A poem by George Buchanan
Rusticus
Rusticus hem cunctos cum congeminaret ad ictus, hyberno properans findere ligna foco; syllaba quid toties juvet hem geminate laborem quærenti uxori, rettulit ille, ‘juvat: nempe simul toto contentis corpore nervis in rimam cuneum forticus ictus agit.’ Illa memor, Venerus media inter gaudia, telum ut penetrat magia, hem congeminare jubet ‘nil opus est’ inquit ‘nunc hoc conamine, coniunx: findere te sane nolo, forare volo.’
George Buchanan (1506-1582)
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Translated (below) from the Latin by Conor Kelly
Fred shouted “Hemm” each time he swung the axe to chop the winter wood he piled in stacks. And as to why he shouted “Hemm” so loud, “I am,” he told his wife, “extra endowed. Each time I swing the axe and split the wood I sense my muscles strengthen. It feels good.” That night, while making love, his young wife spoke “Remember Hemm,” she said, “say Hemm with every stroke.” But he replied, “There’s no need to be fierce. My passion is to plough, it’s not to pierce.”
