Virgil, Aeneid I.198-199
Melphi speaks
O socii—neque enim ignari sumus ante malorum—
O passi graviora, dabit deus his quoque finem.
The priest translates
«Friends, we are no strangers to misfortune; you who have endured worse, a god will bring an end to this as well.»
And interprets
Melphi speaks to you like a friend who has known you a long time: you have already come through worse than this. Do you remember the time you thought you would not make it, with work, with your health, with a loss? You are still here. If lately you feel crushed, the verse tells you that this trial too has an end, even if you cannot see it today. It is not an empty promise, it is the memory of your strength. Do not belittle what you feel, but do not forget what you have already crossed: it is the proof that you know how to endure.
The historical translations
Annibal Caro (1581)
Compagni, rimembrando i nostri affanni,
Voi n’avete infiniti omai sofferti
Vie più gravi di questi. E questi fine
(Quando che sia), la dio mercede, avranno.
Compagni, rimembrando i nostri affanni,
Voi n’avete infiniti omai sofferti
Vie più gravi di questi. E questi fine
(Quando che sia), la dio mercede, avranno.
Theodore C. Williams (1910)
“Companions mine, we have not failed to feel
calamity till now. O, ye have borne
far heavier sorrow: Jove will make an end
also of this. Ye sailed a course hard by
“Companions mine, we have not failed to feel
calamity till now. O, ye have borne
far heavier sorrow: Jove will make an end
also of this. Ye sailed a course hard by
Source
Publius Vergilius Maro, Aeneis, ed. J. B. Greenough (1900)
Virgil, Aeneid I.198-199