Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres,Jupiter and Thetis, 1811
You were the storm and I the lofty tower that dared defy your power; you had to dash yourself against my wall or hurl me to my fall, — it could not be ! You were the ocean, I the firm, grim rock that e’er withstood your shock ; you had to root me up or roll and roar and break upon the shore, — it could not be ! You, beautiful, were wont to win the field, I, proud, to never yield ; narrow the path, the shock none could endure inevitably sure, — it could not be !
Tu eri l’uragano e io l’alta torre che sfida il suo potere: dovevi schiantarti o abbattermi… Non era possibile! Tu eri l’oceano e io la eretta roccia che salda attende il suo ondeggiare: dovevi rifrangerti o sradicarmi! Non era possibile! Bella tu, io altero; abituati l’una a travolgere, l’altro a non cedere; il sentiero stretto, inevitabile lo scontro… Non era possibile!