Georgics
Vergil, Georgics
Vergil's poem on farming in four books: crops and weather, trees and vines, herds and horses, and the bees, ending with Orpheus and Eurydice. 84 sections, 809 sentences, each with an English translation.
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The Georgics, Vergil's poem on farming in four books of hexameters, were finished in 29 BC and, according to his ancient biography, read aloud to Octavian on his return from the victory at Actium. Dedicated to Maecenas, they draw on Hesiod's Works and Days, on Greek scientific poetry and on Lucretius, but the poem is less a manual than a meditation on work, nature and Italy in the years when the civil wars were ending.
Book 1 deals with ploughing, crops and the calendar, explains that Jupiter made life hard so that men would learn skills, and ends with the weather signs and the portents that followed Caesar's murder. Book 2 turns to trees and vines, with the famous praise of Italy and the passage on the happiness of farmers. Book 3 covers cattle, horses, sheep and goats, the madness of love in animals, and closes with the terrible plague among the cattle of Noricum. Book 4 describes the bees and their ordered commonwealth, the old gardener of Tarentum, and the rebirth of a swarm from a slaughtered bullock; it ends with the story of Aristaeus, who loses his bees, consults the sea-god Proteus, and learns of Orpheus' journey to the underworld for Eurydice.
Many readers think the Georgics Vergil's most perfect work. The verse is dense and highly finished, the technical material is often demanding, and the set pieces, especially Orpheus and Eurydice, are among the best known passages in Latin.
Contents
- Georg. 1.1–42Invocation of the gods and CaesarWhat makes the cornfields glad, under what star it is fitting, Maecenas, to turn the earth and to wed vines…
- Georg. 1.43–70When and where to ploughIn early spring, when the cold moisture melts on the white mountains and the crumbling clod loosens itself to…
- Georg. 1.71–117Fallowing, burning and watering fieldsLikewise you will let your fallows rest in alternate years after reaping, and the idle field harden as it…
- Georg. 1.118–159Jupiter ends the age of easeYet even when the toils of men and oxen have made trial of these things in turning the earth, the wicked…
- Georg. 1.160–175The farmer's tools and ploughI must tell too what weapons the hardy farmers have, without which the harvests could neither be sown nor…
- Georg. 1.176–203Threshing-floor, pests and seedI can tell you many precepts of the ancients, unless you shrink back and it irks you to learn of slight…
- Georg. 1.204–230Stars that time the sowingMoreover, we must watch the stars of Arcturus, the days of the Kids and the shining Serpent as closely as…
- Georg. 1.231–256The zones of heavenFor this reason the golden Sun rules the world, measured out in fixed parts, through the twelve…
- Georg. 1.257–275Work for rainy days and holidaysNot in vain do we watch the settings and risings of the stars, and the year divided equally into four…
- Georg. 1.276–286Lucky and unlucky daysThe Moon herself has made different days lucky for different works, in different order.
- Georg. 1.287–310Night work, summer and winterMany tasks, indeed, lend themselves better to the cool night, or when the Morning Star bedews the earth at…
- Georg. 1.311–350Autumn storms and Ceres' ritesWhy should I speak of autumn's storms and stars, and, when the day is now shorter and the summer softer, what…
- Georg. 1.351–392Signs of coming wind and rainAnd so that we might learn these things by sure signs, heat and rain and the winds that bring cold, the…
- Georg. 1.393–423Signs of fair weatherNo less, after rain, will you be able to foresee sunshine and open clear skies, and recognise them by sure…
- Georg. 1.424–465Weather signs from moon and sunBut if you look to the swift sun and the moons that follow in order, never will tomorrow's hour deceive you,…
- Georg. 1.466–514Portents after Caesar's deathHe too pitied Rome when Caesar was dead, when he veiled his shining head in dusky gloom and an impious age…
- Georg. 2.1–8Invocation to BacchusThus far the tilling of fields and the stars of the sky; now you, Bacchus, shall I sing, and with you too the…
- Georg. 2.9–34How trees naturally growTo begin with, nature has varied ways of producing trees.
- Georg. 2.35–46Address to MaecenasTherefore come, farmers, learn the cultivation proper to each kind, soften wild fruits by tending, and let no…
- Georg. 2.47–72Taming wild trees by graftingTrees which raise themselves of their own accord into the borders of light rise unfruitful, indeed, but…
- Georg. 2.73–82Methods of grafting and buddingNor is the way of grafting and of budding a single one.
- Georg. 2.83–108The many kinds of vineBesides, there is not just one kind of sturdy elm, nor of willow and lotus, nor of Idaean cypresses, nor do…
- Georg. 2.109–135Each land bears its own treesNor indeed can all lands bear all things.
- Georg. 2.136–176In praise of ItalyBut neither the land of the Medes, richest in forests, nor the beautiful Ganges, nor the Hermus muddy with…
- Georg. 2.177–225Soils and their usesNow is the place for the natures of soils: what strength each has, what colour, and what nature for bearing…
- Georg. 2.226–258Testing the nature of soilNow I will tell by what means you may recognise each kind.
- Georg. 2.259–287Preparing and laying out vineyardsThese things observed, remember to bake the earth well beforehand, to cut up the great hills with trenches,…
- Georg. 2.288–297How deep to plantPerhaps you may also ask what depth the trenches should have.
- Georg. 2.298–314Warnings for the vine-growerLet your vineyards not slope towards the setting sun, do not plant hazel among the vines, and do not seek the…
- Georg. 2.315–345The season for plantingLet no adviser, however wise, persuade you to stir the earth stiff with frost when Boreas blows.
- Georg. 2.346–353Protecting newly planted slipsFor the rest, whatever slips you plant through your fields, spread them with rich dung, and remember to cover…
- Georg. 2.354–361Hoeing and staking the vinesWhen the slips are set, it remains to draw the earth often round their heads and to swing the hard mattocks,…
- Georg. 2.362–370Pruning the young vineAnd while their first youth grows with new leaves, the tender things must be spared; and while the shoot…
- Georg. 2.371–396Hedges, goats and Bacchus' ritesHedges too must be woven and all cattle kept out, especially while the foliage is tender and unacquainted…
- Georg. 2.397–419The endless labour of vineyardsThere is also that other labour in tending vines, which is never done enough: for all the soil must every…
- Georg. 2.420–425The easy oliveOlives, by contrast, need no cultivation;
- Georg. 2.426–457The bounty of other treesFruit trees too, as soon as they have felt their trunks grow sturdy and have gained their own strength,…
- Georg. 2.458–474The happiness of farmersO farmers, fortunate beyond measure, if they knew their blessings!
- Georg. 2.475–518The poet's prayer and country lifeBut as for me, may the Muses, sweet above all things, whose sacred emblems I bear, struck with a mighty love,…
- Georg. 2.519–540Rural winter and the golden ageWinter comes: the Sicyonian berry is crushed in the olive-mills, the swine come home glad with acorns, the…
- Georg. 2.541–542Unyoking at the endBut we have covered an immense plain in our course, and now it is time to unyoke the steaming necks of our…
- Georg. 3.1–48A temple for CaesarYou too, great Pales, we will sing, and you, shepherd of Amphrysus, worthy to be remembered, and you, woods…
- Georg. 3.49–71Choosing breeding cowsWhether someone, admiring the prizes of the Olympic palm, breeds horses, or someone breeds bullocks strong…
- Georg. 3.72–94The marks of a fine horseThe same selection applies to the breed of horses as well.
- Georg. 3.95–122Choosing and testing stallionsThis one too, when, heavy with disease or now slower with years, he fails, shut away indoors, and do not…
- Georg. 3.123–137Preparing sires and dams for breedingThese things observed, they press on as the season approaches, and spend all their care in filling out with…
- Georg. 3.138–156Pregnant cows and the gadflyIn turn the care of the sires begins to wane and that of the mothers to take its place.
- Georg. 3.157–178Rearing and training calvesAfter birth all care is transferred to the calves; and straightaway they brand on them marks and the names of…
- Georg. 3.179–208Training the young horseBut if your desire is rather for war and fierce squadrons, or to glide on wheels by Alpheus, river of Pisa,…
- Georg. 3.209–241Love and the rival bullsBut no diligence strengthens their powers more than keeping off love and the goads of blind passion, whether…
- Georg. 3.242–283The madness of passion in animalsIndeed every race on earth, of men and wild beasts, and the race of the sea, cattle and painted birds, into…
- Georg. 3.284–294The poet turns to sheep and goatsBut meanwhile time flies, flies beyond recall, while we, captivated by love, linger over each detail.
- Georg. 3.295–338Sheep and goats through the yearTo begin, I decree that the sheep crop grass in soft pens, until leafy summer soon returns, and that the hard…
- Georg. 3.339–348The herdsmen of LibyaWhy should I follow in verse the shepherds of Libya, their pastures, and their huts inhabited, with dwellings…
- Georg. 3.349–383Winter among the ScythiansBut not so where the Scythian tribes are, and the Maeotic water, and the muddy Danube rolling its yellow…
- Georg. 3.384–393Breeding for white woolIf wool is your care, first let rough brushwood, burrs and caltrops, be absent;
- Georg. 3.394–403Milk and cheeseBut let whoever loves milk bring tree-medick and plenty of lotus and salted herbs to the stalls with his own…
- Georg. 3.404–413Dogs for guarding and huntingNor let care of dogs be last with you, but feed together the swift whelps of Sparta and the fierce Molossian…
- Georg. 3.414–439Snakes around the stallsLearn also to burn fragrant cedar in the stalls and to drive off noxious water-snakes with the smell of…
- Georg. 3.440–477Diseases of sheep and their curesI will also teach you the causes and signs of diseases.
- Georg. 3.478–524The Noric cattle plagueHere once, from a sickness of the air, a pitiable season arose, and blazed with all the heat of autumn, and…
- Georg. 3.525–566The plague spreads to all creaturesWhat use is his labour, or his services?
- Georg. 4.1–7Invocation to Maecenas: the beesNext I shall go on to the heavenly gifts of airborne honey: look on this part too, Maecenas.
- Georg. 4.8–50Choosing a site for the hivesFirst a site and station must be sought for the bees, where there is no access for winds (for winds prevent…
- Georg. 4.51–66Swarming and settling the beesFor the rest, when the golden sun has driven winter beneath the earth in rout and opened up the sky with…
- Georg. 4.67–87Battles between rival kingsBut if they go out to battle (for often discord has come upon two kings with great commotion), at once you…
- Georg. 4.88–102Choosing the better kingBut when you have recalled both leaders from the battle-line, the one who seems inferior, give him over to…
- Georg. 4.103–115Keeping swarms at homeBut when the swarms fly aimlessly and play in the sky, scorning the combs and leaving their hives cold, you…
- Georg. 4.116–148The old gardener of TarentumAnd indeed, were I not already furling my sails near the very end of my labours and hastening to turn my prow…
- Georg. 4.149–190The commonwealth of the beesCome now, I will set out the natures that Jupiter himself gave to the bees, the reward for which they…
- Georg. 4.191–218Bee-life, birth and loyalty to the kingNor indeed, when rain threatens, do they go far from their stalls, or trust the sky when East Winds are…
- Georg. 4.219–227The bees and the divine mindFollowing these signs and these examples, some have said that the bees have a share of the divine mind and…
- Georg. 4.228–250Taking the honey; pests of the hiveWhenever you unseal their narrow dwelling and the honey kept in its treasuries, first, sprinkled with a…
- Georg. 4.251–280Sick bees and their remediesBut if, since life has brought our misfortunes to bees too, their bodies languish with grievous disease…
- Georg. 4.281–314Bees born from a slain bullockBut if a man's whole brood has suddenly failed him, and he has no stock from which to renew a new line, it is…
- Georg. 4.315–332Aristaeus complains to his motherWhat god, Muses, what god hammered out this art for us?
- Georg. 4.333–386Cyrene receives her sonBut his mother heard the sound in her chamber beneath the deep river.
- Georg. 4.387–414Cyrene tells of Proteus'In Neptune's Carpathian flood there is a seer, sea-blue Proteus, who traverses the great sea in a chariot…
- Georg. 4.415–452Aristaeus captures ProteusSo she speaks, and pours out the liquid fragrance of ambrosia, with which she anointed the whole body of her…
- Georg. 4.453–493Orpheus and Eurydice'It is the wrath of some god that harasses you;
- Georg. 4.494–527Eurydice lost; the death of OrpheusShe said, 'Who has ruined both wretched me and you, Orpheus, what madness so great?
- Georg. 4.528–547Cyrene prescribes the atonementSo Proteus spoke, and with a leap plunged into the deep sea, and where he plunged he whirled the foaming…
- Georg. 4.548–558The rites and the new swarmNo delay;
- Georg. 4.559–566The poet signs offThis I sang of the care of fields and of flocks and of trees, while mighty Caesar was thundering in war by…
Vergil, Georgics. Latin text: J. B. Greenough, The Bucolics, Aeneid, and Georgics of Virgil (Boston, 1881), public domain; digital text from the Perseus Digital Library, CC BY-SA. Word analysis: drafted by our own tagger (trained on the hand-checked texts on this site), with every doubtful word checked by hand. English translation and section titles: written for this app, each checked against the Latin by a second reader.