Turnus Besieges the Camp and Attacks the Fleet — Virgil, Aeneid Book 9 (lines 1–73), Latin & English

Atque ea diversa penitus dum parte geruntur,

And while these things are being done in a completely different part,

Irim de caelo misit Saturnia Iuno

Saturnian Juno sent Iris from heaven to bold Turnus.

audacem ad Turnum. Luco tum forte parentisPilumni Turnus sacrata valle sedebat.

Then by chance Turnus was sitting in the sacred valley of the grove of his ancestor Pilumnus.

Ad quem sic roseo Thaumantias ore locuta est:

To whom the daughter of Thaumas spoke thus with her rosy mouth:

Turne, quod optanti divom promittere nemoauderet,¹ volvenda² dies en attulit ultro.

”Turnus, that which no one of the gods would dare to promise to you who wished for it, lo, the rolling time has brought of its own accord.

Aeneas urbe et sociis et classe relictasceptra Palatini sedemque petit Euandri.

Aeneas, having left his city, companions, and fleet, seeks the scepter of the Palatine and the seat of Evander.

Nec satis: extremas Corythi penetravit ad urbes1 Lydorumque manum collectos armat agrestis.

Nor is that enough: he has penetrated to the ultimate cities of Corythus and arms a band of Lydians, peasants gathered together.

Quid dubitas? Nunc tempus equos, nunc poscere currus.

Why do you hesitate? Now is the time to demand horses, now chariots.

Rumpe moras omnis et turbata arripe castra.

Break all delays and seize the troubled camp.”

Dixit et in caelum paribus se sustulit alis5 ingentemque fuga secuit sub nubibus arcum.

She spoke, and raised herself into heaven with equal wings, and in her flight cut a huge arch under the clouds.

Adgnovit iuvenis duplicisque ad sidera palmas7 sustulit ac tali fugientem est voce secutus:

The youth recognized her and raised his two palms to the stars, and followed her as she fled with such a voice:

Iri, decus caeli, quis te mihi nubibus actam9 detulit in terras? Unde haec tam clara repente

”Iris, glory of heaven, who brought you down to earth to me, driven from the clouds? Whence this suddenly so bright a weather?

tempestas? Medium video discedere caelum

I see the middle of heaven part and the stars wander in the sky.

palantisque polo stellas. Sequor omina tanta,

I follow so great omens, whoever you are who call me to arms.”

quisquis in arma vocas. Et sic effatus ad undam3 processit summoque hausit de gurgite lymphas,4 multa deos orans, oneravitque aethera votis.

And having spoken thus, he proceeded to the stream, and scooped up water from the surface of the pool, praying much to the gods, and burdened the ether with vows.

Iamque omnis campis exercitus ibat apertis,6 dives equum,³ dives pictaï vestis et auri;

And now all the army was marching in the open plains, rich in horses, rich in embroidered raiment and gold;

Messapus primas acies, postrema coercent8 Tyrrhidae iuvenes, medio dux agmine Turnus,

Messapus controls the first lines, the sons of Tyrrheus the last, and in the middle of the column is the leader Turnus,

Ceu septem surgens sedatis amnibus altus⁴1 per tacitum Ganges aut pingui flumine Nilus2 cum refluit campis et iam se condidit alveo.

just as the deep Ganges rising with its quieted seven streams in silence, or the Nile with its rich flood when it flows back from the plains and has now hidden itself in its channel.

Hic subitam nigro glomerari pulvere nubem4 prospiciunt Teucri ac tenebras insurgere campis.

Here the Trojans behold a sudden cloud of black dust gather, and darkness rise upon the plains.

Primus ab adversa conclamat mole Caicus:

First from the opposite mound Caicus cries out:

Quis globus, o cives, caligine volvitur atra?

”What crowd, oh citizens, is rolling in black darkness?

Ferte citi ferrum, date tela, ascendite muros,

Bring steel quickly, give weapons, climb the walls, the enemy is present, ho!”

hostis adest, heia! Ingenti clamore per omnis9 condunt se Teucri portas et moenia complent.

With a huge shout the Trojans hide themselves through all the gates and fill the walls.

Namque ita discedens praeceperat optumus armisAeneas: siqua interea fortuna fuisset,⁵neu struere auderent aciem neu credere campo;

For so Aeneas, most excellent in arms, departing had commanded: if any fortune should occur in the meantime, they should not dare to draw up a line of battle nor trust the plain;

castra modo et tutos servarent aggere muros.

they should only keep the camp and the walls safe with a mound.

Ergo etsi conferre manum pudor iraque monstrat,obiciunt portas tamen et praecepta facessuntarmatique cavis expectant turribus hostem.

Therefore, although shame and anger prompt them to join battle, nevertheless they bar the gates and perform his commands, and armed in the hollow towers they await the enemy.

Turnus ut ante volans tardum praecesserat agmenviginti lectis equitum comitatus, et urbi

Turnus, flying ahead, had outstripped the slow column, accompanied by twenty chosen horsemen, and is unexpectedly present at the city;

improvisus adest; maculis quem Thracius albis0 portat equus cristaque tegit galea aurea rubra.

whom a Thracian horse with white spots carries, and a golden helmet covers with a red crest.

Ecquis erit, mecum, iuvenes, qui primus in hostem?

”Will there be anyone, youths, who with me will be first against the enemy? Lo!”

En, ait et iaculum attorquens emittit in auras,3 principium pugnae, et campo sese arduus infert.

he says, and brandishing his javelin, hurls it into the air, the beginning of the battle, and proudly enters the plain.

Clamore excipiunt socii fremituque sequuntur5 horrisono: Teucrum mirantur inertia corda,non aequo dare se campo, non obvia ferre

With a shout his companions receive him, and follow with a horrific-sounding roar: they wonder at the inactive hearts of the Trojans, that the men do not trust themselves to the fair plain, nor bring opposing arms, but cherish their camp.

arma viros, sed castra fovere. Huc turbidus atque huc8 lustrat equo muros aditumque per avia quaerit.

Hither and thither, raging, he surveys the walls on his horse, and seeks an entrance through pathless ways.

Ac veluti pleno lupus insidiatus ovilicum fremit ad caulas, ventos perpessus et imbris,

And just as a wolf lying in wait for a full sheepfold, when he growls at the pens, having endured winds and rains, after midnight;

nocte super media; tuti sub matribus agnibalatum exercent, ille asper et improbus ira

the lambs, safe under their mothers, keep up their bleating; he, fierce and wicked with anger, rages against those out of reach;

saevit in absentis, collecta fatigat edendi4 ex longo rabies et siccae sanguine fauces:

the madness of eating, gathered from a long time, and his jaws dry of blood, torment him:

haud aliter Rutulo⁶ muros et castra tuenti6 ignescunt irae, duris dolor ossibus ardet.

not otherwise do angers inflame the Rutulian as he views the walls and the camp, and grief burns in his hard bones.

Qua temptet ratione aditus et quae via clausos8 excutiat Teucros vallo atque effundat in aequum?

By what means should he attempt an approach, and what way could shake the enclosed Trojans from the rampart and pour them out into the plain?

Classem, quae lateri castrorum adiuncta latebat,aggeribus saeptam circum et fluvialibus undis,

The fleet, which lay hidden close to the side of the camp, fenced around by ramparts and river waves,

invadit sociosque incendia poscit ovantisatque manum pinu flagranti fervidus implet.

he attacks, and demands fire from his rejoicing companions, and eagerly fills his hand with a burning pine torch.

Tum vero incumbunt, urget praesentia Turni,

Then indeed they press on, the presence of Turnus urges them,

Syntax notes6 items

9.7auderet
auderet is an imperfect subjunctive. Used in a relative clause (with quod as its antecedent) modifying divom nemo ("no one of the gods"), it expresses a past potentiality or a counterfactual condition ("no one would have dared to promise").
9.7volvenda
volvenda is a gerundive (future passive participle) modifying dies (here meaning "time" or "passage of days"). It has lost its sense of necessity or obligation, functioning instead with an intransitive or middle-voice meaning ("rolling," "revolving").
9.2equum
equum is a contracted form of the genitive plural equorum ("of horses"). The adjective dives governs the genitive, hence dives equum means "rich in horses."
9.30Ceu septem surgens sedatis amnibus altus
This simile lacks a main verb in its own clause and modifies the march of Turnus' army in §9.28. Introduced by ceu ("just as"), it forms a long and complex figurative structure leading to the cum clause (cum refluit ... et iam se condidit).
9.41siqua interea fortuna fuisset
siqua ... fuisset is a conditional clause in indirect discourse (representing Aeneas's instruction). The future perfect of direct speech (si qua ... fuerit) has shifted to the pluperfect subjunctive due to the historical main verb (praeceperat).
9.65Rutulo
Rutulo is the dative of the Rutulian (referring here to Turnus). It functions as a dative of reference or possession with ignescunt irae ("angers kindle for the Rutulian").

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-lat2:9.1-9.73