- 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-lat2:12.480-12.559
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-31
Aeneas pursues Turnus but is frustrated by Juturna's maneuvers with the chariot. As a brutal slaughter ensues on both sides, Venus inspires Aeneas to direct his forces toward the undefended Latin city.
nec conferre manum patitur, volat avia longe.
She does not allow them to join hands, and flies far away through pathless ways.
Haud minus Aeneas tortos legit obvius orbes
No less does Aeneas trace the winding circles to meet him,
vestigatque virum et disiecta per agmina magna
and tracks the man, and through the scattered great columns
voce vocat. Quotiens oculos coniecit in hostem
calls him with a loud voice. As often as he cast his eyes upon the enemy
alipedumque fugam cursu temptavit equorum,
and tried to match the flight of the wing-footed horses by running,
aversos totiens currus Iuturna retorsit.
so many times did Juturna turn the retreating chariot back.
Heu quid agat?1 Vario nequiquam fluctuat aestu,
Alas, what should he do? In vain he fluctuates with a varied tide,
diversaeque vocant animum in contraria curae.
and conflicting cares call his mind in opposite directions.
Huic Messapus, uti laeva duo forte gerebat
Against him Messapus, as by chance he carried in his left hand two
lenta levis cursu praefixa hastilia ferro,
light, flexible spears tipped with steel,
horum unum certo contorquens dirigit ictu.
brandishing one of these, directs it with a sure blow.
Substitit Aeneas et se collegit in arma,
Aeneas stopped and gathered himself behind his shield,
poplite subsidens; apicem tamen incita summum
sinking down on his knee; yet the swift spear
hasta tulit summasque excussit vertice cristas.
carried off the topmost peak of his helmet and struck the highest crests from his head.
Tum vero adsurgunt irae; insidiisque subactus,
Then indeed his wrath rises; and compelled by treachery,
diversos ubi sensit equos currumque referri,
when he felt that the horses and chariot were turned away and driven back,
multa Iovem et laesi testatus foederis aras
calling Jupiter and the altars of the broken treaty to witness many times,
iam tandem invadit medios et Marte secundo
now at last he invades the midst, and with favoring Mars,
terribilis saevam nullo discrimine caedem
terrible, he arouses a savage slaughter with no distinction,
suscitat irarumque omnis effundit habenas.
and lets loose all the reins of his anger.
Quis mihi nunc tot acerba deus, quis carmine caedes
Who now can unfold for me in song so many bitter things, who the various
diversas obitumque ducum, quos aequore toto
slaughters and the death of leaders, whom over the whole plain
inque vicem nunc Turnus agit, nunc Troius heros,
now Turnus, now the Trojan hero, drives in turn?
expediat? Tanton placuit concurrere motu,
Did it please you, Jupiter, that peoples who would live in eternal peace
Iuppiter, aeterna gentis in pace futuras?
should clash in so great a commotion?
Aeneas Rutulum Sucronem, ea prima ruentis
Aeneas, catching the Rutulian Sucro (this combat first stayed
pugna loco statuit Teucros, haud multa morantem
the rushing Trojans in their place), delaying him not much,
excipit in latus et, qua fata celerrima, crudum
receives him in the side, and where fate is swiftest, drives the cruel sword
transadigit costas et cratis pectoris ensem.2
through his ribs and the framework of his chest.
Turnus equo deiectum Amycum fratremque Dioren,
Turnus, having unhorsed Amycus and his brother Diores,
congressus pedes, hunc venientem cuspide longa,
meeting them on foot, strikes the former as he came with a long spear,
hunc mucrone ferit curruque abscisa duorum
the latter with his sword-point, and having cut off the heads of both,
suspendit capita et rorantia sanguine portat.
hangs them from his chariot and carries them dripping with blood.
Ille Talon Tanaimque neci fortemque Cethegum,
The former sends Talon and Tanais to death, and brave Cethegus,
tris uno congressu, et maestum mittit Oniten,
three in one encounter, and sad Onites,
nomen Echionium matrisque genus Peridiae,
an Echionian name, and the offspring of his mother Peridia;
hic fratres Lycia missos et Apollinis agris
the latter sends the brothers sent from Lycia and Apollo’s fields,
et iuvenem exosum nequiquam bella Menoeten,
and Menoetes, a youth who in vain hated wars,
Arcada, piscosae cui circum flumina Lernae
an Arcadian, whose trade had been around the waters of fish-abundant Lerna,
ars fuerat pauperque domus nec nota potentum
and his home was poor, nor were the gifts of the powerful
munera conductaque pater tellure serebat.
known to him, and his father sowed in hired land.
Ac velut immissi diversis partibus ignes
And just as fires let loose from opposite directions
arentem in silvam et virgulta sonantia lauro,
into a dry forest and thickets rustling with laurel,
aut ubi decursu rapido de montibus altis
or when in rapid descent from high mountains
dant sonitum spumosi amnes et in aequora currunt
foaming rivers give a sound and run into the plains,
quisque suum populatus iter: non segnius ambo
each laying waste its own path: no less swiftly do both
Aeneas Turnusque ruunt per proelia; nunc nunc
Aeneas and Turnus rush through battle; now, now
fluctuat ira intus, rumpuntur nescia vinci
anger surges within, their hearts that know not how to be conquered are torn,
pectora, nunc totis in volnera viribus itur.3
now they advance to inflict wounds with all their strength.
Murranum hic, atavos et avorum antiqua sonantem
Here the former, with a crag and the whirl of a huge stone,
nomina per regesque actum genus omne Latinos,
knocks down Murranus, who was boasting of his ancestors and the ancient names of his grandfathers,
praecipitem scopulo atque ingentis turbine saxi
and his whole lineage traced back through Latin kings,
excutit effunditque solo: hunc lora et iuga subter
and flings him to the ground; under the reins and yokes
provolvere rotae, crebro super ungula pulsu
the wheels rolled him forward, and with many a beat the swift hoofs
incita nec domini memorum proculcat equorum.
of horses unmindful of their master trample him.
Ille ruenti Hyllo animisque immane frementi
The latter meets Hyllus as he rushed and raged monstrously in spirit,
occurrit telumque aurata ad tempora torquet:
and hurls his weapon at his gold-adorned temples:
olli per galeam fixo stetit hasta cerebro.
the spear stood fixed in his brain through the helmet.
Dextera nec tua te, Graium fortissime Cretheu
Nor did your right hand save you, Cretheus, bravest of Greeks,
eripuit Turno. Nec di texere Cupencum
from Turnus; nor did his own gods protect Cupencus
Aenea veniente sui: dedit obvia ferro
when Aeneas came: he offered his chest to meet the steel,
pectora, nec misero clipei mora profuit aerei.
nor did the resistance of his bronze shield profit the wretched man.
Te quoque Laurentes viderunt, Aeole, campi
You too, Aeolus, the Laurentian plains saw
oppetere et late terram consternere tergo.
fall and cover the earth far and wide with your back.
Occidis, Argivae quem non potuere phalanges
You fall, whom the Argive phalanxes could not
sternere nec Priami regnorum eversor Achilles;
lay low, nor Achilles, the destroyer of Priam’s kingdoms;
hic tibi mortis erant metae: domus alta sub Ida,
here was the goal of your death: you had a lofty home under Ida,
Lyrnesi domus alta, solo Laurente sepulchrum.
a lofty home at Lyrnesus, but a grave in Laurentian soil.
Totae adeo conversae acies, omnesque Latini,
So all the lines were turned, both all the Latins
omnes Dardanidae, Mnestheus acerque Serestus
and all the Trojans: Mnestheus and brave Serestus,
et Messapus equum domitor et fortis Asilas
and Messapus, tamer of horses, and brave Asilas,
Tuscorumque phalanx Evandrique Arcades alae,
and the phalanx of the Tuscans, and Evander’s Arcadian squadrons,
pro se quisque viri summa nituntur opum vi:
each man for himself strives with the utmost force of his strength;
nec mora nec requies, vasto certamine tendunt.
there is no delay, no rest, they strain in a vast conflict.
Hic mentem Aeneae genetrix pulcherrima misit,
Here his most beautiful mother sent into the mind of Aeneas
iret ut4 ad muros urbique adverteret agmen
that he should go to the walls and turn his column to the city
ocius et subita turbaret clade Latinos.
more quickly, and throw the Latins into confusion by a sudden disaster.
Ille ut vestigans diversa per agmina Turnum
As he, tracking Turnus through the various columns,
huc atque huc acies circumtulit, aspicit urbem
turned his eyes this way and that, he beholds the city
immunem tanti belli atque impune quietam.
free from so great a war and quietly unpunished.
- 12.486Heu quid agat?
The present subjunctive agat is a deliberative subjunctive used in the context of the historical present, reflecting Aeneas's urgent internal state as he ponders what he should do.
- 12.508transadigit costas et cratis pectoris ensem
transadigit forms a double accusative construction. ensem (sword) is the direct object, while costas et cratis pectoris (ribs and the framework of the chest) are accusatives governed by the prepositional force of trans-.
- 12.528itur
This is the third-person singular passive of the intransitive verb ire, forming an impersonal passive construction meaning "they go" or "they advance" with all their strength.
- 12.555iret ut
The clause with the conjunction ut acts either as an appositional noun clause explaining the content of mentem (thought) or as an adverbial clause of purpose dependent on misit, using the imperfect subjunctive iret by sequence of tenses.