Aen. 11.522Est curvō ānfrāctū vallēs, adcommoda fraudī
armōrumque dolīs, quam dēnsīs frondibus ātrum
urget utrimque latus, tenuis quō sēmita dūcit
525angustaeque ferunt faucēs aditūsque malignī.There is a valley with a winding curve, fit for trickery and the stratagems of arms, which a flank dark with dense foliage hems in on both sides, where a narrow path leads, and a tight gorge and grudging approaches bring you in. Aen. 11.526Hanc super in speculīs summōque in vertice montis
plānitiēs ignōta iacet tūtīque receptūs,
seu dextrā laevāque velīs occurrere pugnae,
sīve īnstāre iugīs et grandia volvere saxa.Above it, among the look-outs and on the mountain's highest summit, lies an unknown plateau and a safe retreat, whether you wish to meet the fight on right and left, or to stand on the ridges and roll down huge rocks. Aen. 11.530Hūc iuvenis notā fertur regiōne viārum
arripuitque locum et silvīs īnsēdit inīquīs.Hither the young man goes by a familiar tract of roads, seized the place, and settled in the treacherous woods.
Lectitō › Vergil › Aeneid, Book 11 › Aeneid 11.522–531
Vergil · Aeneid XI
Aeneid 11.522–531
The valley of the ambush
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Read in LectitōLatin vocabulary for this passage (60 words)
| sum, esse, fuī, futūrus | be |
| curvus, -a, -um | curved, bent |
| anfrāctus, -ūs m. | bend, winding (of a road) |
| vallis, -is, f. | valley |
| accommodus (adcommodus), -a, -um | fit, suitable |
| fraus, fraudis, f. | deception, fraud |
| arma, -ōrum, n. plur. | arms, weapons |
| que, enclitic conj. | and |
| dolus, -ī, m. | trick, craft |
| quī, quae, quod, rel. pron. | who, which |
| dēnsus, -a, -um | thick |
| frōns, frontis, f. | forehead |
| āter, ātra, ātrum | black, dark; gloomy |
| urgeō, -ēre, ursī | press hard |
| utrimque, adv. | on either side or both sides |
| latus, lateris n. | side, flank |
| tenuis, -e | thin |
| quō, adv. | to what place? whither? to which place, whither; for which reason, wherefore, therefore; quō ūsque, till when? how long? |
| sēmita, -ae f. | path, track |
| dūcō, dūcere, dūxī, ductus | lead; make, dig; with or without in mātrimōnium, marry |
| angustus, -a, -um | narrow, cramped |
| ferō, ferre, tulī, lātus | bear, bring |
| faucēs, -ium f. pl. | throat; narrow pass, gorge |
| aditus, -ūs, m. | approach, entrance |
| malignus, -a, -um | spiteful; (of light) scanty |
| hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron. | this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter |
| super (prep. + acc. or abl.; also adv.) | over, above, on top of; upon; about, concerning |
| in, prep. with acc. and abl. | with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on |
| specula, -ae f. | lookout, watchtower, height |
| summus, -a, -um | uppermost, highest, greatest |
| vertex, -icis m. | top of the head, crown; summit |
| mōns, montis, m. | mountain |
| plānitiēs, -ēī f. | plain, level ground |
| ignōtus, -a, -um | unknown |
| iaceō, -ēre, -uī | lie, be prostrate |
| tūtus, -a, -um | safe |
| receptus, -ūs m. | retreat; place of retreat |
| sīve or seu, conj. | or if; sīve ... sīve, whether ... or |
| dextra, -ae, f. | right hand (manus understood) |
| laevus, -a, -um | left; ad laevam (manum): on the left |
| volō, velle, voluī | wish |
| occurrō, -currere, -currī, -cursus | run against, meet |
| pugna, -ae, f. | fighting, battle, combat |
| sīve or seu, conj. | or if; sīve ... sīve, whether ... or |
| īnstō, -āre, -stitī | press on; be at hand |
| iugum, -ī, n. | yoke |
| et, conj. | and; et ... et, both ... and |
| grandis, -e | large, big |
| volvō, -ere, volvī, volūtus | roll, turn over; ponder (multa sēcum volvere) |
| saxum, -ī, n. | rock, stone |
| hūc, adv. | to this place, hither |
| iuvenis, -is, m. | young man, youth |
| nōtus, -a, -um | known, well-known, famous |
| regiō, -ōnis, f. | direction; country, region |
| via, -ae, f. | road, way |
| arripiō, -ere, -ripuī, -reptus | seize, snatch up |
| locus, -ī, m., plur. loca, -orum, n. | place, situation |
| silva, -ae, f. | wood, forest |
| īnsīdō, -ere, -sēdī, -sessus | settle on; become fixed in |
| inīquus, -a, -um | uneven; unfair |
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.