Evander's Prayer and the Arms Presented by Venus — Virgil, Aeneid Book 8 (lines 568–647), Latin & English

568

non ego nunc dulci amplexu divellerer usquam,¹

I would not now be torn away from your sweet embrace anywhere,

nate, tuo, neque finitimo Mezentius umquam

my son, nor would Mezentius ever, insulting this head of mine,

570

huic capiti insultans tot ferro saeva dedisset

have caused so many cruel deaths by the sword,

funera, tam multis viduasset civibus urbem.

or deprived the city of so many citizens.

At vos, o superi, et divom tu maxume rector

But you, O gods above, and you, supreme ruler of the gods,

Iuppiter, Arcadii, quaeso, miserescite regis

Jupiter, pity, I pray, the Arcadian king,

et patrias audite preces. Si numina vestra

and hear a father’s prayers. If your divine will,

575

incolumem Pallanta mihi, si fata reservant,

if the fates preserve Pallas safe for me,

si visurus eum vivo et venturus in unum:²

if I live destined to see him and to come together as one:

vitam oro, patior quemvis durare laborem.

I pray for life, I agree to endure any hardship.

Sin aliquem infandum casum, Fortuna, minaris:

But if you, Fortune, threaten some unspeakable disaster:

nunc O nunc liceat crudelem abrumpere vitam,

now, O now let it be permitted to break off this cruel life,

580

dum curae ambiguae, dum spes incerta futuri,

while anxieties are doubtful, while hope of the future is uncertain,

dum te, care puer, mea sera et sola voluptas,

while I hold you, dear boy, my late and only pleasure,

complexu teneo, gravior neu nuntius auris

in my embrace, and let no heavier news wound my ears.”

volneret. Haec genitor digressu dicta supremo

These words the father at their last parting

fundebat: famuli conlapsum in tecta ferebant.

poured forth; his servants carried him, collapsed, into the house.

585

Iamque adeo exierat portis equitatus apertis,

And now indeed the cavalry had gone out from the opened gates,

Aeneas inter primos et fidus Achates,

Aeneas among the first and faithful Achates,

inde alii Troiae proceres, ipse agmine Pallas

then other leaders of Troy, Pallas himself in the center

in medio chlamyde et pictis conspectus in armis:

of the column, conspicuous in his cloak and painted armor:

qualis ubi Oceani perfusus Lucifer unda,

just as when the Morning Star, bathed in the wave of Ocean,

590

quem Venus ante alios astrorum diligit ignis,

whom Venus loves above other fires of the stars,

extulit os sacrum caelo tenebrasque resolvit.

has raised his sacred face to the sky and dissolved the darkness.

Stant pavidae in muris matres oculisque sequuntur

Terrified mothers stand on the walls and follow with their eyes

pulveream nubem et fulgentis aere catervas.

the dusty cloud and the squadrons shining with bronze.

Olli per dumos, qua proxuma meta viarum,

They march through the thickets, where the path is nearest to their destination,

595

armati tendunt; it clamor, et agmine facto

in arms; a shout arises, and with the column formed

quadrupedante putrem sonitu quatit ungula campum.

the hoof shakes the crumbling plain with a four-footed sound.

Est ingens gelidum lucus prope Caeritis amnem,

There is a huge, cold grove near the stream of Caere,

religione patrum late sacer; undique colles

sacred far and wide by the devotion of the ancestors; hollow hills on all sides

inclusere cavi et nigra nemus abiete cingunt.

have enclosed it and encircle the grove with black fir trees.

600

Silvano fama est veteres sacrasse Pelasgos,

There is a legend that the ancient Pelasgians consecrated to Silvanus,

arvorum pecorisque deo, lucumque diemque,

the god of fields and flocks, both the grove and the day,

qui primi finis aliquando habuere Latinos:

who were the first to hold the Latin borders once upon a time.

haud procul hinc Tarcho et Tyrrheni tuta tenebant

Not far from here Tarchon and the Tyrrhenians were holding

castra locis, celsoque omnis de colle videri

their safe camp in the terrain, and now from the high hill all

605

iam poterat legio et latis tendebat in arvis.

the legion could be seen and was stretching out in the wide fields.

Huc pater Aeneas et bello lecta iuventus

To this place father Aeneas and the youth chosen for war

succedunt fessique et equos et corpora curant.

come, and, weary, they take care of their horses and their bodies.

At Venus aetherios inter dea candida nimbos

But Venus, the bright goddess among the heavenly clouds,

dona ferens aderat; natumque in valle reducta

was present bringing gifts; and when she saw her son in a secluded valley

610

ut procul egelido secretum flumine vidit,

withdrawn far off by the cold stream,

talibus adfata est dictis seque obtulit ultro:

she addressed him with such words and offered herself of her own accord:

En perfecta mei promissa coniugis arte

”Behold the gifts completed by the art of my husband,

munera, ne mox aut Laurentis, nate, superbos

the promised ones, so that you may not hesitate soon, my son,

aut acrem dubites in proelia poscere Turnum.

to challenge either the proud Laurentines or fierce Turnus to battle.”

615

Dixit et amplexus nati Cytherea petivit,

Cytherea spoke and sought the embrace of her son,

arma sub adversa posuit radiantia quercu.

and placed the shining armor under an oak tree opposite him.

Ille, deae donis et tanto laetus honore,

He, rejoicing in the gifts of the goddess and in so great an honor,

expleri nequit atque oculos per singula volvit

cannot be satisfied and rolls his eyes over each single piece,

miraturque interque manus et bracchia versat

and admires and turns them over between his hands and arms:

620

terribilem cristis galeam flammasque vomentem

the helmet, terrifying with its crests and spewing flames,

fatiferumque ensem, loricam ex aere rigentem

and the death-dealing sword, the corselet stiff with bronze,

sanguineam ingentem, qualis cum caerula nubes

blood-red and immense, just as when a dark cloud

solis inardescit radiis longeque refulget;

glows with the rays of the sun and shines far off;

tum levis ocreas electro auroque recocto

then the light greaves of electrum and refined gold,

625

hastamque et clipei non enarrabile textum.

and the spear, and the shield’s indescribable texture.

Illic res Italas Romanorumque triumphos

There the Italian history and the triumphs of the Romans

haud vatum ignarus venturique inscius aevi

by no means ignorant of the prophets or unknowing of the age to come

fecerat ignipotens, illic genus omne futurae

had the Lord of Fire made; there all the lineage of the future

stirpis ab Ascanio. pugnataque in ordine bella.

stock from Ascanius, and the wars fought in order.

630

Fecerat et viridi fetam Mavortis in antro

He had also made the mother wolf, having recently given birth, in the green cave

procubuisse lupam, geminos huic ubera circum

of Mars, lie down; around her udders the twin

ludere pendentis pueros et lambere matrem

boys were playing, hanging, and were licking their mother

impavidos, illam tereti cervice reflexa

fearlessly; she, with her smooth neck bent back,

mulcere alternos et corpora fingere lingua.

was caressing them in turn and shaping their bodies with her tongue.

635

Nec procul hinc Romam et raptas sine more Sabinas

Not far from here he had added Rome and the Sabine women carried off without law

consessu caveae magnis circensibus actis

from the assembly in the seating when the great games of the circus were held,

addiderat subitoque novum consurgere bellum

and suddenly a new war arising

Romulidis Tatioque seni Curibusque severis.

for the sons of Romulus and old Tatius and the severe Cures.

Post idem inter se posito certamine reges

Afterward, the same kings, having laid aside their strife,

640

armati Iovis ante aram paterasque tenentes

were standing armed before the altar of Jupiter, holding bowls,

stabant et caesa iungebant foedera porca.

and were joining treaties over a sacrificed sow.

Haud procul inde citae Mettum in diversa quadrigae

Not far from there swift chariots had torn Mettius apart in different directions,

distulerant, at tu dictis, Albane, maneres,³

but you, O Alban, should have stood by your words!

raptabatque viri mendacis viscera Tullus

and Tullus was dragging the viscera of the deceitful man

645

per silvam, et sparsi rorabant sanguine vepres.

through the forest, and the scattered briars were dripping with blood.

Nec non Tarquinium eiectum Porsenna iubebat

And also Porsenna was ordering them to receive the exiled Tarquin,

accipere ingentique urbem obsidione premebat:

and was pressing the city with a huge siege:

Syntax notes3 items

8.568non ego nunc dulci amplexu divellerer usquam
A counterfactual apodosis continuing from the condition introduced by si in line 560 (O mihi... referat). The imperfect subjunctive divellerer represents an unfulfilled counterfactual state in the present tense ("I would not now be torn away"), which contrasts with the following pluperfect subjunctives dedisset and viduasset indicating past counterfactual events.
8.576si visurus eum vivo et venturus in unum
The future active participles visurus and venturus modify the first-person singular present indicative vivo. They indicate destiny or intention, forming a conditional clause with a sense of hopeful expectation ("if I live destined to see him and to come together"). The phrase in unum functions adverbially to mean "to the same place" or "together."
8.643at tu dictis, Albane, maneres
An apostrophe addressed by the poet to the treacherous Alban, Mettius. The imperfect subjunctive maneres is used here to express an unfulfilled obligation or a regret concerning past action ("you ought to have stood by your words" or "you should have remained true").

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-22)urn:cts:latinLit:phi0690.phi003.humanitext-lat2:8.568-8.647