Of Taurus
Taurus in 15 AD: the plough, the field, and no hurry at all.
[p. 10] Dull Honest Plowmen to manure the FieldStrong Taurus bears, by him the Grounds are till'd:No gaudy things he breeds, no Prize for worth,But Blesseth Earth, and brings her Labour forth:He takes the Yoke, nor doth the Plough disdain,And teacheth Farmers to manure the Plain:He's their Example, when he bears the SunIn his bright Horns, the noble toyl's begun:The useful Plowshare he retrieves from Rust,Nor lies at ease, and wants his strength in Dust.To him the ¹⁸Curij, and to him we oweThe brave Serrani, he i'th' Fields did Rods bestow,And sent a great Dictator from his Plow.Reserv'd, aspiring Minds, Limbs slow to moveBut strong in Bulk his powerful Rays improveAnd on his ¹⁹Curled Front sits wanton Love.
The notes
¹⁸ M. Curius Dentatus and Serranus were both fetcht from the Plough, to Command the Roman Armies, fought bravely, and Triumpht. (Creech’s note, 1697)
¹⁹ For this the Poets fancy'd to be the Bull that carry'd Europa into Crete. (Creech’s note, 1697)
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The text is Thomas Creech's 1697 verse translation, checked word by word between three scans of the same type (the 1697 printing, the 1700 printing and a third copy). The long s is printed as s; every other spelling is Creech's. Pages are cited as the 1697 printing numbers them. The portrait is William Marshall’s engraving of Lilly from the front of the 1659 printing (Wellcome Library, public domain).