A source-book of ancient history - The Search For Mecca

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Agriculture; Navigation 105
Sleeper filch away thy goods. Also bring in fodder and
litter that thou mayest have sufficient store for thy cattle
and thy mules. Then let thy thralls rest their knees and
loose thine oxen.
But when Orion and Sirius come into mid-heaven, and
rosy-fingered Morning looketh upon Arcturus, O Perses,
pluck and bring home all
the sun ten days and ten nights.
thy grapes, and show them to
Cover them five days
and on the sixth draw off into vessels the gifts of joyous
Dionysus. . . .
In the flower of thine age lead thou home thy bride,
when thou art not far short of thirty years nor far past
over. This is the timely marriage. Sixteen years old
should be the woman; let her marry in the seventeenth.
Marry a maiden that thou mayest teach her good ways.
Marry a neighbor best of all, with care and circumspection,
lest thy marriage be a (mahcious) joy to thy
neighbors. For no better spoil doth a man win than a
good wife, even as he winneth no worse than a bad wife
the banquet-seeker, that roasteth her husband without a
brand, and giveth him over to untimely old age.
Vintage.
Marriage,
II.
Navigation
For fifty days after the turning of the sun, when har-
Directions ^^
vest, the weary season, hath come to an end, sailing is tion.
seasonable for men.
Thou shalt not break thy ship, nor
shall the sea destroy thy crew, save only if Poseidon
fy^^'^f'^^^
Shaker of the Earth or Zeus the King of the Immortals Days.
be wholly minded to destroy. For with them is the issue
alike of good and evil. Then are the breezes easy to judge
and the sea is harmless. Then trust thou in the winds;
with soul untroubled launch the swift ship in the sea,
and well bestow therein thy cargo. And haste with all