Transformation of the Ships and the Speech of Turnus — Virgil, Aeneid Book 9 (lines 74–147), Latin & English

atque omnis facibus pubes accingitur atris.

And all the youth are girded with black torches.

Diripuere focos; piceum fert fumida lumen

They pillaged the hearths; the smoky torch carries a pitchy light,

taeda et commixtam Volcanus ad astra favillam.

and Vulcan carries the mixed ash to the stars.

Quis deus, o musae, tam saeva incendia Teucris

What god, O Muses, turned away so savage fires from the Trojans?

avertit? Tantos ratibus quis depulit ignes?

Who drove away such great fires from the ships?

Dicite. Prisca fides facto, sed fama perennis.

Say. Ancient is the belief in the deed, but the fame is everlasting.

Tempore quo primum Phrygia formabat in Ida

At the time when first on Phrygian Ida

Aeneas classem et pelagi petere alta parabat,

Aeneas was building his fleet and preparing to seek the deep of the sea,

ipsa deum fertur genetrix Berecyntia magnum

the Berecyntian mother of the gods herself is said to have addressed great

vocibus his adfata Iovem: Da, nate, petenti,

Jupiter with these words: “Grant, son, to her who asks,

quod tua cara parens domito te poscit Olympo.¹

what your dear mother demands of you, now that Olympus is subdued.

lucus in arce fuit summa, quo sacra ferebant,

There was a grove on the highest summit, where they used to bring sacred offerings,

nigranti picea trabibusque obscurus acernis:

dark with black pitch-pine and maple trunks:

has ego Dardanio iuveni, cum classis egeret,

these I, when the fleet was in need,

laeta dedi; nunc sollicitam timor anxius angit.

gladly gave to the Dardanian youth; now anxious fear torments my troubled mind.

Solve metus atque hoc precibus sine posse parentem:²

Dissolve my fears, and let a mother be able to obtain this by her prayers:

ne cursu quassatae ullo neu turbine venti

that they may not be overcome, shattered by any course or by any whirlwind of wind,

vincantur, prosit nostris in montibus ortas.³

and let it profit them that they had their origin in our mountains.”

Filius huic contra, torquet qui sidera mundi:

Her son in reply, who turns the stars of the universe:

O genetrix, quo fata vocas, aut quid petis istis?

”O mother, whither do you call the fates, or what do you seek for those ships of yours?

Mortaline manu factae immortale carinae

Shall ships made by mortal hand have an immortal

fas habeant certusque incerta pericula lustret

right, and shall Aeneas, assured of his path,

Aeneas? Cui tanta deo permissa potestas?

traverse uncertain dangers? To what god is such great power permitted?

Immo ubi defunctae finem portusque tenebunt

Nay, rather, when they, having finished their service, shall hereafter reach

Ausonios olim, quaecumque evaserit undis

the Ausonian ports, whichever one shall have escaped the waves

100

Dardaniumque ducem Laurentia vexerit arva,

and carried the Dardanian leader to the Laurentian fields,

mortalem eripiam formam magnique iubebo

I will strip away their mortal form and command them to be goddesses

aequoris esse deas, qualis Nereia Doto

of the great sea, such as Nereid Doto

et Galatea secant spumantem pectore pontum.

and Galatea, who cut the foaming deep with their breasts.”

Dixerat idque ratum Stygii per flumina fratris,

He had spoken, and by the rivers of his Stygian brother,

105

per pice torrentis atraque voragine ripas

by the banks boiling with pitch and black abyss,

adnuit et totum nutu tremefecit Olympum.

he nodded, and made all Olympus tremble with his nod.

Ergo aderat promissa dies et tempora Parcae

Therefore the promised day was present, and the Parcae

debita complerant, cum Turni iniuria Matrem

had fulfilled the owed times, when the outrage of Turnus warned the Mother

admonuit ratibus sacris depellere taedas.

to drive away the torches from the sacred ships.

110

Hic primum nova lux oculis offulsit et ingens

Here first a new light shone upon their eyes, and a huge

visus ab Aurora caelum transcurrere nimbus

cloud was seen to run across the heaven from the East,

Idaeique chori; tum vox horrenda per auras

and the Idaean choruses; then a horrific voice fell through the air

excidit et Troum Rutulorumque agmina complet:

and filled the columns of Trojans and Rutulians:

Ne trepidate meas, Teucri, defendere navis

”Do not fear, Trojans, to defend my ships,

115

neve armate manus: maria ante exurere Turno

nor arm your hands: it will be granted to Turnus to burn up the seas

quam sacras dabitur pinus. Vos ite solutae,

before these sacred pines. Go, untied,

ite deae pelagi: genetrix iubet. Et sua quaeque

go, goddesses of the sea: the mother commands.” And each

continuo puppes abrumpunt vincula ripis

at once breaks its stern-cables from the banks

delphinumque modo demersis aequora rostris

and in the manner of dolphins they seek the deepest waters

120

ima petunt. Hinc virgineae (mirabile monstrum)

with submerged prows. Hence (a wonderful marvel!) as virgin

quot prius aeratae steterant ad litora prorae

forms, as many brazen prows as had stood before on the shores,

reddunt se totidem facies pontoque feruntur.

so many show themselves and are carried on the sea.

Obstipuere animis Rutuli, conterritus ipse

The Rutulians were amazed in their minds, Messapus himself was terrified,

turbatis Messapus equis, cunctatur et amnis

his horses being thrown into confusion, and the river Tiberinus

125

rauca sonans revocatque pedem Tiberinus ab alto.

hesitates, sounding hoarsely, and recalls his foot from the deep.

At non audaci Turno fiducia cessit;

But confidence did not depart from bold Turnus;

ultro animos tollit dictis atque increpat ultro:

of his own accord he raises their spirits with his words and of his own accord rebukes them:

Troianos haec monstra petunt, his Iuppiter ipse

”These portents seek the Trojans; from them Jupiter himself

auxilium solitum eripuit, non tela neque ignes

has snatched away his usual aid, not waiting for the weapons or fires

130

exspectans Rutulos. Ergo maria invia Teucris

of the Rutulians. Therefore the seas are impassable to the Trojans

nec spes ulla fugae: rerum pars altera adempta est.

and there is no hope of flight: the other half of things has been taken away.

Terra autem in nostris manibus, tot milia gentes

But the land is in our hands, so many thousands of Italian nations

arma ferunt Italae. Nil me fatalia terrent,

bear arms. Nothing do those fatal responses of the gods terrify me,

siqua Phryges prae se iactant, responsa deorum:

if the Phrygians boast any such before themselves:

135

sat fatis Venerique datum, tetigere quod arva

enough has been given to the fates and to Venus, in that the Trojans have touched

fertilis Ausoniae Troes. Sunt et mea contra

the fields of fertile Ausonia. I too have, on the other hand,

fata mihi, ferro sceleratam exscindere gentem,

my own fates, to blot out the wicked race with the sword,

coniuge praerepta: nec solos tangit Atridas

my bride being snatched away: nor does that grief touch

iste dolor solisque licet capere arma Mycenis.

the sons of Atreus alone, nor is Mycenae alone permitted to take up arms.

140

Sed periisse semel satis est: peccare fuisset

’But it is enough to have perished once’: to have sinned once

ante satis penitus⁴ modo non genus omne perosos

before should have been thoroughly enough, provided they did not utterly hate the whole female

femineum. Quibus haec medii fiducia valli

race. To whom this confidence in the intervening rampart

fossarumque morae, leti discrimina parva,

and the obstructions of the ditches, small divides of death,

dant animos. At non viderunt moenia Troiae

give courage. But did they not see the walls of Troy,

145

Neptuni fabricata manu considere in ignis?

built by the hand of Neptune, sink down into the fire?

Sed vos, o lecti, ferro qui scindere vallum

But you, O chosen ones, who prepares to cut the rampart with the sword

apparat et mecum invadit trepidantia castra.

and invades the trembling camp with me?”

Syntax notes4 items

9.84domito te poscit Olympo
An ablative absolute construction composed of the noun 'Olympo' and the perfect participle 'domito'. It refers to the time when Jupiter established his supreme rule over Olympus after conquering his adversaries.
9.90sine posse parentem
'sine' is the singular imperative of the verb 'sino' (to allow/permit), which takes an accusative infinitive construction with the accusative 'parentem' and the infinitive 'posse'. The following 'ne... vincantur' clause functions practically as the object of 'posse'.
9.92ortas
'ortas' is the accusative plural feminine of the perfect participle of 'orior' (to arise/originate). It agrees with the implied subject accusative 'carinae' (the ships) from the preceding clause, meaning 'having originated in our mountains'. It functions here as the subject of 'prosit' in a participle construction or with an omitted 'esse'.
9.140–141peccare fuisset ante satis penitus
A highly ironical and hypothetical counter-argument containing a conditional nuance. In response to the Trojan sentiment that 'to have perished once is enough', Turnus counters that 'to have sinned once beforehand should have been thoroughly enough', unless (modo non) they utterly detest all women. 'fuisset' is a pluperfect subjunctive expressing a past unreality.

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-lat2:9.74-9.147