The Works of Virgil

This transcription comes from the Vergilius Vaticanus, a late antique manuscript. The text is written in Rustic Capitals, a script characterized by slim, tall letters with weighted horizontal strokes. The bottom of the page has suffered from environmental fading and the placement of a Vatican Library stamp, though the text remains largely reconstructible from the poetic meter.

THE GEORGICS

BOOK III

Meanwhile, no less [is the care for goats]; though their offspring original: "foetus" are numerous in a large herd, their fleeces are exchanged The poet suggests that while goat hair is not "wool" like a sheep's, it is a valuable substitute (exchange) for various trades.; shake out the resources of the whole mountains! From these goats comes a thicker offspring and a generous abundance of milk. The more you milk them from their foaming udders after they are exhausted, the more joyful streams will flow once the teats are pressed again.

Meanwhile, no less do farmers shear the beards and hoary chins of the Cinyphian original: "Cinyphii"; referring to the Cinyps, a river in Libya famous for its long-haired goats. he-goats, and their shaggy, flowing hair, for use in the camps of kings and as protective coverings for wretched sailors.

Indeed, they graze in the woods and on the summits of Lycaeus A mountain in Arcadia, Greece, known in mythology as a haunt of the god Pan and a place of rugged wilderness., among the rough brambles and the thickets that love the high places. And they, mindful of their own accord, return to their shelters and lead their young with them, and with their heavy udders, they can scarcely clear the threshold of the fold.

Therefore, with all your zeal, protect them from the ice and snowy winds, since they have less need for human care Virgil notes that because goats are hardier and more self-sufficient than sheep, the farmer must be even more diligent in rewarding their "low-maintenance" nature with proper winter protection.; you shall ward [the cold] off and gladly bring them food and leafy fodder, nor shall you close your haylofts through the whole of winter.?