The Battle of Actium and Aeneas Lifting the Shield — Virgil, Aeneid Book 8 (lines 648–731), Latin & English

648

Aeneadae in ferrum pro libertate ruebant.

The descendants of Aeneas were rushing into battle for their liberty.

Illum indignanti similem similemque minanti

You would have seen him, like one who is indignant and like one who threatens,

650

aspiceres,¹ pontem auderet quia vellere Cocles

because Cocles dared to tear down the bridge,

et fluvium vinclis innaret Cloelia ruptis.

and Cloelia, having broken her chains, was swimming across the river.

In summo custos Tarpeiae Manlius arcis

At the top of the shield, Manlius, the guard of the Tarpeian citadel,

stabat pro templo et Capitolia celsa tenebat,

was standing before the temple and was holding the high Capitol,

Romuleoque recens horrebat regia culmo.

and the palace was rough, fresh with Romulean thatch.

655

Atque hic auratis volitans argenteus anser

And here a silver goose, flying through the golden

porticibus Gallos in limine adesse canebat.

porticoes, was singing that the Gauls were present at the threshold.

Galli per dumos aderant arcemque tenebant,

The Gauls were present through the thickets and were holding the citadel,

defensi tenebris et dono noctis opacae:

protected by the darkness and the gift of the dark night:

aurea caesaries ollis atque aurea vestis,

their hair was golden and their clothing was golden,

660

virgatis lucent sagulis, tum lactea colla

they shine in their striped cloaks, then their milk-white necks

auro innectuntur, duo quisque Alpina coruscant

are bound with gold, each of them brandishes two Alpine

gaesa manu, scutis protecti corpora² longis.

javelins in his hand, their bodies protected by long shields.

Hic exsultantis Salios nudosque Lupercos

Here he had forged the dancing Salii and the naked Luperci,

lanigerosque apices et lapsa ancilia caelo

and the woolly caps, and the shields that fell from heaven;

665

extuderat, castae ducebant sacra per urbem

chaste mothers were leading the sacred rites through the city

pilentis matres in mollibus. Hinc procul addit

in soft carriages. Far from here he adds

Tartareas etiam sedes, alta ostia Ditis,

also the Tartarean abodes, the deep gates of Dis,

et scelerum poenas et te, Catilina, minaci

and the punishments of crimes, and you, Catiline,

pendentem scopulo Furiarumque ora trementem,

hanging from a threatening cliff and trembling at the faces of the Furies,

670

secretosque pios, his dantem iura Catonem.

and the pious set apart, with Cato giving laws to them.

Haec inter tumidi late maris ibat imago

In the midst of these, the image of the swelling sea was flowing

aurea, sed fluctu spumabant caerula cano;

widely in gold, but the blue waters were foaming with white waves;

et circum argento clari delphines in orbem

and around, dolphins, bright in silver, in a circle

aequora verrebant caudis aestumque secabant.

were sweeping the seas with their tails and cutting the surge.

675

In medio classis aeratas, Actia bella,

In the center, one could see the bronze-clad fleets, the Actian wars,

cernere erat,³ totumque instructo Marte videres

and you would have seen all Leucate boil with marshaled

fervere Leucaten auroque effulgere fluctus.

Mars, and the waves shine with gold.

Hinc Augustus agens Italos in proelia Caesar

On this side Augustus Caesar, leading the Italians into battle

cum patribus populoque, penatibus et magnis dis,

with the fathers and the people, the Penates and the great gods,

680

stans celsa in puppi; geminas cui tempora flammas

standing on the high stern; whose happy temples

laeta vomunt patriumque aperitur vertice sidus.

pour forth double flames and his father’s star is revealed on his head.

Parte alia ventis et dis Agrippa secundis

In another part Agrippa, with winds and gods favorable,

arduus agmen agens; cui, belli insigne superbum,

leading his line from on high; whose temples, a proud distinction of war,

tempora navali fulgent rostrata corona.

shine, beaked with the naval crown.

685

Hinc ope barbarica variisque Antonius armis,

On this side, with barbaric wealth and varied arms, Antony,

victor ab Aurorae populis et litore rubro,

victor from the nations of the Dawn and the Red Sea shore,

Aegyptum viresque Orientis et ultima secum

carries Egypt with him, and the forces of the East, and furthest

Bactra vehit, sequiturque (nefas) Aegyptia coniunx.

Bactra, and there follows him—O shame!—his Egyptian wife.

Una omnes ruere,⁴ ac totum spumare reductis

All rush together, and the whole sea foams,

690

convolsum remis rostrisque tridentibus aequor.

torn up by the drawn-back oars and the trident-beaked prows.

alta petunt: pelago credas innare revolsas

They seek the deep: you would believe that the torn-up Cyclades

Cycladas aut montis concurrere montibus altos,

were swimming in the sea, or that high mountains were clashing with mountains,

tanta mole viri turritis puppibus instant.

with such great weight do the men press on in their turreted ships.

stuppea flamma manu telisque volatile ferrum

Flaming tow by hand and flying iron by weapons

695

spargitur, arva nova Neptunia caede rubescunt.

is scattered; the fields of Neptune grow red with fresh slaughter.

Regina in mediis patrio vocat agmina sistro

The queen in the midst summons her troops with her native sistrum,

necdum etiam geminos a tergo respicit anguis.

and does not yet see the twin snakes behind her back.

omnigenumque deum monstra et latrator Anubis

Monstrous gods of every kind and barking Anubis

contra Neptunum et Venerem contraque Minervam

against Neptune and Venus and against Minerva

700

tela tenent. Saevit medio in certamine Mavors

hold their weapons. Mars rages in the midst of the battle,

caelatus ferro tristesque ex aethere Dirae,

engraved in iron, and the grim Furies from the sky,

et scissa gaudens vadit Discordia palla,

and Discord goes rejoicing with her torn robe,

quam cum sanguineo sequitur Bellona flagello.

whom Bellona follows with her bloody whip.

Actius haec cernens arcum tendebat Apollo

Actian Apollo, seeing these things, was bending his bow

705

desuper: omnis eo terrore Aegyptus et Indi,

from above: with that terror all Egypt and the Indians,

omnis Arabs, omnes vertebant terga Sabaei.

all Arabs, all Sabaeans were turning their backs.

Ipsa videbatur ventis regina vocatis

The queen herself seemed, having called the winds,

vela dare et laxos iam iamque inmittere funis.

to give sail and even now to let loose the slackened ropes.

Illam inter caedes pallentem morte futura

Her, pale with future death in the midst of the slaughter,

710

fecerat Ignipotens undis et Iapyge ferri,

the Lord of Fire had made to be carried by the waves and the Iapyx wind,

contra autem magno maerentem corpore Nilum

but opposite, the Nile, mourning with his great body

pandentemque sinus et tota veste vocantem

and opening his folds and with all his robe calling

caeruleum in gremium latebrosaque flumina victos.

the conquered into his blue bosom and his sheltering streams.

At Caesar, triplici invectus Romana triumpho

But Caesar, carried into the Roman walls in a triple triumph,

715

moenia, dis Italis votum inmortale sacrabat,

was consecrating an immortal vow to the Italian gods,

maxuma tercentum totam delubra per urbem.

three hundred magnificent temples throughout the whole city.

Laetitia ludisque viae plausuque fremebant;

The streets were humming with joy and games and applause;

omnibus in templis matrum chorus, omnibus arae;

in all temples there was a chorus of mothers, in all there were altars;

ante aras terram caesi stravere iuvenci.

before the altars slain bullocks covered the ground.

720

Ipse, sedens niveo candentis limine Phoebi,

He himself, sitting on the snow-white threshold of bright Phoebus,

dona recognoscit populorum aptatque superbis

reviews the gifts of the nations and fits them to the proud

postibus; incedunt victae longo ordine gentes,

doorposts; the conquered peoples march in a long line,

quam variae linguis, habitu tam vestis et armis.

as varied in tongues as they are in the fashion of their dress and arms.

Hic Nomadum genus et discinctos Mulciber Afros,

Here the race of Nomads and the loosely-girt Africans,

725

hic Lelegas Carasque sagittiferosque Gelonos

here the Leleges and Carians and the arrow-bearing Geloni

finxerat; Euphrates ibat iam mollior undis,

Mulciber had fashioned; the Euphrates was flowing now gentler in its waves,

extremique hominum Morini, Rhenusque bicornis,

and the Morini, the most remote of men, and the two-horned Rhine,

indomitique Dahae, et pontem indignatus Araxes.

and the untamable Dahae, and the Araxes, indignant at the bridge.

Talia per clipeum Volcani, dona parentis,

At such things on the shield of Vulcan, the gifts of his parent,

730

miratur rerumque ignarus⁵ imagine gaudet,

Aeneas marvels, and, ignorant of the events, rejoices in the image,

attollens umero famamque et fata nepotum.

lifting on his shoulder the fame and the fates of his descendants.

Syntax notes5 items

8.650aspiceres
Second-person singular imperfect subjunctive, expressing a past potentiality ('you would have seen'). It addresses a generic observer rather than a specific interlocutor.
8.662protecti corpora
The passive participle protecti is combined with corpora, an accusative of specification (Greek accusative), meaning 'their bodies protected by long shields'.
8.676cernere erat
An impersonal construction imitating the Greek usage of ἔστι with an infinitive, meaning 'it was possible to see.'
8.689ruere
A historical infinitive (not the syncopated form of the perfect third-person plural ruerunt), used to make the narrative more vivid. The following spumare is also historical.
8.730rerumque ignarus
The adjective ignarus ('ignorant of') governs the genitive case, hence rerum is in the genitive. This highlights Aeneas's lack of comprehension regarding the future Roman history depicted on his shield.

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

2026-09-21 AI review — translation 1

urn:cts:latinLit:phi0690.phi003.humanitext-lat2:8.648-8.731