Rudente

Stuppea suppositis tenduntur vincula lignis,
quae fido ascendit docta iuventa gradu.
quam superaërius protendit crura viator
vixque avibus facili tramite currit homo!
brachia distendens gressum per inane gubernat,
ne lapsa gracili planta rudente cadat.
Daedalus adstruitur terras mutasse volatu
et medium pinnis persecuisse diem.
praesenti exemplo firmatur fabula mendax:
ecce hominis cursus funis et aura ferunt.
(Anth. Lat. 101 S-B)

The ropes of tow, which the skilled youth ascends with sure step, are made taut by the poles supporting them. How incredibly high the walker is as he stretches forth his legs and, though human, rushes along a path scarcely easy for birds! Stretching his arms to the side he controls his route through the void, lest he should miss his footing and fall from the slender rope. It is maintained that Daedalus changed country by flight, and that he clove the noonday sky on wings. That story from fiction is proved true by the present example: look, a rope and the air bear a man on his journey! (tr. Nigel M. Kay)