Hinc, ubi iam firmāta virum tē fēcerit aetās,
cēdet et ipse marī vector, nec nautica pīnus
mūtābit mercēs; omnis feret omnia tellūs.
nōn rastrōs patiētur humus, nōn vīnea falcem, 40
rōbustus quoque iam taurīs iuga solvet arātor;
nec variōs discet mentīrī lāna colōrēs,
ipse sed in prātīs ariēs iam suāve rubentī
mūrice, iam croceō mūtābit vellera lūtō;
sponte suā sandyx pāscentīs vestiet agnōs. 45
notes
37–45 The boy's maturity will coincide with the culmination of the new Golden Age.
37 Hinc: "then," "next" (temporal).
37 tē: just as tū (verse 8) and tibi (verse 18) indicate the first and second stages of the boy’s development (though those refer to Lucina, where this pronoun refers to the boy) and of the Golden Age, tē signals the youth’s transition to manhood and the Golden Age’s third and final stage.
38 firmāta … aetās: the prime of life.
37 virum tē fēcerit: virum is predicate accusative (AG 392–393).
38 cēdet: "will give up (the business of)" + abl. of separation (marī). LS cedo I.A.c.
38 et ipse ... vector: vector is properly a passenger, but here a more elevated synonym for mercātor; et is adverbial (= etiam, “even”).
38 nautica pīnus: synecdoche for the merchant’s ship bearing goods.
39 mūtābit: "will exchange (in trade)."
40 nōn rastrōs patiētur humus, nōn vīnea falcem: take patiētur again. Pruning violates the natural order of the Golden Age, returning to the motif of verses 28–29 and 32 where the earth spontaneously produces sufficient food without human assistance.
41 rōbustus … arātor: hyperbaton of the adjective-noun pair is paralleled in the next verse with variōs … colōrēs.
41 taurīs: ablative of separation used with solvet (AG 401).
42 mentīrī: "simulate," "assume falsely." OLD mentior 5.
43–44 iam … / … iam: the first parallel iam clause contains the subject ipse … ariēs; the second iam clause contains the predicate mutabit vellera; the ablative in each iam clause is the color that the wool turns into, “now into purple, now into yellow.”
43–44 suave rubentī / mūrice: "delightfully rosy purple." Ablative after mūtābit. Murex is the sea snail that produces the famous ‘Tyrian purple’ dye, a symbol of luxury and royalty, and by metonymy the color purple itself. The neuter of the adjective suāvis suāve is used adverbially in poetry (= suāviter). LS suavis I.
44 mūtābit: "will alter to" "with transform into." The verb takes an accusative direct object (vellera) and two ablative phrases expressing the result of the change. The more normal construction would be in + acc. See OLD muto 12.
44 croceō ... lūtō: abl. after mūtābit.
45 sponte suā: “willingly,” abl. of manner.
vocabulary
hinc: from here, hence
firmō firmāre firmāvī firmātus: to strengthen, make robust
vector –ōris m.: passenger (on a ship); merchant
nauticus –a –um: of ships; nautical
pīnus –ūs or –ī: pine tree; something made of pine wood; (meton.) a ship
mūtō mūtāre mūtāvī mūtātum: exchange
merx mercis f.: goods, commodities, merchandise
rastrum –ī n.: a rake or toothed hoe
vīnea –ae f.: grapevines
falx –cis f.: scythe, sickle
rōbustus –a –um: strong
taurus taurī m.: bull
arātor –ōris m.: ploughman
mentior mentīrī mentītus: to simulate
lāna –ae f.: wool
prātum prātī n.: meadow, field, plain
ariēs –etis m.: ram
suāvis suāve: delightful, agreeable, charming
rubeō rubēre rubuī: to be red or rosy
mūrex –icis m.: the murex or purple fish; purple dye; the color purple
croceus –a –um: saffron-colored, yellow
vellus –eris n.: fleece
lūtum –ī n.: yellow-weed, used in making dye
sponte: of one's own will, spontaneously
sandyx –ycis f.: a plant used for dyeing, or the dye derived from it; madder (Rubia tinctorum), used for dyeing red
pāscō pāscere pāvī pāstum: to feed; graze
vestiō vestīre vestiī/vestīvī vestītus: to clothe
agnus agnī m.: a lamb