Aeneid 12.441–467

Aen. 12.441Haec ubi dicta dedit, portīs sēsē extulit ingēns,
tēlum immāne manū quatiēns;

When he had spoken these words, he carried himself out through the gates, huge, brandishing a massive spear in his hand;

Note. Aeneas, healed of his arrow wound by Venus' secret help, has just said goodbye to his son Ascanius and arms for battle. Haec ubi dicta dedit: 'when he had given these words', a standard epic transition. sēsē extulit: 'carried himself out', i.e. strode out. ingēns agrees with the subject (Aeneas), not with telum.

Aen. 12.442simul agmine dēnsō
Antheusque Mnēstheusque ruunt omnisque relictīs
turba fluit castrīs: tum caecō pulvere campus
445miscētur pulsūque pedum tremit excita tellūs.

together with him, in a dense column, Antheus and Mnestheus rush out, and the whole crowd streams from the abandoned camp: then the plain is churned with blinding dust, and the earth, roused by the beat of feet, trembles.

Note. Anthēusque Mnēstheusque: the doubled -que (-que … -que, 'both … and') is an epic mannerism. relictīs … castrīs: ablative absolute, 'the camp having been left'. turba is the subject of fluit. excīta: perfect participle of exciō, 'roused', agreeing with tellūs.

Aen. 12.446Vīdit ab adversō venientīs aggere Turnus,
vīdēre Ausoniī, gelidusque per īma cucurrit
ossa tremor: prīma ante omnīs Iūturna Latīnōs
audiit adgnōvitque sonum et tremefacta refūgit.

Turnus saw them coming from the rampart opposite, the Ausonians saw them, and a cold shudder ran through their very bones: first before all the Latins Juturna heard and recognised the sound, and fled back in terror.

Note. venientīs: accusative plural (= venientēs), 'them coming'. vīdēre = vīdērunt, the short form of the 3rd plural perfect, common in poetry. Ausoniī: 'the Ausonians', a poetic name for the Italians. per īma … ossa: 'through their inmost bones'. omnīs = omnēs (accusative plural with Latīnōs). Juturna, Turnus' sister, is a water nymph whom Jupiter made immortal; Juno has sent her to help her brother.

Aen. 12.450Ille volat campōque ātrum rapit agmen apertō.

He flies on, and sweeps his dark column across the open plain.

Note. Ille: Aeneas. rapit agmen: 'sweeps along his column'. campō … apertō: ablative of place, 'over the open plain'.

Aen. 12.451Quālis ubi ad terrās abruptō sīdere nimbus
it mare per medium;

As when a storm cloud, when the sky has broken, makes for land across the middle of the sea;

Note. A simile begins: Quālis … nimbus, 'like a storm cloud'. abruptō sīdere: ablative absolute; sīdus here means the sky or weather, 'when the sky breaks'. it mare per medium: note the preposition placed after its first noun (anastrophe).

Aen. 12.452miserīs heu praescia longē
horrēscunt corda agricolīs, dabit ille ruīnās
arboribus strāgemque satīs, ruet omnia lātē;

the hearts of the poor farmers, alas, foreseeing it from afar, shudder: it will bring ruin to the trees and havoc to the crops, it will lay everything low far and wide;

Note. miserīs … agricolīs: dative of the people affected, 'the hearts of the poor farmers'. praescia: 'knowing in advance'. satīs: dative plural of sata, 'crops' (from serō, 'sow'), not the adverb satis. ruet: here transitive, 'will throw down'.

Aen. 12.455ante volant sonitumque ferunt ad lītora ventī:
tālis in adversōs ductor Rhoetēius hostīs
agmen agit, dēnsī cuneīs sē quisque coāctīs
adglomerant.

the winds fly ahead and carry its roar to the shores: so the Rhoetean leader drives his column against the enemy, and they mass together, each man close packed in wedges.

Note. tālis: the simile is applied, 'such was …'. ductor Rhoetēius: 'the Rhoetean leader', i.e. Aeneas; Rhoeteum is a headland near Troy. sē quisque … adglomerant: 'each man' with a plural verb, because the sense is plural. coāctīs cuneīs: 'with wedges packed close'.

Aen. 12.458Ferit ēnse gravem Thymbraeus Osīrim,
Archetium Mnēstheus, Epulōnem obtruncat Achātēs
460Ūfentemque Gyās;

Thymbraeus strikes huge Osiris with the sword, Mnestheus Archetius, Achates cuts down Epulo, and Gyas Ufens;

Note. Three killings in one line and a half, each with a different verb (ferit, obtruncat, and an understood verb for Gyās). Osīrim and Ūfentem are Greek-style and third-declension accusatives.

Aen. 12.460cadit ipse Tolumnius augur,
prīmus in adversōs tēlum quī torserat hostīs.

the augur Tolumnius himself falls, the first who had hurled a spear against the enemy.

Note. Tolumnius the augur had thrown the first spear that broke the truce earlier in the book (12.258–266), so his death is fitting. quī … torserat: pluperfect, 'who had hurled'. hostīs = hostēs.

Aen. 12.462Tollitur in caelum clāmor, versīque vicissim
pulverulentā fugā Rutulī dant terga per agrōs.

A shout rises to the sky, and the Rutulians in their turn are routed and turn their backs in dusty flight across the fields.

Note. Tollitur: present passive, 'is raised'. versī: 'turned', i.e. routed. pulverulenta fugā: 'in dusty flight'. dant terga: 'give their backs', i.e. flee.

Aen. 12.464Ipse neque āversōs dignātur sternere Mortī
465nec pede congressōs aequō nec tēla ferentīs
īnsequitur: sōlum dēnsā in cālīgine Turnum
vestīgat lūstrāns, sōlum in certāmina poscit.

Aeneas himself does not deign to lay low in death those who turn away, nor does he pursue those who meet him on equal footing or those who carry weapons: Turnus alone he tracks, scanning the thick gloom; Turnus alone he calls to combat.

Note. dignātur: deponent, 'think fit', with infinitive sternere. āversōs: 'those turned away' (in flight). Mortī: dative of goal, 'to lay low for Death', i.e. to kill. pede … aequō: 'on equal footing', face to face. ferentīs = ferentēs. sōlum … sōlum: repeated for emphasis: Aeneas wants only Turnus.