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Name fœcunda rubri
Serpent per Prata Colubri,
Gramina vaſtantes,
Flores Fructuſque vorantes,
Omnia fœdantes,
Vitiantes, et ſpoliantes;
Quanquam haud pugnaces,
Ibunt per cuncta Minaces,
Fures abſque Timore,
Et pingues abſque Labore.
Then thro’ thy Fields ſhall ſcarlet Reptiles ſtray,
And Rapine and Pollution mark their Way.
Their hungry Swarms the peaceful Vale ſhall fright,
Still fierce to threaten, ſtill afraid to fight;
The teeming Tear’s whole Product ſhall devour,
Inſatiate pluck the Fruit, and crop the Flower:
Shall glutton on the induſtrious Peaſants Spoil,
Rob without Fear, and fatten without Toil.
He ſeems, in theſe Verſes, to deſcend to a particular Account of this dreadful
Calamity;
