Juno's Phantom and the Lament of Turnus — Virgil, Aeneid Book 10 (lines 611–682), Latin & English

611

Cui Iuno summissa Quid, o pulcherrime coniunx,

Juno, humbled, addressed him: “Why, o most handsome husband,

sollicitas aegram et tua tristia dicta timentem?

do you trouble me, who am sick and fearing your harsh words?

Si mihi, quae quondam fuerat quamque esse decebat,

If I had that power in love, which once had been mine and which it was fitting to be,

vis in amore foret, non hoc mihi namque negares,

you would not indeed deny this to me, almighty one,

615

omnipotens, quin et pugnae subducere Turnum

namely, that I might both withdraw Turnus from the battle

et Dauno possem¹ incolumem servare parenti.

and preserve him safe for his father Daunus.

Nunc pereat Teucrisque pio det sanguine poenas.

Now let him perish and pay the penalty to the Trojans with his pious blood.

Ille tamen nostra deducit origine nomen

Yet he derives his name from our lineage,

Pilumnusque illi quartus pater et tua larga

and Pilumnus is his fourth ancestor, and often with a generous

620

saepe manu multisque oneravit limina donis.

hand he has loaded your thresholds with many gifts.”

Cui rex aetherii breviter sic fatur Olympi:

To whom the king of ethereal Olympus briefly speaks thus:

Si mora praesentis leti tempusque caduco

”If a delay of present death and time for the falling youth

oratur iuveni meque hoc ita ponere sentis,

is prayed for, and you understand that I so ordain it,

tolle fuga Turnum atque instantibus eripe fatis

take Turnus away by flight and rescue him from the threatening fates:

625

hactenus indulsisse vacat. Sin altior istis

so far I have leisure to indulge you. But if any deeper favor

sub precibus venia ulla latet totumque moveri

lies hidden under those prayers of yours, and you think the whole war is being moved

mutarive putas bellum, spes pascis inanis.

or changed, you are feeding empty hopes.”

Et Iuno adlacrimans: Quid si, quae voce gravaris,

And Juno, weeping: “What if you were to grant in your mind what you grudge with your voice,

mente dares² atque haec Turno rata vita maneret?

and this life should remain assured to Turnus?

630

Nunc manet insontem gravis exitus, aut ego veri

Now a heavy end awaits the innocent youth, or I am carried away empty of truth.

vana feror. Quod ut O potius formidine falsa

Oh, would that I rather be mocked by a false fear,

ludar et in melius tua, qui potes, orsa reflectas!

and you, who are able, would turn your undertakings to the better!”

Haec ubi dicta dedit, caelo se protinus alto

When she gave these words, straightway from the high heaven she cast

misit, agens hiemem nimbo succincta per auras,

herself down, driving a storm, girt with a cloud through the air,

635

Iliacamque aciem et Laurentia castra petivit.

and sought the Iliac line and the Laurentian camp.

Tum dea nube cava tenuem sine viribus umbram

Then the goddess from a hollow cloud makes a thin, strengthless phantom

in faciem Aeneae, visu mirabile monstrum,

in the likeness of Aeneas—a marvel wonderful to behold—

Dardaniis ornat telis clipeumque iubasque

she equips it with Dardanian weapons, and counterfeits the shield and the crests

divini adsimulat capitis, dat inania verba,

of his divine head, gives it empty words,

640

dat sine mente sonum gressusque effingit euntis,

gives it sound without thought, and fashions the gait of one walking;

morte obita qualis fama est volitare figuras

like the figures that they say flit about when death is met,

aut quae sopitos deludunt somnia sensus.

or the dreams which mock the sleeping senses.

At primas laeta ante acies exsultat imago

But the image exults joyful before the foremost ranks,

inritatque virum telis et voce lacessit.

and provokes the man with weapons and challenges him with voice.

645

Instat cui Turnus stridentemque eminus hastam

Turnus presses upon it, and from afar hurls his whirring spear:

conicit: illa dato vertit vestigia tergo.

it turns its steps, showing its back.

Tum vero Aenean aversum ut cedere Turnus

Then indeed, when Turnus believed that Aeneas had turned and yielded,

credidit atque animo spem turbidus hausit inanem,

and in his turbulent mind drank in empty hope:

Quo fugis, Aenea? Thalamos ne desere pactos;

”Whither do you flee, Aeneas? Do not desert the pledged marriage chamber;

650

hac dabitur dextra tellus quaesita per undas.

the land sought through the waves shall be given by this right hand.”

Talia vociferans sequitur strictumque coruscat

Vociferating such things, he pursues and brandishes his drawn

mucronem nec ferre videt sua gaudia ventos.³

sword, nor does he see that the winds are carrying away his joys.

Forte ratis celsi coniuncta crepidine saxi

By chance, a ship, joined to the edge of a high rock,

expositis stabat scalis et ponte parato,

stood with its ladders let down and bridge ready,

655

qua rex Clusinis advectus Osinius oris.

on which King Osinius had sailed from the Clusian shores.

Huc sese trepida Aeneae fugientis imago

Hither the trembling image of the fleeing Aeneas flings itself

conicit in latebras; nec Turnus segnior instat

into hiding; nor does Turnus pursue any slower,

exsuperatque moras et pontis transilit altos.

overcomes all obstacles and leaps across the high bridge.

Vix proram attigerat: rumpit Saturnia funem

Scarcely had he touched the prow: the daughter of Saturn breaks the cable

660

avolsamque rapit revoluta per aequora navem.

and carries away the torn-away ship through the rolling waters.

Illum autem Aeneas absentem in praelia poscit;

But Aeneas demands him, absent, for battle;

obvia multa virum demittit corpora morti:

he sends down many bodies of men meeting him to death:

tum levis haud ultra latebras iam quaerit imago,

then the light image no longer seeks hiding places,

sed sublime volans nubi se immiscuit atrae.

but flying high, mingled itself with a dark cloud.

665

Cum Turnum medio interea fert aequore turbo.

Meanwhile, the whirlwind carries Turnus through the middle of the sea.

Respicit ignarus rerum ingratusque salutis

He looks back, ignorant of the situation and ungrateful for his safety,

et duplicis cum voce manus ad sidera tendit:

and stretches both hands to the stars with a cry:

Omnipotens genitor, tanton me crimine dignum

”Almighty father, did you deem me worthy of so great a crime,

duxisti et talis voluisti expendere poenas?

and did you wish me to pay such a penalty?

670

Quo feror? Unde abii? Quae me fuga quemve reducit?

Whither am I carried? Whence have I departed? What flight brings me back, or as what sort of man?

Laurentisne iterum muros aut castra videbo?

Shall I see the Laurentine walls or camp again?

Quid manus illa virum, qui me meaque arma secuti?

What of that band of men, who followed me and my arms?

Quosne (nefas) omnis infanda in morte reliqui

Whom (ah, wickedness!) I have left all behind in unspeakable death,

et nunc palantis video gemitumque cadentum

and now I see them wandering, and hear the groans of the falling!

675

accipio! Quid ago? Aut quae iam satis ima dehiscat

What am I doing? Or what earth could now gape deep enough for me?

terra mihi? Vos O potius miserescite venti:

Rather do you, O winds, have pity on me:

in rupes, in saxa, volens vos Turnus adoro

upon the cliffs, upon the rocks, Turnus willingly implores you,

ferte ratem saevisque vadis immittite Syrtis,

carry the ship, and cast it onto the fierce shallows of Syrtis,

quo neque me Rutuli nec conscia fama sequatur.

whither neither the Rutulians nor conscious fame may follow me.”

680

Haec memorans animo nunc huc, nunc fluctuat illuc,

Expressing these things, he fluctuates in mind now here, now there,

an sese mucrone ob tantum dedecus amens

whether, maddened on account of so great a disgrace, he should impale himself

induat⁴ et crudum per costas exigat ensem,

on the sword point, and drive the cruel blade through his ribs,

Syntax notes4 items

10.614negares... quin... possem
Following the negative-implying apodosis negares (you would not deny), the conjunction quin with the subjunctive possem introduces a noun clause meaning "from being able to..." or "that I could...".
10.628Quid si... mente dares
An idiomatic formula expressing a wish or suggestion consisting of only a conditional clause (si with the imperfect subjunctive dares), with the apodosis omitted ("What if you were to grant..."). quae is a relative pronoun with an omitted antecedent, acting as the object of gravaris.
10.652nec ferre videt sua gaudia ventos
An accusative-with-infinitive construction acting as the object of the verb of perception videt. The subject is ventos (the winds), the object is sua gaudia (his joys), and the infinitive is ferre (are carrying away). Note the hyperbaton.
10.682induat
Present subjunctive. Introduced by the interrogative particle an, it functions as a deliberative subjunctive expressing doubt or hesitation about a future action ("whether he should impale himself").

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-22) · Revision history (1, latest 2026-09-21)

2026-09-21 AI review — translation 1

urn:cts:latinLit:phi0690.phi003.humanitext-lat2:10.611-10.682