Escape from the Cyclopes and the Death of Anchises — Virgil, Aeneid Book 3 (lines 638–718), Latin & English

638

et tandem laeti sociorum ulciscimur umbras.

and at last, rejoicing, we avenge the shades of our companions.

Sed fugite, O miseri, fugite, atque ab litore funem

But flee, O wretched ones, flee, and tear

640

rumpite.

the rope from the shore.

Nam qualis quantusque cavo Polyphemus in antro

For such as and as great as Polyphemus in his hollow cave

lanigeras claudit pecudes atque ubera pressat,

shuts up his fleecy flocks and squeezes their udders,

centum alii curva haec habitant ad litora volgo

a hundred other unspeakable Cyclopes commonly dwell along these curved shores,

infandi Cyclopes, et altis montibus errant.

and wander on the high mountains.

645

Tertia iam lunae se cornua lumine complent,

Already the third horns of the moon are filling themselves with light,

cum¹ vitam in silvis inter deserta ferarum

since I drag out my life in the woods among the deserted lairs

lustra domosque traho, vastosque ab rupe Cyclopas

and homes of wild beasts, and look out upon the vast Cyclopes from a rock,

prospicio, sonitumque pedum vocemque tremesco.

and tremble at the sound of their feet and their voice.

Victum infelicem, bacas lapidosaque corna,

Branches give a wretched sustenance, berries and stony cornels,

650

dant rami et volsis pascunt radicibus herbae.

and herbs feed me with torn-up roots.

Omnia conlustrans, hanc primum ad litora classem

Surveying all things, I first saw this fleet coming to the shores.

conspexi venientem. Huic me, quaecumque fuisset,

To this, whatever it might have been,

addixi: satis est gentem effugisse nefandam.

I surrendered myself: it is enough to have escaped the unspeakable race.

Vos animam hanc potius quocumque absumite leto.

Rather do you take away this life by whatever death.

655

Vix ea fatus erat, summo cum monte videmus

Scarcely had he spoken these words, when on the mountain top we see

ipsum inter pecudes vasta se mole moventem

the shepherd Polyphemus himself moving with his vast bulk among his flocks

pastorem Polyphemum et litora nota petentem,

and seeking the well-known shores,

monstrum horrendum, informe, ingens, cui lumen ademptum.

a monster horrific, misshapen, huge, from whom light was taken away.

Trunca manu pinus regit et vestigia firmat;

A lopped pine in his hand guides him and steadies his steps;

660

lanigerae comitantur oves—ea sola voluptas

fleecy sheep accompany him—that is his sole pleasure

solamenque mali.

and the solace of his misfortune.

Postquam altos tetigit fluctus et ad aequora venit,

After he touched the deep waves and came to the sea,

luminis effossi fluidum lavit inde cruorem,

he washed from there the flowing gore of his dug-out eye,

dentibus infrendens gemitu, graditurque per aequor

gnashing his teeth with a groan, and he strides through the sea

665

iam medium, necdum fluctus latera ardua tinxit.

now in the midst, nor yet did the wave wet his towering sides.

Nos procul inde fugam trepidi celerare, recepto

We from there, trembling, hasten our flight far away, having received

supplice sic merito, tacitique incidere funem;

the suppliant who had so deserved it, and in silence cut the cable;

vertimus et proni certantibus aequora remis.

and we bent forward and swept the sea with striving oars.

Sensit, et ad sonitum vocis vestigia torsit;

He perceived it, and turned his steps toward the sound of the voice;

670

verum ubi nulla datur dextra adfectare potestas,

but when no power is given to reach us with his right hand,

nec potis Ionios fluctus aequare sequendo,

nor is he able to match the Ionian waves in pursuit,

clamorem immensum tollit, quo pontus et omnes

he raises an immense clamor, by which the sea and all

contremuere undae, penitusque exterrita tellus

the waves trembled, and the land of Italy was terrified

Italiae, curvisque immugiit Aetna cavernis.

deep within, and Etna bellowed in its curved caverns.

675

At genus e silvis Cyclopum et montibus altis

But the race of the Cyclopes, summoned from the woods and high mountains,

excitum ruit ad portus et litora complent.

rushes to the harbors and fills the shores.

Cernimus adstantis nequiquam lumine torvo

We see the Etnean brothers standing in vain with grim eye,

Aetnaeos fratres, caelo capita alta ferentis,

bearing their high heads to heaven,

concilium horrendum: quales cum vertice celso

a horrific assembly: just as when on a high peak

680

aeriae quercus, aut coniferae cyparissi

towering oaks or cone-bearing cypresses

constiterunt, silva alta Iovis, lucusve Dianae.

stand together, the high forest of Jupiter or the grove of Diana.

Praecipites metus acer agit quocumque rudentis

Sharp fear drives us headlong to shake out the cables for any course,

excutere, et ventis intendere vela secundis.

and to stretch our sails to the favoring winds.

Contra iussa monent Heleni Scyllam atque Charybdin

On the other hand, the commands of Helenus warn not to hold their course

685

inter,² utramque viam leti discrimine parvo,

between Scylla and Charybdis, either path being a small distance from death;

ni teneant cursus; certum est dare lintea retro.

it is resolved to give the sails backward.

Ecce autem Boreas angusta ab sede Pelori

But behold, Boreas, sent from the narrow seat of Pelorus,

missus adest. Vivo praetervehor ostia saxo

is present. I sail past the mouth of Pantagia with its living rock,

Pantagiae Megarosque sinus Thapsumque iacentem.

and the Megarian bays, and low-lying Thapsus.

690

Talia monstrabat relegens errata retrorsus

Such shores Achaemenides, the companion of unhappy Ulysses,

litora³ Achaemenides; comes infelicis Ulixi.

was pointing out, retracing his wanderings backward.

Sicanio praetenta sinu iacet insula contra

Stretched before the Sicanian bay lies an island opposite

Plemyrium undosum; nomen dixere priores

wavy Plemyrium; those of old called its name

Ortygiam. Alpheum fama est huc Elidis amnem

Ortygia. The story is that Alpheus, the river of Elis,

695

occultas egisse vias subter mare; qui nunc

has driven hidden paths here beneath the sea; which now

ore, Arethusa, tuo Siculis confunditur undis.

by your mouth, Arethusa, is mingled with the Sicilian waves.

Iussi numina magna loci veneramur; et inde

Commanded, we revere the great divinities of the place; and from there

exsupero praepingue solum stagnantis Helori.

I pass by the very fertile soil of stagnant Helorus.

Hinc altas cautes proiectaque saxa Pachyni

From here we graze the high cliffs and projecting rocks of Pachynus,

700

radimus, et fatis numquam concessa moveri

and Camerina appears far off, never allowed by the fates to be moved,

adparet Camerina procul campique Geloi,

and the Geloan plains,

immanisque Gela fluvii cognomine dicta.

and immense Gela, called by the name of its river.

Arduus inde Acragas ostentat maxuma longe

Then towering Acragas shows from afar its very great

moenia, magnanimum quondam generator equorum;

walls, once the breeder of high-spirited horses;

705

teque datis linquo ventis, palmosa Selinus,

and you, palm-clad Selinus, I leave with the winds given,

et vada dura lego saxis Lilybeia caecis.

and coast along the Lilybeian shallows, dangerous with hidden rocks.

Hinc Drepani me portus et inlaetabilis ora

From here the harbor of Drepanum and its joyless shore

accipit. Hic, pelagi tot tempestatibus actis,

receives me. Here, after so many tempests of the sea were driven through,

heu genitorem, omnis curae casusque levamen,

alas, I lose my father Anchises, the solace of every care and misfortune;

710

amitto Anchisen: hic me, pater optume, fessum

here, O best of fathers, you desert me, weary,

deseris, heu, tantis nequiquam erepte⁴ periclis!

alas, rescued in vain from so great dangers!

Nec vates Helenus, cum multa horrenda moneret,

Neither did the prophet Helenus, though he warned of many horrific things,

hos mihi praedixit luctus, non dira Celaeno.

foretell these griefs to me, nor did the dread Celaeno.

Hic labor extremus, longarum haec meta viarum.

This was my last labor, this the goal of my long ways.

715

Hinc me digressum vestris deus adpulit oris.

Departing from here, a god drove me to your shores.

Sic pater Aeneas intentis omnibus unus

Thus father Aeneas, while all were intent, alone

fata renarrabat divom, cursusque docebat.

was recounting the fates of the gods, and teaching his courses.

Conticuit tandem, factoque hic fine quievit.

At last he fell silent, and having made an end here, he rested.

Syntax notes4 items

3.645lunae se cornua lumine complent, cum...
The conjunction cum is used here in an inverted sense (cum inversum). With iam in the main clause setting the temporal frame, the subordinate cum clause containing present tense indicative verbs (traho, tremesco) expresses the main, continuing action of the scene.
3.684Scyllam atque Charybdin inter
The preposition inter is placed after its accusative objects Scyllam atque Charybdin, demonstrating anastrophe. Furthermore, the conditional clause ni teneant cursus modifies the danger of the path itself rather than the direct content of Helenus's warning (i.e., the path is deadly unless they hold their course).
3.690errata retrorsus litora
The perfect passive participle errata, from the normally intransitive verb errare (to wander), is used transitively here to mean "wandered over" or "traversed," directly modifying litora.
3.711erepte
This is a perfect passive participle in the vocative case, agreeing with the vocative noun pater. Grammatically, it functions like a relative clause modifying the father ("O father... who was rescued").

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-22)urn:cts:latinLit:phi0690.phi003.humanitext-lat2:3.638-3.718