§1.148instituit, cum iam glandes atque arbuta sacrae §1.149deficerent silvae et victum Dodona negaret.
established [this], when now the acorns and arbutus-berries of the sacred forest failed, and Dodona denied sustenance.
§1.150Mox et frumentis labor additus, ut mala culmos §1.151esset robigo segnisque horreret in arvis §1.152carduus; intereunt segetes, subit aspera silva, §1.153lappaeque tribolique, interque nitentia culta §1.154infelix lolium et steriles dominantur avenae.
Soon, too, labor was added to the grain, so that destructive blight should eat the stalks and the sluggish thistle should bristle in the fields; the crops perish, a rough wood rises, both burrs and caltrops, and among the shining fields of grain the unhappy darnel and barren wild oats dominate.
§1.155Quod nisi et adsiduis herbam insectabere rastris, §1.156et sonitu terrebis aves, et ruris opaci §1.157falce premes umbras votisque vocaveris imbrem, §1.158heu magnum alterius frustra spectabis acervum, §1.159concussaque famem in silvis solabere quercu.
But unless you pursue the weeds with constant rakes, and terrify the birds with sound, and restrain the shade of the darkened field with your sickle, and invoke the rain with prayers, alas, you will look in vain at another's huge heap of grain, and comfort your hunger in the woods by shaking the oak tree.
§1.160Dicendum et, quae sint duris agrestibus arma, §1.161quis sine nec potuere seri nec surgere messes: §1.162vomis et inflexi primum grave robur aratri §1.163tardaque Eleusinae matris volventia plaustra §1.164tribulaque traheaeque et iniquo pondere rastri; §1.165virgea praeterea Celei vilisque supellex, §1.166arbuteae crates et mystica vannus Iacchi.
We must also tell what the weapons of the hardy rustics are, without which crops could neither be sown nor rise: first, the share and the heavy timber of the curved plow, and the slow-rolling wagons of the Eleusinian mother, threshing-sledges, drags, and rakes of excessive weight; besides, the wicker and cheap furniture of Celeus, arbutus hurdles, and the mystic winnowing-fan of Iacchus.
All of which, mindful, you will provide and lay up long beforehand, if the worthy glory of the divine countryside awaits you.
§1.169Continuo in silvis magna vi flexa domatur §1.170in burim et curvi formam accipit ulmus aratri.
Straightway in the woods, bent with great force, an elm is tamed into the plow-tail and receives the shape of the curved plow.
§1.171Huic a stirpe pedes temo protentus in octo, §1.172binae aures, duplici aptantur dentalia dorso §1.173caeditur et tilia ante iugo levis altaque fagus, §1.174stivaque, quae currus a tergo torqueat imos, §1.175et suspensa focis explorat robora fumus.
To this, a pole extended eight feet from the base, two mold-boards, and share-beams with a double back are fitted; and a light linden is cut beforehand for the yoke, and a tall beech, and the handle to turn the bottom of the carriage from behind, and smoke seasons the wood hung over hearths.
§1.176Possum multa tibi veterum praecepta referre, §1.177ni refugis tenuisque piget cognoscere curas.
I can relate to you many precepts of the ancients, unless you shrink back and feel loath to learn such small cares.
§1.178Area cum primis ingenti aequanda cylindro §1.179et vertenda manu et creta solidanda tenaci, §1.180ne subeant herbae neu pulvere victa fatiscat, §1.181tum variae inludant pestes: saepe exiguus mus §1.182sub terris posuitque domos atque horrea fecit, §1.183aut oculis capti fodere cubilia talpae, §1.184inventusque cavis bufo et quae plurima terrae §1.185monstra ferunt, populatque ingentem farris acervum §1.186curculio atque inopi metuens formica senectae.
First of all, the threshing floor must be leveled with a huge roller, and turned by hand, and consolidated with clinging clay, lest weeds grow up or, conquered by dust, it crack open, and then various pests mock you: often the tiny mouse has set up home and made granaries under the earth, or blind moles have dug their beds, and the toad is found in hollows, and all the many pests that the earth produces; and the weevil ravages a huge pile of spelt, and the ant, fearing an old age of want.
§1.187Contemplator item, cum se nux plurima silvis §1.188induet in florem et ramos curvabit olentis.
Observe also when the almond tree in the woods clothes itself abundantly in blossom and bends its fragrant branches.
§1.189Si superant fetus, pariter frumenta sequentur §1.190magnaque cum magno veniet tritura calore; §1.191at si luxuria foliorum exuberat umbra, §1.192nequiquam pinguis palea teret area culmos.
If the fruit prevails, a corresponding grain harvest will follow and a great threshing will come with great heat; but if the shade of leaves runs riot with luxuriance, in vain will the threshing floor bruise stalks rich only in chaff.
§1.193Semina vidi equidem multos medicare serentis §1.194et nitro prius et nigra perfundere amurca, §1.195grandior ut fetus siliquis fallacibus esset, §1.196et, quamvis igni exiguo, properata maderent.
Indeed, I have seen many sowers treat seeds, steeping them first in nitre and black olive dregs, so that the yield might be larger in the deceptive pods, and that they might quickly soften even with a small fire.
§1.197Vidi lecta diu et multo spectata labore §1.198degenerare tamen, ni vis humana quot annis §1.199maxima quaeque manu legeret.
I have seen seeds, though selected for a long time and tested with much labor, degenerate nonetheless, unless human industry year by year hand-picked all the largest ones.
Sic omnia fatis §1.200in peius ruere ac retro sublapsa referri, §1.201non aliter, quam qui adverso vix flumine lembum §1.202remigiis subigit, si bracchia forte remisit, §1.203atque illum in praeceps prono rapit alveus amni.
Thus all things by fate rush to the worse and, slipping backward, are carried back; not otherwise than one who with difficulty forces his boat upstream with oars, if by chance he slackens his arms, and the channel sweeps it headlong down the rushing river.
§1.204Praeterea tam sunt Arcturi sidera nobis §1.205Haedorumque dies servandi et lucidus Anguis, §1.206quam quibus in patriam ventosa per aequora vectis §1.207pontus et ostriferi fauces temptantur Abydi.
Furthermore, the stars of Arcturus and the days of the Kids must be observed by us, and the bright Serpent, just as much as by those who, carried toward their homeland across windy seas, brave the deep and the straits of oyster-bearing Abydos.
§1.208Libra die somnique pares ubi fecerit horas §1.209et medium luci atque umbris iam dividit orbem, §1.210exercete, viri, tauros, serite hordea campis §1.211usque sub extremum brumae intractabilis imbrem; §1.212nec non et lini segetem et Cereale papaver §1.213tempus humo tegere et iamdudum incumbere aratris, §1.214dum sicca tellure licet, dum nubila pendent.
When Libra has made the hours of day and sleep equal, and now divides the world midway between light and shade, work your bulls, men, sow barley in the fields, right up to the last rain of unmanageable winter; and also it is time to cover the crop of flax and the poppy of Ceres in the soil, and long since to lean over your plows, while the dry earth allows, while clouds hang.
§1.215Vere fabis satio; tum te quoque, Medica, putres §1.216accipiunt sulci et milio venit annua cura, §1.217candidus auratis aperit cum cornibus annum §1.218Taurus et averso cedens Canis occidit astro.
In spring is the sowing for beans; then, lucerne, the crumbling furrows receive you too, and the annual care comes for millet, when the bright Taurus with golden horns opens the year, and the Dog star, yielding to the backward-turning constellation, sets.