"Jam spissior ignis, Et plaga, quam nullam superi mortalibus ultra, A medio fecere die calcatur, et unda Rarior; inventus mediis fons unus arenis Largus aquæ; sed quem serpentum turbat tenebat Vix capiente loco; stabant in margine siccæ Aspides, in mediis sitiebant Dipsades undis. Ductor, ut aspexit perituros fonte relicto Alloquitur: Vana specie conterrite leti Ne dubita miles tutos haurire liquores; Noxia serpentum est admisto sanguine pestis; Morsu virus habent et fatum dente minantur; Pocula morte carent. Dixit dubuumque venenum Hausit." Which has been elegantly rendered into English as follows:-- "And now with fiercer heat the desert glows, And mid-day sun-darts aggravate their woes; When, lo! a spring amid the sandy plain Shows its clear mouth to cheer the fainting train; But round the guarded brink in thick array, Dire aspics roll'd their congregated way, And thirsting in the midst the deadly dipsas lay. Black horror seized their veins, and at the view Back from the fount the troops recoiling flew; When, wise above the crowd, by cares unquell'd, Their trusted leader thus their dread dispell'd-- 'Let not vain terrors thus your minds enslave, Nor dream the serpent brood can taint the wave; Urged by the fatal fang their poison kills, But mixes harmless with the bubbling rills.' Dauntless he spoke, and, bending as he stood, Drank with cool courage the suspected flood."