- Source
- Vergil. The Bucolics, Aeneid, and Georgics Of Virgil. Greenough, J.B., editor. Boston: Ginn and Company, 1881.
- Translation
- AI-generated (gemini-3.5-flash) — machine translation; may contain errors
- Languages
- 日本語 · English · 简体中文 · 한국어
- CTS URN
- urn:cts:latinLit:phi0690.phi003.humanitext-lat2:11.155-11.230
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-30
Evander deeply laments his son's death but entrusts Aeneas with avenging Pallas against Turnus. Meanwhile, both sides perform solemn funeral rites and burn their dead, but in the Latin city, resentment against the war grows as envoys return with Diomedes' refusal of alliance.
et praedulce decus primo certamine posset.
and how sweet the exceeding honor in a first conflict could be.
Primitiae iuvenis miserae bellique propinqui
Ah, the miserable first-fruits of youth, and the hard schooling
dura rudimenta et nulli exaudita deorum
of a neighboring war, and my vows and prayers,
vota precesque meae! Tuque, O sanctissima coniunx,
heard by none of the gods! And you, O most holy wife,
felix morte tua neque in hunc servata dolorem!
happy in your death and not preserved for this grief!
Contra ego vivendo vici mea fata, superstes
On the contrary, I by living have overcome my fates, that surviving
restarem ut genitor. Troum socia arma secutum
I should remain as a father. Me, having followed the allied arms of the Trojans,
obruerent1 Rutuli telis! Animam ipse dedissem
would that the Rutulians had overwhelmed with their weapons! I myself would have given my life,
atque haec pompa domum me, non Pallanta, referret,
and this procession would bring me home, not Pallas!
nec vos arguerim,2 Teucri, nec foedera nec quas
Nor would I blame you, Trojans, nor the treaties, nor the right hands which
iunximus hospitio dextras: sors ista senectae
we joined in hospitality: that lot was owed
debita erat nostrae. Quod si immatura manebat
to our old age. But if an untimely death awaited
mors natum, caesis Volscorum milibus ante
my son, it will please me that, having first slain thousands of Volscians,
ducentem in Latium Teucros cecidisse iuvabit.
he fell while leading the Trojans into Latium.
Quin ego non alio digner te funere, Palla,
Indeed, I would not deem you worthy of any other funeral, Pallas,
quam pius Aeneas
than the one dutiful Aeneas (deems worthy for you).
Magna tropaea ferunt, quos dat tua dextera Leto:
They bring great trophies of those whom your right hand gives to Death;
tu quoque nunc stares immanis truncus in armis,
you too would now stand as a huge trunk in arms,
esset par aetas et idem si robur ab annis,
if your age had been equal and the same strength came from your years,
Turne. Sed infelix Teucros quid demoror armis?
Turnus. But why do I, unhappy, delay the Trojans from arms?
Vadite et haec memores regi mandata referte:
Go, and, mindful, bring back these mandates to your king:
quod vitam moror invisam Pallante perempto,
’That I drag out a hateful life now that Pallas is slain,
dextera causa tua est, Turnum natoque patrique
your right hand is the cause, which you see owes Turnus
quam debere vides.3 Meritis vacat hic tibi solus
to both son and father. This is the only space open to you
fortunaeque locus. Non vitae gaudia quaero,
for your merits and fortune. I do not seek the joys of life,
nec fas, sed nato Manis perferre sub imos.
nor is it lawful, but to carry this down to my son among the deepest Shades.’
Aurora interea miseris mortalibus almam
Meanwhile Dawn had brought forth her nurturing light
extulerat lucem, referens opera atque labores:
for wretched mortals, bringing back tasks and labors.
iam pater Aeneas, iam curvo in litore Tarchon
Now father Aeneas, now Tarchon on the curving shore,
constituere pyras. Huc corpora quisque suorum
set up the pyres. Hither each brought the bodies of their people
more tulere patrum, subiectisque ignibus atris
according to the custom of their fathers, and, black fires being applied beneath,
conditur in tenebras altum caligine caelum.
the high heaven is hidden in the darkness of gloom.
Ter circum accensos cincti fulgentibus armis
Thrice, clad in shining arms, they ran around
decurrere rogos, ter maestum funeris ignem
the blazing pyres; thrice on horses they circled
lustravere in equis ululatusque ore dedere;
the mournful funeral fire and uttered wails from their mouths.
spargitur et tellus lacrimis, sparguntur et arma:
The earth is sprinkled with tears, and the arms are sprinkled too;
it caelo clamorque virum clangorque tubarum.
the clamor of men and the clang of trumpets go up to heaven.
Hic alii spolia occisis derepta Latinis
Here some cast upon the fire the spoils stripped from slain Latins,
coniciunt igni, galeas ensesque decoros
helmets and beautiful swords
frenaque ferventisque rotas; pars munera nota,
and reins and hot wheels; others, familiar offerings,
ipsorum clipeos et non felicia tela.
the shields of the dead themselves and their unlucky weapons.
Multa boum circa mactantur corpora Morti,
Many bodies of oxen are sacrificed around to Death,
saetigerosque sues raptasque ex omnibus agris
and they slit the throats of bristly swine and sheep seized from all the fields
in flammam iugulant pecudes. Tum litore toto
into the flame. Then along the whole shore
ardentis spectant socios semustaque servant
they watch their comrades burning and guard the half-burnt
busta neque avelli possunt, nox umida donec
tombs, nor can they be torn away, until damp night
invertit caelum stellis ardentibus aptum.
turns the heaven studded with burning stars.
Nec minus et miseri diversa in parte Latini
No less too did the wretched Latins in a different part
innumeras struxere pyras, et corpora partim
build countless pyres; and of the many bodies of men, some
multa virum terrae infodiunt avectaque partim
they bury in the earth, and some, carried away,
finitimos tollunt in agros urbique remittunt,
they bear to neighboring fields and send back to the city.
cetera confusaeque ingentem caedis acervum
The rest, a huge heap of confused slaughter,
nec numero nec honore cremant: tunc undique vasti
they burn without number and without honor; then on all sides the vast
certatim crebris conlucent ignibus agri.
fields compete in shining with frequent fires.
Tertia lux gelidam caelo dimoverat umbram:
The third day had cleared the cold shadow from heaven:
maerentes altum cinerem et confusa ruebant
mourning, they swept up the deep ash and the mixed
ossa focis tepidoque onerabant aggere terrae.
bones from the hearths, and loaded them with a warm mound of earth.
Iam vero in tectis, praedivitis urbe Latini,
But now in the dwellings, in the city of very wealthy Latinus,
praecipuus fragor et longi pars maxima luctus.
there was a chief clamor and the greatest part of the long mourning.
Hic matres miseraeque nurus, hic cara sororum
Here mothers and wretched daughters-in-law, here the loving breasts
pectora maerentum puerique parentibus orbi
of mourning sisters, and boys deprived of parents,
dirum exsecrantur bellum Turnique hymenaeos:
curse the dreadful war and the marriage of Turnus;
ipsum armis ipsumque iubent decernere ferro,
they order that he himself with arms, he himself with iron decide it,
qui regnum Italiae et primos sibi poscat honores.
who claims for himself the kingdom of Italy and the chief honors.
ingravat haec saevus Drances solumque vocari
Fierce Drances aggravates this, and protests that Turnus alone is called,
testatur, solum posci in certamina Turnum.
Turnus alone is demanded for the combat.
Multa simul contra variis sententia dictis
At the same time, opposing, is much opinion in varied words
pro Turno, et magnum reginae nomen obumbrat,
for Turnus, and the great name of the queen shields him,
multa virum meritis sustentat fama tropaeis.
and his great fame with earned trophies sustains the man.
Hos inter motus, medio in flagrante tumultu,
Among these stirrings, in the midst of the burning tumult,
ecce super maesti magna Diomedis ab urbe
behold, besides, mourning envoys from the great city of Diomedes
legati responsa ferunt: nihil omnibus actum
bring back answers: that nothing has been achieved by all the expenditure
tantorum impensis operum, nil dona neque aurum
of so much effort; that gifts and gold
nec magnas valuisse preces, alia arma Latinis
and great prayers have availed nothing; that other arms must be sought by the Latins,
quaerenda aut pacem Troiano ab rege petendum.4
or peace must be sought from the Trojan king.
- 11.162obruerent
obruerent is an optative subjunctive in the imperfect tense expressing a past unfulfilled wish ("would that they had overwhelmed"). The preceding participle secutum (from the deponent verb sequor with active meaning) modifies the omitted object of the main clause, the accusative me.
- 11.164arguerim
arguerim is a perfect subjunctive functioning as a potential subjunctive of modest assertion ("I would not blame"). It is used to soften the speaker's statement and avoid a dogmatic tone.
- 11.178Turnum... debere vides
An accusative and infinitive (A.C.I.) construction dependent on vides. The relative pronoun quam (referring back to dextera in the previous line) is the subject accusative of the infinitive debere, while Turnum is its direct object in the accusative: "which [right hand] you see owes Turnus to the son and the father."
- 11.230petendum
petendum [esse] is an impersonal gerundive construction which, instead of the standard passive personal construction (pax petenda), retains the archaic usage of taking a direct object in the accusative (pacem). By contrast, the preceding quaerenda is a standard personal gerundive agreeing with its subject arma.