Cur autem Saturnus ipse in compedibus visatur Verrius Flaccus causam se ignorare dicit, verum mihi Apollodori lectio sic suggerit. Saturnam Apollodorus alligari ait per annum laneo vinculo et solvi ad diem sibi festum id est mense hoc Decembri, atque inde proverbium ductum, deos laneos pedes habere; significari vero decimo mense semen in utero animatum in vitam grandescere, quod donec erumpat in lucem, mollibus naturae vinculis detinetur.

Moreover, Verrius Flaccus says that he does not know the reason why Saturn himself is seen with fetters, but to me the reading of Apollodorus suggests this. Apollodorus says that Saturn is bound during the year with a woolen chain, and that he is released on his festal day, that is, in the month of December, and from this the saying, "the gods have woolen feet," is derived. He also says that it means that in the tenth month the seed, brought to life in the womb, begins to grow large, because until it comes forth into the light, it is held by the soft bonds of nature.