Georg. 3.49Seu quis Olympiacae mīrātus praemia palmae
50pāscit equōs seu quis fortīs ad arātra iuvencōs,
corpora praecipuē mātrum legat.Whether someone, admiring the prizes of the Olympic palm, breeds horses, or someone breeds bullocks strong for the plough, let him above all choose the bodies of the mothers. Georg. 3.51Optumā torvae
fōrma bovis, cui turpe caput, cui plūrima cervīx,
et crūrum tenus ā mentō paleāria pendent;The best form is that of a fierce-eyed cow, whose head is ugly, whose neck is very large, and whose dewlaps hang from chin to legs; Georg. 3.54tum longō nūllus laterī modus;then there is no limit to the length of her flank; Georg. 3.54omnia magna,
55pēs etiam;everything is large, even the foot; Georg. 3.55et camurīs hirtae sub cornibus aurēs.and shaggy ears beneath the crooked horns. Georg. 3.56Nec mihi displiceat maculīs īnsignis et albō,
aut iuga dētractāns interdumque aspera cornū
et faciem taurō propior, quaeque ardua tōta,
et gradiēns īma verrit vestīgia caudā,
60Aetās Lūcīnam iūstōsque patī hymenaeōs
dēsinit ante decem, post quattuor incipit annōs;Nor would one marked with spots of white displease me, or one refusing the yoke and sometimes fierce with her horn, and closer to a bull in face, and tall all over, who as she walks sweeps her footprints with the tip of her tail. The age for enduring Lucina and lawful matings ends before ten years and begins after four; Georg. 3.62cētera nec fētūrae habilis nec fortis arātrīs.the rest of life is neither fit for breeding nor strong for ploughs.
Georg. 3.63Intereā, superat gregibus dum laeta iuventās,
solve marēs;Meanwhile, while glad youth abounds in the herds, let loose the males; Georg. 3.64mitte in Venerem pecuāria prīmus,
65atque aliam ex aliā generandō suffice prōlem.be the first to send the cattle to mating, and supply generation after generation by breeding. Georg. 3.66Optumā quaeque diēs miserīs mortālibus aevī
prīma fugit;Each best day of life is the first to flee for wretched mortals; Georg. 3.67subeunt morbī trīstisque senectūs
et labor, et dūrae rapit inclēmentia mortis.diseases creep on, and sad old age, and suffering, and the harshness of unrelenting death snatches them away. Georg. 3.69Semper erunt, quārum mūtārī corpora mālīs:
70semper enim refice ac, nē post āmissa requīrās,
ante venī et subolem armentō sortīre quotannīs.There will always be some whose bodies you would rather change: so always renew them, and, lest you miss them later when they are lost, be beforehand and choose new stock for the herd each year.