Aeneid 2
by Virgil
OCR GCSE Latin 2020 & 2021
Part 1
506-517 – Priam arms himself.
Latin
forsitan et Priami fuerint quae fata requiras.
Perhaps you may also ask what was the fate of Priam.
urbis uti captae casum convulsaque vidit
When he saw the fall of his captured city and the smashed-in
limina tectorum et medium in penetralibus hostem,
doors of the buildings and the enemy in the middle of the inner chambers,
arma diu senior desueta trementibus aevo
the old man in vain put on his long-neglected armour on his shoulders,
circumdat nequiquam umeris et inutile ferrum 510
which were trembling with old age, and wore the useless
cingitur, ac densos fertur moriturus in hostes.
sword, and carried himself into the thick of the enemy, doomed to die.
aedibus in mediis nudoque sub aetheris axe
In the middle of the palace and under the exposed wheel of heaven
ingens ara fuit iuxtaque veterrima laurus
there was a huge altar and a very old laurel tree alongside it,
incumbens arae atque umbra complexa penates.
resting on the altar and embracing the household gods with its shade.
hic Hecuba et natae nequiquam altaria circum, 515
Here Hecuba and her daughters were crowded round the altar in vain,
praecipites atra ceu tempestate columbae,
like doves driven headlong in a black storm,
condensae et divum amplexae simulacra sedebant.
and they sat embracing the statues of the gods.
Order
forsitan requiras et quae fuerint fata Priami
Perhaps you may ask also what were the fates of Priam .
uti vidit casum captae urbis que convulsa
When he saw the fall of his captured city and the smashed-in
limina tectorum et hostem in medium penetralibus
doors of the buildings and the enemy in the middle of the inner chambers,
senior nequiquam circumdat diu desueta arma umeris
the old man in vain put on his long-neglected armour on his shoulders,
trementibus aevo et cingitur inutile
which were trembling with old age, and wore the useless
ferrum ac fertur in hostes densos moriturus.
sword, and carried himself into the thick of the enemy, doomed to die.
in mediis aedibus que sub nudo axe aetheris
In the middle of the palace and under the exposed wheel of heaven
fuit ingens ara que veterrima laurus iuxta
there was a huge altar and a very old laurel tree alongside it,
incumbens arae atque complexa penates umbra
resting on the altar and embracing the household gods with its shade.
hic Hecuba et natae condensae circum altaria nequiquam
Here Hecuba and her daughters were crowded round the altar in vain,
ceu columbae praecipites atra tempestate,
like doves driven headlong in a black storm,
et sedebant amplexae simulacra divum.
and they sat embracing the statues of the gods.
Translation
Perhaps you may also ask what was the fate of Priam.
When he saw the fall of his captured city and the smashed-in
doors of the buildings and the enemy in the middle of the inner chambers,
the old man in vain put on his long-neglected armour on his shoulders,
which were trembling with old age, and wore the useless
sword, and carried himself into the thick of the enemy, doomed to die.
In the middle of the palace and under the exposed wheel of heaven
there was a huge altar and a very old laurel tree alongside it,
resting on the altar and embracing the household gods with its shade.
Here Hecuba and her daughters were crowded round the altar in vain,
like doves driven headlong in a black storm,
and they sat embracing the statues of the gods.
Part 2
518-532 – Hecuba speaks to Priam. Polites collapses.
Latin
ipsum autem sumptis Priamum iuvenalibus armis
ut vidit, ‘quae mens tam dira, miserrime coniunx,
impulit his cingi telis? aut quo ruis?’ inquit. 520
‘non tali auxilio nec defensoribus istis
tempus eget; non, si ipse meus nunc adforet Hector,
huc tandem concede; haec ara tuebitur omnes,
aut moriere simul.’ sic ore effata recepit
ad sese et sacra longaevum in sede locavit. 525
Ecce autem elapsus Pyrrhi de caede Polites,
unus natorum Priami, per tela, per hostes
porticibus longis fugit et vacua atria lustrat
saucius. illum ardens infesto vulnere Pyrrhus
insequitur, iam iamque manu tenet et premit hasta, 530
ut tandem ante oculos evasit et ora parentum,
concidit ac multo vitam cum sanguine fudit.
Order
forsitan et Priami fuerint quae fata requiras.
Perhaps you may also ask what was the fate of Priam.
urbis uti captae casum convulsaque vidit
When he saw the fall of his captured city and the smashed-in
limina tectorum et medium in penetralibus hostem,
doors of the buildings and the enemy in the middle of the inner chambers,
arma diu senior desueta trementibus aevo
the old man in vain put on his long-neglected armour on his shoulders,
circumdat nequiquam umeris et inutile ferrum 510
which were trembling with old age, and wore the useless
cingitur, ac densos fertur moriturus in hostes.
sword, and carried himself into the thick of the enemy, doomed to die.
aedibus in mediis nudoque sub aetheris axe
In the middle of the palace and under the exposed wheel of heaven
ingens ara fuit iuxtaque veterrima laurus
there was a huge altar and a very old laurel tree alongside it,
incumbens arae atque umbra complexa penates.
resting on the altar and embracing the household gods with its shade.
hic Hecuba et natae nequiquam altaria circum, 515
Here Hecuba and her daughters were crowded round the altar in vain,
praecipites atra ceu tempestate columbae,
like doves driven headlong in a black storm,
condensae et divum amplexae simulacra sedebant.
and they sat embracing the statues of the gods.
Translation
Moreover, when she saw Priam himself, having taken up the arms
of his youth, she said ‘What intention so dreadful, most wretched husband,
drives (you) to gird yourself with these weapons? Where are you
rushing to? The situation is not in need of such assistance, nor of
these defenders; not if my Hector himself were now present,
come here now; this altar will protect everyone,
or you will die with us.’ Having spoken thus, she received the aged man
to her and placed him on the sacred seat.
But look! Having slipped away from the butchery of Pyrrhus, Polites,
one of the sons of Priam, fled through the missiles, through the enemy,
down the long colonnades and wanders around the deserted rooms
wounded. Pyrrhus eagerly pursues him with threatening wound.
Again and again he nearly seizes him with his hand and he presses with his spear,
when at last he emerged before the eyes and the faces of his parents,
he fell and poured out his life with much blood.
Part 3
533-543 – Priam rebukes Pyrrhus.
Latin
hic Priamus, quamquam in media iam morte tenetur,
non tamen abstinuit nec voci iraeque pepercit:
‘at tibi pro scelere,’ exclamat, ‘pro talibus ausis 535
di, si qua est caelo pietas quae talia curet,
persolvant grates dignas et praemia reddant
debita, qui nati coram me cernere letum
fecisti et patrios foedasti funere vultus.
at non ille, satum quo te mentiris, Achilles 540
talis in hoste fuit Priamo; sed iura fidemque
supplicis erubuit corpusque exsangue sepulcro
reddidit Hectoreum meque in mea regna remisit.’
Order
hic Priamus, quamquam iam tenetur in media morte,
Here Priam, although he was now being held in the middle of death,
tamen non abstinuit nec pepercit voci que irae:
nevertheless he did not hold back nor spare his voice and anger:
exclamat: ‘at pro scelere, pro talibus ausis,
He shouted: ‘For wickedness, for such brazen acts,
si est qua pietas caelo quae curet talia,
if there is any holiness in heaven which takes interest in such matters,
di persolvant dignas grates et reddant debita praemia,
may the gods pay worthy thanks and give due rewards,
tibi qui fecisti me cernere letum nati coram
to you who have made me watch the death of my son in person
et foedasti patrios vultus funere.
and befouled a father’s features with death.
at ille, quo mentiris te satum, Achilles,
But he, from whom you falsely state that you were born, Achilles
non fuit talis in hoste Priamo; sed erubuit
was not such a man in the case of his enemy Priam; but he respected
iura que fidem supplicis que reddidit Hectoreum exsangue corpus
the laws and trust of a suppliant and returned Hector’s bloodless body
sepulcro que remisit me in mea regna.’
to the tomb and sent me back into my kingdom.’
Translation
Here Priam, although he was now being held in the middle of death,
nevertheless he did not hold back nor spare his voice and anger:
He shouted: ‘For wickedness, for such brazen acts,
if there is any holiness in heaven which takes interest in such matters,
may the gods pay worthy thanks and give due rewards,
you who have made me watch the death of my son in person
and befouled a father’s features with death.
But he, from whom you falsely state that you were born, Achilles
was not such a man in the case of his enemy Priam; but he respected
the laws and trust of a suppliant and returned Hector’s bloodless body
to the tomb and sent me back into my kingdom.’
Part 4
544-558 – Pyrrhus kills Priam.
Latin
sic fatus senior telumque imbelle sine ictu
coniecit, rauco quod protinus aere repulsum, 545
et summo clipei nequiquam umbone pependit.
cui Pyrrhus: ‘referes ergo haec et nuntius ibis
Pelidae genitori. illi mea tristia facta
degeneremque Neoptolemum narrare memento.
nunc morere.’ hoc dicens altaria ad ipsa trementem 550
traxit et in multo lapsantem sanguine nati,
implicuitque comam laeva, dextraque coruscum
extulit ac lateri capulo tenus abdidit ensem.
haec finis Priami fatorum, hic exitus illum
sorte tulit Troiam incensam et prolapsa videntem 555
Pergama, tot quondam populis terrisque superbum
regnatorem Asiae. iacet ingens litore truncus,
avulsumque umeris caput et sine nomine corpus.
Translation
So spoke the elderly man and he hurled the unwarlike weapon
without a blow, which was repulsed straightaway by the echoing bronze,
and it hung idly from the top of the boss of the shield.
Pyrrhus (replied) to him: ‘So you will take this back and you will go as a
messenger to my father, the son of Peleus. Remember to tell him
of my sorry deeds and the worthless Neoptolemus.
Now die.’ As he said this he dragged him to the altar itself, trembling
and sliding in lots of his son’s blood,
and he entwined his hair with his left hand, and with his right hand raised
his glimmering sword and drove it into his side as far as the hilt.
This was the end of Priam’s destiny, this destruction brought him
by chance a burning Troy and seeing Pergamum
collapsed, once the proud ruler of so many peoples and lands
in Asia. His huge trunk lay on the shore,
and his head ripped from his shoulders and a body without a name.
Part 5
705-720 – Aeneas gathers his family.
Latin
Dixerat ille, et iam per moenia clarior ignis 705
auditur, propiusque aestus incendia volvunt.
‘ergo age, care pater, cervici imponere nostrae;
ipse subibo umeris nec me labor iste gravabit;
quo res cumque cadent, unum et commune periculum,
una salus ambobus erit. mihi parvus Iulus 710
sit comes, et longe servet vestigia coniunx.
vos, famuli, quae dicam animis advertite vestris.
est urbe egressis tumulus templumque vetustum
desertae Cereris, iuxtaque antiqua cupressus
religione patrum multos servata per annos. 715
hanc ex diverso sedem veniemus in unam.
tu, genitor, cape sacra manu patriosque penates,
me bello e tanto digressum et caede recenti
attrectare nefas, donec me flumine vivo
abluero.’ 720
Translation
He had spoken, and now the fire was heard more clearly through
the city, and the fires rolled their fiery flood closer.
‘So come, dear father, place yourself upon my neck;
I myself will support (you) on my shoulders, nor will this task weigh me down;
however things happen, there will be for both of us one common
danger, one salvation. Let little Iulus be my companion,
and let my wife follow our steps from a distance.
You, servants, turn your attention to what I am about to say.
There is, when you have gone out from the city, a tomb and an ancient temple
of deserted Ceres, and close by an ancient cypress tree
protected for many years by the religious observance of our ancestors
From different (directions) we shall come to this single resting-place.
You, father, take the sacred emblems in your hand and the penates of your fathers,
it is sinful for me to touch them, having come from such a mighty war and
fresh slaughter, until I have cleansed myself in a running river.’
Part 6: 721-729
Latin
haec fatus latos umeros subiectaque colla
veste super fulvique insternor pelle leonis,
succedoque oneri; dextrae se parvus lulus
implicuit sequiturque patrem non passibus aequis;
pone subit coniunx. ferimur per opaca locorum, 725
et me, quem dudum non ulla iniecta movebant
tela neque adverso glomerati ex agmine Grai,
nunc omnes terrent aurae, sonus excitat omnis
suspensum et pariter comitique onerique timentem.
Translation
Having said this, I covered myself, on top of my broad shoulders
and bowed neck, with the tawny hide of a lion as clothing,
and I submitted to the burden; little Iulus entwined himself in my
right hand and followed his father with steps not equivalent;
my wife followed behind. We took ourselves through the shades of the region,
725
and me, whom a short time ago not any launched missiles
would move, nor the Greeks massed in opposing ranks,
now all breezes terrified (me), every sound startled (me),
hesitating and equally fearful for both my companion and my burden.
Part 7: 730-740
Latin
iamque propinquabam portis omnemque videbar 730
evasisse viam, subito cum creber ad aures
visus adesse pedum sonitus, genitorque per umbram
prospiciens ‘nate’ exclamat ‘fuge, nate; propinquant.
ardentes clipeos atque aera micantia cerno.’
hic mihi nescio quod trepido male numen amicum735
confusam eripuit mentem. namque avia cursu
dum sequor et nota excedo regione viarum,
heu misero coniunx fatone erepta Creusa
substitit, erravitne via seu lassa resedit,
incertum; nec post oculis est reddita nostris. 740
Translation
And now I was approaching the gates and I thought I had traversed
the whole path, when suddenly, thick upon my ears,
there seemed to be the sound of feet, and my father, looking out
through the shade, shouted: ’Son! Flee, son! They are drawing near.
I see eager shields and gleaming bronze.’
Here, an unfriendly power – I know not what – robbed my perplexed
mind from me as I panicked. For while I was following pathless tracks
with haste and departing from the known direction of the roads –
Alas! – my wife Creusa, snatched away by a wretched destiny,
stood still, or did she wander from the path or sit down tired?
I am not sure; nor later was she restored to our eyes.
Part 8: 768-779
Latin
ausus quin etiam voces iactare per umbram
implevi clamore vias, maestusque Creusam
nequiquam ingeminans iterumque iterumque vocavi. 770
quaerenti et tectis urbis sine fine ruenti
infelix simulacrum atque ipsius umbra Creusae
visa mihi ante oculos et nota maior imago,
obstipui, steteruntque comae et vox faucibus haesit.
tum sic adfari et curas his demere dictis: 775
‘quid tantum insano iuvat indulgere dolori,
o dulcís coniunx? non haec sine numine divum
eveniunt; nec te hinc comitem asportare Creusam
fas, aut ille sinit superi regnator Olympi.
Translation
Why, even daring to cast my cries through the night
I filled the streets with shouting, and gloomily repeating
“Creusa” in vain, I called again and again.
As I searched and as I rushed endlessly among the houses of the city
the sad phantom and ghost of Creusa herself
appeared before my eyes, an even larger likeness than the one I knew,
I was speechless, and my hair stood on end and my voice stuck in my throat.
Then she said this and removed my troubles with these words:
‘Why does it help so much to indulge in frantic grief,
sweet husband? These things are not happening without the will
of the gods; nor is it lawful for you to carry away Creusa from here as a
companion, nor does that ruler of high Olympus allow it.
Part 9: 780-794
Latin
longa tibi exsilia et vastum maris aequor arandum, 780
et terram Hesperiam venies, ubi Lydius arva
inter opima virum leni fluit agmine Thybris:
illic res laetae regnumque et regia coniunx
parta tibi; lacrimas dilectae pelle Creusae.
non ego Myrmidonum sedes Dolopumve superbas 785
aspiciam aut Grais servitum matribus ibo,
Dardanis et divae Veneris nurus;
sed me magna deum genetrix his detinet oris.
iamque vale et nati serva communis amorem.’
haec ubi dicta dedit, lacrimantem et multa volentem 790
dicere deseruit, tenuesque recessit in auras,
ter conatus ibi collo dare bracchia circum;
ter frustra comprensa manus effugit imago,
par levibus ventis volucrique simillima somno.
Translation
Long exile is yours and a vast expanse of sea must you plough,
and you will come to the land of Hesperia, where the Lydian Tiber
flows among the rich fields of men with a gentle course:
there happy times, and a kingdom, and a royal wife
are won for you; banish tears for dear Creusa.
I shall not look upon the proud settlements of the Myrmidons or
the Dolopians, nor shall I go into slavery for Greek mothers,
(I) a Dardanian and the daughter-in-law of the goddess Venus.
But the great mother of the gods keeps me on these shores.
And now farewell, and guard the love for our mutual child.’
When she had granted these words, she left me crying and wanting
to say many things, and withdrew into the faint breezes.
I tried three times on the spot to put my arms around her neck;
three times the phantom escaped my hands, grasping in vain,
like light winds and most similar to winged sleep.