In ancient times, the sacred Plough employ'd
The Kings and awful Fathers of mankind:
And some, with whom compared your insect-tribes
Are but the beings of a summer's day,
Have held the Scale of Empire, ruled the Storm
Of mighty War; then, with victorious hand,
Disdaining little delicacies, seized
The Plough, and, greatly independent, scorned
All the vile stores corruption can bestow.
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With the introduction of agriculture mankind entered upon a long period of meanness, misery, and madness, from which they are read more
With the introduction of agriculture mankind entered upon a long period of meanness, misery, and madness, from which they are only now being freed by the beneficent operation of the machine.
The diligent farmer plants trees, of which he himself will never
see the fruit.
[Lat., Abores serit diligens read more
The diligent farmer plants trees, of which he himself will never
see the fruit.
[Lat., Abores serit diligens agricola, quarum adspiciet baccam
ipse numquam.]
Our rural ancestors with little blest,
Patient of labour when the end was rest,
Indulg'd the day read more
Our rural ancestors with little blest,
Patient of labour when the end was rest,
Indulg'd the day that hous'd their annual grain,
With feasts, and off'rings, and a thankful strain.
The first farmer was the first man, and all historic nobility
rests on possession and use of land.
The first farmer was the first man, and all historic nobility
rests on possession and use of land.
When the land is cultivated entirely by the spade, and no horses
are kept, a cow is kept for read more
When the land is cultivated entirely by the spade, and no horses
are kept, a cow is kept for every three acres of land.
Where grows?--where grows it not? If vain our toil,
We ought to blame the culture, not the soil.
Where grows?--where grows it not? If vain our toil,
We ought to blame the culture, not the soil.
Oft did the harvest to their sickle yield:
Their furrow oft the stubborn glebe has broke:
How read more
Oft did the harvest to their sickle yield:
Their furrow oft the stubborn glebe has broke:
How jocund did they drive their team a-field!
How bow'd the woods beneath their sturdy stroke!
Look up! the wide extended plain
Is billowy with its ripened grain,
And on the summer winds read more
Look up! the wide extended plain
Is billowy with its ripened grain,
And on the summer winds are rolled
Its waves of emerald and gold.
"Ten acres and a mule."
"Ten acres and a mule."
