by Virgil
They wot whereto our fortune drives; but fear their speech doth hide:
det libertatem fandi flatusque remittat,
Let him give liberty of speech, and sink his windy pride,
cuius ob auspicium infaustum moresque sinistros
Because of whose unhappy fate, and evil life and will —
(dicam equidem, licet arma mihi mortemque minetur)
Yea, I will speak, despite his threats to smite me and to kill —
lumina tot cecidisse ducum totamque uidemus
So many days of dukes are done, and all the city lies
consedisse urbem luctu, dum Troia temptat 350
O’erwhelmed with grief, the while his luck round camps of Troy he tries,
castra fugae fidens et caelum territat armis.
Trusting to flight, and scaring heaven with clashing of his sword.
unum etiam donis istis, quae plurima mitti
One gift meseems thou shouldest add, most gracious king and lord,
Dardanidis dicique iubes, unum, optime regum,
Unto the many gifts thou bid’st bear to the Dardan folk,
adicias, nec te ullius uiolentia uincat
Nor bow thyself to violence, nor lie beneath its yoke.
quin natam egregio genero dignisque hymenaeis 355
Father, thy daughter nobly wed unto a glorious son,
des pater, et pacem hanc aeterno foedere iungas.
And knit the bonds of peace thereby in troth-plight never done.
quod si tantus habet mentes et pectora terror,
Or if such terror and so great upon our hearts doth lie,
ipsum obtestemur ueniamque oremus ab ipso:
Let us adjure the man himself, and pray him earnestly
cedat, ius proprium regi patriaeque remittat.
To yield up this his proper right to country and to king: —
quid miseros totiens in aperta pericula ciuis 360
— O why into the jaws of death wilt thou so often fling
proicis, o Latio caput horum et causa malorum?
Thine hapless folk, O head and fount of all the Latin ill?
nulla salus bello, pacem te poscimus omnes,
No safety is in war; all we, for peace we pray thee still,
Turne, simul pacis solum inuiolabile pignus.
O Turnus, — for the only pledge of peace that may abide.
primus ego, inuisum quem tu tibi fingis (et esse
I first, whom thou call’st foe (and nought that name I thrust aside),
nil moror), en supplex uenio. miserere tuorum, 365
Lo, suppliant to thy feet I come! Pity thy people then!
pone animos et pulsus abi. sat funera fusi
Sink thine high heart, and, beaten, yield; surely we broken men
uidimus ingentis et desolauimus agros.
Have seen enough of deaths, laid waste enough of field and fold.
aut, si fama mouet, si tantum pectore robur
But if fame stir thee, if thine heart such dauntless valour hold,
concipis et si adeo dotalis regia cordi est,
If such a longing of thy soul a kingly dowry be,
aude atque aduersum fidens fer pectus in hostem. 370
Dare then, and trust thee in thy might, and breast the enemy.
scilicet ut Turno contingat regia coniunx,
Forsooth all we, that Turnus here a queenly wife might gain —
nos animae uiles, inhumata infletaque turba,
We common souls — a heap unwept, unburied, strew the plain.
sternamur campis. etiam tu, si qua tibi uis,
And now for thy part, if in thee some valour hath a place
si patrii quid Martis habes, illum aspice contra
Or memory of the ancient wars, go look him in the face
qui uocat.’ 375
Who calleth thee to come afield.”
Talibus exarsit dictis uiolentia Turni.
But Turnus’ fury at the word outbrake in sudden flame.
dat gemitum rumpitque has imo pectore uoces:
He groaned, and from his inmost soul this speech of his outpoured:
‘larga quidem semper, Drance, tibi copia fandi
“O Drances, when the battle-day calleth for hand and sword,
tum cum bella manus poscunt, patribusque uocatis
Great words good store thou givest still, and first thou comest still
primus ades. sed non replenda est curia uerbis, 380
When so the Sires are called: but why with words the council fill?
quae tuto tibi magna uolant, dum distinet hostem
Big words aflying from thee safe, while yet the walls hold good
agger murorum nec inundant sanguine fossae.
Against the foe, nor yet the ditch is swimming with our blood.
proinde tona eloquio (solitum tibi) meque timoris
Go, thunder out thy wonted words! lay craven fear on me,
argue tu, Drance, quando tot stragis aceruos
O Drances, thou, whose hand has heaped the Teucrian enemy
Teucrorum tua dextra dedit, passimque tropaeis 385
Dead all about, and everywhere has glorified the meads
insignis agros. possit quid uiuida uirtus
With war-spoil! Thou thyself may’st try how lively valour speeds!
experiare licet, nec longe scilicet hostes
’Tis well the time: forsooth the road lieth no long way out
quaerendi nobis; circumstant undique muros.
To find the foe! on every side they hedge the wall about
imus in aduersos — quid cessas? an tibi Mauors
Go we against them! — tarriest thou? and is thy Mars indeed
uentosa in lingua pedibusque fugacibus istis 390
A dweller in the windy tongue and feet well learned in speed,
semper erit?
The same today as yesterday?
pulsus ego? aut quisquam merito, foedissime, pulsum
— I beaten! who of right, O beast! shall brand me beaten man,
arguet, Iliaco tumidum qui crescere Thybrim
That seeth the stream of Ilian blood swelling the Tiber’s flow,
sanguine et Euandri totam cum stirpe uidebit
Who seeth all Evander’s house uprooted, laid alow;
procubuisse domum atque exutos Arcadas armis? 395
Who seeth those Arcadian men stripped of their battle-gear?
haud ita me experti Bitias et Pandarus ingens
Big Pandarus, stout Bitias, found me no craven there,
et quos mille die uictor sub Tartara misi,
Or all the thousand whom that day to Tartarus I sent,
inclusus muris hostilique aggere saeptus.
When I was hedged by foeman’s wall and mound’s beleaguerment
nulla salus bello? capiti cane talia, demens,
No health in war? Fool, sing such song to that Dardanian head,
Dardanio rebusque tuis. proinde omnia magno 400
And thine own day! cease not to fright all things with mighty dread.
ne cessa turbare metu atque extollere uiris
Cease not to puff up with thy pride the poor twice-conquered folk,
gentis bis uictae, contra premere arma Latini.
And lay upon the Latin arms the weight of wordy yoke.
nunc et Myrmidonum proceres Phrygia arma tremescunt,
Yea, sure the chiefs of Myrmidons quake at the Phrygian sword,
nunc et Tydides et Larisaeus Achilles,
Tydides and Achilles great, the Larissæan lord;
amnis et Hadriacas retro fugit Aufidus undas. 405
And Aufidus the flood flees back unto the Hadriac sea.
uel cum se pauidum contra mea iurgia fingit,
But now whereas this guile-smith fains to dread mine enmity,
artificis scelus, et formidine crimen acerbat.
And whetteth with a fashioned fear the bitter point of strife —
numquam animam talem dextra hac (ab
siste moueri)
Nay, quake no more! for this mine hand shall spill no such a life;
amittes: habitet tecum et sit pectore in isto.
But it shall dwell within thy breast and have thee for a mate. —
nunc ad te et tua magna, pater, consulta reuertor. 410
Now, Father, unto thee I turn, and all thy words of weight;
si nullam nostris ultra spem ponis in armis,
If every hope of mending war thou verily lay’st down;
si tam deserti sumus et semel agmine uerso
If we are utterly laid waste, and, being once overthrown,
funditus occidimus neque habet Fortuna regressum,
Have fallen dead; if Fate no more may turn her feet about,
oremus pacem et dextras tendamus inertis.
Then pray we peace, and deedless hands, e’en as we may, stretch out.
quamquam o si solitae quicquam uirtutis adesset! 415
Yet if of all our ancient worth some little yet abide,
ille mihi ante alios fortunatusque laborum
I deem him excellent of men, craftsmaster of his tide,
egregiusque animi, qui, ne quid tale uideret,
A noble heart, who, lest his eyes should see such things befall,
procubuit moriens et humum semel ore momordit.
Hath laid him down in death, and bit the earth’s face once for all.
sin et opes nobis et adhuc intacta iuuentus
And if we still have store of force, and crop of youth unlaid,
auxilioque urbes Italae populique supersunt, 420
And many a town, and many a folk of Italy to aid;
sin et Troianis cum multo gloria uenit
And if across a sea of blood the Trojan glory came,
sanguine (sunt illis sua funera, parque per omnis
And they too died, and over all with one blast and the same
tempestas), cur indecores in limine primo
The tempest swept; why shameless thus do our first footsteps fail?
deficimus? cur ante tubam tremor occupat artus?
Why quake our limbs, yea e’en before they feel the trumpet’s gale?
multa dies uariique labor mutabilis aeui 425
A many things the shifting time, the long laborious days,
rettulit in melius, multos alterna reuisens
Have mended oft: a many men hath Fortune’s wavering ways
lusit et in solido rursus Fortuna locauit.
Made sport of, and brought back again to set on moveless rock.
non erit auxilio nobis Aetolus et Arpi:
The Ætolian and his Arpi host help not our battle-shock.
at Messapus erit felixque Tolumnius et quos
Yet is Messapus ours, and ours Tolumnius fortunate,
tot populi misere duces, nec parua sequetur 430
And many a duke and many a folk; nor yet shall tarry late
gloria delectos Latio et Laurentibus agris.
The glory of our Latin lords and this Laurentian lea.
est et Volscorum egregia de gente Camilla
Here too Camilla, nobly born of Volscian stock, shall be,
agmen agens equitum et florentis aere cateruas.
Leading her companies of horse that blossom brass all o’er.
quod si me solum Teucri in certamina poscunt
But if the Teucrians me alone are calling to the war,
idque placet tantumque bonis communibus obsto, 435
And thus ’tis doomed, and I so much the common good withstand —
non adeo has exosa manus Victoria fugit
Well, victory hath not heretofore so fled my hated hand
ut tanta quicquam pro spe temptare recusem.
That I should falter from the play with such a prize in sight:
ibo animis contra, uel magnum praestet Achillem
Fain shall I face him, yea, though he outgo Achilles’ might,
factaque Volcani manibus paria induat arma
And carry battle-gear as good of Vulcan’s fashioning,
ille licet. uobis animam hanc soceroque Latino 440
For you, and for Latinus here, my father and my king,
Turnus ego, haud ulli ueterum uirtute secundus,
I, Turnus, second unto none in valour of old years,
deuoui. solum Aeneas uocat? et uocet oro;
Devote my life. Æneas calls me only of the peers?
nec Drances potius, siue est haec ira deorum,
— O that he may! — not Drances here — the debt of death to pay
morte luat, siue est uirtus et gloria, tollat.’
If God be wroth, or if Fame win, to bear the prize away.”
Illi haec inter se dubiis de rebus agebant 445
But while amid their doubtful fate the ball of speech they tossed,
certantes: castra Aeneas aciemque mouebat.
Contending sore, Æneas moved his camp and battle-host;
nuntius ingenti per regia tecta tumultu
And lo, amid the kingly house there runs a messenger
ecce ruit magnisque urbem terroribus implet:
Mid tumult huge, who all the town to mighty dread doth stir,
instructos acie Tiberino a flumine Teucros
With tidings how the Teucrian host and Tuscan men of war
Tyrrhenamque manum totis descendere campis. 450
Were marching from the Tiber flood, the meadows covering o’er.
extemplo turbati animi concussaque uulgi
Amazèd are the minds of men; their hearts with tremor shake,
pectora et arrectae stimulis haud mollibus irae.
And anger stirred by bitter stings is presently awake:
arma manu trepidi poscunt, fremit arma iuuentus,
In haste and heat they crave for arms; the youth cries on the sword,
flent maesti mussantque patres. hic undique clamor
The Fathers mutter sad and weep: with many a wrangling word
dissensu uario magnus se tollit in auras, 455
A mighty tumult goeth up, and toward the sky doth sweep:
haud secus atque alto in luco cum forte cateruae
Not otherwise than when the fowl amid the thicket deep
consedere auium, piscosoue amne Padusae
Sit down in hosts; or when the swans send forth their shrilling song
dant sonitum rauci per stagna loquacia cycni.
About Padusa’s fishy flood, the noisy pools among.
‘immo,’ ait ‘o ciues,’ arrepto tempore Turnus,
“Come, fellow-folk,” cries Turnus then, for he the time doth seize,
‘cogite concilium et pacem laudate sedentes; 460
“Call ye to council even now, and sit and praise the peace,
illi armis in regna ruunt.’ nec plura locutus
And let the armed foe wrack the realm!” Nor more he said withal,
corripuit sese et tectis citus extulit altis.
But turned about and went his ways from that high-builded hall.
‘tu, Voluse, armari Volscorum edice maniplis,
Said he: “Volusus, lead away the Volscian ranks to fight,
duc’ ait ‘et Rutulos. equitem Messapus in armis,
And Rutuli! Messapus, thou, afield with horse and knight!
et cum fratre Coras latis diffundite campis. 465
Thou, Coras, with thy brother duke sweep down the level mead.
pars aditus urbis firment turrisque capessant;
Let some make breaches good, and some man the high towers with heed;
cetera, qua iusso, mecum manus inferat arma.’
And let the rest bear arms with me whereso my bidding sends.”
Ilicet in muros tota discurritur urbe.
Then straightway, running in all haste, to wall the city wends.
concilium ipse pater et magna incepta Latinus
Sore shaken in his very heart, by that ill tide undone,
deserit ac tristi turbatus tempore differt, 470
&nb
sp; His council Sire Latinus leaves and those great redes begun:
multaque se incusat qui non acceperit ultro
Blaming himself that he took not Æneas of free will,
Dardanium Aenean generumque asciuerit urbi.
Nor gave the town that Dardan lord the place of son to fill.
praefodiunt alii portas aut saxa sudesque
Now some dig dykes before the gate, or carry stones and stakes,
subuectant. bello dat signum rauca cruentum
And bloody token of the war the shattering trump awakes.
bucina. tum muros uaria cinxere corona 475
Mothers and lads, a motley guard, they crown the threatened wall,
matronae puerique, uocat labor ultimus omnis.
For this last tide of grief and care hath voice to cry for all.
nec non ad templum summasque ad Palladis arces
Moreover to the temple-stead, to Pallas’ house on high,
subuehitur magna matrum regina caterua
The Queen goes forth hedged all about by matron company,
dona ferens, iuxtaque comes Lauinia uirgo,
And bearing gifts: next unto whom, the cause of all this woe,
causa mali tanti, oculos deiecta decoros. 480
With lovely eyes cast down to earth, doth maid Lavinia go.
succedunt matres et templum ture uaporant
They enter and with frankincense becloud the temple o’er,
et maestas alto fundunt de limine uoces:
And cast their woeful voices forth from out the high-built door:
‘armipotens, praeses belli, Tritonia uirgo,
“O Weapon-great Tritonian Maid, O front of war-array,
frange manu telum Phrygii praedonis, et ipsum
Break thou the Phrygian robber’s sword, and prone his body lay
pronum sterne solo portisque effunde sub altis.’ 485
On this our earth; cast him adown beneath our gates high-reared!”
cingitur ipse furens certatim in proelia Turnus.
Now eager Turnus for the war his body did begird:
iamque adeo rutilum thoraca indutus aenis
The ruddy-gleaming coat of mail upon his breast he did,
horrebat squamis surasque incluserat auro,
And roughened him with brazen scales; with gold his legs he hid;
tempora nudus adhuc, laterique accinxerat ensem,
With brow yet bare, unto his side he girt the sword of fight,
fulgebatque alta decurrens aureus arce 490
And all a glittering golden man ran down the castle’s height.
exsultatque animis et spe iam praecipit hostem:
High leaps his heart, his hope runs forth the foeman’s host to face:
qualis ubi abruptis fugit praesepia uinclis
As steed, when broken are the bonds, fleeth the stabling place,
