GCSE Set Texts

1
GCSE Set Texts NISUS EURYALUS (Virgil Book
IX) Recitations of the text start automatically
at the beginning of each slide. Then click for
questions and answers
There is on the VLE in Year 11/ Verse Texts/
Background an interactive map of Aeneas voyage
from Troy to Italy, useful background to this
story. These are three links from the Cambridge
Schools Classics Project Site which may be
useful. http//www.cambridgescp.com/ws2_tlc/explor
e_cla/ws2_ets_cla.php?p947 This gives all the
Latin with hyperlinks for each word to give
meanings and grammar. http//www.skidmore.edu/acad
emics/classics/courses/metrica/preface.html A
super site which gives excellent outline
information on hexameter metres and how to read
them. http//www.cambridgescp.com/ws2_php/ws2_go_t
o_url.php?url_id3069 This site is not currently
working. CSCP have promised to tell me when it
is. From the description it will have good
information about word order in Virgils poetry.
2
Nisus erat portae custos, acerrimus armis, et
iuxta comes Euryalus, quo pulchrior alter
non fuit Aeneadum Troiana neque induit arma,

Where are the Trojans at this point in the story?
What has just happened in the story?
Turnus, king of the Rutuli, formerly the suitor
of Lavinia, daughter of King Latinus, now
promised to Aeneas, has attacked the Trojan camp
and burned their ships both sides have dug in
for the night.
3
Nisus erat portae custos, acerrimus armis, et
iuxta comes Euryalus, quo pulchrior alter
non fuit Aeneadum Troiana neque induit arma,

Where is Aeneas? Why is he absent?
Aeneas has sailed up the River Tiber to
Pallanteum (the future site of Rome) to seek an
alliance with the enemy of the Latini, King
Evander.
What are the words that Virgil uses that express
the relationship between Nisus and Euryalus?
comes companion (here almost boyfriend)
expresses that they stay close together and
iuxta that they stick together also as
soldiers and take the same duties. Virgils
listeners would take it for granted that this was
an erotic, homosexual relationship between an
older man and a youth.
4
Nisus erat portae custos, acerrimus armis, et
iuxta comes Euryalus, quo pulchrior alter
non fuit Aeneadum Troiana neque induit arma,

Explain how these words set us up for what is
going to happen later in the poem.
We are set up for a contrast between this
beginning and the final outcome. Both N and E in
these lines are together and doing their duty N
is warlike and E is young and beautiful. N and E
are friends and lovers. They go out in the night
both to get to Aeneas and tell him what is going
on and also to get the prizes of slaughter and
plunder still positive in the context of epic
poetry. The pathos of the story lies in the
contrast between the fresh beauty of E and the
violence and ugly horror of war. It also lies in
the fact that N who is acerrimus armis wants to
prove his battle credentials he does not want
to endanger his young lover but E insists on
accompanying him he too wants to prove his
credentials in war. Another aspects of the pathos
of the story is that they start out with high
hopes but in their eagerness for slaughter and
plunder they make errors and E is caught. N is
acerrimus armis and also the comes of E and those
two factors make it almost inevitable that he
will attack and in the end sacrifice himself to
avenge his lover.
5
Nisus erat portae custos, acerrimus armis, et
iuxta comes Euryalus, quo pulchrior alter
non fuit Aeneadum Troiana neque induit arma,

Explain the pathos of the word pulchrior in the
second line.
There is a contrast between the young fresh
beauty of E and the horror and ugliness of war
later in the poem Virgil goes into graphic
details of slaughter to make this contrast more
explicit. There is a contrast between the E
pictured here with his beautiful body complete
and what later happens to him with this body
disfigured.
Comment on the positions and the effects of
pulchrior alter non fuit
These words occupy the strong positions at the
end and beginning of lines the effect is to
emphasise just how beautiful E is.
Aeneadum explain why Virgil uses this word here
Literally the sons of Aeneas not really his sons
but he is the pater patriae the father of his
country and therefore the Trojans are
metaphorically his children. Another reason is
that these patronymics are commonly used in
Homers epic poems and Virgil uses them partly at
least to give a strong epic flavour to his poem.
6
his amor unus erat pariterque in bella ruebant
tum quoque communi portam statione tenebant.
his amor unus what loving relationship would
Virgil assume his readers would remember? Why
would he want them to?
The relationship in Homers Iliad betweeen
Achilles and Patroclus. These are characters in
the greatest of epics Virgil is composing a
Roman equivalent. Aeneas is an important step in
the foundation of Rome he came from Troy and
comes out of the story being told in the Iliad.
All these points are resonating in this phrase.
How in these lines does Virgil emphasise the
close relationship of N and E?
There are three words in two lines which describe
their relationship amor unus, pariter ..
ruebant communi..statione. The grammatical
rhyme of ruebant and tenebant at the ends of
each line also help to pull the ideas together,
to emphasise the relationship.
tum quoque comment on the position of these
words and what perhaps they convey.
At the beginning of the line for great emphasis.
Virgil is perhaps conveying that they go off to
fight together (pariter ruebant), which is to be
expected, but were so close that even on boring
guard duty they still could not bear to be apart.
7
cetera per terras omnes animalia somno laxabant
curas et corda oblita laborum
How do these two lines set the listener up for
what follows?
The contrast of sleepfulness and wakefulness is
common in epic poetry. Contrast is immediately
with the bustle and business of the Trojan
council of war which follows, and more generally
with all the violent activity that follows as N
E slaughter the Rutulians and are then trapped
and killed in turn.
How does the picture in these two lines underline
the whole theme of the Aeneid and in particular
the second half of the poem?
One of the themes of the Aeneid is reaching the
end of care and toil (curas ..laborum) after
years of effort. Aeneas could have achieved it
when he was with Queen Dido but the mission still
needed to be carried out only then could he
relax. Also Virgils own time is part of the
picture for his listeners Augustus is emperor
and has brought stability and prosperity to Rome
after years and years of civil war, and Virgil is
reminding his listeners of that, perhaps.
Comment on the sound of curas et corda.
An example of assonance emphasises the idea
discussed in the last question and also in
structure straddles and ties together the two
ideas of giving up cares and forgetting toil.
8
ductores Teucrum primi, delecta iuventus,
consilium summis regni de rebus habebant, quid
facerent quisve Aeneae iam nuntius esset.
What are the summae res the Trojan leaders are
holding a council about?
They are discussing what they should do following
the attack on their camp and who should go and
tell Aeneas what is going on.
Comment on how Virgils choice of words helps to
underline the crisis the Trojans face.
The repetition of the interrogative quid quis
highlights the discussion taking place among the
leaders of the Trojans and emphasises that they
have questions but presumably at this moment no
answers. The use of ve to link questions is
apparently a very colloquial usage so again using
that helps to make the questions more real
perhaps these are not orators making speeches
but real people wrestling with real problems.
9
stant longis adnixi hastis et scuta tenentes
castrorum et campi medio.
What are the Trojans doing as they discuss the
issues?
They are leaning on their spears and holding
their shields and standing in an open area either
in the middle of the camp or outside the camp.
What is Virgil communicating about the Trojans in
these two lines?
Looking back to what has happened prior to this
episode, the Trojans have had a hard days
fighting but still late at night though exhausted
they are still on duty, still ready for action if
need be. In Virgils view they are therefore the
ideal of the warrior.
10
tum
Nisus et una Euryalus confestim alacres
admittier orant rem magnam pretiumque morae
fore.
Comment on the position of una.
It is at the end of the line which is always a
powerful and emphatic place. It emphasises
strongly the togetherness of N E as they put
their proposal to the Trojan council of war.
Which two words communicate N Es state of mind?
confestim immediately, - and alacres eager
they are put together for extra effect and before
the two verbs they go with.
admittier what part of the verb is this? Why
does Virgil use it?

• This is a very archaic, older, form of the
  Passive Infinitive you would expect it to be
  admitti.
• Three possible reasons for its use
• This is epic so it gives a bit of grandeur to it
• it fits the metre!
• Read the line it helps to give sounds of
  urgency (that is obviously a subjective view!)

11

primus Iulus accepit trepidos ac Nisum dicere
iussit.
Who is Iulus? Why does he seem to be in charge.
This is another name for Ascanias, Aeneas son.
Iulus is a powerful name since it traces a line
from the earliest days of Rome through the gens
Iulia to Julius Caesar and on to his adopted son,
the emperor Augustus. He is in charge because his
father Aeneas is away talking to Evander, king of
the Arcadians, in Pallanteum.
Comment on Virgils use of the word trepidos and
the two different meanings he seems to be
conveying by using it.
It needs to be seen in connection with alacres
two lines before. The best translation here is
probably excited. They are trembling but with
excitement about the adventure and search for
glory that they are proposing. However at the
same time they are two youngish soldiers going in
to talk to the leaders in the council of war, so
perhaps they are also trembling with fear.
12
tum sic Hyrtacides 'audite o mentibus aequis,
Aeneadae, neve haec nostris spectentur ab annis
quae ferimus
Comment on Virgils use of Hyrtacides and
Aeneadae.
These are patronymics son of... They are
very frequent in Homers epics. This is a key
moment in the story, as decisions are made which
will lead to the death of N E, and Virgil
gives it more weight, makes it more formal, more
epic, by using these forms here.
Translate neve to ferimus.
and let not these (words) be viewed in relation
to the years which we bear (our age)
The o goes with Aeneadae. Why does Virgil put it
out of position?
With its shock value it helps to keep the sense
of urgency which Virgil has built up in the
previous lines with confestim, alacres and
trepidos.
13
Rutuli somno vinoque soluti conticuere locum
insidiis conspeximus ipsi, qui patet in bivio
portae quae proxima ponto.
somno vinoque this phrase comes up again later
and can be found several times in the Aeneid.
Why is it used more than once?
These are called formulaic expressions, are
common in Homers poems, and help to give the
Aeneid that epic flavour. They are little bits
of lines which can easily be assembled with other
elements.
Also they are a nice easy bit of metre to fit in.
They can help like shorthand to sum up easily the
difference between the Italians soft lazy
drunkards, - and the Trojans, - still on guard
and on duty late in the night.
What part of the verb is conticuere? Comment on
how the sound and the sense go together.
conticuere is the Perfect Tense, 3rd person
plural a shortened form of conticuerunt. If you
read it it is long, short, short, long, short.
The long e towards the end gives a sense of
sinking, into sleep perhaps.
14
Rutuli somno vinoque soluti conticuere locum
insidiis conspeximus ipsi, qui patet in bivio
portae quae proxima ponto.
Why do you think Virgil puts into Nisus speech
all this exact detail about the place for a
breakout?
The poetry is designed to be listened to. There
is only a limited range of images in the
background of peoples lives (unlike our own,
bombarded with images in print, TV, DVD) so
listeners probably need some help to build up an
imaginative picture about what Nisus is
describing.
Comment on the position of ipsi.
ipsi is in the powerful position of the end of
the line and therefore is heavily emphatic we
ourselves have sussed out a place to secretly
leave the camp we are not leaving the decision
to chance or taking secondhand information.
15
interrupti ignes aterque ad sidera fumus
erigitur
What is Nisus trying to convey about the
situation by the use of these images?
The fact that the line of watch fires is not
complete and some of the fires are just smoking
indicates that the guards have become sloppy or
are also drunk and asleep.
In these lines and the previous ones what are the
three factors Nisus says will make their venture
successful?

1. The Trojans are drunk and asleep.
2. N E have carefully worked out a route away from
   the camp.
3. The fires show there are gaps in the ring of
   guard posts.

16
si fortuna permittitis
uti quaesitum Aenean et moenia Pallantea, mox
hic cum spoliis ingenti caede peracta adfore
cernetis.
What are the moenia Pallantea?
These are the walls of the city of Pallanteum,
the city of King Evander, king of the Arcadians.
Pallanteum will become the site of Rome.
Why do they need to go and seek for Aeneas?
He has gone to Pallanteum to try to make an
alliance with King Evander. In the meantime, the
Latins and the Rutulians under Turnus have
attacked the Trojans. The Trojans are without
their supreme commander.
How does N make the mission tasty for the
leaders?
In addition to finding Aeneas, they will achieve
the epic heros desire for glory and everlasting
fame by slaughtering lots of the enemy and coming
back with lots of plunder.
17
si fortuna permittitis
uti quaesitum Aenean et moenia Pallantea, mox
hic cum spoliis ingenti caede peracta adfore
cernetis.
Explain the pathos in what Nisus says in mox hic
cum spoliis ingenti caede peracta adfore cernetis
N E do make much slaughter of the enemy (read
the English bridging section on p 8) and E at
least gets plunder in the form of the helmet.
The pathos is that the shine on the helmet is
what betrays them and they are then slaughtered
in their turn they do not return covered in
glory.
What resonance might these lines have for
Virgils listeners?
They might think back to the history of the end
of the republic and the endless bitter civil wars
in which so many young men had died in great
slaughters and think that their emperor Augustus
was to be thanked for bringing all that to an end
and establishing peace.
How do these lines help to make Virgils poem
epic?

1. The ponderous line quaesitum with its very
   unusual metre
2. The reference to slaughter it is what epic
   heroes do!
3. The reference to plunder gathering plunder is
   one of the ways in which epic heroes show that
   they have got what it takes.

18
nec nos via
fallet euntes vidimus obscuris primam sub
vallibus urbem venatu adsiduo et totum
cognovimus amnem.
What are the three factors N puts forward that he
thinks will make the mission successful?

1. They know the route they need to take.
2. They have seen their goal, the city of
   Pallanteum.
3. They have explored the whole of the river valley.

What is the name of the river?
The River Tiber (statue below).
The future site of Rome, with its seven hills
Comment on Virgils use of obscuris, totum and
adsiduo.
N frequently stresses how carefully he has looked
at things they have found a good way out, they
have observed that the Rutuli are not vigilant.
These words emphasise that picture of N. He has
spied from the dark woods (obscuris), they have
been out regularly hunting and reconnoitering
(adsiduo) and they have been thorough (totum).
Contrast all this care with what happens when the
blood lust takes over later all the careful
preparation means nothing. That is the pathos of
it.
19
protinus armati incedunt quos omnis euntes
primorum manus ad portas, iuvenumque senumque,
prosequitur votis.
Comment on the position of protinus.
In the emphatic position at the start of the line
to underline how eager N E are to get going.
Virgil paints a vivid picture in these lines how
does he emphasise the importance of N Es
mission?
He emphasises that all the leading Trojans, older
(senum) and presumably less impetuous people as
well as the gung-ho younger warriors (iuvenum),
accompanied N E all the way to the gate. That
older people are supporting the mission implies
that they think it is carefully thought out and
likely to end in success. Age in this culture is
revered!
Comment on the position and the effect of votis.
You should be used now to words at the end of
their sentences being in an emphatic position.
Vota are prayers and entreaties to the gods to
keep those setting out safe from harm. The
position emphasises how ceremonial and how
important this praying is.
20
nec non
et pulcher Iulus, ante annos animumque gerens
curamque virilem, multa patri mandata dabat
portanda sed aurae omnia discerpunt et nubibus
irrita donant.
nec non why does Virgil use a double negative
here?
nec non is always emphatic, particularly here at
the beginning of the sentence often you can
translate as even to get the flavour of it
even Iulus/Ascanias (in command in his fathers
absence) comes to see them off that is how
important the mission is.
Iulus is described here as pulcher why?
He is young and heroic, from an epic time, so it
is natural to imagine him as almost godlike the
statue shows how for example a god like Apollo is
imagined youthful and perfectly formed. The
description of Iulus here puts him in the same
league.
How is Iulus described in the second line? What
resonance might this have for Virgils listeners?
He has spirit and responsibility beyond his
years this precocious maturity can be found
in other characters too. It is emphasised by the
assonance of annos and animum. The resonance
might be that Augustus, as Octavian, also took
responsibility at an early age, after the
assassination of his uncle Julius Caesar.
21
nec non
et pulcher Iulus, ante annos animumque gerens
curamque virilem, multa patri mandata dabat
portanda sed aurae omnia discerpunt et nubibus
irrita donant.

Comment on the position of omnia.
In a strong position at the beginning of the
line. It emphasises how totally the orders of
Iulus became useless and without effect.
The winds scatter Iulus messages to his father
and make them irrita how does this event set
us up for what is going to happen in the story
now?
The event makes us think so what is going to
happen to make the messages useless? The
messages are the whole point of the mission and
it is N Es less than mature behaviour and
desire for heroic glory that means that in the
end the messages do not get to Aeneas, and the
purpose of the mission is eventually negated.
22
egressi superant fossas noctisque per umbram
castra inimica petunt, multis tamen ante
futuri exitio.
Whose camp is described as inimica ? What are the
two simultaneous meanings of the word?
The camp of the Rutulians is being described. Is
Virgil playing with words here the word means
on the surface belonging to the enemy does it
also mean hostile to N E as some writers
think strictly the people who slaughter N E
do not come from the camp but it seems legitimate
to lump all the enemy together, inside or outside
the camp.
tamen in the second line despite what are N E
going to be a source of destruction to many
people?
Although the enemy, represented by the inimica
castra, are going to destroy N E and although
we have had hints already that the mission will
not end well, nevertheless (tamen) before it
ends badly for N E they will have brought death
and destruction to many people.
23
passim somno vinoque per herbam
corpora fusa vident, arrectos litore currus,
inter lora rotasque viros, simul arma iacere,
vina simul.
Comment on the repetition of simul.
Weapons and wine jars clearly do not belong
together the repetition of simul in the same
place helps to point up the juxtaposition and
the contrast.
There is a detailed picture of the scene in these
lines what is Virgils purpose in painting this
picture here?

1. To feed the imagination of his listeners and put
   a picture in their minds
2. To point up the difference between the dissolute
   and careless Rutulians and the on mission
   Trojans
3. To give a preface and an explanation about what
   is now going to happen with N Es slaughter of
   the unsuspecting enemy.

24
prior Hyrtacides sic ore locutus 'Euryale,
audendum dextra nunc ipsa vocat res. hac iter
est.

What is Virgils purpose in using Hyrtacides here?
Using this patronymic gives a very epic
flavour. This is a key moment in the story, as
the great adventure of N E begins, and Virgil
marks it by using this very formal, posh
expression. For the same reason he says ore
locutus, he spoke with his mouth a very epic
expression, - rather than simply locutus.
What effect is Virgil aiming for with the word
lengths he uses for Nisus speech?
Almost all the words are one or two syllables.
The sentences are very short. The effect Virgil
is after is brisk and military game on lets
get on with it!.
25
tu, ne qua manus se attollere nobis a
tergo possit, custodi et consule longe haec ego
vasta dabo et lato te limite ducam.'
What do Nisus words here tell us about the
relationship with Euryalus?

1. N trusts E and his military ability since he
   gives him the job of keeping guard and watch
   behind
2. N gives E the possibly less dangerous job because
   he cares for him earlier in the story he had
   tried to persuade him not to come while he cuts
   a way through the enemy E will be protected.
3. N will clear a wide path (lato limite) along
   which E can advance the implication is that N
   will clear the route of any enemy who could
   threaten Es safety, again showing his love for
   him.

26
sic memorat vocemque premit, simul ense superbum
Rhamnetem aggreditur, qui forte tapetibus altis
exstructus toto proflabat pectore somnum
Why is Rhamnes mentioned by name?
It gives more immediacy, more vividness, to the
narrative to have the listeners thinking about a
specific individual. It adds a bit of local
colour. Rhamnes, along with other names later
on, refers to aspects of early Roman history.
tapetibus altis what contrast is Virgil making
by using this little detail?
It makes a contrast between the softness and
degeneracy of the Rutulians, - drinking and
sleeping on soft cushions, - and the military
hardness of the Trojans Romans would resonate
with this since their view of people to the east,
particularly, Greeks, Asiatics, Egyptians, tended
to be exactly the same.
toto proflabat pectore somno why does Virgil not
just say stertuit?
This is epic poety and Rhamnes is about to be
slaughtered stertuit is rather an ordinary
word for the situation perhaps. It is also a very
graphic phrase for describing someone who is
totally abandoned to sleep, in a drunken stupor.
What do Nisus and Euryalus now each go on to do?
Check against the translated section on page 18
of the Anthology.
27
interea praemissi equites ex urbe Latina cetera
dum legio campis instructa moratur, ibant et
Turno regi responsa ferebant, ter centum,
scutati omnes, Volcente magistro.
What sudden danger threatens N E at this point?
300 cavalry, with shields, led by Volcens
What has happened immediately before this event?
Euryalus has put on the helmet of one of the
slaughtered enemy.
What is the name of the urbs Latina?
Lavinium
Who is Turnus?
Turnus is king of the Rutuli. He had wanted to
marry Lavinia, daughter of King Latinus. Latinus
however promised Lavinia to Aeneas, so Turnus is
now an enemy to the Trojans and had attacked the
Trojan camp before our story begins.
28
iamque propinquabant castris murosque subibant
cum procul hos laevo flectentes limite cernunt,
How does the first line help to heighten the
drama of the episode?
And already they (the 300 cavalrymen) were
approaching the camp and going under the wall
N E so nearly made it the cavalrymen were
almost inside their camp and out of line of sight
presumably to N E when they were spotted. So
near and yet so far!
29
et galea Euryalum sublustri noctis in umbra
prodidit immemorem radiisque adversa refulsit.
What adjective describes Euryalus?
immemorem
Why does Virgil describe him in this way?
In the excitement and bloodlust of the fighting
he has just done and the excitement of getting
plunder in the shape of a helmet, he forgot
elementary military craft and camoflague.
How had Euryalus acquired this helmet? Why is it
a poisoned chalice?
Euryalus had taken the armour and the sword belt
of Rhamnes and the helmet of Messapus. He took
them as plunder, one of the ways epic heroes
proved their courage and manliness. So far, so
good. However he forgot it was a moonlit night
and the helmet gleamed in the night so strongly
that the Latin cavalry spotted it. Although E in
his pride had taken the helmet and put it on it
did not in the end do him any good.
30
haud temere est visum. conclamat ab agmine
Volcens 'state, viri. quae causa viae? quive
estis in armis? quove tenetis iter?'
How does Virgil convey the authority of Volcens
in these lines?
haud temere est visum explain what Virgil means
by this phrase.
The Latins did the seeing and what they saw was
the gleam of the helmet on Es head. It was not
for nothing (temere) because as a result Volcens
challenged them and then goes on to pursue them.
By the short, clipped, military, no-nonsense
language of a command and three sharp questions.
31
nihil illi
tendere contra, sed celerare fugam in silvas et
fidere nocti.
What part of the verb are tendere, celerare,
fidere? What effect is created by their use here?
These are infinitives they are called historic
infinitives. Since they do not have the
distractions of tense and person endings, their
meaning is that much more immediate and they are
used in narrative where the author wants to move
the action along fast and hard.
32
obiciunt equites sese ad
divortia nota hinc atque hinc, omnemque abitum
custode coronant.
What actions do the horsemen take to try to trap
N E?
They place themselves to block all the known
paths out of the forest on all sides and they
surround every exit with a guard.
What do N E do at this point?
They flee through the forest but become
separated. When Nisus retraces his steps he sees
from the distance that Euryalus has been
captured. He launches two spears from his
hiding-place and kills two of the enemy.
33
saevit atrox Volcens nec teli conspicit usquam
auctorem nec quo se ardens immittere possit.
Who is the auctor of the telum?
Nisus
Why does he attack Volcens? What has just
happened?
He and Euryalus were separated as they fled
through the woods. He has now just seen that his
lover has been captured by Volcens men and he
tries to free him.
Discuss the effect of the words Virgil uses to
describe Volcens
The words he uses to describe him are saevit (he
rages), atrox (fierce), ardens (in hot rage). A
tricolon a set of three words, - which together
have great power in communicating Volcens state
of mind. Volcens, like N E, goes into a
blood lust and it was N Es blood lust which
brought them to this situation.
34
'tu tamen interea calida mihi sanguine poenas
persolves amborum' inquit simul ense recluso
ibat in Euryalum.
tu who is Volcens addressing?
Nisus
What is the point Volcens is making when he says
tamen interea
Volcens cannot see the person who is throwing
spears at him so he cannot attack him at the
moment however (tamen) in the meantime
(interea) he can take out his rage on Euryalus
whom he has captured.
simul ibat why is this tense used here?
The tense being used is the Imperfect Virgil
uses it to make clear that Volcens speech and
his attack on Euryalus were taking place
simultaneously.
amborum comment on position and effect
Last word in the sentence so emphatic reminds
us of the relationship between N E and how
their love has brought them to this situation.
35
tum vero exterritus,
amens, conclamat Nisus nec se celare tenebris
amplius aut tantum potuit perferre dolorem .
Explain why Nisus is exterritus and amens
He is terrified (exterritus) because his lover
Euryalus has been captured and from what Volcens
has threatened is about to die. He is out of his
mind (amens) because it looks as if he is about
to lose his young lover and from earlier in the
story we can imply that he is blaming himself
totally for allowing E to come on the mission,
for not ensuring he behaved safely and not
keeping him close in their escape through the
forest.
Comment on the positions of tantum and dolorem.
such great grief these two words bracket the
verbs he was able to bear, - and help to
emphasise Nisus despair in the face of the
situation he has found.
36
'me, me, adsum qui feci, in me convertite ferrum,
o Rutuli! mea fraus omnis, nihil iste nec ausus
nec potuit caelum hoc et conscia sidera testor
tantum infelicem nimium dilexit amicum.'
There is much pathos in these lines identify the
different ways in which Virgil emphasises the
pathos.

1. He starts with me, me turning Volcens and the
   listeners attention totally to him.
2. He takes on all the blame for what has happened
   E could not have done it or dared to in despair
   he lies about the facts.
3. He calls the gods to witness, underlining the
   seriousness
4. He reminds us that it happened because E loved
   him too much to not go with him on the mission

Comment on the word order and the word sounds in
the last line.
As above, infelicem amicum (unfortunate friend)
brackets nimium dilexit (he loved too much) the
bracketing therefore emphasises the unfortunate
nature of the friendship. The line is also held
together by the assonance of -um and -em all
along the line. note also that these are Nisus
last words
37
talia dicta dabat, sed viribus ensis adactus
transabiit costas et candida pectora rumpit.
volvitur Euryalus leto, pulchrosque per artus
it cruor inque umeros cervix collapsa recumbit
Who was speaking, who was wielding a sword, who
was being stabbed?
What is the effect created by describing his
limbs as pulchros?
There is a pathetic contrast with the blood
staining his limbs and the horror of his neck
collapsing onto his shoulders.
Nisus Volcens Euryalus
candida why is Es breast described in this way?
This is the ideal of young male beauty (look back
to the statue of Apollo). Sun browned is a sign
of an outside worker the whiter the better for
men and women hairiness of chest is not
fashionable a sign of barbarism.
Why do you think Virgil makes such a graphic
description of Es death?
This is Es last moment and this provides an
emphasis for the event. One of Virgils themes
is the tragedy of war and these lines make a
beautiful contrast between the young beauty and
love of Euryalus and the horror and violence of
his end.
38
volvitur Euryalus leto, pulchrosque per artus it
cruor inque umeros cervix collapsa recumbit
These are the last moments of Euryalus life.
How does Virgil make the lines memorable for us?

1. There is a tricolon of verbs volvitur, it,
   recumbit which gradually step up the finality of
   death
2. In the second line the two verbs frame the rest
   of the meaning and hold it all together to make
   it more striking

c) There is alliteration of c all through the
second line, which does the same job of holding
the meaning together. d) recumbit the
absolutely final action of Euryalus and the
absolutely final word in the description.
39
purpureus veluti cum flos succisus aratro
languescit moriens, lassove papavera collo
demisere caput pluvia cum forte gravantur
How effective is this simile? Find as many points
of comparison as you can.

1. The flowers like Euryalus are cut down in their
   prime
2. The flowers are purple and red as is Es blood
3. Es head/neck sinks onto his shoulders and in the
   same way the stem of the poppy bends with a weak
   stem in the rain
4. The hyacinth goes weak and unvigorous as it dies
   so does E.
5. The hyacinth is cut by the iron ploughshare E is
   cut by the iron sword.
6. The poppy is weighed down by rain E is
   metaphorically weighed down by blood.

40
at Nisus ruit in medios solumque per omnes
Volcentem petit, in solo Volcente moratur.
Comment on the repetition (anaphora) of solum and
solo.
This strong emphasis on Volcens being the only
target for Nisus, particularly when put in
between in medios and per omnes, creates a vivid
mental picture of the melee of war with this one
warrior breaking his way through to his enemy for
the final combat. It is a scene often seen in
films e.g. Troy, Braveheart for two. not
something you might be expected to know or even
care about In the second line, the natural place
for the break in the metre (caesura) would be
after in in fact it comes half a foot earlier
after petit Virgils listeners, being more
attuned to hexameter rhythms than we can be,
would notice that change and sense something
unusual.
41
quem circum glomerati hostes hinc comminus atque
hinc proturbant. instat non setius ac rotat
ensem fulmineum, donec Rutuli clamantis in ore
condidit adverso et moriens animam abstulit
hosti.
What effect is created by describing Nisus sword
as fulmineus?
It brings up a picture of a flashing sword,
moving so fast (rotat) that it can hardly be
seen. Perhaps also some resonance with the gods
and Jupiters thunderbolt and the idea that these
early heroes are semi divine. Another image is
of Nisus flashing like lightning one last time
before he goes off into the eternal darkness of
death. Its position is also very effective.
Comment on the juxtaposition of clamantis and in
ore.
This creates a powerful image of Volcens with his
mouth wide open as he shouts (clamantis) his
battle cries and then the sword being buried
(condidit) in that mouth.
Comment on the juxtaposition of moriens and
animam abstulit.
Putting them together underlines the simultaneity
of the dying of Nisus and the killing of Volcens
and makes a very clean rounded end to the fight.
42
tum super exanimum sese proiecit amicum
confossus, placidaque ibi demum morte quievit.
Comment on the position of confossus.
Discuss the effect of the positioning of demum.
Comes at the end of its sentence and at the
beginning of a line two very emphatic
positions it emphasises the finality and
enormity of Ns wounding.
It might be expected to be earlier in the
sentence, often with tum postponing it like this
adds to its power as does the placing of it
between placida and morte at last the quiet of
death.
morte is described as placida discuss why Virgil
uses this adjective here.
It provides at the end a powerful contrast
between everything that has gone before, with its
busyness, stress and violence, and what is to
come with death which is everlasting basically
hanging about in the underworld with no worries
or stresses.
There is huge pathos in these lines how does
Virgil achieve it?
The final embrace with his lover, in death,
although he is full of wounds (confossus) and
dying the final word of the story (quievit)
brings his violent and active life to a quiet
close, led up to by the earlier placida.