Classic Poem

" IF ONE takes true account, he must agree
Castration is an act which will inflict
The greatest shame and loss upon a man.
Besides the great discomfort and disgrace,
He loses his sweetheart's love, however close
As lovers they had been allied before.
If he is married, worse go his affairs,
For, howsoever debonair she's been,
Now will his wife all her affection lose.
Castration should be named a mortal sin;
For one who gelds a man not only steals
His manhood, the affection of his friend,
Who'll never love him more — nor will his wife —
But also takes away his chivalry —
The bravery that valiant men should have —
And makes him cowardly, perverse, and base;
Or alters him with manners feminine.
Eunuchs display no trace of hardihood
Unless it be in some malicious vice;
Like women, they are strong in deviltry,
And in some other ways resemble them.
Although the gelder is no murderer,
Thief, or committer of a mortal crime,
Against Dame Nature he has sinned, at least,
When means of propagation he destroys.
No matter how a man may search his mind,
He cannot find excuse for such a wrong.
At least I can't; for when I ponder well
And canvass all the facts, I can't refrain
From lashing with my tongue the criminal
Who gelds a fellow man, such is his sin
Against the precepts which Dame Nature gives.
" But, howsoever great this crime may be,
Jove cared little, if he could have the reins
Of power in his hands. When he became
The ruler and the lord of all the world,
To teach the people how they ought to live
His laws and his commandments he ordained,
And his establishments, and had the banns
Promptly and frankly cried in audience,
The substance of which notice I'll repeat:
" " Jupiter, who rules the world, commands
And hereby as a law establishes
The custom that each man shall be at ease
And do such things as please his appetite,
If he is able, solacing his heart."
No other rule he made, but did concede
That all in common, each one for himself,
Should do what most delightful seemed to each.
Said he, " Delight's the best thing that can be —
The sovereign good in life, which all should seek."
In order that all folk might keep this rule,
He furnished them example by his deeds,
Indulging every sense, prizing delights,
And thus became the jolly Jupiter.
" Within another book the Georgics called,
We're told by him who the Bucolics wrote
That from Greek works he learned what Jove achieved.
Before his time, inhabitants of earth
Followed no plow to cultivate the fields,
And spaded up no ground. The simple folk,
Peaceful and good, had set about their lands
No boundaries, but commonly enjoyed
The benefits which came to them unsought.
But Jove gave orders to divide the land,
Of which no man before had claimed his share,
And measured it by acres. Then to snakes
He gave their venom, and he taught the wolves
To hunt their prey, such malice he aroused.
The honey-bearing oak trees he cut down,
And stopped the sources of wine-flowing streams.
He all the fires extinguished, scheming thus
To annoy the folk and make them learn with flint
To kindle flame, so subtly did he work
His wiles upon them. New and various arts
He then contrived: counted and named the stars,
Taught men to catch the savage beasts in nets
And birds with snares and bird lime, made the dog
Obey man's will as he'd not done before.
He overmastered all the birds of prey
Which had tormented man maliciously.
Assaults and battles then he brought about
Between the hawks and partridges and quails,
Ordaining tournaments high in the clouds
Betwixt the falcons and the kites and cranes.
He made them all to man's enticement yield,
Provided they were fed each night and morn,
That man might thus their favor e'er retain
And they return unquestioning to his hand.
The gallant by this practice came to be
In servitude unto these felon birds
Who formerly were thought his enemies,
As ravishers of other, peaceful fowl.
These flew so high he could not capture them,
Nor did he wish to live without their flesh;
So great a connoisseur he had become
That he considered them his daintiest food.
He put the ferrets in the rabbit holes
To storm their trenches and to drive them out.
The fishes of the rivers and the seas
He scaled and boiled or roasted, making sauce
With divers herbs and many spices mixed
To stimulate his dainty appetite.
Thus arts arose, for mastered are all things
With labor goaded by necessity,
Which is a care to all of humankind.
Hardship arouses ingenuity
To find a means to lessen suffering.
So Ovid says, who, when he was alive,
Knew good and evil, eminence and shame,
As he himself recounts. But Jupiter,
When he held all the earth, for nothing cared
Except to change his empire's first estate
From good to bad and then from bad to worse.
A weak administrator he became.
He shortened springtime, quartering the year
Into four seasons, as we have them now —
The winter, spring, and summer, and the fall —
Thus making of the former constant spring
Four seasons quite diverse; for he would have
Things as they were no longer. When he gained
His throne, he banished quite the Golden Age;
And soon the Silver Age that then ensued
Degenerated to the Age of Brass,
For humankind continued to decline,
So much they were ensnared in wickedness,
Till now, their state is so degenerate,
The Iron Age succeeds. The infernal gods
Are greatly pleased, for, ever foul and dark,
They envy men their life upon the earth.
These demons in their stables have secured —
And never will release — the black-fleeced sheep,
Ill-fortuned, wretched, sad, and sick to death,
Who would not keep the straight and narrow path —
Appointed for them by the Snowy Lamb —
In which they had been set at liberty,
And their black fleeces whitened, but the broad
And ample avenue they chose to take,
Filled with innumerable company,
Which led them to the lodgings they now have.
" No sheep that walks therein can bear a fleece
Of any worth, of which a man might make
Befitting clothes — but rough and horrid hair
Which would be harsh and prickly to the skin
If it were worn, as would a mantle made
Of hedgehogs' skin beset with spiny quills.
But any man would gladly comb the wool
That could be gathered from the snowy sheep —
So fleecy, soft, and smooth, and plentiful —
And garments make fit to be worn at feasts
By kings or emperors, or angels e'en.
If, indeed, angels woolen clothes assume;
For you should know that he who could obtain
Such raiment would be clothed most royally
And therefore such adornment dear would hold,
For, truly, such-like animals are rare.
" The Shepherd, who is not a fool, keeps guard
Over the flock enclosed within a park,
Allowing no black sheep to enter there,
However much they beg, for He prefers
To choose the white, who well their Shepherd know
Because they've come to make their home with Him;
And well He knows them when He welcomes them.
" Most gentle, rare, and beautiful of all
This worthy flock is that white, joyful Lamb
That leads the sheep out to their pasturage
With most painstaking care; for well He knows
If one should miss her way and be perceived
Alone by that fierce Wolf that haunts the road
And tracks no other prey, the moment she
Ceases to trail the footsteps of the Lamb
Who leads them all, the enemy will seize
And drag her off, which no one can prevent,
And eat her up alive, in spite of all.
" Seignors, this Lamb awaits you there. But now
We'll cease to talk to Him, except to pray
To God the Father that He'll lend an ear
Unto His mother's plea that He will lead
His flock so that the Wolf may not annoy
The sheep, and that they may not fail, through sin,
To enter and enjoy the paradise
Which so delightful is and beautiful,
With tender grass, and blossoms odorous
Of violets and roses — and of all good things! "