Single Combat Between Aeneas and Turnus Begins — Virgil, Aeneid Book 12 (lines 640–717), Latin & English

640

oppetere¹ ingentem atque ingenti volnere victum.

meeting death, a giant of a man, and conquered by a giant wound.

Occidit infelix nostrum ne dedecus Ufens

Unhappy Ufens fell so that he might not behold our disgrace;

adspiceret; Teucri potiuntur corpore et armis.

the Trojans possess his body and his arms.

Exscindine domos (id rebus defuit unum)

Shall I suffer our homes to be razed (this one thing was lacking to our ruin),

perpetiar, dextra nec Drancis dicta refellam?

and not refute the words of Drances with my right hand?

645

Terga dabo et Turnum fugientem haec terra videbit?

Shall I turn my back, and shall this land see Turnus fleeing?

Usque adeone mori miserum est? Vos O mihi Manes

Is it so very wretched to die? Oh, be good to me, you Shades,

este boni, quoniam superis aversa voluntas!

since the will of the gods above is turned away!

Sancta ad vos anima atque istius nescia culpae

A holy soul, and ignorant of that reproach,

descendam, magnorum haud umquam indignus avorum.

I shall descend to you, never unworthy of my great ancestors.

650

Vix ea fatus erat: medios volat ecce per hostis

Scarcely had he spoken these words, when behold, through the midst of the enemy

vectus equo spumante Saces, adversa sagitta

flies Saces on a foaming horse, wounded full in the face

saucius ora,² ruitque implorans nomine Turnum:

by an arrow, and rushes on, imploring Turnus by name:

Turne, in te suprema salus: miserere tuorum.

”Turnus, in you is our last safety; pity your people.

Fulminat Aeneas armis summasque minatur

Aeneas thunders in arms, and threatens to overthrow

655

deiecturum arces Italum exscidioque daturum;

the highest towers of the Italians and deliver them to destruction;

iamque faces ad tecta volant. In te ora Latini,

and already torches are flying to the roofs. To you the Latins turn their faces,

in te oculos referunt; mussat rex ipse Latinus,

to you their eyes; King Latinus himself mutters,

quos generos vocet aut quae sese ad foedera flectat.

whom he should call his sons-in-law or to which alliance he should turn.

Praeterea regina, tui fidissima, dextra

Moreover, the queen herself, most faithful to you, has fallen

660

occidit ipsa sua lucemque exterrita fugit.

by her own right hand and, terrified, has fled the light.

Soli pro portis Messapus et acer Atinas

Alone before the gates, Messapus and fierce Atinas

sustentant aciem. Circum hos utrimque phalanges

sustain the battle line. Around them on both sides dense phalanxes

stant densae, strictisque seges mucronibus horret

stand, and an iron harvest of drawn swords bristles:

ferrea: tu currum deserto in gramine versas.

you turn your chariot in the deserted grass.”

665

Obstipuit varia confusus imagine rerum

Dumbfounded, confused by the shifting image of affairs,

Turnus et obtutu tacito stetit. Aestuat ingens

Turnus stood in silent gaze. In his single heart boils

uno in corde pudor mixtoque insania luctu

a vast shame and madness mixed with grief,

et furiis agitatus amor et conscia virtus.

and love driven by furies, and conscious worth.

Ut primum discussae umbrae et lux reddita menti,

As soon as the shadows were dispersed and light returned to his mind,

670

ardentis oculorum orbes ad moenia torsit

he turned his burning eyes toward the walls

turbidus eque rotis magnam respexit ad urbem.

and from his chariot looked back at the great city.

Ecce autem flammis inter tabulata volutus

But behold, a rolling vortex of flames between the storeys

ad caelum undabat vortex turrimque tenebat,

was waving to heaven and holding the tower,

turrim, compactis trabibus quam eduxerat ipse

that tower which he himself with fitted beams had built,

675

subdideratque rotas pontisque instraverat altos.

and placed wheels beneath, and covered with high bridges.

Iam iam fata, soror, superant; absiste morari;

”Now, now, sister, the fates prevail; cease to delay;

quo deus et quo dura vocat Fortuna, sequamur.

let us follow where god and hard Fortune call.

Stat³ conferre manum Aeneae, stat quidquid acerbi est

My resolve is fixed to meet Aeneas in battle, fixed to suffer whatever bitterness

morte pati; neque me indecorem, germana, videbis

there is in death; nor shall you see me, sister,

680

amplius. Hunc, oro, sine me furere ante furorem.

disgraced any longer. Permit me, I pray, to rave this madness before.”

Dixit et e curru saltum dedit ocius arvis

He spoke, and leaped quickly from his chariot to the fields,

perque hostis, per tela ruit maestamque sororem

and rushes through enemies, through weapons, and deserts his grieving sister,

deserit ac rapido cursu media agmina rumpit.

and with rapid course breaks through the middle of the ranks.

Ac veluti montis saxum de vertice praeceps

And just as when a rock from a mountain’s summit headlong

685

cum ruit avulsum vento, seu turbidus imber

rushes, torn away by the wind, whether a raging storm has

proluit aut annis solvit sublapsa vetustas;

washed it out, or slipping age has loosened it with years;

fertur in abruptum magno mons improbus actu

the ruthless mass is carried down the cliff with vast impulse

exsultatque solo, silvas armenta virosque

and bounds on the soil, involving forests, herds, and men

involvens secum: disiecta per agmina Turnus

with itself: so through the scattered ranks Turnus

690

sic urbis ruit ad muros, ubi plurima fuso

rushes thus to the walls of the city, where most of all the ground

sanguine terra madet striduntque hastilibus aurae,

is wet with shed blood and the gales screech with spears,

significatque manu et magno simul incipit ore:

and he signals with his hand and at the same time begins with a loud voice:

Parcite iam, Rutuli, et vos tela inhibete, Latini;

”Cease now, Rutulians, and hold back your weapons, Latins;

quaecumque est Fortuna, mea est: me verius unum

whatever Fortune there is, is mine: it is more just that I alone

695

pro vobis foedus luere et decernere ferro.

expiate the treaty for you and decide the issue with the sword.”

Discessere omnes medii spatiumque dedere.

All in the midst withdrew and gave him space.

At pater Aeneas audito nomine Turni

But father Aeneas, having heard the name of Turnus,

deserit et muros et summas deserit arces

deserts both the walls and deserts the highest towers

praecipitatque moras omnis, opera omnia rumpit,

and flings aside all delays, breaks off all works,

700

laetitia exsultans, horrendumque intonat armis;

exulting with joy, and thunders terribly in arms;

quantus Athos aut quantus Eryx aut ipse coruscis

as great as Athos or as great as Eryx or as father Appenninus himself

cum fremit ilicibus quantus gaudetque nivali

when he roars with his shimmering holm-oaks and rejoices,

vertice se attollens pater Appenninus ad auras.

raising himself with snowy crest to the breezes.

Iam vero et Rutuli certatim et Troes et omnes

Now indeed both Rutulians and Trojans and all

705

convertere oculos Itali, quique alta tenebant

Italians eagerly turned their eyes, both those who held the high

moenia quique imos pulsabant ariete muros,

walls and those who were battering the base of the walls with the ram,

armaque deposuere umeris. Stupet ipse Latinus

and they laid down their arms from their shoulders. Latinus himself is amazed

ingentis, genitos diversis partibus orbis,

that these mighty men, born in diverse parts of the world,

inter se coiisse viros et cernere ferro.

should have come together and were deciding the issue with the sword.

710

Atque illi, ut vacuo patuerunt aequore campi,

And they, as the fields lay open in an empty plain,

procursu rapido, coniectis eminus hastis,

with rapid onset, having hurled their spears from afar,

invadunt Martem clipeis atque aere sonoro.

rush into the battle with shields and clanging bronze.

Dat gemitum tellus; tum crebros ensibus ictus

The earth gives a groan; then they redouble frequent blows

congeminant: fors et virtus miscentur in unum.

with their swords: chance and valor are mixed into one.

715

Ac velut ingenti Sila summove Taburno

And just as on mighty Sila or on Taburnus’ summit

cum duo conversis inimica in proelia tauri

when two bulls with turned horns rush into hostile battle;

frontibus incurrunt; pavidi cessere magistri,

the fearful herdsmen have withdrawn,

Syntax notes3 items

12.640oppetere
Part of an accusative with infinitive construction (accusativus cum infinitivo) continuing from the preceding lines 12.638-639 (vidi oculos ante ipse meos me voce vocantem / Murranum). The accusative Murranum (and its agreeing participles/adjectives ingentem... victum) serves as the subject of the infinitive oppetere ('to meet death', 'to perish').
12.652saucius ora
The noun ora ('face', 'features') is in the accusative plural, functioning as an accusative of respect (often called the Greek accusative) dependent on the adjective saucius ('wounded'). It specifies the area of the body affected ('wounded in the face').
12.678Stat
The verb stare is used here in a figurative, impersonal sense meaning 'it is determined' or 'my resolve is fixed'. It takes the infinitives conferre (and the subsequent pati) as its subject ('it is my fixed resolve to clash hands with Aeneas').

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-22)urn:cts:latinLit:phi0690.phi003.humanitext-lat2:12.640-12.717