Aeneid 8.520–540

A sign from the sky

LatinLatin and EnglishEnglish onlyRead it word by word

Aen. 8.520Vix ea fātus erat, dēfīxīque ōra tenēbant
Aenēās Anchīsiadēs et fīdus Achātēs
multaque dūra suō trīstī cum corde putābant,
nī signum caelō Cytherēa dedisset apertō.Scarcely had he spoken, and Aeneas, son of Anchises, and faithful Achates kept their eyes fixed on the ground, and were pondering many hard things in their sad hearts, had not the Cytherean given a sign from the open sky. Aen. 8.524Namque inprōvīsō vibrātus ab aethere fulgor
525cum sonitū vēnit, et ruere omnia vīsa repente
Tyrrhēnusque tubae mūgīre per aethera clangor.For unexpectedly a flash, darting from the heavens, came with a crash, and suddenly everything seemed to tumble, and the blare of a Tyrrhenian trumpet to bellow through the sky. Aen. 8.527Suspiciunt, iterum atque iterum fragor increpat ingēns:
arma inter nūbem caelī regiōne serēnā
per sūdum rutilāre vident et pulsa tonāre.They look up; again and again a huge crash resounds: they see arms in a cloud in a clear region of the sky, glowing red through the bright air and thundering as they clash. Aen. 8.530Obstipuēre animīs aliī, sed Trōius hērōs
agnōvit sonitum et dīvae prōmissa parentis.The others were struck with amazement, but the Trojan hero recognised the sound and the promises of his divine mother.

Aen. 8.532Tum memorat: Nē vērō, hospes, nē quaere profectō,
quem cāsum portenta ferant: ego poscor Olympō.Then he says: 'Do not, my host, do not indeed ask what fortune these portents bring: it is I who am called by Olympus. Aen. 8.534Hoc signum cecinit missūram dīva creātrīx,
535sī bellum ingrueret, Volcāniaque arma per aurās
lātūram auxiliō.My divine mother foretold that she would send this sign if war should assail us, and would bring Vulcan's arms through the air to help. Aen. 8.537Heu quantae miserīs caedēs Laurentibus īnstant;Alas, what slaughter awaits the wretched Laurentines; Aen. 8.538quās poenās mihi, Turne, dabis;what a penalty you will pay me, Turnus; Aen. 8.538quam multa sub undās
scūta virum galeāsque et fortia corpora volvēs,
540Thybri pater!how many shields of men and helmets and brave bodies you will roll beneath your waves, father Tiber! Aen. 8.540Poscant aciēs et foedera rumpant.Let them demand battle and break their treaties.'

Read the Latin itself: tap any word for its meaning and grammar, save words to review, and keep your place.

Read in Lectitō

Latin vocabulary for this passage (106 words)

vix, adv.	with difficulty, scarcely, hardly, barely
is, ea, id, dem. pron.	this, that; he, she, it, they
for, fārī, fātus sum	speak, say
sum, esse, fuī, futūrus	be
dēfīgō, -ere, -fīxī, -fīxus	drive in, fix firmly
que, enclitic conj.	and
ōs, ōris, n.	mouth
teneō, -ēre, -uī, -tus	hold, keep; hold back, restrain, stop
et, conj.	and; et ... et, both ... and
fīdus, -a, -um	faithful, loyal, trustworthy
multus, -a, -um	much, great; plur., many
dūrus, -a, -um	hard; harsh; difficult
suus, -a, -um	his, her, its, or their own; his, her, its, their
trīstis, -e	sad, gloomy
cum, prep, with abl.	with
cor, cordis n.	heart
putō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	think
nī (conj.)	if not, unless (= nisi)
signum, -ī, n.	sign, signal
caelum, -ī, n.	heaven, sky
dō, dare, dedī, datus	give
apertus, -a, -um	open
namque, conj.	for
imprōvīsus, -a, -um	unexpected (dē imprōvīsō: unexpectedly)
vibrō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	brandish, shake
ā, ab (prep. + abl.)	away from, from; by (ā only before consonants)
aethēr, -eris m. (acc. aethera)	the upper air, the sky
fulgor, -ōris m.	flash, glare, brightness
sonitus, -ūs, m.	sound, noise
veniō, venīre, vēnī, ventus	come
ruō, -ere, -ī, -itūrus	rush
omnis, -e	all, every
videō, vidēre, vīdī, vīsus	see; pass., seem
repente (adv.)	suddenly
Tyrrhēnus, -a, -um	Etruscan; mare Tyrrhēnum: the sea west of Italy
tuba, -ae f.	trumpet
mūgiō, -īre, -īvī	low, bellow
per, prep, with ace.	through, by means of
clangor, -ōris m.	loud cry, screech; blare
suspiciō, -ere, -spexī, -spectus	look up (at); admire
iterum, adv.	again, a second time
atque, ac (conj.)	and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants)
fragor, -ōris m.	crash, din
increpō, -āre, -uī, -itus	make a noise, rattle; rebuke
ingēns, -gentis, adj.	huge, vast
arma, -ōrum, n. plur.	arms, weapons
inter, prep, with acc.	among, between
nūbēs, -is, f.	cloud
regiō, -ōnis, f.	direction; country, region
serēnus, -a, -um	clear, calm, fair
sūdum, -ī n.	clear sky, fair weather
rutilō, -āre	glow red, shine
pellō, pellere, pepulī, pulsus	drive, drive away, beat, rout
tonō, -āre, -uī	thunder; (trans.) call out in a thundering voice
obstipēscō (obstupēscō), -ere, -stipuī	be amazed, be struck dumb
animus, -ī, m.	mind; heart; spirit, courage
alius, -a, -ud	another, other; aliī ... aliī, some ... others
sed, conj.	but
Trōius, -a, -um	Trojan
hērōs, -ōis m.	hero, demigod; great man
agnōscō, -gnōscere, -gnōvī, -gnitus, recognize
dīva, -ae f.	goddess
prōmissum, -ī n.	promise
parēns, -entis m./f.	parent
tum, adv.	then, at that time
memorō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	remind of, mention
nē, adv.	not; nē ... quidem, not ... even; conj., that not, lest
vērō, adv.	in truth, indeed; however
hospes, hospitis m.	guest; host; guest-friend
quaerō, quaerere, quaesīvī, quaesītus	seek; ask, inquire
profectō, adv.	certainly, surely
quī, quae, quod, interrog. pron. adj.	what?
cāsus, -ūs, m.	fall; chance, accident
portentum, -ī n.	omen, portent, marvel
ferō, ferre, tulī, lātus	bear, bring
ego, meī, pers. pron.	I
poscō, poscere, poposcī	ask, demand
hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron.	this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter
canō, -ere, cecinī, cantus	sing; of a trumpet: sound (receptuī canere: sound the retreat)
mittō, mittere, mīsī, missus	send
creātrīx, -īcis f.	mother, she who brings forth
sī, conj.	if
bellum, -ī, n.	war
ingruō, -ere, -uī	advance threateningly, break in upon
Volcānius, -a, -um	of Vulcan, made by Vulcan
aura, -ae, f.	air, breeze
auxilium, -ī, n.	help, aid
heu (interj.)	alas! oh!
quantus, -a, -um	how great or much?
miser, misera, miserum	wretched, unhappy
caedēs, -is, f.	cutting down, killing, slaughter
īnstō, -āre, -stitī	press on; be at hand
poena, -ae, f.	penalty, punishment
quam, adv.	how? as; than; with superl., as ... as possible
sub, prep. with acc. and abl.	under; sub vesperum, towards evening
unda, -ae, f.	wave
scūtum, -ī, n.	shield
vir, virī, m.	man
galea, -ae, f.	helmet
fortis, -e	brave
corpus, corporis, n.	body
volvō, -ere, volvī, volūtus	roll, turn over; ponder (multa sēcum volvere)
pater, patris, m.	father
aciēs, -ēī, f.	line of battle
foedus, -eris n.	treaty, alliance
rumpō, rumpere, rūpī, ruptus	break, burst

Vergil, Aeneid VIII. 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.