Latin Aeneid 8 Lines Translation

This is for memorising the text.

inde ubi prima quies medio iam noctis abactae
curriculo expulerat somnum, cum femina primum,
cui tolerare colo vitam tenuique Minerva
impositum, cinerem sopitos suscitat ignes
noctem addens operi, famulasque ad lumina longo
exercet penso, castum ut servare cupile
coniugis et possit parvos educere natos:

Then when an initial rest, in the middle of night’s [course] now shortened,
had driven out sleep, when first a woman,
for whom [it has been imposed] to sustain life
with the distaff and with fine (work of) Minerva,
she revives the ashes and the sleeping fires
adding night-time to her work, and [keeps] the slaves at the lamps with lengthy
labour, to [be able to] keep her [husband’s] bedroom chaste
and raise her small sons:

haud secus ignipotens nec tempore segnior illo
mollibus e stratis opera ad fabrilia surgit.

No differently did the fire-meister (Vulcan), nor later than that time,
rise from his soft bed to his workman’s labours.

insula Sicanium iuxta latus Aeoliamque
erigitur Liparen fumantibus ardua saxis,
quam subter specus et Cyclopum exesa caminis
antra Aetnaea tonant, validique incudibus ictus
auditi referunt gemitus, striduntque cavernis
stricturae Chalybum et fornacibus ignis anhelat,
Volcani domus et Volcania nomine tellus.

An island, next to the Sicilian coast and Aeolian [Lipari],
rises, steep with smoking rocks,
underneath it, a cave and, hollowed out for the forges of the Cyclopes,
the Aetnaean caverns, ring, and the powerful blows on the anvils,
once heard, re-echo the groans, and the [lumps of iron] shriek in the caves
and the fire sighs in the furnaces,
the home of Vulcan, and the land by the name Volcania.

hoc tunc ignipotens caelo descendit ab alto.

To this place, then, the fire-meister descended from high heaven.

ferrum exercebat vasto Cyclopes in antro,
Brontesque Steropesque et nudus membra Pyracmon.

The Cyclopes were working the iron in the enormous cave,
and Brontes and Steropes and Pyracmon, naked with respect to his limbs.

his informatum manibus iam parte polita
fulmen erat, toto genitor quae plurima caelo
deicit in terras, pars imperfecta manebat.

In their hands was a thunderbolt, with a part already polished and
roughly shaped, (one of the) very many, which the Father hurls down from all over the sky
onto the lands, (but) part was remaining unfinished.

tris imbris torti radios, tris nubis aquosae
addiderant, rutuli tris ignis et alitis Austri.

They had added three rays of twisted rain, three of watery clouds,
three of red fire, and three of the winged South Wind.

fulgores nunc terrificos sonitumque meltumque
miscebant operi flammisque sequacibus iras.

Now they were mixing into the work terrifying flashes and sound and fear
and angers with persuing flames.

parte alia Marti currumque rotasque volucres
instabant, quibus ille viros, quibus excitat urbes;

On the other side, (they were vigorously making) a chariot and swift wheels for Mars,
with which he rouses men, with which he stirs up cities;

aegidaque horriferam, turbatae Palladis arma,
certatim squamis serpentum auroque polibant
conexosque angues ipsamque in pectore divae
Gorgona desecto vertentem lumina collo.

(They were eagerly adorning) the horrifying aegis, the weapon of roused Pallas (Athena),
with scales of serpents and with gold
and the entwined snakes and the very (Gorgon) on the breast of the goddess
turning her eyes after her neck had been severed.

‘tollite cuncta’ inquit ‘coeptosque auferte labores,
Aetnaei Cyclopes, et huc advertite mentem:

‘Stop everything’ he said ‘and take away the initiated tasks,
Aetnaean Cyclopes, and turn your minds here:

arma acri facienda viro.

Weapons to be made for a brave man.

nunc viribus usus,
nunc manibus rapidis, omni nunc arte magistra.

Now there is need for strength,
now with swift hands, now with all the craft as (your) guide.

praecipitate moras.’

Remove [any] delays’.

nec plura effatus, at illi
ocius incubere omnes pariterque laborem
sortiti.

He said no more, but they
all applied (themselves) more quickly (to the task), [divided] the work equally.

fluit aes rivis aurique metallum
vulnificusque chalybs vasta fornace linquescit.

The bronze and the metal of gold flowed in the rivers
and the death-dealing iron melted in an enormous furnace.

ingentem clipeum informant, unum omnia contra
tela Latinorum, septenosque orbibus orbes
impediunt.

They mould a great shield, one against all
weapons of the Latins, and [weld] circles upon circles sevenfold.

alii ventosis follibus auras
accipiunt redduntque alii stridentia tingunt
aera lacu;

Some, with puffing bellows,
sucked in [air] and blew it out, others dipped the hissing
bronze in the lake;

illi inter sese multa vi bracchia tollunt
in numerum, versantque tenaci forcipe massam.

With great strength, they raised their arms together
in sync, and turned the mass with firm tongs.

haec pater Aeoliis properat dum Lemnius oris,
Evandrum ex humili tecto lux suscitat alma
et matutini volucrum sub culmine cantus.

While the Lemnian father hastens these things on the Aeolian shores,
the.nourishing light [and the morning song of the birds]
from under the roof, [rouses Evander from his humble house].

consurgit senior tunicaque inducitur artus
et Tyrrhena pedum circumdat vincula plantis.

The old man rises and clothed his body with a tunic
and straps his Etruscan sandals to the soles of his feet.

tum lateri atque umeris Tegeaeum subligat ensem
demissa ab laeva pantherae terga retorquens.

Then he fastens his Tegaean sword over his shoulder and down his side
swirling back the skin of a panther hung from the left side.

nec non et gemini custodes limine ab alto
praecedunt gressumque canes comitantur erilem.

And likewise two guard [dogs ran ahead] from the high gate
accompanying their master’s steps.

hospitis Aeneae sedem et secreta petebat
sermonum memor et promissi muneros heros.

The hero makes his way to the secluded lodging of his guest Aeneas
mindful of his words and of the assistance he had promised.

nec minus Aeneas se matutinus agebat;

Aeneas was astir no less early;

filius huic Pallas illi comes ibat Achates.

Pallas the son went as companion with that one, Achates a companion with the other.

congressi iungunt dextras mediisque residunt
aedibus et licito tandem sermone fruuntur.

They joined hands as they met and sat down in the courtyard
and finally, having been allowed, were engaging in conversation.

rex prior haec:
‘maxime Teucrorum ductor, quo sospite numquam
res equidem Troiae victas aut regna fatebor,
nobis ad belli auxilium pro nomine tanto
exiguae vires;

The king was the first to say (these things):
‘Greatest leader of the Teucrians, while you are safe and sound,
for my part I will never confess the Trojan state or power has been conquered,
our (strength) to help in war is (inadequate) to such a name;

hinc Tusco claudimur amni,
hinc Rutulus premit et murum circumsonat armis.

On one side we are being shut in by the Tuscan river,
from here the Rutulian presses us and raises the clang of arms around our walls.

sed tibi ego ingentis populos opulentaque regnis
iungere castra paro, quam fors inopina salutem
ostentat: fatis huc te poscentibus adfers.

But [I decided to affiliate] mighty peoples to you, and
a war-camp [rich with royal forces], a way of salvation which unexpected fortune
reveals: You bring yourself here while the fates were requesting you.

haud procul hinc saxo incolitur fundata vetusto
urbis Agyllinae sedes, ubi Lydia quondam
gens, bello praeclara, iugis insedit Etruscis.

Not far from here is [where] the [site of the city Agylla] is inhabited,
[founded from ancient stone], where formerly the Lydian [race]
famous in war, settled in the Etruscan heights.

hanc multos florentem annos rex deinde superbo
imperio et saevis tenuit Mezentius armis.

Caere was flourishng for many years, until King [Mezentius]
ruled it with [arrogant] power and savage weapons.

quid memorem infandas caedes, quid facta tyranni
effera?

Why should I recall the cruel murders, why should I recall the [brutal] acts of the tyrant?

di capiti ipsius generique reservent!

The gods must reserve such for his own life and race!

mortua quin etiam iungebat corpora vivis
componens manibusque manus atque oribus ora,
tormenti genus, et sanie taboque fluentis
complexu in misero longa sic morte necabat.

In fact he even tied dead bodies to living people,
placing hand to hand and face to face
as a method of torture, and with the streams of pus and gore
he kills in a wretched embrace and thus with a lingering death.

at fessi tandem cives infanda furentem
armati circumsistunt ipsumque domumque,
obtruncat socios, ignem ad fastigia iactant.

But the fed-up citizens at last [having armed themselves]
surrounded [the unspeakably mad man] and his own palace,
cut down his associates, and set fire to his roofs.

ille inter caedem Rutulorum elapsus in agros
confugere et Turni defendier hospitis armis.

He slipped away during the slaughter, [and escaped] to the territories of the Rutulians,
and was protected by Turnus’ allied army.

ergo omnis furiis surrexit Etruria iustis,
regem ad supplicium prasenti Marte reposcunt.

Therefore all Etruria rose in rightful anger,
they demand the king for punishment, with the threat of immediate war.

his ego te, Aenea, ductorem milibus addam.

Aeneas, I shall make you leader of these thousands.

toto namque fremunt condensae litore puppes
signaque ferre iubent, retinet longaevus haruspex
fata canens:

For and in fact, their prows, gathered together, roar through the whole shore
and they order the standards to advance, the aged prophet holds them back
foretelling tales:

‘O Maeoniae delecta iuventus,
flos veterum virtusque virum, quos iustus in hostem
fert dolor et merita accendit Mezentius ira,
nulli fas Italo tantam subiungere gentem:
externos optate duces.’

‘O chosen youth of Maeonia,
the flower and the honour of our ancient race, whom righteous [resentment]
bears [against the enemy], and whom Mezentius inflames with deserved anger,
it is right for no Italian to subdue such a people:
choose foreigners as leaders.’

tum Etrusca resedit
hoc acies campo monitis exterrita divum.

Then the Etruscan [battle-lines] settled down
on the plain here, scared by the warning from the gods.

ipse oratores ad me regnique coronam
cum sceptro misit mandatque insignia Tarchon,
succedam castris Tyrrhenaque regna capessam.

[Tarchon] himself [has sent] ambassadors to me and the crown of the kingdom,
with the sceptre, and entrusted his insignia [to me],
so that I may come into the camp, and I seize the Tuscan kingdoms.

sed mihi tarda gelu saeclisque effeta senectus
invidet imperium seraeque ad fortia vires.

But old age, slow with frost and worn out by time,
and strength, too late for brave acts, refuses [me] the command

natum exhortarer ni mixtus matre Sabella
hinc partem patriae traheret.

I would encourage my son, if not mixed with a Sabine mother,
from where he gets the part of her country.

tu, cuius et annis
et generi fatum indulget, quem numina poscunt,
ingredere, o Teucrum atque Italum fortissime ductor.

You, whose [fate]
is kind to both your years and race, whom the divine will demands,
proceed, o bravest leader of the Trojans and Italians.

hunc tibi praeterea, spes et solacia nostri,
Pallanta adiungam;

Besides, [I will attach Pallas] himself to you, our hope and comfort;

sub te tolerare magistro
militiam et grave Martis opus, tua cernere facta
adsuescat, primis et te miretur ab annis.

Under you, his tutor, [let him grow accustomed] to endure
military service and the heavy work of war, to see your actions,
and let him admire you from his early years.

Arcadas huic equites bis centum, robora pubis
lecta dabo, totidemque suo tibi nomine Pallas.’

[I shall give] him two hundred Arcadian horsemen, the [chosen] strength of our youth
and Pallas shall grant the same (strength) to you in his own name.

vix ea fatus erat, defixique ora tenebant
Aeneas Anchisiades et fidus Achates,
multaque dura suo tristi cum corde putabant,
ni signum caelo Cytherea dedisset aperto.

[Evander] had hardly spoken these (words), and they held their expressions, downcast
Aeneas, son of Anchises, and loyal Achates
and were thinking of many difficult things (and would have continued to do so) with their sad hearts,
if Cytherea had not given a sign from a cloudless sky.

namque improviso vibratus ab aethere fulgor
cum sonitu venit, et ruere omnia visa repente,
Tyrrhenusque tubae mugire per aethera clangor.

For unexpectedly, lightning hurled from the air,
with a sound, came, and suddenly everything seemed to rush
and the Tyrrhenian blast of a trumpet seemed to bellow through the air.

suspiciunt, iterum atque iterum fragor increpat ingens.

They look up, again and again a huge crash thunders.

arma inter nubem, caeli in regione serena
per sudum rutilare, vident et pulsa tonare.

[They saw] that weapons, admist a cloud in a serene region of the heavens,
through (an otherwise) clear (sky), were flashing red and clashing like thunder.

obstipuere animis alii, sed Troius heros
agnovit sonitum et divae promissa parentis.

The others were astounded in their minds, but the Trojan hero
knew the sound and the promises of his divine parent.

tum memorat: ‘ne vero, hospes, ne quaere profecto
quem casum portenta ferant: ego poscor Olympo.

Then he said: ‘Indeed, my host, ask not, indeed
what fortune these omens might prophesy: I am summoned by Olympus

hoc signum cecinit missuram diva creatrix,
si bellum ingrueret, Volcaniaque arma per auras
laturam auxilio.

My goddess mother foretold that she would send this sign
if war would assail, and (would bring) Vulcan arms through the air
to my aid.

heu quantae miseris caedes Laurentibus instant!

Alas what great slaughters threaten the unfortunate Laurentines!

quas poenas mihi, Turne, dabis!

What penalties, Turnus, you will pay me!

quam multa sub undas
scuta virum galeasque et fortia corpora volves,
Thybri pater!

How many
shields and helmets and brave bodies of men you will roll (between your waves),
father Tiber!

poscant acies et foedera rumpant.’

Let them demand battles and break treaties.’

haec ubi dicta dedit, solio se tollit ab alto
et primum Herculeis sopitas ignibus aras
excitat, hesternumque larem parvosque penates
laetus adit;

When he gave these words, he raised himself from his high throne,
and first (rekindled) the dormant altars with Herculean fires,
and (joyful) he visited the Lar of yesterday and humble household gods;

mactat lectas de more bidentes
Evandrus pariter, pariter Troiana iuventus.

He sacrificed ewes chosen according to custom,
equally Evander, equally the Trojan youth.

post hinc ad naves graditur sociosque revisit,
quorum de numero qui sese in bella sequantur
praestantes virtute legit;

After this he walked to the ships and revisited his companions,
from the number of those - to follow him into war -
he chose those outstanding in courage;

pars cetera prona
fertur aqua segnisque secundo defluit amni,
nuntia ventura Ascanio rerumque patrisque.

The other part
was brought by the [down-stream] water, and without exertion, floats on the favourable current,
about to come, bringing word to Ascanius both of his affairs and his father.

dantur equi Teucris Tyrrhena petentibus arva;

Horses are given to the Trojans, seeking the Etruscan fields;

ducunt exsortem Aeneae, quem fulva leonis
pellis obit totum praefulgens unguibus aureis.

They lead a chosen mount for Aeneas, which the tawny [pelt] of a lion
covers completely, shining with golden claws.

fama volat parvem subito vulgata per urbem
ocius ire equites Tyrrheni ad limina regis.

Suddenly a rumour, having been spread around, flies through the small city,
(proclaiming that) the horsemen were going faster to the thresholds of the Etruscan king.

vota metu duplicant matres, propiusque periclo
it timor et maior Martis iam apparet imago.

Mothers double their prayers with fear, and [fear goes] closer to the danger,
and now the image of Mars appears greater.

tum pater Evandrus dextram complexus euntis
haeret inexpletus lacrimas ac talia fatur:

Then father Evander, having embraced his right hand as he was leaving,
clung (to him), weeping incessantly and spoke such things:

‘o mihi praeteritos referat si Iuppiter annos,
qualis eram cum primam aciem Praeneste sub ipsa
stravi, scutorumque incendi victor acervos
et regem hac Erulum dextra sub Tartara misi,
nascenti cui tres animas Feronia mater
(horrendum dictu) dederat, terna arma movenda—
ter leto sternendus erat;

‘O if only Jupiter could bring back to me the years that have passed,
[if I could be] like I was when (I threw down) the foremost ranks beneath Praeneste itself
and as victor I set fire to the piles of shields
and sent King Erulus down to Tartarus with this right hand
[he] to whom at his birth his mother Feronia
had given (awful to say) three lives, three sets of armour to be defeated—three times death had to throw him down;

cui tunc tamen omnes
abstuli haec animas dextra et totidem exuit armis:

From whom then however
this right hand took away all his lives and stripped [him] of as many arms:

non ego nunc dulci amplexu divellerer usquam,
nate, tuo, neque finitimo Mezentius umquam
huic capiti insultans tot ferro saeva dedisset
funera, tam multis viduasset civibus urbem.

[Then] I would never be torn from (your) sweet embrace,
my son, nor ever would Mezentius (being insulting) to me, his neighbour,
have dealt with so many savage (deaths) with the sword
[or] widowed the city of so many citizens.

at vos, o superi, et divum tu maxime rector
Iuppiter, Arcadii, quaeso, miserescite regis
et patrias audite preces.

But you, o gods, and you (Jupiter), greatest ruler of the gods,
take pity, I beg you on this Arcadian king
and hear a father’s prayers.

si numina vestra
incolumem Pallanta mihi, si fata reservant,
si visurus eum vivo venturus in unum,
vitam oro, patior quemvis durare laborem.

If your divine powers,
if the fates keep my Pallas safe,
if I live to see him and be together [with him]
I ask for life, I can bear to endure any hardship.

sin aliquem infandum casum, Fortuna, minaris,
nunc, nunc o liceat crudelem abrumpere vitam,
dum curae ambiguae, dum spes incerta futuri,
dum te, care puer, mea sola et sera voluptas,
complexu teneo, gravior neu nuntius aures
vulneret.’

But if, Fortune, you threaten any unspeakable misfortune,
now, o now, let it be allowed to break off this cruel existence,
while my worries [are] uncertain, while hope [is] uncertain of the future,
while you, beloved boy, my sole and late delight,
I hold in an embrace, and let no news more grave
wound my ears.’

haec genitor digressu dicta supremo
fundebat;

The father (was pouring forth) these words at their last parting;

famuli conlapsum in tecta ferebant.

The slaves were carrying him, having collapsed, into the palace.

iamque adeo exierat portis equitatus apertis
Aeneas inter primos et fidus Achates,
inde alii Troiae proceres;

And now indeed the cavalry had gone forth from the opened gates,
Aeneas and faithful Achates among the foremost,
then other Trojans chiefs;

ipse agmine Pallas
it medio, chlamyde et pictis conspectus in armis,
qualis ubi Oceani perfusus Lucifer unda,
quem Venus ante alios astrorum diligit ignes,
extulit os sacrum caelo tenebrasque resolvit.

Pallas himself (goes in the middle) of the column,
conspicuous with an embroidered cloak and decorated arms,
like when Lucifer, having been bathed by the wave of the Ocean,
whom Venus loves before other fires of the stars,
raises his sacred face to the sky and dispels the darkness.

stant pavidae in muris matres, oculisque sequntur
pulveream nubem et fulgentis aere catervas.

The fearful mothers stand on the walls, and with their eyes follow
the dusty cloud and the troops gleaming with bronze.

olli per dumos, qua proxima meta viarum
armati tendunt;

They press on through the thorny shrubs, where the turning point of their journey (is) nearest,
armed;

it clamor, et agmine facto
quadripedante putrem sonitu quatit ungula campum.

A shout goes up, and after their column has been formed,
with a four footed sound the hoof shakes the crumbling plain.

est ingens gelidum lucus prope Caeritis amnem,
religione patrum late sacer;

There is a great grove near the cold stream of Caere,
sacred far and wide from the sanctity of our ancestors;

undique colles
inculsere cavi et nigra nemus abiete cingunt.

[Secluded] hills
enclosed the grove [on all sides] and surround it with black fir trees.

Silvano fama est veteres sacrasse Pelasgos,
arvorum pecorisque deo, lucumque diemque,
qui primi fines aliquando habuere Latinos.

There is a rumour that the ancient Pelagi,
[consecrated] both the grove and the day to the gods of the fields and the flock, Silvanus
[who at first once held the Latin boundaries].

haud procul hinc Tarcho et Tyrrheni tuta tenebant
castra locis, celsoque omnis de colle videri
iam poterat legio et latis tendebat in arvis.

Not far from here, Tarchon and the Etruscans were holding
camps [safe] in these places, and [now] all the [legion could] be seen from the high hill
and were camping in the broad fields.

huc pater Aeneas et bello lecta iuventus
succedunt, fessique et equos et corpora curant.

Father Aeneas and the youth, selected for war, [advance] here,
and tired, tend to both their horses and their bodies.

at Venus aetherios inter dea candida nimbos
dona ferens aderat;

But Venus the radiant goddess among the ethereal clouds
was present, carrying gifts;

natumque in valle reducta
ut procul egelido secretum flumine vidit,
talibus adfata est dictis seque obtulit ultro:

And [when she saw] her son [from afar] in the secluded valley
alone, by a cold stream,
she spoke to (him) with these words and showed (up) herself, voluntarily:

‘en perfecta mei promissa coniguis arte
munera.

Lo, [the gifts] having been promised, perfected by the skill of my husband.

ne mox aut Laurentes, nate, superbos
aut acrem dubites in proelia poscere Turnum.’

O son, you [should not hesitate] [to] soon [challenge] either the arrogant Laurentines
or the bitter Turnus in battle.

dixit, et amplexus nati Cytherea petivit,
arma sub adversa posuit radianta quercu.

Venus said and sought the embraces of her son,
she placed the glittering arms under an opposite oak tree.

ille deae donis et tanto laetus honore
expleri nequit atque oculos per singula volvit,
miraturque interque manus et bracchia versat,
terribilem cristis galeam flammasque vomentem,
fatiferumque ensem loricam ex aere rigentem,
sanguineam ingentem, qualis cum caerula nubes
solis inardescit radiis longeque refulget;

Aeneas rejoiced with the gifts of the goddess and with such great an honour
unable to be satisfied and scans over each item
and admiring, and between his hands and arms he turns over
the helmet, terrifying with crests and spouting flames
and his death-dealing sword, his corselet stiff with bronze,
blood-red, huge, as when an azure cloud
glows with the sun’s rays and glistens from afar;

tum leves ocreas electro auroque recocto,
hastamque et clipei non enarrabile textum.

Then the polished greaves from electrum and refined gold,
and the spear and the indescribable fabric of the shield.

illic rec Italas Romanorumque triumphos
haud vatum ignarus venturique inscius aevi
fecerat ignipotens, illic genus omne futurae
stirpis ab Ascanio pugnataque in ordine bella.

There the Italian shores and triumphs of the Romans (the fire-master had made),
not at all ignorant of the prophets nor unknowing of the time about to come,
there all birth
of [future] descendants from Ascanius and wars fought in order.

fecerat et viridi fetam Mavortis in antro
procubuisse lupam, geminos huic ubera circum
ludere pendentes pueros et lambere matrem
impavidos, illam tereti cervice reflexa
mulcere alternos et corpora fingere lingua.

And he portrayed in the green cave of Mars, a nursing (wolf)
to have lain down, the twin (boys hanging) around by her teats
to play and to fearlessly suckle her mother
(and that) having bent her neck back smoothly,
she soothed them in turn and licked their bodies with her tongue.

nec procul hinc Romam et raptas sine more Sabinas
consessu caveae, magnis Circensibus actis,
addiderat, subitoque novum consurgere bellum
Romulidis Tatioque seni Curibusque severis.

Not far from here [he had added] Rome and the Sabine women, snatched without law
from the seated crowd, when the great Circus games had been held,
and [he had added] that suddenly a new war had broken out
betweeen Romulus’ men, and the old Tatius and the stern Cures.

post idem inter se posito certamine reges
armati Iovis ante aram paterasque tenentes
stabant et caesa iungebant foedera porca.

After the same two kings had set aside the contest among themselves
[they stood], armed, holding bowls in front of Jupiter’s altar
and joined in a treaty, with a sacrificed sow.

haud procul inde citae Mettum in diversa quadrigae
distulerant (at tu dictis, Albane, maneres!),
raptabatque viri mendacis viscera Tullus
per silvam, et sparsi rorabant sanguine vepres.

Then not far from here, four horse-chariots driven in different directions
had torn [Mettus] apart (but Alban, you should have stayed by your words!)
and Tullus violently dragged the entrails of the deceitful man
through the woods, and the thorn-bushes dripped, wet with blood.

nec non Tarquinium eiectum Porsenna iubebat
accipere ingentique urbem obsidione premebat;

As well, Porsenna was ordering (the Romans) [to accept] banished Tarquin
and he was oppressing the city with a mighty siege;