Virgil, Aeneid I.604
Melphi speaks
mens sibi conscia recti
The priest translates
«A mind aware of its own right conduct.»
And interprets
Melphi answers you with a comfort that does not depend on others: the awareness of having acted well. If lately you have done the right thing and no one seems to notice, or worse, you are paying a price for it, the verse tells you that this awareness is already a reward. It is no small thing: it lets you sleep in peace and look anyone in the face. Do not chase applause or recognition at any cost. But take care not to turn uprightness into pride: stay simple. Your inner calm is the proof that you are on the right road.
The historical translations
Annibal Caro (1581)
Ma gli Dei (s’alcun Dio de’ buoni ha cura,
Se nel mondo è giustizia, se si truova
Chi d’altamente adoperar s’appaghe)
Te ne dian guiderdone. Età felice!
Ma gli Dei (s’alcun Dio de’ buoni ha cura,
Se nel mondo è giustizia, se si truova
Chi d’altamente adoperar s’appaghe)
Te ne dian guiderdone. Età felice!
Theodore C. Williams (1910)
May gods on high (if influence divine
bless faithful lives, or recompense be found
in justice and thy self-approving mind)
give thee thy due reward. What age was blest
May gods on high (if influence divine
bless faithful lives, or recompense be found
in justice and thy self-approving mind)
give thee thy due reward. What age was blest
Source
Publius Vergilius Maro, Aeneis, ed. J. B. Greenough (1900)
Virgil, Aeneid I.604