Virgil, Aeneid VII.312
Melphi speaks
flectere si nequeo superos, Acheronta movebo.
The priest translates
«If I cannot bend the gods above, I will stir up Acheron.»
And interprets
This line carries enormous force, and that is exactly why it asks you to be careful. It tells of the temptation of someone who, unable to get what they want by ordinary means, decides to set the darkest forces in motion: anger, revenge, blackmail, war. If lately you feel rejected, blocked, and the urge to break everything grows in you, stop for a moment. Your energy is real and it can serve you, but turn it toward finding other paths, not toward destruction. Be careful not to unleash something you could no longer stop: stubbornness is a resource only while it stays honest.
The historical translations
Annibal Caro (1581)
Se mover contra lui non posso il cielo,
Moverò l’Acheronte. Oh non per questo
Se mover contra lui non posso il cielo,
Moverò l’Acheronte. Oh non per questo
Theodore C. Williams (1910)
If Heaven I may not move, on Hell I call.
If Heaven I may not move, on Hell I call.
Source
Publius Vergilius Maro, Aeneis, ed. J. B. Greenough (1900)
Virgil, Aeneid VII.312