The Death of Pandarus and Turnus' Escape — Virgil, Aeneid Book 9 (lines 744–818), Latin & English

744

intorquet summis adnixus viribus hastam:

Striving with his utmost strength, he hurls his spear:

745

excepere aurae volnus; Saturnia Iuno

the winds received the blow; Saturnian Juno

detorsit veniens, portaeque infigitur hasta.

deflected it as it came, and the spear is fixed in the gate.

At non hoc telum, mea quod vi dextera versat,

”But you shall not escape this weapon, which my right hand wields with strength;

effugies; neque enim is¹ teli nec volneris auctor.

you shall not escape; for he who wields this weapon and deals this wound is not such as you.”

Sic ait et sublatum alte consurgit in ensem

So he speaks, and rises high upon his uplifted sword,

750

et mediam ferro gemina inter tempora frontem

and splits with the iron the middle of the forehead between the twin temples,

dividit inpubesque immani volnere malas.

and the youthful cheeks with a monstrous wound.

Fit sonus, ingenti concussa est pondere tellus:

A sound is made, the earth is shaken by the mighty weight:

conlapsos artus atque arma cruenta cerebro

his collapsed limbs and armor gory with brains

sternit humi moriens, atque illi partibus aequis

he stretches on the ground as he dies, and in equal parts

755

huc caput atque illuc umero ex utroque pependit.

his head hung here and there from either shoulder.

Diffugiunt versi trepida formidine Troes:

The Trojans, turning back, flee in trembling dread:

et si continuo victorem ea cura subisset,

and if that care had immediately come upon the victor,

rumpere claustra manu sociosque immittere portis,

to burst the bars with his hand and admit his companions through the gates,

ultimus ille dies bello gentique fuisset;²

that day would have been the last for the war and the race;

760

sed furor ardentem caedisque insana cupido

but fury and the mad lust for slaughter drove him, burning,

egit in adversos.

against his opponents.

Principio Phalerim et succiso poplite Gygen

First, he catches Phaleris, and Gyges with severed hamstring;

excipit; hinc raptas fugientibus ingerit hastas

then, snatching up their spears, he hurls them into the backs of the fugitives;

in tergum, Iuno vires animumque ministrat;

Juno supplies strength and courage;

765

addit Halym comitem et confixa Phegea parma,

he adds Halys as a companion and Phegeus, his shield pierced,

ignaros deinde in muris Martemque cientis

then, on the walls, [others] unaware and stirring up war,

Alcandrumque Haliumque Noemonaque Prytanimque.

Alcander, Halius, Noemon, and Prytanis.

Lyncea tendentem contra sociosque vocantem

Lynceus, as he moved against him and called his comrades,

vibranti gladio conixus ab aggere dexter

from the rampart, on the right, with a supreme effort with his flashing sword

770

occupat; huic uno desectum comminus ictu

anticipates him; his head, severed at close quarters with a single blow,

cum galea longe iacuit caput. Inde ferarum

lay far off together with his helmet. Next, [he slays] Amycus,

vastatorem Amycum, quo non felicior alter

the destroyer of wild beasts, than whom no other was more skilled

ungere tela manu ferrumque armare veneno,

at anointing weapons with his hand and arming the iron with poison,

et Clytium Aeoliden et amicum Crethea Musis,

and Clytius, son of Aeolus, and Cretheus, friend to the Muses,

775

Crethea Musarum comitem, cui carmina semper

Cretheus, companion of the Muses, to whom songs were always

et citharae cordi numerosque intendere nervis.

and lyres a delight, and to stretch numbers upon strings.

Tandem ductores audita caede suorum

At length, hearing of the slaughter of their men, the leaders

conveniunt Teucri, Mnestheus acerque Serestus,

of the Trojans assemble, Mnestheus and fierce Serestus,

780

palantisque vident socios hostemque receptum.

and they see their comrades scattering and the enemy admitted.

Et Mnestheus: Quo deinde fugam, quo tenditis? inquit.

And Mnestheus: “Whither then do you flee, whither do you direct your course?” he says.

Quos alios muros, quae iam ultra moenia habetis?

”What other walls, what city walls do you have now beyond?

Unus homo et vestris, o cives, undique saeptus

”Shall one man, and he hemmed in on all sides by your ramparts, o citizens,

aggeribus tantas strages inpune per urbem

have wrought such slaughter through the city with impunity,

785

ediderit, iuvenum primos tot miserit Orco?

and sent so many of our foremost youths to Orcus?

Non infelicis patriae veterumque deorum

”Does no pity, no shame touch you for your unhappy fatherland, your ancient gods,

et magni Aeneae, segnes, miseretque pudetque?³

and great Aeneas, you sluggards?”

Talibus accensi firmantur et agmine denso

Inflamed by such words, they are strengthened and stand in a dense column.

consistunt. Turnus paulatim excedere⁴ pugna

Turnus begins to withdraw gradually from the battle

790

et fluvium petere ac partem, quae cingitur unda;

and to seek the river and the part which is surrounded by the wave;

acrius hoc Teucri clamore incumbere magno

all the more fiercely the Trojans press upon him with a great shout

et glomerare manum. Ceu saevum turba leonem

and mass their band. Just as when a crowd presses a fierce lion

cum telis premit infensis, at territus ille,

with hostile weapons, but he, terrified,

asper, acerba tuens, retro redit, et neque terga

fierce, glaring savagely, retreats backward, and neither does his anger

795

ira dare aut virtus patitur, nec tendere contra

or his courage permit him to turn his back, nor to press forward

ille quidem hoc cupiens potis est per tela virosque:

is he able, though he wishes it, through the weapons and the men:

haud aliter retro dubius vestigia Turnus

not otherwise does Turnus, hesitating, draw back his unhurried

improperata refert, et mens exaestuat ira.

steps, and his mind seethes with rage.

Quin etiam bis tum medios invaserat hostis,

Nay, even twice had he then rushed into the midst of the enemy,

800

bis confusa fuga per muros agmina vertit;

twice did he turn their columns in confused flight along the walls;

sed manus e castris propere coit omnis in unum,

but the entire force from the camp quickly gathers into one,

nec contra vires audet Saturnia Iuno

nor does Saturnian Juno dare to supply him with strength

sufficere, aëriam caelo nam Iuppiter Irim

against them, for Jupiter sent down airy Iris from heaven,

demisit germanae haud mollia iussa ferentem,

sending no gentle commands to his sister,

805

ni⁵ Turnus cedat Teucrorum moenibus altis.

unless Turnus should withdraw from the high walls of the Trojans.

Ergo nec clipeo iuvenis subsistere tantum

Therefore, neither with his shield can the youth hold his ground so far,

nec dextra valet: iniectis sic undique telis

nor with his right hand; so overwhelmed is he by weapons thrown from all sides.

obruitur. Strepit adsiduo cava tempora circum

His helmet rings around his hollow temples with constant

tinnitu galea, et saxis solida aera fatiscunt,

clanging, and the solid bronze gapes under stones,

810

discussaeque iubae capiti, nec sufficit umbo

and the crests are struck from his head, nor is his shield’s boss sufficient

ictibus: ingeminant hastis et Troes et ipse

for the blows: they redouble their spears, both the Trojans and

fulmineus Mnestheus. Tum toto corpore sudor

the lightning-like Mnestheus himself. Then from his whole body sweat

liquitur et piceum, nec respirare potestas,

pours, and pitchy, nor is there power to breathe,

flumen agit; fessos quatit aeger anhelitus artus.

it forms a river; a painful panting shakes his weary limbs.

815

Tum demum praeceps saltu sese omnibus armis

Then at last, headlong with a leap, in all his armor,

in fluvium dedit: ille suo cum gurgite flavo

he cast himself into the river: it, with its yellow stream,

accepit venientem ac mollibus extulit undis

received him as he came and bore him up on its gentle waves,

et laetum sociis abluta caede remisit.

and, having washed away the slaughter, returned him joyful to his companions.

Syntax notes5 items

9.748is
The pronoun is acting as the subject refers to Turnus himself: "he (who wields this weapon and deals this wound) is not such a person (as you or your brother)."
9.757si ... subisset ... fuisset
A past contrary-to-fact conditional sentence, using the pluperfect subjunctive in both the protasis (subisset, contracted from subiisset) and the apodosis (fuisset).
9.787miseretque pudetque
Impersonal verbs of feeling (miseret and pudet), which typically take an accusative of the person feeling the emotion (here the vocative/implied accusative segnes, "sluggards") and a genitive of the cause or object of the emotion (patriae, deorum, Aeneae).
9.789excedere
Historical infinitive. The infinitive (excedere, and petere in the next line) is used instead of a finite verb to describe vivid, rapid, or beginning action in past narrative. The subject Turnus remains in the nominative.
9.804iussa ... ni
A conditional clause dependent on the implicit threat in iussa ("commands [threatening penalty] unless Turnus should withdraw"). The subjunctive cedat represents a future contingency in indirect discourse governed by the past main verb demisit.

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-lat2:9.744-9.818