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AP® Latin passage guide · Vergil, Aeneid 7.45–58, 783–817
Vergil, Aeneid 7.45–58 and 783–817: Latinus, Turnus and Camilla
What happens
King Latinus, now old, rules peaceful fields and cities. He has no son, only a daughter, Lavinia, ready for marriage, sought by many suitors from Latium and Italy, above all by Turnus, handsome and of noble ancestry, whom the queen Amata wants for her son-in-law. But terrifying omens stand in the way.
In the catalogue of Italian forces, Turnus moves among the front ranks, a head taller than all, his helmet crested with the Chimaera breathing fire, his shield showing Io turned into a cow. Last comes Camilla of the Volscians, a warrior maiden who has never trained her hands to spinning but to battle. She could run over the tops of standing corn without bruising the ears, or across the sea without wetting her feet. Young men and mothers crowd to stare as she passes, with royal purple, a gold clasp and a shepherd's myrtle spear.
Grammar to look for
- Superlatives: Petit ante aliōs pulcherrimus omnēs, “the most handsome of all sought her before the others”
- Comparatives in a correlative: tam magis illa fremēns et trīstibus effera flammīs, “the more fiercely it roars and rages with grim flames”
- Ablative of description: praestantī corpore Turnus, “Turnus of outstanding build”
Style
- Catalogue: Hōs super advenit Volsca dē gente Camilla. The catalogue builds to Camilla as its climax.
- Hyperbole: illa vel intāctae segetis per summa volāret grāmina. She could fly over the tips of the corn.
- Ecphrasis: Chimaeram. Turnus' helmet and shield tell his character.
Themes to think about
- Italy before the Trojans: peace about to be broken
- Turnus as hero and rival
- Camilla: a female warrior in a man's war
- Spectacle and admiration
Practise this passage
The Gathering of Italy is a self-grading escape room built from this passage's own vocabulary, with a grammar lock on comparatives and superlatives. It takes about one lesson.
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More passage guides
- Vergil, Aeneid 1.1–33: The Proem and Juno's Anger
- Vergil, Aeneid 1.88–107 and 496–512: The Storm and Dido
- Vergil, Aeneid 2.40–56 and 201–249: Laocoön and the Wooden Horse
- Vergil, Aeneid 4.74–89 and 165–197: Dido's Love, the Cave and Fama
- Vergil, Aeneid 4.305–361: Dido and Aeneas Quarrel
- Vergil, Aeneid 6.450–476, 788–800 and 847–853: Dido's Shade and Rome's Mission
- Vergil, Aeneid 11.532–594: Diana's Story of Camilla
- Vergil, Aeneid 12.791–828 and 919–952: Juno's Reconciliation and the Death of Turnus
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