Virgil Aeneid Book II Flashcards
1 Aeneas begins his tale
conticuere omnes, intentique ora tenebant;
inde toro pater Aeneas sic orsus ab alto:
infandum, regina, iubes renovare dolorem,
Troianas ut opes et lamentabile regnum
eruerint Danaï, quaeque ipse miserrima vidi, 5
et quorum pars magna fui. quis talia fando
Myrmidonum Dolopumve aut duri miles Ulixi
temperet a lacrimis? et iam nox umida caelo
praecipitat suadentque cadentia sidera somnos.
sed si tantus amor casus cognoscere nostros 1 0
et breviter Troiae supremum audire laborem,
quamquam animus meminisse horret luctuque refugit,
incipiam. fracti bello fatisque repulsi
ductores Danaüm, tot iam labentibus annis,
instar montis equum divina Palladis arte 1 5
aedificant, sectaque intexunt abiete costas;
votum pro reditu simulant; ea fama vagatur.
huc delecta virum sortiti corpora furtim
includunt caeco lateri penitusque cavernas
ingentes uterumque armato milite complent.
They all fell silent and eagerly kept their gaze on him; then
father Aeneas began thus from his couch on high:
O queen, you bid me revive unspeakable grief, how the
Greeks overthrew the might of the Trojans and their pitiable
kingdom, and I myself saw these most sorrowful events and was
a great part of them. Who of the Myrmidons or of the Dolopes,
or what soldier of harsh Ulysses could refrain from tears in the
saying of such things?
And now dewy night is rushing from the heavens, and the
setting stars counsel sleep. But if there is so great a desire to
know our fate, and briefly to hear about the final agony of
Troy, although my mind shudders to remember and has recoiled
from its grief, I shall begin.
Broken by war and driven back by destiny, the leaders of the
Greeks, with so many years now slipping away, built a horse
the size of a mountain with the divine artistry of Pallas Athene,
and they cut up fir-wood and wove it in as ribs; they pretended
that it was an offering for their return; that story was
circulated.
In here, in the dark flank, those selected by lot secretly
enclosed a chosen body of men, and they filled the huge
hollows deep within and the belly with an armed military force.
2 The Greeks leave Troy
est in conspectu Tenedos, notissima fama
insula, dives opum Priami dum regna manebant,
nunc tantum sinus et statio male fida carinis:
huc se provecti deserto in litore condunt;
nos abiisse rati et vento petiisse Mycenas. 2 5
ergo omnis longo solvit se Teucria luctu;
panduntur portae; iuvat ire et Dorica castra
desertosque videre locos litusque relictum:
hic Dolopum manus, hic saevus tendebat Achilles;
classibus hic locus, hic acie certare solebant. 3 0
pars stupet innuptae donum exitiale Minervae
et molem mirantur equi; primusque Thymoetes
duci intra muros hortatur et arce locari,
sive dolo seu iam Troiae sic fata ferebant.
at Capys, et quorum melior sententia menti, 3 5
aut pelago Danaüm insidias suspectaque dona
praecipitare iubent subiectisque urere flammis,
aut terebrare cavas uteri et temptare latebras.
scinditur incertum studia in contraria vulgus.
There lay in sight Tenedos, an island very well known in
fame, rich in wealth while Priam’s kingdom was standing, now
only a bay and an unsafe harbour for ships: they sailed here
and hid themselves on the deserted shore; we thought that they
had left and sought Mycenae on the wind.
Therefore all Troy released itself from its long suffering; the
gates were thrown open, and it delighted us to go and see the
Greek camp and the deserted places and the abandoned shore:
here was the band of the Dolopes, here the savage Achilles
was camped, here was the site of the fleet, here they were
accustomed to fight in battle.
Some were amazed at the fatal gift of unwed Minerva and
they wondered at the size of the Horse; and Thymoetes was the
first to urge that it be led within the walls and be placed in the
citadel, either out of treachery or Troy’s fate was already
heading in this direction.
But Capys, and those in whose mind was a better opinion,
told them either to throw the treachery of the Greeks and the
suspicious gift into the sea or to put torches underneath it and
burn it, or to bore into and examine the hollow hiding-places
of the belly. The unsure crowd was split into opposing factions.
3 Laocoön rejects the horse
primus ibi ante omnes magna comitante caterva 4 0
Laocoön ardens summa decurrit ab arce,
et procul: ‘o miseri, quae tanta insania, cives?
creditis avectos hostes? aut ulla putatis
dona carere dolis Danaüm? sic notus Ulixes?
aut hoc inclusi ligno occultantur Achivi, 4 5
aut haec in nostros fabricata est machina muros
inspectura domos venturaque desuper urbi,
aut aliquis latet error; equo ne credite, Teucri.
quidquid id est, timeo Danaos et dona ferentes.’
sic fatus validis ingentem viribus hastam 5 0
in latus inque feri curvam compagibus alvum
contorsit. stetit illa tremens, uteroque recusso
insonuere cavae gemitumque dedere cavernae.
et, si fata deum, si mens non laeva fuisset,
impulerat ferro Argolicas foedare latebras, 5 5
Troiaque nunc staret, Priamique arx alta maneres.
There first in front of everyone, accompanied by a great
crowd, Laocoön, blazing with anger, ran down from the top of
the citadel, and at a distance cried, ‘O wretched citizens, what
great madness is this? Do you believe that the enemy has sailed
away? Or do you think that any gift of the Greeks is free from
treachery? Is Ulysses known for this? Either Greeks are
enclosed and concealed in this wooden contraption, or this
machine has been constructed in opposition to our walls, for
prying into our homes and coming into the city from above, or
some other inconsistency lurks there; do not trust the horse,
Trojans. Whatever it is, I fear the Greeks, especially when they
bring gifts.’
He spoke thus and hurled his huge spear with mighty force
into the side and into the belly of the beast with its curved
timbers. It stuck there quivering, and when the belly
reverberated the hollow vaults resounded and gave forth a
groan.
And, if the destined will of the gods, and our thinking had
not been perverse, he had forced us to defile the Greek hiding
places with steel, and Troy would now be standing, and you,
O lofty citadel of Priam, you would abide.
5 Two sea-snakes attack
talibus insidiis periurique arte Sinonis 195
credita res, captique dolis lacrimisque coactis
quos neque Tydides nec Larisaeus Achilles,
non anni domuere decem, non mille carinae.
hic aliud maius miseris multoque tremendum
obicitur magis atque improvida pectora turbat. 200
Laocoön, ductus Neptuno sorte sacerdos,
sollemnes taurum ingentem mactabat ad aras.
ecce autem gemini a Tenedo tranquilla per alta
(horresco referens) immensis orbibus angues
incumbunt pelago pariterque ad litora tendunt; 205
pectora quorum inter fluctus arrecta iubaeque
sanguineae superant undas, pars cetera pontum
pone legit sinuatque immensa volumine terga.
fit sonitus spumante salo; iamque arva tenebant
ardentesque oculos suffecti sanguine et igni 210
sibila lambebant linguis vibrantibus ora.
By such treachery and the skill of lying Sinon, the story was
believed, and we were taken in by his tricks and forced tears,
we whom neither Diomedes the son of Tydeus nor Larissan
Achilles, nor ten years, nor a thousand ships subdued.
Hereupon something greater and much more fearful was
thrust upon us, wretched as we were, and it threw our
unexpecting minds into turmoil. Laocoön, chosen by lot to be
the priest to Neptune, was sacrificing a huge bull at the
appointed altar.
Behold, twin snakes from Tenedos, over the calm sea (I
shudder telling this) with endless coils breasted the deep and
side by side headed for the shore; their breasts were held high
amid the billows, and their blood-red crests towered above the
waves, the remaining part skimmed the sea behind and they
writhed their monstrous backs in coils.
A crash was made by the foaming surf; and already they
were heading for the land and their blazing eyes were shot
with blood and fire, and they licked their hissing mouths with
flickering tongues.
6 The death of Laocoön
diffugimus visu exsangues. illi agmine certo
Laocoönta petunt; et primum parva duorum
corpora natorum serpens amplexus uterque
implicat et miseros morsu depascitur artus; 215
post ipsum auxilio subeuntem ac tela ferentem
corripiunt spirisque ligant ingentibus; et iam
bis medium amplexi, bis collo squamea circum
terga dati superant capite et cervicibus altis.
ille simul manibus tendit divellere nodos 220
perfusus sanie vittas atroque veneno,
clamores simul horrendos ad sidera tollit:
qualis mugitus, fugit cum saucius aram
taurus et incertam excussit cervice securim.
at gemini lapsu delubra ad summa dracones 225
effugiunt saevaeque petunt Tritonidis arcem,
sub pedibusque deae clipeique sub orbe teguntur.
We scattered at the sight, drained of blood. They with
unswerving line headed for Laocoön; and at first both snakes
grasped the small bodies of his two sons and enfolded them,
and devoured [fed on in bites] their pitiful limbs; next they
seized him coming up himself to help and brandishing
weapons, and they entwined him with huge coils; and now
wrapped twice around his middle, they twice encircled their
scaly bodies around his neck and towered above him with their
heads and lofty necks.
He now struggled to tear apart their knots with his hands, his
priestly bands soaked in gore and black venom, and at the
same time raised up terrible screams to the stars: just like the
bellowing, when a wounded bull has escaped the altar and
shaken an ill-aimed axe from its neck.
But the twin snakes glided away and fled to the lofty shrine,
and they headed for the citadel of the heartless daughter of
Triton (Pallas Athene), and they hid themselves under the feet
of the goddess and under the ring of her round shield.
7 The wooden horse
tum vero tremefacta novus per pectora cunctis
insinuat pavor, et scelus expendisse merentem
Laocoönta ferunt, sacrum qui cuspide robur 230
laeserit et tergo sceleratam intorserit hastam.
ducendum ad sedes simulacrum orandaque divae
numina conclamant.
dividimus muros et moenia pandimus urbis.
accingunt omnes operi pedibusque rotarum 235
subiciunt lapsus, et stuppea vincula collo
intendunt; scandit fatalis machina muros
feta armis. pueri circum innuptaeque puellae
sacra canunt funemque manu contingere gaudent;
illa subit mediaeque minans inlabitur urbi. 240
o patria, o divum domus Ilium et incluta bello
moenia Dardanidum, quater ipso in limine portae
substitit atque utero sonitum quater arma dedere;
instamus tamen immemores caecique furore
et monstrum infelix sacrata sistimus arce. 245
tunc etiam fatis aperit Cassandra futuris
ora dei iussu non umquam credita Teucris.
nos delubra deum miseri, quibus ultimus esset
ille dies, festa velamus fronde per urbem.
Then indeed a new fear crept into everyone’s trembling
hearts, and they said that Laocoön had paid deservedly for his
crime, because he harmed the sacred wooden horse with his
spear-point and hurled his accursed spear into its back.
Together they shouted that the image should be brought to its
dwelling-place, and that the divine will of the goddess should
be supplicated.
We breached the walls and opened up the fortifications of
the city. Everyone prepared himself for the task, and they
placed gliding wheels under its feet, and they stretched tight
the hempen chains around its neck; the fateful contraption
climbed our walls, teeming with arms. All around boys and
unwed girls sang sacred songs, and delighted to touch the
ropes with their hands; that thing advanced and glided
threatening into the middle of the city.
O fatherland, o Ilium, home of the gods, and walls of the
Trojans, famous in battle! Four times it stopped on the very
threshold of the gate and four times the arms in its belly
clashed; nevertheless we persisted, oblivious [to what was
going on] and blind in our madness, and we placed the illomened monster in our hallowed citadel.
Even then Cassandra parted her lips concerning the
forthcoming doom, lips which were never believed by the
Trojans by the decree of a god. We poor wretches, for whom
that day was our last, decorated the shrines of the gods with
festive greenery throughout the city.
8 The Greeks return
vertitur interea caelum et ruit Oceano nox 250
involvens umbra magna terramque polumque
Myrmidonumque dolos; fusi per moenia Teucri
conticuere; sopor fessos complectitur artus.
et iam Argiva phalanx instructis navibus ibat
a Tenedo tacitae per amica silentia lunae 255
litora nota petens, flammas cum regia puppis
extulerat, fatisque deum defensus iniquis
inclusos utero Danaos et pinea furtim
laxat claustra Sinon. illos patefactus ad auras
reddit equus laetique cavo se robore promunt 260
Thessandrus Sthenelusque duces et dirus Ulixes,
demissum lapsi per funem, Acamasque Thoasque
Pelidesque Neoptolemus primusque Machaon
et Menelaus, et ipse doli fabricator Epeos.
invadunt urbem somno vinoque sepultam; 265
caeduntur vigiles, portisque patentibus omnes
accipiunt socios atque agmina conscia iungunt.
Meanwhile the heavens revolved and night rushed in from the
Ocean, enveloping with its great shadow the earth, the sky and
the treachery of the Greeks; scattered throughout the
battlements, the Trojans had fallen quiet; a deep sleep
embraced their weary limbs.
And now the Greek fleet, with its ships in position, began to
move from Tenedos under the friendly stillness of a silent moon,
heading for familiar shores, when the royal galley had hoisted
its flaming signal, and Sinon, shielded by the hostile will of
the gods, secretly released the pine-bars and the Greeks
imprisoned in the belly.
The opened horse restored them to the air, and gleefully they
brought themselves out of the hollow wooden structure, the
leaders Thessandrus and Sthenelus and dread Ulysses, slipping
down a lowered rope, and Acamas and Thoas and
Neoptolemus the grandson of Peleus, and first in line were
Machaon and Menelaus and the very builder of the treacherous
device, Epeos.
They attacked the city, buried in drunken [wine-induced]
sleep; the sentries were slain, and they welcomed all their
comrades at the open gates, and joined their confederate
forces.
9 The Ghost of Hector
tempus erat quo prima quies mortalibus aegris
incipit et dono divum gratissima serpit.
in somnis, ecce, ante oculos maestissimus Hector 270
visus adesse mihi largosque effundere fletus,
raptatus bigis ut quondam, aterque cruento
pulvere perque pedes traiectus lora tumentes.
ei mihi, qualis erat, quantum mutatus ab illo
Hectore qui redit exuvias indutus Achilli 275
vel Danaüm Phrygios iaculatus puppibus ignes!
squalentem barbam et concretos sanguine crines
vulneraque illa gerens, quae circum plurima muros
accepit patrios. ultro flens ipse videbar
compellare virum et maestas expromere voces:
It was the time when sleep first begins for weary mortals and
it steals over them most welcomely as a gift of the gods. In my
slumber, behold, before my very eyes most sorrowful Hector
seemed to be at my side and to pour forth copious tears,
dragged by the chariot as he once was, blackened with gory
dust and pierced with thongs through his swelling feet.
Alas, what a sight he was, and how greatly changed from
that Hector who returned wearing the spoils of Achilles or after
throwing our Phrygian firebrands on the ships of the Greeks!
He was wearing a ragged beard and his hair was stiffened
with blood and he bore those wounds, which he had received
in great number around his native walls.
Weeping myself of my own accord, I seemed to address the
hero and to utter these sorrowful words:
10 Hector’s Dreadful Speech
‘o lux Dardaniae, spes o fidissima Teucrum,
quae tantae tenuere morae? quibus Hector ab oris
exspectate venis? ut te post multa tuorum
funera, post varios hominumque urbisque labores
defessi aspicimus! quae causa indigna serenos 285
foedavit vultus? aut cur haec vulnera cerno?’
ille nihil, nec me quaerentem vana moratur,
sed graviter gemitus imo de pectore ducens,
‘heu fuge, nate dea, teque his,’ ait, ‘eripe flammis.
hostis habet muros; ruit alto a culmine Troia. 290
sat patriae Priamoque datum: si Pergama dextra
defendi possent, etiam hac defensa fuissent.
sacra suosque tibi commendat Troia penates;
hos cape fatorum comites, his moenia quaere
magna pererrato statues quae denique ponto.’ 295
sic ait et manibus vittas Vestamque potentem
aeternumque adytis effert penetralibus ignem.
‘O light of Troy, o surest hope of the Trojans, what great
delays have kept you? From what shores do you come, o longawaited Hector? How [gladly] we look upon you, weary after
the many deaths of your people, and after the different
tribulations of men and city! What shameful cause has
disfigured your calm expression? Or why do I see these
wounds?’
He said nothing, nor did he heed me as I asked these
meaningless questions, but sorrowfully bringing forth groans
from deep within his breast, he said, ‘Alas! flee, son of a
goddess, and snatch yourself from these flames. The enemy has
the walls; Troy is crashing from its lofty pinnacle. Enough has
been done [by you] for your native land and for Priam: if the
Pergama were able to be defended by a [strong] right hand, it
would have been defended even by this one of mine. Troy
entrusts to you its sacred objects and its household gods; take
these as companions of your destiny, for these seek out great
city walls which you will finally establish after wandering over
the sea.’
So he said, and he brought forth in his hands the priestly
headbands and the powerful Vesta and the eternal fire from
the innermost shrine.
11 Aeneas Beholds His City
diverso interea miscentur moenia luctu,
et magis atque magis, quamquam secreta parentis
Anchisae domus arboribusque obtecta recessit, 300
clarescunt sonitus armorumque ingruit horror.
excutior somno et summi fastigia tecti
ascensu supero atque arrectis auribus asto:
in segetem veluti cum flamma furentibus Austris
incidit, aut rapidus montano flumine torrens 305
sternit agros, sternit sata laeta boumque labores
praecipitesque trahit silvas, stupet inscius alto
accipiens sonitum saxi de vertice pastor.
tum vero manifesta fides, Danaümque patescunt
insidiae. iam Deïphobi dedit ampla ruinam 310
Volcano superante domus, iam proximus ardet
Ucalegon; Sigea igni freta lata relucent.
exoritur clamorque virum clangorque tubarum.
arma amens capio; nec sat rationis in armis,
sed glomerare manum bello et concurrere in arcem 315
cum sociis ardent animi; furor iraque mentem
praecipitat, pulchrumque mori succurrit in armis.
Meanwhile everywhere the walls were echoing with confused
cries of anguish, and more and more, although the house of
my father Anchises was secluded, screened by trees, and
withdrawn [from the others], the sounds became distinct and
the dreadful din of battle advanced menacingly.
I roused myself from sleep and climbed up [made my way up
in climb] to the topmost point of the roof and I stood there,
ears alert: it was just as when a flame has fallen among the
crops when the South Winds are raging, or a swift torrent from
a mountain stream flattens the fields, and flattens the joyous
crops and the hard work of the oxen, and it drags forests
headlong; the bewildered shepherd is amazed listening to the
sound from the lofty peak of a rock.
Then indeed the truth was clear, and the treachery of the
Greeks became obvious. Now the large house of Deïphobus
crashed in ruin with Vulcan’s fire overwhelming it, and now
Ucalegon’s [house] next door was on fire; the broad straits of
Sigeum reflected the fire. There arose the shouting of men and
the blare of trumpets.
Frantically I seized my weapons; yet there was no sufficient
purpose in [taking up] arms, but my very being burned to
gather up a band for battle and to rush together into the citadel
with my comrades; rage and anger drove my mind, and the
glory of dying in arms filled my thoughts.
13 Mighty Troy Falls
tum vero omne mihi visum considere in ignes
Ilium et ex imo verti Neptunia Troia: 625
ac veluti summis antiquam in montibus ornum
cum ferro accisam crebrisque bipennibus instant
eruere agricolae certatim, illa usque minatur
et tremefacta comam concusso vertice nutat,
vulneribus donec paulatim evicta supremum 630
congemuit traxitque iugis avulsa ruinam.
Then indeed, all Ilium seemed to me to be sinking into flames,
and Neptune’s Troy [seemed] to be overturned from its
foundations: it was just as when farmers strive in competition
to uproot an ancient ash-tree on the mountain heights, which
they have hacked with iron implements and frequent axe-blows;
it continuously threatens [to fall] and, tottering, it shakes its
crown and sways its foliage, until gradually overcome by its
wounds it groans its last, and torn away from the ridge, it
comes crashing down.
14 Anchises Refuses to Flee
descendo ac ducente deo flammam inter et hostes
expedior: dant tela locum flammaeque recedunt.
atque ubi iam patriae perventum ad limina sedis
antiquasque domos, genitor, quem tollere in altos 635
optabam primum montes primumque petebam,
abnegat excisa vitam producere Troia
exsiliumque pati. ‘vos o, quibus integer aevi
sanguis,’ ait, ‘solidaeque suo stant robore vires,
vos agitate fugam. 640
me si caelicolae voluissent ducere vitam,
has mihi servassent sedes. satis una superque
vidimus excidia et captae superavimus urbi.
sic o sic positum adfati discedite corpus.
ipse manu mortem inveniam; miserebitur hostis 645
exuviasque petet. facilis iactura sepulcri.
iam pridem invisus divis et inutilis annos
demoror, ex quo me divum pater atque hominum rex
fulminis adflavit ventis et contigit igni.’
I came down, and with the divine being leading the way I
made my way amid the flames and the enemy: the weapons
gave way and the flames drew back.
And when now I had reached the threshold of my father’s
house, that dear old home, my sire, whom above all I wanted
to take away high up into the mountains and whom I first sought
out, refused to prolong his life and to suffer exile now that Troy
was destroyed.
‘O you, whose blood has the freshness of youth,’ he said,
‘and whose strength stands firm with inherent vigour, turn to
flight. If the rulers of heaven had wanted me to prolong my
life, they would have spared for me this, my home. It is enough
and more that I have seen one destruction, and that I have
survived the capture of the city. After addressing my body thus
o thus laid out, depart. With my own hand shall I find death;
the enemy will take pity and will hunt after my spoils. The loss
of a tomb is an easy matter.
‘For a long time now I have delayed my years, hated by the
gods and useless, ever since the time when the father of the
gods and the king of men blasted me with the winds of his
thunderbolt and touched me with his fire.’
16 Two Omens
talia vociferans gemitu tectum omne replebat,
cum subitum dictuque oritur mirabile monstrum. 680
namque manus inter maestorumque ora parentum
ecce levis summo de vertice visus Iuli
fundere lumen apex, tactuque innoxia molles
lambere flamma comas et circum tempora pasci.
nos pavidi trepidare metu crinemque flagrantem 685
excutere et sanctos restinguere fontibus ignes.
at pater Anchises oculos ad sidera laetus
extulit et caelo palmas cum voce tetendit:
‘Iuppiter omnipotens, precibus si flecteris ullis,
aspice nos, hoc tantum, et si pietate meremur, 690
da deinde auxilium, pater, atque haec omina firma.’
vix ea fatus erat senior, subitoque fragore
intonuit laevum, et de caelo lapsa per umbras
stella facem ducens multa cum luce cucurrit.
illam summa super labentem culmina tecti 695
cernimus Idaea claram se condere silva
signantemque vias; tum longo limite sulcus
dat lucem et late circum loca sulphure fumant.
Uttering such cries, she filled the whole house with moaning,
when a sudden omen, marvellous to relate, occurred. For
between the hands and faces of his sorrowful parents, behold!
from the top of Iulus’ head a flickering tongue of flame seemed
to pour forth light, and a flame, harmless to touch, [seemed]
to lick his soft hair and to graze around his temples.
Terrified, we were stricken with fear and beat out his blazing
hair, and doused the holy fire with water. But my father
Anchises joyfully raised his eyes to the stars and stretched forth
his palms to heaven, along with his voice:
‘Almighty Jupiter, if you are swayed by any prayers, look
upon us, this alone [I pray], and if we are worthy through our
righteousness, give us now your aid, o father, and confirm this
omen.’
Scarcely had the old man said these words, and with a
sudden crash it thundered to the left, and falling down from
heaven a star streaked through the darkness, trailing a fiery
tail amid a blaze of light. We watched it soaring over the
highest point of the roof and bury itself brightly in the forest
of Mt. Ida, lighting up the paths; then a furrow with a long
track shone forth, and far and wide all around the area smoked
with sulphur.
17 A Meeting Place
hic vero victus genitor se tollit ad auras
adfaturque deos et sanctum sidus adorat. 700
‘iam iam nulla mora est; sequor et qua ducitis adsum,
di patrii; servate domum, servate nepotem.
vestrum hoc augurium, vestroque in numine Troia est.
cedo equidem nec, nate, tibi comes ire recuso.’
dixerat ille, et iam per moenia clarior ignis 705
auditur, propiusque aestus incendia volvunt.
‘ergo age, care pater, cervici imponere nostrae;
ipse subibo umeris nec me labor iste gravabit;
quo res cumque cadent, unum et commune periclum,
una salus ambobus erit. mihi parvus Iulus 710
sit comes, et longe servet vestigia coniunx.
vos, famuli, quae dicam animis advertite vestris.
est urbe egressis tumulus templumque vetustum
desertae Cereris, iuxtaque antiqua cupressus
religione patrum multos servata per annos; 715
hanc ex diverso sedem veniemus in unam.
tu, genitor, cape sacra manu patriosque penates;
me bello e tanto digressum et caede recenti
attrectare nefas, donec me flumine vivo
abluero.’
Hereupon indeed my father, now convinced, lifted himself up
to his full height and addressed the gods and worshipped the
holy star. ‘Now, now there is no delaying; I follow you and
wherever you lead, I am at your side, o gods of my homeland;
save my house[hold], save my grandson. This is your sign, and
Troy is in your divine power. For my part, I yield, nor, o son,
do I object to going as your companion.’
He finished speaking, and now throughout the battlements
the fire was heard more clearly, and the blaze rolled its heat
nearer.
‘Therefore come, my dear father, and place yourself on my
neck; I myself shall support you with my shoulders, and your
weight will not weigh me down; however things shall turn out
for us, there will be one shared danger, and one salvation for
us both. Let little Iulus be my companion, and let my wife follow
in our footsteps at a distance.
‘You, my household slaves, pay attention to what I tell you.
When you have left the city, there is a mound and an ancient
temple of forlorn Ceres, and nearby is an ancient cypress tree,
preserved for many years by the devotion of our fathers; from
different directions we shall come to this one place.
‘You, father, take up the sacred objects and our ancestral
household gods; it is wrong that I touch them, stepping away
from so great a war and recent bloodshed, until I have washed
myself in a living spring.’
18 Flight from Troy
haec fatus latos umeros subiectaque colla
veste super fulvique insternor pelle leonis,
succedoque oneri; dextrae se parvus Iulus
implicuit sequiturque patrem non passibus aequis;
pone subit coniunx: ferimur per opaca locorum, 725
et me, quem dudum non ulla iniecta movebant
tela neque adverso glomerati examine Graï,
nunc omnes terrent aurae, sonus excitat omnis
suspensum et pariter comitique onerique timentem.
iamque propinquabam portis omnemque videbar 730
evasisse viam, subito cum creber ad aures
visus adesse pedum sonitus, genitorque per umbram
prospiciens ‘nate,’ exclamat, ‘fuge, nate; propinquant.
ardentes clipeos atque aera micantia cerno.’
After saying this, I covered my broad shoulders and stooped
neck over with a cloak, the pelt of a tawny lion, and I took up
my burden; little Iulus entwined his hand in mine and followed
his father with uneven steps; my wife came along behind.
We made our way through places of shadows, and me, for
whom for a long time no hurled weapons caused concern, nor
any Greeks gathering together in an opposing swarm [from the
opposing column], now every breeze terrified, and every sound
startled, on edge and fearing alike for my companion and my
burden.
And now I was approaching the gates and I appeared to
have made the whole journey safely, when suddenly the sound
of many feet seemed to come to my ears, and my father, looking
out through the gloom, cried out, ‘Son, flee, o son; they are
approaching. I see their burning shields and their glittering
bronze.’
