Virgil, Aeneid IX.446-447

Melphi speaks

Fortunati ambo! Siquid mea carmina possunt,
nulla dies umquam memori vos eximet aevo,

The priest translates

«Fortunate pair! If my songs have any power, no day will ever take you away from the memory of time,»

And interprets

This verse tells you something simple: what you do out of love and loyalty is not lost. Perhaps lately you feel you are giving a great deal while no one notices, at home, in a friendship, in work you share with someone. Melphi answers that a true bond leaves a mark longer than your own life, and that sooner or later someone will tell its story. It is no accident that this passage came to you: now is the right time to honour the people who have stood beside you, and to let yourself be honoured in return. Just be careful not to measure what you do by immediate applause: remembrance comes later, but it does come.

The historical translations

Source