A quotation by Virgil

But I’d sooner have the depths of earth gape open,

and almighty Father hurl me down to Hades

with his bolt, to the pallid shades and inky night,

before I disobey my conscience or its laws.

[Sed mihi vel tellus optem prius ima dehiscat

Vel pater omnipotens adigat me fulmine ad umbras,

Pallentis umbras Erebo noctemque profundam,

Ante, pudor, quam te violo aut tua iura resolvo.]

Virgil (70-19 BC) Roman poet [b. Publius Vergilius Maro; also Vergil]

The Aeneid [Ænē̆is], Book 4, l. 24ff (4.24-29) [Dido] (29-19 BC) [tr. Bartsch (2021)]

#quote #quotation #curse #damnation #destruction #divine-punishment #divine-retribution #loyalty #oath #widow

More notes and sourcing on WIST: https://wist.info/virgil/53546/