Georg. 3.295Incipiēns stabulīs ēdīcō in mollibus herbam
carpere ovīs, dum mox frondōsa redūcitur aestās,
et multā dūram stipulā filicumque maniplīs
sternere subter humum, glaciēs nē frīgida laedat
molle pecus scabiemque ferat turpīsque podagrās.To begin, I decree that the sheep crop grass in soft pens, until leafy summer soon returns, and that the hard ground beneath them be strewn with plenty of straw and bundles of fern, so that the icy frost may not harm the tender flock and bring on scab and ugly foot-rot. Georg. 3.300Post hinc dīgressus iubeō frondentia caprīs
arbuta sufficere et fluviōs praebēre recentīs
et stabula ā ventīs hībernō oppōnere sōlī
ad medium conversa diem, cum frīgidus ōlim
iam cadit extrēmōque inrōrat Aquārius annō.Next, moving on from here, I bid you supply the goats with leafy arbutus and offer them fresh streams, and set their pens away from the winds, facing the winter sun, turned to the south, at the time when cold Aquarius is now setting and sprinkles the end of the year with rain. Georg. 3.305Haec quoque nōn cūrā nōbīs leviōre tuendae,
nec minor ūsus erit, quamvīs Mīlēsia magnō
vellera mūtentur Tyriōs incocta rubōrēs:
dēnsior hinc subolēs, hinc largī cōpia lactis;These too must be tended by us with no lighter care, nor will their usefulness be less, though Milesian fleeces dyed with Tyrian crimson fetch a high price: from them come more numerous offspring, from them plenty of milk; Georg. 3.309quam magis exhaustō spūmāverit ūbere mulctra,
310laeta magis pressīs mānābunt flūmina mammīs.the more the pail foams with the udder drained, the more richly will the streams flow when the teats are pressed.
Georg. 3.311Nec minus intereā barbās incānaque menta
Cīnyphiī tondent hircī saetāsque comantīs
ūsum in castrōrum et miserīs vēlāmina nautīs.No less, meanwhile, they shear the beards and grey chins of the Cinyphian he-goat and his long bristles for the use of camps and as coverings for wretched sailors. Georg. 3.314Pāscuntur vērō silvās et summa Lycaeī
315horrentīsque rubōs et amantīs ardua dūmōs:
atque ipsae memorēs redeunt in tēcta suōsque
dūcunt et gravidō superant vix ūbere līmen.They feed on the woods and the heights of Lycaeus, on prickly brambles and thickets that love high places: and of their own accord, mindful, they return home and lead their young, and can scarcely clear the threshold with their heavy udders. Georg. 3.318Ergō omnī studiō glaciem ventōsque nivālīs
quō minor est illīs cūrae mortālis egestās,
320āvertēs vīctumque ferēs et virgea laetus
pābula, nec tōtā claudēs faenīlia brūmā.So, the less they need mortal care, the more zealously you will keep off ice and snowy winds, and gladly bring them food and leafy fodder, nor will you shut your hay-lofts all winter long. Georg. 3.322At vērō Zephyrīs cum laeta vocantibus aestās
in saltūs utrumque gregem atque in pāscua mittet,
Lūciferī prīmō cum sīdere frīgida rūra
325carpāmus, dum māne novum, dum grāmina canent,
et rōs in tenerā pecorī grātissimus herbā.But when glad summer, at the summons of the west winds, sends both flocks into the glades and pastures, let us range the cool fields at the first rising of the Morning Star, while the morning is new, while the grass is white, and the dew on the tender blade is most welcome to the flock.
Georg. 3.327Inde ubi quarta sitim caelī collēgerit hōra
et cantū querulae rumpent arbusta cicādae,
ad puteōs aut alta gregēs ad stagna iubēbō
330currentem īlignīs pōtāre canālibus undam;Then, when the fourth hour of the day has gathered thirst and the plaintive cicadas burst the orchards with their song, I will bid the flocks drink at wells or deep ponds the water running in channels of holm-oak; Georg. 3.331aestibus at mediīs umbrōsam exquīrere vallem,
sīcubi magna Iovis antīquō rōbore quercus
ingentīs tendat rāmōs, aut sīcubi nigrum
īlicibus crēbrīs sacrā nemus accubet umbrā;but in the midday heat let them seek out a shady valley, wherever some great oak of Jupiter with ancient trunk stretches its huge branches, or wherever a grove dark with many holm-oaks lies in its sacred shade; Georg. 3.335tum tenuīs dare rūrsus aquās et pāscere rūrsus
sōlis ad occāsum, cum frīgidus āera vesper
temperat et saltūs reficit iam rōscida lūna
lītoraque alcyonem resonant, acalanthida dūmī.then give them clear water again and pasture them again at sunset, when cool evening tempers the air, and the dewy moon now refreshes the glades, and the shores echo with the kingfisher, the thickets with the goldfinch.