Founding of Acesta, Departure, and Venus' Appeal to Neptune — Virgil, Aeneid Book 5 (lines 716–792), Latin & English

716

et quidquid tecum invalidum metuensque pericli est,

and select whatever is weak with you and fearful of danger,

delige, et his habeant terris sine¹ moenia fessi:

and let the weary have their walls in these lands:

urbem appellabunt permisso nomine Acestam.

they shall call the city Acesta by the permitted name.

Talibus incensus dictis senioris amici,

Aroused by such words of his elderly friend,

720

tum vero in curas animo diducitur omnes.

then indeed Aeneas is drawn in his mind into all cares.

Et nox atra polum bigis subvecta tenebat:

And black night, carried up in her two-horse chariot, held the sky;

visa dehinc caelo facies delapsa parentis

then the face of his father Anchises, having glided down from heaven,

Anchisae subito tales effundere² voces:

suddenly seemed to pour forth such words:

Nate, mihi vita quondam, dum vita manebat,

”O son, once more dear to me than life, while life remained,

725

care magis, nate, Iliacis exercite fatis,

o son, exercised by Trojan fates,

imperio Iovis huc venio, qui classibus ignem

I come here by the command of Jupiter, who drove away the fire from the fleet

depulit, et caelo tandem miseratus ab alto est.

and has at last pitied you from high heaven.

Consiliis pare, quae nunc pulcherrima Nautes

Obey the counsels which elder Nautes now gives,

dat senior; lectos iuvenes, fortissima corda,

which are most excellent; carry chosen youths, the bravest hearts,

730

defer in Italiam; gens dura atque aspera cultu

to Italy; a hardy people and rugged in life

debellanda tibi Latio est.³ Ditis tamen ante

must be subdued by you in Latium. Yet first

infernas accede domos, et Averna per alta

approach the underworld homes of Dis, and through deep Avernus

congressus pete, nate, meos. Non me impia namque

seek, o son, my meetings. For impious

Tartara habent, tristes umbrae, sed amoena piorum

Tartarus and the sad shades do not hold me, but I inhabit

735

concilia Elysiumque colo. Huc casta Sibylla

the pleasant assemblies of the pious and Elysium. Hither the chaste Sibyl

nigrarum multo pecudum te sanguine ducet:

will lead you with much blood of black cattle:

tum genus omne tuum, et quae dentur moenia, disces.

then you shall learn all your lineage, and what walls are given to you.

Iamque vale: torquet medios Nox humida cursus,

And now farewell: damp Night turns her middle course,

et me saevus equis Oriens adflavit anhelis.

and the cruel Dawn has breathed upon me with his panting horses.”

740

Dixerat, et tenuis fugit, ceu fumus, in auras.

He had spoken, and fled like thin smoke into the gentle air.

Aeneas, Quo deinde ruis, quo proripis? inquit,

Aeneas says: “Whither do you rush now, whither do you fling yourself?

Quem fugis, aut quis te nostris complexibus arcet?

Whom do you flee, or who keeps you from our embraces?”

Haec memorans cinerem et sopitos suscitat ignes,

Recalling these things, he awakens the ashes and dormant fires,

Pergameumque Larem et canae penetralia Vestae

and suppliant worships the Trojan Lar and the shrine of hoary Vesta

745

farre pio et plena supplex veneratur acerra.

with holy meal and a full censer.

Extemplo socios primumque arcessit Acesten,

Immediately he summons his companions and first Acestes,§

et Iovis imperium et cari praecepta parentis

and teaches them the command of Jupiter and the precepts of his dear parent,

edocet, et quae nunc animo sententia constet.

and what decision now stands firm in his mind.

Haud mora consiliis, nec iussa recusat Acestes.

There is no delay for their counsels, nor does Acestes refuse the commands.

750

Transcribunt urbi matres, populumque volentem

They enroll the mothers for the city, and set down the willing people,

deponunt, animos nil magnae laudis egentes.

souls having no need of great glory.

Ipsi transtra novant, flammisque ambesa reponunt

They themselves renew the benches, and replace the timbers of the ships

robora navigiis, aptant remosque rudentesque,

eaten by the flames, and fit the oars and ropes,

exigui numero, sed bello vivida virtus.

few in number, but a vivid courage for war.

755

Interea Aeneas urbem designat aratro

Meanwhile Aeneas marks out the city with a plow

sortiturque domos; hoc Ilium et haec loca Troiam

and assigns the homes by lot; he orders this to be Ilium and these places

esse iubet. Gaudet regno Troianus Acestes,

to be Troy. Trojan Acestes rejoices in his kingdom,

indicitque forum et patribus dat iura vocatis.

and declares a forum and gives laws to the summoned elders.

Tum vicina astris, Erycino in vertice sedes

Then, near to the stars, on the summit of Eryx, a temple

760

fundatur Veneri Idaliae, tumuloque sacerdos

is founded for Idalian Venus, and a priest and a grove,

ac lucus late sacer additur Anchiseo.

sacred far and wide, are added to the tomb of Anchises.

Iamque dies epulata novem gens omnis, et aris

And now for nine days all the people had feasted, and to the altars

factus honos: placidi straverunt aequora venti,

honor was paid: gentle winds smoothed the seas,

creber et adspirans rursus vocat Auster in altum.

and the frequent blowing South wind calls them again into the deep.

765

Exoritur procurva ingens per litora fletus;

A vast weeping arises along the curved shores;

complexi inter se noctemque diemque morantur.

embracing each other, they linger through both night and day.

Ipsae iam matres, ipsi, quibus aspera quondam

Now the mothers themselves, and those very men to whom formerly

visa maris facies et non tolerabile nomen,

the face of the sea seemed harsh and its name intolerable,

ire volunt, omnemque fugae perferre laborem.

wish to go, and to endure all the labor of the journey.

770

Quos bonus Aeneas dictis solatur amicis,

Whom good Aeneas consoles with friendly words,

et consanguineo lacrimans commendat Acestae.

and weeping commends them to his kinsman Acestes.

Tris Eryci vitulos et Tempestatibus agnam

Then he orders three calves to be sacrificed to Eryx and a lamb to the Tempests,

caedere deinde iubet, solvique ex ordine funem.

and the rope to be untied in order.

Ipse, caput tonsae foliis evinctus olivae,

He himself, his head bound with leaves of trimmed olive,

775

stans procul in prora pateram tenet, extaque salsos

standing apart on the prow holds a goblet, and casts the entrails

proiicit in fluctus ac vina liquentia fundit.

into the salty waves and pours liquid wine.

Prosequitur surgens a puppi ventus euntes.

A wind rising from the stern pursues them as they go.

Certatim socii feriunt mare et aequora verrunt.

Emulously the companions strike the sea and sweep the waters.

At Venus interea Neptunum exercita curis

But Venus meanwhile, exercised with cares, addresses

780

adloquitur, talesque effundit pectore questus:

Neptune, and pours forth such complaints from her breast:

Iunonis gravis ira nec exsaturabile pectus

”The heavy wrath and insatiable breast of Juno

cogunt me, Neptune, preces descendere in omnes;

compel me, Neptune, to descend to all entreaties;

quam nec longa dies, pietas nec mitigat ulla,

which neither length of time nor any piety softens,

nec Iovis imperio fatisque infracta quiescit.

nor does it rest, unsubdued by the command of Jupiter and the fates.

785

Non media de gente Phrygum exedisse nefandis

It is not enough for her to have devoured the city from the midst of the Phrygian race

urbem odiis satis est, nec poenam traxe⁴ per omnem:

by her unspeakable hatred, nor to have dragged it through every punishment:

reliquias Troiae, cineres atque ossa peremptae

she pursues the remnants of Troy, the ashes and bones of the destroyed;

insequitur: causas tanti sciat illa furoris.

let her know the causes of such great madness.

Ipse mihi nuper Libycis tu testis in undis

You yourself are my witness recently on the Libyan waters

790

quam molem subito excierit: maria omnia caelo

what a mass she suddenly raised: she mixed all the seas with the sky,

miscuit, Aeoliis nequiquam freta procellis,

trusting in vain to the Aeolian storms,

in regnis hoc ausa tuis.

daring this in your own realms.”

Syntax notes4 items

5.717sine
The imperative form of the verb sinere ('to allow, let'). It governs the subjunctive habeant without ut, meaning 'let them have'.
5.723effundere
Although it can be interpreted as a historical infinitive taking 'facies' as its subject, it is syntactically smoother to construe it as an infinitive depending on 'visa [est]' ('seemed to pour forth').
5.731debellanda tibi Latio est
The gerundive construction 'debellanda [est]' expresses necessity. The dative 'tibi' denotes the agent, and 'Latio' is an ablative of place where ('in Latium') with the preposition omitted.
5.786traxe
A poetic syncopated form of the perfect active infinitive 'traxisse'.

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-22)urn:cts:latinLit:phi0690.phi003.humanitext-lat2:5.716-5.792