The Oracle of Faunus and Fulfilled Prophecy — Virgil, Aeneid Book 7 (lines 83–163), Latin & English

consulit Albunea,¹ nemorum quae maxima sacro

He consults Albunea, which, greatest of the groves,

fonte sonat saevamque exhalat opaca mephitim.

resounds with its sacred fountain and, dark, exhales a savage pestilential vapor.

Hinc Italae gentes omnisque Oenotria tellus

Hence the Italian nations and all the Oenotrian land

in dubiis responsa petunt; huc dona sacerdos

seek responses in doubtful times; hither when the priest

cum tulit et caesarum ovium sub nocte silenti

has brought gifts and, under the silent night,

pellibus incubuit stratis somnosque petivit,

has lain down on the spread skins of slaughtered sheep and sought sleep,

multa modis simulacra videt volitantia miris

he sees many phantoms flitting in wondrous ways,

et varias audit voces fruiturque deorum

and hears various voices, and enjoys the conversation

conloquio atque imis Acheronta adfatur Avernis.

of the gods, and addresses Acheron in the depths of Avernus.

Hic et tum pater ipse petens responsa Latinus

Here then also father Latinus himself, seeking responses,

centum lanigeras mactabat rite bidentis

was ritually sacrificing a hundred wool-bearing sheep,

atque harum effultus tergo stratisque iacebat

and, supported on their backs and lying on the spread

velleribus: subita ex alto vox reddita luco est:

fleeces, a sudden voice was returned from the deep grove:

Ne pete conubiis natam sociare Latinis,

”Do not seek to ally your daughter in Latin marriages,

O mea progenies, thalamis neu crede paratis:

O my offspring, nor trust in the prepared bridal-chambers:

externi venient generi, qui sanguine nostrum

foreign sons-in-law will come, who by their blood shall carry our

nomen in astra ferant quorumque a stirpe nepotes

name to the stars, and from whose stock descendants

100

omnia sub pedibus, qua Sol utrumque recurrens

shall see all things turned and ruled beneath their feet, wherever the recurring

aspicit Oceanum, vertique regique videbunt.²

Sun looks upon each Ocean.”

Haec responsa patris Fauni monitusque silenti

These responses of father Faunus and the warnings given

nocte datos non ipse suo premit ore Latinus,

in the silent night Latinus did not keep shut in his own mouth,

sed circum late volitans iam Fama per urbes

but Fame, already flying far and wide through the Ausonian

105

Ausonias tulerat, cum Laomedontia pubes

cities, had carried them, when the Laomedontian youth

gramineo ripae religavit ab aggere classem.

tied their fleet to the grassy mound of the river-bank.

Aeneas primique duces et pulcher Iulus

Aeneas, the chief leaders, and beautiful Iulus

corpora sub ramis deponunt arboris altae

lay their bodies down beneath the branches of a tall tree,

instituuntque dapes et adorea liba per herbam

and arrange a feast, and place wheaten cakes along the grass

110

subiciunt epulis (sic Iuppiter ipse monebat)

beneath the food (so Jupiter himself advised),

et Cereale solum pomis agrestibus augent.

and crown this wheaten base with wild fruits.

Consumptis hic forte aliis ut vertere morsus

Here, when the other things were by chance consumed, as the scarcity of food

exiguam in Cererem penuria adegit³ edendi

drove them to turn their teeth upon the scanty Ceres,

et violare manu malisque audacibus orbem

and to violate with their hands and bold jaws the circle

115

fatalis crusti patulis nec parcere quadris:

of the fateful crust, and not to spare the broad quarters:

Heus! etiam mensas consumimus, inquit Iulus,

”Ho! are we eating our tables too?” said Iulus,

nec plura adludens. Ea vox audita laborum

and jesting no further. This word, when heard,

prima tulit finem, primamque loquentis ab ore

first brought an end to their labors, and first did his father

eripuit pater ac stupefactus numine pressit.⁴

snatch it from the mouth of the speaker, and, astounded by the divine omen, stopped his speech.

120

Continuo: Salve fatis mihi debita tellus

Immediately: “Hail, O land owed to me by the fates,

vosque, ait, O fidi Troiae salvete penates:

and hail to you,” he says, “O faithful Penates of Troy:

hic domus, haec patria est. Genitor mihi talia namque

here is our home, this is our fatherland. For my father Anchises

(nunc repeto) Anchises fatorum arcana reliquit:

left to me such secrets of the fates (now I recall):

cum te, nate, fames ignota ad litora vectum

’When, my son, hunger shall compel you, carried to unknown shores,

125

accisis coget dapibus consumere mensas,

to consume your tables when food is exhausted,

tum sperare domos defessus ibique memento

then remember, though weary, to hope for homes, and there

prima locare manu molirique aggere tecta.

first to place dwellings with your hand and build them with a mound.’

Haec erat illa fames; haec nos suprema manebat,

This was that hunger; this supreme trial remained for us,

exiliis positura modum.

destined to set a limit to our exiles.

130

Quare agite et primo laeti cum lumine solis

Wherefore come, and joyful with the first light of the sun,

quae loca, quive habeant homines, ubi moenia gentis,

let us search out what places these are, or what men hold them, where the city of the nation is,

vestigemus et a portu diversa petamus.

and let us seek different directions from the harbor.

Nunc pateras libate Iovi precibusque vocate

Now pour libations from bowls to Jupiter, and call in prayer

Anchisen genitorem, et vina reponite mensis.

upon father Anchises, and replace the wine on the tables.”

135

Sic deinde effatus frondenti tempora ramo

Having thus spoken, he then wreaths his temples with a leafy

implicat et geniumque loci primamque deorum

branch, and prays to the genius of the place, and to Earth,

Tellurem nymphasque et adhuc ignota precatur

the first of the gods, and the nymphs, and the rivers still unknown;

flumina, tum Noctem Noctisque orientia signa

then he invokes Night and the rising stars of Night,

Idaeumque Iovem Phrygiamque ex ordine matrem

and Idaean Jupiter, and the Phrygian Mother in order,

140

invocat et duplicis caeloque ereboque parentis.

and his two parents in heaven and Erebus.

Hic pater omnipotens ter caelo clarus ab alto

Here the almighty Father thundered aloud three times from the high heaven,

intonuit radiisque ardentem lucis et auro

and himself, shaking it with his hand, showed from the sky a cloud

ipse manu quatiens ostendit ab aethere nubem.

burning with rays of light and gold.

Diditur hic subito Troiana per agmina rumor

Here suddenly a rumor is spread through the Trojan ranks

145

advenisse diem, quo debita moenia condant.

that the day has arrived on which they are to build their destined walls.

Certatim instaurant epulas atque omine magno

Eagerly they renew the feast, and joyful at the great omen,

crateras laeti statuunt et vina coronant.

they set up the mixing-bowls and crown the wines.

Postera cum prima lustrabat lampade terras

When the next day, having arisen, was illuminating the lands

orta dies, urbem et finis et litora gentis

with its first lamp, they explore the city, boundaries, and shores

150

diversi explorant: haec fontis stagna Numici,⁵

of the nation in different directions: [finding that] these are the pools of the fountain of Numicus,

hunc Thybrim fluvium, hic fortis habitare Latinos.

this is the river Tiber, here dwell the brave Latins.

Tum satus Anchisa delectos ordine ab omni

Then the son of Anchises orders a hundred envoys, chosen

centum oratores augusta ad moenia regis

from every rank, to go to the august walls of the king,

ire iubet, ramis velatos Palladis omnis,

all veiled with the branches of Pallas,

155

donaque ferre viro pacemque exposcere Teucris.

and to bear gifts to the hero and ask for peace for the Trojans.

Haud mora, festinant iussi rapidisque feruntur

No delay: being bidden they hasten, and are borne with rapid

passibus. Ipse humili designat moenia fossa

steps. He himself marks out the walls with a shallow ditch,

moliturque locum primasque in litore sedes

and works upon the place, and surrounds their first dwellings on the shore,

castrorum in morem pinnis atque aggere cingit.

after the manner of a camp, with battlements and a mound.

160

Iamque iter emensi turris ac tecta Latinorum

And now, having measured out their journey, the young men were beholding

ardua cernebant iuvenes muroque subibant.

the lofty towers and dwellings of the Latins, and were drawing near the wall.

Ante urbem pueri et primaevo flore iuventus

Before the city, boys and youth in their prime’s flower

exercentur equis domitantque in pulvere currus

are exercised with horses, and tame chariots in the dust.

Syntax notes5 items

7.83Albunea
The proper noun Albunea is here in the nominative feminine singular, functioning in apposition to the relative pronoun quae, or standing for the object of consulit in a poetic nominative-for-accusative construction (some manuscripts or editors treat it as an ablative of place without a preposition, but the nominative is preferred due to alignment with the relative clause).
7.101vertique regique videbunt
The passive present infinitives verti and regi belong to an accusative-and-infinitive (A.C.I.) construction depending on the verb of perception videbunt (whose subject is nepotes), with omnia acting as the subject accusative ('they shall see all things be turned and be ruled').
7.112ut vertere morsus ... adegit
The conjunction ut here introduces a temporal clause with the indicative perfect adegit ('when scarcity drove...'), while the infinitives vertere, violare, and parcere act as complementary infinitives depending on the transitive verb of compulsion adegit.
7.119pressit
The perfect form of the verb premo. It can either mean that Aeneas 'repressed' or 'stopped' the speech of Iulus (from the speaker's mouth), or that he 'held/pondered' the omen in his own heart, keeping silent in awe (stupefactus).
7.150haec fontis stagna Numici ...
The three parallel clauses (haec stagna esse..., hunc fluvium esse..., hic Latinos habitare) form an indirect discourse (A.C.I.) logically depending on the main verb of investigation explorant, with the copula esse elliptically omitted in the first two clauses.

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-lat2:7.83-7.163