Sinon's False Tale and the Trojan Sympathy — Virgil, Aeneid Book 2 (lines 80–156), Latin & English

finxit, vanum etiam mendacemque improba finget.¹

she [Fortune] has fashioned [me miserable], yet she will not, shameless, fashion me empty and a liar too.

Fando aliquod si forte tuas pervenit ad auris

If by chance any report has reached your ears

Belidae nomen Palamedis et incluta fama

of the name of Palamedes, son of Belus, and his famous renown

gloria, quem falsa sub proditione Pelasgi

in glorious rumor, whom under a false charge of treason the Pelasgians,

insontem infando indicio, quia bella vetabat,

though innocent, on unspeakable evidence, because he forbade the wars,

demisere neci, nunc cassum lumine lugent.

sent down to death, and now that he is bereft of light they mourn him.

Illi me comitem et consanguinitate propinquum

To him as a companion and near relation by blood,

pauper in arma pater primis huc misit ab annis,

my poor father sent me here in arms from my earliest years,

dum stabat regno incolumis regumque vigebat

while he remained secure in his kingdom and flourished in the councils

consiliis, et nos aliquod nomenque decusque

of the kings; we too bore some name and honor.

gessimus. Invidia postquam pellacis Ulixi—

After, by the envy of deceitful Ulysses—

haud ignota loquor—superis concessit ab oris,

I speak of things not unknown—he departed from the upper shores,

adflictus vitam in tenebris luctuque trahebam,

broken, I dragged out my life in darkness and grief,

et casum insontis mecum indignabar amici.

and in secret resented the fate of my innocent friend.

Nec tacui demens, et me, fors si qua tulisset,

Nor did I keep silent, madman that I was, and, if any chance should bring it,

si patrios umquam remeassem victor ad Argos,

if ever I had returned as a victor to my native Argos,

promisi ultorem, et verbis odia aspera movi.

I promised myself as an avenger, and by my words I stirred up bitter hatred.

Hinc mihi prima mali labes, hinc semper Ulixes

Hence was the first slip of ruin for me, hence Ulysses always

criminibus terrere novis, hinc spargere voces

began to terrify me with new charges, hence to scatter

in volgum ambiguas, et quaerere² conscius arma.

ambiguous rumors among the crowd, and, conscious of his guilt, to seek means to ruin me.

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Nec requievit enim, donec, Calchante ministro³—

Nor indeed did he rest until, with Calchas as his helper—

sed quid ego haec autem nequiquam ingrata revolvo?

but why do I turn over these ungrateful things in vain?

Quidve moror, si omnis uno ordine habetis Achivos,

Or why do I delay you, if you hold all Achaians in one class,

idque audire sat est? Iamdudum sumite poenas,

and to hear that is enough? Take your vengeance at once;

hoc Ithacus velit, et magno mercentur Atridae.

this the Ithacan would wish, and the sons of Atreus would buy at a great price.”

105

Tum vero ardemus scitari et quaerere causas,

Then indeed we burn to inquire and ask the causes,

ignari scelerum tantorum artisque Pelasgae.

ignorant of such great crimes and Pelasgian art.

Prosequitur pavitans, et ficto pectore fatur:

He proceeds, trembling, and speaks from a false heart:

Saepe fugam Danai Troia cupiere relicta

”Often the Greeks desired to attempt flight, leaving Troy behind,

moliri, et longo fessi discedere bello;

and to depart, weary of the long war;

110

fecissentque utinam! Saepe illos aspera ponti

and would that they had done so! Often the harsh storm of the sea

interclusit hiemps, et terruit Auster euntis.

blocked them, and the South wind terrified them as they were going.

Praecipue, cum iam hic trabibus contextus acernis

Especially, when now this horse built of maple beams

staret equus, toto sonuerunt aethere nimbi.

stood here, storm-clouds resounded through all the sky.

Suspensi Eurypylum scitantem⁴ oracula Phoebi

In suspense, we send Eurypylus to consult the oracle of Phoebus,

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mittimus, isque adytis haec tristia dicta reportat:

and he brings back these grim words from the shrine:

Sanguine placastis ventos et virgine caesa,

’With blood and a slain virgin you appeased the winds,

cum primum Iliacas, Danai, venistis ad oras;

when first, O Greeks, you came to the Trojan shores;

sanguine quaerendi reditus, animaque litandum⁵

with blood must your return be sought, and propitiation made with an Argive

Argolica. Volgi quae vox ut venit ad auris,

life.’ When this voice came to the ears of the crowd,

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obstipuere animi, gelidusque per ima cucurrit

their minds were dazed, and a cold shudder ran through the marrow of their

ossa tremor, cui fata parent, quem poscat Apollo.

bones, wondering for whom the fates were preparing this, whom Apollo was demanding.

Hic Ithacus vatem magno Calchanta tumultu

Here the Ithacan with great tumult drags the prophet Calchas

protrahit in medios; quae sint ea numina divom,

into their midst; he demands to know what these wishes of the gods are.

flagitat; et mihi iam multi crudele canebant

And already many were foretelling to me the cruel crime of the schemer,

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artificis scelus, et taciti ventura videbant.

and in silence foresaw what was to come.

Bis quinos silet ille dies, tectusque recusat

Twice five days he is silent, and hidden refuses

prodere voce sua quemquam aut opponere morti.

to betray anyone with his voice or expose them to death.

Vix tandem, magnis Ithaci clamoribus actus,

Scarcely at last, driven by the loud cries of the Ithacan,

composito rumpit vocem, et me destinat arae.

by agreement he breaks his silence, and dooms me to the altar.

130

Adsensere omnes, et, quae sibi quisque timebat,

All assented, and what each feared for himself,

unius in miseri exitium conversa tulere.

they bore when turned to the destruction of one miserable wretch.

Iamque dies infanda aderat; mihi sacra parari,

And now the unspeakable day was at hand; for me the sacred rites were being prepared,

et salsae fruges, et circum tempora vittae:

and the salted grains, and the headbands around my temples:

eripui, fateor, leto me, et vincula rupi,

I snatched myself from death, I confess, and broke my bonds,

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limosoque lacu per noctem obscurus in ulva

and in a muddy swamp through the night, hidden in the sedge,

delitui, dum vela darent, si forte dedissent.⁶

I lay concealed, until they should set sail, if by chance they had sailed.

Nec mihi iam patriam antiquam spes ulla videndi,

Nor have I now any hope of seeing my ancient fatherland,

nec dulcis natos exoptatumque parentem;

nor my sweet children and my longed-for parent;

quos illi fors et poenas ob nostra reposcent

from whom they will perhaps demand punishment because of my

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effugia, et culpam hanc miserorum morte piabunt.

escape, and expiate this guilt by the death of those miserable ones.

Quod⁷ te per superos et conscia numina veri,

Wherefore, I entreat you by the gods above and the powers conscious of truth,

per si qua est quae restet adhuc mortalibus usquam

by whatever unstained faith there is that may still remain anywhere

intemerata fides, oro, miserere laborum

to mortals, pity such great

tantorum, miserere animi non digna ferentis.

troubles, pity a mind bearing unworthy things.”

145

His lacrimis vitam damus, et miserescimus ultro.

To these tears we grant his life, and pity him besides.

Ipse viro primus manicas atque arta levari

Priamus himself first orders the handcuffs and tight

vincla iubet Priamus, dictisque ita fatur amicis:

bonds to be removed from the man, and speaks thus with friendly words:

Quisquis es, amissos hinc iam obliviscere Graios;

”Whoever you are, from now on forget the Greeks you have lost;

noster eris, mihique haec edissere vera roganti:

you shall be ours, and explain to me truly these things I ask:

150

Quo molem hanc immanis equi statuere? Quis auctor?

Why did they set up this mass of a monstrous horse? Who was the author?

Quidve petunt? Quae religio, aut quae machina belli?

Or what do they seek? What religious offering is it, or what engine of war?”

Dixerat. Ille, dolis instructus et arte Pelasga,

He had spoken. The other, instructed in deceits and Pelasgian art,

sustulit exutas vinclis ad sidera palmas:

lifted his hands, freed from the bonds, toward the stars:

Vos, aeterni ignes, et non violabile vestrum

”You, eternal fires, and your inviolable

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testor numen ait vos arae ensesque nefandi,

divinity I call to witness,” he said, “you, altars and unspeakable swords,

quos fugi, vittaeque deum, quas hostia gessi:

which I fled, and headbands of the gods, which I wore as a victim:

Syntax notes7 items

2.80finxit, vanum etiam mendacemque improba finget
The subject is Fortuna (Fortune) from the previous clause. It expresses Sinon's cunning self-representation: "even if Fortune has made Sinon miserable, she will not make him a liar."
2.98terrere... spargere... quaerere
These are all historical infinitives used with the force of imperfect indicative verbs (terrebat, spargebat, quaerebat). The subject is Ulixes (Ulysses).
2.100Calchante ministro
Ablative absolute consisting of a noun and a noun. The clause introduced by donec is broken off here (aposiopesis) with only this ablative absolute remaining.
2.114scitantem
The present participle scitantem functions here to express purpose ("to consult/in order to consult"). This is a Virgilian usage of the present participle to indicate purpose.
2.118litandum
An impersonal gerundive construction from the intransitive verb lito (to make an auspicious sacrifice), with est omitted (litandum est). The ablative anima... Argolica expresses the means.
2.136dum vela darent, si forte dedissent
The clause introduced by dum ("until") uses the subjunctive (darent) to express expectation. si... dedissent ("if by chance they had set sail") is a pluperfect subjunctive representing a future-perfect-in-the-past from the speaker's past perspective.
2.141Quod
The sentence-initial Quod is an adverbial accusative of the relative pronoun functioning as a transitional conjunction ("wherefore" or "therefore"). It is not the direct object of oro.

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-22)urn:cts:latinLit:phi0690.phi003.humanitext-lat2:2.80-2.156