Virgil, Aeneid I.405
Melphi speaks
et vera incessu patuit dea.
The priest translates
«And by her walk she was revealed a true goddess.»
And interprets
This verse is about recognition. Sometimes the people beside us have a worth we fail to see until they move away; sometimes it is you who hides who you really are behind a modest role. Melphi tells you: a person’s truth shows in the way they walk, that is, in how they act, more than in what they say. If you are trying to understand someone, in love or at work, watch what they do. And if it is you who feels unrecognised, do not wear yourself out explaining: let your way of doing things speak for you, steadily.
The historical translations
Annibal Caro (1581)
E la veste, che dianzi era succinta,
Con tanta maestà le si distese
Infino a’ piè, ch’a l’andar anco, e Dea
Veracemente e Venere mostrossi.
E la veste, che dianzi era succinta,
Con tanta maestà le si distese
Infino a’ piè, ch’a l’andar anco, e Dea
Veracemente e Venere mostrossi.
Theodore C. Williams (1910)
fell rippling to her feet. Each step revealed
the veritable goddess. Now he knew
fell rippling to her feet. Each step revealed
the veritable goddess. Now he knew
Source
Publius Vergilius Maro, Aeneis, ed. J. B. Greenough (1900)
Virgil, Aeneid I.405