Aen. 7.37Nunc age, quī rēgēs, Eratō, quae tempora rērum,
Quis Latiō antīquō fuerit status, advena classem
cum prīmum Ausoniīs exercitus appulit ōrīs,
40expediam et prīmae revocābō exōrdia pugnae.Now come, Erato: who were the kings, what was the state of affairs, what the condition of ancient Latium when first the foreign army brought its fleet to the Ausonian shores, I will unfold, and I will recall the beginnings of the first battle. Aen. 7.41tū vātem, tū, dīva, monē.You, goddess, you must prompt your poet. Aen. 7.41Dīcam horrida bella,
dīcam aciēs āctōsque animīs in fūnera rēgēs
Tyrrhēnamque manum tōtamque sub arma coāctam
Hesperiam.I will tell of dreadful wars, I will tell of battle lines and of kings driven by their passions to death, of the Tyrrhenian band and all Hesperia forced under arms. Aen. 7.44Maior rērum mihi nāscitur ōrdō,
45maius opus moveō.Rēx arva Latīnus et urbēs
iam senior longā placidās in pāce regēbat.A greater order of events is born for me; I set in motion a greater work. King Latinus, now growing old, was ruling over fields and towns calm in a long peace.
Aen. 7.47Hunc Faunō et nymphā genitum Laurente Marīcā
accipimus, Faunō Pīcus pater isque parentem
tē, Sāturne, refert, tū sanguinis ultimus auctor.He, we are told, was born of Faunus and the Laurentine nymph Marica; Faunus' father was Picus, and he names you, Saturn, as his parent; you are the first founder of the line. Aen. 7.50fīlius huic fātō dīvom prōlēsque virīlis
nūlla fuit prīmāque oriēns ērepta iuventa est.By the fate of the gods he had no son, no male offspring; the one he had was snatched away in the first bloom of youth. Aen. 7.52Sōla domum et tantās servābat fīlia sēdēs,
iam mātūra virō, iam plēnīs nūbilis annīs.A daughter alone was keeping the house and its great estate, now ripe for a husband, now of full marriageable age. Aen. 7.54Multī illam magnō ē Latiō tōtāque petēbant
55Ausoniā.Many from great Latium and all Ausonia sought her hand. Aen. 7.55Petit ante aliōs pulcherrimus omnīs
Turnus, avīs atavīsque potēns, quem rēgia coniūnx
adiungī generum mīrō properābat amōre;Before all others sought her Turnus, most handsome of all, mighty in his grandfathers and forefathers, whom the royal wife was eager, with wondrous love, to see joined to her as son-in-law; Aen. 7.58sed variīs portenta deum terrōribus obstant.but portents from the gods stand in the way, with various terrors.
Aen. 7.59Laurus erat tēctī mediō in penetrālibus altīs,
60sacra comam multōsque metū servāta per annōs,
quam pater inventam, prīmās cum conderet arcēs,
ipse ferēbātur Phoebō sacrāsse Latīnus
Laurentīsque ab eā nōmen posuisse colōnīs.In the middle of the palace, in the high inner courts, there was a laurel, sacred in its foliage and preserved with awe for many years, which father Latinus himself, it was said, had found when he was founding his first citadel and had consecrated to Phoebus, and from it had given its name to his settlers, the Laurentines. Aen. 7.64Huius apēs summum dēnsae (mīrābile dictū),
65strīdōre ingentī liquidum trāns aethera vectae,
obsēdēre apicem, ex pedibus per mūtua nexīs
exāmen subitum rāmō frondente pependit.On its very top a dense swarm of bees (wonderful to tell), borne with a loud humming through the clear air, settled on the crown, and, their feet linked together, the sudden swarm hung from the leafy branch. Aen. 7.68Continuō vātēs: Externum cernimus, inquit,
adventāre virum et partīs petere agmen eāsdem
70partibus ex īsdem et summā dominārier arce.At once the seer said: 'We see a foreign man approaching, and a host seeking the same parts from the same parts, and lording it on the topmost citadel.' Aen. 7.71Praetereā, castīs adolet dum altāria taedīs
et iūxtā genitōrem adstat Lāvīnia virgō,
vīsa (nefās) longīs comprendere crīnibus ignem,
75rēgālīsque accēnsa comās, accēnsa corōnam
īnsignem gemmīs, tum fūmida lūmine fulvō
involvī ac tōtīs Volcānum spargere tēctīs.Moreover, while she was kindling the altars with pure torches, standing beside her father, the maiden Lavinia seemed (horror!) to catch fire in her long hair, her royal tresses alight, alight her crown shining with jewels; then, wrapped in smoke and yellow light, to scatter fire throughout the whole palace.
Aen. 7.78Id vērō horrendum ac vīsū mīrābile ferrī:
namque fore inlūstrem fāmā fātīsque canēbant
80ipsam, sed populō magnum portendere bellum.That indeed was reported as a dreadful and wondrous sight: for they prophesied that she herself would be glorious in fame and fortune, but that she foretold a great war for her people.