When human bodies feel the grateful change,
And lefs a burden to themfelves they range,
When the tall foreft fheds her foliage round,
And with autumnal verdure ftrews the ground,
The bole is incorrupt, the timber good;
Then whet the founding ax to fell the wood.
Provide a mortar three feet deep, and strong;
And let the pefel be three cubits long.

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One foot in length next let the mallet be, Ten fpans the wain, feven feet her axletree; Of wood four crooked bits the wheel compofe, And give the length three (pans to each of those. From hill or field the hardeft halm prepare, To cut the part in which you place the fare; Thence your advantage will be largely found, With that your oxen may long tear the ground: And next, the filtul Lufbardman to fhow, Faft pin the handle to the beam below: Let the draught-b am of fiu dy ook be made, And for the handle rch the laurel fhade; Or, if the laurel you refufe to fei',

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[age

Yoke from the herd two furdy nales, whole Mature fecures them from each other's rage; 81 For if too young they will unruly grow, Unfinish'd leave the work, and break the plough : Thele, and your labour fhall the better thrive, Let a good ploughman, year'd to forty, drive; And fee the careful husbandman be fed With plenteous morics, and of wholefome i rad The flave, who numbers fewer days, you'll flo Careless of work, and of a rambling mind; Perhaps, neglectful to direct the plough,

He in one furrow twice the fed will tow.

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ICO

Obferve the crane's departing flight in time, Who yearly fears to feek a fenthern clime, Confcicus of cold; when the frill voice you hear, Know the fit feafon for the plough is near; Then he, for whem ro cxen graze the plains, With aching heart, beholds the winter rains; Be mindful then the furdy ox to feed, And careful keep within the uleful breed. You fay, perh. ps, you will entreat a friend, A yoke of oxen, and a plough to lend: He your requeft, if wi e, wild thus refife, I have but two, and those I want to uk; To make a plough great is th' expence and care; All thefe you fould, in proper time, prepare. Reproofs like thefe avoid; and to choll Your fields bright waving with their cars of gold, Let unimprov d no hour, in fealon, fy, But with your fervants plough, er wet, or dry; And in the fpring again to turn the foil Obferve; the fummer shall reward your toil, While light and fresh the glebe infert the grain; Then fhail your children finile, nor you complain.

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121

Prefer with zeal, when you begin to plough, To Jove terrene, and Ceres chatte, the vow: Then will the rural deities regard Your welfare, and your piety reward. Forget not, when you fow the grain, to mind That a boy follows with a rake behind; And ftrictly charge him, as you drive, with care, The feed to cover, and the birds to fcare. Through ev'ry tafk, with diligence, employ Your frength; and in that duty be your joy; And, to avoid of life the greatest ill, Never may floth prevail upon thy will: (Blefs'd who with order their affairs difpofe! But rude confufion is the fource of woes!) Then fhall you fee, Olympian Jove your friend, With pond'rous grain the yellow harvest bend; Then of Arachne's web the vessels clear, To hoard the produce of the fertile year. Think then, O think! how pleasant will it be, At home an annual fupport to fee,

130

To view with friendly eyes your neighbour's flore,
And to be able to relieve the poor.

Learn now what feafons for the plough to shun: Beneath the tropic of the winter's fun

Be well obfervant not to turn the ground,
For fmall advantage will from thence be found:
How will you figh when thin your crop appears,
And the fhort ftalks fupport the dufly ears! 141
Your feanty harvest then, in baskets prefs'd,
Will, by your folly, be your neighbour's jest;
Sometimes, indeed, it otherwife may be ;
But who th' effect of a bad caufe can fee?
If late you to the ploughman's task accede,
The fymptoms thefe the later plough muft speed.,
When first the cuckoo from the oak you hear,
In welcome founds, foretel the spring-time near,
If Jove, the ploughman's friend, upon the plains,
Three days and nights, defcends in conftant
rains,

151

Till on the furface of the glebe the tide
Rile to that height the ox's hoof may hide,
Then may you hope your flore of golden grain
Shall equal his who earlier turn'd the plain.
Obferve, with care, the precepts I impart,
And may they never wander from thy heart;
Then fhall you know the fhow'rs what feafons
bring,

And what the bus'nefs of the painted spring.

In that bleak and dead feafon of the year, 16 When naked all the woods and fields appear, When mature lazy for a while remains, And the blood almoft freezes in the veins, Avoid the public forge where wretches fly Th' inclement tigeur of the winter sky: Thither behold the flothful vermin stray, And there in idle talk confume the day; Half-ftarv'd they fit, in evil confult join'd, And, indolent, with hepe buoy up their mind; Hope that is never to the hungry kind! Labour in feafon to increafe thy ftore, And never let the winter find thee poor: Thy fervants all employ till fummer's past, For tell them fummer will not always laft.

170

The month all hurtful to the lab`ring kine, In part devoted to the god of wine,

Demands your utmost care; when raging forth,
O'er the wide feas, the tyrant of the north,
Bellowing through Thrace, tears up the lofty woods,
Hardens the earth, and binds the rapid floods. 180
The mountain oak, high tow'ring to the skies,
Torn from his root acrefs the valley lies;
Wide fpreading ruin threatens all the fhore,
Loud groans the earth, and all the forefts roar :
And now the beaft amaz`d, from him that reigns
Lord of the woods to thofe which graze the plains,
Shiv'ring the piercing blaft. affrighted, flies
And guards his tender tail betwixt his thighs.
Now nought avails the roughness of the bear,
The ox's hide, nor the goat's length of hair, 190
kich in their fleece, alone the well cloth'd fold,
Dread not the bluft'ring wind, nor fear the cold.
The man, who could erect fupport his age,
Now bends reluctant to the north-wind's rage:
From accidents like thefe the tender maid,
Free and fecure, of storms nor winds afraid,
Lives, nurtur'd chafte beneath her mother's eye,
Ceturt, unfully'd, by the winter's sky;
Or now to bathe her lovely limbs the goes,
Now round the fair the fragrant ointment flows;
Beneath the virtuous roof the fpends the nights,
Stranger to golden Venus, and her rites.
Now does the boneless polypus, in rage,
Feed on his feet, his hunger to affwage;
The fun no more, bright shining in the day,
Direct-him in the flood to find his
prey;
Or farthy nations while he fiercely gleams,
Greece feels the pow'r but of his fainter beams.
Nwall things have a diff'rent face below;
The beafts now shiver at the falling fnow;
Through woods, and through the flady vale, they

run

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210

To various haunts, the pinching cold to fhun;
Some to the thicket of the foreit flock
And fome, for fhelter, feck the hollow rock.
A winter garment now demands your care,
To guard the body from th' inclement air;
Soft be the inward veft, he ontward frong,
And large to wrap you warm, down reaching
lorg:

Thin lay your warp, when you the loom prepare,
And clofe to weave the woof no labour fpare. 220
The rigour of the day a man defies,

Thus cloth'd. nor fees his hairs like briftles rife.
Nest for your feet the well hair'd fhoes provide,
Hairy within, of a found ox's hide.

A kid's foft fkin over your shoulders throw,
Car urt to keep you from the rain or fnow;
And for your head a well made cov'ring get,
To keep your ears fafe from the cold and wet.

When o'er the plains the north exerts his sway,
From hi- sharp blasts piercing begins the day; 23C
Then from the sky the morning dews defcend,
Ard fruitful o'er the happy lands extend.
The waters by the winds convey'd on high,
From living ftreams in early dew-drops lie
Bright on the grass; but if the north-wind fwells
With rage, and thick and fable clouds compells,
They fall in ev'ning. ftorms upon the plain :
And now from ev'ry part the lab'ring fwain
Forefces the danger of the coming rain;

Leaving his work, panting behold him fcour 240
Homeward, inceffant to outrun the shower.
This month commands your care of all the year,
Alike to man and beast the most fovere:
The ox's provender be ftinted now;
But plenteous meals the hufbandman allow;
For the long nights but tedious pals away.
Thefe rules obferve while night fucceeds the day,
Long as our common parent earth shall bring
Her various offspring forth to grace the spring.

When from the tropic of the winter's fun, 250 Thrice twenty days and nights their courfe have

run,

And when Arcturus leaves the main to rife
A ftar, bright fhining in the ev'ning skies,
Then prune the vine; 'tis dang'rous to delay
Till with complaints the fwallow breaks the day.
When with their domes the flow-pac'd fnails

retreat,

Beneath fome foliage, from the burning heat Of the Pleiades, your tools prepare;

202

The ripen'd harvest then demands your care
Now fly the jocund fhades, your morning fleep,
And conftant to their work your fervants keep;
All other pleasures to your duty yield;
The harvest calls, hafte early to the field,
The morning workman always best fucceeds;
The morn the reaper, and the travler speeds:
But when the thittle wide begins to fpread,
And rears in triumph his offenfive head,
When in the fhady boughs, with quiv'ring wings,
The grafhopper all day continual fings,
The feaf n when the dog relumes his reign, 270
Weakens the nerves of man and burns the brain,
Then the fat fefh of goats is wholesome food,
And to the heart the gen'rous wine is god;
Then nature through the fofter sex does move,
And fimulates the fair to acts of love:
Then in the fhade avoid the mid-day fun,
Where zephyrs breathe, and living fountains run;
There pals the fultry hours with friends away,
And frolic out in harmlefs mirth the day;
With country cates your home'y table spread, 280
The goat's new milk, and cakes of milk your
bread;
[meat;
The flesh of beeves, which hroufe the trees, your
Nor fpare the tender fl: fh of kids to eat ;
With Byblian wine the rural reaft be crown'd;
Three parts of water, let the bowl go round.

Forget not, when Orion fir appears,

290

To make your fervants thresh the facred ears;
Upon the level floor the harvest lay,
Where a fi ft gale may blow the chaff away;
I hen, of your labour to compute the gain,
Before you fill the veffels mete the grain.
Sweep up the chaff, to make your work complete,
The chaff and firaw the ox and mule will eat.
When in the year's provifion you have laid,
Take home a fingle man and fervant maid;
Among your workmen let this care be fhown
To one who has no mansion of his own.
Be fure a fharp tooth'd cur well fed to keep,
Your houfe's guard, while you in faferv fleep.
The harveft paf'd, and thus by Ceres biefs'd, 300
Unyoke the beaft, and give your fervants reft.

Orion and the Dog, each other nigh, Together mounted to the midmost sky, When in the rofy morn Arcturus fhines, Then pluck the clufters from the parent vines; Forget not next the ripen'd grapes to lay 'Ten nights in air, nor take them in by day; Five more remember, ere the wine is made, To let them lie to mellow in the fhade; And in the fixth brifkly yourself employ, To cafk the gift of Bacchus, fire of joy. Next, in the round do not to plough forget, When the Seven Virgins and Orion fet: Thus an advantage always fhall appear, In ev'ry labour of the various year.

320

If o'er your mind prevails the love of gain, And tempts you to the dangers of the main, Yet in her harbour fafe the veffel keep, When trong Orion chafes to the deep The Virgin ftars; then the winds war aloud, And veil the ocean with a fable cloud: Then round the bark, already haul'd on fhore, Lay ftones, to fix her when the tempefts roar; But firft forget not well the keel to drain; And draw the pin to fave her from the rain. Furl the fhip's wings, her tackling home convey, And o'er the fmoke the well made rudder lay. With patience wait for a propitious gale, And a calm feafon to unfurl the fail; Then launch the fwift wing'd veffel on the main, With a fit burden to return with gain. So our poor father toil'd his hours away, Careful to live in the unhappy day; He, foolish Perfes, fpent no time in vain, But fled misfortunes through the wat'ry plain, He, from Æolian Cuma, th' ocean pals'd, Here in his fable bark arriv'd at last. Not far from Helicon he fix'd his race, In Afera's village, miferable place! How comfortle is the winter feafon there! And cheerlefs Afera is thy fummer ain

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340

35

O Perfes, may'ft thou ne'er forget thy fire,
But let thy breast his good example fire:
The proper bus'nefs of each feafon mind;
And, O! be cautious when you truth the wind.
If large the veffel, and her lading large,
And if the feas prove faithful to their charge,
Great are your gains; but, by one evil biaft,
Away your hopes are with your venture caft.
If diligent to live from debtors frce,
You rafhly are refolv'd to trade by fea,
To my inftructions an attention pay,
And learn the courfes of the liquid way:
Though nor to build, nor guide a fhip I know,
I'll teach you when the founding main to plough.
Once I have crofs'd the deep, and not before
Nor fince, from Aulis to Eubea's fhore,
From Aulis, where th' affembled Greeks lay bound,
All arm'd for Troy, for beauteous dames re-
nown'd:

At Chalcis, there the youth of noble mind,
For fo their great forefather had enjoin'd,
The games decreed, all facred to the grave
Of king Amphidamas, the wife and brave;
A victor there in fong the pride I bore,
A well ear'd tripod, to my native thore;

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389

When, from the tropic of the fummer's fun, Full fifty days and nights their courfe have run, Fearless of danger, for the voy'ge prepare, Smooth is the ocean, and ferene the air: [view, Then you the bark, fafe with her freight, may And gladfome as the day the joyful crew, Unless great Jove, the king of gods, or he, Neptune, that shakes the earth, and rules the fea, The two immortal pow'rs on whom the end Of mortals, good and bad, alike depend, Should jointly or alone their force employ, And in a lucklefs hour the fhip destroy: If, free from fuch mifchance, the veffel flies O'er a calm fea, beneath indulgent fkies, Let nothing long thee from thy home detain, But measure, quickly measure back the main. Hafte your return before the vintage patt Prevent th' autumnal fhow'rs and fouthern blast, Or you, too late a penitent, will find A ruffl'd ocean, and unfriendly wind. Others there are who choose to hoift the fail, And plough the fea, before a fpring-tide gale, When firft the footfteps of the crow are feen Clearly as on the trees the budding green: But then, may my advice prevail, you'll keep 400 Your vefiel fafe at land, nor truft the deep; Many, furprising weaknefs of the mind, Tempt all the perils of the fea and wind, Face death in all the terrors of the main, Secking, the foul of wretched mortals, gain. Would't thou be fafe, my cautions be thy guide; 'Tis fad to perifh in the boift'rous tide. When for the voy'ge your veffel leaves the fhore, Trust in her hollow fides not half your ftore; The lefs your lois fhould the return no more: 410 With all your flock, how difmal would it be To have the cargo perish in the fea! A load, you know, too ponderous for the wain, Will cruth the axletree, and fpoil the grain. Let ev'ry action prove a mean confeis'd; A moderation is in all the best.

Next to my counfels an attention pay,
To form your judgment for the nuptial day.
When you have number'd thrice ten years in time,
The age mature when manhood dates his prime,
With caution choose the partner of your bed: 421
Whom fifteen fj rings have crown'd, a virgin wed.
Let prudence now direct your choice; a wife
Is or a blefling or a curfe in life;

Her father, mother, know, relations, friends,
For on her education much depends:

If all are good, accept the maiden bride;
Then form her manners, and her actions guide:
A life of blifs fucceeds the happy choice;

Nor fhall your friends lament, nor foes rejoice. 430