Gathering under Turnus and the Warrior Maiden Camilla — Virgil, Aeneid Book 7 (lines 735–817), Latin & English

735

fertur,¹ Teleboum Capreas cum regna teneret,

He is said to have been begotten of the nymph Sebethis by Telon, when he held the kingdoms of the Teleboans of Capri,

iam senior; patriis sed non et filius arvis

already elderly; but his son, not content with his father’s lands,

contentus late iam tum dicione premebat

already then was pressing under his sway far and wide

Sarrastis populos et quae rigat aequora Sarnus

the Sarrastes peoples, and the plains which the Sarnus waters,

quique Rufras Batulumque tenent atque arva Celemnae

and those who hold Rufrae and Batulum and the fields of Celemna,

740

et quos maliferae despectant moenia Abellae,

and those whom the walls of apple-bearing Abella look down upon,

Teutonico ritu soliti torquere cateias,

accustomed in the Teutonic fashion to hurl the cateiae;

tegmina quis² capitum raptus de subere cortex,

for whom the coverings of their heads was bark stripped from the cork-tree,

aerataeque micant peltae, micat aereus ensis.

and their bronze shields gleam, and their bronze sword gleams.

Et te montosae misere in proelia Nersae,

And you, mountainous Nersae, sent into battles,

745

Ufens, insignem fama et felicibus armis;

Ufens, distinguished in fame and successful arms;

horrida praecipue cui³ gens adsuetaque multo

whose people was especially rugged and accustomed to much

venatu nemorum, duris Aequicula glaebis.

hunting of the woods, the Aequiculan with its harsh soil.

Armati terram exercent, semperque recentis

Armed they till the earth, and always to collect fresh

convectare iuvat praedas et vivere rapto.

booty pleases them, and to live by plunder.

750

Quin et Marruvia venit de gente sacerdos,

Nay even, there came a priest from the Marruvian nation,

fronde super galeam et felici comptus oliva.

his helmet adorned above with foliage and fertile olive,

Archippi regis missu, fortissimus Umbro,

sent by king Archippus, the most brave Umbro,

vipereo generi et graviter spirantibus hydris

who was accustomed to scatter sleep upon the viper breed and heavily

spargere qui somnos cantuque manuque solebat

breathing hydras with charm and hand,

755

mulcebatque iras et morsus arte levabat.

and was soothing their rages and curing their bites with art.

Sed non Dardaniae medicari cuspidis ictum

But he did not avail to cure the blow of the Dardanian spear-point,

evaluit, neque eum iuvere in volnera cantus

nor did sleep-bringing songs help him against wounds,

somniferi et Marsis quaesitae montibus herbae.

or herbs sought on the Marsian mountains.

Te nemus Angitiae, vitrea te Fucinus unda,

You, the grove of Angitia, you, Fucinus with glassy wave,

760

te liquidi flevere lacus.

you, the clear lakes wept for.

Ibat et Hippolyti proles pulcherrima bello,

There went also the most beautiful offspring of Hippolytus to the war,

Virbius, insignem quem mater Aricia misit,⁴

Virbius, whom, distinguished, his mother Aricia sent,

eductum Egeriae lucis umentia circum

reared around the moist shores in the groves of Egeria,

litora, pinguis ubi et placabilis ara Dianae.

where is the rich and placable altar of Diana.

765

Namque ferunt fama Hippolytum, postquam arte novercae

For they relate by report that Hippolytus, after by his stepmother’s art

occiderit patriasque explerit sanguine poenas

he died and satisfied his father’s vengeance with his blood,

turbatis distractus equis, ad sidera rursus

torn asunder by his frightened horses, came again to the ethereal

aetheria et superas caeli venisse sub auras,

stars and under the upper breezes of heaven,

Paeoniis revocatum herbis et amore Dianae.

recalled by Paeonian herbs and the love of Diana.

770

Tum pater omnipotens, aliquem indignatus ab umbris

Then the almighty father, indignant that any mortal should rise from the infernal

mortalem infernis ad lumina surgere vitae,

shades to the lights of life,

ipse repertorem medicinae talis et artis

himself with a thunderbolt thrust down the discoverer of such medicine and art,

fulmine Phoebigenam Stygias detrusit ad undas.

the son of Phoebus, to the Stygian waters.

At Trivia Hippolytum secretis alma recondit

But kind Trivia hides Hippolytus in secret

775

sedibus et nymphae Egeriae nemorique relegat,

dwellings and commits him to the nymph Egeria and her grove,

solus ubi in silvis Italis ignobilis aevom

where alone in the Italian woods, ignoble, he might spend his life

exigeret versoque ubi nomine Virbius esset.

and where, with name changed, he should be Virbius.

Unde etiam templo Triviae lucisque sacratis

Whence also from the temple of Trivia and her consecrated groves

cornipedes arcentur equi, quod litore currum

horn-footed horses are barred, because on the shore, frightened by marine monsters,

780

et iuvenem monstris pavidi effudere marinis.

they overturned the chariot and the youth.

Filius ardentis haud setius aequore campi

His son, no less, was training swift horses on the level of the burning plain

exercebat equos curruque in bella ruebat.

and was rushing into battles in his chariot.

Ipse inter primos praestanti corpore Turnus

Turnus himself, of outstanding body, moves among the foremost,

vertitur arma tenens et toto vertice supra est.

holding arms, and is above them by a whole head.

785

Cui triplici crinita iuba galea alta Chimaeram

Whose high helmet, plumed with a triple crest, supports the Chimaera,

sustinet, Aetnaeos efflantem faucibus ignis:

breathing Aetnean fires from its jaws;

tam magis⁵ illa fremens et tristibus effera flammis,

she, the more raging and wild with baleful flames,

quam magis effuso crudescunt sanguine pugnae.

the more the battles grow fierce with blood shed.

At levem clipeum sublatis cornibus Io

But Io with uplifted horns in gold adorned his polished

790

auro insignibat, iam saetis obsita, iam bos

shield, already covered with bristles, already a cow

(argumentum ingens), et custos virginis Argus

(a mighty device), and Argus, the guardian of the maiden,

caelataque amnem fundens pater Inachus urna.

and father Inachus pouring a river from his engraved urn.

Insequitur nimbus peditum clipeataque totis

A cloud of infantry follows, and shielded columns

agmina densentur campis, Argivaque pubes

are packed in all the plains, and the Argive youth

795

Auruncaeque manus, Rutuli veteresque Sicani

and Auruncan bands, Rutulians and ancient Sicanians,

et Sacranae acies et picti scuta Labici;

and Sacranian ranks and Labicians with painted shields;

qui saltus, Tiberine, tuos sacrumque Numici

those who plough your glades, Tiber, and the sacred shore

litus arant Rutulosque exercent vomere colles

of Numicus, and work the Rutulian hills with the ploughshare,

Circaeumque iugum, quis Iuppiter Anxurus arvis

and the Circaean ridge, over whose fields Jupiter Anxurus

800

praesidet et viridi gaudens Feronia luco;

presides, and Feronia rejoicing in her green grove;

qua Saturae iacet atra palus gelidusque per imas

where lies the black marsh of Satura, and cold Ufens

quaerit iter vallis atque in mare conditur Ufens.

seeks its way through the deepest valleys and is buried in the sea.

Hos super advenit Volsca de gente Camilla

Above these comes Camilla of the Volscian nation,

agmen agens equitum et florentis aere catervas,

leading a column of cavalry and squadrons gleaming with bronze,

805

bellatrix, non illa colo calathisve Minervae

a warrior-maid, she not accustomed her woman’s hands to the distaff or baskets

femineas adsueta manus, sed proelia virgo

of Minerva, but a virgin accustomed to endure hard

dura pati cursuque pedum praevertere ventos.

battles and to outstrip the winds in the race of her feet.

Illa vel intactae segetis per summa volaret

She would either fly along the top of the standing corn

gramina nec teneras cursu laesisset⁶ aristas,

and not have harmed the tender ears in her course,

810

vel mare per medium fluctu suspensa tumenti

or she would make her way through the middle of the sea, suspended on the swelling wave,

ferret iter celeris nec tingueret aequore plantas.

and not dip her swift soles in the water.

Illam omnis tectis agrisque effusa iuventus

At her all the youth pouring out from houses and fields

turbaque miratur matrum et prospectat euntem,

and the crowd of mothers marvels and gazes at her as she goes,

attonitis inhians animis, ut regius ostro

gaping with astonished minds, how the royal honour of purple

815

velet honos levis umeros, ut fibula crinem

veils her smooth shoulders, how the clasp binds her hair

auro internectat, Lyciam ut gerat⁷ ipsa pharetram

with gold, how she herself bears a Lycian quiver

et pastoralem praefixa cuspide myrtum.

and a pastoral myrtle tipped with a spearhead.

Syntax notes7 items

7.735fertur
An impersonal verb indicating hearsay. The subject of this clause is Oebalus from the previous line, indicating that Telon is said to have begotten him. The temporal clause cum... teneret is inserted, forming the overall structure 'he is said [to have been begotten] when Telon held...'.
7.742quis
An archaic contracted form of the relative pronoun quibus, functioning here as a dative of possession ('to whom the coverings of their heads were...').
7.746cui
The dative of the relative pronoun qui. Here it refers to Ufens as a dative of possession or reference, forming the construction 'whose people (to whom the people) was...'.
7.762insignem quem mater Aricia misit
Aricia is generally a place name, but here it is personified as the subject 'mother Aricia sent'. insignem is a predicative adjective agreeing with the relative pronoun quem.
7.787tam magis ... quam magis
A comparative formula indicating proportion (a variation of eo magis ... quo magis). It expresses a correlation: 'the more the battles grow fierce, the more she (the Chimaera) rages'.
7.808volaret ... laesisset
A mixture of the imperfect subjunctive (volaret, ferret) and the pluperfect subjunctive (laesisset). This represents a potential or contrary-to-fact conditional construction expressing a hypothetical, highly poetic action ('she would fly... and not have harmed...').
7.814ut regius ostro ... velet ... ut ... internectat ... ut gerat
The subjunctives velet, internectat, and gerat introduce indirect questions dependent on prospectat and attonitis inhians animis ('gazing and gaping with astonished minds'), meaning 'gazing at how the royal honour veils...'.

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-22)urn:cts:latinLit:phi0690.phi003.humanitext-lat2:7.735-7.817