qualis spelunca subito commota columba, cui domus et dulces latebroso in pumice nidi, fertur in arva volans plausumque exterrita pinnis dat tecto ingentem, mox aere lapsa quieto radit iter liquidum celeris neque commovet alas: sic Mnestheus, sic ipsa fuga secat ultima Pristis aequora, sic illam fert impetus ipse volantem.
Just as, if startled suddenly from her cave, a dove whose home and sweet nestlings are in the rocky coverts, wings her flight to the fields and, frightened from her home, flaps loudly with her wings; soon, gliding in the peaceful air, she skims her liquid way and stirs not her swift pinions'so Mnestheus, so the Dragon of herself, cleaves in flight the final stretch, so her mere speed carries her on her winged course.