The Genie Dust

Ovid's Metamorphoses    Book 14, lines 131-153

EGO carpo a congeries of pulvis , quod tenura is sursum , stulte asked pro quot natalis ut mica of pulvis , EGO subpono sciscitor ut they exsisto annus of juvenis

I grabbed a pile of dust, and holding it up, foolishly asked for as many birthdays as the grains of dust, I forgot to ask that they be years of youth.

Metamorphoses (from the Greek μεταμορφώσεις, "transformations") is a Latin narrative poem in fifteen books by the Roman poet Ovid, describing the history of the world from its creation to the deification of Julius Caesar within a loose mythico-historical framework. Completed in AD 8, it is recognized as a masterpiece of Golden Age Latin literature. One of the most-read of all classical works during the Middle Ages, the Metamorphoses continues to exert a profound influence on Western culture.