 |
|
Initial words of four out of
five hexameters which, according to the ancient biographer, Virgil would
have written to claim the authorship of two lines, which a certain poetaster
Bathyllus had appropriated, being praised by August. People use them sometimes
with regard to plagiarism or so, or otherwise, more generally, to express
disappointment while finding out that another person has got an advantage
of our work; or rather, with a different ethical meaning, to express the
essence of moral life, as endeavour and self-sacrifice, with the purpose
of meeting the good of our fellow creatures rather than our personal interest.
In their entirety, verses above would sound:
| Hos
ego versiculos feci, tulit alter honores:
Sic vos non vobis nidificatis aves; Sic vos non vobis vellera fertis oves; Sic vos non vobis mellificatis apes; Sic vos non vobis fertis aratra boves. |
of
these short verses I composed, another person had the honour:
so you not for yourself build a nest,o birds; so you not for yourself bear the wool,o sheep; so you not for yourself make honey,o bees; so you not for yourself pull the plough,o oxen. |
(by Dizionario Enciclopedico Italiano - publication in ref. 6 of bibliography)
| Back to home page |