§1094parvus tenerque fetus et nondum potens §1095saevire dente— iam tamen tollit minas §1096morsusque inanes temptat atque animis tumet: §1097sic ille dextra prensus hostili puer §1098ferox t superbe, moverat vulgum ac duces §1099ipsumque Vlixen.
just like the small and tender offspring of a huge beast, and not yet able to rage with its teeth—yet already it raises threats and tries useless bites and swells with spirits: in this way, that boy, grasped by the hostile right hand, fierce and proud, had moved the crowd and the leaders, and Ulysses himself.
non fiet e turba omnium §1100qui fletur; ac, dum verba fatidici et preces: §1101concipit Vlixes vatis et saevos ciet §1102ad sacra superos, sponte desiluit sua §1103in media Priami regna. —. . .
There will not be anyone from the crowd of all who is not wept for; and while Ulysses utters the words of the fateful priest and the prayers and summons the cruel gods above to the sacred rites, of his own accord he leaped down into the midst of Priam’s kingdom.—...
§1104Quis Colchus hoc, quis sedis incertae Scytha §1105commisit, aut quae Caspium tangens mare §1106gens iuris expers ausa? non Busiridis
What Colchian, what Scythian of uncertain dwelling, committed this, or what tribe touching the Caspian Sea, devoid of law, dared it?
Not even the savage Busiris sprinkled his altars with a child's blood, nor did Diomedes place small limbs for his herds to feast upon.
Who will gather your limbs and commit them to the tomb?
For what limbs did the precipitous place leave?
§1112elisa casu; signa clari corporis, §1113et ora et illas nobiles patris notas, §1114confudit imam pondus ad terram datum; §1115soluta cervix silicis impulsu, caput, §1116raptum cerebro penitus expresso— iacet §1117deforme corpus, §1117bSic quoque est similis patri.
Bones scattered and crushed by the heavy fall; the signs of the noble body, both the face and those famous features of his father, the weight dashed to the lowest earth has shattered; the neck severed by the impact of the flint, the head, torn away with the brain utterly pressed out—there lies the deformed body, yet even so he is like his father.
§1118Praeceps ut altis cecidit e muris puer §1119flevitque Achivum turba quod fecit nefas, §1120idem ille populus aliud ad facinus redit
When the boy fell headlong from the high walls and the crowd of Achaeans wept for the crime they committed, that same populace returns to another outrage, to the tomb of Achilles.
§1121tumulumque Achillis. cuius extremum Litus §1122Rhoetea leni verberant fluctu vada; §1123adversa cingit campus et clivo levi §1124erecta medium vallis includens locum §1125crescit theatri more.
Whose furthest shore the Rhoetean waters beat with a gentle wave; a plain surrounds the opposite side, and rising with a gentle slope the valley enclosing the central place grows in the manner of a theatre.
concursus frequens §1126implevit omne litus:n hi classis moram §1127hac morte solvi rentur, hi stirpem hostium §1128gaudent recidi.
A dense crowd filled the whole shore: some think the delay of the fleet is released by this death, others rejoice that the offspring of their enemies is cut down.
magna pars vulgi levis §1129odit scelus spectatque; nec Troes minus §1130suum frequentant funus et pavidi metu §1131partem mentis ultimam Troiae vident: §1132cum subito thalami more praecedunt faces §1133et pronuba illi Tyndaris, maestum caput §1134demissa.
A great part of the fickle crowd hates the crime and watches it; nor do the Trojans less attend their own funeral, and trembling with fear they see the final part of Troy’s destruction: when suddenly, in the manner of a bridal chamber, torches go before, and as the bridal attendant, Helen, her sad head cast down.
'tali nnbat Hermione modo' §1135Phryges precantur?sic viro turpis suo §1136reddatur Helena. ' terror attonitos tenet
"Let Hermione marry in such a way," the Phrygians pray, "thus let shameful Helen be returned to her husband." Terror holds both peoples astounded.
§1137utrosque populos, ipsa deiectos gerit §1138vultus pudore, sed tamen fulgent genae §1139magisque solito splendet extremus decor, §1140ut esse Phoebi dulcius lumen solet §1141iamiam cadentis, astra cum repetunt vices §1142premiturque dubius nocte vicina dies.
She herself carries a downcast countenance with shame, but yet her cheeks shine, and her final beauty gleams more than usual, just as the light of Phoebus is accustomed to be sweeter when he is just about to fall, when the stars resume their turns and the doubtful day is pressed by the neighboring night.
All the crowd is amazed—and almost all praise the things about to perish more.
The beauty of her form moves some, her tender age moves others, the wandering changes of things move others; but her brave spirit, meeting death, moves everyone.
§1147Pyrrhum antecedit; omnium mentes tremunt,
She goes before Pyrrhus; the minds of all tremble, they wonder and pity.
§1148mirantur ac miserantur, ut primum ardui §1149sublime montis tetigit atque alte edito §1150iuvenis paterni, vertice in busti stetit, §1151audax virago non tulit retro gradum; §1152conversa ad ictum stat truci vultu ferox.
As soon as she reached the high summit of the steep mount, and when on the highly elevated peak of his father's tomb the young man stood, the bold maiden did not take a step back; turned toward the blow, she stands fierce with a grim face.
So brave a spirit strikes the minds of all, and Pyrrhus is a new wonder, slow to slaughter.
§1155ut dextra ferrum penitus exactum abdidit, §1156subitus recepta morte prorupit cruor §1157per vulnus ingens, nec tamen moriens adhuc §1158deponit animos: cecidit, ut Achilli gravem §1159factura terram, prona et irato impetu.
As his right hand hid the sword driven deep, sudden blood burst forth through the huge wound with death received, nor yet, dying, does she abandon her courage: she fell, as if about to make the earth heavy for Achilles, face down and with an angry force.
Each crowd wept; but the Phrygians sent forth a timid groan, while the victor groans more clearly.
§1162hic ordo sacri, non stetit fusus cruor
This was the order of the sacred rite.
The poured-out blood did not stand nor flow on the surface of the ground: immediately the tomb drew in and drank the whole blood.
§1165Ite, ite, Danai, petite iam tuti domos; §1166optata velis maria diffusis secet §1167secura classis: concidit virgo ac puer; §1168bellum peractum est.
Go, go, Danai, seek now your homes in safety; let the secure fleet cut the longed-for seas with spread sails: the virgin and the boy have fallen; the war is finished.
quo meas lacrimas feram?
Whither shall I turn my tears?
§1169ubi hanc anilis expuam leti moram?
Where shall I spit out this delay of an old woman’s death?
§1170natam an nepotem, coniugem an patriam fleam?
Shall I weep for my daughter or my grandson, my husband or my country?
§1171an omnia an me sola? Mors votum meum,
Or all, or myself alone?
§1172infantibus violenta virginibus venis, §1173ubique properas, saeva: me solam times §1174vitasque, gladios inter ac tela et faces §1175quaesita tota nocte, cupientem fugis. ,
Death, my wish, you come violent to infants and virgins, everywhere you hasten, savage one: me alone you fear and avoid; sought through the whole night among swords and weapons and torches, you flee from me who desires you.
No enemy or ruin, no fire has consumed my limbs: how close I stood to Priam.