Venus's Appeal and Jupiter's Prophecy of Rome — Virgil, Aeneid Book 1 (lines 224–299), Latin & English

224

despiciens mare velivolum terrasque iacentis

looking down upon the sail-winged sea and the lands lying below,

225

litoraque et latos populos, sic vertice caeli

and the shores and the wide peoples, thus on the summit of heaven

constitit, et Libyae defixit lumina regnis.

he stood, and fixed his eyes upon the kingdoms of Libya.

Atque illum talis iactantem pectore curas

And to him, pondering such cares in his heart,

tristior et lacrimis oculos suffusa nitentis¹

Venus, sadder than her wont, her shining eyes filled with tears,

adloquitur Venus: O qui res hominumque deumque

addresses: “O you who rule the affairs of both men and gods

230

aeternis regis imperiis, et fulmine terres,

with eternal sovereignty, and terrify with your lightning,

quid meus Aeneas in te committere tantum,

what so great offense could my Aeneas commit against you,

quid Troes potuere, quibus, tot funera passis,

what could the Trojans do, to whom, having suffered so many deaths,

cunctus ob Italiam terrarum clauditur orbis?

the whole circle of lands is closed on account of Italy?

Certe hinc Romanos olim, volventibus annis,

Surely you promised that from here, as the years roll on, one day the Romans,

235

hinc fore ductores, revocato a sanguine Teucri,

from here leaders would arise from the restored blood of Teucer,

qui mare, qui terras omni dicione tenerent,

who should hold the sea, who should hold the lands with all authority—

pollicitus,² quae te, genitor, sententia vertit?

what thought, father, has turned you?

Hoc equidem occasum Troiae tristisque ruinas

With this indeed I was consoling myself for the fall of Troy and its sad ruins,

solabar, fatis contraria fata rependens;

balancing contrary fates against past fates;

240

nunc eadem fortuna viros tot casibus actos

now the same fortune pursues the men driven by so many disasters.

insequitur. Quem das finem, rex magne, laborum?

What end of their labors do you give, great king?

Antenor potuit, mediis elapsus Achivis,

Antenor was able, having escaped from the midst of the Greeks,

Illyricos penetrare sinus, atque intima tutus

to penetrate the Illyrian gulfs, and safe, the innermost

regna Liburnorum, et fontem superare Timavi,

kingdoms of the Liburnians, and to pass the source of the Timavus,

245

unde per ora novem vasto cum murmure montis

whence through nine mouths with a vast roar of the mountain

it mare proruptum et pelago premit arva sonanti.

it goes as a bursting sea and overwhelms the fields with its resounding flood.

Hic tamen ille urbem Patavi sedesque locavit

Here nevertheless he established the city of Patavium and the dwellings

Teucrorum, et genti nomen dedit, armaque fixit

of the Teucrians, and gave a name to the nation, and hung up

Troia; nunc placida compostus pace quiescit:

his Trojan arms; now, settled in calm peace, he rests.

250

nos, tua progenies, caeli quibus adnuis arcem,

We, your offspring, to whom you promise the citadel of heaven,

navibus (infandum!) amissis,³ unius ob iram

our ships (unutterable!) having been lost, on account of the anger of one,

prodimur atque Italis longe disiungimur oris.

are betrayed and kept far away from Italian shores.

Hic pietatis honos? Sic nos in sceptra reponis?

Is this the reward of piety? Do you thus restore us to our scepters?”

Olli subridens hominum sator atque deorum,

Smiling upon her, the father of men and gods,

255

voltu, quo caelum tempestatesque serenat,

with that look with which he clears the sky and storms,

oscula libavit natae, dehinc talia fatur:

lightly kissed his daughter’s lips, and then speaks such words:

Parce metu, Cytherea: manent immota tuorum

”Spare your fear, Cytherea: the fates of your people remain unmoved

fata tibi; cernes urbem et promissa Lavini

for you; you shall see the city and the promised walls of Lavinium,

moenia, sublimemque feres ad sidera caeli

and you shall bear high to the stars of heaven

260

magnanimum Aenean; neque me sententia vertit.

great-hearted Aeneas; nor has any thought turned me.

Hic tibi⁴ (fabor enim, quando haec te cura remordet,

He for you (for I will speak, since this care gnaws at you,

longius et volvens fatorum arcana movebo)

and unrolling further I will reveal the secrets of the fates)

bellum ingens geret Italia, populosque feroces

shall wage a huge war in Italy, and shall crush fierce peoples,

contundet, moresque viris et moenia ponet,

and establish customs and walls for his men,

265

tertia dum Latio regnantem viderit aestas,

until a third summer shall see him reigning in Latium,

ternaque transierint Rutulis hiberna subactis.

and three winters shall have passed after the Rutulians are subdued.

At puer Ascanius, cui nunc cognomen Iulo⁵

But the boy Ascanius, to whom now the surname Iulus

additur,—Ilus erat, dum res stetit Ilia regno,—

is added—he was Ilus, while the Ilian state stood in sovereign power—

triginta magnos volvendis mensibus⁶ orbis

shall complete thirty great circles with rolling months in his rule,

270

imperio explebit, regnumque ab sede Lavini

and shall transfer the kingdom from the seat of Lavinium,

transferet, et longam multa vi muniet Albam.

and shall fortify Alba Longa with great strength.

Hic iam ter centum totos regnabitur annos

Here now it shall be ruled for three hundred whole years

gente sub Hectorea, donec regina sacerdos,

under the race of Hector, until a royal priestess,

Marte gravis, geminam partu dabit Ilia prolem.

Ilia, pregnant by Mars, shall give twin offspring by birth.

275

Inde lupae fulvo nutricis tegmine laetus

Thence, rejoicing in the tawny hide of his nurse, the she-wolf,

Romulus excipiet gentem, et Mavortia condet

Romulus shall take up the nation, and shall found the walls of Mars,

moenia, Romanosque suo de nomine dicet.

and shall call them Romans from his own name.

His ego nec metas rerum nec tempora pono;

To these I place neither boundaries of space nor limits of time;

imperium sine fine dedi. Quin aspera Iuno,

I have given empire without end. Nay, even harsh Juno,

280

quae mare nunc terrasque metu caelumque fatigat,

who now wearies the sea and lands and heaven with fear,

consilia in melius referet, mecumque fovebit

shall turn her counsels for the better, and with me shall cherish

Romanos rerum dominos gentemque togatam:

the Romans, masters of affairs, and the toga-wearing nation:

sic placitum. Veniet lustris labentibus aetas,

Thus it is decreed. An age shall come as the years glide by,

cum domus Assaraci Phthiam clarasque Mycenas

when the house of Assaracus shall crush Phthia and famous Mycenae

285

servitio premet, ac victis dominabitur Argis.

in servitude, and shall rule over conquered Argos.

Nascetur pulchra Troianus origine Caesar,

A Trojan Caesar shall be born of noble origin,

imperium oceano, famam qui terminet astris,—

who shall bound his empire by the ocean, his fame by the stars—

Iulius, a magno demissum nomen Iulo.

Julius, a name derived from great Iulus.

Hunc tu olim caelo, spoliis Orientis onustum,

Him one day in heaven, laden with the spoils of the East,

290

accipies secura; vocabitur hic quoque votis.

you, free from care, shall receive; he too shall be invoked with vows.

Aspera tum positis mitescent saecula bellis;

Then, wars being laid aside, the harsh ages shall grow mild;

cana Fides, et Vesta, Remo cum fratre Quirinus,

hoary Faith, and Vesta, and Quirinus with his brother Remus,

iura dabunt; dirae ferro et compagibus artis

shall give laws; the dread gates of War shall be closed with iron

claudentur Belli portae; Furor impius intus,

and tight-fitting fastenings; impious Rage within,

295

saeva sedens super arma, et centum vinctus aenis

sitting upon savage weapons, and bound behind his back with a hundred bronze

post tergum nodis, fremet horridus ore cruento.

knots, shall roar, dreadful with his bloody mouth.”

Haec ait, et Maia genitum demittit ab alto,

These things he says, and sends the son of Maia down from on high,

ut terrae, utque novae pateant Karthaginis arces

so that the lands, and so that the towers of new Carthage might open

hospitio Teucris, ne fati nescia Dido

in hospitality to the Teucrians, lest Dido, ignorant of fate

Syntax notes6 items

1.228oculos suffusa nitentis
The perfect passive participle suffusa is used in a middle/reflexive sense, taking the accusative noun phrase oculos nitentis (archaic form of nitentes, 'shining eyes') as a Greek accusative of specification, describing her eyes as filled with tears.
1.237pollicitus
An ellipse of the auxiliary verb es, representing the second person singular perfect pollicitus es ('you promised'). It acts as the main verb governing the preceding indirect statement starting with fore (futurum esse).
1.251navibus amissis
An ablative absolute construction consisting of the noun navibus and the participle amissis ('ships having been lost'), which expresses cause or concession in this context.
1.261tibi
An ethic dative (dative of reference), showing Jupiter's consideration directed toward the listener, Venus ('for your comfort' or 'to your peace of mind').
1.267Iulo
The dative Iulo is attracted into the case of the relative pronoun cui (dative of possession), instead of taking the nominative Iulus in apposition to cognomen.
1.269volvendis mensibus
The gerundive volvendis is used with a middle or active force similar to a present participle ('rolling' or 'passing') in the ablative case denoting time or circumstance.

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-22)urn:cts:latinLit:phi0690.phi003.humanitext-lat2:1.224-1.299