Entellus' Retirement and the Archery Contest — Virgil, Aeneid Book 5 (lines 475–555), Latin & English

475

et mihi quae fuerint iuvenali in corpore vires,¹

”And know what strength was mine in my youthful body,

et qua servetis revocatum a morte Dareta.

and from what kind of death you save Dares, whom you have recalled from death.”

Dixit, et adversi contra stetit ora iuvenci,

He spoke, and stood opposite the face of the facing bull,

qui donum adstabat pugnae, durosque reducta

which was standing near as the prize of the fight, and pulling back

libravit dextra media inter cornua caestus,

his right hand, he poised the hard gauntlets midway between the horns,

480

arduus, effractoque inlisit in ossa cerebro.

rising high, and dashed them into the bones, fracturing the skull.

sternitur exanimisque tremens procumbit humi bos.

The bull is stretched out, and falls trembling and lifeless to the ground.

Ille super tales effundit pectore voces:

He over it pours forth such words from his breast:

Hanc tibi, Eryx, meliorem animam pro morte Daretis

”This better life, Eryx, I pay to you instead of Dares’ death;

persolvo; hic victor caestus artemque repono.

here, a victor, I lay down my gauntlets and my art.”

485

Protinus Aeneas celeri certare sagitta

Straightway Aeneas invites those who perchance may wish to contend

invitat qui forte velint, et praemia ponit,

with swift arrows, and sets forth the prizes,

ingentique manu malum de nave Seresti

and with his mighty hand erects a mast from the ship

erigit, et volucrem traiecto in fune columbam,

of Serestus, and on a cord passed through it, a winged dove,

quo tendant ferrum, malo suspendit ab alto.

at which they should aim their iron, he suspends from the high mast.

490

Convenere viri, deiectamque aerea sortem

The men assembled, and a bronze helmet received

accepit galea; et primus clamore secundo

the cast lots; and first, with favorable shouting,

Hyrtacidae ante omnes exit locus Hippocoöntis;

before all, the lot of Hippocoon, son of Hyrtacus, comes forth;

quem modo navali Mnestheus certamine victor

whom Mnestheus follows, just now victor in the naval

consequitur, viridi Mnestheus evinctus oliva.

contest, Mnestheus bound with green olive.

495

Tertius Eurytion, tuus, o clarissime, frater,

Third is Eurytion, your brother, O most famous Pandarus,

Pandare,² qui quondam, iussus confundere foedus,

who once, commanded to break the treaty, first

in medios telum torsisti primus Achivos.

hurled a weapon into the midst of the Achivi.

Extremus galeaque ima subsedit Acestes,

Last, and at the bottom of the helmet, settled Acestes,

ausus et ipse manu iuvenum temptare laborem.

having dared even himself to attempt the task of youth with his hand.

500

Tum validis flexos incurvant viribus arcus

Then with powerful strength they bend their curved bows,

pro se quisque viri, et depromunt tela pharetris.

each man for himself, and draw arrows from their quivers.

Primaque per caelum, nervo stridente, sagitta

And first through the sky, with whizzing string, the arrow

Hyrtacidae iuvenis volucres diverberat auras;

of the young son of Hyrtacus cleaves the winged air;

et venit, adversique infigitur arbore mali.

and it comes, and is fixed in the wood of the opposite mast.

505

Intremuit malus, timuitque exterrita pennis

The mast trembled, and the bird, terrified, fluttered its wings

ales, et ingenti sonuerunt omnia plausu.

in fear, and all places resounded with immense applause.

Post acer Mnestheus adducto constitit arcu,

Next, eager Mnestheus stood with drawn bow,

alta petens, pariterque oculos telumque tetendit.

aiming high, and directed eyes and weapon alike.

Ast ipsam miserandus avem contingere ferro

But, pitiable, he was not able to touch the bird itself

510

non valuit: nodos et vincula linea rupit,

with his iron; he broke the knots and linen bonds with which,

quis innexa pedem malo pendebat ab alto:

tied by its foot, it hung from the high mast.

illa notos atque alta volans in nubila fugit.

She fled, flying into the south winds and deep clouds.

Tum rapidus, iamdudum arcu contenta parato

Then swift, holding the arrows long since aimed on

tela tenens,³ fratrem Eurytion in vota vocavit,

his ready bow, Eurytion called upon his brother in his vows,

515

iam vacuo laetam caelo speculatus, et alis

having already watched the dove rejoicing in the empty sky,

plaudentem nigra figit sub nube columbam.

and transfixes her as she claps her wings under a dark cloud.

Decidit exanimis, vitamque reliquit in astris

She fell lifeless, and left her life among the etherial

aetheriis, fixamque refert delapsa sagittam.

stars, and falling back, brings back the arrow fixed in her.

Amissa solus palma superabat Acestes;

Acestes alone remained, the prize being lost;

520

qui tamen aerias telum contendit in auras,

who nevertheless shot his weapon into the airy breezes,

ostentans artemque pater arcumque sonantem.

the father displaying his art and his sounding bow.

Hic oculis subito obicitur magnoque futurum

Here suddenly is presented to their eyes a marvel, destined to be

augurio monstrum; docuit post⁴ exitus ingens,

of great augury; the great outcome afterwards taught it,

seraque terrifici cecinerunt omina vates.

and terrifying prophets sang the late omens.

525

Namque volans liquidis in nubibus arsit harundo,

For, flying in the liquid clouds, the reed caught fire,

signavitque viam flammis, tenuisque recessit

and marked its path with flames, and vanished, thin,

consumpta in ventos, caelo ceu saepe refixa

consumed into the winds, just as often shooting stars, detached

transcurrunt crinemque volantia sidera ducunt.

from heaven, run across and draw a trail of hair as they fly.

Attonitis haesere animis, superosque precati

Suspended with astonished minds, both the Sicilian and Trojan men

530

Trinacrii Teucrique viri; nec maximus omen

prayed to the gods above; nor did greatest Aeneas

abnuit Aeneas; sed laetum amplexus Acesten

refuse the omen, but embracing joyful Acestes,

muneribus cumulat magnis, ac talia fatur:

loads him with great gifts, and speaks thus:

Sume, pater; nam te voluit rex magnus Olympi

”Take these, father; for the great king of Olympus has willed

talibus auspiciis exsortem ducere honores.

by such auspices that you, outside the lot, should receive honors.

535

Ipsius Anchisae longaevi hoc munus habebis,

You shall have this gift of the long-lived Anchises himself,

cratera impressum signis, quem Thracius olim

a mixing-bowl embossed with figures, which Thracian Cisseus

Anchisae genitori in magno munere Cisseus

once had given to my father Anchises as a great gift,

ferre sui dederat monumentum et pignus amoris.

to bear as a monument of himself and a pledge of love.”

Sic fatus cingit viridanti tempora lauro,

Thus having spoken, he binds his temples with green laurel,

540

et primum ante omnes victorem appellat Acesten.

and declares Acestes victor first before all.

Nec bonus Eurytion praelato invidit honori,

Nor did good Eurytion grudge the preferred honor,

quamvis solus avem caelo deiecit ab alto.

although he alone brought down the bird from the high sky.

Proximus ingreditur donis, qui vincula rupit;

Next he enters into the gifts who broke the bonds;

extremus, volucri qui fixit arundine malum.

last, he who transfixed the mast with his swift shaft.

545

At pater Aeneas, nondum certamine misso,

But father Aeneas, the contest not yet being dismissed,

custodem ad sese comitemque impubis Iuli

calls to himself the guardian and companion of youthful Iulus,

Epytiden vocat, et fidam sic fatur ad aurem:

the son of Epytus, and thus speaks to his trusty ear:

Vade age, et Ascanio, si iam puerile paratum

”Go, quick, and tell Ascanius, if he now has the boyish troop

agmen habet secum, cursusque instruxit equorum,

ready with him, and has arranged the courses of the horses,

550

ducat avo turmas, et sese ostendat in armis,

to lead his squadrons for his grandfather, and show himself in arms,

dic⁵ ait. Ipse omnem longo decedere circo

speak,” says he. He himself orders all the crowd poured

infusum populum, et campos iubet esse patentes.

into the long circus to withdraw, and the fields to be open.

Incedunt pueri, pariterque ante ora parentum

The boys advance, and equally before the eyes of their parents

frenatis lucent in equis, quos omnis euntes

shine on their bridled horses; whom, as they go,

555

Trinacriae mirata fremit Troiaeque iuventus.

all the youth of Sicily and Troy admire and cheer.

Syntax notes5 items

5.475quae fuerint iuvenali in corpore vires
An indirect question clause depending on the verb cognoscite in the preceding line (5.474). The perfect subjunctive fuerint denotes a past state (strength that used to be in the body) relative to the present imperative of the main clause.
5.495tuus, o clarissime, frater / Pandare
The vocative phrase addressing the famous archer brother, Pandare (o clarissime, Pandare), is intercalated within the appositive phrase frater, which refers to the subject Eurytion (5.495).
5.513iamdudum arcu contenta parato / tela tenens
The participle contenta functions as an adjective modifying tela (neuter plural accusative), meaning 'drawn/stretched'. The ablative phrase arcu... parato (on the ready bow) modifies contenta as an ablative of instrument or place.
5.523post
Used here as an adverb meaning 'afterwards' or 'later', rather than as a preposition. With exitus ingens as the subject and docuit as the verb, the clause means 'the great outcome afterwards taught [the meaning]'.
5.548Ascanio ... dic
The indirect object Ascanio depends on the imperative verb dic in line 5.551. Note the hyperbaton, as the conditional clause si... (5.548-549) and the jussive subjunctive clauses ducat... sese ostendat (5.550) are interposed between them.

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-22) · Revision history (2, latest 2026-09-21)

2026-09-21 AI review — source 1
2026-09-21 AI review — translation 1

urn:cts:latinLit:phi0690.phi003.humanitext-lat2:5.475-5.555