Aeneid 11.100–121

Latin envoys seek a truce

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Aen. 11.100Iamque ōrātōrēs aderant ex urbe Latīnā,
vēlātī rāmīs oleae veniamque rogantēs:
corpora, per campōs ferrō quae fūsa iacēbant,
redderet ac tumulō sineret succēdere terrae;And now envoys from the Latin city were there, veiled with olive branches and asking for grace: that he would give back the bodies which lay strewn over the plains by the sword, and allow them to go beneath a mound of earth; Aen. 11.104nūllum cum victīs certāmen et aethere cassīs;there was no quarrel with the vanquished and with those bereft of the upper air; Aen. 11.105parceret hospitibus quondam socerīsque vocātīs.let him spare men he had once called hosts and fathers-in-law. Aen. 11.106Quōs bonus Aenēās haud aspernanda precantīs
prōsequitur veniā et verbīs haec īnsuper addit:
Quaenam vōs tantō fortūna indigna, Latīnī,
implicuit bellō, quī nōs fugiātis amīcōs?Good Aeneas grants them his grace, since they pray for what is not to be spurned, and adds these words besides: 'What undeserved fortune, Latins, has entangled you in so great a war, that you flee from us, your friends? Aen. 11.110Pācem mē exanimis et Mārtis sorte perēmptīs
ōrātis?Do you ask me for peace for the dead, for those cut down by the lot of Mars?

Aen. 11.111Equidem et vīvīs concēdere vellem.I for my part would wish to grant it to the living too. Aen. 11.112Nec vēnī, nisi fāta locum sēdemque dedissent,
nec bellum cum gente gerō: rēx nostra relīquit
hospitia et Turnī potius sē crēdidit armīs.Nor would I have come, had the fates not given me a place and a home, nor do I wage war with your nation: your king abandoned our ties of hospitality and trusted himself rather to the arms of Turnus. Aen. 11.115Aequius huic Turnum fuerat sē oppōnere mortī.It would have been fairer for Turnus to face this death himself. Aen. 11.116Sī bellum fīnīre manū, sī pellere Teucrōs
apparat, hīs mēcum decuit concurrere tēlīs:
vīxet, cui vītam deus aut sua dextra dedisset.If he means to end the war by force, to drive out the Teucrians, he ought to have met me with these weapons: he would have lived to whom a god or his own right hand had granted life. Aen. 11.119Nunc īte et miserīs suppōnite cīvibus ignem.Now go and set the fire beneath your wretched citizens.' Aen. 11.120Dīxerat Aenēās.Aeneas had spoken.

Aen. 11.120Illī obstipuēre silentēs
conversīque oculōs inter sē atque ōra tenēbant.They stood dumbstruck and silent, and kept their eyes and faces turned towards one another.

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Grammar in this passage: gerunds and gerundives ×1

Latin vocabulary for this passage (116 words)

iam, adv.	now, already
que, enclitic conj.	and
ōrātor, -ōris m.	speaker; envoy
adsum, adesse, adfuī	be present, be at hand
ex, ē (prep. + abl.)	out of, from; of (ē only before consonants)
urbs, urbis, f.	city
Latīnus, -a, -um	Latin
vēlō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	veil, cover
rāmus, -ī, m.	branch, bough
olea, -ae f.	olive tree; olive
venia, -ae f.	pardon, forgiveness
rogō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	ask
corpus, corporis, n.	body
per, prep, with ace.	through, by means of
campus, -ī, m.	plain, field
ferrum, -ī n.	iron; iron point, sword
quī, quae, quod, rel. pron.	who, which
fundō, -ere, fūdī, fūsum	pour; rout, scatter (an enemy)
iaceō, -ēre, -uī	lie, be prostrate
reddō, -dere, -didī, -ditus	give back, return, restore; render
atque, ac (conj.)	and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants)
tumulus, -ī m.	mound, hillock
sinō, -ere, sīvī, situs	allow, permit, let
succēdō, -cēdere, -cessī, -cessus	go or come under, follow after, succeed
terra, -ae, f.	land, earth
nūllus, -a, -um	not any, none, no
cum, prep, with abl.	with
vincō, -ere, vīcī, victum	conquer, defeat
certāmen, -minis, n.	struggle, contest
et, conj.	and; et ... et, both ... and
aethēr, -eris m. (acc. aethera)	the upper air, the sky
cassus, -a, -um	empty; deprived of (+ abl.); cassus lūmine: dead
parcō, -ere, pepercī, parsūrus	spare, show mercy to (+ dat.)
hospes, hospitis m.	guest; host; guest-friend
quondam (adv.)	once, formerly, at one time
socer, -erī m.	father-in-law
vocō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	call, summon
bonus, -a, -um	good
haud, adv.	not at all, by no means, not
aspernor, -ārī, -ātus sum	spurn, reject, scorn
precor, -ārī, -ātus sum	pray, beg
prōsequor, -sequī, -secūtus	follow forward, follow
verbum, -ī, n.	word
hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron.	this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter
īnsuper (adv.)	above, on top; besides
addō, -ere, -didī, -ditus	add, put to
quisnam, quaenam, quidnam, interrog. pron.	who, which, or what, pray? who? which? what?
vōs	plur. of tū
tantus, -a, -um	so great or much
fortūna, -ae, f.	fortune
indignus, -a, -um	unworthy; shameful
implicō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	entangle, entwine; involve
bellum, -ī, n.	war
nōs	plur. of ego
fugiō, fugere, fūgī, fugitūrus	flee, run away
amīcus, -ī, m.	friend
pāx, pācis f.	peace
ego, meī, pers. pron.	I
exanimis, -e	lifeless; breathless, terrified
sors, sortis, f.	lot
perimō, -ere, -ēmī, -ēmptus	destroy, kill
ōrō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	speak; beg, pray
equidem (adv.)	indeed, truly; for my part
vīvus, -a, -um	alive, living
concēdō, -cēdere, -cessī, -cessus	grant, yield
volō, velle, voluī	wish
neque or nec, conj.	and not, nor; neque ... neque, neither ... nor; neque enim, for ... not
veniō, venīre, vēnī, ventus	come
nisi, conj.	if not, unless
fātum, -ī, n.	destiny, fate
locus, -ī, m., plur. loca, -orum, n.	place, situation
sēdēs, -is, f.	seat, abode
dō, dare, dedī, datus	give
gēns, gentis, f.	race, nation
gerō, gerere, gessī, gestus	carry, wear; carry on, do
rēx, rēgis, m.	king
noster, -tra, -trum	our
relinquō, -linquere, -līquī, -lictus	leave behind, leave
hospitium, -ī, n.	hospitality
potius (adv.)	rather
suī, sibi, sē or sēsē, reflexive pron.	himself, herself, itself, themselves
crēdō, -dere, -didī, -ditus	believe
arma, -ōrum, n. plur.	arms, weapons
aequus, -a, -um	level; equal; fair
sum, esse, fuī, futūrus	be
oppōnō, -ere, -posuī, -positus	set against, place opposite
mors, mortīs, f.	death
sī, conj.	if
fīniō, -īre, -īvī, -ītus	bound, limit; end
manus, -ūs, f.	hand
pellō, pellere, pepulī, pulsus	drive, drive away, beat, rout
apparō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	prepare, get ready
decet, decēre, decuit (impers.)	it is fitting, it is proper
concurrō, -currere, -currī, -cursus	run, rush, or dash together
tēlum, -ī, n.	missile, spear, weapon
vīvō, vīvere, vīxī, vīctus	live
vīta, -ae, f.	life
deus, -ī, m.	god
aut, conj.	or; aut ... aut, either ... or
suus, -a, -um	his, her, its, or their own; his, her, its, their
dextra, -ae, f.	right hand (manus understood)
nunc, adv.	now
eō, īre, iī, itus	go
miser, misera, miserum	wretched, unhappy
suppōnō, -pōnere, -posuī, -positus	place or put under
cīvis, -is, m. and f.	citizen, fellow-citizen, subject
ignis, -is, m.	fire
dīcō, dīcere, dīxī, dictus	say, speak; diem dīcere, to appoint or set a day
ille, illa, illud, dem. pron.	that; he, she, it, they; ille ... hīc, see hīc
obstipēscō (obstupēscō), -ere, -stipuī	be amazed, be struck dumb
silēns, -entis	silent, still
convertō, -vertere, -vertī, -versus	turn round, turn, change; in fugam convertere, to put to flight
oculus, -ī, m.	eye
inter, prep, with acc.	among, between
ōs, ōris, n.	mouth
teneō, -ēre, -uī, -tus	hold, keep; hold back, restrain, stop

Vergil, Aeneid XI. Latin text: J. B. Greenough, The Bucolics, Aeneid, and Georgics of Virgil (Boston, 1881), public domain; digital text from the Perseus Digital Library, CC BY-SA. Word analysis: drafted by our own tagger (trained on the hand-checked texts on this site), with every doubtful word checked by hand. English translation and section titles: written for this app, each checked against the Latin by a second reader.