Virgil, Aeneid I.278-279
Melphi speaks
His ego nec metas rerum nec tempora pono;
imperium sine fine dedi.
The priest translates
«To them I set no bounds of power and no limits of time: I have given them an empire without end.»
And interprets
Melphi answers with the most generous words in the poem: no boundaries, no deadline. If you are wondering whether it is worth aiming high, in a project, a career, a love, the verse says yes: your possibilities are wider than you think. But be careful, the promise is about long growth, built over time, not sudden success. This is not the moment to settle for the small measures others have assigned you. Widen your gaze, think long term, and sow today what can keep growing for years. Your road is long, and it is yours.
The historical translations
Annibal Caro (1581)
A Roma non pongo io termine o fine:
Chè fia del mondo imperatrice eterna.
A Roma non pongo io termine o fine:
Chè fia del mondo imperatrice eterna.
Theodore C. Williams (1910)
To these I give no bounded times or power,
but empire without end. Yea, even my Queen,
To these I give no bounded times or power,
but empire without end. Yea, even my Queen,
Source
Publius Vergilius Maro, Aeneis, ed. J. B. Greenough (1900)
Virgil, Aeneid I.278-279