ABSTRACT
His is often taken to refer to the ships. This is to say that Turnus draws the conclusion from the metamorphosis of the ships that henceforth the fleet of Aeneas has no longer any possibility of escape, that in fact Jupiter himself has bereaved them of that possibility. This is logically puzzling. How could Jupiter be said to have taken away from (eripuit) the ships the usual help (auxilium solitum) by having them transformed into sea nymphs? It would have been more reasonable to say that he gave them help, i.e. allowed them to escape from fire and destruction. Could it then be that the interpretation of the supernatural event offered by Turnus is deviously callous and motivated by tactical considerations? But can even he allow himself to be at odds with the simplest of inferences?
