Aeneid 12.529–553

Aen. 12.529Murrānum hic, atavōs et avōrum antīqua sonantem
530nōmina per rēgēsque āctum genus omne Latīnōs,
praecipitem scopulō atque ingentis turbine saxī
excutit effunditque solō: hunc lōra et iuga subter
prōvolvēre rotae, crēbrō super ungula pulsū
incita nec dominī memorum prōculcat equōrum.

Aeneas strikes Murranus, who was boasting of his ancestors and the ancient names of his forefathers and his whole line traced through the Latin kings, headlong from his chariot with a rock, the whirling blow of a huge stone, and throws him out on the ground: the wheels rolled him under the reins and the yoke, and above him the hooves of his horses, which no longer remember their master, trample him in a rapid beat.

Note. Mūrrānum … sonantem: 'boasting', literally 'sounding' his ancestors' names. per rēgēs āctum: 'traced through kings'. praecipitem … excutit: 'throws him headlong'. hunc … prōvolvēre rotae: 'the wheels rolled him forward' (prōvolvēre = prōvolvērunt). nec dominī memorum: 'not remembering their master'.

Aen. 12.535Ille ruentī Hyllō animīsque immāne frementī
occurrit tēlumque aurāta ad tempora torquet:
ollī per galeam fīxō stetit hasta cerebrō.

Turnus meets Hyllus, who was charging and roaring with huge rage, and hurls a spear at his gilded temples: the spear passed through his helmet and stood fixed in his brain.

Note. Ille: Turnus. animīs … immāne frementī: 'roaring with huge rage'; immāne is neuter used adverbially. ollī = illī, an archaic form, 'for him'.

Aen. 12.538Dextera nec tua tē, Grāium fortissime Crētheu
ēripuit Turnō.

Nor did your right hand, Cretheus, bravest of the Greeks, save you from Turnus.

Note. Graium = Graiōrum, 'of the Greeks'. Cretheu: Greek vocative. The narrator addresses the dead warrior directly (apostrophe), a sign of sympathy.

Aen. 12.539Nec dī tēxēre Cupencum
540Aenēā veniente suī: dedit obvia ferrō
pectora, nec miserō clipeī mora prōfuit aereī.

Nor did his own gods protect Cupencus when Aeneas came on: he offered his chest to the sword, and the hindrance of his bronze shield did not help the poor man.

Note. suī: 'his own' gods; Cupencus was a priest. Aenēā veniente: ablative absolute. clipeī mora … aereī: 'the hindrance of his bronze shield'.

Aen. 12.542Tē quoque Laurentēs vīdērunt, Aeole, campī
oppetere et lātē terram cōnsternere tergō.

You too, Aeolus, the Laurentine plains saw fall and cover the ground far and wide with your back.

Note. Another apostrophe: Te quoque … Aeole. oppetere: 'meet (death)', i.e. fall. tergō: 'with your back', as he lay stretched out.

Aen. 12.544Occidis, Argīvae quem nōn potuēre phalangēs
545sternere nec Priamī regnōrum ēversor Achillēs;

You fall, whom neither the Argive battalions could lay low, nor Achilles, the destroyer of Priam's kingdom;

Note. potuēre = potuērunt. Priamī regnōrum ēversor: 'destroyer of Priam's kingdom', Achilles.

Aen. 12.546hīc tibi mortis erant mētae: domus alta sub Īdā,
Lyrnēsī domus alta, solō Laurente sepulchrum.

here was the finishing post of your death: your lofty home was beneath Ida, your lofty home at Lyrnesus, your tomb is in Laurentine soil.

Note. hīc tibi mortis erant mētae: 'here were the turning posts (finish) of your death', a racing image. domus alta: repeated with pathos: his home was far away, at Lyrnesus under Ida, but his tomb is in Italy.

Aen. 12.548Tōtae adeō conversae aciēs, omnēsque Latīnī,
omnēs Dardanidae, Mnēstheus ācerque Serestus
550et Messāpus equum domitor et fortis Asīlās
Tuscōrumque phalanx Evandrīque Arcadēs ālae,
prō sē quisque virī summā nītuntur opum vī:
nec mora nec requiēs, vāstō certāmine tendunt.

The whole battle lines are turned to the fight, all the Latins and all the Dardanians, Mnestheus and bold Serestus and Messapus, tamer of horses, and brave Asilas, and the Etruscan phalanx and the Arcadian squadrons of Evander; each man strives for himself with all the force of his strength: no delay, no rest, they struggle in a vast contest.

Note. Tōtae … conversae aciēs: '(were) turned', supply sunt. equum = equōrum, genitive plural with domitor, 'tamer of horses', an epithet from Homer. prō sē quisque virī: 'each man for himself'. summā … opum vī: 'with the utmost force of their strength'.