ABSTRACT
Line 218 in the Twelfth Book has long been discussed and with no final conclusion within reach as far as I can see: Some defend non viribus aequis,1 others have adopted Schrader's conjecture aequos (non viribus aequos).2 I belong to the group of scholars,3 among whom are Tarrant with his Cambridge commentary and Conte in his Teubner edition, who in fact believe that neither of those positions gives a result worthy of Vergil's pen. I quite agree with Conte that it is superflous to say that the combatants are not equal in strength having said so already with impar pugna in line 216. On the other hand, I have not acquiesced in deletion as the final answer, that is putting the three words in square brackets.
