1
Q
- Possum persequī permulta oblectāmenta rērum rūsticārum, sed ea ipsa, quae dīxī; sentiō fuisse longiōra.
A
- I am able to pursue many delights of agriculture, but these things themselves, which I said; I feel to have been too long.
2
Q
Ignōscētis autem; nam et studiō rūsticārum rērum prōvectus sum, et senectūs est nātūrā loquācior,
A
You all will nevertheless pardon me; for I both have been carried away by my enthusiasm of agriculture, and also old age is by nature more talkative,
3
Q
ne ab omnibus eam vitiīs videar vindicāre.
A
lest I seem to avenge old age from every flaw.
4
Q
Ergō in hāc vītā M’. Curius, cum dē Samnītibus, dē Sabīnīs, dē Pyrrhō triumphāsset, cōnsūmpsit extrēmum tempus aetātis.
A
Therefore in this kind of life M. Curius, when he had charge of celebrated triumphs over the Samnites, Sabines, and Pyrrhus, spent the last part of his life.
5
Q
Cūius quidem ego vīllam contemplāns (abest enim nōn longē ā meā) admīrārī satis nōn possum vel hominis ipsīus continentiam vel temporum disciplīnam.
A
Indeed of these things I, as I observe his country home (for it is not far off from mine) am unable to sufficiently admire the restraint of the man himself or the training that was habitual in those times.
6
Q
Nam Cūriō ad focum sedentī magnum aurī pondus Samnītēs cum attulissent, repudiātī sunt;
A
For when the Samnites had brought to Curius, sitting at his hearth, a large mass of gold, they were rejected;
7
Q
nōn enim aurum habēre praeclārum sibi vidērī dīxit, sed eīs, quī habērent aurum, imperāre.
A
indeed he said that it seems to him not excellent to have gold, but to command those who have gold.
8
Q
- Poteratne tantus animus efficere nōn iūcundam senectūtem? Sed veniō ad agricolās, nē ā mē ipsō recēdam.
A
- Could such a soul not achieve a pleasant old age? But I am coming to farmers, in order to not move away from my point.
9
Q
In agrīs erant tum senātōrēs, id est senēs, siquidem arantī L. Quīnctiō Cincinnātō nūntiātum est eum dictātōrem esse factum;
A
It was in the fields then, that senators, that is old men, were, if indeed the news was brought to L. Quinctius Cincinnatus, while plowing, that he had been made dictator;
10
Q
cūius dictātōris iussū magister equitum C. Servīlius Ahāla Sp. Maelium rēgnum appetentem occupātum interēmit.
A
by the command of the aforesaid dictator, his commander of cavalry C. Servilius Ahala put to death Sp. Maelius, as he was reaching towards kingship.
11
Q
Ā vīllā in senātum arcessēbātur et Cūrius et cēterī senēs, ex quō, quī eōs arcessēbant, viātōrēs nōminātī sunt.
A
From the country estate to the Senate both Curius and the remaining old men were summoned, from where, those who summoned them, were named travellers.
12
Q
Num igitur hōrum senectūs miserābilis fuit, quī sē agrī cultiōne oblectābant?
A
And so the old age of these old men wasn’t wretched was it, those who were delighting themselves by field cultivation?
13
Q
Meā quidem sententiā haud sciō an nūlla beātior possit esse,
A
Indeed in my opinion I would dare say no old age could be more blessed,
14
Q
neque sōlum officiō, quod hominum generī ūniversō cultūra agrōrum est salūtāris, sed et dēlectātiōne, quam dīxī,
A
not only with respect to the necessary work, because agriculture is health-giving, for the entire human race, but also with regard to joy, which I mentioned,
15
Q
et saturitāte cōpiāque rērum omnium, quae ad vīctum hominum [pertinent],
A
and with regard to fullness and abundance of all things, which extend towards the living of mankind,
16
Q
ad cultum etiam deōrum pertinent, ut, quoniam haec quīdam dēsīderant, in grātiam iam cum voluptāte redeāmus.
A
and indeed extend towards the worship of gods, with the result that, since certain people desire this, we are in this phase returning to favorable relations with pleasure.
17
Q
Semper enim bonī assiduīque dominī referta cella vināria, oleāria, etiam penāria est,
A
For always the storeroom of wine, of oil, and indeed of provisions of a good, hardworking master is filled up,
18
Q
vīllaque tōta locuplēs est, abundat porcō, haedō, agnō, gallīnā, lacte, cāseō, melle.
A
and the whole of the country-house is opulent, which is overflowing in pork, goat, lamb, chicken, milk, cheese, honey.
19
Q
Iam hortum ipsī agricolae succīdiam alteram appellant.
A
Now farmers themselves call the garden the second flitch.
20
Q
Condītiōra facit haec supervacāneīs etiam operīs aucupium atque vēnātiō.
A
Fowling and hunting make these things more seasoned additionally through hobby-time activity.
21
Q
- Quid dē prātōrum viriditāte aut arborum ōrdinibus aut vīneārum olīvētōrumve speciē plūra dīcam?
A
- Why should I say more about the greenness of meadows or the order of groves or the appearance of abundant vineyards or olive groves?
22
Q
Brevī praecīdam: Agrō bene cultō nihil potest esse nec ūsū ūberius nec speciē ōrnātius;
A
I will break off shortly; nothing is able to be more plentiful in use nor more beautiful in form than a field well cultivated.
23
Q
ad quem fruendum nōn modo nōn retardat, vērum etiam invītat atque allectat senectūs.
A
Old age to this enjoyment not only doesn’t hinder it, but it even summons and allures us.
24
Q
Ubi enim potest illa aetās aut calēscere vel aprīcātiōne melius vel īgnī aut vicissim umbrīs aquīsve refrīgerārī salūbrius?
A
Where indeed, can that time of life get warm better either by basking in the sun or by means of fire or in turn more healthfully cool down by means of shade or waters?
25
58. Sibi habeant igitur arma, sibi equōs, sibi hastās, sibi clāvam et pīlam, sibi natātiōnēs atque cursūs;
58. Let them have, then, their weapons, their horses, their spears, their wooden practice sword, their ball, their swimmings and runnings;
26
nōbīs senibus ex lūsiōnibus multīs tālōs relinquant et tesserās,---id ipsum ut lubēbit, quoniam sine eīs beāta esse senectūs potest.
to us old men let them leave behind from their many games the knuckle-bones and dice—let them do that very thing as will be pleasing to them, since even without these old age is able to be happy.
27
59. Multās ad rēs perūtilēs Xenophōntis librī sunt; quōs legite, quaesō, studiōsē, ut facitis.
59. The books of Xenophon are useful towards many matters; read them, please, learnedly, as you all do.
28
Quam cōpiōsē ab eō agrī cultūra laudātur in eō librō, quī est dē tuendā rē familiārī, quī Oeconomicus īnscrībitur!
How eloquently by him agriculture is praised in that book, which is regarding protecting the property of the household, which is entitled Oeconomicus!
29
Atque ut intellegātis nihil eī tam rēgāle vidērī quam studium agrī colendī,
And in order that you all may understand nothing seems to him as royal as the enthusiasm of cultivating the land
30
Sōcrātēs in eō librō loquitur cum Crītobūlō Cȳrum minōrem, Persārum rēgem, praestantem ingeniō atque imperī glōriā,
in that book Socrates, with Critobulus said that Cyrus the younger, king of the Persians, remarkable in character and honor of the command,
31
cum Lysander Lacedaemonius, vir summae virtūtis, vēnisset ad eum Sardīs eīque dōna ā sociīs attulisset,
when Lysander the Spartan, a man of highest courage, had come at Sardis and had brought to him gifts from his allies,
32
et cēteris in rēbus cōmem ergā Lysandrum atque hūmānum fuisse et eī quendam consaeptum agrum dīligenter cōnsitum ostendisse.
and in other respects he was both kind and cultured to Lysander and to him showed a certain carefully planted fenced off field.
33
Cum autem admīrārētur Lysander et prōcēritātēs arborum et dīrectōs in quīncuncem ōrdinēs et humum subāctam atque pūram et suāvitātem odōrum, quī afflārentur ex flōribus,
While however Lysander was admiring both the heights of trees and the rows distributed into a group of five and the ground that was plowed and clean, and the sweetness of scents, which blew from the flowers
34
tum eum dīxisse mīrārī sē nōn modo dīligentiam, sed etiam sollertiam eius, ā quō essent illa dīmēnsa atque discrīpta;
then he said that he not only wonders at the industriousness but even at the shrewdness of that person by whom those things had been measured and distributed;
35
et Cȳrum respondisse: "Atquī ego ista sum omnia dīmēnsus; meī sunt ōrdinēs, mea discrīptiō, multae etiam istārum arborum meā manū sunt satae."
and Cyrus replied: "Yet I am the one who measured out everything; the rows are mine, the distribution is mine, indeed many of your trees have been planted with my hand."
36
Tum Lysandrum intuentem purpuram eius et nitōrem corporis ōrnātumque Persicum multō aurō multīsque gemmīs dīxisse:
Then Lysander, looking at his purple garment and the splendor of his body and his Persian outfit decorated with much gold and many gems, said:
37
"Rīte vērō tē, Cȳre, beātum ferunt, quoniam virtūtī tuae fortūna coniūncta est."
"Rightly the people call you, Cyrus, happy, since fortune is joined to your strength."
38
60. Hāc igitur fortūnā fruī licet senibus nec aetās impedit, quō minus et cēterārum rērum et in prīmīs agrī colendī studia teneāmus ūsque ad ultimum tempus senectūtis.
60. Therefore this is the fortune old men are permitted to enjoy, age is no obstacle from us holding onto the pursuits of other things and especially of farming, right up until the final time of old age.
39
M. quidem Valerium Corvīnum accēpimus ad centēsimum annum perdūxisse, cum esset, āctā iam aetāte, in agrīs eōsque coleret;
Indeed we heard that Marcus Valerius Corvinus, when he had continued all the way through his 100th year, now with his allotted span of life completed, he was in the fields and cultivating them ;
40
cūius inter prīmum et sextum cōnsulātum sex et quadrāgintā annī interfuērunt.
forty and six years were between his first and sixth consulship.
41
Ita, quantum spatium aetātis maiōrēs ad senectūtis initium esse voluērunt, tantus illī cursus honōrum fuit;
Thus, as long as the stretch of life as our ancestors had intended to be the beginning of old age, so long was that man's record of honors;
42
atque hūius extrēma aetās hōc beātior quam media, quod auctōritātis habēbat plūs, labōris minus; apex est autem senectūtis auctōritās.
and also the end of his life was more blessed to this extent than the middle, because he was having more of influence, and less of work; however influence is the crown of old age.
43
61. Quanta fuit in L. Caeciliō Metellō, quanta in A. Atīliō Cālātīnō! in quem illud ēlogium:
How great it [influence] was in Lucius Caecilius Metellus, how great in Aulus Atilius Calatinus! For whom was that inscription:
44
Hunc ūnum plūrimae cōnsentiunt gentēs / Populī prīmārium fuisse virum.
This one man, very many tribes agree,
was the foremost hero of the people.
45
Nōtum est tōtum carmen incīsum in sepulcrō. Iūre igitur gravis, cūius dē laudibus omnium esset fāma cōnsentiēns.
The whole poem inscribed on the tomb is famous. Therefore rightly is that person serious, concerning whose praise the gossip of everyone was in agreement.
46
Quem virum nūper P. Crassum, pontificem maximum, quem posteā M. Lepidum, eōdem sacerdōtiō praeditum, vīdimus!
What a hero we saw recently in Publius Crassus, pontifex maximus, after whom recently we saw a hero in Marcus Lepidus, endowed with the same priesthood!
47
Quid dē Paulō aut Āfricānō loquar aut, ut iam ante, dē Maximō? quōrum nōn in sententiā sōlum, sed etiam in nūtū residēbat auctōritās.
What am I to say about Paulus, or Africanus, or as I did before, about Maximus? Of these men influence was settling not only in spoken opinion but also in their nod.
48
Habet senectūs, honōrāta praesertim, tantam auctōritātem, ut ea plūris sit quam omnēs adulēscentiae voluptātēs.
Old age, especially honorable old age, has so much influence, such that it is of more account than all the pleasures of youth.
49
62. Sed in omnī ōrātiōne mementōte eam mē senectūtem laudāre, quae fundāmentīs adulēscentiae cōnstitūta sit.
62. But remember in everything I say to praise the kind of old age, that has been firmly established on foundations of youth.
50
Ex quō efficitur, id quod ego magnō quondam cum assēnsū omnium dīxī, miseram esse senectūtem, quae sē ōrātiōne dēfenderet.
From here it is brought about, that which I said with great agreement of all, that sometimes, old age is pitiable, the sort of old age that defends itself in speech.
51
Nōn cānī nec rūgae repente auctōritātem arripere possunt, sed honestē ācta superior aetās frūctūs capit auctōritātis extrēmōs.
Not white hairs nor wrinkles are able to suddenly take hold of influence, but when an earlier lifetime has been honorably lived, it gathers the last fruits of influence.
52
63. Haec enim ipsa sunt honōrābilia, quae videntur levia atque commūnia, salūtārī, appetī, dēcēdī, assurgī, dēdūcī, redūcī, cōnsulī;
63. For these things themselves are the tokens of honor, which seem slight and commonplace, to be greeted in the morning by clients, to be sought after, to be retreated from, to have people rise up, to be escorted from the house to the forum, to be lead back from the forum to the house, to be consulted;
53
quae et apud nōs et in aliīs cīvitātibus, ut quaeque optimē mōrāta est, ita dīligentissimē observantur.
these both among us and in other states, just as each one has the best manners, so these customs are thus preserved most carefully.
54
Lysandrum Lacedaemonium, cūius modo fēcī mentiōnem, dīcere aiunt solitum Lacedaemonem esse honestissimum domicilium senectūtis;
Lysander the Spartan, of whom I made mention just now, they say was accustomed to saying that Sparta was the most honorable home of old age.
55
nūsquam enim tantum tribuitur aetātī nūsquam est senectūs honōrātior.
For nowhere else is so much attributed to age, and nowhere is old age more honored.
56
Quīn etiam memoriae prōditum est, cum Athēnīs lūdīs quīdam in theātrum grandis nātū vēnisset, magnō cōnsessū locum nūsquam eī datum ā suīs cīvibus;
Why in fact to memory it was handed down, when a certain person who was elderly came to the theatre at Athens during the festival, in the great assembly of people in the audience, space was made for him nowhere by his fellow citizens;
57
cum autem ad Lacedaemoniōs accessisset, quī lēgātī cum essent, certō in locō cōnsēderant, cōnsurrēxisse omnēs illī dīcuntur et senem sessum recēpisse.
however when he had approached to the Spartans, who, because they were ambassadors, had sat down in a certain place, it is said that all of those people stood up and received the old man, in order to sit.
58
64. Quibus cum ā cūnctō cōnsessū plausus esset multiplex datus, dīxisse ex eīs quendam Athēniēnsēs scīre, quae rēctā essent, sed facere nōlle.
64. To these people when applause of varying nature was given by the whole audience, it is said that from these a certain person said that the Athenians knew what was proper, but were not willing to do it.
59
Multa in vestrō collēgiō praeclāra, sed hōc, dē quō agimus, in prīmīs, quod,
Many things are outstanding in your college, but this thing, regarding which we speak especially,
60
ut quisque aetāte antecēdit, ita sententiae prīncipātum tenet, neque sōlum honōre antecēdentibus, sed eīs etiam, quī cum imperiō sunt, maiōrēs nātū augurēs antepōnuntur.
that as each person excels with respect to age, so he holds primacy of opinion, that the older augurs are placed before not only surpassing those with honor, but even those who have command.
61
Quae sunt igitur voluptātēs corporis cum auctōritātis praemiīs comparandae?
Therefore what pleasures of the body are to be compared with the rewards of influence?
62
Quibus quī splendidē ūsīs sunt, eī mihi videntur fābulam aetātis perēgisse nec tamquam inexercitātī histriōnēs in extrēmō āctū corruisse.
For those who've illustriously made use of these things, they seem to me to have acted out to the end the drama of life, unlike untrained actors who have broken down in the final act.
63
65. At sunt mōrōsī et anxiī et īrācundī et difficilēs senēs. Sī quaerimus, etiam avārī; sed haec mōrum vitia sunt, nōn senectūtis.
65. Yet old men are capricious and anxious and irritable and difficult. In fact they're greedy, if we want to investigate; but these are blemishes of character, not of old age.
64
Ac mōrōsitās tamen et ea vitia, quae dīxī, habent aliquid excūsātiōnis nōn illīus quidem iūstae, sed quae probārī posse videātur;
And nevertheless capriciousness and these blemishes, which I said, have something of excuse, not a justified excuse, but of such a sort that seems to be able approved;
65
contemnī sē putant, dēspicī, illūdī; praetereā in fragilī corpore odiōsa omnis offēnsiō est.
they think themselves to be despised, disdained, mocked, and also in the frail body every slight accident is hateful.
66
Quae tamen omnia dulciōra fīunt et mōribus bonīs et artibus, idque cum in vītā, tum in scaenā intellegī potest ex eīs frātribus, quī in Adelphīs sunt.
Nevertheless all these things become sweeter for people of both good manners and good skills, and this fact not only in life, but also on the stage is able to be understood from those brothers, who are in Adelphi.
67
Quanta in alterō dīritās, in alterō cōmitās! Sic sē rēs habet: ut enim nōn omne vīnum, sīc nōn omnis nātūra vetustāte coascēscit.
How much grimness in one of them, how much friendliness in the other! That's how it is: for just as it is not all wine, thus it is not all temper that with a long time becomes vinegar.
68
Sevēritātem in senectūte probō, sed eam, sīcut alia, modicam, acerbitātem nūllō modō.
I approve of strictness in old age, but, like everything else, in a reasonable amount, but bitterness I approve of in no way.
69
66. Avāritia vērō senīlis quid sibi velit, nōn intellegō; potest enim quicquam esse absurdius quam, quō viae minus restet, eō plūs viāticī quaerere?
66. Greediness of old men, truly, is for what purpose, I do not understand; for is anything able to be more foolish than, to the extent when less of the journey remains, to that extent to look for more of journey money?
70
XIX. Quārta restat causa, quae maximē angere atque sollicitam habēre nostram aetātem vidētur, appropinquātiō mortis, quae certē ā senectūte nōn potest esse longē.
XIX. The fourth reason remains, which seems most especially to trouble and keep our age anxious, the nearness of death, which with certainty is unable to be far off from old age.
71
Ō miserum senem, quī mortem contemnendam esse in tam longā aetāte nōn viderit!
O it is a miserable old man, who has not seen in such a long life that death is to be disregarded!
72
quae aut plānē neglegenda est, sī omnīnō exstinguit animum, aut etiam optanda, sī aliquō eum dēdūcit, ubi sit futūrus aeternus.
For this [death] either needs totally to be disregarded, if it extinguishes the spirit entirely, or it needs to be wished for, if it escorts it [the spirit] somewhere, where it is destined to be everlasting.
73
67. Atquī tertium certē nihil invenīrī potest; quid igitur timeam, sī aut nōn miser post mortem aut beātus etiam futūrus sum?
67. And yet no third thing certainly is able to be discovered, then what am I to fear, if I am to be either not miserable or even happy after death?
74
Quamquam quis est tam stultus, quamvīs sit adulēscēns, cui sit explōrātum sē ad vesperum esse vīctūrum?
Though who is so stupid, however young he might be, to treat it as certain he will be living to evening?
75
Quīn etiam aetās illa multō plūrēs quam nostra cāsūs mortis habet; facilius in morbōs incidunt adulēscentēs, gravius aegrōtant, trīstius cūrantur.
No in fact that age has by far more accidents of death than ours; young people fall into sickness more easily, become ill more severely, are taken care of more painfully.
76
Itaque paucī veniunt ad senectūtem; quod nī ita accideret, melius et prūdentius vīverētur.
Therefore few of them arrive to old age; because if this did not happen in this way, life would be lived better and more wisely.
77
Mēns enim et ratiō et cōnsilium in senibus est; quī sī nūllī fuissent, nūllae omnīnō cīvītātēs fuissent.
Indeed the mind and reason and deliberation are a quality old people; if these people had not existed, no states would have existed entirely.
78
Sed redeō ad mortem impendentem.
But I return to death, the thing that overhangs.
79
Quod est istud crīmen senectūtis, cum id eī videātis cum adulēscentiā esse commūne?
What sort of charge of old age is it, since you all see that it is in common for old age and youth?
80
68. Sēnsī ego in optimō fīliō, tū in exspectātīs ad amplissimam dignitātem frātribus, Scīpiō, mortem omnī aetātī esse commūnem.
68. I perceived in my best son, and you in your brothers expected to reach the greatest esteem, Scipio, that death is in common of every age.
81
At spērat adulēscēns diū sē vīctūrum, quod spērārē idem senex nōn potest.
Yet the young man hopes he will live a long time, which the old man is unable to hope for the same.
82
Īnsipienter spērat. Quid enim stultius quam incerta prō certīs habēre, falsa prō vēris?
He hopes foolishly. For what is more stupid than to regard what is uncertain as certain, what is false as true?
83
At senex nē quod spēret quidem habet. At est eō meliōre condiciōne quam adulēscēns, quoniam id, quod ille spērat, hīc cōnsecūtus est; ille vult diū vivere, hic diū vīxit.
Yet the old man has not even anything to hope for. Yet he is in a better state than the young man, because that thing which the latter hopes for, the former had achieved; the latter wants to live for a long time, the former has lived for a long time.
84
69. Quamquam, o dī bonī! quid est in hominis nātūrā diū?
69. Although, O good gods! What is long in the nature of humans?
85
Dā enim summum tempus, exspectēmus Tartessiōrum rēgis aetāte (fuit enim, ut scrīptum videō, Arganthōnius quīdam Gādibus, qui octōgintā rēgnāvit annōs, centum vīgintī vīxit)
For give the total time, let us anticipate the age of the king of the Tartessians (for there was, as I see it written, a certain Arganthonius at Cadiz, who ruled for eighty years and lived 120)
86
---sed mihi nē diūturnum quidem quicquam vidētur, in quō est aliquid extrēmum.
--but to me indeed nothing seems long lasting in which there is some end.
87
Cum enim id advēnit, tum illud, quod praeteriit, efflūxit; tantu remanet, quod virtūte et rēctē factīs cōnsecūtus sīs;
For when it arrives, then that, which has passed by, has vanished; only so much remains, which you have achieved by means of strength and proper deed;
88
hōrae quidem cēdunt et diēs et mēnsēs et annī, nec praeteritum tempus umquam revertitur, nec, quid sequātur, scīrī potest;
Indeed the hours and days and months and years go away, and the past time does not ever return. Nor can what follows be known;
89
quod cuique temporis ad vīvendum datur, eō dēbet esse contentus.
what of time is given to each person for living, with that he ought to be content.
90
70. Neque enim histriōnī, ut placeat, peragenda fābula est, modo, in quōcumque fuerit āctū, probētur, neque sapientī ūsque ad "Plaudite" veniendum est.
70. For the actor, in order to please, doesn't have to completely act to the end a play, provided that he is approved of, in whatever act he was, nor must the wise man go all the way until the curtain drop.
91
Breve enim tempus aetātis satis longum est ad bene honestēque vivendum;
For the short time of age is long enough for the purpose of living well and honorably;
92
sīn prōcesserit longius, nōn magis dolendum est, quam agricolae dolent, praeteritā vērnī temporis suāvitāte, aestātem autumnumque vēnisse.
however if it will have advanced longer, one does not have to grieve more than farmers grieve, when the pleasantness of springtime having passed, that summer and autumn have come.
93
Vēr enim tamquam adulēscentiam significat ostenditque frūctūs futūrōs, reliqua autem tempora dēmetendis frūctibus et percipiendīs accommodāta sunt.
Indeed as spring indicates youth and makes clear fruits to come, the remaining times however are suitable for reaping fruits and for gathering fruits.
94
71. Frūctus autem senectūtis est, ut saepe dīxī, ante partōrum bonōrum memoria et cōpia.
71. Nevertheless the fruit of old age is, as I always said, the memory and abundance of good things produced previously.
95
Omnia autem, quae secundum nātūram fīunt, sunt habenda in bonīs. Quid est autem tam secundum nātūra quam senibus ēmorī?
All these things, however, which happen according to nature, ought to be considered among good things. What is nevertheless more greatly in accordance with nature than for old men to die?
96
Quod idem contingit adulēscentibus adversante et repugnante nātūrā.
The selfsame thing happens to young people, although nature opposes and fights back.
97
Dīxī in eō librō, quem dē rēbus rūsticīs scrīpsī; dē quā doctus Hēsiodus nē verbum quidem fēcit, cum dē cultūrā agrī scrīberet.
I said in that book, which I wrote about the science of farming; about which learned Hesiod had not even a word, though he wrote on cultivation of he field.
98
At Homērus, qui multīs, ut mihi vidētur, ante saeculīs fuit, Lāërtam lēnientem dēsīderium, quod capiēbat ē fīliō, colentem agrum et eum stercorantem facit.
Yet Homer, who as he seems to me, existed before by many generations, portrays Laertes as soothing the longing, which he caught for his son, by cultivating the field and fertilizing it.
99
Nec vērō segetibus sōlum et prātīs et vīneīs et arbustīs rēs rūsticae laetae sunt, sed hortīs etiam et pōmāriīs, tum pecudum pāstū, apium exāminibus, flōrum omnium varietāte.
Actually life in the countryside thrives not only by cornfields and meadows and vineyards and groves, but indeed in gardens and in fruit orchards, moreover in the pasturing of sheep, in swarms of bees, in a diversity of all flowers.
100
Nec cōnsitiōnēs modo dēlectant, sed etiam īnsitiōnēs, quibus nihil invēnit agrī cultūra sollertius.
They enjoy not only plantings, but also graftings, than which agriculture has discovered nothing more clever.
