“In vain did Nature's wife command
Divide the waters from the land,
If daring ships and men profane,
Invade th' inviolable main.”

—  Horace , book Odes

Book I, ode iii, line 21 (trans. by John Dryden)
Odes (c. 23 BC and 13 BC)

Original

Nequiquam deus abscidit Prudens Oceano dissociabili Terras, si tamen impiae Non tangenda rates transiliunt vada.

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

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Horace 92
Roman lyric poet -65–-8 BC

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Postquam oculos varia implevit virtutis imago,
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injectum terris subitum mare nullaque circa
litora et infuso stagnantis aequore campos.
nam qua caeruleis Nereus evoluitur antris
atque imo freta contorquet Neptunia fundo,
proruptum exundat pelagus, caecosque relaxans
Oceanus fontis torrentibus ingruit undis.
tum uada, ceu saevo penitus permota tridenti,
luctantur terris tumefactum imponere pontum.
mox remeat gurges tractoque relabitur aestu,
ac ratis erepto campis deserta profundo,
et fusi transtris expectant aequora nautae.
Cymothoes ea regna vagae pelagique labores
Luna mouet, Luna, immissis per caerula bigis,
fertque refertque fretum, sequiturque reciproca Tethys.
Book III, lines 45–60
Punica

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