The Pursuit and Deaths of Nisus and Euryalus — Virgil, Aeneid Book 9 (lines 369–440), Latin & English

369

ibant et Turno regi responsa ferebant,

They were going and carrying answers to king Turnus,

370

tercentum, scutati omnes, Volcente magistro.

three hundred, all shielded, with Volcens as leader.

Iamque propinquabant castris murosque subibant,

And now they were approaching the camp and coming under the walls,

cum procul hos laevo flectentis limite¹ cernunt

when from afar they see them turning on a left-hand path,

et galea Euryalum sublustri noctis in umbra

and in the glimmering shadow of night the helmet betrayed the unmindful Euryalus

prodidit immemorem radiisque adversa refulsit.

and reflected back the rays, facing them.

375

Haud temere est visum. Conclamat ab agmine Volcens

It was not seen in vain. Volcens shouts from the troop:

State, viri. Quae causa viae? Quive estis in armis?

”Stand, men. What is the cause of your journey? Or who are you in arms?

Quove tenetis iter? Nihil illi tendere contra,

Or where do you hold your way?” They attempted nothing in reply,

sed celerare fugam in silvas et fidere nocti.

but hastened their flight into the woods and trusted to the night.

Obiciunt equites sese ad divortia nota

The horsemen throw themselves at the well-known forks

380

hinc atque hinc omnemque abitum custode coronant.

here and there, and encircle every escape with a guard.

Silva fuit late dumis atque ilice nigra

There was a forest, rough far and wide with brambles and black holm-oak,

horrida, quam densi complerant undique sentes;

which thick briars had filled on every side;

rara per occultos lucebat semita calles.

here and there a path shone through the hidden tracks.

Euryalum tenebrae ramorum onerosaque praeda

Euryalus is impeded by the darkness of the branches and the heavy booty,

385

impediunt fallitque timor regione viarum;

and fear deceives him in the direction of the paths.

Nisus abit, iamque imprudens evaserat hostis

Nisus gets away, and now, unthinking, he had escaped the enemy

atque locos, qui post Albae de nomine dicti

and the places which afterward, called Albani from the name of Alba,

Albani,² tum rex stabula alta Latinus habebat,

then king Latinus had his high stables there,

ut stetit et frustra absentem respexit amicum.

when he stopped and looked back in vain for his absent friend.

390

Euryale infelix, qua te regione reliqui?

”Unhappy Euryalus, in what region did I leave you?

Quave sequar, rursus perplexum iter omne revolvens

Or where shall I follow, retracing again all the tangled path

fallacis silvae? Simul et vestigia retro

of the deceitful forest?” At the same time he traces back his steps

observata legit dumisque silentibus errat.

observed and wanders through the silent briars.

Audit equos, audit strepitus et signa sequentum.

He hears horses, he hears the noise and signs of pursuers.

395

Nec longum in medio tempus, cum clamor ad auris

Nor was there a long time between, when a shout reaches his ears

pervenit ac videt Euryalum, quem iam manus omnis

and he sees Euryalus, whom now the whole band,

fraude loci et noctis, subito turbante tumultu,

by the deceit of the place and the night, with a sudden confusing tumult,

oppressum rapit et conantem plurima frustra.

seize, overwhelmed, as he tries many things in vain.

Quid faciat? Qua vi iuvenem, quibus audeat armis

What can he do? With what force, with what arms should he dare

400

eripere? An sese medios moriturus in enses

to rescue the youth? Or should he fling himself to death in the midst of swords

inferat³ et pulchram properet per volnera mortem?

and hasten a beautiful death through wounds?

Ocius adducto torquens hastile lacerto,

Swifter, brandishing a spear with his arm drawn back,

suspiciens altam Lunam sic voce precatur:

looking up to the high Moon, he prays thus with his voice:

Tu, dea, tu praesens nostro succurre labori,

”Do thou, O goddess, do thou present aid our toil,

405

astrorum decus et nemorum Latonia custos.

glory of the stars and Latonian guardian of the groves.

Siqua tuis umquam pro me pater Hyrtacus aris

If ever my father Hyrtacus brought gifts to your altars for me,

dona tulit, siqua ipse meis venatibus auxi

if ever I myself increased them by my hunting

suspendive tholo aut sacra ad fastigia fixi:

or hung them in your dome or fixed them to the sacred pediments:

hunc sine me turbare globum et rege tela per auras.

allow me to throw this band into confusion, and guide my weapons through the air.”

410

Dixerat, et toto conixus corpore ferrum

He had spoken, and striving with his whole body he hurls the iron:

conicit: hasta volans noctis diverberat umbras

the flying spear cleaves the shadows of night

et venit aversi in tergum Sulmonis ibique

and reaches the back of Sulmo who was turned away, and there

frangitur ac fisso transit praecordia ligno.

is broken, and with splintered wood passes through his heart.

Volvitur ille vomens calidum de pectore flumen

He rolls over, vomiting a warm stream from his breast,

415

frigidus et longis singultibus ilia pulsat.

cold, and beats his flanks with long sobs.

Diversi circumspiciunt. Hoc acrior idem⁴

They look around in different directions. He, the same, all the more fierce,

ecce aliud summa telum librabat ab aure.

lo, was balancing another weapon from the top of his ear.

Dum trepidant, it hasta Tago per tempus utrumque

While they tremble, the whistling spear goes through both temples of Tagus

stridens traiectoque haesit tepefacta cerebro.

and stuck, warmed in the pierced brain.

420

Saevit atrox Volcens nec teli conspicit usquam

Fierce Volcens rages, yet nowhere does he see the author

auctorem nec quo se ardens inmittere possit.

of the weapon, nor where he can launch himself in his burning rage.

Tu tamen interea calido mihi sanguine poenas

”You, however, meanwhile shall pay me the penalty with your warm blood

persolves amborum, inquit; simul ense recluso

for both,” he said; at the same time, with drawn sword,

ibat in Euryalum. Tum vero exterritus, amens

he was going against Euryalus. Then indeed, terrified, out of his mind,

425

conclamat Nisus, nec se celare tenebris

Nisus cries out, nor could he hide himself in the darkness

amplius aut tantum potuit perferre dolorem.

any longer or bear such great grief.

Me me, adsum qui feci,⁵ in me convertite ferrum,

”Me, me, here am I who did it, turn your steel against me,

O Rutuli, mea fraus omnis; nihil iste nec ausus

O Rutulians, mine is all the deceit; he neither dared nor could do

nec potuit, caelum hoc et conscia sidera testor,

anything, I call to witness this heaven and the knowing stars,

430

tantum infelicem nimium dilexit amicum.

he only loved his unhappy friend too much.”

Talia dicta dabat; sed viribus ensis adactus

He was uttering such words; but the sword, driven with force,

transabiit costas et candida pectora rumpit.

went through the ribs and breaks his white breast.

Volvitur Euryalus leto, pulchrosque per artus

Euryalus rolls over in death, and through his beautiful limbs

it cruor, inque umeros cervix conlapsa recumbit:

the blood flows, and his neck, collapsed, reclines upon his shoulders:

435

purpureus veluti cum flos succisus aratro

just as when a purple flower, cut down by the plough,

languescit moriens lassove papavera collo

languishes dying, or as poppies with weary neck

demisere caput, pluvia cum forte gravantur.

have drooped their head, when by chance they are weighed down by rain.

At Nisus ruit in medios solumque per omnis

But Nisus rushes into their midst and seeks Volcens alone

Volcentem petit in solo Volcente moratur.

through them all, on Volcens alone he stays his mind.

440

Quem circum glomerati hostes hinc comminus atque hinc

Around him the enemies, gathered close on this side and on that,

Syntax notes5 items

9.372laevo flectentis limite
flectentis is the accusative plural of the present participle of flectere (where -is is an archaic spelling for -es), agreeing with hos (Nisus and Euryalus) as the object of cernunt. laevo limite is an ablative of route/direction.
9.387qui post Albae de nomine dicti Albani
The relative clause from qui to Albani modifies locos (§9.387), with an ellipsis of sunt in dicti. Following another clause (tum rex... habebat), the sentence finally resumes with ut stetit in §9.389. This long insertion interrupts the main narrative flow.
9.400An sese medios moriturus in enses inferat
inferat and properet (§9.401) are deliberative subjunctives expressing Nisus's inner conflict and self-questioning ('Should he throw himself...?').
9.416Hoc acrior idem
hoc is an ablative of cause or measure of difference ('by this,' 'all the more'). idem ('the same man') refers back to Nisus, who, after his successful first shot, is now preparing a second spear.
9.427Me me, adsum qui feci
me me is an accusative of exclamation or prolepsis, acting as the object of the subsequent convertite ferrum, conveying intense emotion ('Me, me [strike]!'). The antecedent of qui feci is implied in adsum ('I, who did it, am here').

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-22)urn:cts:latinLit:phi0690.phi003.humanitext-lat2:9.369-9.440