Virgil: GEORGICON

Hactenus aruorum cultus et sidera caeli;
nunc te, Bacche, canam, nec non siluestria tecum
uirgulta et prolem tarde crescentis oliuae.
huc, pater o Lenaee: tuis hic omnia plena
muneribus, tibi pampineo grauidus autumno

Thus far the cultivation of fields and the stars of heaven;
now you, Bacchus, I will sing, and likewise the woodland with you
thickets and the progeny of the slowly-growing olive.
hither, father O Lenaeus: here all things are full
with your gifts; for you vine-leafy autumn is heavy-laden

floret ager, spumat plenis uindemia labris;
huc, pater o Lenaee, ueni, nudataque musto
tinge nouo mecum dereptis crura coturnis.
Principio arboribus uaria est natura creandis.
namque aliae nullis hominum cogentibus ipsae

the field blooms, the vintage foams in brimming vats;
hither, father O Lenaeus, come, and, the buskins torn off,
stain with new must with me your shins.
To begin with, trees have a diverse nature in their being created.
for some, with no men compelling, of themselves

sponte sua ueniunt camposque et flumina late
curua tenent, ut molle siler lentaeque genistae,
populus et glauca canentia fronde salicta;
pars autem posito surgunt de semine, ut altae
castaneae, nemorumque Ioui quae maxima frondet

of their own accord they come, and far and wide the fields and rivers
curved they hold, as the soft osier and the pliant genista (broom),
the poplar and the willow-beds hoary with glaucous leaf;
but some arise from seed once set, as the tall
chestnuts, and the oak of the groves for Jove, which puts forth the greatest foliage

aesculus, atque habitae Grais oracula quercus.
pullulat ab radice aliis densissima silua,
ut cerasis ulmisque; etiam Parnasia laurus
parua sub ingenti matris se subicit umbra.
hos natura modos primum dedit, his genus omne

the aesculus, and the oaks whose oracles were frequented by the Greeks.
from the root for others a most dense wood pullulates,
as with cherry-trees and elms; even the Parnassian laurel,
little, places itself beneath the vast shade of the mother.
these modes Nature first gave, by these the whole genus

siluarum fruticumque uiret nemorumque sacrorum.
sunt alii, quos ipse uia sibi repperit usus:
hic plantas tenero abscindens de corpore matrum
deposuit sulcis, hic stirpes obruit aruo,
quadrifidasque sudes et acuto robore uallos.

with these every kind of forests and shrubs and of sacred groves grows green.
there are others, which use itself, by its own way, has discovered:
this man, cutting off plants from the tender body of the mothers,
has set them in furrows; this man has buried stocks in the field,
and four-cleft stakes and palisades of sharpened oak.

siluarumque aliae pressos propaginis arcus
exspectant et uiua sua plantaria terra;
nil radicis egent aliae summumque putator
haud dubitat terrae referens mandare cacumen.
quin et caudicibus sectis (mirabile dictu)

and other trees of the forests await the pressed-down arches of a layering,
and the living earth is their own nursery-beds;
others lack nothing of root, and the pruner, bringing back the top,
does not hesitate to consign the summit to the soil.
indeed even from cut stocks (wonderful to say)

truditur e sicco radix oleagina ligno;
et saepe alterius ramos impune uidemus
uertere in alterius, mutatamque insita mala
ferre pirum et prunis lapidosa rubescere corna.
Quare agite o proprios generatim discite cultus,

an oleaginous root is thrust forth from dry wood;
and often we see, with impunity, the branches of one turned into those of another,
and the grafted pear to bear changed apples,
and cornels, stone-fruited, to blush red upon plum-trees.
Wherefore come, O, learn the proper cultivations by kinds,

agricolae, fructusque feros mollite colendo,
neu segnes iaceant terrae. iuuat Ismara Baccho
conserere atque olea magnum uestire Taburnum.
tuque ades inceptumque una decurre laborem,
o decus, o famae merito pars maxima nostrae,

farmers, soften the wild fruits by cultivating,
nor let the lands lie slothful. it pleases to sow Ismara with Bacchus
and to clothe great Taburnus with the olive.
and you too be present, and together run through the work begun,
o ornament, o by merit the greatest part of our fame,

Maecenas, pelagoque uolans da uela patenti.
non ego cuncta meis amplecti uersibus opto,
non, mihi si linguae centum sint oraque centum,
ferrea uox. ades et primi lege litoris oram;
in manibus terrae. non hic te carmine ficto

Maecenas, and, flying over the sea, give sails to the open expanse.
I do not desire to embrace all things in my verses,
not, were there to me a hundred tongues and a hundred mouths,
an iron voice. Be present and skirt the margin of the first shore;
the lands are at hand. not here will I hold you with a feigned song

atque per ambages et longa exorsa tenebo.
Sponte sua quae se tollunt in luminis oras,
infecunda quidem, sed laeta et fortia surgunt;
quippe solo natura subest. tamen haec quoque, si quis
inserat aut scrobibus mandet mutata subactis,

and through circumlocutions and long exordia I will keep to it.
Of their own accord those that lift themselves to the shores of light,
indeed unfruitful, yet they spring up lush and sturdy;
for nature lies beneath the soil. Nevertheless these also, if someone
should graft them or commit them, transplanted, to pits with the ground subacted,

exuerint siluestrem animum, cultuque frequenti
in quascumque uoles artis haud tarda sequentur.
nec non et, sterilis quae stirpibus exit ab imis,
hoc faciat, uacuos si sit digesta per agros;
nunc altae frondes et rami matris opacant

they will shed their sylvan spirit, and with frequent cultivation
in whatever arts you wish they will not be slow to follow.
nor indeed, that which comes forth sterile from its deepest stocks,
may do this too, if it be arranged through empty fields;
now lofty fronds and the branches of the mother overshadow

crescentique adimunt fetus uruntque ferentem.
iam quae seminibus iactis se sustulit arbos,
tarda uenit seris factura nepotibus umbram,
pomaque degenerant sucos oblita priores
et turpis auibus praedam fert uua racemos.

and they take away the fruits from the one that is growing and scorch the bearer.
now the tree which has lifted itself after seeds have been cast,
comes late, about to make shade for belated grandchildren,
and the fruits degenerate, forgetful of their former juices,
and the grape bears clusters, a shameful prey for birds.

scilicet omnibus est labor impendendus, et omnes
cogendae in sulcum ac multa mercede domandae.
sed truncis oleae melius, propagine uites
respondent, solido Paphiae de robore myrtus,
plantis edurae coryli. nascuntur et ingens

surely for all there is labor to be expended, and all
must be forced into the furrow and tamed at great cost.
but olives answer better by trunks, vines by layering,
the myrtle of Paphos from solid timber, the hardy hazels by plantings.
and are born also huge

fraxinus Herculeaeque arbos umbrosa coronae,
Chaoniique patris glandes; etiam ardua palma
nascitur et casus abies uisura marinos.
inseritur uero et fetu nucis arbutus horrida,
et steriles platani malos gessere ualentis,

the ash and the tree of Hercules’s shady crown,
and the acorns of the Chaonian father; even the lofty palm
is born, and the fir, destined to behold sea misfortunes.
but indeed even the rough arbutus is grafted with the offspring of the walnut,
and the sterile plane-trees have borne stalwart apples,

castaneae fagos; ornusque incanuit albo
flore piri glandemque sues fregere sub ulmis.
Nec modus inserere atque oculos imponere simplex.
nam qua se medio trudunt de cortice gemmae
et tenuis rumpunt tunicas, angustus in ipso

beeches [bear] chestnuts; and the flowering ash has grown hoary with the white flower of the pear, and swine have broken the acorn beneath elms.
Nor is the method to insert and to set on eyes simple.
for where buds thrust themselves from the middle of the bark
and burst their slender tunics, a narrow hollow in the very

fit nodo sinus; huc aliena ex arbore germen
includunt udoque docent inolescere libro.
aut rursum enodes trunci resecantur, et alte
finditur in solidum cuneis uia, deinde feraces
plantae immittuntur: nec longum tempus, et ingens

a pocket is made at a knot; into this they include a scion from another tree
and teach it to in-grow in the moist bark.
or again the knotless trunks are cut back, and deep
a way is split into the solid with wedges; then fertile
plants are sent in: nor is the time long, and huge

exiit ad caelum ramis felicibus arbos,
miratastque nouas frondes et non sua poma.
Praeterea genus haud unum nec fortibus ulmis
nec salici lotoque neque Idaeis cyparissis,
nec pingues unam in faciem nascuntur oliuae,

the tree went forth to the sky with felicitous branches,
and marveled at new leaves and fruits not its own.
Moreover, there is not one kind among the sturdy elms,
nor among the willow and lotus, nor the Idaean cypresses,
nor do rich olives spring up in one form,

orchades et radii et amara pausia baca,
pomaque et Alcinoi siluae, nec surculus idem
Crustumiis Syriisque piris grauibusque uolemis.
non eadem arboribus pendet uindemia nostris
quam Methymnaeo carpit de palmite Lesbos;

orchades and radii and the bitter Pausian berry,
and the fruits too of Alcinous’s grove, nor is the same scion
for Crustumian and Syrian pears and the weighty volemus.
not the same vintage hangs from our trees
as Lesbos plucks from the Methymnaean vine-shoot;

sunt Thasiae uites, sunt et Mareotides albae,
pinguibus hae terris habiles, leuioribus illae,
et passo psithia utilior tenuisque lageos
temptatura pedes olim uincturaque linguam,
purpureae praeciaeque et, quo te carmine dicam,

there are thasian vines, and there are also mareotic white ones,
these apt for fat soils, those for lighter,
and the psithian more useful for passum, and the slender lageos
destined to test the feet someday and to bind the tongue,
the purple and the praecian, and—with what song shall i name you,

Rhaetica? nec cellis ideo contende Falernis.
sunt et Aminneae uites, firmissima uina,
Tmolius adsurgit quibus et rex ipse Phanaeus,
argitisque minor, cui non certauerit ulla
aut tantum fluere aut totidem durare per annos.

Rhaetian? do not therefore contend with Falernian cellars.
there are also Aminnaean vines, most firm wines,
before which Tmolus rises, and the king himself, Phanaeus,
and lesser than the Argitis, than which none has contended
either to flow so much or to endure for as many years.

100

non ego te, dis et mensis accepta secundis,
transierim, Rhodia, et tumidis, bumaste, racemis.
sed neque quam multae species nec nomina quae sint
est numerus, neque enim numero comprendere refert;
quem qui scire uelit, Libyci uelit aequoris idem

I would not pass you by, acceptable to the gods and to the second tables,
Rhodian, and you, Bumastus, with swelling clusters.
But neither is there a number for how many the kinds are nor what the names are,
nor indeed does it matter to comprehend them by number;
whoever would wish to know this would wish the same of the Libyan sea.

105

dicere quam multae Zephyro turbentur harenae
aut, ubi nauigiis uiolentior incidit Eurus,
nosse quot Ionii ueniant ad litora fluctus.
Nec uero terrae ferre omnes omnia possunt.
fluminibus salices crassisque paludibus alni

to tell how many sands are disturbed by Zephyr,
or, when upon ships the Eurus falls more violent,
to know how many waves of the Ionian come to the shores.
Nor indeed can the lands bear all things for all.
willows by rivers and alders in thick swamps

110

nascuntur, steriles saxosis montibus orni;
litora myrtetis laetissima; denique apertos
Bacchus amat collis, Aquilonem et frigora taxi.
aspice et extremis domitum cultoribus orbem
Eoasque domos Arabum pictosque Gelonos:

the ash-trees, barren, are born on rocky mountains;
the shores are most glad with myrtle-groves; finally
Bacchus loves open hills, and the yew loves Aquilon and frosts.
look also at the world tamed by cultivators at its farthest edges,
and the eastern homes of the Arabs and the painted Geloni:

115

diuisae arboribus patriae. sola India nigrum
fert hebenum, solis est turea uirga Sabaeis.
quid tibi odorato referam sudantia ligno
balsamaque et bacas semper frondentis acanthi?
quid nemora Aethiopum molli canentia lana,

fatherlands divided by trees. india alone bears black ebony,
to the sabaeans alone belongs the incense-bearing rod.
what should i recount to you of balsams sweating from scented wood
and the berries of the ever-leafy acanthus?
what of the groves of the ethiopians white with soft wool,

120

uelleraque ut foliis depectant tenuia Seres?
aut quos Oceano propior gerit India lucos,
extremi sinus orbis, ubi aera uincere summum
arboris haud ullae iactu potuere sagittae?—
et gens illa quidem sumptis non tarda pharetris.

and how the Seres comb out with leaves their fine fleeces?
or what groves India, nearer to Ocean, bears,
the farthest gulf of the orb, where no arrows, by their cast,
have been able to conquer the air to the tree’s summit?—
and that nation indeed is not slow when the quivers are taken up.

125

Media fert tristis sucos tardumque saporem
felicis mali, quo non praesentius ullum,
pocula si quando saeuae infecere nouercae,
[miscueruntque herbas et non innoxia uerba,]
auxilium uenit ac membris agit atra uenena.

Media bears somber juices and the slow savor of the fortunate apple, than which no aid is more present, if ever cruel stepmothers have infected cups, [and have mixed herbs and not innocuous words,] help comes and drives the black venoms from the limbs.

130

ipsa ingens arbos faciemque simillima lauro,
et, si non alium late iactaret odorem,
laurus erat: folia haud ullis labentia uentis,
flos ad prima tenax; animas et olentia Medi
ora fouent illo et senibus medicantur anhelis.

the tree itself is huge and in appearance very similar to the laurel,
and, if it did not cast far and wide a different odor,
it was a laurel: leaves not falling to any winds,
a flower tenacious at the tips; the Medes both foment their spirits and fragrant
mouths with it, and panting old men are medicated by it.

135

Sed neque Medorum siluae, ditissima terra,
nec pulcher Ganges atque auro turbidus Hermus
laudibus Italiae certent, non Bactra neque Indi
totaque turiferis Panchaia pinguis harenis.
haec loca non tauri spirantes naribus ignem

But neither the forests of the Medes, a most wealthy land,
nor the beautiful Ganges and the Hermus turbid with gold,
let vie with the praises of Italy, not Bactra nor the Indians
and all Panchaea, rich with incense-bearing sands.
in these places, no bulls breathing fire from their nostrils

140

inuertere satis immanis dentibus hydri,
nec galeis densisque uirum seges horruit hastis;
sed grauidae fruges et Bacchi Massicus umor
impleuere; tenent oleae armentaque laeta.
hinc bellator equus campo sese arduus infert,

nor have fire-breathing bulls, nor did a monstrous Hydra with its teeth upturn the sowings,
nor did a crop of men bristle with helmets and dense spears;
but heavy-laden harvests and the Massic liquor of Bacchus
have filled these places; olives and joyful herds possess them.
hence the warlike horse, towering, advances upon the plain,

145

hinc albi, Clitumne, greges et maxima taurus
uictima, saepe tuo perfusi flumine sacro,
Romanos ad templa deum duxere triumphos.
hic uer adsiduum atque alienis mensibus aestas:
bis grauidae pecudes, bis pomis utilis arbos.

hence, Clitumnus, white herds and the greatest victim, a bull,
often perfused by your sacred river,
led Roman triumphs to the temples of the gods.
here spring is assiduous and summer in alien months:
twice gravid the flocks, twice the tree useful with fruits.

150

at rabidae tigres absunt et saeua leonum
semina, nec miseros fallunt aconita legentis,
nec rapit immensos orbis per humum neque tanto
squameus in spiram tractu se colligit anguis.
adde tot egregias urbes operumque laborem,

but rabid tigers are absent and the savage breed of lions
nor do aconites deceive the wretched who gather them,
nor does a whirlwind snatch immense things along the ground, nor with so great
a drag does a scaly snake gather itself into a coil.
add so many distinguished cities and the labor of works.

155

tot congesta manu praeruptis oppida saxis
fluminaque antiquos subter labentia muros.
an mare quod supra memorem, quodque adluit infra?
anne lacus tantos?

so many towns heaped by hand on precipitous rocks,
and rivers gliding beneath ancient walls.
or shall I recount the sea that is above, and that which washes below?
or lakes so vast?

te, Lari maxime, teque,
fluctibus et fremitu adsurgens Benace marino?

you, greatest Larius, and you too,
Benacus rising with waves and a marine roar?

160

an memorem portus Lucrinoque addita claustra
atque indignatum magnis stridoribus aequor,
Iulia qua ponto longe sonat unda refuso
Tyrrhenusque fretis immittitur aestus Auernis?
haec eadem argenti riuos aerisque metalla

or shall I recall the harbors and the barriers added to the Lucrine,
and the sea indignant with great roarings,
where the Julian wave sounds far with the sea poured back,
and the Tyrrhenian tide is sent into the Avernian straits?
this same land [yields] streams of silver and mines of bronze

165

ostendit uenis atque auro plurima fluxit.
haec genus acre uirum, Marsos pubemque Sabellam
adsuetumque malo Ligurem Volscosque uerutos
extulit, haec Decios Marios magnosque Camillos,
Scipiadas duros bello et te, maxime Caesar,

has revealed veins and has flowed with very abundant gold.
this land has brought forth a keen race of men, the Marsi and the Sabellian youth,
the Ligurian accustomed to hardship, and the Volsci with javelins,
this land the Decii, the Marii, and the great Camilli,
the Scipios hard in war, and you, greatest Caesar,

170

qui nunc extremis Asiae iam uictor in oris
imbellem auertis Romanis arcibus Indum.
salue, magna parens frugum, Saturnia tellus,
magna uirum: tibi res antiquae laudis et artem
ingredior sanctos ausus recludere fontis,

who now, already victor on the farthest shores of Asia,
you turn the unwarlike Indian away from the Roman citadels.
hail, great parent of crops, Saturnian earth,
great in men: to you the ancient matters of praise and the art
I enter upon, having dared to open the sacred founts,

175

Ascraeumque cano Romana per oppida carmen.
Nunc locus aruorum ingeniis, quae robora cuique,
quis color et quae sit rebus natura ferendis.
difficiles primum terrae collesque maligni,
tenuis ubi argilla et dumosis calculus aruis,

I sing an Ascraean song through Roman towns.
Now is the place for the fields’ natures: what strengths to each,
what color, and what nature there is for bearing produce.
first the difficult soils and ill-disposed hills,
where the clay is thin and pebble-stone in bushy fields,

180

Palladia gaudent silua uiuacis oliuae:
indicio est tractu surgens oleaster eodem
plurimus et strati bacis siluestribus agri.
at quae pinguis humus dulcique uligine laeta,
quique frequens herbis et fertilis ubere campus,

Palladian woods rejoice in the long-lived olive:
the sign is the wild-olive rising in the same tract
very plentiful, and fields strewn with woodland berries.
but the soil which is fat and rejoicing with sweet moisture,
and the plain frequent with herbs and fertile in bounty,

185

qualem saepe caua montis conualle solemus
despicere (huc summis liquuntur rupibus amnes
felicemque trahunt limum), quique editus Austro
et filicem curuis inuisam pascit aratris:
hic tibi praeualidas olim multoque fluentis

such as we often are wont to look down upon in the hollow valley of a mountain (hither from the topmost crags the rivers flow down and draw along fertile silt), and the one that, exposed to the South Wind, feeds the fern odious to curved ploughs: here for you, in time, very mighty and abounding much in flow

190

sufficiet Baccho uitis, hic fertilis uuae,
hic laticis, qualem pateris libamus et auro,
inflauit cum pinguis ebur Tyrrhenus ad aras,
lancibus et pandis fumantia reddimus exta.
sin armenta magis studium uitulosque tueri

the vine will supply Bacchus, here rich in grapes,
here of liquor, such as we libate in bowls of gold,
when the Tyrrhenian swelled the ivory at the altars,
and on curved platters we render back the steaming entrails.
but if your zeal is rather to tend herds and calves

195

aut ouium fetum aut urentis culta capellas,
saltus et saturi petito longinqua Tarenti,
et qualem infelix amisit Mantua campum
pascentem niueos herboso flumine cycnos:
non liquidi gregibus fontes, non gramina deerunt,

or the offspring of sheep or the she-goats that scorch the tilled fields,
seek the woodland pastures and the far reaches of well-fed Tarentum,
and a plain such as unlucky Mantua lost,
feeding snow-white swans by a grassy river:
neither will liquid fountains for the flocks, nor grasses be lacking,

200

et quantum longis carpent armenta diebus
exigua tantum gelidus ros nocte reponet.
nigra fere et presso pinguis sub uomere terra
et cui putre solum (namque hoc imitamur arando),
optima frumentis: non ullo ex aequore cernes

and as much as the herds will crop in long days
the chilly dew by night will replace only in scant measure.
the land almost black and rich beneath the pressed plowshare,
and whose soil is friable (for this we imitate by plowing),
is best for grain-crops: from no level plain will you discern

205

plura domum tardis decedere plaustra iuuencis;
aut unde iratus siluam deuexit arator
et nemora euertit multos ignaua per annos,
antiquasque domos auium cum stirpibus imis
eruit; illae altum nidis petiere relictis,

more wagons depart homeward with slow young oxen;
or whence an angry plowman has hauled away the woodland
and has overturned the groves, idle through many years,
and the ancient homes of birds with the deepest roots
he has torn out; they have sought the heights, their nests left behind,

210

at rudis enituit impulso uomere campus.
nam ieiuna quidem cliuosi glarea ruris
uix humilis apibus casias roremque ministrat;
et tofus scaber et nigris exesa chelydris
creta negant alios aeque serpentibus agros

but the raw field has shone forth with the plowshare driven.
for indeed the jejune gravel of a sloping countryside scarcely supplies bees with lowly cassias and dew;
and scabrous tufa and chalk eaten away by black serpents deny that any other fields are equally for serpents

215

dulcem ferre cibum et curuas praebere latebras.
quae tenuem exhalat nebulam fumosque uolucris,
et bibit umorem et, cum uult, ex se ipsa remittit,
quaeque suo semper uiridi se gramine uestit
nec scabie et salsa laedit robigine ferrum,

to bear sweet nourishment and to offer curved hiding-places.
which exhales a thin mist and flying fumes,
and drinks in moisture and, when it wills, remits it from itself,
and ever clothes itself with its own green grass,
nor with scab and salty rust does it injure iron,

220

illa tibi laetis intexet uitibus ulmos,
illa ferax oleo est, illam experiere colendo
et facilem pecori et patientem uomeris unci.
talem diues arat Capua et uicina Vesaeuo
ora iugo et uacuis Clanius non aequus Acerris.

that one will weave for you elms with luxuriant vines,
that one is fertile in oil; that one you will find, by cultivating,
both easy for livestock and patient of the hooked plowshare.
such soil rich Capua ploughs and the shore neighboring Vesuvius’s ridge,
and the Clanius, not kind to emptied Acerrae.

225

Nunc quo quamque modo possis cognoscere dicam.
rara sit an supra morem si densa requires
(altera frumentis quoniam fauet, altera Baccho,
densa magis Cereri, rarissima quaeque Lyaeo),
ante locum capies oculis, alteque iubebis

Now I will say by what way you can recognize each.
whether it be loose, or, beyond the norm, dense, if you inquire
(since one favors grains, another Bacchus,
denser rather for Ceres, the very loosest for Lyaeus),
first you will take in the place with your eyes, and you will bid it high.

230

in solido puteum demitti, omnemque repones
rursus humum et pedibus summas aequabis harenas.
si deerunt, rarum pecorique et uitibus almis
aptius uber erit; sin in sua posse negabunt
ire loca et scrobibus superabit terra repletis,

in solid ground have a pit let down, and you will replace all
again the soil, and with your feet you will level the topmost sands.
if they fall short, a loose soil and a more apt uberty for cattle and kindly vines
will result; but if they refuse to go back to their own places
and the earth will be in excess when the pits are refilled,

235

spissus ager: glaebas cunctantis crassaque terga
exspecta et ualidis terram proscinde iuuencis.
salsa autem tellus et quae perhibetur amara
(frugibus infelix ea, nec mansuescit arando
nec Baccho genus aut pomis sua nomina seruat)

the dense field: await the delaying clods and the thick backs,
and with stout bullocks cut the earth asunder.
but the salty soil and that which is said to be bitter
(ill-starred for crops, nor does it grow gentle by plowing,
nor does it keep for Bacchus its stock nor for fruits their own names)

240

tale dabit specimen. tu spisso uimine qualos
colaque prelorum fumosis deripe tectis;
huc ager ille malus dulcesque a fontibus undae
ad plenum calcentur: aqua eluctabitur omnis
scilicet et grandes ibunt per uimina guttae;

such will give a specimen. you, from close-woven wicker, tear down baskets and the strainers of the presses from the smoky roofs; hither let that bad field’s soil and sweet waters from the springs be trodden to the full: all the water will, of course, struggle out, and large drops will go through the wickerwork;

245

at sapor indicium faciet manifestus et ora
tristia temptantum sensu torquebit amaro.
pinguis item quae sit tellus, hoc denique pacto
discimus: haud unquam manibus iactata fatiscit,
sed picis in morem ad digitos lentescit habendo.

but the savor will make a manifest indication, and it will torment with bitter sense the sad mouths of those trying.
likewise which earth is fat, in this way at last we learn: never, when tossed in the hands, does it split apart,
but in the manner of pitch it grows sticky to the fingers by handling.

250

umida maiores herbas alit, ipsaque iusto
laetior. a, nimium ne sit mihi fertilis illa,
nec se praeualidam primis ostendat aristis!
quae grauis est ipso tacitam se pondere prodit,
quaeque leuis. promptum est oculis praediscere nigram,

the moist [soil] nourishes larger grasses, and it itself is more luxuriant than the just measure.
ah, let that one not be too fertile for me,
nor show itself over-strong in the earliest ears!
that which is heavy reveals itself, silently, by its very weight,
and that which is light. It is easy for the eyes to discern beforehand the black [soil],

255

et quis cui color. at sceleratum exquirere frigus
difficile est: piceae tantum taxique nocentes
interdum aut hederae pandunt uestigia nigrae.
His animaduersis terram multo ante memento
excoquere et magnos scrobibus concidere montis,

and what color to each. but to discover the criminal cold is difficult: only the pitch-pine and the harmful yew, or sometimes the black ivy, reveal its traces.
With these things noticed, remember long beforehand to bake out the earth
and to hew down great hills into pits,

260

ante supinatas Aquiloni ostendere glaebas
quam laetum infodias uitis genus. optima putri
arua solo: id uenti curant gelidaeque pruinae
et labefacta mouens robustus iugera fossor.
at si quos haud ulla uiros uigilantia fugit,

before you expose the upturned clods to Aquilo than you bury the joyous race of the vine. The fields are best with putrid soil: the winds and gelid rimes attend to that, and the robust digger, moving the loosened acres.
but if there are any men whom no vigilance escapes,

265

ante locum similem exquirunt, ubi prima paretur
arboribus seges et quo mox digesta feratur,
mutatam ignorent subito ne semina matrem.
quin etiam caeli regionem in cortice signant,
ut, quo quaeque modo steterit, qua parte calores

beforehand they seek out a similar place, where the first crop may be prepared
for the trees, and whither soon, once arranged, it may be borne,
lest the seeds suddenly be ignorant of a changed mother.
nay even they mark the region of the sky on the bark,
so that, in whatever way each stood, on which side the heats

270

austrinos tulerit, quae terga obuerterit axi,
restituant: adeo in teneris consuescere multum est.
collibus an plano melius sit ponere uitem,
quaere prius. si pinguis agros metabere campi,
densa sere (in denso non segnior ubere Bacchus);

what quarters have borne the austral heats, what backs it has turned to the axis,
let them restore: so much does it matter, in tender things, to grow accustomed.
whether it is better to set the vine on hills or on the plain,
inquire first. if you will measure out the fields of a fat plain,
sow densely (in dense planting Bacchus is no slower in uberty);

275

sin tumulis accliue solum collisque supinos,
indulge ordinibus; nec setius omnis in unguem
arboribus positis secto uia limite quadret:
ut saepe ingenti bello cum longa cohortis
explicuit legio et campo stetit agmen aperto,

but if the soil is uphill on knolls and hills reclining,
indulge the rows; nor any the less let the whole way square exactly,
with the trees set, by a cut boundary line:
as often in a vast war, when the legion has unfolded a long line of cohorts
and the column has stood on the open field,

280

derectaeque acies ac late fluctuat omnis
aere renidenti tellus, necdum horrida miscent
proelia, sed dubius mediis Mars errat in armis.
omnia sint paribus numeris dimensa uiarum,
non animum modo uti pascat prospectus inanem,

and the battle-lines straightened, and far and wide the whole earth billows with gleaming bronze,
nor yet do they mingle grim battles, but wavering Mars wanders amid the arms.
let everything be measured by equal numbers of paths,
not only that the prospect may feed the idle mind,

285

sed quia non aliter uiris dabit omnibus aequas
terra, neque in uacuum poterunt se extendere rami.
Forsitan et scrobibus quae sint fastigia quaeras.
ausim uel tenui uitem committere sulco;
altior ac penitus terrae defigitur arbos,

but because otherwise the earth will not give equal strengths to all,
nor will the branches be able to extend themselves into the empty space.
Perhaps you also ask what the pitches of the pits should be.
I would venture to commit the vine even to a slender furrow;
deeper and far down into the earth the tree is fixed,

290

aesculus in primis, quae quantum uertice ad auras
aetherias, tantum radice in Tartara tendit.
ergo non hiemes illam, non flabra neque imbres
conuellunt: immota manet multosque nepotes,
multa uirum uoluens durando saecula uincit,

the aesculus foremost, which as far with its summit toward the ethereal breezes
so far with its root it stretches into Tartarus.
therefore not winters, not blasts nor rains tear it up:
unmoved it remains, and many descendants,
rolling many ages of men, by enduring it conquers the ages,

295

tum fortis late ramos et bracchia tendens
huc illuc media ipsa ingentem sustinet umbram.
Neue tibi ad solem uergant uineta cadentem,
neue inter uitis corylum sere, neue flagella
summa pete aut summa defringe ex arbore plantas

then, strong, stretching its boughs and arms wide,
this way and that, with its very middle it upholds a vast shadow.
And let not your vineyards verge toward the setting sun,
nor among the vines sow the hazel, nor seek whip‑shoots
from the top, or break slips from the top of a tree

300

(tantus amor terrae), neu ferro laede retunso
semina, neue oleae siluestris insere truncos.
nam saepe incautis pastoribus excidit ignis,
qui furtim pingui primum sub cortice tectus
robora comprendit, frondesque elapsus in altas

(so great the love of the earth), and do not wound the seeds with blunted iron,
nor graft the trunks of the wild olive.
for often from incautious shepherds fire slips out,
which furtively, covered at first beneath the rich bark,
seizes the oaks, and, having slipped into the high fronds

305

ingentem caelo sonitum dedit; inde secutus
per ramos uictor perque alta cacumina regnat,
et totum inuoluit flammis nemus et ruit atram
ad caelum picea crassus caligine nubem,
praesertim si tempestas a uertice siluis

it gave an enormous sound to the sky; then, pursuing, as victor, through the branches and through the lofty summits it reigns,
and it envelops the whole grove with flames and rushes a black cloud,
thick with pitchy gloom, to the sky, especially if a tempest
from the crest upon the woods

310

incubuit, glomeratque ferens incendia uentus.
hoc ubi, non a stirpe ualent caesaeque reuerti
possunt atque ima similes reuirescere terra;
infelix superat foliis oleaster amaris.
Nec tibi tam prudens quisquam persuadeat auctor

it has brooded over, and the wind, bearing them, masses the fires.
when this is so, they are not able from the stock, nor, though cut down, to return,
and to grow green again alike from the lowest earth;
the ill-fated wild-olive survives with its bitter leaves.
Nor let any adviser, however prudent, persuade you

315

tellurem Borea rigidam spirante mouere.
rura gelu tum claudit hiems, nec semine iacto
concretam patitur radicem adfigere terrae.
optima uinetis satio, cum uere rubenti
candida uenit auis longis inuisa colubris,

to move the rigid earth when Boreas is breathing.
then winter shuts the countrysides with frost, nor, when seed has been cast,
does it allow a root to affix to the congealed earth.
the best sowing for vineyards is, when in ruddy spring
the candid bird comes, hateful to the long colubrine snakes,

320

prima uel autumni sub frigora, cum rapidus Sol
nondum hiemem contingit equis, iam praeterit aestas.
uer adeo frondi nemorum, uer utile siluis,
uere tument terrae et genitalia semina poscunt.
tum pater omnipotens fecundis imbribus Aether

either under the first chills of autumn, when the rapid Sun
does not yet touch winter with his horses, already summer passes by.
spring indeed for the frondage of the groves, spring is useful for the woods,
in spring the lands swell and demand genital seeds.
then the omnipotent father Aether with fecund showers

325

coniugis in gremium laetae descendit, et omnis
magnus alit magno commixtus corpore fetus.
auia tum resonant auibus uirgulta canoris,
et Venerem certis repetunt armenta diebus;
parturit almus ager Zephyrique tepentibus auris

he descends into the lap of his joyful consort, and
he, mingled with her great body, nourishes all the mighty brood.
then the pathless thickets resound with tuneful birds,
and the herds renew Venus on appointed days;
the kindly field is in labor, and under the tepid breezes of the Zephyrs

330

laxant arua sinus; superat tener omnibus umor,
inque nouos soles audent se gramina tuto
credere, nec metuit surgentis pampinus Austros
aut actum caelo magnis Aquilonibus imbrem,
sed trudit gemmas et frondes explicat omnis.

the fields loosen their folds; tender moisture prevails over all,
and into new suns the grasses dare safely to entrust themselves,
nor does the vine-leaf fear the rising South Winds
or the rain driven through the sky by mighty North Winds,
but it pushes out buds and unfolds all the leaves.

335

non alios prima crescentis origine mundi
inluxisse dies aliumue habuisse tenorem
crediderim: uer illud erat, uer magnus agebat
orbis et hibernis parcebant flatibus Euri,
cum primae lucem pecudes hausere, uirumque

i would not think that, at the first origin of the growing world,
any other days shone forth, or had another tenor;
it was spring—that was it, great spring; the great orb was keeping spring,
and the wintry blasts of the eurus were sparing,
when the first beasts drank in the light, and man as well.

340

terrea progenies duris caput extulit aruis,
immissaeque ferae siluis et sidera caelo.
nec res hunc tenerae possent perferre laborem,
si non tanta quies iret frigusque caloremque
inter, et exciperet caeli indulgentia terras.

the earthborn progeny lifted its head on the hard fields,
and the wild beasts were let loose into the forests and the stars into the sky.
nor could tender things endure this labor,
if not so great a quiet went between cold and heat,
and the indulgence of the sky received the lands.

345

Quod superest, quaecumque premes uirgulta per agros
sparge fimo pingui et multa memor occule terra,
aut lapidem bibulum aut squalentis infode conchas;
inter enim labentur aquae, tenuisque subibit
halitus, atque animos tollent sata. iamque reperti

What remains: whatever shoots you set through the fields,
strew with rich dung and, mindful, hide with much earth,
or bury a bibulous stone or roughened shells;
for between them waters will glide, and a thin
breath will enter, and the plantings will lift their spirits. And now have been found

350

qui saxo super atque ingentis pondere testae
urgerent: hoc effusos munimen ad imbris,
hoc, ubi hiulca siti findit Canis aestifer arua.
Seminibus positis superest diducere terram
saepius ad capita et duros iactare bidentis,

who from above with a stone and with the weight of a huge potsherd
would press down: this is a bulwark against outpoured rains,
this, when the heat-bearing Dog splits the gaping fields with thirst.
With the seeds set, it remains to draw the earth apart
more often to the heads and to toss the sturdy two-toothed hoes,

355

aut presso exercere solum sub uomere et ipsa
flectere luctantis inter uineta iuuencos;
tum leuis calamos et rasae hastilia uirgae
fraxineasque aptare sudes furcasque ualentis,
uiribus eniti quarum et contemnere uentos

or to exercise the soil pressed beneath the ploughshare, and herself
to bend the struggling young bullocks among the vine‑yards;
then to fit light reeds and the shafts of a planed rod,
and ash stakes and sturdy forks,
by whose strengths to strive and to contemn the winds

360

adsuescant summasque sequi tabulata per ulmos.
Ac dum prima nouis adolescit frondibus aetas,
parcendum teneris, et dum se laetus ad auras
palmes agit laxis per purum immissus habenis,
ipsa acie nondum falcis temptanda, sed uncis

let them be trained to, and to follow, the highest tiers along the elms.
And while the first age grows up with new fronds,
one must spare the tender shoots, and while the glad vine-spray drives itself to the breezes,
sent forth through the clear sky with loosened reins,
not yet to be tried by the very edge of the sickle, but with hooks

365

carpendae manibus frondes interque legendae.
inde ubi iam ualidis amplexae stirpibus ulmos
exierint, tum stringe comas, tum bracchia tonde
(ante reformidant ferrum), tum denique dura
exerce imperia et ramos compesce fluentis.

the fronds to be plucked by hand and, in between, to be gathered.
then, when, having embraced the elms with sturdy stocks, they have now shot forth,
then strip the foliage, then shear the arms
(beforehand they dread the iron), then at last exercise hard commands
and restrain the flowing branches.

370

Texendae saepes etiam et pecus omne tenendum,
praecipue dum frons tenera imprudensque laborum;
cui super indignas hiemes solemque potentem
siluestres uri adsidue capreaeque sequaces
inludunt, pascuntur oues auidaeque iuuencae.

Hedges too must be woven and every herd held in check,
especially while the frondage is tender and unpracticed in labors;
over which, besides unworthy winters and the potent sun,
sylvan aurochs continually and tracking roe-deer
make sport, and sheep and greedy heifers pasture.

375

frigora nec tantum cana concreta pruina
aut grauis incumbens scopulis arentibus aestas,
quantum illi nocuere greges durique uenenum
dentis et admorsu signata in stirpe cicatrix.
non aliam ob culpam Baccho caper omnibus aris

nor do frosts, not so much the hoary rime congealed,
or the heavy summer incumbent on the parched crags,
as much as the herds have harmed it and the hard venom
of the tooth, and the cicatrix imprinted on the stock by a bite.
for no other fault is the he-goat immolated to Bacchus at all altars

380

caeditur et ueteres ineunt proscaenia ludi,
praemiaque ingeniis pagos et compita circum
Thesidae posuere, atque inter pocula laeti
mollibus in pratis unctos saluere per utres
nec non Ausonii, Troia gens missa, coloni

the goat is slain, and the ancient plays enter the proscenia,
and the Theseids set prizes for talents around the villages and crossroads,
and, glad among the cups,
on soft meadows they leapt upon oiled wineskins,
nor yet did the Ausonian colonists, the people sent from Troy,

385

uersibus incomptis ludunt risuque soluto,
oraque corticibus sumunt horrenda cauatis,
et te, Bacche, uocant per carmina laeta, tibique
oscilla ex alta suspendunt mollia pinu.
hinc omnis largo pubescit uinea fetu,

they play with unadorned verses and with loosened laughter,
and they take on horrendous faces from hollowed-out bark,
and you, Bacchus, they call upon through joyful songs, and for you
they hang soft little masks from a lofty pine.
from this every vineyard grows downy with lavish fruit,

390

complentur uallesque cauae saltusque profundi
et quocumque deus circum caput egit honestum.
ergo rite suum Baccho dicemus honorem
carminibus patriis lancesque et liba feremus,
et ductus cornu stabit sacer hircus ad aram

the hollow valleys and the deep glades are filled,
and wheresoever the god has turned about his noble head.
therefore duly we shall declare to Bacchus his due honor
with ancestral songs, and we will bear platters and liba-cakes,
and the sacred he-goat, led by the horn, will stand at the altar

395

pinguiaque in ueribus torrebimus exta colurnis.
Est etiam ille labor curandis uitibus alter,
cui numquam exhausti satis est: namque omne quotannis
terque quaterque solum scindendum glaebaque uersis
aeternum frangenda bidentibus, omne leuandum

and we will roast the rich entrails on hazel spits.
There is also that other labor for the tending of the vines,
for which “enough” of exhaustion is never reached: for every year
thrice and four times the soil must be cleft, and the clods, when turned,
must be forever broken by two-toothed hoes (bidents), all to be lightened

400

fronde nemus. redit agricolis labor actus in orbem,
atque in se sua per uestigia uoluitur annus.
ac iam olim, seras posuit cum uinea frondes
frigidus et siluis Aquilo decussit honorem,
iam tum acer curas uenientem extendit in annum

the grove is to be lightened of foliage. labor returns to the farmers, driven back into the orbit,
and the year rolls upon itself along its own vestiges.
and even already, when the vineyard has shed its late leaves,
and the cold Aquilon has stripped the honor from the woods,
even then the keen man stretches his cares into the coming year.

405

rusticus, et curuo Saturni dente relictam
persequitur uitem attondens fingitque putando.
primus humum fodito, primus deuecta cremato
sarmenta, et uallos primus sub tecta referto;
postremus metito. bis uitibus ingruit umbra,

the rustic, and with Saturn’s curved tooth he pursues the vine left behind,
clipping it, and fashions it by pruning.
be first to dig the ground, first to burn the prunings once carted away,
and be first to bring the stakes back beneath roofs;
last, reap. Twice does the shade fall upon the vines,

410

bis segetem densis obducunt sentibus herbae;
durus uterque labor: laudato ingentia rura,
exiguum colito. nec non etiam aspera rusti
uimina per siluam et ripis fluuialis harundo
caeditur, incultique exercet cura salicti.

twice do weeds cover the crop with dense brambles;
hard is each labor: praise vast fields,
cultivate a small one. And likewise the rough osiers of the rustic
are cut through the wood, and on the banks the fluvial reed
is cut, and care busies itself with the uncultivated willow-plot.

415

iam uinctae uites, iam falcem arbusta reponunt,
iam canit effectos extremus uinitor antes;
sollicitanda tamen tellus puluisque mouendus
et iam maturis metuendus Iuppiter uuis.
Contra non ulla est oleis cultura, neque illae

now the vines are bound, now the vine-groves lay by the sickle,
now the last vintager sings the completed rows;
yet the soil must be stirred and the dust set in motion
and now Jupiter is to be feared for the mature grapes.
By contrast there is no cultivation for olives, nor do they

420

procuruam exspectant falcem rastrosque tenacis,
cum semel haeserunt aruis aurasque tulerunt;
ipsa satis tellus, cum dente recluditur unco,
sufficit umorem et grauidas, cum uomere, fruges.
hoc pinguem et placitam Paci nutritor oliuam.

they do not await the curved sickle and the tenacious rakes,
once they have clung in the fields and have taken the breezes;
the earth herself is sufficient, when she is opened with the hooked tooth,
to supply moisture and, with the ploughshare, gravid crops.
by this the rich olive, pleasing to Peace, is nourished.

425

Poma quoque, ut primum truncos sensere ualentis
et uiris habuere suas, ad sidera raptim
ui propria nituntur opisque haud indiga nostrae.
nec minus interea fetu nemus omne grauescit,
sanguineisque inculta rubent auiaria bacis.

Fruits too, as soon as they sensed the sturdy trunks
and possessed their own forces, swiftly to the stars
they strive by their own power and by no means in need of our aid.
No less meanwhile the whole grove grows heavy with fruitage,
and the aviaries, uncultivated, redden with blood-red berries.

430

tondentur cytisi, taedas silua alta ministrat,
pascunturque ignes nocturni et lumina fundunt.
et dubitant homines serere atque impendere curam?
quid maiora sequar? salices humilesque genistae,
aut illae pecori frondem aut pastoribus umbram

the cytisus-shrubs are shorn, the high forest supplies torches,
and the nocturnal fires are fed and pour forth lights.
and do men hesitate to sow and to expend care?
why should I pursue greater things? willows and the lowly brooms,
either these give foliage to the herd or shade to shepherds

435

sufficiunt saepemque satis et pabula melli.
et iuuat undantem buxo spectare Cytorum
Naryciaeque picis lucos, iuuat arua uidere
non rastris, hominum non ulli obnoxia curae.
ipsae Caucasio steriles in uertice siluae,

they suffice both for hedging enough and for pasturage for honey.
and it delights to behold Cytorus undulating with boxwood
and the groves of Narycian pitch, it delights to see fields
not to rakes, not obnoxious to any care of men.
the very woods themselves, barren on the Caucasian summit,

440

quas animosi Euri adsidue franguntque feruntque,
dant alios aliae fetus, dant utile lignum
nauigiis pinus, domibus cedrumque cupressosque;
hinc radios triuere rotis, hinc tympana plaustris
agricolae, et pandas ratibus posuere carinas.

which the spirited East winds constantly shatter and carry off,
others give other yields, they give useful timber—
pines for ships, for homes cedar and cypresses;
from these the farmers have smoothed spokes for wheels, from these the drums for wagons,
and they have set arched keels for vessels.

445

uiminibus salices fecundae, frondibus ulmi,
at myrtus ualidis hastilibus et bona bello
cornus; Ituraeos taxi torquentur in arcus.
nec tiliae leues aut torno rasile buxum
non formam accipiunt ferroque cauantur acuto,

willows are fruitful in withes, elms in foliage,
but the myrtle in sturdy spear-shafts, and the cornel good in war;
Ituraean yews are twisted into bows.
nor do light lindens or boxwood smoothed by the lathe
fail to receive form, and be hollowed by the sharp iron,

450

nec non et torrentem undam leuis innatat alnus
missa Pado, nec non et apes examina condunt
corticibusque cauis uitiosaeque ilicis aluo.
quid memorandum aeque Baccheia dona tulerunt?
Bacchus et ad culpam causas dedit; ille furentis

and likewise the light alder floats on the torrent’s wave,
sent down the Po, and likewise the bees store up their swarms
in hollow barks and in the belly of the decayed holm-oak.
what equally memorable things have the Bacchic gifts brought?
Bacchus too has given causes for fault; he the raging

455

Centauros leto domuit, Rhoecumque Pholumque
et magno Hylaeum Lapithis cratere minantem.
O fortunatos nimium, sua si bona norint,
agricolas! quibus ipsa procul discordibus armis
fundit humo facilem uictum iustissima tellus.

He subdued the Centaurs by death, both Rhoecus and Pholus,
and Hylaeus, threatening the Lapiths with a great mixing-bowl (crater).
O too fortunate, if they should know their own goods,
farmers! for whom the most just earth herself, far from discordant arms,
pours from the soil an easy sustenance.

460

si non ingentem foribus domus alta superbis
mane salutantum totis uomit aedibus undam,
nec uarios inhiant pulchra testudine postis
inlusasque auro uestis Ephyreiaque aera,
alba neque Assyrio fucatur lana ueneno,

if the lofty house with proud doors does not in the morning vomit from its thresholds a huge wave of callers through all its halls,
nor do the doorposts, fair with tortoise-shell, gape at variegated hangings and garments tricked with gold and Ephyraean bronzes,
nor is the white wool dyed with Assyrian poison,

465

nec casia liquidi corrumpitur usus oliui;
at secura quies et nescia fallere uita,
diues opum uariarum, at latis otia fundis,
speluncae uiuique lacus, at frigida tempe
mugitusque boum mollesque sub arbore somni

nor is the use of liquid olive-oil corrupted by cassia;
but carefree repose and a life unknowing to deceive,
rich in various resources, and leisure on broad farms,
caves and living lakes, and cool tempe
and the bellowings of oxen and soft sleeps beneath a tree

470

non absunt; illic saltus ac lustra ferarum
et patiens operum exiguoque adsueta iuuentus,
sacra deum sanctique patres; extrema per illos
Iustitia excedens terris uestigia fecit.
Me uero primum dulces ante omnia Musae,

are not lacking; there are forest pastures and lairs of wild beasts,
and a youth enduring of labors and accustomed to scantness,
the sacred rites of the gods and holy fathers; through them
Justice, departing from the lands, made her last footprints.
But as for me, first before all things the sweet muses,

475

quarum sacra fero ingenti percussus amore,
accipiant caelique uias et sidera monstrent,
defectus solis uarios lunaeque labores;
unde tremor terris, qua ui maria alta tumescant
obicibus ruptis rursusque in se ipsa residant,

whose sacred rites I bear, struck by a vast love,
may they receive me and show the ways of heaven and the stars,
the various eclipses of the sun and the labors of the moon;
whence the tremor on the earth, by what force the deep seas swell
with barriers broken and then settle back into themselves,

480

quid tantum Oceano properent se tingere soles
hiberni, uel quae tardis mora noctibus obstet.
sin has ne possim naturae accedere partis
frigidus obstiterit circum praecordia sanguis,
rura mihi et rigui placeant in uallibus amnes,

why the winter suns hasten so greatly to dip themselves in Ocean,
or what delay stands in the way to the lingering nights.
but if, so that I cannot approach these parts of nature,
cold blood has stood in the way around my heart,
may the countryside and the irrigating rivers in the valleys please me,

485

flumina amem siluasque inglorius. o ubi campi
Spercheosque et uirginibus bacchata Lacaenis
Taygeta! o qui me gelidis conuallibus Haemi
sistat, et ingenti ramorum protegat umbra!
felix qui potuit rerum cognoscere causas

may I love rivers and woods inglorious. o where the plains,
Spercheus and Taygetus, Bacchic with Laconian maidens!
o who would set me in the icy valleys of Haemus,
and protect me with the huge shade of branches!
happy is he who has been able to know the causes of things

490

atque metus omnis et inexorabile fatum
subiecit pedibus strepitumque Acherontis auari:
fortunatus et ille deos qui nouit agrestis
Panaque Siluanumque senem Nymphasque sorores.
illum non populi fasces, non purpura regum

and has subjected beneath his feet all fear and the inexorable fate,
and the din of greedy Acheron:
fortunate too is he who has known the rustic gods,
Pan and old Silvanus and the Nymphs, sisters.
him neither the fasces of the people, nor the purple of kings

495

flexit et infidos agitans discordia fratres,
aut coniurato descendens Dacus ab Histro,
non res Romanae perituraque regna; neque ille
aut doluit miserans inopem aut inuidit habenti.
quos rami fructus, quos ipsa uolentia rura

nor did Discord, driving treacherous brothers, bend him,
or the Dacian, descending from the Danube leagued by oath;
not the Roman commonwealth and realms destined to perish; nor did he
either grieve, pitying the needy, or envy the one who has.
what fruits the branches, what the very willing fields

500

sponte tulere sua, carpsit, nec ferrea iura
insanumque forum aut populi tabularia uidit.
sollicitant alii remis freta caeca, ruuntque
in ferrum, penetrant aulas et limina regum;
hic petit excidiis urbem miserosque penatis,

of their own accord they bore their fruits; he plucked them, nor has he seen iron laws and the insane forum or the archives of the people. others with oars trouble the blind straits, and rush upon steel, and penetrate the halls and thresholds of kings; this man aims at a city for destruction and its wretched household gods,

505

ut gemma bibat et Sarrano dormiat ostro;
condit opes alius defossoque incubat auro;
hic stupet attonitus rostris, hunc plausus hiantem
per cuneos geminatus enim plebisque patrumque
corripuit; gaudent perfusi sanguine fratrum,

that he may drink from a gem and sleep on Tyrian purple;
another hoards wealth and broods over buried gold;
this one stands stupefied at the rostra, that one, gaping,
through the wedges the applause, doubled indeed and of both plebs and fathers,
has snatched him up; they rejoice, drenched with their brothers’ blood,

510

exsilioque domos et dulcia limina mutant
atque alio patriam quaerunt sub sole iacentem.
agricola incuruo terram dimouit aratro:
hic anni labor, hinc patriam paruosque nepotes
sustinet, hinc armenta boum meritosque iuuencos.

and by exile they change their homes and sweet thresholds,
and they seek a fatherland lying beneath another sun.
the farmer has moved the earth with his incurved plow:
this is the labor of the year; from this he sustains his fatherland and his little grandsons,
from this the herds of oxen and the deserving young bulls.

515

nec requies, quin aut pomis exuberet annus
aut fetu pecorum aut Cerealis mergite culmi,
prouentuque oneret sulcos atque horrea uincat.
uenit hiems: teritur Sicyonia baca trapetis,
glande sues laeti redeunt, dant arbuta siluae;

nor is there rest, but either the year overbrims with fruits
or with the offspring of flocks, or with the Cereal steeping of the stalk,
and with its produce it loads the furrows and outdoes the granaries.
winter comes: the Sicyonian berry is ground in the presses,
on acorns the swine return glad, the woods give arbutus-berries;

520

et uarios ponit fetus autumnus, et alte
mitis in apricis coquitur uindemia saxis.
interea dulces pendent circum oscula nati,
casta pudicitiam seruat domus, ubera uaccae
lactea demittunt, pinguesque in gramine laeto

and autumn sets forth various produce, and aloft
the mellow vintage is cooked on sunlit rocks.
meanwhile sweet sons hang about the kisses,
the chaste house keeps pudicity, the udders of the cow
let down milky flow, and the fat ones in the glad grass

525

inter se aduersis luctantur cornibus haedi.
ipse dies agitat festos fususque per herbam,
ignis ubi in medio et socii cratera coronant,
te libans, Lenaee, uocat pecorisque magistris
uelocis iaculi certamina ponit in ulmo,

the kids wrestle among themselves with opposed horns.
he himself keeps the feast-days, stretched upon the grass,
where a fire is in the midst and the comrades crown the crater,
sipping to you, Lenaeus, he calls, and for the masters of the flock
he sets contests of the swift javelin upon the elm,

530

corporaque agresti nudant praedura palaestra.
hanc olim ueteres uitam coluere Sabini,
hanc Remus et frater; sic fortis Etruria creuit
scilicet et rerum facta est pulcherrima Roma,
septemque una sibi muro circumdedit arces.

and they bare their bodies, very tough, in the rustic palestra.
this life the old Sabines once cultivated,
this Remus and his brother; thus valiant Etruria grew,
indeed, and Rome, fairest of things, came to be,
and with one wall she girded herself around with seven citadels.

535

ante etiam sceptrum Dictaei regis et ante
impia quam caesis gens est epulata iuuencis,
aureus hanc uitam in terris Saturnus agebat;
necdum etiam audierant inflari classica, necdum
impositos duris crepitare incudibus ensis.

Before even the scepter of the Dictaean king, and before
the impious race feasted upon slaughtered young bullocks,
golden Saturn was living this life on the earth;
nor yet had they even heard the war-trumpets blown, nor yet
the swords set upon hard anvils to rattle.

540

Sed nos immensum spatiis confecimus aequor,
et iam tempus equum fumantia soluere colla.

But we have completed a boundless plain in our courses,
and now it is time to loosen the horse’s steaming necks.