The Boat Race: The Pursuit and Cloanthus's Prayer — Virgil, Aeneid Book 5 (lines 162–238), Latin & English

162

Quo tantum mihi dexter abis? Huc dirige gressum;

”Whither do you depart so far to the right for me? Direct your course hither;

litus ama, et laevas stringat sine¹ palmula cautes;

hug the shore, and let the oar-blade graze the rocks on the left;

altum alii teneant. Dixit; sed caeca Menoetes

let others hold the deep.” He spoke; but Menoetes, fearing the hidden

165

saxa timens proram pelagi detorquet ad undas.

rocks, turns the prow away toward the waves of the open sea.

Quo diversus abis? iterum Pete saxa, Menoete!

”Whither do you depart out of the way? Seek the rocks again, Menoetes!”

cum clamore Gyas revocabat; et ecce Cloanthum

Gyas called back with a shout; and behold, he looks back and sees Cloanthus

respicit instantem tergo, et propiora tenentem.

pressing on his back and holding a closer course.

Ille inter navemque Gyae scopulosque sonantes

He, between the ship of Gyas and the sounding rocks,

170

radit iter laevum interior, subitoque priorem

scrapes his path on the left, further inside, and suddenly passes

praeterit, et metis tenet aequora tuta relictis.

the one before him, and, leaving the marks behind, holds the safe waters.

Tum vero exarsit iuveni dolor ossibus² ingens,

Then indeed a huge grief blazed up in the young man’s bones,

nec lacrimis caruere genae, segnemque Menoeten,

nor did his cheeks lack tears, and, forgetting his own dignity

oblitus decorisque sui sociumque salutis,

and the safety of his companions,

175

in mare praecipitem puppi deturbat ab alta;

he flings the sluggish Menoetes headlong into the sea from the high stern;

ipse gubernaclo rector subit, ipse magister,

he himself succeeds as pilot to the helm, himself as master,

hortaturque viros, clavumque ad litora torquet.

and encourages the men, and turns the rudder toward the shore.

At gravis, ut fundo vix tandem redditus imo est,

But heavy, when at last he was scarcely returned from the bottom,

iam senior madidaque fluens in veste Menoetes

being now elderly and dripping in his wet clothing, Menoetes

180

summa petit scopuli siccaque in rupe resedit.

sought the top of the rock and sat down on the dry stone.

Ilium et labentem Teucri et risere natantem,

The Teucrians laughed at him both as he fell and as he swam,

et salsos rident revomentem pectore fluctus.

and they laugh as he vomits the salty waves from his chest.

Hic laeta extremis spes est accensa duobus,

Here a joyful hope was kindled in the two last,

Sergesto Mnestheique, Gyan superare morantem.

Sergestus and Mnestheus, to surpass the delaying Gyas.

185

Sergestus capit ante locum scopuloque propinquat,

Sergestus takes the place ahead and approaches the rock,

nec tota tamen ille prior praeeunte carina;

yet he was not ahead by a whole keel leading;

parte prior, partem rostro premit aemula Pristis.

ahead in part, part the rival Pristis presses with her prow.

At media socios incedens nave per ipsos

But Mnestheus, walking through the midst of his crew along the middle of the ship,

hortatur Mnestheus: Nunc, nunc insurgite remis,

encourages them: “Now, now rise to the oars,

190

Hectorei socii, Troiae quos sorte suprema

companions of Hector, whom in the supreme fate of Troy

delegi comites; nunc illas promite vires,

I chose as comrades; now bring forth those strengths,

nunc animos, quibus in Gaetulis Syrtibus usi,³

now that courage, which you used in the Gaetulian Syrtes,

Ionioque mari Maleaeque sequacibus undis.

and on the Ionian sea, and in the pursuing waves of Malea.

Non iam prima peto Mnestheus, neque vincere certo;

I, Mnestheus, do not now seek the first place, nor do I strive to win;

195

quamquam O!—sed superent, quibus hoc, Neptune, dedisti;

although, oh!—but let them conquer, to whom you, Neptune, have given this;

extremos pudeat rediisse; hoc vincite, cives,

let it be a shame to have returned last; overcome in this, citizens,

et prohibete nefas. Olli certamine summo

and avert the disgrace.” They with utmost struggle

procumbunt; vastis tremit ictibus aerea puppis,

lean forward; the bronze-plated stern trembles with the vast strokes,

subtrahiturque solum; tum creber anhelitus artus

and the water is withdrawn from under them; then thick gasping shakes their limbs

200

aridaque ora quatit, sudor fluit undique rivis.

and dry mouths, and sweat flows everywhere in streams.

Attulit ipse viris optatum casus honorem.

Chance itself brought to the men the desired honor.

Namque furens animi⁴ dum proram ad saxa suburguet

For while Sergestus, raging in mind, presses his prow toward the rocks

interior, spatioque subit Sergestus iniquo,

further inside, and enters a perilous space,

infelix saxis in procurrentibus haesit.

unfortunate, he stuck fast on the jutting rocks.

205

Concussae cautes, et acuto in murice remi

The rocks were shaken, and the oars, struggling against the sharp flint,

obnixi crepuere, inlisaque prora pependit.

snapped with a crash, and the dashed prow hung suspended.

Consurgunt nautae et magno clamore morantur,

The sailors leap up and with a great shout delay,

ferratasque trudes et acuta cuspide contos

and get out iron-pointed poles and sharp-tipped stakes,

expediunt, fractosque legunt in gurgite remos.

and gather the broken oars in the gulf.

210

At laetus Mnestheus successuque acrior ipso

But Mnestheus, joyful and made keener by this very success,

agmine remorum celeri ventisque vocatis

with a swift row of oars and the winds invoked,

prona petit maria et pelago decurrit aperto.

seeks the shelving seas and runs down over the open main.

Qualis spelunca subito commota columba,

Just as a dove, suddenly startled from a cave,

cui domus et dulces latebroso in pumice nidi,

whose home and sweet nest are in the hiding pumice-stone,

215

fertur in arva volans, plausumque exterrita pennis

is borne flying into the fields, and, terrified, gives a huge

dat tecto ingentem, mox aere lapsa quieto

flapping against the roof, but soon, gliding in the quiet air,

radit iter liquidum, celeres neque commovet alas:

skims her liquid path and does not move her swift wings:

sic Mnestheus, sic ipsa fuga secat ultima Pristis

so Mnestheus, so the Pristis herself in her flight cuts the furthest

aequora, sic illam fert impetus ipse volantem.

waters, so her own impulse bears her flying.

220

Et primum in scopulo luctantem deserit alto

And first he leaves Sergestus struggling on the high rock,

Sergestum, brevibusque vadis frustraque vocantem

and in the shallow shoals, calling in vain for help,

auxilia, et fractis discentem currere remis

and learning to run with broken oars.

Inde Gyan ipsamque ingenti mole Chimaeram

Then he overtakes Gyas and the Chimaera itself of huge bulk;

consequitur; cedit, quoniam spoliata magistro est.

she yields, since she has been despoiled of her pilot.

225

Solus iamque ipso superest in fine Cloanthus:

And now Cloanthus alone remains at the very end:

quem petit, et summis adnixus viribus urguet.

him he seeks, and, striving with utmost strength, presses hard.

Tum vero ingeminat clamor, cunctique sequentem

Then indeed the shout redoubles, and all encourage him as he follows

instigant studiis, resonatque fragoribus aether.

with their zeal, and the sky resounds with the din.

Hi proprium decus et partum indignantur honorem

These are indignant if they should not keep their own glory and the honor already won,

230

ni teneant, vitamque volunt pro laude pacisci;

and are willing to barter life for praise;

hos successus alit: possunt, quia posse videntur.

success nourishes those: they can because they seem to be able.

Et fors aequatis cepissent praemia rostris,

And perhaps they would have taken the prizes with equal prows,

ni palmas ponto tendens utrasque Cloanthus

had not Cloanthus, stretching both palms to the sea,

fudissetque⁵ preces, divosque in vota vocasset:

poured forth prayers and called the gods to his vows:

235

Di, quibus imperium est pelagi, quorum aequora curro,

”O Gods, who have the dominion of the sea, whose waters I run over,

vobis laetus ego hoc candentem in litore taurum

joyfully I will set up for you a white bull on this shore

constituam ante aras, voti reus, extaque salsos

before the altars, bound by my vow, and will fling the entrails into the salty

porriciam in fluctus et vina liquentia fundam.

waves and pour out flowing wines.”

Syntax notes5 items

5.163stringat sine
The subjunctive stringat is subordinate to sine (the imperative of sinere, meaning 'let/allow'), with the conjunction ut omitted.
5.172iuveni dolor ossibus
iuveni is a dative of reference (possessive dative), and ossibus functions as a dative of place/reference, meaning 'in the young man's bones'.
5.192quibus in Gaetulis Syrtibus usi
The participle usi (from the deponent verb uti, which governs the ablative quibus) implies the ellipsis of the auxiliary verb estis ('which you used').
5.202furens animi
The genitive animi (originally perhaps a locative) is used with the participle furens to express specification or reference ('raging in mind').
5.232cepissent ... ni ... fudisset
A past counterfactual conditional sentence, with cepissent (pluperfect subjunctive) in the apodosis and the protasis introduced by ni with fudisset and vocasset (pluperfect subjunctives).

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-22) · Revision history (1, latest 2026-09-21)

2026-09-21 AI review — source 1

urn:cts:latinLit:phi0690.phi003.humanitext-lat2:5.162-5.238