ceu primum ausurae trans alta ignota biremes, seu Tyrrhenam hiemem seu stagna Aegaea lacessant, tranquillo prius arma lacu clavumque levesque explorant remos atque ipsa pericula discunt; at cum experta cohors, tunc pontum irrumpere fretae longius ereptasque oculis non quaerere terras.
Even as ships, which are about to venture across unknown seas for the first time, whether they face Tyrrhene storm or spreading Aegean, test their rigging, helm, and light oars on a calm lake and learn the actual perils; but when their crews are trained, they confidently break far into the main and do not seek the lost land with their gaze.