Discussione:Virtute siderum tenus

Could someone please give a correct translation of 'virtute siderum tenus'? The author of the Wikipedia article obviously confused it with 'per aspere ad astra', when he or she translated it to 'con valore verso le stelle'.--130.83.161.53 (msg) 14:00, 28 ago 2008 (CEST)

Gaius Laelius: A correct but loose translation in English is (as far as the stars by means of excellence/courage). Tenus is a noun, roughly equivalent to "extension". Siderum in a noun in the possessive attached to "tenus" and "virtute" is ablative of means and can be translated into both "excellence" and "valour" (I prefer "excellence"). Put together into idiomatic English, it becomes "as far as the stars by means of excellence/valour".