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Sed neque Medorum siluae, ditissima terra,
136 nec pulcher Ganges atque auro turbidus Hermus laudibus Italiae certent, (...) ... grauidae fruges et Bacchi Massicus umor impleuere; tenent oleae armentaque laeta. hinc bellator equus campo sese arduus infert, 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. 150 |
But neither Medes' forests, richest lands, 136 nor beautiful Ganges and Hermus turbid by gold can compete with Italy as to virtues, (...) ... it's full of plentiful fruits and Bacchus' humour from Massicus mount; it's covered by rich olive-groves and rich herds. here the fiery horse advances in the field with its head upright; 145 from here, o Clitumnus, the white flocks and the bull, the biggest of the sacrificed, often plunged in your sacred stream, leading the Roman triumphs to the gods' temples. it's always spring here and summer appears in unusual months: sheep lamb twice a year, trees bear fruits twice. 150 |
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Seu quis Olympiacae
miratus praemia palmae pascit equos, seu quis fortis ad aratra iuuencos, 50 corpora praecipue matrum legat. optima toruae forma bouis cui turpe caput, cui plurima ceruix, et crurum tenus a mento palearia pendent; tum longo nullus lateri modus: omnia magna, pes etiam, et camuris hirtae sub cornibus aures. 55 nec mihi displiceat maculis insignis et albo, aut iuga detrectans interdumque aspera cornu et faciem tauro propior, quaeque ardua tota et gradiens ima uerrit uestigia cauda. aetas Lucinam iustosque pati hymenaeos 60 desinit ante decem, post quattuor incipit annos; cetera nec feturae habilis nec fortis aratris. interea, superat gregibus dum laeta iuuentas, solue mares; mitte in Venerem pecuaria primus, atque aliam ex alia generando suffice prolem. 65 optima quaeque dies miseris mortalibus aeui prima fugit; subeunt morbi tristisque senectus et labor, et durae rapit inclementia mortis. semper erunt quarum mutari corpora malis: semper enim refice ac, ne post amissa requiras, 70 ante ueni et subolem armento sortire quotannis. (...) Rursus cura patrum cadere et succedere matrum incipit. exactis grauidae cum mensibus errant, non illas grauibus quisquam iuga ducere plaustris, 140 non saltu superare uiam sit passus et acri carpere prata fuga fluuiosque innare rapacis. saltibus in uacuis pascunt et plena secundum flumina, muscus ubi et uiridissima gramine ripa, speluncaeque tegant et saxea procubet umbra. 145 est lucos Silari circa ilicibusque uirentem plurimus Alburnum uolitans, cui nomen asilo Romanum est, oestrum Grai uertere uocantes, asper, acerba sonans, quo tota exterrita siluis diffugiunt armenta; furit mugitibus aether 150 concussus siluaeque et sicci ripa Tanagri. hoc quondam monstro horribilis exercuit iras Inachiae Iuno pestem meditata iuuencae. hunc quoque (nam mediis feruoribus acrior instat) arcebis grauido pecori, armentaque pasces 155 sole recens orto aut noctem ducentibus astris. Post partum cura in uitulos traducitur omnis; continuoque notas et nomina gentis inurunt, et quos aut pecori malint summittere habendo aut aris seruare sacros aut scindere terram 160 et campum horrentem fractis inuertere glaebis. cetera pascuntur uiridis armenta per herbas: tu quos ad studium atque usum formabis agrestem iam uitulos hortare uiamque insiste domandi, dum faciles animi iuuenum, dum mobilis aetas. 165 ac primum laxos tenui de uimine circlos ceruici subnecte; dehinc, ubi libera colla seruitio adsuerint, ipsis e torquibus aptos iunge pares, et coge gradum conferre iuuencos; atque illis iam saepe rotae ducantur inanes 170 per terram, et summo uestigia puluere signent. post ualido nitens sub pondere faginus axis instrepat, et iunctos temo trahat aereus orbis. interea pubi indomitae non gramina tantum nec uescas salicum frondes uluamque palustrem, 175 sed frumenta manu carpes sata; nec tibi fetae more patrum niuea implebunt mulctraria uaccae, sed tota in dulcis consument ubera natos. (...) Sed non ulla magis uiris industria firmat quam Venerem et caeci stimulos auertere amoris, 210 siue boum siue est cui gratior usus equorum. atque ideo tauros procul atque in sola relegant pascua post montem oppositum et trans flumina lata, aut intus clausos satura ad praesepia seruant. carpit enim uiris paulatim uritque uidendo 215 femina, nec nemorum patitur meminisse nec herbae dulcibus illa quidem inlecebris, et saepe superbos cornibus inter se subigit decernere amantis. pascitur in magna Sila formosa iuuenca: illi alternantes multa ui proelia miscent 220 uulneribus crebris; lauit ater corpora sanguis, uersaque in obnixos urgentur cornua uasto cum gemitu; reboant siluaeque et longus Olympus. nec mos bellantis una stabulare, sed alter uictus abit longeque ignotis exsulat oris, 225 multa gemens ignominiam plagasque superbi uictoris, tum quos amisit inultus amores, et stabula aspectans regnis excessit auitis. ergo omni cura uiris exercet et inter dura iacet pernox instrato saxa cubili 230 frondibus hirsutis et carice pastus acuta, et temptat sese atque irasci in cornua discit arboris obnixus trunco, uentosque lacessit ictibus, et sparsa ad pugnam proludit harena. post ubi collectum robur uiresque refectae, 235 signa mouet praecepsque oblitum fertur in hostem. |
Both those who rear horses aiming the victory of Olympic palm,
and those who breed strong cattle for ploughing, 50 should mainly choose the dams' conformation: the best ones have an ugly head, a very thick neck, and a dewlap hanging down from chin to the knees; let it have flanks without lenght limits: let it be wholly big, even its feet, with hairy ears under crooked horns. 55 Neither I dislike if it's white with broad spots, or if sometimes it rises against the yoke with its sharp horns and looks rather a bull, and proceeds all erect sweeping feet's end with its tail. The age to devote itself to Lucina and to a fair wedding 60 ends before the tenth year, and begins past the fourth; out of these ages it's not fit to calve, nor strong for the plough. In the meantime, until joyful youth stays with the herd, let you set the sires free, and send first the herds to Venus, and renew the progeny, breeding any animal from another. 65 Whatever may be the best day in life of wretched mankind runs away first; then diseases and the sad old age comes and trouble, and the harsh death comes merciless to abduct. There always will be heads you want to change: and always you'll rear more, for not to be left without for having culled 70 them, move in advance and choose the herd's replacement every year. (...) Then the cares for the sires end and those for the dams begin As they wander pregnant, while the months of pregnancy increase, nobody let them pull the yoke of an heavy cart, 140 nor let them jump crossing a way or run away through meadows and plunge to swim in impetuous streams. You'd better send them to graze in free pastures, near swollen rivers, where there's moss and banks verdant of grass, where caves shelter them and rocks throw their shadow 145 Near Silarus and Alburnum woods, green by holm-oaks in thick swarms flutters the horse-fly, to whom the Romans give the name of asilus, translated by the Greek as oestrum, raging, harsh-sounded, from which herds flee, scattering all frightened in the woods; the air is shaken 150 by wild bellows as the woods and the dry bank of Tanager. By this horrible monster Juno expressed her anger against the heifer Io, Inachus' daughter, having planned her ruin. Even this (more nagging in noon heat) you'll keep away from pregnant cows, and you'll pasture the herds 155 at the rising of the sun or when stars bring the night. After calving, all the cares are transferred on calves; and at once they're branded with a mark and breed's name, choosing those to be reared as breeders or those to be sacrificed on altars or destined to plough 160 turning out the fields spiked with broken sods. The rest of the calves are pastured on green grass: and those to be trained to land work and purpose should be urged as they're calves and begin to devote yourself to tame them, until they have the meek and variable nature of youth. 165 First halter them by their neck with a loose loop made with thin wicker; then, when the free neck get accustomed to be slave, you'll tie them in pairs by the same collars, and force them to step together; then you can already let them pull on the ground an unloaded cart, 170 leaving a track on soil's surface. Then, proceeding under a heavy weight, the beech wood axle must squeak, and the bronze shaft pull the wheels together. Meanwhile you'll feed the untamed calves not just grass neither willow foliage and swamp weeds, 175 but reap by hands the wheat you sowed; and the cows which just calved are not filling your pail of snowy milk as they did at our fathers' time, but they'll empty the whole udder for their beloved offsprings. (...) Yet no care recruits strenghts more than swaying them from Venus and from blind love's stings, 210 both for cattle breeders, both for those who prefer horses. Therefore bulls are confined far away in lonely pastures with a mountain put between and over wide rivers, or are shut up inside, in front of full mangers. Indeed the female wastes strenght little by little and excites 215 just seeing her and doesn't let to recall woods and meadows and just with her sweet attractions, often drives her proud lovers to fight one against the other with their horns. On the great Sila a beautiful heifer pastures: the bulls alternating themselves fight with great impetus 220 with frequent strokes; the dark blood sprinkles the bodies, and the horns turned against the rivals are driven with huge noise; the woods and immense Olympus rumble. And it's not custom to keep the rivals in the same stable, but the looser must be sent away and exiled to distant places, 225 mourning loudly the shame and the wounds caused by the proud winner, and then the loves lost without revenge, when watching the stables abandoned the fathers' possessions. Then it uses its strenght with great care and lies between hard rocks passing the whole night on unsheltered couches 230 nibbling thorny leaves and prickly reed, and tries itself and learns to wreak the anger with horns against the steady trunk of a tree, facing winds with its blows, throwing the dust up while it trains to the battle. Then, as it collects the strenghts and recovers energies, 235 dives head-first into battle and hurls itself at the unaware foe. |
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Damoetas Heu heu, quam pingui macer est mihi taurus in ervo! 100 idem amor exitium pecori pecorisque magistro. |
Dameta Ahi ahi, how meagre is my bull even if pastures in rich vetch! 100 love drives to the ruin both livestock, and those who tend livestock. |
page
created: February
2nd 2008 and last updated:
July
1st
2010