“the crop of flax dries out the plain, the oats are drying out,
the poppies, drenched in the slumber of Lethe, are drying out.” (I love the poppies drenched in Lethe’s sleep.)
I assume this ‘drying out’ means they are taking that yellowy/golden grain color and are about ready to be harvested, but I don’t quite understand how ‘avenae’ can take a singular verb…
Hmm, it just occured to me that I should perhaps take ‘avenae’ as a genitive to go with ‘seges’ as well as ‘lini’. So there are 2 crops, one of flax and one of oat(s) and singular ‘seges’ is the subject of both 'urit’s?
Hmm, it just occured to me that I should perhaps take ‘avenae’ as a genitive to go with ‘seges’ as well as ‘lini’. So there are 2 crops, one of flax and one of oat(s) and singular ‘seges’ is the subject of both 'urit’s?
I took lini and auenae as genitives modifying seges; urit is repeated for effect but the subject (seges) and direct object (campum) remain the same. Rather than “the oats are drying out” it should be something like “the crop of oats dries the field” (the loose translation at perseus agrees with me here).
Then in the second line, the subject (papauera) changes but direct object (campum) still remains the same. Should be something like “the poppies… dry the field”, a sharp break from the twice used seges + genitive pattern.
(I love the poppies drenched in Lethe’s sleep.)
I’m not sure how to take this.. you either liked the metaphor or you have a fondness for mind-altering poppies. I’ll assume the former, I liked the metaphor too.
I assume this ‘drying out’ means they are taking that yellowy/golden grain color and are about ready to be harvested
This doesn’t really work once you realize all the examples of uro are transitive. I think what he means by “dry the field” is that they are taking much water from the ground, either flourishing or ruining the land (context might help decide).
Quote:
(I love the poppies drenched in Lethe’s sleep.)
I’m not sure how to take this.. you either liked the metaphor or you have a fondness for mind-altering poppies. I’ll assume the former, I liked the metaphor too.
Just that poppies (unmodified) are said make people sleepy and forgetful, an effect that the river shares. So for poppies to be made sleepy by the river I think is … nice.
Quote:
I assume this ‘drying out’ means they are taking that yellowy/golden grain color and are about ready to be harvested
This doesn’t really work once you realize all the examples of uro are transitive. I think what he means by “dry the field” is that they are taking much water from the ground, either flourishing or ruining the land (context might help decide).
That makes good sense, the next lines speak of the need to fertilize the arid soil and alternate crops to rest the land.
Many thanks Benissimus!
Ps. I am so going to take up farming when I’ve read the whole poem.
Haha! Don’t we have the Styx-boatman here at Textkit to supply the water?
Actually, having read some of the eclogues, minding cattle seems a better job, those shepperds seem to have filled their days writing poems and playing the flute lying under a cypress tree, while these agricolae are putting in the hard yards!
