (instantly), flicking his reins, took to flight, pricking his horse to a gallop with spurs of steel. The girl shouted: “Stupid Ligurian, uselessly vaunting |
| nequiquam patrias temptasti lubricus artis, nec fraus te incolumem fallaci perferet Auno. » hæc fatur virgo, et pernicibus ignea plantis transit equum cursu frenisque adversa prehensis congreditur pœnasque inimico ex sanguine sumit : | 720 | your boastful spirit, you’ve tried your slippery native wiles in vain, and cunning won’t carry you back to Aunus unharmed.” And like lightening she intercepted the horse’s path, on swift feet, and seizing the reins from in front tackled him, and took vengeance |
| quam facile accipiter saxo sacer ales ab alto consequitur pennis sublimem in nube columbam comprensamque tenet pedibusque eviscerat uncis ; tum cruor et uulsæ labuntur ab æthere plumæ. At non hæc nullis hominum sator atque deorum | 725 | on the blood she hated: as light as a falcon, Apollo’s sacred bird, swooping from a tall rock, overtaking a dove in flight in the high cloud, holding her in its talons, and tearing her heart out with its curved talons: while blood and torn feathers shower from the sky. But the father of gods and men with watchful eyes |
| observans oculis summo sedet altus Olympo. Tyrrhenum genitor Tarchonem in prœlia sæva suscitat et stimulis haud mollibus injicit iras. ergo inter cædes cedentiaque agmina Tarchon fertur equo variisque instigat vocibus alas | 730 | sat throned on high Olympus observing it all. The maker stirred the Etruscan, Tarchon, to fierce battle and goaded him to anger with no gentle spur. So Tarchon rode amidst the slaughter and the wavering ranks, inciting his squadrons with varied shouts, and calling |
| nomine quemque vocans, reficitque in prœlia pulsos. « quis metus, o numquam dolituri, o semper inertes Tyrrheni, quæ tanta animis ignavia venit? femina palantis agit atque hæc agmina vertit! quo ferrum quidve hæc gerimus tela irrita dextris? | 735 | each man by name, rallying the routed to the fight. “What fear, what utter cowardice has filled your hearts, O, you ever-sluggish Tuscans, O you who are never ashamed? Can a woman drive you in disorder and turn your ranks? Why do we bear swords and spears idle in our right hands? |
| at non in Venerem segnes nocturnaque bella, aut ubi curva choros indixit tibia Bacchi. exspectate dapes et plenæ pocula mensæ (hic amor, hoc studium) dum sacra secundus haruspex nuntiet ac lucos vocet hostia pinguis in altos! » | 740 | But you are not slow to love or for nocturnal battles, nor when the curved pipe proclaims the Bacchic dance. Wait then for the feast and wine-cups on the loaded tables, (that is your passion and your pleasure) while the happy seer reports the sacred omens, and the rich sacrifice calls you into the deep grove!” |
| hæc effatus equum in medios moriturus et ipse concitat, et Venulo adversum se turbidus infert dereptumque ab equo dextra complectitur hostem et gremium ante suum multa vi concitus aufert. tollitur in cælum clamor cunctique Latini | 745 | So saying, and ready to die, he spurred his mount into the press, tore at Venulus like a whirlwind, and snatched him from his horse, and, clasping his enemy to his chest with his right arm, and stirring himself to a mighty effort, carried him off. A shout rose to the skies and all the Latins turned their gaze |
| convertere oculos. volat igneus æquore Tarchon arma virumque ferens ; tum summa ipsius ab hasta defringit ferrum et partis rimatur apertas, qua vulnus letale ferat ; contra ille repugnans sustinet a jugulo dextram et vim viribus exit. | 750 | that way. Tarchon flew over the plain like lightning, carrying weapons and man: then he broke of the iron tip of his enemy’s spear, and searched for an unguarded opening where he might deal a deadly wound: Venulus, struggling with him, kept the hand from his throat, meeting force with force. |
| utque volans alte raptum quum fulva draconem fert aquila implicuitque pedes atque unguibus hæsit, saucius at serpens sinuosa volumina versat arrectisque horret squamis et sibilat ore arduus insurgens, illa haud minus urget obunco | 755 | As when a tawny eagle soaring high carries a snake it has caught, entwined in its feet, with talons clinging, while the wounded serpent writhes in sinuous coils, and rears its bristling scales, hissing with its mouth as it rises up, and none the less attacks |
| luctantem rostro, simul æthera verberat alis : haud aliter prædam Tiburtum ex agmine Tarchon portat ovans. ducis exemplum eventumque secuti Mæonidæ incurrunt. tum fatis debitus Arruns velocem jaculo et multa prior arte Camillam | 760 | its struggling prey, with curved beak, while its wings beat the air: so Tarchon carried his prize in triumph from the Tiburtian ranks. Emulating their leader’s example and success, the Etruscans charged. And now Arruns, a man whose life was owed to the fates, began to circle swift Camilla, with his javelin, |
| circuit, et quæ sit fortuna facillima temptat. qua se cumque furens medio tulit agmine virgo, hac Arruns subit et tacitus vestigia lustrat ; qua victrix redit illa pedemque ex hoste reportat, hac juvenis furtim celeris detorquet habenas. | 765 | with skilful cunning, trying for the easiest of chances. Wherever the girl rode among the ranks, in her fury, there Arruns shadowed her, and followed her track in silence: wherever she returned in triumph or withdrew from the fœ, there the youth secretly turned his quick reins. |
| hos aditus jamque hos aditus omnemque pererrat undique circuitum et certam quatit improbus hastam. Forte sacer Cybelo Chloreus olimque sacerdos insignis longe Phrygiis fulgebat in armis spumantemque agitabat equum, quem pellis aënis | 770 | He tried this approach and that, travelling the whole circuit on every side, relentlessly brandishing his sure spear. It chanced that Chloreus, once a priest, sacred to Cybele, glittered some distance away splendid in Phrygian armor, spurring his foam-flecked horse, that a hide, plumed |
| in plumam squamis auro conserta tegebat. ipse peregrina ferrugine clarus et ostro spicula torquebat Lycio Gortynia cornu ; aureus ex umeris erat arcus et aurea vati cassida ; tum croceam chlamydemque sinusque crepantis | 775 | with bronze scales, and clasped with gold, protected. He himself, shining with deep colors and foreign purple, fired Gortynian arrows from a Lycian bow: the weapon was golden on his shoulder, and golden the seer’s helm: his saffron cloak and its rustling folds of linen |
| carbaseos fulvo in nodum collegerat auro pictus acu tunicas et barbara tegmina crurum. hunc virgo, sive ut templis præfigeret arma Troja, captivo sive ut se ferret in auro venatrix, unum ex omni certamine pugnæ | 780 | were gathered into a knot with yellow gold, his tunic and barbaric leg-coverings embroidered by the needle. The virgin huntress singling him out from all the press of battle, either hoping to hang his Trojan weapons in the temple, or to display herself in captured gold, |
| cæca sequebatur totumque incauta per agmen femineo prædæ et spoliorum ardebat amore, telum ex insidiis quum tandem tempore capto concitat et superos Arruns sic voce precatur : « summe deum, sancti custos Soractis Apollo, | 785 | pursued him blindly, and raged recklessly through the ranks, with a feminine desire for prizes and spoil, when Arruns, finally seizing his chance, raised his spear from ambush and prayed aloud, like this, to heaven: “Highest of gods, Apollo, guardian of holy Soracte, |
| quem primi colimus, cui pineus ardor acervo pascitur, et medium freti pietate per ignem cultores multa premimus vestigia pruna, da, pater, hoc nostris aboleri dedecus armis, omnipotens. non exuvias pulsæve tropæum | 790 | whose chief followers are we for whom the blaze of the pine-wood fire is fed, and who as worshippers, confident in our faith, plant our steps on deep embers among the flames, all-powerful father grant that this shame be effaced by our weapons. I seek no prize, no trophy of the girl’s defeat, |
| virginis aut spolia ulla peto, mihi cetera laudem facta ferent ; hæc dira meo dum vulnere pestis pulsa cadat, patrias remeabo inglorius urbes. » Audiit et voti Phœbus succedere partem mente dedit, partem volucris dispersit in auras : | 795 | no spoils: some other deed will bring me fame: only let this dreadful scourge fall wounded under my blow, and I’ll return without glory to the cities of my ancestors.” Phœbus heard him, and granted the success of half the prayer in his mind, half he scattered on the passing breeze: he agreed |
| sterneret ut subita turbatam morte Camillam annuit oranti ; reducem ut patria alta videret non dedit, inque Notos vocem vertere procellæ. ergo ut missa manu sonitum dedit hasta per auras, convertere animos acris oculosque tulere | 800 | to the prayer that Arruns might bring Camilla to sudden death’s ruin: but did not grant that his noble country should see him return, and the gusts carried his words away on the southerly winds. So as the spear whistled through the air, speeding from his hand, all the Volscians turned their eager eyes and minds |
| cuncti ad reginam Volsci. nihil ipsa nec auræ nec sonitus memor aut venientis ab æthere teli, hasta sub exsertam donec perlata papillam hæsit virgineumque alte bibit acta cruorem. concurrunt trepidæ comites dominamque ruentem | 805 | towards the queen. She herself noticed neither breeze nor sound, nor the weapon falling from the sky, till the spear went home, fixing itself under her naked breast, and driven deep, drank of her virgin blood. Her friends rushed to her anxiously and caught |
| suscipiunt. fugit ante omnis exterritus Arruns lætitia mixtoque metu, nec jam amplius hastæ credere nec telis occurrere virginis audet. ac velut ille, prius quam tela inimica sequantur, continuo in montis sese avius abdidit altos | 810 | their falling queen. Arruns, more fearful than the rest, fled in joy and terror, not daring to trust his spear further, or meet the virgin’s weapons. And as a wolf that has killed a shepherd, or a great bullock, immediately hides itself deep in the pathless mountains |
| occiso pastore lupus magnove juvenco, conscius audacis facti, caudamque remulcens subjecit pavitantem utero silvasque petivit : haud secus ex oculis se turbidus abstulit Arruns contentusque fuga mediis se immiscuit armis. | 815 | before the hostile spears can reach it, conscious of its audacious actions, and holds its lowered tail quivering between its legs, as it heads for the woods: so Arruns, in turmoil, stole away from sight, and, content to escape, plunged into the midst of the army. |
| illa manu moriens telum trahit, ossa sed inter ferreus ad costas alto stat vulnere mucro. labitur exsanguis, labuntur frigida leto lumina, purpureus quondam color ora reliquit. tum sic exspirans Accam ex æqualibus unam | 820 | Camilla tugged at the weapon with dying hands, but the iron point was fixed between the bones, near the ribs, deep in the wound. She sank back bloodless, her eyes sank, chill with death, the once radiant color had left her cheeks. |
| alloquitur, fida ante alias quæ sola Camillæ quicum partiri curas, atque hæc ita fatur : « hactenus, Acca soror, potui : nunc vulnus acerbum conficit, et tenebris nigrescunt omnia circum. effuge et hæc Turno mandata novissima perfer : | 825 | Then, expiring, she spoke to Acca, one of her peers, faithful to Camilla beyond all others, sole sharer of her sorrows, and uttered these words to her: “Acca, my sister, my strength lasted this far: now the bitter wound exhausts me, and all around me darkens with shadows. |
| succedat pugnæ Trojanosque arceat urbe. jamque vale. » simul his dictis linquebat habenas ad terram non sponte fluens. tum frigida toto paulatim exsolvit se corpore, lentaque colla et captum leto posuit caput, arma relinquens, | 830 | Fly, and carry my final commands to Turnus: he must take my place in the battle, and keep the Trojans from the city. Now farewell.” With these words she let go the reins, slipping helplessly to earth. Then, little by little, growing cold she loosed herself from her body completely, dipping the unresponsive neck and that head death had seized, letting go her weapons, |
| vitaque cum gemitu fugit indignata sub umbras. tum vero immensus surgens ferit aurea clamor sidera : dejecta crudescit pugna Camilla ; incurrunt densi simul omnis copia Teucrum Tyrrhenique duces Evandrique Arcades alæ. | 835 | and with a sob her life fled angrily to the shades below. Then indeed an immense shout rose, reaching the golden stars: with Camilla fallen, the battle swelled: the Trojan host, the Etruscan leaders, and Evander’s Arcadian squadrons rushed on in a mass together. |
| At Triviæ custos jamdudum in montibus Opis alta sedet summis spectatque interrita pugnas. utque procul medio juvenum in clamore furentum prospexit tristi mulcatam morte Camillam, ingemuitque deditque has imo pectore voces : | 840 | Now Opis, Diana’s sentinel, had been seated there on a mountain, for a long time, watching the battle fearlessly. And when she saw far off, amongst the clamor of raging armies, that Camilla had paid the penalty of death, she sighed and uttered these words from the depths of her heart: |
| « heu nimium, virgo, nimium crudele luisti supplicium Teucros conata lacessere bello! nec tibi desertæ in dumis coluisse Dianam profuit aut nostras umero gessisse pharetras. non tamen indecorem tua te regina reliquit | 845 | “Ah too cruel, virgin girl, too cruel the sacrifice you have made, for trying to challenge the Trojans in war! It has not helped you that you worshipped Diana in the lonely woods and wore our quiver on your shoulder. Yet your queen has not left you without honor now |
| extrema jam in morte, neque hoc sine nomine letum per gentis erit aut famam patieris inultæ. nam quicumque tuum violavit vulnere corpus morte luet merita. » fuit ingens monte sub alto regis Dercenni terreno ex aggere bustum | 850 | in the extremes of death, nor will your loss be without fame among the people, nor will you suffer the infamy of dying un-avenged. For whœver desecrated your body with this wound will pay the price of death.” An earthen mound, covered with shadowy holm-oak, stood beneath the high mountain, |
| antiqui Laurentis opacaque ilice tectum ; hic dea se primum rapido pulcherrima nisu sistit et Arruntem tumulo speculatur ab alto. ut vidit fulgentem armis ac vana tumentem, « cur » inquit « diversus abis? huc derige gressum, | 855 | the vast tomb of Dercennus, an ancient Laurentine king: here the loveliest of goddesses, after swift flight, first set foot and caught sight of Arruns from the high tumulus. When she saw him shining in armor, swollen with pride, she cried: “Why go so far away? Turn your steps here, |
| huc periture veni, capias ut digna Camillæ præmia. tune etiam telis moriere Dianæ? » dixit, et aurata volucrem Threissa sagittam deprompsit pharetra cornuque infensa tetendit et duxit longe, donec curvata coirent | 860 | come this way to destruction, and receive your reward, worthy of Camilla. May even you not die by Diana’s weapons?” She spoke: then the Thracian goddess took a winged arrow from her golden quiver, and stretched the bow in anger, drawing it far back, until the curving horns met, |
| inter se capita et manibus jam tangeret æquis, læva aciem ferri, dextra nervoque papillam. extemplo teli stridorem aurasque sonantis audiit una Arruns hæsitque in corpore ferrum. illum exspirantem socii atque extrema gementem | 865 | and now with levelled arms she touched the steel tip with her left hand, and her nipple and the bow-string with her right. At the same moment as Arruns heard the hissing dart, and the rushing air, both one, the steel was fixed in his body. His allies, oblivious, left him on the unmemorable dust |
| obliti ignoto camporum in pulvere linquunt ; Opis ad ætherium pennis aufertur Olympum. Prima fugit domina amissa levis ala Camillæ, turbati fugiunt Rutuli, fugit acer Atinas, disjectique duces desolatique manipli | 870 | of the plain, gasping and groaning in extremity: while Opis winged her way to heavenly Olympus. Camilla’s light cavalry were first to flee, their mistress lost, the Rutulians fled in turmoil, brave Atinas fled, scattered leaders and abandoned troops sought safety, |
| tuta petunt et equis aversi ad mœnia tendunt. nec quisquam instantis Teucros letumque ferentis sustentare valet telis aut sistere contra, sed laxos referunt umeris languentibus arcus, quadripedumque putrem cursu quatit ungula campum. | 875 | and, wheeling their horses about, headed for the walls. No one could check the pursuing, death-dealing Trojans with weapons, or stand against them but slung their unstrung bows on bowed shoulders, and their horses’ hooves shook the crumbling earth in flight. |
| volvitur ad muros caligine turbidus atra pulvis, et e speculis percussæ pectora matres femineum clamorem ad cæli sidera tollunt. qui cursu portas primi irrupere patentis, hos inimica super mixto premit agmine turba, | 880 | A cloud of dark murky dust rolled towards the walls, and mothers, from the watchtowers, raised the womens’ cry to the stars in heaven, as they beat their breasts. The enemy host pressed hard on those who first broke at speed through the open gates, mixing with their lines, so they did not |
| nec miseram effugiunt mortem, sed limine in ipso, mœnibus in patriis atque inter tuta domorum confixi exspirant animas. pars claudere portas, nec sociis aperire viam nec mœnibus audent accipere orantis, oriturque miserrima cædes | 885 | escape a pitiful death, but, pierced through, gasped away their lives on the very threshold, their country’s walls around them, within the shelter of their houses. Some closed the gates, and dared not open a path for their friends or let them inside the walls, though they begged, and the most pitiful death followed, of those |
| defendentum armis aditus inque arma ruentum. exclusi ante oculos lacrimantumque ora parentum pars in præcipitis fossas urgente ruina volvitur, immissis pars cæca et concita frenis arietat in portas et duros objice postis. | 890 | defending the entrance in arms, and those rushing onto the swords. Some driven by the rout, shut out, in front of the gaze and the weeping faces of their parents, rolled headlong into the ditches, others charging blindly with loose reins battered at the gates and the tough gate-posts barring their way. |
| ipsæ de muris summo certamine matres (monstrat amor verus patriæ, ut videre Camillam) tela manu trepidæ jaciunt ac robore duro stipitibus ferrum sudibusque imitantur obustis præcipites, primæque mori pro mœnibus ardent. | 895 | The women themselves when they saw Camilla from the walls in fierce emulation (true love of country guided them) threw weapons with their weak hands, and in their haste used poles of tough oak and fire-hardened stakes instead of steel, and were ablaze to die in the forefront defending the walls. |
| Interea Turnum in silvis sævissimus implet nuntius et juveni ingentem fert Acca tumultum : deletas Volscorum acies, cecidisse Camillam, ingruere infensos hostis et Marte secundo omnia corripuisse, metum jam ad mœnia ferri. | 900 | Meanwhile in the forest, the bitterest of messages filled Turnus’s thoughts: Acca had brought the warrior her news of the mighty rout: the Volscian ranks annihilated, Camilla killed, the enemy advancing fiercely, sweeping all before them in the fortune of war, panic now reaching the city. |
| ille furens (et sæva Jovis sic numina poscunt) deserit obsessos collis, nemora aspera linquit. vix e conspectu exierat campumque tenebat, quum pater Æneas saltus ingressus apertos exsuperatque jugum silvaque evadit opaca. | 905 | Maddened he abandoned the ambush among the hills (so Jove’s cruel will demanded) and left the wild forest. He had scarcely passed from view, in reaching the plain, when Æneas, the leader, mounted the ridge, after entering the unguarded gorge, and emerging from the dense woods. |
| sic ambo ad muros rapidi totoque feruntur agmine nec longis inter se passibus absunt ; ac simul Æneas fumantis pulvere campos prospexit longe Laurentiaque agmina vidit, et sævum Ænean agnovit Turnus in armis | 910 | So they both marched quickly towards the walls, in full force, and with no great distance between them: and at that moment Æneas saw the plain, far off, smoking with dust, and caught sight of the Laurentine army, and Turnus realised that fatal Æneas was in arms, |
| adventumque pedum flatusque audivit equorum. continuoque ineant pugnas et prœlia temptent, ni roseus fessos jam gurgite Phœbus Hibero tingat equos noctemque die labente reducat. considunt castris ante urbem et mœnia vallant. | 915 | and heard the march of feet, and the sound of horses. They would have joined battle at once and attempted combat, but rosy Phœbus was already bathing his weary team in the Spanish deeps, and, day waning, brought back the night. They camped before the city, and strengthened their defenses. |
| Liber XII | ⤊ | |
| P. VERGILII MARONIS ÆNEIDOS LIBER DUODECIMUS | ||
| Turnus ut infractos adverso Marte Latinos defecisse videt, sua nunc promissa reposci, se signari oculis, ultro implacabilis ardet attollitque animos. Pœnorum qualis in arvis saucius ille gravi venantum vulnere pectus | 5 | When Turnus saw the Latins exhausted, and weakened by their military reverse, himself the subject of every gaze, his own promise to them yet unfulfilled, he burned implacably, and unprompted, and raised his courage. As a lion, in the African bush, severely hurt by huntsmen with a wound to the chest, |
| tum demum movet arma leo, gaudetque comantis excutiens cervice toros fixumque latronis impavidus frangit telum et fremit ore cruento : haud secus accenso gliscit violentia Turno. tum sic affatur regem atque ita turbidus infit : | 10 | only then rouses himself to battle, tosses his shaggy mane over his neck, in joy, and, unafraid, snaps off the spear some poacher has planted in him, roaring from blood-stained jaws: so the violence grew in Turnus’s inflamed heart. Then he spoke to the king, beginning turbulently like this: |
| « nulla mora in Turno ; nihil est quod dicta retractent ignavi Æneadæ, nec quæ pepigere recusent : congredior. fer sacra, pater, et concipe fœdus. aut hac Dardanium dextra sub Tartara mittam desertorem Asiæ (sedeant spectentque Latini), | 15 | “There’s no reluctance here, in Turnus: there’s no reason for Æneas’s coward crew to take back their words or renounce their pact: I go to meet him. Carry out the holy rite, father, and draw up the marriage contract. I’ll either send this Trojan, this Asian deserter, to Tartarus, (let the Latins sit and watch) and |
| et solus ferro crimen commune refellam, aut habeat victos, cedat Lavinia conjunx. » Olli sedato respondit corde Latinus : « o præstans animi juvenis, quantum ipse feroci virtute exsuperas, tanto me impensius æquum est | 20 | with my sword, alone, dispel the nation’s shame, or let him possess the defeated, let Lavinia go then as his bride.” Latinus replied to him with calm in his heart: “O youth of noble spirit, the more you excel in fierce courage, the more it is right for me to take |
| consulere atque omnis metuentem expendere casus. sunt tibi regna patris Dauni, sunt oppida capta multa manu, nec non aurumque animusque Latino est ; sunt aliæ innuptæ Latio et Laurentibus arvis nec genus indecores. sine me hæc haud mollia fatu | 25 | careful thought, and weigh every event with caution. You have your father Daunus’s kingdom, you have the many fortresses you captured by force, and Latinus is not short of gold and generosity: there are other unmarried girls, not ignoble in birth, in the fields of Latium and Laurentium. Allow me to say this, |
| sublatis aperire dolis, simul hoc animo hauri : me natam nulli veterum sociare procorum fas erat, idque omnes divique hominesque canebant. victus amore tui, cognato sanguine victus conjugis et mæstæ lacrimis, vincla omnia rupi ; | 30 | un-gently, openly stripped of all guile, and take it to heart: it was forbidden for me to ally my daughter to any of her former suitors, and all gods and men decreed it. Conquered by love for you, conquered by kinship, and the tears of a sorrowful wife, I broke all bounds: I snatched the betrothed |
| promissam eripui genero, arma impia sumpsi. ex illo qui me casus, quæ, Turne, sequantur bella, vides, quantos primus patiare labores. bis magna victi pugna vix urbe tuemur spes Italas ; recalent nostro Thybrina fluenta | 35 | girl from my son-in-law to be, and drew the impious sword. You see, Turnus, what events, what war dogs me, what a heavy burden you above all bear. Defeated in two great battles we can hardly preserve the hopes of Italy in our city: Tiber’s streams are yet warm |
| sanguine adhuc campique ingentes ossibus albent. quo referor totiens? quæ mentem insania mutat? si Turno exstincto socios sum ascire paratus, cur non incolumi potius certamina tollo? quid consanguinei Rutuli, quid cetera dicet | 40 | with our blood, the vast plains whitened by our bones. Why did I waver so often? What madness changed my decision? If I’d be ready to accept the Trojans as allies with Turnus dead, why not rather end the conflict while he’s alive? What would your Rutulian kin say, and the rest of Italy, |
| Italia, ad mortem si te (fors dicta refutet!) prodiderim, natam et conubia nostra petentem? respice res bello varias, miserere parentis longævi, quem nunc mæstum patria Ardea longe dividit. » haudquaquam dictis violentia Turni | 45 | if I betrayed you to death (let chance deny those words!) while seeking my daughter in marriage? Consider the fortunes of war: pity your aged father, whom his native Ardea keeps apart from us, sorrowing.” Turnus’s fury was unaffected by these words: |
| flectitur ; exsuperat magis ægrescitque medendo. ut primum fari potuit, sic institit ore : « quam pro me curam geris, hanc precor, optime, pro me deponas letumque sinas pro laude pacisci. et nos tela, pater, ferrumque haud debile dextra | 50 | it mounted higher, inflamed by the treatment. As soon as he was able to speak, he began like this: “Most gracious one, that concern you feel for me, I beg you, for me, set it aside, and allow me to barter death for glory. I too can scatter spears and no lack of steel, from my hand, |
| spargimus, et nostro sequitur de vulnere sanguis. longe illi dea mater erit, quæ nube fugacem feminea tegat et vanis sese occulat umbris. » At regina nova pugnæ conterrita sorte flebat et ardentem generum moritura tenebat : | 55 | father, and blood flows from the wounds I make as well. His goddess mother will be far from him, she who covers his flight with mist, like a woman, and hides in empty shadows.” But the queen wept, terrified by the new terms of conflict, and clung to her ardent son, as if she were dying: |
| « Turne, per has ego te lacrimas, per si quis Amatæ tangit honos animum : spes tu nunc una, senectæ tu requies miseræ, decus imperiumque Latini te penes, in te omnis domus inclinata recumbit. unum oro : desiste manum committere Teucris. | 60 | “Turnus, one thing I beg of you, by these tears, by any respect for Amata that touches your heart: you are my only hope, the peace of my sad old age, the honor and power of Latinus is in your hands, our whole tottering house rests on you: do not engage in combat with the Trojans. |
| qui te cumque manent isto certamine casus et me, Turne, manent ; simul hæc invisa relinquam lumina nec generum Ænean captiva videbo. » accepit vocem lacrimis Lavinia matris flagrantis perfusa genas, cui plurimus ignem | 65 | Whatever danger awaits you in that battle awaits me too, Turnus: I would leave this hateful light with you and will never, as a prisoner, see Æneas as my son-in-law.” Lavinia listened to her mother’s words, her burning cheeks wet with tears, while a deep blush kindled |
| subjecit rubor et calefacta per ora cucurrit. Indum sanguineo veluti violaverit ostro si quis ebur, aut mixta rubent ubi lilia multa alba rosa, talis virgo dabat ore colores. illum turbat amor figitque in virgine vultus ; | 70 | their fire, and spread over her glowing face. Her virgin looks showed such color as when one stains Indian ivory with crimson dye, or as white lilies redden when mixed with many a rose. Love stirred Turnus, and he fixed his gaze on the girl: |
| ardet in arma magis paucisque affatur Amatam : « ne, quæso, ne me lacrimis neve omine tanto prosequere in duri certamina Martis euntem, o mater ; neque enim Turno mora libera mortis. nuntius hæc, Idmon, Phrygio mea dicta tyranno | 75 | fired still more for battle, he spoke briefly to Amata: “O mother, I beg you not to send me off with tears, or like ill omens, as I leave for the battles of a bitter war: Turnus is not free to delay his hour of death. Idmon, as a messenger, carry my unwelcome words |
| haud placitura refer. quum primum crastina cælo puniceis invecta rotis Aurora rubebit, non Teucros agat in Rutulos, Teucrum arma quiescant et Rutuli ; nostro dirimamus sanguine bellum, illo quæratur conjunx Lavinia campo. » | 80 | to the Trojan leader. When tomorrow’s Dawn, riding her crimson chariot, reddens in the sky, do not lead Trojans against Rutulians, let Trojan and Rutulian weapons rest: let us resolve this war with our own blood, on that field let Lavinia be sought as bride.” |
| Hæc ubi dicta dedit rapidusque in tecta recessit, poscit equos gaudetque tuens ante ora frementis, Pilumno quos ipsa decus dedit Orithyia, qui candore nives anteirent, cursibus auras. circumstant properi aurigæ manibusque lacessunt | 85 | When he had spoken, and returned quickly to the palace, he called for his horses, and delighted in seeing them, neighing before him, horses Orithyia herself gave Pilumnus, as a glory, surpassing the snow in whiteness, and the wind for speed. Their charioteers stood around eagerly patting their echoing chests, |
| pectora plausa cavis et colla comantia pectunt. ipse dehinc auro squalentem alboque orichalco circumdat loricam umeris, simul aptat habendo ensemque clipeumque et rubræ cornua cristæ, ensem quem Dauno ignipotens deus ipse parenti | 90 | with the flat of their hands, and combing their flowing manes. Turnus drew a breastplate, stiff with gold and pale bronze, over his shoulders, fitted his sword and shield in position, and the horns with their crimson crest: the god with the power of fire had wrought the sword for his father, Daunus, |
| fecerat et Stygia candentem tinxerat unda. exim quæ mediis ingenti annixa columnæ ædibus astabat, validam vi corripit hastam, Actoris Aurunci spolium, quassatque trementem vociferans : « nunc, o numquam frustrata vocatus | 95 | and dipped it, glowing, in the waters of the Styx. Then Turnus gripped his strong spear firmly, that stood leaning on a great column in the middle of the hall, a spoil won from the Auruncan, Actor, shook it till it quivered and shouted: “Now, o spear that never failed my call, |
| hasta meos, nunc tempus adest : te maximus Actor, te Turni nunc dextra gerit ; da sternere corpus loricamque manu valida lacerare revulsam semiviri Phrygis et fœdare in pulvere crinis vibratos calido ferro murraque madentis. » | 100 | now the time has come: Actor, the mightiest, carried you, and now the right hand of Turnus: allow me to lay low the body of that Phrygian eunuch, tear off and shatter his breastplate with my powerful hand, and defile his hair with dust, that’s curled with a heated iron, and drowned in myrrh.” |
| his agitur furiis, totoque ardentis ab ore scintillæ absistunt, oculis micat acribus ignis, mugitus veluti quum prima in prœlia taurus terrificos ciet aut irasci in cornua temptat arboris obnixus trunco, ventosque lacessit | 105 | He was driven by frenzy, glowing sparks shot from his whole aspect, fire flashed from his fierce eyes, like a bull, before a fight, that starts its formidable bellowing and, trying its anger with its horns, charges a tree-trunk, lashes the air with its blows, |
| ictibus aut sparsa ad pugnam proludit harena. Nec minus interea maternis sævus in armis Æneas acuit Martem et se suscitat ira, oblato gaudens componi fœdere bellum. tum socios mæstique metum solatur Juli | 110 | and scatters the sand, as it practises for the battle. Meanwhile Æneas, no less fierce, armed with the weapons, his mother’s gift, sharpened himself for conflict, and roused his anger, happy the war might be settled by the means on offer. Then he comforted his friends, and Julus’s anxious fears, |
| fata docens, regique jubet responsa Latino certa referre viros et pacis dicere leges. Postera vix summos spargebat lumine montis orta dies, quum primum alto se gurgite tollunt Solis equi lucemque elatis naribus efflant : | 115 | speaking of destiny, and ordered them to take a firm reply to King Latinus, and declare his conditions for peace. The next dawn had scarcely begun to sprinkle the mountain summits with its rays, at that time when the horses of the sun first rise from the deep ocean, and breathe light from lifted nostrils: |
| campum ad certamen magnæ sub mœnibus urbis dimensi Rutulique viri Teucrique parabant in medioque focos et dis communibus aras gramineas. alii fontemque ignemque ferebant velati limo et verbena tempora vincti. | 120 | the Rutulians and Trojans had measured out the field of combat, under the massive walls of the city, and were preparing hearths and turf altars for their mutual gods. Others wearing priest’s aprons, their foreheads wreathed with vervain, brought spring water and fiery embers. |
| procedit legio Ausonidum, pilataque plenis agmina se fundunt portis. hinc Trojus omnis Tyrrhenusque ruit variis exercitus armis, haud secus instructi ferro quam si aspera Martis pugna vocet. nec non mediis in milibus ipsi | 125 | The Ausonian army marched out, and their ranks, armed with spears, poured through the crowded gates. All the host of Trojans and Tuscans streamed out on the other side, arrayed in their various armor, equipped with steel, as if the bitter conflict of war called out to them. And the captains too, among their many |
| ductores auro volitant ostroque superbi, et genus Assaraci Mnestheus et fortis Asilas et Messapus equum domitor, Neptunia proles ; utque dato signo spatia in sua quisque recessit, defigunt tellure hastas et scuta reclinant. | 130 | thousands, darted about, brilliant in gold and purple, Mnestheus of Assaracus’s line, brave Asilas, and Messapus, tamer of horses, son of Neptune. As soon as each had retired to their own ground, at the given signal, they planted their spears in the earth, and leant their shields on them. |
| tum studio effusæ matres et vulgus inermum invalidique senes turris ac tecta domorum obsedere, alii portis sublimibus astant. At Juno ex summo (qui nunc Albanus habetur ; tum neque nomen erat neque honos aut gloria monti) | 135 | Then women, and weak old men, and the unarmed crowd, poured out eagerly, and gathered on towers and rooftops, or stood on the summit of the gates. But Juno, gazed at the plain, looking from the top of a hill (called Alban now, then without name, honor or glory) |
| prospiciens tumulo campum aspectabat et ambas Laurentum Troumque acies urbemque Latini. extemplo Turni sic est affata sororem diva deam, stagnis quæ fluminibusque sonoris præsidet (hunc illi rex ætheris altus honorem | 140 | at the twin ranks of Laurentum and Troy, and Latinus’s city. Immediately, goddess to goddess, she spoke to Turnus’s sister, who ruled over lakes and echoing rivers (Jupiter, the king |
| Juppiter erepta pro virginitate sacravit): « nympha, decus fluviorum, animo gratissima nostro, scis ut te cunctis unam, quæcumque Latinæ magnanimi Jovis ingratum ascendere cubile, prætulerim cælique libens in parte locarim : | 145 | of high heaven, gave her that honor for stealing her virginity): “Nymph, glory of rivers, dearest of all to my heart, you know how I’ve preferred you alone of all the Latin girls who’ve mounted unwelcome to the couch of great-hearted Jove, and I have freely granted you a place in a part of the sky: |
| disce tuum, ne me incuses, Juturna, dolorem. qua visa est Fortuna pati Parcæque sinebant cedere res Latio, Turnum et tua mœnia texi ; nunc juvenem imparibus video concurrere fatis, Parcarumque dies et vis inimica propinquat. | 150 | lest you blame me, Juturna, learn of impending grief. Whenever Fortune allowed, and the Fates permitted the Latin state to prosper, I protected Turnus and your city. Now I see a warrior meeting with an unequal destiny, and a day of Fate and inimical force draws near. |
| non pugnam aspicere hanc oculis, non fœdera possum. tu pro germano si quid præsentius audes, perge ; decet. forsan miseros meliora sequentur. » vix ea, quum lacrimas oculis Juturna profundit terque quaterque manu pectus percussit honestum. | 155 | I cannot look at this combat, they agreed to, with my eyes. If you dare do anything more for your brother in person, go on: it’s fitting. Perhaps better things will follow for the wretched.” She had scarcely spoken, when Juturna’s eyes flowed with tears, and her hand struck her lovely breast three or four times. |
| « non lacrimis hoc tempus » ait Saturnia Juno : « accelera et fratrem, si quis modus, eripe morti ; aut tu bella cie conceptumque excute fœdus. auctor ego audendi. » sic exhortata reliquit incertam et tristi turbatam vulnere mentis. | 160 | “This is not the moment for tears,” said Saturnian Juno: “Run, and, if there’s a way, snatch your brother from death: or stir conflict and shatter the treaty they’ve made. I teach you daring.” Having urged her thus, she left her uncertain and troubled, sadly hurt at heart. |
| Interea reges ingenti mole Latinus quadrijugo vehitur curru (cui tempora circum aurati bis sex radii fulgentia cingunt, Solis avi specimen), bigis it Turnus in albis, bina manu lato crispans hastilia ferro. | 165 | Meanwhile the kings drove out: Latinus in a four-horsed chariot of massive size (twelve golden rays circling his shining brow, emblems of his ancestor, the Sun), Turnus behind a snow-white team, brandishing two spears with broad steel blades in his hand. |
| hinc pater Æneas, Romanæ stirpis origo, sidereo flagrans clipeo et cælestibus armis et juxta Ascanius, magnæ spes altera Romæ, procedunt castris, puraque in veste sacerdos sætigeri fetum suis intonsamque bidentem | 170 | On the other side, Æneas, the leader, ancestor of the Roman race, came from the camp, ablaze with starry shield and heavenly armor, Ascanius with him, Rome’s second great hope, while a priest in pure robes brought the offspring of a bristly boar, and also an unshorn two-year sheep, |
| attulit admovitque pecus flagrantibus aris. illi ad surgentem conversi lumina solem dant fruges manibus salsas et tempora ferro summa notant pecudum, paterisque altaria libant. Tum pius Æneas stricto sic ense precatur : | 175 | and tethered the animals next to the blazing altars. The herœs turned their gaze towards the rising sun, sprinkled salt meal with their hands, marked the victims’ foreheads with a knife, and poured libations from cups onto the altars. Then pious Æneas, with sword drawn, prayed like this: |
| « esto nunc Sol testis et hæc mihi terra vocanti, quam propter tantos potui perferre labores, et pater omnipotens et tu Saturnia conjunx (jam melior, jam, diva, precor), tuque inclute Mavors, cuncta tuo qui bella, pater, sub numine torques ; | 180 | “Sun, be my witness, and this country that I call on, for which I have been able to endure such labors, and the all-powerful Father, and you Juno, his wife, (now goddess, now, be kinder, I pray) and you, glorious Mars, you, father, who control all warfare with your will: |
| fontisque fluviosque voco, quæque ætheris alti religio et quæ cæruleo sunt numina ponto : cesserit Ausonio si fors victoria Turno, convenit Evandri victos discedere ad urbem, cedet Julus agris, nec post arma ulla rebelles | 185 | I call on founts and rivers, on all the holiness of high heaven, and the powers in the blue ocean: if by chance Victory falls to Turnus of Italy, it is agreed the defeated will withdraw to Evander’s city, Julus will leave the land, and the people of Æneas will never |
| Æneadæ referent ferrove hæc regna lacessent. sin nostrum annuerit nobis victoria Martem (ut potius reor et potius di numine firment), non ego nec Teucris Italos parere jubebo nec mihi regna peto : paribus se legibus ambæ | 190 | bring renewed war in battle, or attack this realm with the sword. But if victory agrees that our contest is mine (as I think more likely, and may the gods by their will prove it so), I will not command the Italians to submit to Trojans nor do I seek a kingdom for myself: let both nations, undefeated, |
| invictæ gentes æterna in fœdera mittant. sacra deosque dabo ; socer arma Latinus habeto, imperium sollemne socer ; mihi mœnia Teucri constituent urbique dabit Lavinia nomen. » Sic prior Æneas, sequitur sic deinde Latinus | 195 | put in place an eternal treaty. I will permit your gods and their rites: Latinus my father-in-law will keep his weapons, my father-in-law will keep his accustomed power: the Trojans will build walls for me, and Lavinia will give her name to a city.” So Æneas was first to speak, then Latinus followed him, thus, |
| suspiciens cælum, tenditque ad sidera dextram : « hæc eadem, Ænea, terram, mare, sidera, juro Latonæque genus duplex Janumque bifrontem, vimque deum infernam et duri sacraria Ditis ; audiat hæc genitor qui fœdera fulmine sancit. | 200 | raising his eyes to heaven, and stretching his right hand to the sky: “I also swear, Æneas, by the same earth, sea, and sky, by Latona’s twin offspring, and by two-faced Janus, by the power of the gods below, and the shrines of cruel Dis: may the Father, who ratifies treaties with his lightning, hear me. |
| tango aras, medios ignis et numina testor : nulla dies pacem hanc Italis nec fœdera rumpet, quo res cumque cadent ; nec me vis ulla volentem avertet, non, si tellurem effundat in undas diluvio miscens cælumque in Tartara solvat, | 205 | I touch the altar: I call as witness the gods, and the flames between us, no day shall break this peace or truce on Italy’s side, however things may fall out: nor will any power deflect my will, not if it plunges the earth, drowned in flood, into the waves, and dissolves heaven in hell, |
| ut sceptrum hoc » (dextra sceptrum nam forte gerebat) « numquam fronde levi fundet virgulta nec umbras, quum semel in silvis imo de stirpe recisum matre caret posuitque comas et bracchia ferro, olim arbos, nunc artificis manus ære decoro | 210 | just as this sceptre” (since he chanced to hold the sceptre in his hand) “hewn, once and for all, from the lowest stem in the woods, having lost its parent trunk, and shedding its leaves and twigs to the knife, will never, now the craftsman’s hand has sheathed it in fine bronze, and given it to the elders of Latium |
| inclusit patribusque dedit gestare Latinis. » talibus inter se firmabant fœdera dictis conspectu in medio procerum. tum rite sacratas in flammam jugulant pecudes et viscera vivis eripiunt, cumulantque oneratis lancibus aras. | 215 | to carry, extend shoots or shade from light foliage.” They sealed the treaty between them with these words in full view of the leaders. Then with due rite they slaughtered the sacrificial beasts over the flames, tore out the entrails, while they were alive, and piled the altars with heaped dishes. |
| At vero Rutulis impar ea pugna videri jamdudum et vario misceri pectora motu, tum magis ut propius cernunt non viribus æquos. adjuvat incessu tacito progressus et aram suppliciter venerans demisso lumine Turnus | 220 | But the duel had for a long time seemed unfair to the Rutulians, and their hearts were torn by varied emotions, more so when they saw the combatants’ unequal strength near to. Turnus added to the unrest, in advancing with silent tread and venerating the altar humbly, with downcast eyes, |
| pubentesque genæ et juvenali in corpore pallor. quem simul ac Juturna soror crebrescere vidit sermonem et vulgi variare labantia corda, in medias acies formam assimulata Camerti, cui genus a proavis ingens clarumque paternæ | 225 | and by his wasted cheeks and the pallor of his youthful body. As soon as his sister, Juturna, was aware that talk was spreading and the minds of the multitude were wavering in doubt, she entered the heart of the army, in the guise of Camers, whose birth was of noble ancestry, his father’s name |
| nomen erat virtutis, et ipse acerrimus armis, in medias dat sese acies haud nescia rerum rumoresque serit varios ac talia fatur : « non pudet, o Rutuli, pro cunctis talibus unam objectare animam? numerone an viribus æqui | 230 | famous for virtue, and he himself of the bravest in arms, she entered the heart of the army, not ignorant of her task, sowing various rumors and speaking as follows: “O Rutulians, aren’t you ashamed to sacrifice one life on behalf of so many of you ? Aren’t we their equals |
| non sumus? en, omnes et Trœs et Arcades hi sunt, fatalisque manus, infensa Etruria Turno : vix hostem, alterni si congrediamur, habemus. ille quidem ad superos, quorum se devovet aris, succedet fama vivusque per ora feretur ; | 235 | in numbers and might? See, all the Trojans and Arcadians are here, and the Etrurian band led by fate, and hostile to Turnus: if every other man attacks, there’s barely an opponent for each of them. Turnus will climb in glory to the gods, at whose altars he has dedicated his life, and live borne on men’s lips: |
| nos patria amissa dominis parere superbis cogemur, qui nunc lenti consedimus arvis. » Talibus incensa est juvenum sententia dictis jam magis atque magis, serpitque per agmina murmur : ipsi Laurentes mutati ipsique Latini. | 240 | but we will be forced to submit to proud masters, our country lost, we who now sit inactive in the field.” The will of the young men was roused by these words, more and more so, and a murmur spread through the ranks: even the Laurentines and the Latins changed their minds. |
| qui sibi jam requiem pugnæ rebusque salutem sperabant, nunc arma volunt fœdusque precantur infectum et Turni sortem miserantur iniquam. his aliud majus Juturna adjungit et alto dat signum cælo, quo non præsentius ullum | 245 | Those who had lately hoped for rest from battle, and a safe existence, now longed for weapons, prayed for the treaty to be broken, and pitied Turnus’s unjust fate. Juturna added another greater spur, showing a sign in the depths of the sky, none more significant |
| turbavit mentes Italas monstroque fefellit. namque volans rubra fulvus Jovis ales in æthra litoreas agitabat avis turbamque sonantem agminis aligeri, subito quum lapsus ad undas cycnum excellentem pedibus rapit improbus uncis. | 250 | to disturb Italian minds, and charm them by the wonder of it. Jove’s tawny eagle, flying through reddened air, stirred the shore-birds, with noisy confusion in their winged ranks, when suddenly diving to the water he seized the most outstanding swan cruelly in his curved talons. |
| arrexere animos Itali, cunctæque volucres convertunt clamore fugam (mirabile visu), ætheraque obscurant pennis hostemque per auras facta nube premunt, donec vi victus et ipso pondere defecit prædamque ex unguibus ales | 255 | The Italians paid attention, and (amazing to see) all the birds wheeled, clamoring, in flight and, in a cloud, drove their enemy through the air, darkening the sky with their wings, until, defeated by force and the weight, the bird gave way, and, dropping the prey |
| projecit fluvio, penitusque in nubila fugit. Tum vero augurium Rutuli clamore salutant expediuntque manus, primusque Tolumnius augur « hoc erat, hoc votis » inquit « quod sæpe petivi. accipio agnoscoque deos ; me, me duce ferrum | 260 | from his talons into the river, fled deep into the clouds. Then the Rutulians truly hailed this omen with a shout and spread wide their hands, and Tolumnius the augur was first to cry out: “This, this was what my prayers have often sought. I understand it, and recognise the gods: snatch up the sword |
| corripite, o miseri, quos improbus advena bello territat invalidas ut avis, et litora vestra vi populat. petet ille fugam penitusque profundo vela dabit. vos unanimi densete catervas et regem vobis pugna defendite raptum. » | 265 | with me, with me at your head, o unhappy race, fragile birds, whom a cruel foreigner terrifies with war, ravaging your coast with violence. He will take flight and sail far away over the deep. Close ranks, together, and defend the king who has been snatched from you, in battle.” |
| dixit, et adversos telum contorsit in hostis procurrens ; sonitum dat stridula cornus et auras certa secat. simul hoc, simul ingens clamor et omnes turbati cunei calefactaque corda tumultu. hasta volans, ut forte novem pulcherrima fratrum | 270 | He spoke, and running forward hurled his spear at the enemy: the hissing cornel shaft sang, and cut unerringly through the air, At one with this, at one, was a mighty shout the army all in uproar, and hearts hot with the turmoil. The spear flew on, to where, by chance, nine handsome brothers |
| corpora constiterant contra, quos fida crearat una tot Arcadio conjunx Tyrrhena Gylippo, horum unum ad medium, teritur qua sutilis alvo balteus et laterum juncturas fibula mordet, egregium forma juvenem et fulgentibus armis, | 275 | stood in its path, all of whom one faithful Tuscan wife had borne to Arcadian Gylippus, It struck one of them, a youth of great beauty, in shining armor, at the waist, where a stitched belt rubbed against his stomach, and the buckle bit into the overlapping ends, |
| transadigit costas fulvaque effundit harena. at fratres, animosa phalanx accensaque luctu, pars gladios stringunt manibus, pars missile ferrum corripiunt cæcique ruunt. quos agmina contra procurrunt Laurentum, hinc densi rursus inundant | 280 | pierced his ribs, and hurled him to the yellow sand. But his spirited band of brothers, fired by grief, drew their swords or snatched their iron spears, and rushed forward blindly. The Laurentine ranks charged them: Trojans and Agyllines and Arcadians |
| Trœs Agyllinique et pictis Arcades armis : sic omnis amor unus habet decernere ferro. diripuere aras, it toto turbida cælo tempestas telorum ac ferreus ingruit imber, craterasque focosque ferunt. fugit ipse Latinus | 285 | in decorated armor, poured in from the other side: so all had one longing, to let the sword decide. They stripped the altars, there was a fierce storm of spears in the whole sky, and a steely rain fell: wine-bowls and hearthstones were carried off: |
| pulsatos referens infecto fœdere divos. infrenant alii currus aut corpora saltu subjiciunt in equos et strictis ensibus assunt. Messapus regem regisque insigne gerentem Tyrrhenum Aulesten, avidus confundere fœdus, | 290 | Latinus himself fled, taking his defeated gods, the treaty void. Others harnessed their chariots or leapt on their horses, and waited with drawn swords. Messapus, keen to destroy the truce, charging on his horse, scared off Aulestes, an Etruscan king with a king’s emblems: |
| adverso proterret equo ; ruit ille recedens et miser oppositis a tergo involvitur aris in caput inque umeros. at fervidus advolat hasta Messapus teloque orantem multa trabali desuper altus equo graviter ferit atque ita fatur : | 295 | the unfortunate man, as he backed away, entangled, fell, head and shoulders, on to the altar behind him: and Messapus flew at him furiously, spear in hand, and from his horse’s height struck mightily at him with the massive weapon, as Aulestes begged piteously, and spoke like this, over him: |
| « hoc habet, hæc melior magnis data victima divis. » concurrunt Itali spoliantque calentia membra. obvius ambustum torrem Corynæus ab ara corripit et venienti Ebyso plagamque ferenti occupat os flammis : olli ingens barba reluxit | 300 | “He’s done for: this nobler victim is given to the great gods.” The Italians crowded round and stripped the warm body. Against them, Corynæus snatched a charred brand from an altar, and aiming a blow at the charging Ebyso dashed flames in his face: his great beard flared |
| nidoremque ambusta dedit. super ipse secutus cæsariem læva turbati corripit hostis impressoque genu nitens terræ applicat ipsum ; sic rigido latus ense ferit. Podalirius Alsum pastorem primaque acie per tela ruentem | 305 | and gave off a smell of burning. Corynæus following through his blow, clutched the hair of his stunned enemy in his left hand and brought him to earth with a thrust of his bent knee: then stabbed him in the side with his straight sword. Podalirius, towered over the shepherd Alsus, pursuing him |
| ense sequens nudo superimminet ; ille securi adversi frontem mediam mentumque reducta disjicit et sparso late rigat arma cruore. olli dura quies oculos et ferreus urget somnus, in æternam conduntur lumina noctem. | 310 | with naked steel as he ran through the shower of spears in the front rank: but Alsus swung his axe back, and sliced through the front of his enemy’s brow and chin, drenching his armor with widely spouting blood. Harsh repose and iron slumber pressed on his eyes and their light was sunk in everlasting night. |
| At pius Æneas dextram tendebat inermem nudato capite atque suos clamore vocabat : « quo ruitis? quæve ista repens discordia surgit? o cohibete iras! ictum jam fœdus et omnes compositæ leges. mihi jus concurrere soli ; | 315 | But virtuous Æneas his head bared, unarmed, stretched out his right hand, and called loudly to his troops: “Where are you running to? Why this sudden tide of discord? O, control your anger! The agreement has already been struck, and its terms fixed. I alone have the right to fight: |
| me sinite atque auferte metus. ego fœdera faxo firma manu ; Turnum debent hæc jam mihi sacra. » has inter voces, media inter talia verba ecce viro stridens alis allapsa sagitta est, incertum qua pulsa manu, quo turbine adacta, | 320 | Let me do so: banish your fears. I’ll prove the treaty sound with this right hand: these rites mean Turnus is already mine.” Amidst these cries and words, see, a hissing arrow winged its way towards him, launched by what hand, sent whirling by whom, was unknown, as was the chance |
| quis tantam Rutulis laudem, casusne deusne, attulerit ; pressa est insignis gloria facti, nec sese Æneæ jactavit vulnere quisquam. Turnus ut Ænean cedentem ex agmine vidit turbatosque duces, subita spe fervidus ardet ; | 325 | or god that brought the Rutulians such honor: the glorious pride in it was kept concealed, and no one boasted of wounding Æneas. As soon as Turnus saw Æneas leave the ranks, his captains in confusion, he blazed with the fervour of sudden hope: |
| poscit equos atque arma simul, saltuque superbus emicat in currum et manibus molitur habenas. multa virum volitans dat fortia corpora leto. seminecis volvit multos : aut agmina curru proterit aut raptas fugientibus ingerit hastas. | 330 | he called for weapons and horses as one, leapt proudly into his chariot, and gripped the reins in his hands. He gave many a brave man death in his swift passage. Many he overturned half-alive, crushed the ranks under his chariot, or seizing his spears showered them on those fleeing. |
| qualis apud gelidi quum flumina concitus Hebri sanguineus Mavors clipeo increpat atque furentis bella movens immittit equos, illi æquore aperto ante Notos Zephyrumque volant, gemit ultima pulsu Thraca pedum circumque atræ Formidinis ora | 335 | Just as when blood-drenched Mars is roused, and clashes his shield, by the icy streams of Hebrus and, inciting war, gives rein to his frenzied horses, so that they fly over the open plain outrunning the south and west winds, and farthest Thrace groans to the beat of their hooves, while around him the forms of black |
| Iræque Insidiæque, dei comitatus, aguntur : talis equos alacer media inter prœlia Turnus fumantis sudore quatit, miserabile cæsis hostibus insultans ; spargit rapida ungula rores sanguineos mixtaque cruor calcatur harena. | 340 | Terror, Anger and Treachery, speed, the companions of the god: with the same swiftness Turnus lashed his horses, smoking with sweat, through the midst of the conflict, trampling on enemies piteously slain, while the galloping hooves splashed bloody dew, and trampled the gore mixed with sand. |
| jamque neci Sthenelumque dedit Thamyrumque Pholumque, hunc congressus et hunc, illum eminus ; eminus ambo Imbrasidas, Glaucum atque Laden, quos Imbrasus ipse nutrierat Lycia paribusque ornaverat armis vel conferre manum vel equo prævertere ventos. | 345 | Next he gave Sthenelus to death, Thamyrus, and Pholus, the latter close to, the former at a distance, from a distance too both sons of Imbrasas, Glaucus and Laudes, whom Imbrasus himself had raised in Lycia, and equipped with matching armor, to fight hand to hand, or outstrip the wind on horseback. |
| Parte alia media Eumedes in prœlia fertur, antiqui proles bello præclara Dolonis, nomine avum referens, animo manibusque parentem, qui quondam, castra ut Danaum speculator adiret, ausus Pelidæ pretium sibi poscere currus ; | 350 | Elsewhere Eumedes rode through the midst of the battle, famous in warfare, the son of aged Dolon, recalling the grandfather in name, his father in courage and skill, he who, in going as a spy that time to the Greek camp, dared to ask for Achilles’s chariot as his reward: |
| illum Tydides alio pro talibus ausis affecit pretio nec equis aspirat Achilli. hunc procul ut campo Turnus prospexit aperto, ante levi jaculo longum per inane secutus sistit equos bijugis et curru desilit atque | 355 | but Diomedes paid him a different reward for his daring and he no longer aspired to Achilles’s team. When Turnus saw Eumedes, far over the open plain, he first sent a light javelin after him across the long space between, then halted his paired horses, leapt from his chariot, |
| semianimi lapsoque supervenit, et pede collo impresso dextræ mucronem extorquet et alto fulgentem tingit jugulo atque hæc insuper addit : « en agros et, quam bello, Trojane, petisti, Hesperiam metire jacens : hæc præmia, qui me | 360 | onto the half-dead, fallen man, and, planting his foot on his neck, tore the sword from his hand, and bloodied the bright blade deep in his throat, adding these words as well: “See the fields, that Western Land, you sought in war: lie there and measure it: this is the prize for those |
| ferro ausi temptare, ferunt, sic mœnia condunt. » huic comitem Asbyten conjecta cuspide mittit Chloreaque Sybarimque Daretaque Thersilochumque et sternacis equi lapsum cervice Thymœten. ac velut Edoni Boreæ quum spiritus alto | 365 | who dare to cross swords with me, thus they build their walls.” Then with a cast of his spear he sent Asbytes to keep him company, Chloreus and Sybaris, Dares and Thersilochus, and Thymœtes who was flung from the neck of his rearing horse. As when the blast of the Edonian northerly sounds |
| insonat Ægæo sequiturque ad litora fluctus, qua venti incubuere, fugam dant nubila cælo : sic Turno, quacumque viam secat, agmina cedunt conversæque ruunt acies ; fert impetus ipsum et cristam adverso curru quatit aura volantem. | 370 | over the Ægean deep, and drives the breakers to shore, while brooding gusts in the sky put the clouds to flight, so, wherever Turnus cut a path, the lines gave way, and the ranks turned and ran: his own speed carried him on, and, as the chariot met it, the wind tossed his flowing plume. |
| non tulit instantem Phegeus animisque frementem objecit sese ad currum et spumantia frenis ora citatorum dextra detorsit equorum. dum trahitur pendetque jugis, hunc lata retectum lancea consequitur rumpitque infixa bilicem | 375 | Phegeus could not endure his attack or his spirited war-cry: he threw himself at the chariot and with his right hand wrenched the heads of the swift horses aside, as they foamed at the bit. While he was dragged along, hanging from the yoke, Turnus’s broad-headed lance reached for his exposed flank, |
| loricam et summum degustat vulnere corpus. ille tamen clipeo objecto conversus in hostem ibat et auxilium ducto mucrone petebat, quum rota præcipitem et procursu concitus axis impulit effunditque solo, Turnusque secutus | 380 | tore open the double-stranded mail where it entered, and grazed the surface of the flesh in a wound. Phegeus still turned towards his enemy, his shield raised, and was trying to protect himself with his drawn sword, when the wheel and the onrush of the spinning axle sent him headlong, throwing him to the ground, and Turnus, |
| imam inter galeam summi thoracis et oras abstulit ense caput truncumque reliquit harenæ. Atque ea dum campis victor dat funera Turnus, interea Ænean Mnestheus et fidus Achates Ascaniusque comes castris statuere cruentum | 385 | following through, struck off his head with a sweep of his blade between the rim of the helmet and the chain-mail’s upper edge, and left the body lying on the sand. While Turnus was victoriously dealing death over the plain, Mnestheus and loyal Achates, with Ascanius by their side, set Æneas down inside the camp, |
| alternos longa nitentem cuspide gressus. sævit et infracta luctatur harundine telum eripere auxilioque viam, quæ proxima, poscit : ense secent lato vulnus telique latebram rescindant penitus, seseque in bella remittant. | 390 | bleeding, supporting alternate steps with his long spear. he struggled furiously to pull out the head of the broken shaft, and called for the quickest means of assistance: to cut open the wound with a broadsword, lay open the arrow-tip’s buried depths, and send him back to war. |
| jamque aderat Phœbo ante alios dilectus Ïapyx Ïasides, acri quondam cui captus amore ipse suas artis, sua munera, lætus Apollo augurium citharamque dabat celerisque sagittas. ille, ut depositi proferret fata parentis, | 395 | Now Ïapyx, Ïasus’s son, approached, dearest of all to Apollo, to whom the god himself, struck by deep love, long ago offered with delight his own arts, his own gifts, his powers of prophecy, his lyre, and swift arrows. But Ïapyx, in order to delay the fate of his dying father, |
| scire potestates herbarum usumque medendi maluit et mutas agitare inglorius artis. stabat acerba fremens ingentem nixus in hastam Æneas magno juvenum et mærentis Juli concursu, lacrimis immobilis. ille retorto | 400 | chose knowledge of the virtues of herbs, and the use of medicine, and, without fame, to practise the silent arts. Æneas stood leaning on his great spear, complaining bitterly, amongst a vast crowd of soldiers, with Julus sorrowing, himself unmoved by the tears. The aged Ïapyx, his robe rolled back |
| Pæonium in morem senior succinctus amictu multa manu medica Phœbique potentibus herbis nequiquam trepidat, nequiquam spicula dextra sollicitat prensatque tenaci forcipe ferrum. nulla viam Fortuna regit, nihil auctor Apollo | 405 | in Pæonian fashion, tried hard in vain with healing fingers and Apollo’s powerful herbs: he worked at the arrow uselessly with his hand, and tugged at the metal with tightened pincers. No luck guided his course, nor did Apollo his patron help, |
| subvenit, et sævus campis magis ac magis horror crebrescit propiusque malum est. jam pulvere cælum stare vident : subeunt equites et spicula castris densa cadunt mediis. it tristis ad æthera clamor bellantum juvenum et duro sub Marte cadentum. | 410 | while cruel terror grew greater and greater over the plain, and evil drew near. Now they saw the sky standing on columns of dust: the horsemen neared and arrows fell thickly in the midst of the camp. A dismal cry rose to heaven of men fighting and falling under Mars’s harsh hand. |
| Hic Venus indigno nati concussa dolore dictamnum genetrix Cretæa carpit ab Ida, puberibus caulem foliis et flore comantem purpureo ; non illa feris incognita capris gramina, quum tergo volucres hæsere sagittæ. | 415 | At this Æneas’s mother, Venus, shaken by her son’s cruel pain, culled a dittany plant from Cretan Ida, with downy leaves and purple flowers: a herb not unknown to the wild goats when winged arrows have fixed themselves in their sides. |
| hoc Venus obscuro faciem circumdata nimbo detulit, hoc fusum labris splendentibus amnem inficit occulte medicans, spargitque salubris ambrosiæ sucos et odoriferam panaceam. fovit ea vulnus lympha longævus Ïapyx | 420 | This Venus brought, her face veiled in dark mist, this, with its hidden curative powers, she steeped in river water, poured into a glittering basin, and sprinkled there healing ambrosial juice and fragrant panacea. Aged Ïapyx bathed the wound with this liquid, |
| ignorans, subitoque omnis de corpore fugit quippe dolor, omnis stetit imo vulnere sanguis. jamque secuta manum nullo cogente sagitta excidit, atque novæ rediere in pristina vires. « arma citi properate viro! quid statis? » Ïapyx | 425 | not knowing its effect, and indeed all pain fled from Æneas’s body, all the flow of blood ceased deep in the wound. Now, without force, the arrowhead slipped from the wound, following the motion of his hand, and fresh strength returned to Æneas, such as before. Ïapyx cried: “Quickly, bring our hero weapons. Why are you |
| conclamat primusque animos accendit in hostem. « non hæc humanis opibus, non arte magistra proveniunt, neque te, Ænea, mea dextera servat : major agit deus atque opera ad majora remittit. » ille avidus pugnæ suras incluserat auro | 430 | standing there?” and was first to excite their courage against the enemy. “Æneas, this cure dœs not come by human aid, nor guiding art, it is not my hand that saved you: a god, a greater one, worked this, and sends you out again to glorious deeds.” Æneas, eager for battle, had sheathed his legs in gold, |
| hinc atque hinc oditque moras hastamque coruscat. postquam habilis lateri clipeus loricaque tergo est, Ascanium fusis circum complectitur armis summaque per galeam delibans oscula fatur : « disce, puer, virtutem ex me verumque laborem, | 435 | left and right, and scornful of delay, brandished his spear. As soon as his shield was fixed at his side, the chain mail to his back, he clasped Ascanius in his armed embrace, and, kissing his lips lightly through the helmet, said: “My son, learn courage from me and true labor: |
| fortunam ex aliis. nunc te mea dextera bello defensum dabit et magna inter præmia ducet. tu facito, mox quum matura adoleverit ætas, sis memor et te animo repetentem exempla tuorum et pater Æneas et avunculus excitet Hector. » | 440 | good fortune from others. Now my hand will protect you in war, and lead you to great rewards. Make sure later, when your years have reached maturity, that you remember: let your father Æneas, and your uncle Hector inspire your soul, by recalling their example.” |
| Hæc ubi dicta dedit, portis sese extulit ingens telum immane manu quatiens ; simul agmine denso Antheusque Mnestheusque ruunt, omnisque relictis turba fluit castris. tum cæco pulvere campus miscetur pulsuque pedum tremit excita tellus. | 445 | When he spoken these words, he rushed out through the gate, in all his strength, brandishing a great spear in his hand: Antheus and Mnestheus with him, and their massed ranks, and all the army streamed from the camp. Then the plain was a chaos of blinding dust, and the quaking earth shook under the tramp of feet. |
| vidit ab adverso venientis aggere Turnus, videre Ausonii, gelidusque per ima cucurrit ossa tremor ; prima ante omnis Juturna Latinos audiit agnovitque sonum et tremefacta refugit. ille volat campoque atrum rapit agmen aperto. | 450 | Turnus saw them advance, from the rampart opposite: the Ausonians saw, and a cold tremor ran to the marrow of their bones: Juturna was the first of all the Latins to hear and recognise the sound, and she fled in fear. Æneas flew ahead, racing his dark ranks over the open plain, |
| qualis ubi ad terras abrupto sidere nimbus it mare per medium (miseris, heu, præscia longe horrescunt corda agricolis : dabit ille ruinas arboribus stragemque satis, ruet omnia late), ante volant sonitumque ferunt ad litora venti : | 455 | As when the weather breaks and a storm cloud moves towards land, over the deep ocean (ah, the hearts of wretched farmers know if from far off, and shudder: it brings ruin to trees, and havoc to harvests, everything far and wide is destroyed), the gales run before it and carry their roar to the shore: |
| talis in adversos ductor Rhœtejus hostis agmen agit, densi cuneis se quisque coactis agglomerant. ferit ense gravem Thymbræus Osirim, Arcetium Mnestheus, Epulonem obtruncat Achates Vfentemque Gyas ; cadit ipse Tolumnius augur, | 460 | so the Trojan leader drove his ranks against the fœ, thickly they all gathered to him in dense columns. Thymbreus struck mighty Osiris with his sword, Mnestheus killed Arcetius: Achates killed Epulo, Gyas killed Ufens: even Tolumnius the augur fell, |
| primus in adversos telum qui torserat hostis. tollitur in cælum clamor, versique vicissim pulverulenta fuga Rutuli dant terga per agros. ipse neque aversos dignatur sternere morti nec pede congressos æquo nec tela ferentis | 465 | first to hurl his spear straight at the enemy. A shout rose to heaven, and in turn the routed Rutulians turned their backs in a cloud of dust, fleeing over the field. Æneas himself did not deign to send the fugitives to their death, nor did he attack the foot-soldiers, cavalry or those hurling |
| insequitur : solum densa in caligine Turnum vestigat lustrans, solum in certamina poscit. Hoc concussa metu mentem Juturna virago aurigam Turni media inter lora Metiscum excutit et longe lapsum temone reliquit ; | 470 | missiles: he tracked only Turnus, searching through the dense gloom, Turnus alone he summoned to combat. Juturna, the warrior maiden, her mind stricken with fear, knocked Turnus’s charioteer, Metiscus, from the reins, at this, so that he slipped from the beam, and left him far behind: |
| ipsa subit manibusque undantis flectit habenas cuncta gerens, vocemque et corpus et arma Metisci. nigra velut magnas domini quum divitis ædes pervolat et pennis alta atria lustrat hirundo pabula parva legens nidisque loquacibus escas, | 475 | she herself took his place, and guided the flowing reins with her hands, assuming Metiscus’s voice, form, weapons, all. As when a dark swallow flies through the great house of some rich lord, winging her way through lofty halls gathering tiny crumbs and scraps of food for her noisy young, |
| et nunc porticibus vacuis, nunc umida circum stagna sonat : similis medios Juturna per hostis fertur equis rapidoque volans obit omnia curru, jamque hic germanum jamque hic ostentat ovantem nec conferre manum patitur, volat avia longe. | 480 | now twittering in the empty courtyards, now by the damp ponds: so Juturna was drawn by the horses through the enemy center and, flying in her swift chariot, criss-crossed the whole plain, now here, now there, she gives evidence of her triumphant brother, not allowing him close combat, flying far away. |
| haud minus Æneas tortos legit obvius orbis, vestigatque virum et disjecta per agmina magna voce vocat. quotiens oculos conjecit in hostem alipedumque fugam cursu temptavit equorum, aversos totiens currus Juturna retorsit. | 485 | Nevertheless Æneas traversed her winding course to meet him, tracking him, calling him loudly among the ranks. As often as he set eyes on his enemy, and tried to match the flight of the swift horses in his course, as often Juturna turned and wheeled the chariot. |
| heu, quid agat? vario nequiquam fluctuat æstu, diversæque vocant animum in contraria curæ. huic Messapus, uti læva duo forte gerebat lenta, levis cursu, præfixa hastilia ferro, horum unum certo contorquens derigit ictu. | 490 | Ah, what to do? Vainly he fluctuated on the shifting tide, and diverse concerns called his thoughts away. Messapus, who happened to be carrying two strong spears tipped with steel, advanced lightly towards him, levelled one, and hurled it with unerring aim. |
| substitit Æneas et se collegit in arma poplite subsidens ; apicem tamen incita summum hasta tulit summasque excussit vertice cristas. tum vero assurgunt iræ, insidiisque subactus, diversos ubi sensit equos currumque referri, | 495 | Æneas stopped, and gathered himself behind his shield sinking on one knee: the swift spear still took off the tip of his helmet, and knocked the plumes from the crest. Then his anger truly surged, and incited by all this treachery, seeing his enemy’s chariot and horses driven far off, |
| multa Jovem et læsi testatus fœderis aras jam tandem invadit medios et Marte secundo terribilis sævam nullo discrimine cædem suscitat, irarumque omnis effundit habenas. Quis mihi nunc tot acerba deus, quis carmine cædes | 500 | calling loudly on Jove, and the altars of the broken treaty, as witness, he plunged at last into the fray, and, aided by Mars, he awoke dreadful, savage, indiscriminate slaughter, and gave full rein to his wrath. What god can now relate for me such bitter things as these, |
| diversas obitumque ducum, quos æquore toto inque vicem nunc Turnus agit, nunc Trojus heros, expediat? tanton placuit concurrere motu, Juppiter, æterna gentis in pace futuras? Æneas Rutulum Sucronem (ea prima ruentis | 505 | who can tell of such varied slaughter, the deaths of generals, whom Turnus now, and now the Trojan hero, drove in turn over the field? Jupiter was it your will that races who would live together in everlasting peace should meet in so great a conflict? Æneas meeting Rutulian Sucro (in the first battle |
| pugna loco statuit Teucros) haud multa morantem excipit in latus et, qua fata celerrima, crudum transadigit costas et cratis pectoris ensem. Turnus equo dejectum Amycum fratremque Dioren, congressus pedes, hunc venientem cuspide longa, | 510 | that brought the Trojan attack to a halt) quickly struck him in the side, and drove the cruel steel through the ribs that protect the heart, where death come fastest. Turnus threw Amycus from his horse, and Diores his brother, attacking them on foot, striking one with the long lance |
| hunc mucrone ferit, curruque abscisa duorum suspendit capita et rorantia sanguine portat. ille Talon Tanaimque neci fortemque Cethegum, tris uno congressu, et mæstum mittit Oniten, nomen Echionium matrisque genus Peridiæ ; | 515 | as he advanced, the other with his sword, then hanging both their severed heads from his chariot carried them away dripping with blood. Æneas sent Talos and Tanais and brave Cethegus to death, three in one attack, and sad Onites of Theban name, whose mother was Peridia: |
| hic fratres Lycia missos et Apollinis agris et juvenem exosum nequiquam bella Menœten, Arcada, piscosæ cui circum flumina Lernæ ars fuerat pauperque domus nec nota potentum munera, conductaque pater tellure serebat. | 520 | Turnus killed the brothers sent from Lycia, Apollo’s fields, and Menœtes of Arcadia, who had hated war, but in vain: his humble home and his living were round Lerna’s fish-filled streams, never knowing the patronage of the great, and his father farmed rented land. |
| ac velut immissi diversis partibus ignes arentem in silvam et virgulta sonantia lauro, aut ubi decursu rapido de montibus altis dant sonitum spumosi amnes et in æquora currunt quisque suum populatus iter : non segnius ambo | 525 | Like fires set burning from opposite sides of a dry forest into the thickets of crackling laurel, or foaming rivers falling swiftly from the mountain heights, roaring and racing seawards, each leaving its path of destruction, so Æneas and Turnus with no less fury swept through the battle: |
| Æneas Turnusque ruunt per prœlia ; nunc, nunc fluctuat ira intus, rumpuntur nescia vinci pectora, nunc totis in vulnera viribus itur. Murranum hic, atavos et avorum antiqua sonantem nomina per regesque actum genus omne Latinos, | 530 | now anger surged within: now their hearts which knew no defeat were bursting: now with all their strength they set out to do harm. As he boasted of his fathers, and the antiquity of his ancestors’ names, and all his race traced back through Latin kings, |
| præcipitem scopulo atque ingentis turbine saxi excutit effunditque solo ; hunc lora et juga subter provolvere rotæ, crebro super ungula pulsu incita nec domini memorum proculcat equorum. ille ruenti Hyllo animisque immane frementi | 535 | Æneas sent Murranus headlong with a stone, a great whirling rock, and hurled him to the ground: beneath the reins and yoke, the wheels churned him round, and the horses’ hooves, forgetful of their master, trampled him under with many a blow. Turnus met Hyllus as he charged, roaring with boundless pride, |
| occurrit telumque aurata ad tempora torquet : olli per galeam fixo stetit hasta cerebro. dextera nec tua te, Grajum fortissime Cretheu, eripuit Turno, nec di texere Cupencum Ænea veniente sui : dedit obvia ferro | 540 | and hurled a spear at his gilded forehead: piercing the helmet, the weapon lodged in his brain. Cretheus, bravest of Greeks, your right hand did not save you from Turnus, nor did the gods hide Cupencus when Æneas came: he set his chest against the weapon’s track, |
| pectora, nec misero clipei mora profuit ærei. te quoque Laurentes viderunt, Æole, campi oppetere et late terram consternere tergo. occĭdis, Argivæ quem non potuere phalanges sternere nec Priami regnorum eversor Achilles ; | 545 | and the bronze shield’s resistance profited the wretch nothing. The Laurentine field saw you fall also, Æolus, on your back, sprawled wide on the ground. You fell, whom the Greek battalions could not lay low, nor Achilles who overturned Priam’s kingdom: here was the boundary |
| hic tibi mortis erant metæ, domus alta sub Ida, Lyrnesi domus alta, solo Laurente sepulcrum. totæ adeo conversæ acies omnesque Latini, omnes Dardanidæ, Mnestheus acerque Serestus et Messapus equum domitor et fortis Asilas | 550 | of death for you: your noble house was below Mount Ida, that noble house at Lyrnesus, your grave in Laurentine soil. All the lines turned towards battle, the whole of the Latins, the whole of the Trojans, Mnestheus and fierce Serestus, Messapus, tamer of horses, and brave Asilas, |
| Tuscorumque phalanx Evandrique Arcades alæ, pro se quisque viri summa nituntur opum vi ; nec mora nec requies, vasto certamine tendunt. Hic mentem Æneæ genetrix pulcherrima misit iret ut ad muros urbique adverteret agmen | 555 | the Tuscan phalanx, Evander’s Arcadian squadron, each for himself, men straining with all their strength: no respite and no rest: exerting themselves in one vast conflict. Now his loveliest of mothers set in his mind the idea of moving against the walls, and turning his army on the city, |
| ocius et subita turbaret clade Latinos. ille ut vestigans diversa per agmina Turnum huc atque huc acies circumtulit, aspicit urbem immunem tanti belli atque impune quietam. continuo pugnæ accendit majoris imago : | 560 | swiftly, to confound the Latins with sudden ruin. While he tracked Turnus here and there through the ranks and swept his glance this way and that, he could see the city, free of fierce warfare and peacefully unharmed. Suddenly an image of a more ambitious act of war inflamed him: |
| Mnesthea Sergestumque vocat fortemque Serestum ductores, tumulumque capit quo cetera Teucrum concurrit legio, nec scuta aut spicula densi deponunt. celso medius stans aggere fatur : « ne qua meis esto dictis mora, Juppiter hac stat, | 565 | he called the generals Mnestheus, Sergestus and brave Serestus, and positioned himself on a hillock, where the rest of the Trojan army gathered round in a mass, without dropping their shields or spears. Standing amongst them on the high mound he cried: “Let nothing impede my orders, Jupiter is with us, and let |
| neu quis ob inceptum subitum mihi segnior ito. urbem hodie, causam belli, regna ipsa Latini, ni frenum accipere et victi parere fatentur, eruam et æqua solo fumantia culmina ponam. scilicet exspectem libeat dum prœlia Turno | 570 | no one be slower to advance because this attempt is so sudden. Today I will overthrow that city, a cause of war, Latinus’s capital itself, and lay its smoking roofs level with the ground, unless they agree to accept our rule, and submit, in defeat. Do you think I can wait until Turnus can face battle with me, |
| nostra pati rursusque velit concurrere victus? hoc caput, o cives, hæc belli summa nefandi. ferte faces propere fœdusque reposcite flammis. » dixerat, atque animis pariter certantibus omnes dant cuneum densaque ad muros mole feruntur ; | 575 | and chooses to meet with me again, though defeated before? O citizens, this man is the fountainhead and source of this wicked war. Quickly, bring burning brands, and re-establish the treaty, with fire.” He spoke, and all his troops adopted wedge-formation, hearts equal in emulation, and advanced in a dense mass towards the walls: |
| scalæ improviso subitusque apparuit ignis. discurrunt alii ad portas primosque trucidant, ferrum alii torquent et obumbrant æthera telis. ipse inter primos dextram sub mœnia tendit Æneas, magnaque incusat voce Latinum | 580 | in a flash, scaling ladders and sudden flames appeared. Some ran to the gates and cut down the leading defenders, others hurled steel, and darkened the sky with missiles. Æneas himself, among the leaders, raised his hand, at the foot of the wall, accused Latinus in a loud voice, and called the gods |
| testaturque deos iterum se ad prœlia cogi, bis jam Italos hostis, hæc altera fœdera rumpi. exoritur trepidos inter discordia civis : urbem alii reserare jubent et pandere portas Dardanidis ipsumque trahunt in mœnia regem ; | 585 | to witness that he was being forced into battle again, that the Italians were doubly enemies, another treaty was broken. Dissension rose among the fearful citizens: some commanded the city be opened, and the gates be thrown wide to the Trojans, and they dragged the king himself to the ramparts: |
| arma ferunt alii et pergunt defendere muros, inclusas ut quum latebroso in pumice pastor vestigavit apes fumoque implevit amaro ; illæ intus trepidæ rerum per cerea castra discurrunt magnisque acuunt stridoribus iras ; | 590 | others brought weapons and hurried to defend the walls, as when a shepherd, who’s tracked a swarm to its lair concealed in the rock, fills it with acrid smoke: the bees inside, anxious for safety, rush round their wax fortress, and sharpen their anger in loud buzzing: |
| volvitur ater odor tectis, tum murmure cæco intus saxa sonant, vacuas it fumus ad auras. Accidit hæc fessis etiam fortuna Latinis, quæ totam luctu concussit funditus urbem. regina ut tectis venientem prospicit hostem, | 595 | the reeking darkness rolls through their hive, the rocks echo within to a blind humming, and fumes reach the clear air. Now further misfortune befell the weary Latins, and shook the whole city to its foundations with grief. When Queen Amata, from the palace, saw the enemy |
| incessi muros, ignis ad tecta volare, nusquam acies contra Rutulas, nulla agmina Turni, infelix pugnæ juvenem in certamine credit exstinctum et subito mentem turbata dolore se causam clamat crimenque caputque malorum, | 600 | approaching, the walls assaulted, flames mounting to the roofs, but no opposing Rutulian lines, nor Turnus’s army, the unhappy queen thought Turnus had been killed in combat, and, her mind distraught, in sudden anguish, she cried out that she was the cause, the guilty one, the source |
| multaque per mæstum demens effata furorem purpureos moritura manu discindit amictus et nodum informis leti trabe nectit ab alta. quam cladem miseræ postquam accepere Latinæ, filia prima manu flavos Lavinia crinis | 605 | of evil, and uttering many wild words in the frenzy of grief, wanting to die, she tore her purple robes, and fastened a hideous noose of death to a high beam. As soon as the wretched Latin women knew of the disaster, first her daughter Lavinia fell into a frenzy, tearing at her golden |
| et roseas laniata genas, tum cetera circum turba furit, resonant late plangoribus ædes. hinc totam infelix vulgatur fama per urbem : demittunt mentes, it scissa veste Latinus conjugis attonitus fatis urbisque ruina, | 610 | tresses and rosy cheeks with her hands, then all the crowd around her: the wide halls echœd to their lamentations. From there the unhappy rumor spread throughout the city: Spirits sank: Latinus went about with rent clothing, stunned by his wife’s fate and his city’s ruin, |
| canitiem immundo perfusam pulvere turpans ; [multaque se incusat qui non acceperit ante Dardanium Ænean generumque asciverit ultro.] Interea extremo bellator in æquore Turnus palantis sequitur paucos jam segnior atque | 615 | fouling his white hair with clouds of vile dust, reproaching himself again and again for not having freely received Trojan Æneas, and adopted him as his son-in-law. Meanwhile Turnus, fighting at the edge of the plain, was pursuing the stragglers now, more slowly, |
| jam minus atque minus successu lætus equorum. attulit hunc illi cæcis terroribus aura commixtum clamorem, arrectasque impulit auris confusæ sonus urbis et illætabile murmur. « ei mihi! quid tanto turbantur mœnia luctu? | 620 | and rejoicing less and less in his horses’ advance. The breeze bore a clamor to him mingled with an unknown dread, and the cheerless sounds of a city in chaos met his straining ears. “Ah, what is this great grief that shakes the walls? |
| quisve ruit tantus diversa clamor ab urbe? » sic ait, adductisque amens subsistit habenis. atque huic, in faciem soror ut conversa Metisci aurigæ currumque et equos et lora regebat, talibus occurrit dictis : « hac, Turne, sequamur | 625 | What is this clamor that rises from the distant city?” So he spoke, anxiously grasping the reins and halting. At this his sister, controlling chariot, horses and reins disguised in the shape of his charioteer, Metiscus, countered with these words: “Turnus, this way, let us chase |
| Trojugenas, qua prima viam victoria pandit ; sunt alii qui tecta manu defendere possint. ingruit Æneas Italis et prœlia miscet, et nos sæva manu mittamus funera Teucris. nec numero inferior pugnæ neque honore recedes. » | 630 | the sons of Troy, where victory forges the way ahead: there are others with hands to defend our homes. Æneas is attacking the Italians, and stirring conflict: let our hands too deal cruel death to the Trojans. You will not leave the field inferior in battle honors |
| Turnus ad hæc : « o soror, et dudum agnovi, quum prima per artem fœdera turbasti teque hæc in bella dedisti, et nunc nequiquam fallis dea. sed quis Olympo demissam tantos voluit te ferre labores? | 635 | or the number you have killed’ Turnus replied to this: “O sister, I recognised you long ago, when you first wrecked the truce with your guile, and dedicated yourself to warfare, and now too you hide your divinity in vain. But who desired you to be sent down from Olympus to suffer such labors? |
| an fratris miseri letum ut crudele videres? nam quid ago? aut quæ jam spondet Fortuna salutem? vidi oculos ante ipse meos me voce vocantem Murranum, quo non superat mihi carior alter, oppetere ingentem atque ingenti vulnere victum. | 640 | Was it so you might see your unlucky brother’s death? What can I do? What chance can offer me life? I saw Murranus fall, before my very eyes, calling out to me, loudly, no one more dear to me than him remains, a mighty man, and overwhelmed by a mighty wound. |
| occidit infelix ne nostrum dedecus Vfens aspiceret ; Teucri potiuntur corpore et armis. exscindine domos (id rebus defuit unum) perpetiar, dextra nec Drancis dicta refellam? terga dabo et Turnum fugientem hæc terra videbit? | 645 | Unfortunate Ufens fell, so he might not witness our shame: the Trojans captured his body and his armor. Shall I endure the razing of our homes (the one thing left) and not deny Drances’s words with my sword? Shall I turn my back, and this country see Turnus run? |
| usque adeone mori miserum est? vos o mihi, Manes, este boni, quoniam superis aversa voluntas. sancta ad vos anima atque istius inscia culpæ descendam magnorum haud umquam indignus avorum. » Vix ea fatus erat : medios volat ecce per hostis | 650 | Is it indeed so terrible to die? Oh be good to me, you Shades below, since the gods above have turned their faces from me. I will descend to you, a virtuous soul, innocent of blame, never unworthy of my great ancestors.” He had barely spoken when Saces sped by, carried on a foaming |
| vectus equo spumante Saces, adversa sagitta saucius ora, ruitque implorans nomine Turnum : « Turne, in te suprema salus, miserere tuorum. fulminat Æneas armis summasque minatur dejecturum arces Italum excidioque daturum, | 655 | horse through the thick of the enemy, wounded full in the face by an arrow, and calling to Turnus by name as he rushed on: “Turnus, in you our last hope lies, pity your people. Æneas is explosive in arms, and threatens to throw down Italy’s highest citadel and deliver it to destruction, even now |
| jamque faces ad tecta volant. in te ora Latini, in te oculos referunt ; mussat rex ipse Latinus quos generos vocet aut quæ sese ad fœdera flectat. præterea regina, tui fidissima, dextra occĭdit ipsa sua lucemque exterrita fugit. | 660 | burning brands fly towards the roofs. The Latins turn their faces to you, their eyes are on you: King Latinus mutters to himself, wavering as to whom to call his sons, towards what alliance to lean. Moreover the queen, most loyal to you, has fallen by her own hand, and fled, in horror of the light. |
| soli pro portis Messapus et acer Atinas sustentant aciem. circum hos utrimque phalanges stant densæ strictisque seges mucronibus horret ferrea ; tu currum deserto in gramine versas. » obstipuit varia confusus imagine rerum | 665 | Messapus and brave Atinas, alone in front of the gates sustain our lines. Around them dense squadrons stand on every side, a harvest of steel that bristles with naked swords, while you drive your chariot over the empty turf.” Stunned and amazed by this vision of multiple disaster, |
| Turnus et obtutu tacito stetit ; æstuat ingens uno in corde pudor mixtoque insania luctu et furiis agitatus amor et conscia virtus. ut primum discussæ umbræ et lux reddita menti, ardentis oculorum orbis ad mœnia torsit | 670 | Turnus stood silently gazing: fierce shame surged in that solitary heart, and madness mingled with grief, love stung to frenzy, consciousness of virtue. As soon as the shadows dispersed, and light returned to his mind, he turned his gaze, with blazing eyes, towards the walls, |
| turbidus eque rotis magnam respexit ad urbem. Ecce autem flammis inter tabulata volutus ad cælum undabat vertex turrimque tenebat, turrim compactis trabibus quam eduxerat ipse subdideratque rotas pontisque instraverat altos. | 675 | and looked back on the mighty city from his chariot. See, now, a spiralling crest of flame fastened on a tower, and rolled skyward through the stories, a tower he had built himself with jointed beams, set on wheels, and equipped with high walkways. |
| « jam jam fata, soror, superant, absiste morari ; quo deus et quo dura vocat Fortuna sequamur. stat conferre manum Æneæ, stat, quidquid acerbi est, morte pati, neque me indecorem, germana, videbis amplius. hunc, oro, sine me furere ante furorem. » | 680 | He spoke: “Now, sister, now fate triumphs: no more delays: where god and cruel fortune calls, let me follow. I’m determined on meeting Æneas, determined to suffer death, however bitter: you’ll no longer see me ashamed, sister. I beg you let me rage before I am maddened.” |
| dixit, et e curru saltum dedit ocius arvis perque hostis, per tela ruit mæstamque sororem deserit ac rapido cursu media agmina rumpit. ac veluti montis saxum de vertice præceps quum ruit avulsum vento, seu turbidus imber | 685 | And, leaping swiftly from his chariot to the ground, he ran through enemy spears, deserting his grieving sister, and burst, in his quick passage, through the ranks. As when a rock torn from the mountaintop by a storm hurtles downward, washed free by a tempest of rain |
| proluit aut annis solvit sublapsa vetustas ; fertur in abruptum magno mons improbus actu exsultatque solo, silvas armenta virosque involvens secum : disjecta per agmina Turnus sic urbis ruit ad muros, ubi plurima fuso | 690 | or loosened in time by the passage of the years, and the wilful mass plunges down the slope in a mighty rush and leaps over the ground, rolling trees, herds and men with it: so Turnus ran to the city walls through the broken ranks, |
| sanguine terra madet striduntque hastilibus auræ, significatque manu et magno simul incipit ore : « parcite jam, Rutuli, et vos tela inhibete, Latini. quæcumque est fortuna, mea est ; me verius unum pro vobis fœdus luere et decernere ferro. » | 695 | where the soil was most drenched with blood, and the air shrill with spears, signalled with his hand and began shouting aloud: “Rutulians stop now, and you Latins hold back your spears. Whatever fate is here, is mine: it is better that I alone make reparation for the truce and decide it with the sword.” |
| discessere omnes medii spatiumque dedere. At pater Æneas audito nomine Turni deserit et muros et summas deserit arces præcipitatque moras omnis, opera omnia rumpit lætitia exsultans horrendumque intonat armis : | 700 | All drew back, and left a space in their midst. Now Æneas the leader hearing the name of Turnus left the walls, and left the high fortress, cast aside all delay, broke off from every task, and exultant with delight clashed his weapons fiercely: |
| quantus Athos aut quantus Eryx aut ipse coruscis quum fremit ilicibus quantus gaudetque nivali vertice se attollens pater Appenninus ad auras. jam vero et Rutuli certatim et Trœs et omnes convertere oculos Itali, quique alta tenebant | 705 | vast as Mount Athos, or Mount Eryx, or vast as old Apennine himself when he roars through the glittering holm-oaks and joys in lifting his snowy summit to heaven. Now all truly turned their eyes, stripping the armor from their shoulders, Rutulians, Trojans and Italians, |
| mœnia quique imos pulsabant ariete muros, armaque deposuere umeris. stupet ipse Latinus ingentis, genitos diversis partibus orbis, inter se cojisse viros et cernere ferro. atque illi, ut vacuo patuerunt æquore campi, | 710 | those who held the high ramparts and those whose ram battered at the walls beneath. Latinus himself was amazed at these mighty men, born at opposite ends of the world, meeting and deciding the outcome with their swords. As soon as the field was clear on the open plain, |
| procursu rapido conjectis eminus hastis invadunt Martem clipeis atque ære sonoro. dat gemitum tellus ; tum crebros ensibus ictus congeminant, fors et virtus miscetur in unum. ac velut ingenti Sila summove Taburno | 715 | they both dashed quickly forward, hurling their spears first from a distance, rushing, with shield and ringing bronze, to battle. The earth groaned: they redoubled their intense sword-strokes, chance and skill mingled together. And as when two bulls charge head to head in mortal battle, |
| quum duo conversis inimica in prœlia tauri frontibus incurrunt, pavidi cessere magistri, stat pecus omne metu mutum, mussantque juvencæ quis nemori imperitet, quem tota armenta sequantur ; illi inter sese multa vi vulnera miscent | 720 | on mighty Sila or on Taburnus’s heights, and in terror their keepers retreat, the whole herd stand silent with fear, and the heifers wait, mute, to see who will be lord of the forest, whom all the herds will follow, as they deal wounds to each other with immense force, |
| cornuaque obnixi infigunt et sanguine largo colla armosque lavant, gemitu nemus omne remugit : non aliter Tros Æneas et Daunius heros concurrunt clipeis, ingens fragor æthera complet. Juppiter ipse duas æquato examine lances | 725 | gore with butting horns, and bathe neck and shoulders in streaming blood, while all the wood echœs to their bellowing: so Trojan Æneas and the Daunian hero, Turnus, clashed their shields, and the mighty crash filled the sky. Jupiter himself held up two evenly balanced scales |
| sustinet et fata imponit diversa duorum, quem damnet labor et quo vergat pondere letum. Emicat hic impune putans et corpore toto alte sublatum consurgit Turnus in ensem et ferit ; exclamant Trœs trepidique Latini, | 730 | before him, and placed in them the diverse fates of the two, to see whom the effort doomed, with whose weight death sank down. Turnus leapt forward thinking himself safe, rose to the full height of his body with uplifted sword, and struck: the Trojans and the anxious Latins cried out, both armies were roused. |
| arrectæque amborum acies. at perfidus ensis frangitur in medioque ardentem deserit ictu, ni fuga subsidio subeat. fugit ocior Euro ut capulum ignotum dextramque aspexit inermem. fama est præcipitem, quum prima in prœlia junctos | 735 | But the traitorous blade snapped, and would have left the eager warrior defenseless in mid-stroke, if immediate flight had not saved him. He ran swifter than the east wind, when he saw that strange hilt in his exposed right hand. The tale is that in headlong haste, when he first mounted |
| conscendebat equos, patrio mucrone relicto, dum trepidat, ferrum aurigæ rapuisse Metisci ; idque diu, dum terga dabant palantia Teucri, suffecit ; postquam arma dei ad Volcania ventum est, mortalis mucro glacies ceu futtilis ictu | 740 | behind his yoked team for battle, he left his father’s sword behind, and snatched up the blade of his charioteer, Metiscus: and that served him for a long while as the straggling Trojans turned their backs, but the mortal blade flew apart like brittle ice at the stroke, on meeting Vulcan’s |
| dissiluit, fulva resplendent fragmina harena. ergo amens diversa fuga petit æquora Turnus et nunc huc, inde huc incertos implicat orbis ; undique enim densa Teucri inclusere corona atque hinc vasta palus, hinc ardua mœnia cingunt. | 745 | divine armor: and the fragments gleamed on the yellow sand. So Turnus ran madly this way and that over the plain, winding aimless circles here and there: on all sides the Trojans imprisoned him in their crowded ring, and a vast marsh penned him on one side, on the other the steep ramparts. |
| Nec minus Æneas, quamquam tardata sagitta interdum genua impediunt cursumque recusant, insequitur trepidique pedem pede fervidus urget : inclusum veluti si quando flumine nactus cervum aut puniceæ sæptum formidine pennæ | 750 | Ænæas, no less, though his knees, slowed at times by the arrow wound, failed him and denied him speed, pursued and pressed his anxious enemy hotly, foot to foot: as when a hound in the hunt presses on a stag, chasing and barking, one found trapped by the river or hedged in |
| venator cursu canis et latratibus instat ; ille autem insidiis et ripa territus alta mille fugit refugitque vias, at vividus Umber hæret hians, jam jamque tenet similisque tenenti increpuit malis morsuque elusus inani est ; | 755 | by fear of the crimson feathers: the stag, terrified by the snares and the high banks, flies backwards and forwards a thousand ways, but the eager Umbrian clings close with gaping mouth, almost has him, and snaps his jaws as though he holds him, baffled and biting empty air: |
| tum vero exoritur clamor ripæque lacusque responsant circa et cælum tonat omne tumultu. ille simul fugiens Rutulos simul increpat omnis nomine quemque vocans notumque efflagitat ensem. Æneas mortem contra præsensque minatur | 760 | Then a clamor breaks out indeed, the pools and banks around echo, and the whole sky rings with the tumult. As he fled, Turnus chided the Rutulians, calling on each by name and calling out for his own familiar sword. Æneas in turn threatened death and immediate destruction |
| exitium, si quisquam adeat, terretque trementis excisurum urbem minitans et saucius instat. quinque orbis explent cursu totidemque retexunt huc illuc ; neque enim levia aut ludicra petuntur præmia, sed Turni de vita et sanguine certant. | 765 | if any one approached, and terrified his trembling enemies threatening to raze the city, and pressing on though wounded. They completed five circuits, and unwound as many, this way and that: since they sought for no paltry prize at the games, but vied for Turnus’s life blood. |
| Forte sacer Fauno foliis oleaster amaris hic steterat, nautis olim venerabile lignum, servati ex undis ubi figere dona solebant Laurenti divo et votas suspendere vestis ; sed stirpem Teucri nullo discrimine sacrum | 770 | By chance this was the place where a bitter-leaved wild olive, sacred to Faunus, had stood, a tree revered by sailors of old, where, when saved from the sea, they used to hang their gifts to the Laurentine god, and the votive garments: but the Trojans had removed the sacred trunk, allowing |
| sustulerant, puro ut possent concurrere campo. hic hasta Æneæ stabat, huc impetus illam detulerat fixam et lenta radice tenebat. incubuit voluitque manu convellere ferrum Dardanides, teloque sequi quem prendere cursu | 775 | of no exceptions, in order to fight on open ground. Here stood Æneas’s spear, its impetus had carried it there, fixed and held fast by the tough roots. The Trojan halted, intending to pluck out the steel with his hand, and pursue the man he couldn’t catch by running, |
| non poterat. tum vero amens formidine Turnus « Faune, precor, miserere » inquit « tuque optima ferrum Terra tene, colui vestros si semper honores, quos contra Æneadæ bello fecere profanos. » dixit, opemque dei non cassa in vota vocavit. | 780 | with his javelin. Then Turnus mad with anxiety indeed cried: “Faunus, pity me, I pray, and you, most gracious Earth if I have every honored your rites that the sons of Æneas have instead defiled by war, retain the steel.” He spoke, and did not invoke the power of heaven in vain, |
| namque diu luctans lentoque in stirpe moratus viribus haud ullis valuit discludere morsus roboris Æneas. dum nititur acer et instat, rursus in aurigæ faciem mutata Metisci procurrit fratrique ensem dea Daunia reddit. | 785 | since Æneas could not prise open the wood’s grip, by any show of strength, though he wrestled long and lingered over the strong stump. While he tugged and strained fiercely, Juturna, the Daunian goddess, changing again to the shape of Metiscus, the charioteer, ran forward and restored his sword to her brother. |
| quod Venus audaci nymphæ indignata licere accessit telumque alta ab radice revellit. olli sublimes armis animisque refecti, hic gladio fidens, hic acer et arduus hasta, adsistunt contra certamina Martis anheli. | 790 | But Venus, enraged that this was allowed the audacious nymph, approached, and plucked the javelin from the deep root. Refreshed with weapons and courage, one relying on his sword, the other towering fiercely with his spear, both breathing hard, they stood, tall, face to face, in martial conflict. |
| Junonem interea rex omnipotentis Olympi alloquitur fulva pugnas de nube tuentem : « quæ jam finis erit, conjunx? quid denique restat? indigetem Ænean scis ipsa et scire fateris deberi cælo fatisque ad sidera tolli. | 795 | The king of almighty Olympus meanwhile was speaking to Juno, as she gazed at the fighting from a golden cloud: “Wife, what will the end be now? What will be left in the end? You know yourself, and confess you know, that Æneas is destined for heaven as the nation’s god: the Fates raise him to the stars. |
| quid struis? aut qua spe gelidis in nubibus hæres? mortalin decuit violari vulnere divum? aut ensem (quid enim sine te Juturna valeret?) ereptum reddi Turno et vim crescere victis? desine jam tandem precibusque inflectere nostris, | 800 | What are you planning? What hope do you cling to in the cold clouds? Was it right for him, a god, to be defiled by a mortal’s wound? Or that the lost sword (for what could Juturna achieve without you?) be restored to Turnus, the defeated gaining new strength? Now cease, at last, and give way to my entreaties, |
| ni te tantus edit tacitam dolor et mihi curæ sæpe tuo dulci tristes ex ore recursent. ventum ad supremum est. terris agitare vel undis Trojanos potuisti, infandum accendere bellum, deformare domum et luctu miscere hymenæos : | 805 | lest such sadness consume you in silence, and your bitter wœs stream back to me often from your sweet lips. It has reached its end. You have had the power to drive the Trojans over land and sea, to stir up evil war, to mar a house, and mix marriage with grief: |
| ulterius temptare veto. » sic Juppiter orsus ; sic dea summisso contra Saturnia vultu : « ista quidem quia nota mihi tua, magne, voluntas, Juppiter, et Turnum et terras invita reliqui ; nec tu me āeria solam nunc sede videres | 810 | I forbid you to attempt more.” So Jupiter spoke: so, with humble look, the Saturnian goddess replied: “Great Jupiter, truly, it was because I knew it was your wish that I parted reluctantly from Turnus and the Earth: or you would not see me alone now, on my celestial perch, |
| digna indigna pati, sed flammis cincta sub ipsa starem acie traheremque inimica in prœlia Teucros. Juturnam misero (fateor) succurrere fratri suasi et pro vita majora audere probavi, non ut tela tamen, non ut contenderet arcum ; | 815 | enduring the just and the unjust, but I’d be standing, wreathed in flame, in the battle line itself, and drawing the Trojans into deadly combat. I counselled Juturna (I confess) to help her unfortunate brother and approved greater acts of daring for the sake of his life, yet not for her to contend with the arrow or the bow: |
| adjuro Stygii caput implacabile fontis, una superstitio superis quæ reddita divis. et nunc cedo equidem pugnasque exosa relinquo. illud te, nulla fati quod lege tenetur, pro Latio obtestor, pro majestate tuorum : | 820 | I swear it by the implacable fountainhead of Styx, that alone is held in awe by the gods above. And now I yield, yes, and leave the fighting I loathe. Yet I beg this of you, for Latium’s sake, for the majesty of your own kin: since it is not prohibited by any law of fate: |
| quum jam conubiis pacem felicibus (esto) component, quum jam leges et fœdera jungent, ne vetus indigenas nomen mutare Latinos neu Troas fieri jubeas Teucrosque vocari aut vocem mutare viros aut vertere vestem. | 825 | when they soon make peace with happy nuptials (so be it) when they join together soon in laws and treaties, don’t order the native Latins to change their ancient name, to become Trojans or be called Teucrians, or change their language, or alter their clothing. |
| sit Latium, sint Albani per sæcula reges, sit Romana potens Itala virtute propago : occidit, occideritque sinas cum nomine Troja. » olli surridens hominum rerumque repertor : « es germana Jovis Saturnique altera proles, | 830 | Let Latium still exist, let there be Alban kings through the ages, let there be Roman offspring strong in Italian virtue: Troy has fallen, let her stay fallen, along with her name.” Smiling at her, the creator of men and things replied: “You are a true sister of Jove, another child of Saturn, |
| irarum tantos volvis sub pectore fluctus. verum age et inceptum frustra summitte furorem : do quod vis, et me victusque volensque remitto. sermonem Ausonii patrium moresque tenebunt, utque est nomen erit ; commixti corpore tantum | 835 | such waves of anger surge within your heart. Come, truly, calm this passion that was needlessly roused: I grant what you wish, and I relent, willingly defeated. Ausonia’s sons will keep their father’s speech and manners, as their name is, so it will be: the Trojans shall sink, merged |
| subsident Teucri. morem ritusque sacrorum adjiciam faciamque omnis uno ore Latinos. hinc genus Ausonio mixtum quod sanguine surget, supra homines, supra ire deos pietate videbis, nec gens ulla tuos æque celebrabit honores. » | 840 | into the mass, only. I will add sacred laws and rites, and make them all Latins of one tongue. From them a race will rise, merged with Ausonian blood, that you will see surpass men and gods in virtue, no nation will celebrate your rites with as much devotion.” |
| annuit his Juno et mentem lætata retorsit ; interea excedit cælo nubemque relinquit. His actis aliud genitor secum ipse volutat Juturnamque parat fratris dimittere ab armis. dicuntur geminæ pestes cognomine Diræ, | 845 | Juno agreed it, and joyfully altered her purpose: then left her cloud, and departed from the sky. This done the Father turns something else over in his mind and prepares to take Juturna from her brother’s side. Men speak of twin plagues, named the Dread Ones, |
| quas et Tartaream Nox intempesta Megæram uno eodemque tulit partu, paribusque revinxit serpentum spiris ventosasque addidit alas. hæ Jovis ad solium sævique in limine regis apparent acuuntque metum mortalibus ægris, | 850 | whom Night bore untimely, in one birth with Tartarean Megæra, wreathing them equally in snaky coils, and adding wings swift as the wind. They wait by Jove’s throne on the fierce king’s threshold, and sharpen the fears of weak mortals whenever the king of the gods sends plagues |
| si quando letum horrificum morbosque deum rex molitur, meritas aut bello territat urbes. harum unam celerem demisit ab æthere summo Juppiter inque omen Juturnæ occurrere jussit : illa volat celerique ad terram turbine fertur. | 855 | and death’s horrors, or terrifies guilty cities with war. Jupiter sent one of them quickly down from heaven’s heights and ordered her to meet with Juturna as a sign: she flew, and darted to earth in a swift whirlwind. Like an arrow loosed from the string, through the clouds, |
| non secus ac nervo per nubem impulsa sagitta, armatam sævi Parthus quam felle veneni, Parthus sive Cydon, telum immedicabile, torsit, stridens et celeris incognita transilit umbras : talis se sata Nocte tulit terrasque petivit. | 860 | that a Parthian, a Parthian or a Cydonian, fired, hissing, and leaping unseen through the swift shadows, a shaft beyond all cure, armed with cruel poison’s venom: so sped the daughter of Night, seeking the earth. |
| postquam acies videt Iliacas atque agmina Turni, alitis in parvæ subitam collecta figuram, quæ quondam in bustis aut culminibus desertis nocte sedens serum canit importuna per umbras — hanc versa in faciem Turni se pestis ob ora | 865 | As soon as she saw the Trojan ranks and Turnus’s troops, she changed her shape, suddenly shrinking to the form of that small bird that perching at night on tombs or deserted rooftops, often sings her troubling song so late among the shadows — and the fiend flew screeching to and fro in front |
| fertque refertque sonans clipeumque everberat alis. illi membra novus solvit formidine torpor, arrectæque horrore comæ et vox faucibus hæsit. At procul ut Diræ stridorem agnovit et alas, infelix crinis scindit Juturna solutos | 870 | of Turnus’s face, and beat at his shield with her wings. A strange numbness loosed his limbs in dread, his hair stood up in terror, and his voice clung to his throat. But when his wretched sister Juturna recognised the Dread One’s whirring wings in the distance, she tore at her loosened hair, marring |
| unguibus ora soror fœdans et pectora pugnis : « quid nunc te tua, Turne, potest germana juvare? aut quid jam duræ superat mihi? qua tibi lucem arte morer? talin possum me opponere monstro? jam jam linquo acies. ne me terrete timentem, | 875 | her face with her nails, and her breasts with her clenched hands: “What help can your sister give you now, Turnus? What is left for me who have suffered so? With what art can I prolong your life? Can I stand against such a portent? Now at last I leave the ranks. Bird of ill-omen, do not you |
| obscenæ volucres : alarum verbera nosco letalemque sonum, nec fallunt jussa superba magnanimi Jovis. hæc pro virginitate reponit? quo vitam dedit æternam? cur mortis adempta est condicio? possem tantos finire dolores | 880 | terrify me who already am afraid: I know your wing-beats and their fatal sound, and I do not mistake the proud command of great-hearted Jupiter. Is this his reward for my virginity? Why did he grant me eternal life? Why is the mortal condition taken from me? Then, at least, I could end such pain |
| nunc certe, et misero fratri comes ire per umbras! immortalis ego? aut quicquam mihi dulce meorum te sine, frater, erit? o quæ satis ima dehiscat terra mihi, Manisque deam demittat ad imos? » tantum effata caput glauco contexit amictu | 885 | and go through the shadows at my poor brother’s side! An immortal, I? Can anything be sweet to me without you my brother? Oh what earth can gape deep enough for me, to send a goddess down to the deepest Shades?” So saying she veiled her head in a grey mantle, and the goddess, |
| multa gemens et se fluvio dea condidit alto. Æneas instat contra telumque coruscat ingens arboreum, et sævo sic pectore fatur : « quæ nunc deinde mora est? aut quid jam, Turne, retractas? non cursu, sævis certandum est comminus armis. | 890 | with many a cry of grief, plunged into the river’s depths. Æneas pressed on, brandishing his great spear like a tree, and, angered at heart, he cried out in this way: “Why now yet more delay? Why do you still retreat, Turnus? We must compete hand to hand with fierce weapons, not by running. |
| verte omnis tete in facies : et contrahe quidquid sive animis sive arte vales ; opta ardua pennis astra sequi ; clausumque cava te condere terra. » ille caput quassans : « non me tua fervida terrent dicta, ferox ; di me terrent et Juppiter hostis. » | 895 | Change into every form: summon up all your powers of mind and art, wing your way if you wish to the high stars, or hide in earth’s hollow prison.” Turnus shook his head: “Fierce man, your fiery words don’t frighten me: the gods terrify me and Jupiter’s enmity.” |
| nec plura effatus saxum circumspicit ingens, saxum antiquum ingens, campo quod forte jacebat, limes agro positus litem ut discerneret arvis. vix illud lecti bis sex cervice subirent, qualia nunc hominum producit corpora tellus ; | 900 | Saying no more he looked round seeing a great rock, a vast ancient stone, that happened to lie there in the plain, set up as a boundary marker, to distinguish fields in dispute. Twelve picked men, men of such form as Earth now produces, could scarcely have lifted it on their shoulders, |
| ille manu raptum trepida torquebat in hostem altior insurgens et cursu concitus heros. sed neque currentem se nec cognoscit euntem tollentemve manu saxumve immane moventem ; genua labant, gelidus concrevit frigore sanguis. | 905 | but the hero Turnus, quickly grasping it with trembling hands, rising up and rushing forward in a run, hurled it at his enemy. But he did not know himself, whether running or walking or raising the great rock in his hands, or throwing it: his knees gave way, his blood was frozen cold. |
| tum lapis ipse viri vacuum per inane volutus nec spatium evasit totum neque pertulit ictum. ac velut in somnis, oculos ubi languida pressit nocte quies, nequiquam avidos extendere cursus velle videmur et in mediis conatibus ægri | 910 | The stone itself, whirled by the warrior through the empty air, failed to travel the whole distance, or drive home with force. As in dreams when languid sleep weighs down our eyes at night, we seem to try in vain to follow our eager path, and collapse helpless in the midst of our efforts, |
| succĭdimus ; non lingua valet, non corpore notæ sufficiunt vires nec vox aut verba sequuntur : sic Turno, quacumque viam virtute petivit, successum dea dira negat. tum pectore sensus vertuntur varii ; Rutulos aspectat et urbem | 915 | the tongue won’t work, the usual strength is lacking from our limbs, and neither word nor voice will come: so the dread goddess denied Turnus success, however courageously he sought to find a way. Then shifting visions whirled through his brain: he gazed at the Rutulians, and at the city, faltered |
| cunctaturque metu letumque instare tremescit, nec quo se eripiat, nec qua vi tendat in hostem, nec currus usquam videt aurigamve sororem. Cunctanti telum Æneas fatale coruscat, sortitus fortunam oculis, et corpore toto | 920 | in fear, and shuddered at the death that neared, he saw no way to escape, no power to attack his enemy, nor sign of his chariot, nor his sister, his charioteer. As he wavered, Æneas shook his fateful spear, seeing a favorable chance, and hurled it from the distance |
| eminus intorquet. murali concita numquam tormento sic saxa fremunt nec fulmine tanti dissultant crepitus. volat atri turbinis instar exitium dirum hasta ferens orasque recludit loricæ et clipei extremos septemplicis orbis ; | 925 | with all his might. Stone shot from a siege engine never roared so loud, such mighty thunder never burst from a lightning bolt. Like a black hurricane the spear flew on bearing dire destruction, and pierced the outer circle of the seven-fold shield, the breastplate’s lower rim, |
| per medium stridens transit femur. incidit ictus ingens ad terram duplicato poplite Turnus. consurgunt gemitu Rutuli totusque remugit mons circum et vocem late nemora alta remittunt. ille humilis supplex oculos dextramque precantem | 930 | and, hissing, passed through the center of the thigh. Great Turnus sank, his knee bent beneath him, under the blow. The Rutulians rose up, and groaned, and all the hills around re-echœd, and, far and wide, the woods returned the sound. He lowered his eyes in submission and stretched out his right hand: |
| protendens « equidem merui nec deprecor » inquit ; « utere sorte tua. miseri te si qua parentis tangere cura potest, oro (fuit et tibi talis Anchises genitor) Dauni miserere senectæ et me, seu corpus spoliatum lumine mavis, | 935 | “I have earned this, I ask no mercy” he said, “seize your chance. If any concern for a parent’s grief can touch you (you too had such a father, in Anchises) I beg you to pity Daunus’s old age and return me, or if you prefer it my body robbed of life, to my people. |
| redde meis. vicisti et victum tendere palmas Ausonii videre ; tua est Lavinia conjunx, ulterius ne tende odiis. » stetit acer in armis Æneas volvens oculos dextramque repressit ; et jam jamque magis cunctantem flectere sermo | 940 | You are the victor, and the Ausonians have seen me stretch out my hands in defeat: Lavinia is your wife, don’t extend your hatred further.” Æneas stood, fierce in his armor, his eyes flickered, and he held back his hand: and even now, as he paused, the words began to move him |
| cœperat, infelix umero quum apparuit alto balteus et notis fulserunt cingula bullis Pallantis pueri, victum quem vulnere Turnus straverat atque umeris inimicum insigne gerebat. ille, oculis postquam sævi monumenta doloris | 945 | more deeply, when high on Turnus’s shoulder young Pallas’s luckless sword-belt met his gaze, the strap glinting with its familiar decorations, he whom Turnus, now wearing his enemy’s emblems on his shoulder, had wounded and thrown, defeated, to the earth. As soon as his eyes took in the trophy, a memory of cruel grief, |
| exuviasque hausit, furiis accensus et ira terribilis : « tune hinc spoliis indute meorum eripiare mihi? Pallas te hoc vulnere, Pallas immolat et pœnam scelerato ex sanguine sumit. » hoc dicens ferrum adverso sub pectore condit | 950 | Æneas, blazing with fury, and terrible in his anger, cried: “Shall you be snatched from my grasp, wearing the spoils of one who was my own? Pallas it is, Pallas, who sacrifices you with this stroke, and exacts retribution from your guilty blood.” So saying, burning with rage, he buried his sword deep |
| fervidus ; ast illi solvuntur frigore membra vitaque cum gemitu fugit indignata sub umbras. | in Turnus’s breast: and then Turnus’s limbs grew slack with death, and his life fled, with a moan, angrily, to the Shades. |
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| Deus vult ! | — Brennus (Inscriptio electronica: Brennus@brennus.bluedomino.com) |
| Dies immutationis recentissimæ: die Solis, 2013 Martii 10 |