Horace

“ Dreaded widely, may her hame stretch to the furthest
shores, to where the middle water
separates Europe from Africa,
to where the swollen Nile waters the fields,
and may she be braver, and thus better, to despise
gold undiscovered and hidden when the earth conceals it,
than to force everything holy into human use
with greedy hand. ”

“ Neither the passion of citizens demanding crooked things,
Not the face of a threatening tyrant
Shakes the man who is righteous and set in purpose
From his strong mind, nor the East Wind,
the tempestuous ruler of the restless Adriatic,
nor the great hand of thundering Jupiter:
if the shattered world collapsed,
him, fearless, the debris would strike. ”

“ If, with Phoebus as creator, the bronze wall rose again
three times, three times would it fall, cut down
by my Argives, three times would the captive wife
weep for her husband and children.'
This is not fitting for a pleasant lyre:
Where do you head, Muse? Headstrong one, cease
from reporting the gods' chatter, and
weakening great things with little metres. ”