The Defeat and Death of Turnus — Virgil, Aeneid Book 12 (lines 876–952), Latin & English

876

obscenae volucres: alarum verbera nosco

Foul birds, I recognize the beating of your wings

letalemque sonum, nec fallunt iussa superba

and your deathly sound, nor do the proud commands of great-hearted

magnanimi Iovis. Haec pro virginitate reponit?

Jupiter deceive me. Does he repay this for my virginity?

Quo vitam dedit aeternam? Cur mortis ademptast

Why did he give me eternal life? Why was the condition of death

880

condicio? Possem¹ tantos finire dolores

taken away? Otherwise I could certainly end such great sorrows

nunc certe et misero fratri comes ire per umbras!

now, and go through the shadows as a companion to my wretched brother!

Immortalis ego? Aut quicquam mihi dulce meorum

Am I immortal? Or will anything of mine be sweet to me

te sine, frater, erit? O quae satis ima dehiscet

without you, brother? Oh, what deep enough earth will gape open for me

terra mihi Manisque deam demittet ad imos?

and send a goddess down to the deepest Shades?”

885

Tantum effata caput glauco contexit amictu

Having spoken thus much, the goddess covered her head with a gray mantle,

multa gemens et se fluvio dea condidit alto.

groaning deeply, and hid herself in the deep river.

Aeneas instat contra telumque coruscat

Aeneas presses on against him and brandishes his huge

ingens arboreum et saevo sic pectore fatur:

tree-like spear, and speaks thus from his fierce breast:

Quae nunc deinde mora est? Aut quid iam, Turne, retractas?

”What delay is there now next? Or why now, Turnus, do you draw back?

890

Non cursu, saevis certandum est comminus armis.

We must contend not by running, but close at hand with cruel weapons.

Verte omnis tete in facies et contrahe quidquid

Turn yourself into all shapes, and collect whatever

sive animis sive arte vales; opta ardua pennis

you can, whether in courage or in skill; wish to follow the high stars

astra sequi clausumve cava te condere terra.

on wings, or to hide yourself enclosed in the hollow earth.”

Ille caput quassans Non me tua fervida terrent

Shaking his head, he replied: “Your fiery words do not terrify me,

895

dicta, ferox: di me terrent et Iuppiter hostis.

fierce one; the gods terrify me, and Jupiter as my enemy.”

Nec plura effatus saxum circumspicit ingens,

Saying no more, he looks around and sees a huge stone,

saxum antiquum ingens, campo quod forte iacebat,

an ancient, huge stone, which by chance was lying on the plain,

limes agro positus, litem ut discerneret arvis.

placed as a boundary for the field, to settle dispute in the lands.

Vix illud lecti bis sex cervice subirent,²

Scarcely twice six chosen men could support it on their shoulders,

900

qualia nunc hominum producit corpora tellus:

such bodies of men as the earth now produces;

ille manu raptum trepida torquebat in hostem

having snatched it with trembling hand, he tried to hurl it at the enemy,

altior insurgens et cursu concitus heros.

rising higher and quickened by his running, hero that he was.

Sed neque currentem se nec cognoscit euntem

But he does not recognize himself running, nor going,

tollentemve manus saxumve immane moventem;

nor raising his hands, nor moving the immense stone;

905

genua labant, gelidus concrevit frigore sanguis.

his knees give way, his icy blood froze with chill.

Tum lapis ipse viri, vacuum per inane volutus,

Then the stone itself of the hero, whirled through the empty void,

nec spatium evasit totum neque pertulit ictum.

neither cleared the whole space, nor carried through the blow.

Ac velut in somnis,³ oculos ubi languida pressit

And just as in dreams, when languid sleep has pressed upon our eyes

nocte quies, nequiquam avidos extendere cursus

at night, we seem to wish in vain to extend

910

velle videmur et in mediis conatibus aegri

our eager courses, and in the midst of our efforts we sink down

succidimus, non lingua valet, non corpore notae

helpless, our tongue has no power, the familiar strength in our body

sufficiunt vires, nec vox aut verba sequuntur:

is not sufficient, nor do voice or words follow:

sic Turno, quacumque viam virtute petivit,

so to Turnus, with whatever valor he sought a way,

successum dea dira negat. Tum pectore sensus

the dread goddess denies success. Then various feelings turn

915

vertuntur varii. Rutulos aspectat et urbem

within his breast. He gazes at the Rutulians and the city,

cunctaturque metu letumque instare tremescit;

and hesitates with fear, and trembles that death is pressing on;

nec quo se eripiat, nec qua vi tendat in hostem,

he sees neither where he may escape, nor by what force he may advance against the enemy,

nec currus usquam videt aurigamve sororem.

nor his chariot anywhere, nor his sister as the charioteer.

Cunctanti telum Aeneas fatale coruscat,

As he hesitates, Aeneas brandishes the fatal weapon,

920

sortitus fortunam oculis, et corpore toto

having chosen the lucky spot with his eyes, and with his whole body

eminus intorquet. Murali concita numquam

hurls it from afar. Never do stones hurled from a siege engine

tormento sic saxa fremunt, nec fulmine tanti

roar so, nor do such crashes burst from a thunderbolt.

dissultant crepitus. Volat atri turbinis instar

Like a black whirlwind flies the spear,

exitium dirum hasta ferens orasque recludit

bearing dread destruction, and tears open the borders of the breastplate

925

loricae et clipei extremos septemplicis orbes.

and the outermost circles of the sevenfold shield.

Per medium stridens transit femur. Incidit ictus

Whirring, it passes through the middle of his thigh. Under the blow,

ingens ad terram duplicato poplite Turnus.

the great Turnus fell to the earth on doubled knee.

Consurgunt gemitu Rutuli, totusque remugit

The Rutulians rise up with a groan, and all the mountain

mons circum, et vocem late nemora alta remittunt.

re-echoes around, and the high woods return the sound far and wide.

930

Ille humilis supplexque oculos, dextramque precantem

He, humble and suppliant, raising his eyes and stretching out

protendens, Equidem merui nec deprecor, inquit:

his entreating right hand, says: “I have indeed deserved it, and I do not beg off;

utere sorte tua. Miseri te siqua parentis

use your fortune. If any care for a wretched parent

tangere cura potest, oro (fuit et tibi talis

can touch you, I pray (you too had such a father

Anchises genitor), Dauni miserere senectae

in Anchises), pity the old age of Daunus,

935

et me seu corpus spoliatum lumine mavis

and restore me—or if you prefer, my body despoiled of light—

redde meis. Vicisti, et victum tendere palmas

to my people. You have won, and the Ausonians have seen me, conquered,

Ausonii videre; tua est Lavinia coniunx:

stretch out my hands; Lavinia is your wife:

ulterius ne tende odiis. Stetit acer in armis

do not stretch your hatred further.” Aeneas stood fierce in arms,

Aeneas, volvens oculos, dextramque repressit;

rolling his eyes, and held back his right hand;

940

et iam iamque magis cunctantem flectere sermo

and now more and more the speech had begun to sway him as he hesitated,

coeperat, infelix umero cum apparuit alto

when the unlucky belt appeared high on the shoulder

balteus et notis fulserunt cingula bullis

and the strap shone with the familiar studs

Pallantis pueri, victum quem volnere Turnus

of young Pallas, whom Turnus had laid low, conquered by a wound,

straverat atque umeris inimicum insigne gerebat.

and was wearing on his shoulders the hostile emblem.

945

Ille, oculis postquam saevi monimenta doloris

He, after he drank in with his eyes the memorials of cruel grief

exuviasque hausit, furiis accensus et ira

and the spoils, inflamed with fury and terrible

terribilis, Tune hinc spoliis indute meorum

in his wrath, cried: “Are you, clad in the spoils of my own, to be snatched

eripiare⁴ mihi? Pallas te hoc volnere, Pallas

from me? Pallas immolates you with this wound, Pallas,

immolat et poenam scelerato ex sanguine sumit,

and takes vengeance from your criminal blood!”

950

hoc dicens ferrum adverso sub pectore condit

Saying this, he buries the steel deep under his opposing breast,

fervidus. Ast illi solvuntur frigore membra

boiling with rage. But his limbs are loosed with cold,

vitaque cum gemitu fugit indignata sub umbras.

and with a groan his life flees, indignant, down to the Shades.

Syntax notes4 items

12.880Possem
Imperfect subjunctive. It expresses an unattainable wish in the present ('would that I could...'), or functions as the apodosis of a contrary-to-fact condition with an implied protasis ('[if I were not immortal,] I would be able to...'). Both interpretations emphasize her utter despair.
12.899subirent
Imperfect subjunctive (third-person plural), expressing potentiality ('would support' or 'could support'). While the relative clause qualia... tellus (line 900) interrupts to modify the quality of the men, the core structure is vix illud [saxum] bis sex lecti subirent ('scarcely twelve chosen men could support that stone on their shoulders').
12.908Ac velut in somnis
The conjunction introducing a famous simile of a dream. The main verb of the extensive subordinate clause describing the simile (lines 908-912) is videmur, which governs the infinitive velle, which in turn governs extendere. This entire comparison is resolved by the main clause starting at line 913, sic Turno... ('so to Turnus...').
12.948eripiare
Second-person singular present passive subjunctive of eripio (the ending -re is an alternative for -ris). Used as a deliberative subjunctive in an indignant question, expressing disbelief and fierce rejection ('Are you to be snatched [from me]?', implying 'No, you shall not escape').

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-lat2:12.876-12.952