Iamque opus exegi, quod nec Iovis ira nec ignis
nec poterit ferrum nec edax abolere vetustas.
cum volet, illa dies, quae nil nisi cor****is huius
ius habet, incerti spatium mihi finiat aevi:
parte tamen meliore mei super alta perennis
astra ferar, nomenque erit indelebile nostrum,
quaque patet domitis Romana potentia terris,
ore legar populi, perque omnia saecula fama,
siquid habent veri vatum praesagia, vivam.
(And now the work is done, that Jupiter's anger, fire or sword cannot
erase, nor the gnawing tooth of time. Let that day, that only has power
over my body, end, when it will, my uncertain span of years: yet the
best part of me will be borne, immortal, beyond the distant stars.
Wherever Rome's influence extends, over the lands it has civilised, I
will be spoken, on people's lips: and, famous through all the ages, if
there is truth in poet's prophecies, -vivam - I shall live.)
Ed
P.S. The translation was taken from Perseus. I'm struck by "quaque patet
domitis Romana potentia terris," translated by "Wherever Rome's
influence extends, over the lands it has civilised".
"Domitis" = civilised? I think we'd opt for "mastered". But there's
something here that's reflected in Vergil's comment on Roman grandeur,
in the Aeneid;
"tu regere imperio populos, Romane, memento
(hae tibi erunt artes), pacique imponere morem,
parcere subiectis et debellare superbos."
(Do thou remember, Romans, to rule the peoples (such will be your
talents), and impose the fa****on of peace, to spare the beaten and bring
down the proud)
(my translation)
It's just completely ****d and undisguised imperialism; no hint of
veiling it with any kind of hypocritical altruism; just bring the
barbarian buggers to heel!
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