Catalogue of Italian Chiefs and Contingents — Virgil, Aeneid Book 7 (lines 652–734), Latin & English

652

ducit Agyllina nequiquam ex urbe secutos

leads a thousand men who followed him in vain from the Agyllian city,

mille viros, dignus, patriis qui laetior esset¹

worthy to have been happier under his father’s

imperiis et cui pater haud Mezentius esset.

commands, and to have had someone other than Mezentius as a father.

655

Post hos insignem palma per gramina currum

After these, Aventinus, beautiful son born of beautiful Hercules,

victoresque ostentat equos satus Hercule pulchro

displays his chariot distinguished by the palm through the grass

pulcher Aventinus, clipeoque insigne paternum

and his victorious horses; and on his shield he bears his father’s device,

centum angues cinctamque gerit serpentibus hydram;

a hundred snakes and the hydra girt with serpents;

collis Aventini silva quem Rhea sacerdos

whom Rhea the priestess in the wood of the Aventine hill

660

furtivum partu sub luminis edidit oras,

brought forth by a secret birth into the borders of light,

mixta deo mulier, postquam Laurentia victor

a woman mingled with a god, after the victorious Tirynthian,

Geryone extincto Tirynthius attigit arva

Geryon having been slain, reached the Laurentian fields

Tyrrhenoque boves in flumine lavit Hiberas.

and bathed his Iberian cattle in the Tyrrhenian river.

Pila manu saevosque gerunt in bella dolones

They carry javelins in their hands and cruel daggers into battles,

665

et tereti pugnant mucrone veruque Sabello.

and they fight with a smooth point and the Sabellian dart.

Ipse pedes, tegumen torquens immane leonis,

He himself, on foot, shaking a huge lion’s skin,

terribili impexum saeta cum dentibus albis

with its terrible uncombed shaggy hair, put over his head

indutus capiti, sic regia tecta subibat,

with its white teeth, was thus entering the royal palace,

horridus, Herculeoque umeros innexus amictu.

dreadful, and his shoulders wrapped in the Herculean cloak.

670

Tum gemini fratres Tiburtia moenia linquunt,

Then twin brothers leave the Tiburtine walls,

fratris Tiburti dictam cognomine gentem,²

a people named after the cognomen of their brother Tiburtus,

Catillusque acerque Coras, Argiva iuventus,

Catillus and fierce Coras, Argive youth,

et primam ante aciem densa inter tela feruntur:

and they are carried before the first battle line among thick weapons:

ceu duo nubigenae cum vertice montis ab alto

as when two cloud-born Centaurs descend from the high

675

descendunt centauri, Homolen Othrymque nivalem

peak of a mountain, leaving Homole and snowy Othrys

linquentes cursu rapido; dat euntibus ingens

in rapid course; the vast wood gives place to them as they go,

silva locum et magno cedunt virgulta fragore.

and the thickets yield with a great crash.

Nec Praenestinae fundator defuit urbis,

Nor was the founder of the Praenestine city absent,

Volcano genitum pecora inter agrestia regem

Caeculus, whom every age believed to have been born to Vulcan

680

inventumque focis omnis quem credidit aetas

among the rustic herds and found by the hearth,

Caeculus. Hunc late legio comitatur agrestis:

a king. A rustic legion accompanies him far and wide:

quique altum Praeneste viri quique arva Gabinae

both the men who inhabit high Praeneste, and the fields of Gabine

Iunonis gelidumque Anienem et roscida rivis

Iunones, and the cold Anio, and the Hernician rocks

Hernica saxa colunt, quos dives Anagnia pascit,

dewy with streams, those whom rich Anagnia feeds,

685

quos, Amasene pater. Non illis omnibus arma,

and those whom you, father Amasenus, feed. Not all of them have weapons,

nec clipei currusve sonant: pars maxima glandes

nor do shields or chariots resound: the greatest part scatters bullets

liventis plumbi spargit, pars spicula gestat

of livid lead, a part carries two darts

bina manu, fulvosque lupi de pelle galeros

in hand, and they have yellow helmets from the skin of a wolf

tegmen habent capiti, vestigia nuda sinistri

as a covering for their head; they have set the sole of the left foot

690

instituere pedis, crudus tegit altera pero.

bare, and a raw hide boot covers the other.

At Messapus, equum domitor, Neptunia proles,

But Messapus, tamer of horses, offspring of Neptune,

quem neque fas igni cuiquam nec sternere ferro,

whom it is permitted for no one to overthrow by fire nor by steel,

iam pridem resides populos desuetaque bello

suddenly calls to arms peoples long inactive and columns

agmina in arma vocat subito ferrumque retractat.

unaccustomed to war, and handles the steel again.

695

Hi Fescenninas acies Aequosque Faliscos.

These hold the Fescennine ranks and the Aequi Falisci;

Hi Soractis habent arces Flaviniaque arva

these hold the heights of Soracte and the Flavinian fields,

et Cimini cum monte lacum lucosque Capenos.

and the lake of Ciminus with its mountain, and the groves of Capena.

Ibant aequati numero regemque canebant,

They went keeping equal step in number and sang of their king,

ceu quondam nivei liquida inter nubila cycni,

as sometimes snowy swans among the clear clouds,

700

cum sese e pastu referunt et longa canoros

when they return from pasture and give melodious measures

dant per colla modos, sonat amnis et Asia longe

through their long necks; the river resounds and the Asian marsh

pulsa palus.

struck from afar.

Nec quisquam aeratas acies ex agmine tanto

Nor would anyone think that bronze battle lines from so great an army

misceri putet,³ aeriam sed gurgite ab alto

were being mixed, but that an aerial cloud of hoarse birds

705

urgueri volucrum raucarum ad litora nubem.

was being driven from the deep gulf to the shores.

Ecce Sabinorum prisco de sanguine magnum

Behold, Clausus, from the ancient blood of the Sabines,

agmen agens Clausus magnique ipse agminis instar,⁴

leading a great army, and himself like a great army,

Claudia nunc a quo diffunditur et tribus et gens

from whom now both the Claudian tribe and family is diffused

per Latium, postquam in partem data Roma Sabinis.

through Latium, after Rome was given in part to the Sabines.

710

Una ingens Amiterna cohors priscique Quirites,

With him the huge Amiternian cohort and the ancient Quirites,

Ereti manus omnis oliviferaeque Mutuscae;

all the band of Eretum and olive-bearing Mutusca;

qui Nomentum urbem, qui Rosea rura Velini,

those who inhabit the city of Nomentum, the Rosean fields of Velinus,

qui Tetricae horrentis rupes montemque Severum

those who inhabit the crags of rugged Tetrica and Mount Severus,

Casperiamque colunt Forulosque et flumen Himellae,

and Casperia and Foruli and the river of Himella;

715

qui Tiberim Fabarimque bibunt, quos frigida misit

those who drink the Tiber and Fabaris, those whom cold Nursia

Nursia, et Hortinae classes populique Latini,

sent, and the Hortine fleets and the Latin peoples,

quosque secans infaustum interluit Allia nomen:

and those whom Allia, cutting through, flows between, an ill-omened name:

quam multi Libyco volvuntur marmore fluctus

as many as the waves that are rolled on the Libyan sea

saevus ubi Orion hibernis conditur undis;

when fierce Orion is hidden in the wintry waters;

720

vel cum sole novo densae torrentur aristae

or when dense ears of corn are scorched by the new sun

aut Hermi campo aut Lyciae flaventibus arvis.

either in the plain of Hermus or in the yellow fields of Lycia.

Scuta sonant pulsuque pedum conterrita tellus.

Shields resound, and the earth is terrified by the beat of feet.

Hinc Agamemnonius, Troiani nominis hostis,

Next Halaesus, of Agamemnon’s line, enemy of the Trojan name,

curru iungit Halaesus equos Turnoque ferocis

yokes his horses to his chariot and hurries a thousand fierce peoples

725

mille rapit populos, vertunt felicia Baccho

for Turnus: those who turn the Massic hills, fertile in Bacchus,

Massica qui rastris et quos de collibus altis

with rakes, and those whom the Auruncan fathers sent from the high

Aurunci misere patres, Sidicinaque iuxta

hills, and the Sidicine plains nearby,

aequora quique Cales linquunt, amnisque vadosi

and those who leave Cales, and the dweller of the shallow

accola Volturni, pariterque Saticulus asper

river Volturnus, and together the fierce Saticulan

730

Oscorumque manus. Teretes sunt aclydes illis

and the band of the Osci. Smooth light javelins are their

tela, sed haec lento mos est aptare flagello;

weapons, but it is their custom to attach these to a supple thong;

laevas caetra tegit, falcati comminus enses.

a small target shield covers their left arms, and they have falcated swords for close combat.

Nec tu carminibus nostris indictus abibis,⁵

Nor shall you depart unmentioned in our songs,

Oebale, quem generasse Telon Sebethide nympha

Oebalus, whom they say Telon begot of the nymph Sebethis.

Syntax notes5 items

7.653dignus, patriis qui laetior esset
A relative clause introduced by 'dignus', with the subjunctive 'esset' expressing a characteristic or fitness ('worthy to have been happier...').
7.671fratris Tiburti dictam cognomine gentem
Tiburti is the genitive of Tiburtus, in apposition with fratris. The noun gentem is in apposition with the object of the previous clause, Tiburtia moenia.
7.703Nec quisquam aeratas acies ex agmine tanto / misceri putet
The subjunctive 'putet' is a potential subjunctive ('nor would anyone think'). It governs the accusative and infinitive construction 'acies misceri'.
7.707magnique ipse agminis instar
The indeclinable noun 'instar' takes a genitive ('magni agminis') to express resemblance or equality ('himself the likeness of a great army').
7.733Nec tu carminibus nostris indictus abibis
An apostrophe addressed directly to Oebalus using the future tense 'abibis' ('nor shall you depart unmentioned'). A typical epic formula where the poet addresses a character.

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

2026-09-21 AI review — note 1

urn:cts:latinLit:phi0690.phi003.humanitext-lat2:7.652-7.734