Virgil, Aeneid IV.23
Melphi speaks
adgnosco veteris vestigia flammae.
The priest translates
«I recognise the traces of the old flame.»
And interprets
If this line came to you, perhaps something has rekindled: a feeling you thought was over, a passion set aside, an interest knocking again after years. It is a sweet and unsettling sensation, because it brings back the memory of what once was. Melphi invites you to welcome it without shame: recognising the signs of a fire you have known before is a gift, it means your heart is still alive. But it also asks you to tell things apart: is this really something new, or is it longing for the past? Give yourself time to understand before you promise anything, to yourself or to someone else.
The historical translations
Annibal Caro (1581)
I miei sensi e ’l mio core, e solo in lui
Conosco i segni de l’antica fiamma.
I miei sensi e ’l mio core, e solo in lui
Conosco i segni de l’antica fiamma.
Theodore C. Williams (1910)
has shaken my weak will. I seem to feel
the motions of love's lost, familiar fire.
has shaken my weak will. I seem to feel
the motions of love's lost, familiar fire.
Source
Publius Vergilius Maro, Aeneis, ed. J. B. Greenough (1900)
Virgil, Aeneid IV.23