Aeneid 7.803–817

Camilla, the warrior maiden

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Aen. 7.803Hōs super advenit Volscā dē gente Camilla
agmen agēns equitum et flōrentīs aere catervās,
805bellātrīx, nōn illa colō calathīsve Minervae
fēmineās adsuēta manūs, sed proelia virgō
dūra patī cursūque pedum praevertere ventōs.Besides these came Camilla, of the Volscian people, leading a column of horsemen and troops flowering with bronze, a warrior maiden, her woman's hands not used to Minerva's distaff or wool baskets, but a maiden hardened to endure battles and to outstrip the winds in the speed of her feet. Aen. 7.808Illa vel intāctae segetis per summa volāret
grāmina nec tenerās cursū laesisset aristās,
810vel mare per medium flūctū suspēnsa tumentī
ferret iter celerīs nec tingueret aequore plantās.She could fly over the tips of the uncut corn and not have harmed the tender ears in her course, or make her way through the midst of the sea, poised on the swelling wave, and not wet her swift soles in the water. Aen. 7.812Illam omnis tēctīs agrīsque effūsa iuventūs
turbaque mīrātur mātrum et prōspectat euntem,
attonitīs inhiāns animīs, ut rēgius ostrō
815vēlet honōs levīs umerōs, ut fībula crīnem
aurō internectat, Lyciam ut gerat ipsa pharetram
et pāstōrālem praefīxa cuspide myrtum.All the youth, pouring out of houses and fields, and the crowd of mothers marvel at her and gaze after her as she goes, gaping with astonished minds, at how royal honour veils her smooth shoulders with purple, how a clasp binds her hair with gold, how she herself carries a Lycian quiver and a shepherd's myrtle staff tipped with a spearhead.

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Grammar in this passage: ablative absolute ×1, purpose clauses ×1

Latin vocabulary for this passage (84 words)

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
adveniō, -venīre, -vēnī, -ventus	come to or toward, approach, arrive
Volscus, -a, -um	Volscian; (pl.) the Volsci, a people of southern Latium
dē, prep, with abl.	down from, from, out of; about, concerning, of
gēns, gentis, f.	race, nation
agmen, -minis, n.	band, column
agō, agere, ēgī, āctus	drive; do; pass, lead; grātiās agere, see grātia
eques, equitis m.	horseman; (pl.) cavalry
et, conj.	and; et ... et, both ... and
flōrēns, -entis	flourishing, prosperous
aes, aeris, n.	copper, bronze
caterva, -ae f.	crowd, band, troop
bellātrīx, -īcis f.	woman warrior
nōn, adv.	not
ille, illa, illud, dem. pron.	that; he, she, it, they; ille ... hīc, see hīc
colus, -ūs/-ī f.	distaff (for spinning)
calathus, -ī m.	wicker basket (for wool, flowers, etc.)
fēmineus, -a, -um	of a woman, a woman's, female
assuēscō, -ere, -suēvī, -suētus	become accustomed, get used to
manus, -ūs, f.	hand
sed, conj.	but
proelium, -ī, n.	battle, combat; proelium committere, to join battle
virgō, virginis, f.	maiden
dūrus, -a, -um	hard; harsh; difficult
patior, patī, passus, bear	suffer, allow
cursus, -ūs, m.	running, speed; course, route, voyage; race
que, enclitic conj.	and
pēs, pedis, m.	foot
praevertō, -ere, -vertī	attend to first, give priority to
ventus, -ī, m.	wind
vel	or; vel … vel: either … or
intāctus, -a, -um	untouched, unharmed
seges, -etis f.	field of grain, standing crop
per, prep, with ace.	through, by means of
summus, -a, -um	uppermost, highest, greatest
volō, -āre, -āvī, -ātūrus	fly
grāmen, -inis n.	grass, turf
neque or nec, conj.	and not, nor; neque ... neque, neither ... nor; neque enim, for ... not
tener, -era, -erum	young, tender
laedō, -ere, laesī, laesus	hurt, injure; break (an oath)
arista, -ae f.	ear of grain, beard of grain
mare, maris, n.	sea
medius, -a, -um	mid, middle
flūctus, -ūs m.	wave
suspendō, -pendere, -pendī, -pēnsus	hang up, hang
tumeō, -ēre	swell, be swollen
ferō, ferre, tulī, lātus	bear, bring
iter, itineris, n.	a going, journey, march; iter facere, to journey, march
celer, celeris, celere	swift, quick
tinguō (tingō), -ere, tīnxī, tīnctum	dip, wet, bathe
aequor, -oris n.	level surface; the sea
planta, -ae f.	sole of the foot; a young shoot, plant
omnis, -e	all, every
tēctum, -ī n.	roof; house
ager, agri, m.	field, land
effundō, -fundere, -fūdī, -fūsus	pour out
iuventūs, -ūtis f.	youth; the young men
turba, -ae f.	crowd
mīror, -ārī, -ātus	wonder, wonder at
māter, mātris, f.	mother
prōspectō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	look out at, gaze at
eō, īre, iī, itus	go
attonitus, -a, -um	thunderstruck, astonished
inhiō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	gape, open the mouth (toward)
animus, -ī, m.	mind; heart; spirit, courage
ut, conj.	as; when; that; ita ut, as
rēgius, -a, -um	royal, kingly
ostrum, -ī n.	purple dye; purple cloth
vēlō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	veil, cover
honor, -ōris, m.	honor
levis, -e	light, slight
umerus, -ī, m.	shoulder
fībula, -ae f.	clasp, brace, bolt
crīnis, -is m.	hair, a lock of hair
aurum, -ī, n.	gold
internectō, -ere	bind together, fasten
gerō, gerere, gessī, gestus	carry, wear; carry on, do
ipse, ipsa, ipsum, intensive pron.	self, himself, herself, itself, themselves; often to be rendered by very
pharetra, -ae f.	quiver
pāstōrālis, -e	of shepherds, pastoral
praefīgō, -ere, -fīxī, -fīxum	fix in front
cuspis, -idis f.	point, tip (of a spear or arrow)
myrtus, -ī (-ūs) f.	myrtle (sacred to Venus)

Vergil, Aeneid VII. 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.