Virgil, Aeneid IV.412
Melphi speaks
Improbe Amor, quid non mortalia pectora cogis?
The priest translates
«Ruthless Love, what do you not drive mortal hearts to do?»
And interprets
This line speaks to you tenderly: if these days you catch yourself doing things you never imagined, out of love for someone, you are not alone. Messages reread ten times, waiting, requests that cost you your pride: love pushes, and sometimes it pushes too hard. Melphi does not judge you, but invites you to look at yourself from a little distance. Ask whether what you are doing still resembles you, or whether you are setting aside your dignity and your peace of mind. Loving does not mean erasing yourself. Stop for a moment, breathe, and choose a gesture that respects both the other person and you.
The historical translations
Annibal Caro (1581)
Ne sentivi dal mare? Iniquo amore,
Che non puoi tu ne’ petti de’ mortali?
Ne sentivi dal mare? Iniquo amore,
Che non puoi tu ne’ petti de’ mortali?
Theodore C. Williams (1910)
in turmoil with loud cries! Relentless Love,
to what mad courses may not mortal hearts
by thee be driven? Again her sorrow flies
in turmoil with loud cries! Relentless Love,
to what mad courses may not mortal hearts
by thee be driven? Again her sorrow flies
Source
Publius Vergilius Maro, Aeneis, ed. J. B. Greenough (1900)
Virgil, Aeneid IV.412