and then leave the work undone. Let a brisk fellow of forty years follow them, with a loaf of four quarters The loaf is a flattish cake with two intersecting lines scored on its upper surface which divide it into four equal parts. and eight slices The meaning is obscure. A scholiast renders “giving eight mouthfuls”; but the elder Philostratus uses the word in contrast to “leavened.” for his dinner, one who will attend to his work and drive a straight furrow and is past the age for gaping after his fellows, but will keep his mind on his work. No younger man will be better than he at scattering the seed and avoiding double-sowing; for a man less staid gets disturbed, hankering after his fellows.
 

 
 
Mark, when you hear the voice of the crane About the middle of November. who cries year by year from the clouds above, for she gives the signal for ploughing and shows the season of rainy winter; but she vexes the heart of the man who has no oxen. Then is the time to feed up your horned oxen in the byre; for it is easy to say: “Give me a yoke of oxen and a wagon,” and it is easy to refuse: “I have work for my oxen.” The man who is rich in fancy thinks his wagon as good as built already—the fool! he does not know that there are a hundred timbers to a wagon. Take care to lay these up beforehand at home.
So soon as the time for ploughing is proclaimed to men, then make haste, you and your slaves alike,