Aen. 5.485Prōtinus Aenēās celerī certāre sagitta
invītat quī forte velint, et praemia pōnit,
ingentīque manū mālum dē nāve Serestī
ērigit, et volucrem trāiectō in fūne columbam,
quō tendant ferrum, mālō suspendit ab altō.At once Aeneas invites any who might wish to compete with the swift arrow, and sets out prizes, and with his mighty hand raises the mast from Serestus' ship, and from the top of the mast hangs a fluttering dove on a cord passed through, as a target for their iron. Aen. 5.490Convēnēre virī, dēiectamque aereā sortem
accēpit galeā;The men gathered, and a bronze helmet received the lots thrown in; Aen. 5.491et prīmus clamōre secundō
Hyrtacidae ante omnēs exit locus Hippocoöntis;and first of all, to favouring shouts, comes out the lot of Hippocoon, son of Hyrtacus; Aen. 5.493quem modo nāvālī Mnēstheus certāmine victor
cōnsequitur, viridī Mnēstheus ēvīnctus olīvā.whom Mnestheus follows, just now victor in the ship contest, Mnestheus wreathed with green olive. Aen. 5.495Tertius Eurytiōn, tuus, ō clārissime, frāter,
Pandare, quī quondam, iussus cōnfundere foedus,
in mediōs tēlum torsistī prīmus Achīvōs.Third Eurytion, your brother, most famous Pandarus, you who once, ordered to break the truce, were the first to hurl a spear into the midst of the Achaeans.
Aen. 5.498Extrēmus galeāque īmā subsēdit Acestēs,
ausus et ipse manū iuvenum temptāre labōrem.Last, at the bottom of the helmet, sank Acestes, he too daring to try his hand at the young men's task. Aen. 5.500Tum validīs flexōs incurvant vīribus arcūs
prō sē quisque virī, et dēprōmunt tēla pharetrīs.Then with powerful strength the men bend their curving bows, each for himself, and take arrows from their quivers. Aen. 5.502Prīmaque per caelum, nervō strīdente, sagitta
Hyrtacidae iuvenis volucrēs dīverberat aurās;First through the sky, the string whistling, the arrow of the young son of Hyrtacus cleaves the fleeting air; Aen. 5.504et vēnit, adversīque īnfīgitur arbore mālī.and it arrives, and lodges in the wood of the mast opposite. Aen. 5.505Intremuit mālus, timuitque exterrita pennīs
āles, et ingentī sonuērunt omnia plausū.The mast quivered, the bird fluttered its wings in terror, and everything resounded with loud applause. Aen. 5.507Post ācer Mnēstheus adductō cōnstitit arcū,
alta petēns, pariterque oculōs tēlumque tetendit.Next keen Mnestheus stood with bow drawn, aiming high, and levelled eye and arrow together. Aen. 5.509Ast ipsam miserandus avem contingere ferrō
510nōn valuit: nōdōs et vincula līnea rūpit,
quīs innexa pedem mālō pendēbat ab altō:
illa notōs atque alta volāns in nūbila fūgit.But, poor man, he could not strike the bird itself with the iron: he broke the knots and the linen cords by which she hung, tied by the foot, from the high mast: she flew off towards the south winds and the high clouds.
Aen. 5.513Tum rapidus, iamdūdum arcū contenta parātō
tēla tenēns, frātrem Eurytiōn in vōta vocāvit,
515iam vacuō laetam caelō speculātus, et alīs
plaudentem nigrā fīgit sub nūbe columbam.Then swiftly Eurytion, who had long been holding his arrow ready on the drawn bow, called upon his brother in prayer, and, spotting the dove now rejoicing in the empty sky, as she clapped her wings, pierces her beneath a black cloud. Aen. 5.517Dēcidit exanimis, vītamque relīquit in astrīs
aetheriīs, fīxamque refert dēlapsa sagittam.She fell down lifeless, left her life among the stars of heaven, and, falling, brings back the arrow that pierced her.