bumpkin hauled to town to pay his debtsswears city living is the best it gets.
To make a comprehensive list you'd need15
a Fabius (or windbags of that breed).
In brief, here's my elusive bottom line:
suppose some deity would give a sign,
then say,
“I'm here because your prayers are granted,
so you, the lawyer, will now be replanted20
as a farmer—you, the soldier, made
into a business mogul. So, now trade!
…C'mon! Get on with it! Why stand so still?”
They would refuse, yet with a little will,
they could rejoice! Why wouldn't it be just25
for Jove, in light of what we have discussed,
to puff his cheeks and angrily declare
he'll never be so quick to hear a prayer?
Of course, I will not slight my criticisms
with jokes, like those who write wry witticisms,30
but can't we laugh when we reveal a truth
like teachers bearing treats who bribe a youth
so that he'll gobble up his ABCs?
So let us set aside frivolities
and face hard facts: that farmer plowing rocks,35
that vet, that merchant no one can outfox,
those sailors boldly crossing every ocean—
they've taken on their burdens with the notion
that because they've saved more than they need,
their golden years are safely guaranteed,40
just like that insect whom they imitate—
the diligent but tiny ant—whose freight
is carted in then stacked up overhead
because its future seems so filled with dread.
Still, when Aquarius darkens the year45
as it begins its turn, the ant stays near
to home (wise creature!) drawing on its stash,
but as for you, no heat or snow, no flash- floods, fires or wars could interrupt your quest for wealth until your hoard exceeds the rest.50
What is the benefit that you create
with gold and silver you accumulate
in vast amounts if you just bury it
while you're alone and scared? You gripe,
“To split
it leaves a measly penny as my fraction.”55
But if you don't, what is your hoard's attraction?
Suppose a hundred thousand sacks of grain
come from your mill. Your stomach would remain
the size of mine; the outcome is the same
that it would be if somehow you became60
a slave whose shoulders hoisted loads of bread—
your idle peers would be no less well-fed.
Moreover, if you live your life aligned
with Nature's laws, what difference can you find
between a hundred acres to be plowed65
and ten times that amount? You cry out loud,
“But I prefer selecting what I please
from giant piles!”
Why praise your granaries
instead of bins if hoarding never offers
an improvement over modest coffers?70
It is as if you needed just a cup
or jug of water, but you summoned up
the gall to say,
“I would prefer you took
my portion from a river, not a brook!”
When savoring what luxuries provide us,75
we're swept downriver by the fierce Aufidus
along with all the flotsam that's nearby,
while he who longs for what can satisfy
his basic needs avoids those waves of mud
and does not perish when these rivers flood.80
But many people, lured by false desire,
will then respond,
“You never can acquire
too much because you are what you possess.”
What do you do with people who profess
such views?
Tell them to wallow in despair85
since that's the lot they chose!
I would compare
them to that Athens miser who, they say,
would mock his neighbor's gossip in this way:
“The peons always hiss, but when I see
my trunks of coins I shout, ‘Hooray for me!’”90
Dry-throated Tantalus just misses streams
that tease his lips—why do you laugh? It seems
that trading names would tell your story too.
You snore with moneybags surrounding you
and treat them with religious veneration95
or an art collector's fascination!
Don't you realize what your money means,
what use it serves? Go purchase bread, some greens,
a bit of wine, and any other stuff
that worries people
