Georg. 3.478Hīc quondam morbō caelī miseranda coorta est
tempestās tōtōque autumnī incanduit aestū
480et genus omne necī pecudum dedit, omne ferārum,
corrūpitque lacūs, īnfēcit pābula tābō.Here once, from a sickness of the air, a pitiable season arose, and blazed with all the heat of autumn, and gave every race of cattle and every race of wild beasts to death, and polluted the lakes and tainted the pastures with corruption. Georg. 3.482Nec via mortis erat simplex, sed ubi ignea vēnīs
omnibus ācta sitis miserōs addūxerat artūs,
rūrsus abundābat fluidus līquor omniaque in sē
485ossa minūtātim morbō collapsa trahēbat.Nor was the way of death simple, but when fiery thirst, driven through all the veins, had shrivelled the wretched limbs, again a fluid liquid overflowed and drew into itself all the bones, collapsing piecemeal with the disease. Georg. 3.486Saepe in honōre deum mediō stāns hostia ad āram
lānea dum niveā circumdatur īnfula vittā,
inter cūnctantīs cecidit moribunda ministrōs.Often in the midst of the gods' worship, a victim standing at the altar, while the woollen fillet with its snowy band was being wound about it, fell dying among the hesitating attendants.
Georg. 3.489Aut sī quam ferrō mactāverat ante sacerdōs
490inde neque impositīs ārdent altāria fībrīs
nec respōnsa potest cōnsultus reddere vātēs,
ac vix suppositī tinguntur sanguine cultrī
summaque iēiūnā saniē īnfuscātur harēna.Or if the priest had slain any beforehand with the steel, the altars do not blaze when the entrails are laid on them, nor can the seer, when consulted, give replies, and the knives placed beneath are scarcely stained with blood, and the surface of the sand is darkened only with thin gore. Georg. 3.494Hinc laetīs vitulī volgō moriuntur in herbīs
495et dulcīs animās plēna ad praesēpia reddunt;Hence calves die everywhere in the glad pastures, and give up their sweet lives at full mangers; Georg. 3.496hinc canibus blandīs rabiēs venit et quatit aegrōs
tussis anhēla suēs ac faucibus angit obēsīs.hence madness comes to fawning dogs, and a gasping cough shakes the sick swine and chokes them with swollen throats. Georg. 3.498Lābitur īnfēlīx studiōrum atque immemor herbae
victor equus fontisque āvertitur et pede terram
500crēbra ferit;The victorious horse sinks down, unhappy, forgetful of his pursuits and of the grass, and turns from springs and strikes the ground repeatedly with his hoof; Georg. 3.500dēmissae aurēs, incertus ibīdem
sūdor et ille quidem moritūrīs frīgidus, āret
pellis et ad tāctum trāctantī dūra resistit.his ears droop, a fitful sweat breaks out there, cold indeed in those about to die; the hide is dry and stiff, and resists the touch of the handler.
Georg. 3.503Haec ante exitium prīmīs dant signa diēbus;These signs they give in the first days before death; Georg. 3.504sīn in prōcessū coepit crūdēscere morbus,
505tum vērō ārdentēs oculī atque attractus ab altō
spīritus, interdum gemitū gravis, īmaque longō
īlia singultū tendunt, it nāribus āter
sanguis et obsessās faucēs premit aspera lingua.but if in its progress the disease has begun to grow fierce, then indeed the eyes are burning and the breath is drawn from deep within, sometimes heavy with a groan, and they strain their lowest flanks with long sobbing; black blood runs from the nostrils, and the rough tongue presses on the blocked throat. Georg. 3.509Prōfuit īnsertō laticēs īnfundere cornū
510Lēnaeōs;It helped to pour in draughts of Lenaean wine through an inserted horn; Georg. 3.510ea vīsa salūs morientibus ūna;this seemed the only salvation for the dying; Georg. 3.511mox erat hoc ipsum exitiō, furiīsque refectī
ārdēbant ipsīque suōs iam morte sub aegrā,
dī meliōra piīs errōremque hostibus illum,
discissōs nūdīs laniābant dentibus artūs.soon this very thing was their ruin, and, restored only to frenzy, they burned, and themselves, at the onset of failing death — may the gods grant better things to the righteous, and that madness to our enemies! — tore at their own mangled limbs with bared teeth.
Georg. 3.515Ecce autem dūrō fūmāns sub vōmere taurus
concidit et mīxtum spūmīs vomit ōre cruōrem
extrēmōsque ciet gemitūs.But look, the bull, steaming under the heavy ploughshare, falls, and vomits from his mouth blood mixed with foam, and utters his last groans. Georg. 3.517It trīstis arātor
maerentem abiungēns frāternā morte iuvencum,
atque opere in mediō dēfīxa relinquit arātra.The sad ploughman goes, unyoking the bullock that grieves at its brother's death, and leaves the plough stuck fast in the middle of the work. Georg. 3.520Nōn umbrae altōrum nemorum, nōn mollia possunt
prāta movēre animum, nōn quī per saxa volūtus
pūrior ēlectrō campum petit amnis;No shades of lofty groves, no soft meadows can stir his spirit, no stream that, rolling over rocks, purer than amber, seeks the plain; Georg. 3.522at īma
solvuntur latera atque oculōs stupor urguet inertīs
ad terramque fluit dēvexō pondere cervīx.but his flanks give way below, a stupor weighs on his dull eyes, and his neck sinks to the ground with drooping weight.