Virgil, Aeneid I.461-462
Melphi speaks
Sunt hic etiam sua praemia laudi;
sunt lacrimae rerum et mentem mortalia tangunt.
The priest translates
«Here too worth has its reward; there are tears for the way things go, and what befalls mortals touches the heart.»
And interprets
Melphi hands you one of the deepest verses ever written. If you feel alone in your pain, sure that no one could understand, the verse tells you: the world has tears for things, and human suffering moves even strangers. You are not invisible. There are people, even far away, able to recognise what you have been through and to honour it. Do not close yourself up in distrust right now. Let someone see your story: you may find that compassion exists more often than you fear, and that your worth has already been noticed.
The historical translations
Annibal Caro (1581)
Ecco Priamo, ecco Troia; e qui si pregia
Ancor vertù; chè ferità non regna
Là ’ve umana miseria si compiagne.
Ecco Priamo, ecco Troia; e qui si pregia
Ancor vertù; chè ferità non regna
Là ’ve umana miseria si compiagne.
Theodore C. Williams (1910)
See, it is Priam! Virtue's wage is given—
O even here! Here also there be tears
for what men bear, and mortal creatures feel
each other's sorrow. Therefore, have no fear!
See, it is Priam! Virtue's wage is given—
O even here! Here also there be tears
for what men bear, and mortal creatures feel
each other's sorrow. Therefore, have no fear!
Source
Publius Vergilius Maro, Aeneis, ed. J. B. Greenough (1900)
Virgil, Aeneid I.461-462