Section C: Lines 679-712

interea videt Aeneas in valle reducta

And now, in a remote valley, Aeneas sees

seclusum nemus

a secluded grove

et virgulta sonantia silvae

and swishing thickets of a wood,

Lethaeumque domos placidas qui praenatat amnem

and the Lethean river which glides past peaceful dwellings.

hunc circum innumerae gentes populique volabant

Around this, countless races and peoples flitted:

ac velut in pratis ubi

and just as when in the meadows,

apes aestate serena

bees in the bright summertime,

floribus insidunt variis

settle upon different flowers

et candida circum lilia funduntur

and swarm around white lilies,

strepit omnis murmure campus

the whole plain buzzes with humming.

horrescit visu subito ... Aeneas

Aeneas bristles with joy at the sudden sight

causasque requirit inscius

and, unknowing, asks for the reasons,

quae sint ea flumina porro

what those rivers are in the distance,

quive viri tanto complerint agmine ripas

or what men have filled the riverbanks in such a great mass.

sic equidem ducebam animo

Thus, I for my part, I kept reckoning in my mind

rebarque futurum

and kept thinking it would be,

tempora dinumerans

counting the seasons

nec me mea cura fefellit

nor did my anxiety fail me.

quas ego te terras et quanta per aequora vectum accipio!

I welcome you; over what lands and what great seas you have travelled!

quantis iactatum, nate, periclis!

By what great dangers you have been tossed about, son!

quam metui

How I feared

ne quid Libyae tibi regna nocerent!

lest the kingdoms of Libya might harm you in some way!'

ille autem

But Aeneas replied:

‘tua me, genitor, tua tristis imago

‘It was your image, your sad image, father

saepius occurrens

so often springing to my mind

haec limina tendere adegit

which drove me to make my way to these thresholds;

stant sale Tyrrheno classes

my ships stand on the Tyrrhenian sea.

da iungere dextram, da, genitor,

Grant, father, grant me to join our right hands,

teque amplexu ne subtrahe nostro’

and do not withdraw from my embrace.’

sic memorans

As he spoke thus,

largo fletu simul ora rigabat

he moistened his face at the same time with copious weeping.

ter conatus ibi collo dare bracchia circum

Three times he tried to put his arms around Anchises’ neck;

ter frustra comprensa manus effugit imago

three times the image, grasped in vain, escaped his hands

par levibus ventis

like light winds

volucrique simillima somno

and most similar to winged sleep.

at pater Anchises

But father Anchises,

penitus convalle virenti

deep within a green valley,

inclusas animas…lustrabat studio recolens

surveying them zealously, was reviewing the souls who were confined there

superumque ad lumen ituras

and about to go into the light of the world above,

omnemque suorum forte recensebat numerum

and by chance he was counting the whole number of his family,

carosque nepotes

his beloved descendants,

fataque fortunasque virum

the destinies and fortunes of the men,

moresque manusque

their customs and works

isque ubi tendentem adversum per gramina vidit Aenean

When he saw Aeneas opposite him making his way through the grass,

alacris palmas utrasque tetendit

he eagerly stretched out both palms

effusaeque genis lacrimae

and tears poured down his cheeks

et vox excidit ore

and a cry slipped out from his mouth:

venisti tandem

‘Have you come at last?

tuaque exspectata parenti vicit iter durum pietas?

And has your devotion, awaited by your parent, overcome the hard journey?

datur ora tueri, nate, tua

Is it allowed to behold your face, son,

"et notas audire et reddere voces?"

"and to hear and answer your well-known tones?"