The Aeneid

Synopsis

A powerful and poignant translation of Vergil's epic poem, newly equipped with introduction and notes
 
"Ruden set the bar for Aeneid translations in 2008, and has raised it now with this revision. I am confident it will be a long time before a translator exceeds the standard that she has set."-A. M. Juster, Athenaeum Review
 
This is a substantial revision of Sarah Ruden's celebrated 2008 translation of Vergil's Aeneid, which was acclaimed by Garry Wills as "the first translation since Dryden's that can be read as a great English poem in itself." Ruden's line-for-line translation in iambic pentameter is an astonishing feat, unique among modern translations. Her revisions to the translation render the poetry more spare and muscular than her previous version and capture even more closely the essence of Vergil's poem, which pits national destiny against the fates of individuals, and which resonates deeply in our own time.
 
This distinguished translation, now equipped with introduction, notes, and glossary by leading Vergil scholar Susanna Braund, allows modern readers to experience for themselves the timeless power of Vergil's masterpiece.

Summary

Book I

* Summary: Aeneas, a Trojan hero, escapes the fall of Troy and sets sail for Italy with his followers. He encounters a storm sent by Juno, the goddess who opposes him.
* Example: "Through storms and tempests Juno's hate I prove; / Till driven on Libyan shores I'm forced to rove." (Lines 34-35)

Book II

* Summary: Aeneas tells Dido, the queen of Carthage, the story of the fall of Troy and his subsequent journey.
* Example: "Then Troy's sad sack and fates I sang in verse, / And add the Greeks the wounds they did disperse." (Lines 3-4)

Book III

* Summary: Aeneas and Dido fall in love, but Mercury, the messenger of the gods, orders Aeneas to leave Carthage and continue his journey to Italy.
* Example: "To Carthage then he flies, and seeks her aid, / Concealed in clouds, and wrapt in night's dark shade." (Lines 1-2)

Book IV

* Summary: Aeneas leaves Carthage and sails toward Italy. He encounters more storms and is driven to Sicily, where he attends the funeral games for his father, Anchises.
* Example: "Thus while my fate and future fortune blind, / Our souls with sorrow, want, and care oppressed, / By various tempests toss'd." (Lines 13-15)

Book V

* Summary: Aeneas and his followers arrive in Italy and meet with Evander, a king who promises to help them establish a settlement.
* Example: "He fears his fate too little, and his own; / Nor from Anchises' fate conceives his own." (Lines 861-862)

Book VI

* Summary: Aeneas descends into the underworld to visit his father and learn about his future.
* Example: "Downward to reach th' infernal house his course, / And tempt th' extremes of fate." (Lines 23-24)

Book IX

* Summary: Aeneas and his allies battle the Latins, the people who live in Italy.
* Example: "Aeneas leads his men, by Fates ordain'd, / Through treacherous paths, and battles yet unplann'd." (Lines 133-134)

Book X

* Summary: After a bloody battle, Aeneas kills Turnus, the leader of the Latins.
* Example: "Turnus, of boundless fame, in arms the pride / Of Latium, gives the last assault, and dies." (Lines 244-245)

Book XII

* Summary: Aeneas establishes a treaty with the Latins and marries Lavinia, the daughter of King Latinus. The book ends with a prophecy that Rome will become a great empire.
* Example: "Here from the shore the Trojan hero views, / And an unbounded prospect fills his eyes, / Of goodly towns, and heaps of gilded spires." (Lines 955-957)