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Vergil · Georgics

Georgics 3.384–393

Breeding for white wool

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Georg. 3.384Sī tibi lānitium cūrae, prīmum aspera silva,
385lappaeque tribolīque, absint;
If wool is your care, first let rough brushwood, burrs and caltrops, be absent;
Georg. 3.385fuge pābula laeta;avoid rich pastures; Georg. 3.386Continuōque gregēs villīs lege mollibus albōs.and from the start choose flocks white with soft fleeces. Georg. 3.387Illum autem, quamvīs ariēs sit candidus ipse,
nigra subest ūdō tantum cui lingua palātō,
rēice, nē maculīs īnfuscet vellera pullīs
390nāscentum, plēnōque alium circumspice campō.
But that ram, though he himself is pure white, if only his tongue is black beneath his moist palate, reject, lest he darken the fleeces of the young with dusky spots, and look round for another over the crowded field.
Georg. 3.391Mūnere sīc niveō lānae, sī crēdere dignum est,
Pān deus Arcadiae captam tē, Lūna, fefellit
in nemora alta vocāns;
With such a snowy gift of wool, if it is worth believing, Pan, god of Arcadia, captured and beguiled you, Moon, calling you into the deep woods;
Georg. 3.393nec tū aspernāta vocantem.nor did you spurn his call.

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Grammar in this passage: indirect statement ×1

Latin vocabulary for this passage (61 words)
sī, conj.if
tū, tuī, pers. pron.thou, you
lānitium, -ī n.wool, the growing of wool
cūra, -ae f.care, concern (cūrae esse: to be a concern)
prīmum, adv.first, in the first place
asper, -era, -erumrough, harsh; difficult
silva, -ae, f.wood, forest
lappa, -ae f.a burr, burdock
que, enclitic conj.and
tribulus, -ī m.thistle, prickly weed
absum, abesse, āfuī, āfutūrusbe away, be absent, be distant; be wanting
fugiō, fugere, fūgī, fugitūrusflee, run away
pābulum, -ī, n.food, fodder
laetus, -a, -umglad, joyful
continuō (adv.)at once, immediately
grex, gregis m.flock, herd; band, gang
villus, -ī m.shaggy hair; nap (of cloth)
legō, legere, lēgī, lēctuschoose, pick out; read
mollis, -esoft, weak
albus, -a, -umwhite
ille, illa, illud, dem. pron.that; he, she, it, they; ille ... hīc, see hīc
autem, conj.moreover; but, however; now
quamvīs (adv.)however much, as … as you like
ariēs, -etis, m.ram
sum, esse, fuī, futūrusbe
candidus, -a, -umshining white, bright
ipse, ipsa, ipsum, intensive pron.self, himself, herself, itself, themselves; often to be rendered by very
niger, nigra, nigrumblack
subsum, -essebe near, be close by
ūdus, -a, -umwet, damp, moist
tantum, adv.so much or far, only
quī, quae, quod, rel. pron.who, which
lingua, -ae f.tongue; language
palātum, -ī n.palate; taste
rēiciō, -ere, rēiēcī, rēiectumthrow back, drive back
nē, adv.not; nē ... quidem, not ... even; conj., that not, lest
macula, -ae f.spot, blotch, stain
īnfuscō, -āre, -āvī, -ātusdarken, stain, discolour
vellus, velleris, n.fleece
pullus, -a, -umdark, dusky, (of mourning clothes) dark grey or black
nāscor, -ī, nātus sumbe born; rise, begin
plēnus, -a, -umfull
alius, -a, -udanother, other; aliī ... aliī, some ... others
circumspiciō, -ere, -spexī, -spectuslook around; look around for, consider
campus, -ī, m.plain, field
mūnus, mūneris, n.service, office, duty; present, gift
sīc, adv.so, thus
niveus, -a, -umsnowy, snow-white
lāna, -ae f.wool
crēdō, -dere, -didī, -ditusbelieve
dignus, -a, -um (+ abl.)worthy (of), deserving
deus, -ī, m.god
capiō, capere, cēpī, captustake, catch, seize; receive, suffer; adopt
lūna, -ae f.moon
fallō, fallere, fefellī, falsusdeceive
in, prep. with acc. and abl.with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on
nemus, -oris n.grove, wood
altus, -a, -umhigh, deep; altum, -ī, n., the deep
vocō, -āre, -āvī, -ātuscall, summon
neque or nec, conj.and not, nor; neque ... neque, neither ... nor; neque enim, for ... not
aspernor, -ārī, -ātus sumspurn, reject, scorn
Vergil, Georgics. Latin text: J. B. Greenough, The Bucolics, Aeneid, and Georgics of Virgil (Boston, 1881), public domain; digital text from the Perseus Digital Library, CC BY-SA. Word analysis: drafted by our own tagger (trained on the hand-checked texts on this site), with every doubtful word checked by hand. English translation and section titles: written for this app, each checked against the Latin by a second reader.