Georgics

Virgil

Vergil. The Poems of Vergil. Rhoades, James, translator. London: Oxford University Press, 1921.

  1. These points regarded, as the time draws nigh,
  2. With instant zeal they lavish all their care
  3. To plump with solid fat the chosen chief
  4. And designated husband of the herd:
  5. And flowery herbs they cut, and serve him well
  6. With corn and running water, that his strength
  7. Not fail him for that labour of delight,
  8. Nor puny colts betray the feeble sire.
  9. The herd itself of purpose they reduce
  10. To leanness, and when love's sweet longing first
  11. Provokes them, they forbid the leafy food,
  12. And pen them from the springs, and oft beside
  13. With running shake, and tire them in the sun,
  14. What time the threshing-floor groans heavily
  15. With pounding of the corn-ears, and light chaff
  16. Is whirled on high to catch the rising west.
  17. This do they that the soil's prolific powers
  18. May not be dulled by surfeiting, nor choke
  19. The sluggish furrows, but eagerly absorb
  20. Their fill of love, and deeply entertain.