The Death of Arruns and the Latin Retreat — Virgil, Aeneid Book 11 (lines 838–915), Latin & English

838

Utque procul medio iuvenum in clamore furentum

And when from afar, in the midst of the shouting of the raging youths,

prospexit tristi multatam morte Camillam,

she beheld Camilla afflicted by a bitter death,

840

ingemuitque deditque has imo pectore voces:

and groaned, and gave vent to these words from the bottom of her heart:

Heu nimium, virgo, nimium crudele luisti

”Alas, maiden, too, too cruel a punishment you have paid,

supplicium, Teucros conata lacessere bello!

for having attempted to challenge the Teucrians in war!

Nec tibi desertae¹ in dumis coluisse Dianam

Neither did it avail you, deserted in the thickets, to have worshipped Diana,

profuit aut nostras umero gessisse sagittas.

nor to have carried our arrows on your shoulder.

845

Non tamen indecorem tua te regina reliquit

Yet your queen has not left you dishonored,

extrema iam in morte, neque hoc sine nomine letum

even now in your final death, nor will this death of yours be without a name

per gentis erit aut famam patieris inultae.

among the nations, nor will you suffer the rumor of being unavenged.

Nam quicumque tuum violavit vulnere corpus,

For whoever has violated your body with a wound,

morte luet merita. Fuit ingens monte sub alto

will pay for it with a well-deserved death.” There was under the high mountain a huge tomb

850

regis Dercenni terreno ex aggere bustum

of ancient Laurentine king Dercennus, built of a mound of earth,

antiqui Laurentis opacaque ilice tectum:

and shaded by a dark holm-oak:

hic dea se primum rapido pulcherrima nisu

here the most beautiful goddess first halted with a swift effort,

sistit et Arruntem tumulo speculatur ab alto.

and from the high mound watched Arruns.

Ut vidit laetantem animis ac vana tumentem,²

When she saw him rejoicing in spirit and swelling with vain pride,

855

Cur, inquit, diversus abis? Huc dirige gressum,

”Why,” she said, “do you depart in another direction? Direct your steps hither,

huc periture veni, capias ut digna Camillae

come hither, you who are doomed to die, that you may receive a reward worthy of Camilla.

praemia. Tune etiam telis moriere Dianae?

Shall you too die by the arrows of Diana?”

dixit, et aurata volucrem Threissa sagittam

She spoke, and the Thracian maiden drew a winged arrow from her golden

deprompsit pharetra cornuque infensa tetendit

quiver, and in her anger stretched the bow of horn,

860

et duxit longe, donec curvata coirent

and drew it far, until the curved tips met

inter se capita et manibus iam tangeret aequis,

together and now with level hands she touched,

laeva aciem ferri, dextra nervoque papillam.

with her left the iron point, with her right and the string her breast.

Extemplo teli stridorem aurasque sonantis

At once Arruns heard the whizzing of the shaft and the sounding air,

audiit una Arruns, haesitque in corpore ferrum.

and at the same moment the iron clung in his body.

865

Illum exspirantem socii atque extrema gementem

Him, breathing his last and groaning his end,

obliti ignoto camporum in pulvere linquunt,

his companions forget and leave in the unknown dust of the plain,

Opis ad aetherium pennis aufertur Olympum.

Opis on her wings is borne away to ethereal Olympus.

Prima fugit domina amissa levis ala Camillae;

First flees, their mistress lost, the light cohort of Camilla;

turbati fugiunt Rutuli, fugit acer Atinas

the routed Rutulians flee, fierce Atinas flees,

870

disiectique duces desolatique manipli

and scattered leaders and abandoned companies

tuta petunt et equis aversi ad moenia tendunt.

seek safety and, turning their horses, hasten toward the walls.

Nec quisquam instantis Teucros letumque ferentis

Nor is anyone able to withstand with weapons the pressing Teucrians

sustentare valet telis aut sistere contra,

and those bringing death, or to stand against them,

sed laxos referunt umeris languentibus arcus,

but they carry back slackened bows on their fainting shoulders,

875

quadrupedumque putrem cursu quatit ungula campum.

and the hoof of the four-footed beasts shakes the crumbling plain in their flight.

Volvitur ad muros caligine turbidus atra

Rolled toward the walls, thick with black darkness, is the

pulvis, et e speculis percussae pectora matres

dust, and from the watchtowers mothers, beating their breasts,

femineum clamorem ad caeli sidera tollunt.

raise a womanly shriek to the stars of heaven.

Qui cursu portas primi inrupere patentis,

Those who first broke in their flight through the open gates,

880

hos inimica super mixto premit agmine turba;

upon these the hostile crowd presses in a mingled throng;

nec miseram effugiunt mortem, sed limine in ipso,

nor do they escape a wretched death, but on the very threshold,

moenibus in patriis atque inter tuta domorum

within their native walls and amid the safety of their homes,

confixi exspirant animas. Pars claudere³ portas:

pierced through, they breathe out their lives. Some hasten to close the gates:

nec sociis aperire viam nec moenibus audent

they dare neither open a way for their comrades nor receive them within

885

accipere orantis, oriturque miserrima caedes

the walls, though entreating, and there arises a most wretched slaughter

defendentum⁴ armis aditus inque arma ruentum.

of those defending the entrance with arms and those rushing onto the weapons.

Exclusi ante oculos lacrumantumque ora parentum

Shut out before the eyes and weeping faces of their parents,

pars in praecipitis fossas urgente ruina

some are rolled headlong into the steep trenches by the pressing ruin,

volvitur, immissis pars caeca et concita frenis

some, blind and rushing with loosened reins,

890

arietat in portas et duros obice postis.

batter against the gates and the posts made tough with barriers.

Ipsae de muris summo certamine matres,

The mothers themselves from the walls, in the utmost struggle,

monstrat amor verus patriae, ut videre Camillam,

(true love of country points the way), as they saw Camilla,

tela manu trepidae iaciunt ac robore duro

trembling throw weapons with their hands, and with hard oak,

stipitibus ferrum sudibusque imitantur obustis

staves, and fire-hardened stakes, they mimic iron,

895

praecipites primaeque mori pro moenibus ardent.

and headlong they burn to be the first to die before the walls.

Interea Turnum in silvis saevissimus implet

Meanwhile, in the woods, the most cruel news fills Turnus,

nuntius, et iuveni ingentem fert Acca tumultum:

and Acca brings to the youth the great turmoil:

deletas Volscorum acies, cecidisse Camillam,

that the lines of the Volscians were destroyed, that Camilla had fallen,

ingruere infensos hostis et Marte secundo

that the hostile enemy was rushing on and with favorable Mars

900

omnia corripuisse, metum iam ad moenia ferri.

had seized everything, and that fear was now being carried to the walls.

Ille furens, et saeva Iovis sic numina pellunt,

He, raging—and the cruel powers of Jupiter so impelled him—

deserit obsessos collis, nemora aspera linquit.

deserts the besieged hills, leaves the rough forests.

Vix e conspectu exierat campumque tenebat,

Scarcely had he gone out of sight and was holding the plain,

cum pater Aeneas saltus ingressus apertos

when father Aeneas, having entered the open mountain-passes,

905

exsuperatque iugum silvaque evadit opaca.

crosses the ridge and escapes from the dark forest.

Sic ambo ad muros rapidi totoque feruntur

Thus both are borne rapidly toward the walls with all

agmine nec longis inter se passibus absunt;

their force, nor are they distant by many paces from each other;

ac simul Aeneas fumantis pulvere campos

and at the same moment Aeneas saw from afar the plains smoking with dust

prospexit longe Laurentiaque agmina vidit,

and beheld the Laurentine lines,

910

et saevum Aenean adgnovit Turnus in armis

and Turnus recognized fierce Aeneas in his arms,

adventumque pedum flatusque audivit equorum.

and heard the coming of feet and the snorting of horses.

Continuoque ineant⁵ pugnas et proelia temptent,

And immediately they would have entered into battles and attempted combats,

ni roseus fessos iam gurgite Phoebus Hibero

had not rosy Phoebus already dipped his weary horses in the Iberian flood

tinguat equos noctemque die labente reducat:

and brought back night as the day slipped away.

915

considunt castris ante urbem et moenia vallant.

They encamp before the city and fortify the walls.

Syntax notes5 items

11.843desertae
Agrees with the dative singular tibi (referring to Camilla), meaning 'deserted' or 'lonely.' It reflects either her isolated service to Diana in the wilds or her state of being abandoned at death.
11.854vana tumentem
The neuter plural accusative adjective vana is used adverbially, modifying tumentem to mean 'vainly swelling' or 'puffed up with empty pride.'
11.883claudere
A historical infinitive used instead of the imperfect indicative (claudebant) to convey urgency and rapid movement. The subject is the collective noun Pars.
11.886defendentum
A syncopated form of defendentium (genitive plural of the present participle); likewise, ruentum stands for ruentium. Both serve as subjective genitives modifying caedes ('slaughter').
11.912ineant
The present subjunctives ineant and temptent, along with tinguat and reducat in the conditional clause, represent a contrary-to-fact condition. Typically expressed with imperfect or pluperfect subjunctives, this vivid poetic use of the present tense heightens the dramatic immediacy.

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-22)urn:cts:latinLit:phi0690.phi003.humanitext-lat2:11.838-11.915