illi agmine certo Laocoonta petunt; et primum parva duorum corpora natorum serpens amplexus uterque implicat et miseros morsu depascitur artus; post ipsum, auxilio subeuntem ac tela ferentem, corripiunt spirisque ligant ingentibus: et iam bis medium amplexi, bis collo squamea circum terga dati, superant capite et cervicibus altis.
They in unswerving course make for Laocoon; and first each serpent enfolds in its embrace the small bodies of his two sons and with its fangs feeds upon the hapless limbs. Then himself too, as he comes to their aid, weapons in hand, they seize and bind in mighty folds; and now, twice encircling his waist, twice winding their scaly backs around his throat, they tower above with head and lofty necks.