Council of the Gods: Venus and Juno's Debate — Virgil, Aeneid Book 10 (lines 1–77), Latin & English

Panditur interea domus omnipotentis Olympi,

Meanwhile the palace of all-powerful Olympus is opened,

conciliumque vocat divom pater atque hominum rex

and the father of gods and king of men calls a council

sideream in sedem, terras unde arduus omnis

into his starry seat, whence, high aloft, he beholds all lands,

castraque Dardanidum adspectat populosque Latinos.

the camp of the Dardanids and the Latin peoples.

Considunt tectis bipatentibus, incipit ipse:

They take their seats in the double-gated halls; he himself begins:

Caelicolae magni, quianam sententia vobis

”Great heaven-dwellers, why is your decision

versa retro tantumque animis certatis iniquis?

turned back, and why do you strive so much with hostile minds?

Abnueram bello Italiam concurrere Teucris.

I had forbidden Italy to clash in war with the Trojans.

Quae contra vetitum discordia? Quis metus aut hos

What discord is this against my prohibition? What fear persuaded either these

aut hos arma sequi¹ ferrumque lacessere suasit?

or those to take up arms and provoke the sword?

Adveniet iustum pugnae, ne arcessite, tempus,

The proper time for battle will arrive—do not hasten it—

cum fera Karthago Romanis arcibus olim

when fierce Carthage shall one day launch upon the Roman citadels

exitium magnum atque Alpes immittet apertas:

great destruction, and the Alps opened;

tum certare odiis, tum res rapuisse licebit.

then it will be lawful to strive with hatred, then to plunder.

Nunc sinite et placitum laeti componite foedus.

Now let it be, and gladly establish the pleasing treaty.”

Iuppiter haec paucis; at non Venus aurea contra

Jupiter spoke these in few words; but golden Venus in reply

pauca refert:

returns not few:

O pater, O hominum rerumque aeterna potestas!

”O father, O eternal power of men and things!

Namque aliud quid sit, quod iam implorare queamus?

For what else is there that we can now implore?

Cernis ut insultent Rutulli Turnusque

Do you see how the Rutulians exult and Turnus,

secundo

with favorable

Marte ruat? Non clausa tegunt iam moenia Teucros:

warfare, rushes on? No longer do closed walls protect the Trojans:

quin intra portas atque ipsis proelia miscent

nay, within the gates and on the very ramparts

aggeribus moerorum et inundant sanguine fossas.

of the walls they join battle, and flood the trenches with blood.

Aeneas ignarus abest. Numquamne levari

Aeneas, ignorant, is away. Will you never allow them to be relieved

obsidione sines? Muris iterum imminet hostis

from siege? Again the enemy threatens the walls

nascentis Troiae

of rising Troy,

atque iterum in Teucros Aetolis surgit ab Arpis

and again from Aetolian Arpi, Tydides rises against the Trojans.

Tydides. Equidem credo, mea volnera restant²

Indeed, I believe, my wounds remain,

et tua progenies mortalia demoror arma.

and I, your offspring, delay mortal weapons.

Si sine pace tua atque invito numine Troes

If without your peace and against your divine will the Trojans

Italiam petiere, luant peccata neque illos

sought Italy, let them pay for their sins, and do not

iuveris auxilio; sin tot responsa secuti,³

help them with aid; but if, following so many responses

quae superi manesque dabant: cur nunc tua quisquam

which the gods above and shades below gave: why now can anyone

vertere iussa potest aut cur nova condere fata?

overturn your commands or build new fates?

Quid repetem exustas Erycino in litore classes,

Why should I recall the fleets burned on the Erycinian shore,

quid tempestatum regem ventosque furentis

why the king of tempests and his raging winds

Aeolia excitos aut actam nubibus Irim?

aroused from Aeolia, or Iris driven from the clouds?

Nunc etiam manis, haec intemptata manebat

Now she even stirs up the shades—this portion of affairs remained untried—

sors rerum, movet et superis⁴ immissa repente

and Allecto, suddenly let loose upon the upper world,

Allecto, medias Italum bacchata per urbes.

has raved through the midst of Italian cities.

Nil super imperio moveor: speravimus ista,

I am moved not at all for empire; that we hoped for

dum fortuna fuit; vincant quos vincere mavis.

while fortune was; let those conquer whom you prefer to conquer.

Si nulla est regio, Teucris quam det tua coniunx

If there is no region which your harsh wife will give to the Trojans,

dura, per eversae, genitor, fumantia Troiae

I implore you, father, by the smoking ruins of destroyed Troy,

exscidia obtestor, liceat dimittere ab armis

let me dismiss Ascanius unharmed from arms,

incolumem Ascanium, liceat superesse nepotem.

let my grandson survive.

Aeneas sane ignotis iactetur in undis

Let Aeneas indeed be tossed on unknown waves

et, quamcumque viam dederit Fortuna, sequatur:

and follow whatever path Fortune has given:

hunc tegere et dirae valeam subducere pugnae.

let me be able to protect this one and withdraw him from the dreadful fight.

Est Amathus, est celsa mihi Paphus atque Cythera

I have Amathus, high Paphos, and Cythera,

Idaliaeque domus: positis inglorius armis

and the homes of Idalia: let him, laying aside his arms, inglorious

exigat hic aevum. Magna dicione iubeto

pass his life here. Bid Carthage oppress Ausonia

Karthago premat Ausoniam: nihil urbibus inde

with great power: nothing from there will oppose the Tyrian cities.

obstabit Tyriis. Quid pestem evadere belli

What did it help to escape the plague of war

iuvit et Argolicos medium fugisse per ignes

and to have fled through the midst of Argive fires,

totque maris vastaeque exhausta pericula terrae,

and to have exhausted so many dangers of the vast sea and land,

dum Latium Teucri recidivaque Pergama quaerunt?

while the Trojans seek Latium and a rebuilt Pergamum?

Non satius cineres patriae insedisse supremos

Would it not have been better to settle on the final ashes of their fatherland,

atque solum, quo Troia fuit? Xanthum et Simoenta

and on the soil where Troy was? Restore Xanthus and Simois,

redde, oro, miseris iterumque revolvere casus

I pray, to the wretched ones, and grant, father, to the Trojans

da, pater, Iliacos Teucris.

to retrace the fortunes of Ilium.”

Tum regia Iuno

Then the royal Juno,

acta furore gravi: Quid me alta silentia cogis

driven by grave fury, spoke: “Why do you force me to break deep silence

rumpere et obductum verbis volgare dolorem?

and to publish my hidden grief with words?

Aenean hominum quisquam divomque subegit

Did any of men or gods compel Aeneas

bella sequi aut hostem regi se inferre Latino?

to pursue war or to bring himself as an enemy against King Latinus?

Italiam petiit fatis auctoribus, esto,

He sought Italy with the fates as his guides—granted—

Cassandrae inpulsus furiis: num linquere castra

impelled by the furies of Cassandra: did we urge him to leave his camp

hortati sumus aut vitam committere ventis?

or to commit his life to the winds?

Num puero summam belli, num credere muros

Did we urge him to trust the sum of the war, the walls to a boy,

Tyrrhenamque fidem, aut gentis agitare quietas?

or Etruscan loyalty, or to agitate peaceful peoples?

Quis deus in fraudem, quae dura potentia nostra

What god, what harsh power of ours drove him

egit? Ubi hic Iuno demissave nubibus Iris?

into harm? Where is Juno here, or Iris sent down from the clouds?

Indignum est Italos Troiam circumdare flammis

Is it unworthy that the Italians should surround rising Troy with flames

nascentem et patria Turnum consistere terra,

and that Turnus should stand on his native land,

cui Pilumnus avus, cui diva Venilia mater:

whose grandfather is Pilumnus, whose mother is the divine Venilia?

quid face Troianos atra vim ferre Latinis,

What of the Trojans bringing violence with dark torches to the Latins,

Syntax notes4 items

10.10arma sequi
arma sequi (to follow arms) is an idiomatic expression for 'to take up arms' or 'to resort to war.' It forms an accusative with infinitive construction (hos aut hos ... sequi ...) dependent on the verb suasit.
10.29mea volnera restant
Regarding 'my wounds remain,' it refers physically to the wound Venus once received from Diomedes during the Trojan War, while metaphorically representing the ongoing sufferings of the Trojans as her own.
10.33sin tot responsa secuti
In the conditional clause introduced by sin, the verb sunt is omitted. Furthermore, the corresponding main clause (apodosis) is not explicitly stated, resulting in an anacoluthon that connects directly to the following direct question cur nunc....
10.40superis
superis is the dative or ablative of the noun superi (those above). While it is most naturally interpreted as a dative of direction ('against/into the upper world') after inmissa, taking it as an ablative of agent ('by the gods above') is also grammatically possible.

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-22)urn:cts:latinLit:phi0690.phi003.humanitext-lat2:10.1-10.77