BOOK I.

VI.

Hunting is desirable and convenient, even in the winter season.

Goddesses of Taygetus: let us sing of slightly greater things:
OCTOBER brings the cold. Taygetus is a mountain range in Greece sacred to Diana, the goddess of the hunt. Balde quotes Virgil's Eclogues—"let us sing of slightly greater things"—to elevate the tone of the poem.
When the first snow lies, and the holm-oak has turned a little white.
And the worn paths creak with frost;
Followers of Saint Eustace, prepare your hunting spears with broad iron heads,
And your fire-hardened stakes. Saint Eustace is the patron saint of hunters. He is often depicted with a stag that has a crucifix between its antlers.
Bring your weapons to the forest wallows, take up your arms
As if preparing for battle.
In the morning the horsemen rush out; and Melampus, useful and noble,
Who comes from the Spartan breed; Melampus, meaning "Black-foot," is a traditional name for a hunting dog in classical literature.
And Dromas from Crete, and Tigris, and the even stronger Lycisca
Born of a British mother. Dromas means "Runner." Lycisca is a term for a dog bred from a wolf and a dog.
The skillful Aëllo, cautious even from a distance, senses the prey,
And identifies the hidden enemies. Aello means "Storm-wind."
And looking askance, here behind the sedge-grass a Wild Boar hides,
Which the sharp-voiced Hylax points out. Hylax means "Barker."
More dogs gather. The boar leaps out more quickly, and carries
Itself away with the roar of a thunderbolt.
Run swift HECAERGE and all you OREADES:
So that the beast may be cornered. Hecaerge was a nymph associated with hunting; Oreads are mountain nymphs.

Alas, there is no pleasure in the woods, or certainly not a full one!
The Calydonian prey has indeed been captured; The Calydonian Boar was a legendary monster in Greek myth that required a great gathering of heroes to defeat.
But not without disaster. The Wild Boar lies stretched out by the iron:
But it left its tusks in someone's belly.
This countryman had his eyes pierced by briars: that one
Had his knees and limbs torn apart.
Look, many display foul blows and massive wounds,
With blood poured out everywhere.
The HUNTER, his groin ripped open, provides his own arena,
A lethal gift from Diana,
And he blames himself for it; he fills the air with howling.
Is a country spectacle worth so much!
Could not a domestic pig, in time,
Provide better things, harmlessly and for free?