Silvia's Stag Wounded and Outbreak of War — Virgil, Aeneid Book 7 (lines 487–567), Latin & English

487

Adsuetum¹ imperiis soror omni Silvia cura

Accustomed to her commands, her sister Silvia, with all her care,

mollibus intexens ornabat cornua sertis

decorated its horns, weaving them with soft garlands,

pectebatque ferum puroque in fonte lavabat.

and combed the wild beast and washed it in the pure spring.

490

Ille, manum patiens mensaeque adsuetus erili,

It, enduring a hand and accustomed to its master’s table,

errabat silvis rursusque ad limina nota

wandered in the woods, and again to the well-known threshold

ipse domum sera quamvis se nocte ferebat.

of its home it would betake itself, however late at night.

Hunc procul errantem rabidae venantis Iuli

As it wandered far, the rabid dogs of the hunting Iulus

commovere canes, fluvio cum forte secundo

startled it, when by chance down the stream

495

deflueret ripaque aestus viridante levaret.

it was floating and relieving the heat on the green bank.

Ipse etiam, eximiae laudis succensus amore,

Ascanius himself also, inflamed with love for outstanding praise,

Ascanius curvo direxit spicula cornu;

aimed his arrows from his curved bow;

nec dextrae erranti deus afuit,² actaque multo

nor was a god absent from his hand, which might have erred, and driven with

perque uterum sonitu perque ilia venit harundo.

a great sound, the reed came through both its belly and its flanks.

500

Saucius at quadrupes nota intra tecta refugit

But the wounded four-footed beast fled back within the familiar house,

successitque gemens stabulis questuque cruentus

and groaning entered the stalls, and bloody with lament,

atque imploranti similis tectum omne replebat.

and like one imploring, filled the whole house.

Silvia prima soror, palmis percussa lacertos,³

Silvia, its sister, first, beating her arms with her palms,

auxilium vocat et duros conclamat agrestis.

calls for help and summons the hardy rustics.

505

Olli, pestis enim tacitis latet aspera silvis,

They—for the fierce pestilence lurks in the silent woods—

inprovisi adsunt, hic torre armatus obusto,

appear unexpectedly, one armed with a burnt brand,

stipitis hic gravidi nodis: quod cuique repertum

another with the knots of a heavy club; what was found by each as he

rimanti, telum ira facit. Vocat agmina Tyrrhus,

searched, anger makes a weapon. Tyrrhus calls his bands,

quadrifidam quercum cuneis ut forte coactis

just as by chance he was splitting a four-cleft oak

510

scindebat, rapta spirans immane securi.

with wedges driven in, snatching his axe and breathing terrible rage.

At saeva e speculis tempus dea nacta nocendi

But the cruel goddess, having found from her watch-tower the time for harming,

ardua tecta petit stabuli et de culmine summo

seeks the steep roof of the stall, and from the highest summit

pastorale canit signum cornuque recurvo

sounds the pastoral signal, and on her curved horn

Tartaream intendit vocem, qua protinus omne

stretches her Tartarean voice, at which immediately the whole

515

contremuit nemus et silvae insonuere profundae;

forest trembled and the deep woods re-echoed;

audiit et Triviae longe lacus, audiit amnis

the lake of Trivia heard it far off, the river Nar

sulfurea Nar albus aqua fontesque Velini,

with its white sulfurous water heard it, and the springs of Velinus,

et trepidae matres pressere ad pectora natos.

and trembling mothers pressed their children to their breasts.

Tum vero ad vocem celeres, qua bucina signum

Then indeed, swift at the sound where the dread trumpet

520

dira dedit, raptis concurrunt undique telis

gave the signal, the untamed husbandmen run together from all sides with snatched weapons;

indomiti agricolae; nec non et Troïa pubes

and no less do the Trojan youth

Ascanio auxilium castris effundit apertis.

pour forth help to Ascanius from the opened camp.

Direxere acies. Non iam certamine agresti,

They drew up their lines. No longer is it waged in rustic combat

stipitibus duris agitur sudibusve praeustis,

with hard clubs or burnt stakes,

525

sed ferro ancipiti decernunt atraque late

but with two-edged iron they decide, and a dark harvest

horrescit strictis seges ensibus aeraque fulgent

of drawn swords bristles far and wide, and the bronzes gleam,

sole lacessita et lucem sub nubila iactant:

struck by the sun, and cast their light beneath the clouds:

fluctus uti primo coepit cum albescere vento,

just as when a wave begins to whiten at the first wind,

paulatim sese tollit mare et altius undas

the sea gradually raises itself and lifts its waves higher,

530

erigit, inde imo consurgit ad aethera fundo.

and then rises from its lowest depths to the heavens.

Hic iuvenis primam ante aciem stridente sagitta,

Here, before the front line, by a whizzing arrow,

natorum Tyrrhi fuerat qui maximus, Almo,

the young Almo, who had been the eldest of Tyrrhus’ sons,

sternitur; haesit enim sub gutture volnus et udae

is laid low; for the wound stuck fast beneath his throat, and blocked

vocis iter tenuemque inclusit sanguine vitam.

the path of his moist voice and his thin life with blood.

535

Corpora multa virum circa seniorque Galaesus,

Many bodies of men fall around him, and the aged Galaesus,

dum paci medium se offert, iustissimus unus

while he offers himself as a mediator for peace, who was

qui fuit Ausoniisque olim ditissimus arvis:

once the most just and wealthiest in the Ausonian fields:

quinque greges illi balantum, quina redibant

five flocks of bleating sheep were his, five herds of cattle

armenta, et terram centum vertebat aratris.

returned to him, and he turned the earth with a hundred plows.

540

Atque ea per campos aequo dum Marte geruntur,

And while these things are done through the plains in equal battle,

promissi dea facta potens,⁴ ubi sanguine bellum

the goddess, having made herself master of her promise, when she has

imbuit et primae commisit funera pugnae,

stained the war with blood and brought death in the first fight,

deserit Hesperiam et caeli convexa per auras

leaves Hesperia and, flying through the air of the vault of heaven,

Iunonem victrix adfatur voce superba:

addresses Juno as a victress with proud voice:

545

En, perfecta tibi bello discordia tristi:

’Behold, discord is perfected for you in grim war:

dic in amicitiam coeant⁵ et foedera iungant.

tell them to come into friendship and join alliances!

Quando quidem Ausonio respersi sanguine Teucros,

Since indeed I have sprinkled the Trojans with Ausonian blood,

hoc etiam his addam, tua si mihi certa voluntas:

I will add this also to these things, if your will is certain to me:

finitimas in bella feram rumoribus urbes

I will lead the neighboring cities into wars with rumors

550

accendamque animos insani Martis amore,

and inflame their minds with the love of mad war,

undique ut auxilio veniunt; spargam arma per agros.

so that they come from all sides for help; I will scatter arms through the fields.’

Tum contra Iuno; Terrorum et fraudis abunde est;

Then Juno in reply:

stant belli causae, pugnatur comminus armis,

’Of terrors and fraud there is enough;

quae fors prima dedit sanguis novus imbuit arma.

the causes of war stand, they fight hand-to-hand with weapons,

555

Talia coniugia et talis celebrent hymenaeos

and the arms which chance first gave, new blood has stained.

egregium Veneris genus et rex ipse Latinus.

Let the outstanding offspring of Venus and king Latinus himself

Te super aetherias errare licentius auras

celebrate such marriages and such hymeneals.

haud pater ille velit, summi regnator Olympi:

That father, the ruler of highest Olympus, would not wish

cede locis; ego, siqua super fortuna laborum est,

you to wander too freely in the upper air;

560

ipsa regam. Talis dederat Saturnia voces.

depart from these places; I, if any fortune of labors remains,

Illa autem attollit stridentis anguibus alas

will manage it myself.’ Such words the daughter of Saturn had given.

Cocytique petit sedem, supera ardua linquens.

But she raises her wings, hissing with snakes,

Est locus Italiae medio sub montibus altis,

and seeks the home of Cocytus, leaving the high heights above.

nobilis et fama multis memoratus in oris,

There is a place in the middle of Italy under high mountains,

565

Amsancti valles: densis hunc frondibus atrum

noble and celebrated by fame in many lands,

urguet utrimque latus nemoris, medioque fragosus

the valleys of Amsanctus: a side of the forest, dark with dense foliage,

dat sonitum saxis et torto vertice torrens.

hems it in on both sides, and in the middle a roaring torrent gives a sound with rocks and a twisting whirlpool.

+ extra markers: 7.568 (translation introduced markers absent in the source; merged into this section)

Syntax notes5 items

7.487Adsuetum
Adsuetum (acc. sing. masc.) agrees with the omitted noun cervum (the stag) from the previous context.
7.498nec dextrae erranti deus afuit
The double negation (nec ... afuit, literally "nor was a god absent") functions as a strong affirmation: "a god aided his erring right hand."
7.503percussa lacertos
The perfect passive participle percussa is used in a middle/reflexive sense, taking the Greek accusative of specification lacertos ("beating her own arms").
7.541promissi dea facta potens
The adjective potens governs the genitive promissi (that which was promised), meaning "having made herself master of her promise" or "having fulfilled her promise."
7.546dic in amicitiam coeant
The imperative dic is followed by the subjunctive coeant and iungant with the omission of the conjunction ut, forming an indirect command ("tell them to come into friendship").

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-22)urn:cts:latinLit:phi0690.phi003.humanitext-lat2:7.487-7.567