While thus in distant region moves the war,
down to bold Turnus Saturn’s daughter sends
celestial Iris. In a sacred vale,
the seat of worship at his grandsire’s tomb,
Pilumnus, Faunus’ son, the hero mused.
And thus the wonder-child of Thaumas called
with lips of rose:
(Aeneid 9.1–7 translated by Theodore C.Williams)
In previous Book Club discussions we have read Virgil’s Aeneid Books 1–8, which covered the fall of Troy, the escape of Aeneas, his wanderings, his encounter with Dido, the funeral games for Anchises, the visit to Hades, battles and a beautiful description of a shield made by Vulcan for Aeneas.
This month we are continuing our reading, picking up where Turnus is sitting in a grove—Books 9 and 10.
You can read any translation you like. Here are links to some free online versions:
- A.S. Kline—available to download in various formats
- Theodore C. Williams—on Perseus
- John Dryden—on Perseus
The Latin text is also available on Perseus.
If you have not previously read any of this work or if you are new to Latin texts, you might find the following video discussions useful:
‘From Homer to Virgil’ with Gregory Nagy
‘Aeneid Books 4 and 6′ with Gregory Nagy
The discussion starts in the forum, here, and the Google+ Hangout will be on Tuesday, July 25 th, at 11 a.m. EDT.
Happy readings!