Aen. 9.503At tuba terribilem sonitum procul aere canōrō
increpuit;But the trumpet blared a terrible sound from afar with its ringing bronze; Aen. 9.504sequitur clamor caelumque remūgit.a shout follows and the sky bellows back. Aen. 9.505Adcelerant āctā pariter testūdine Volscī
et fossās implēre parant ac vellere vallum.The Volsci hurry forward, their tortoise of shields advancing in line, and prepare to fill the ditches and tear down the rampart. Aen. 9.507Quaerunt pars aditum et scālīs ascendere mūrōs,
quā rāra est aciēs interlūcetque corōna
nōn tam spissa virīs.Some seek a way in and to scale the walls with ladders, where the line is thin and the ring of men shows gaps, not so densely packed. Aen. 9.509Tēlōrum effundere contrā
510omne genus Teucrī ac dūrīs dētrūdere contīs,
adsuētī longō mūrōs dēfendere bellō.Against them the Teucrians pour every kind of weapon and push them down with stout poles, used to defending walls in a long war. Aen. 9.512Saxa quoque īnfestō volvēbant pondere, sīqua
possent tēctam aciem perrumpere: cum tamen omnīs
ferre iuvat subter dēnsā testūdine cāsūs;They were rolling stones too, of deadly weight, in case they could break through the covered line: yet beneath the dense tortoise they gladly bear every blow; Aen. 9.515nec iam sufficiunt.but now they do not hold out.
Aen. 9.515Nam quā globus imminet ingēns,
immānem Teucrī mōlem volvuntque ruuntque,
quae strāvit Rutulōs lātē armōrumque resolvit
Tegmina.For where the great mass threatens, the Teucrians roll and tumble a huge block, which laid the Rutulians low far and wide and broke apart their covering of armour. Aen. 9.518Nec cūrant caecō contendere Mārte
amplius audācēs Rutulī, sed pellere vallō
520missilibus certant.Nor do the bold Rutulians care any longer to fight in blind warfare, but strive to drive them from the rampart with missiles. Aen. 9.521Parte aliā horrendus vīsū quassābat Etrūscam
pīnum et fūmiferōs īnfert Mezentius ignīs;In another quarter, dreadful to see, Mezentius was brandishing an Etruscan pine and brings smoking fires; Aen. 9.523at Messāpus equum domitor, Neptūnia prōlēs,
rescindit vallum et scālās in moenia poscit.but Messapus, tamer of horses, offspring of Neptune, tears down the rampart and calls for ladders to the walls.