"Principio quoniam magni commercia coeli Numina concessere homini, cui carmina curae, Ipse Deum genitor divinam noluit artem Omnibus expositam vulgo, immeritisque patere: Atque ideo, turbam quo longe arceret inertem, Angustam esse viam voluit, paucisque licere."

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Added on April 10, 2026
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HumanistsPoets from ItalyEpic poetsLatin authorsRoman Catholic bishops
Original Language: English

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When first to man the privilege was given To hold by verse an intercourse with Heaven, Unwilling that the immortal art should lie Cheap, and exposed to every vulgar eye, Great Jove, to drive away the groveling crowd, To narrow bounds confined the glorious road, For more exalted spirits to pursue, And left it open to the sacred few. — Book III, line 358