Virgil

“ And Birds with clamours frighted from the Field;
Unless the Boughs are lopp'd that shade the Plain, 235
And Heav'n invok'd with Vows for fruitful Rain,
On other Crops you may with envy look,
And shake for Food the long abandon'd Oak.
Nor must we pass untold what Arms they wield,
Who labour Tillage and the furrow'd Field: 240
Without whose aid the Ground her Corn denys,
And nothing can be sown, and nothing rise. ”

“ While yet the Spring is young, while Earth unbinds
Her frozen Bosom to the Western Winds;65
While Mountain Snows dissolve against the Sun,
And Streams, yet new, from Precipices run.
Ev'n in this early Dawning of the Year,
Produce the Plough, and yoke the sturdy Steer,
And goad him till he groans beneath his Toil,70
Till the bright Share is bury'd in the Soil.
That Crop rewards the greedy Peasant's Pains,
Which twice the Sun, and twice the Cold sustains,
And bursts the crowded Barns, with more than promis'd Gains. ”

“ Lest crack'd with Summer Heats the flooring flies,
Or sinks, and thro' the Crannies Weeds arise.
For sundry Foes the Rural Realm surround:
The Field Mouse builds her Garner under ground,265
For gather'd Grain the blind laborious Mole,
In winding Mazes works her hidden Hole. ”

“ She sings to drive the tedious hours away.
But in warm Weather, when the Skies are clear,
By Daylight reap the Product of the Year:
And in the Sun your golden Grain display,
And thrash it out, and winnow it by Day. 400
Plough naked, Swain, and naked sow the Land,
For lazy Winter nums the lab'ring Hand.
In Genial Winter, Swains enjoy their Store,
Forget their Hardships, and recruit for more.
The Farmer to full Bowls invites his Friends,405
And what he got with Pains, with Pleasure spends.
So Saylors, when escap'd from stormy Seas,
First crown their Vessels, then indulge their Ease. ”

“ Before you trust in Earth your future Hope;
Or else expect a listless lazy Crop.
Some Swains have sown before, but most have found
A husky Harvest, from the grudging Ground. 315
Vile Vetches wou'd you sow, or Lentils lean,
The Growth of Egypt, or the Kidney-bean?
Begin when the slow Waggoner descends,
Nor cease your sowing till Mid-winter ends:
For this, thro' twelve bright Signs Apollo guides 320
The Year, and Earth in sev'ral Climes divides.
Five Girdles bind the Skies, the torrid Zone
Glows with the passing and repassing Sun. ”

“ Thro' Helle's stormy Streights, and Oyster-breeding Sea.
But when Astrea's Ballance, hung on high,
Betwixt the Nights and Days divides the Sky,
Then Yoke your Oxen, sow your Winter Grain; 300
Till cold December comes with driving Rain.
Lineseed and fruitful Poppy bury warm,
In a dry Season, and prevent the Storm.
Sow Beans and Clover in a rotten Soyl,
And Millet rising from your Annual Toyl; 305
When with his Golden Horns, in full Cariere,
The Bull beats down the Barriers of the Year ”

“ And Rocks the bellowing Voice of boiling Seas rebound.
The Father of the Gods his Glory shrowds,
Involv'd in Tempests, and a Night of Clouds.
And from the middle Darkness flashing out,
By fits he deals his fiery Bolts about.
Earth feels the Motions of her angry God,
Her Entrails tremble, and her Mountains nod;
And flying Beasts in Forests seek abode: 450
Deep horrour seizes ev'ry Humane Breast,
Their Pride is humbled, and their Fear confess'd:
While he from high his rowling Thunder throws,
And fires the Mountains with repeated blows:
The Rocks are from their old Foundations rent ”

“ Shou'd suck the Moisture from the thirsty Land.105
Both these unhappy Soils the Swain forbears,
And keeps a Sabbath of alternate Years:
That the spent Earth may gather heart again;
And, better'd by Cessation, bear the Grain.
At least where Vetches, Pulse, and Tares have stood,
And Stalks of Lupines grew (a stubborn Wood:) 111
Th' ensuing Season, in return, may bear
The bearded product of the Golden Year.
For Flax and Oats will burn the tender Field,
And sleepy Poppies harmful Harvests yield.115
But sweet Vicissitudes of Rest and Toyl
Make easy Labour, and renew the Soil. ”

“ Nor yet the Ploughman, nor the lab'ring Steer,
Sustain alone the hazards of the Year:
But glutton Geese, and the Strymonian Crane,
With foreign Troops, invade the tender Grain:180
And tow'ring Weeds malignant Shadows yield;
And spreading Succ'ry choaks the rising Field.
The Sire of Gods and Men, with hard Decrees,
Forbids our Plenty to be bought with Ease:
And wills that Mortal Men, inur'd to toil,185
Shou'd exercise, with pains, the grudging Soil. ”

“ He shews the different kinds of Tillage proper to different Soils, traces out the Original of Agriculture, gives a Catalogue of the Husbandman's Tools, specifies the Employments peculiar to each Season, describes the changes of the Weather, with the Signs in Heaven and Earth that fore-bode them. Instances many of the Prodigies that happen'd near the time of Julius Caesar's Death. And shuts up all with a Supplication to the Gods for the Safety of Augustus, and the Preservation of Rome.
HAT makes a plenteous Harvest, when to turn
The fruitful Soil, and when to sowe the Corn ”

“ Let ev'ry Swain adore her Pow'r Divine,
And Milk and Honey mix with sparkling Wine:
Illustration of Georgic 1, line 475, "Invoke her to bless their yearly Stores"
Let all the Choir of Clowns attend the Show,
In long Procession, shouting as they go ”