From the conclusion of Aeneid 8, following Virgil’s description of Aeneas’ new shield:
Talia per clipeum Volcani, dona parentis,
miratur rerumque ignarus imagine gaudet,Such things on Vulcan’s shield, a parent’s gift,
does he admire and, though ignorant of the substance, he enjoys the depiction
The phrase in the title may be the first Latin I ever learned since my grandfather- who would always explain images and iconography but never inside galleries – quoted it at me whenever I had questions on the spot. The translation is what I recall of his.
Extracts 