Virgil, Aeneid IV.625
Melphi speaks
Exoriare aliquis nostris ex ossibus ultor,
The priest translates
«Rise from my bones, whoever you may be, to avenge me,»
And interprets
Be careful: this line comes when the wound is deep and the urge for payback is strong. Perhaps someone has wronged you badly, and part of you wants them to pay, now or later, perhaps at someone else’s hands. It is a human feeling and Melphi does not ask you to deny it. But it warns you: resentment handed down never goes out, it passes from hand to hand and keeps burning long after the first wrong is forgotten. This is not the time to swear revenge. Turn the anger into something that builds: a clear boundary, a choice that protects you, a new road.
The historical translations
Annibal Caro (1581)
Amor nasca, nè pace; anzi alcun sorga
De l’ossa mie, che di mia morte prenda
Alta vendetta, e la dardania gente
Amor nasca, nè pace; anzi alcun sorga
De l’ossa mie, che di mia morte prenda
Alta vendetta, e la dardania gente
Theodore C. Williams (1910)
No love! No truce or amity! Arise,
Out of my dust, unknown Avenger, rise!
No love! No truce or amity! Arise,
Out of my dust, unknown Avenger, rise!
Source
Publius Vergilius Maro, Aeneis, ed. J. B. Greenough (1900)
Virgil, Aeneid IV.625