The Death of Lausus and the Lament of Aeneas — Virgil, Aeneid Book 10 (lines 759–835), Latin & English

759

amborum¹ et tantos mortalibus esse labores:

pitying the empty anger of both, and that there are such great hardships for mortals:

760

hinc Venus, hinc contra spectat Saturnia Iuno,

from here Venus, from there opposite looks Saturnian Juno,

pallida Tisiphone media inter milia saevit.

pale Tisiphone rages in the midst of the thousands.

At vero ingentem quatiens Mezentius hastam

But indeed Mezentius, shaking his huge spear,

turbidus ingreditur campo. Quam magnus Orion,

enters the field, raging. As great Orion,

cum pedes incedit medii per maxima Nerei

when he walks on foot, cutting his way through the deepest pools of mid-Nereus,

765

stagna viam scindens, umero supereminet undas

towers with his shoulder above the waves,

aut summis referens annosam montibus ornum

or, bringing back an ancient ash from the mountaintops,

ingrediturque solo et caput inter nubila condit:

walks on the ground and hides his head among the clouds:

talis se vastis infert Mezentius armis.

such Mezentius bears himself with his giant armor.

Huic contra Aeneas, speculatus in agmine longo,

Opposite him Aeneas, having spied him in the long line,

770

obvius ire parat. Manet imperterritus ille,

prepares to go to meet him. He remains undaunted,

hostem magnanimum opperiens, et mole sua stat;

waiting for his noble enemy, and stands in his own bulk;

atque oculis spatium emensus, quantum satis hastae:

and measuring with his eyes a distance as much as is enough for his spear:

Dextra mihi deus et telum, quod missile libro,

”My right hand is my god, and this weapon which I poise to throw,

nunc adsint! Voveo² praedonis corpore raptis

now let them aid me! I vow you yourself, Lausus, clad in the spoils

775

indutum spoliis ipsum te, Lause, tropaeum

stripped from the body of the robber, to be the trophy

Aeneae. Dixit stridentemque eminus hastam

of Aeneas.” He spoke, and threw the hissing spear from afar;

iecit; at illa volans clipeo est excussa proculque

but flying, it was deflected from the shield and far away

egregium Antoren latus inter et ilia figit,

pierces noble Antores between the side and the flank,

Herculis Antoren comitem, qui missus ab Argis

Antores, a companion of Hercules, who, sent from Argos,

780

haeserat Euandro atque Itala consederat urbe.

had joined Evander and settled in an Italian city.

Sternitur infelix alieno volnere³ caelumque

He falls, unhappy, by a wound meant for another, and looks up at the sky,

aspicit et dulcis moriens reminiscitur Argos

and dying, remembers his sweet Argos.

tum pius Aeneas hastam iacit: illa per orbem

Then pious Aeneas throws his spear: it passes through the shield

aere cavum triplici, per linea terga tribusque

hollowed with triple bronze, through the linen layers, and the work

785

transit intextum tauris opus imaque sedit

woven with three bulls’ hides, and settled deep in his groin,

inguine, sed viris haud pertulit. Ocius ensem

but did not carry its force through. Swiftly Aeneas,

Aeneas, viso Tyrrheni sanguine laetus,

joyful at the sight of the Etruscan’s blood,

eripit a femine et trepidanti fervidus instat.

snatches his sword from his thigh and eagerly presses on the trembling foe.

Ingemuit cari graviter genitoris amore,

Lausus groaned heavily out of love for his dear father,

790

ut vidit, Lausus, lacrimaeque per ora volutae.

when he saw it, and tears rolled down his face.

Hic mortis durae casum tuaque optima facta,

Here indeed, if any antiquity is to bring belief to so great a deed,

siqua fidem tanto est operi latura vetustas,⁴

I shall not keep silent on the disaster of your harsh death, nor your noble deeds,

non equidem nec te, iuvenis memorande, silebo.

nor you yourself, O youth to be remembered.

Ille pedem referens et inutilis inque ligatus

He, drawing back his foot, useless and entangled,

795

cedebat clipeoque inimicum hastile trahebat:

was retreating, dragging the enemy’s spear in his shield:

prorupit iuvenis seseque immiscuit armis

the youth burst forward and mixed himself into the fight,

iamque adsurgentis dextra plagamque ferentis

and just as the right hand of Aeneas was rising and delivering a blow,

Aeneae subiit mucronem ipsumque morando

he went under the blade and sustained the blow itself by delaying him.

sustinuit. Socii magno clamore sequuntur,

His comrades follow with a loud shout,

800

dum genitor nati parma protectus abiret,

until the father could withdraw, protected by his son’s shield,

telaque coniciunt proturbantque eminus hostem

and they hurl weapons and drive back the enemy from afar

missilibus. Furit Aeneas tectusque tenet se.

with missiles. Aeneas rages and keeps himself covered.

Ac velut effusa siquando grandine nimbi

And just as when clouds pour down with showering hail,

praecipitant, omnis campis diffugit arator

every plowman flees from the fields

805

omnis et agricola et tuta latet arce viator,

and every husbandman, and the traveler hides in a safe stronghold,

aut amnis ripis aut alti fornice saxi,

either under the banks of a river or the arch of a high rock,

dum pluit in terris, ut possint sole reducto

while it rains on the earth, so that they can, when the sun is restored,

exercere diem: sic obrutus undique telis

exercise the day: so, overwhelmed from all sides with weapons,

Aeneas nubem belli, dum detonet omnis,

Aeneas sustains the cloud of war until it has spent all its thunder,

810

sustinet et Lausum increpitat Lausoque minatur:

and chides Lausus and threatens Lausus:

Quo moriture ruis maioraque viribus audes?

”Where do you rush to die, and dare things greater than your strength?

Fallit te incautum pietas tua. Nec minus ille

Your piety deceives you, incautious one.” But no less does he,

exsultat demens; saevae iamque altius irae

mad, exult; and now the savage anger of the Dardanian leader

Dardanio surgunt ductori, extremaque Lauso

rises higher, and the Fates gather the last threads

815

Parcae fila legunt: validum namque exigit ensem

for Lausus: for Aeneas drives his strong sword

per medium Aeneas iuvenem totumque recondit.

through the middle of the youth and buries it completely.

Transiit et parmam mucro, levia arma minacis,

The blade passed through his shield, light armor for a threat,

et tunicam, molli mater quam neverat auro,

and the tunic which his mother had woven with soft gold,

implevitque sinum sanguis; tum vita per auras

and blood filled his breast; then his life through the air

820

concessit maesta ad manis corpusque reliquit.

withdrew sad to the shades and left his body.

At vero ut voltum vidit morientis et ora,

But indeed, when the son of Anchises saw the face of the dying boy,

ora modis Anchisiades pallentia miris,

his face pale in a wondrous manner,

ingemuit miserans graviter dextramque tetendit,

he groaned heavily in pity and stretched out his right hand,

et mentem patriae subiit pietatis⁵ imago.

and the image of filial piety entered his mind.

825

Quid tibi nunc, miserande puer, pro laudibus istis,

”What now, pitiable boy, for those noble deeds of yours,

quid pius Aeneas tanta dabit indole dignum?

what will pious Aeneas give you worthy of so great a nature?

Arma, quibus laetatus, habe tua, teque parentum

Keep your armor, in which you rejoiced; and to the spirits

manibus et cineri, siqua est ea cura, remitto.

and ashes of your parents I return you, if that is of any concern.

Hoc tamen infelix miseram solabere mortem:

Yet, unhappy one, you shall solace your sad death with this:

830

Aeneae magni dextra cadis. Increpat ultro

you fall by the right hand of great Aeneas.” He chides also

cunctantis socios et terra sublevat ipsum,

the hesitating comrades, and lifts him from the ground,

sanguine turpantem comptos de more capillos.

staining his hair, combed in due fashion, with blood.

Interea genitor Tiberini ad fluminis undam

Meanwhile his father, by the wave of the Tiber river,

volnera siccabat lymphis corpusque levabat

was bathing his wounds with water and resting his body,

835

arboris adclinis trunco. Procul aerea ramis

leaning against the trunk of a tree. Afar, his bronze helmet on the branches

Syntax notes5 items

10.759amborum
The genitive amborum (of both) modifies iram inanem (empty anger), which is the direct object of miserantur (they pity) in the preceding line. This is coordinated by et with the following accusative-with-infinitive clause tantos mortalibus esse labores (that there are such great hardships for mortals).
10.774voveo
The verb voveo (I vow) governs an accusative-with-infinitive construction with esse omitted: ipsum te... [esse] tropaeum Aeneae (that you yourself will be the trophy of Aeneas). indutum is a perfect passive participle agreeing with the subject accusative te (Lausus).
10.781alieno volnere
Meaning "by a wound meant for another." The adjective alienus indicates that the wound was intended for someone else (Aeneas), functioning as an ablative of instrument or cause.
10.792siqua fidem tanto est operi latura vetustas
siqua (si qua) modifies vetustas (antiquity/passage of time). latura est is an active future periphrastic ("is about to bring"), forming a conditional clause: "if any length of time is to bring belief to so great a deed."
10.824patriae... pietatis
Meaning "piety/devotion to one's father." Here patriae is an objective genitive. Lausus's devoted sacrifice for his father evokes the image of Aeneas's own filial piety toward his father Anchises.

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-lat2:10.759-10.835