Aeneid Translation Lines 1-253

Arma virumque cano,

I sing of arms and a man

Troiae qui primus ab oris

Italiam, fato profugus, Laviniaque venit

litora,

who first from the shores of Troy

to Italy, exiled by fate, came to Lavinian shores

multum ille et terris iactatus et alto

vi superum saevae memorem Iunonis ob iram;

that man, (having been) buffeted much both by the lands and by the sea

by the power of the savage heavenly gods, on account of the mindful anger of Juno;

Tantaene animis caelestibus irae?

Is there such great anger in the minds of the gods?

et spumas salis aere ruebant,

and (they were) rushing froths of saltwater with bronze,

Talia flammato secum dea corde volutans

nimborum in patriam, loca feta furentibus austris,

Aeoliam venit.

The goddess, pondering these things to herself with her heart inflamed,

came to Aeolia, the country of clouds, a place teeming with furious winds.

Hic vasto rex Aeolus antro

luctantes ventos tempestatesque sonoras

imperio premit

Here King Aeolus in his vast cave

presses wrestling winds and loud storms with his power

ac vinclis et carcere frenat.

and restrains them with chains and a prison.

Illi indignantes magno cum murmure montis

circum claustra fremunt;

They, angry/chafing, with a great murmur, howl around the barriers of the mountain;

celsa sedet Aeolus arce sceptra tenens,

Aeolus sits in his high citadel, holding his sceptre,

mollitque animos et temperat iras.

and soothes [their] spirits and refrains [their] angers.

Ni faciat, maria ac terras caelumque profundum

quippe ferant rapidi secum verrantque per auras.

Unless he did this, they would, of course, carry the seas and lands and vast sky

with them and sweep rapidly through the skies.

Sed pater omnipotens speluncis abdidit atris,

But the all-knowing father hid them in black caves,

'Aeole, namque tibi divom pater atque hominum rex

et mulcere dedit fluctus et tollere vento,

'Aeolus, for to you the father of the gods and the king of men

gave [power] both to calm the floods and to raise with the wind,

gens inimica mihi Tyrrhenum navigat aequor,

Ilium in Italiam portns victosque Penates:

a race hostile to me is sailing the Tyrrhenian sea,

carrying Troy and the conquered Penates into Italy:

incute vim ventis submersasque obrue puppes,

aut age diversos et disiice corpora ponto.

Strike force with winds and crush the submerged sterns,

or drive the scattered [Trojans] and scatter their bodies in the sea.

Aeolus haec contra:

Aeolus said these things in response:

'Tuus, O regina, quid optes

explorare labor;

'O Queen, it is your work to explore what you choose;

mihi iussa capessere fas est.

it is right for me to undertake things which are ordered.

Tu mihi, quodcumque hoc regni, tu sceptra Iovemque

concilias, tu das epulis accumbere divom,

You give to me, whatever of a kingdom this is, you make favourable the sceptre of Jupiter,

you give [allow me] to recline at the feasts of the gods,

nimborumque facis tempestatumque potentem.

and you make me powerful of the clouds and storms.'

Haec ubi dicta, cavum conversa cuspide montem

impulit in latus:

When these things were said, he struck the hollow mountain in its side

with a turned spear:

ac venti, velut agmine facto,

qua data porta, ruunt et terras turbine perflant.

and the winds, just as if with a battle line having been made,

when an opening is given, rush and blow acroos the lands with a whirlwind.

Eripiunt subito nubes caelumque diemque

Teucrorum ex oculis;

Suddenly clouds snatch away the sky and the day from the

eyes of the Teucrians;

ponto nox incubat atra.

black night lays upon the sea.

Intonuere poli, et crebris micat ignibus aether,

The skies thundered, and heaven flashes with frequent fires,

praesentemque viris intenant omnia mortem.

and all things point to immediate death for the men.

multa quoque et bello passus, dum conderet urbem,

and having suffered many things also from the war, until he might found a city

inferretque deos Latio, genus unde Latinum,

Albanique patres, atque altae moenia Romae.

and bring in the gods to Latium, from whence the Latin race,

and the Alban fathers, and also the walls of lofty Rome.

Musa, mihi causas memora, quo numine laeso,

quidve dolens,

Muse, recount to me the causes, by what injured god,

or grieving what

regina deum tot volvere casus

insignem pietate virum, tot adire labores

impulerit.

the queen of the gods

forced a man notable for his piety to experience so many disasters and to undergo so may labours.

Urbs antiqua fuit, Tyrii tenuere coloni,

There was an ancient city, (which) Tyrian colonists held

Karthago, Italiam contra Tiberinaque longe

ostia,

Carthage, facing Italy and the mouths of the river Tiber at a distance

dives opum studiisque asperrima belli;

rich in resources and most harsh in eagerness for war;

quam Iuno fertur terris magis omnibus unam

posthabita coluisse Samo;

Which (one) Juno is said to have cherished more than all the lands, with Samos held second;

hic illius arma,

hic currus fuit;

Here were her arms,

here was her chariot;

hoc regnum dea gentibus esse,

si qua fata sinant, iam tum tenditque fovetque.

if in some way the fates would allow, the goddess already at that time aims and favours this (city) to be a seat of power for nations.

Progeniem sed enim Troiano a sanguine duci

audierat, Tyrias olim quae verteret arces;

But indeed she had heard that offspring was being produced from Trojan blood,

which one day would overturn the Tyrian citadels;

hinc populum late regem belloque superbum

venturum excidio Libyae:

From this would come a people ruling widely and proud in war

for the destruction of Libya:

sic volvere Parcas.

So the fates to have unrolled.

Id metuens, veterisque memor Saturnia belli,

prima quod ad Troiam pro caris gesserat Argis -

Fearing this, and mindful of the old war, the daughter of Saturn,

who had waged the war foremost on behalf of her dear Argos against Troy -

necdum etiam causae irarum saevique dolores

exciderant animo:

The causes of her anger and her savage griefs

had not yet left (from) her mind:

manet alta mente repostum

iudicium Paridis spretaeque iniuria formae,

et genus invisum, et rapti Ganymedis honores.

The judgement of Paris remains stored up in her deep mind, and the injury to her scorned beauty,

and the hated race, and the honours of the seized Ganymede.

His accensa super,

Having been inflamed by/over these things,

iactatos aequore toto

Troas, reliquias Danaum atque immitis Achilli,

arcebat longe Latio,

she was keeping the Trojans, the leftovers of the Greeks and pitiless Achilles,

having been buffeted by the whole sea, far from Latium,

multosque per annos

errabant, acti fatis, maria omnia circum.

and they were wandering for many years,

driven by the fates, around all the oceans.

Tantae molis erat Romanam condere gentem!

Of such great difficulty was it to found the Roman race!

Vix e conspectu Siculae telluris in altum

vela dabant laeti,

Scarcely out of sight of Sicilian land,

the happy men were giving sails to the sea,

cum Iuno, aeternum servans sub pectore volnus,

haec secum:

when Juno, nursing an eternal wound under her chest,

[said] these things to herself:

'Mene incepto desistere victam,

nec posse Italia Teucrorum avertere regem?

'Am I to desist from what I have begun, defeated,

and not be able to turn the king of the Teucrians away from Italy?

Quippe vetor fatis.

Of course I am prevented by the fates.

Pallasne exurere classem

Argivom atque ipsos potuit submergere ponto,

unius ob noxam et furias Aiacis Oilei?

Was not Pallas (Athena/Minerva) able to burn the fleet of the Argives

and to sink them in the sea,

on account of the crimes of one man, and the furies of Ajax, son of Oileus?

Ipsa, Iovis rapidum iaculata e nubibus ignem,

disiecitque rates evertitque aequora ventis,

She herself, having thrown the rapid fire of Jupiter from the clouds,

scattered their ships and overturned the sea with winds,

illum expirantem transfixo pectore flammas

turbine corripuit scopuloque infixit acuto.

with a whirlwind she seized that man, breathing out fire with his pierced chest,

and she impaled him on a sharp rock.

Ast ego, quae divom incedo regina, Iovisque

et soror et coniunx, una cum gente tot annos

bella gero!

But I, who go (majestically) as queen of the gods,

both sister and wife of Jupiter, am waging war

with one nation for so many years!

Et quisquam numem Iononis adoret

praeterea, aut supplex aris imponet honorem?'

And moreover may anyone adore the divine will of Juno in the future,

or place a sacrifice on my altars as a supplicant?

hoc metuens,

fearing this,

molemque et montes insuper altos

imposuit,

and besides that put on a mass and high mountains,

regemque dedit, qui foedere certo

et premere et laxas sciret dare iussus habenas.

and gave a king, who, by a certain agreement,

knew both [when] to press and to give loose reins, having been ordered.

Ad quem tum Iuno supplex his vocibus usa est:

Towards whom then Juno as a supplicant used these words (voices):

Sunt mihi bis septem praestanti corpore nymphae,

I have fourteen nymphs, outstanding in beauty,

quarum quae forma pulcherrima Deiopea,

of whom the most beautiful in appearance is Deipoea

conubio iungam stabili propriamque dicabo,

I shall join you in lasting marriage and proclaim her your own,

omnis ut tecum meritis pro talibus annos

exigat,

so that for such services she may live with you for all [her/your] years,

et pulchra faciat te prole parentem.'

and make you a parent to beautiful offspring.'

Incubuere mari, totumque a sedibus imis

una Eurusque Notusque ruunt creberque procellis

Africus,

They laid themselves on the sea, and rush the whole [sea] from the deepest places,

the East wind and South wind and the south-west wind together, crowded with gusts,

et vastos volvunt ad litora fluctus.

and they roll vast waves towards the shore.

Insequitur clamorque virum stridorque rudentum.

And the shouting of men and the creaking of ropes follow.

Extemplo Aeneae solvuntur frigore membra:

Without delay Aeneas' limbs loosen with the cold:

ingemit, et duplicis tendens ad sidera palmas

talia voce refert:

He groans, and, holding both palms to the stars,

he carries such things with his voice:

'O terque quaterque beati,

quis ante ora patrum Troiae sub moenibus altis

contingit oppetere!

'O thrice and four times blessed,

for whom it befell to encounter death before the faces of their fathers,

under the high walls of Troy!

O Danaum fortissime gentis

Tydide!

O son of Tydeus most brave of the race of the Greeks!

Mene Iliacis occumbere campis

non potuisse, tuaque animam hanc effundere dextra,

Why could I not have been able to fall in the Trojan plains,

and to pour out this soul by your right hand,

saevus ubi Aeacidae telo iacet Hector, ubi ingens

Sarpedon,

where savage Hector lies with the spear of the descendent of Aeacis,

where huge Sarpedon [lies],

ubi tot Simois correpta sub undis

scuta virum galeasque et fortia corpora volvit?'

where the Simois turns so many seized shields and helmets of men

and their brave bodies under the waves?'

Talia iactanti stridens Aquilone procella

velum adversa ferit, fluctusque ad sidera tollit.

As he shouts such things, a roaring gale from the north

strikes the sail head-on, and raises waves to the stars.

Franguntur remi;

The oars are shattered;

tum prora avertit, et undis

dat latus;

then the prow turns away, and

gives the side to the waves;

insequitur cumulo praeruptus aquae mons.

a steep mountain of water follows in a heap.

Hi summo in fluctu pendent;

These men hang on the top of a wave;

his unda dehiscens

terram inter fluctus aperit;

a split wave reveals to them

a land among the waves;

furit aestus harenis.

a tide rages with the sands.

Tris Notus abreptas in saxa latentia torquet -

saxa vocant Itali medis quae in fluctibus aras -

dorsum immane mari summo;

The south wind turns three snatched up [ships] into the hiding rocks -

the Italians call the rocks which are in the middle of the waves "altars" -

An enormous spine at the top of the sea;

tris Eurus ab alto

in brevia et Syrtis urget, miserabile visu,

The east wind drives the three ships from the deep

into the shallows and a sand-bar, a pitiful sight,

inliditque vadis atque aggere cingit harenae.

and dashes them against the shallows, and encircles them with a wall of sand.

Unam, quae Lycios fidumque vehebat Oronten,

ipsius ante oculs ingens a vertice Pontus

in puppim ferit:

One, which was carrying the Lycians and faithful Orontes,

before his own eyes a huge sea strikes agains the deck

from a whirlpool:

excutitur pronusque magister

volvitur in caput;

and the pilot is knocked off

head-first and is rolled onto his head;

ast illam ter fluctus ibidem

torquet agens circum, et rapidus vorat aequore vortex.

but a wave twists that ship three times in the same place,

driving it around, and a swift whirlpool devours it from the surface of the sea.

Adparent rari nantes in gurgite vasto,

arma virum, tabulaeque, et Troia gaza per undas.

The scattered swimming men appear in a vast whirlpool,

the arms of men, and planks, and Trojan treasure through the waves.

Iam validam Ilionei navem, iam fortis Achati,

et qua vectus Abas, et qua grandaevus Aletes,

vicit hiems;

Now the storm conquers the stout ship of Ilioneus, now of brave Achates,

and the one by which Abas was carried, and by which aged Aletes;

laxis laterum compagibus omnes

accipiunt inimicum imbrem, rimisque fatiscunt.

All receive hostile water from loosened fastenings of the sides,

and they open with fissures.

Interea magno misceri murmure pontum,

emissamque hiemem sensit Neptunus, et imis

stagna refusa vadis, graviter commotus;

Meanwhile Neptune senses that the sea is mixed up with a great roar,

and the storm which was sent out,

and still waters poured from the deepest depth, seriously moved;

et alto

prospiciens, summa placidum caput extulit unda.

and looking out from the deep,

he lifted his peaceful head out of the top of a wave.

Disiectam Aeneae, toto videt aequore classem,

fluctibus oppressos Troas caelique ruina,

He sees the fleet of Aeneas, scattered over the whole sea,

the Trojans overwhelmed by the waves and the ruin of the sky,

nec latuere doli fratrem Iunonis et irae.

nor do the tricks and angers of Juno escape the notice of her brother.

Eurem ad se Zephyrumque vocat, dehinc talia fatur:

He calls the east wind and the west wind to him, then says such things:

'Tantane vos generis tenuit fiducia vestri?

'Does confidence so great in your family hold you?

Iam caelum terramque meo sine numine, venti,

miscere, et tantas audetis tollere moles?

Now, winds, you dare to stir up the land and the sky

without my will, and to raise such burdens?

Quos ego - sed motos praestat componere fluctus.

I... you! - but it is better to compose the stirred waves.

Post mihi non simili poena commissa luetis.

Afterwards you shall atone to me for this crime with different punishment.