Virgil, Aeneid XII.435-436
Melphi speaks
Disce, puer, virtutem ex me verumque laborem,
fortunam ex aliis.
The priest translates
«Learn from me, my son, courage and true toil; good fortune, from others.»
And interprets
This verse speaks to you about legacy and example. Perhaps you are a parent, a teacher, a boss, or simply someone that another person watches to learn how to live. Melphi tells you that the most precious thing you can pass on is not success, which also depends on chance, but the way you face hard work. Or perhaps you are the one who needs a teacher: look for one in someone who works with integrity, not in someone who has only been lucky. Be careful not to promise yourself or others easy results. It is the right time to show, through what you do, what real commitment means.
The historical translations
Annibal Caro (1581)
Baciollo, e disse: Figlio mio, da me
La sofferenza e la virtute impara;
La fortuna dagli altri. Io, quel che posso
Baciollo, e disse: Figlio mio, da me
La sofferenza e la virtute impara;
La fortuna dagli altri. Io, quel che posso
Theodore C. Williams (1910)
tenderly kissed his son. “My boy", he cried,
“What valor is and patient, genuine toil
learn thou of me; let others guide thy feet
to prosperous fortune. Let this hand and sword
tenderly kissed his son. “My boy", he cried,
“What valor is and patient, genuine toil
learn thou of me; let others guide thy feet
to prosperous fortune. Let this hand and sword
Source
Publius Vergilius Maro, Aeneis, ed. J. B. Greenough (1900)
Virgil, Aeneid XII.435-436