Virgil, Aeneid IV.361
Melphi speaks
Italiam non sponte sequor.
The priest translates
«It is not of my own will that I seek Italy.»
And interprets
Perhaps right now you are doing something you did not fully choose: a move, a change of job, a family responsibility, a commitment taken on out of duty. And perhaps someone accuses you of coldness, as if leaving or changing were a whim. This line recognises your effort: sometimes the right road is not the one your heart would pick. But take care: “it was not my choice” is not enough to end the conversation with someone who suffers from your decision. Explain, listen, take responsibility for how you live it. Duty shows you where to go; the way you go is still yours.
The historical translations
Annibal Caro (1581)
Nè te nè me più conturbare. Italia
Non a mia voglia io seguo. E più non disse.
Nè te nè me più conturbare. Italia
Non a mia voglia io seguo. E più non disse.
Theodore C. Williams (1910)
'T is not my own free act seeks Italy.”
'T is not my own free act seeks Italy.”
Source
Publius Vergilius Maro, Aeneis, ed. J. B. Greenough (1900)
Virgil, Aeneid IV.361