Georgics 4.528–547

Cyrene prescribes the atonement

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Georg. 4.528Haec Prōteus, et sē iactū dedit aequor in altum,
quāquē dedit, spūmantem undam sub vertice torsit.So Proteus spoke, and with a leap plunged into the deep sea, and where he plunged he whirled the foaming water into an eddy. Georg. 4.530At nōn Cȳrēnē;But not Cyrene; Georg. 4.530namque ultrō adfāta timentem:
"Nāte, licet trīstēs animō dēpōnere cūrās.for unasked she addressed the frightened youth: 'My son, you may put aside the sad cares from your mind. Georg. 4.532Haec omnis morbī causa;This is the whole cause of the disease; Georg. 4.532hinc miserābile Nymphae,
cum quibus illa chorōs lūcīs agitābat in altīs,
exitium mīsēre apibus.for this the Nymphs, with whom she used to lead the dance in the high groves, have sent this pitiable destruction on your bees. Georg. 4.534Tū mūnera supplex
535tende petēns pācem et facilēs venerāre Napaeās;You must offer gifts as a suppliant, seeking peace, and worship the gracious nymphs of the glens; Georg. 4.536namque dabunt veniam vōtīs īrāsque remittent.for they will grant pardon to your prayers and give up their anger. Georg. 4.537Sed modus ōrandī quī sit, prius ōrdine dīcam.But first I shall tell you in order what the manner of entreaty is.

Georg. 4.538Quattuor eximiōs praestantī corpore taurōs,
quī tibi nunc viridis dēpāscunt summa Lycaeī,
540dēlige et intāctā totidem cervīce iuvencās.Choose four choice bulls of outstanding form, which now graze for you on the heights of green Lycaeus, and as many heifers with necks untouched by the yoke. Georg. 4.541Quattuor hīs ārās alta ad dēlūbra deārum
cōnstitue et sacrum iugulīs dēmitte cruōrem,
corporaque ipsa boum frondōsō dēsere lūcō.For these set up four altars by the lofty shrines of the goddesses, and let the sacred blood flow from their throats, and leave the bodies of the oxen themselves in the leafy grove. Georg. 4.544Post, ubi nōna suōs Aurōra ostenderit ortūs,
545īnferiās Orpheī Lēthaea papāvera mittēs
et nigram mactābis ovem lūcumque revīsēs:
plācātam Eurydicēn vitulā venerābere caesā."Afterwards, when the ninth Dawn has shown her rising, you will send Lethean poppies as offerings to the dead for Orpheus, and sacrifice a black ewe and revisit the grove: you will worship Eurydice, appeased, with the slaughter of a calf.'

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Grammar in this passage: gerunds and gerundives ×1

Latin vocabulary for this passage (108 words)

hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron.	this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter
et, conj.	and; et ... et, both ... and
suī, sibi, sē or sēsē, reflexive pron.	himself, herself, itself, themselves
iactus, -ūs m.	throwing, a throw; fulminum iactūs: strokes of lightning
dō, dare, dedī, datus	give
aequor, -oris n.	level surface; the sea
in, prep. with acc. and abl.	with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on
altum, -ī n.	the deep, the open sea; a height
quā, adv.	in which place, where
spūmō, -āre, -āvī	foam, froth
unda, -ae, f.	wave
sub, prep. with acc. and abl.	under; sub vesperum, towards evening
vertex, -icis m.	top of the head, crown; summit
torqueō, torquēre, torsī, tortus	turn
at, conj.	but
nōn, adv.	not
namque, conj.	for
ultrō (adv.)	of one's own accord; besides (ultrō citrōque: back and forth)
adfor (affor), -fārī, -fātus sum	speak to, address
timeō, -ēre, -uī	fear
nātus, -ī m.	son; (pl.) children
licet, -ēre, -uit or -itum est, impers.	is lawful or permitted
trīstis, -e	sad, gloomy
animus, -ī, m.	mind; heart; spirit, courage
dēpōnō, -pōnere, -posuī, -positus	put down, deposit; lay aside, give up; ē memoriā dēpōnere, to forget
cūra, -ae f.	care, concern (cūrae esse: to be a concern)
omnis, -e	all, every
morbus, -ī m.	sickness, disease
causa, -ae, f.	cause, reason; abl. causā, for the sake of
hinc, adv.	from this place, hence
miserābilis, -e	pitiable, wretched
nympha, -ae, f.	nymph
cum, prep, with abl.	with
quī, quae, quod, rel. pron.	who, which
ille, illa, illud, dem. pron.	that; he, she, it, they; ille ... hīc, see hīc
chorus, -ī m.	dance in a ring; band of dancers
lūcus, -ī m.	sacred grove
agitō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	drive about; discuss, debate
altus, -a, -um	high, deep; altum, -ī, n., the deep
exitium, -ī n.	destruction, ruin
mittō, mittere, mīsī, missus	send
apis, -is f.	bee
tū, tuī, pers. pron.	thou, you
mūnus, mūneris, n.	service, office, duty; present, gift
supplex, -icis	begging, as a suppliant
tendō, -ere, tetendī, tentum	stretch out; hold out
petō, -ere, -īvī or -iī, -ītus	seek, ask; attack
pāx, pācis f.	peace
facilis, -e (comp. facilior)	easy
veneror, -ārī, -ātus sum	worship, revere
venia, -ae f.	pardon, forgiveness
vōtum, -ī n.	vow; wish, prayer
īra, -ae, f.	anger, wrath
que, enclitic conj.	and
remittō, -ere, -mīsī, -missum	send back; give up, remit
sed, conj.	but
modus, -ī, m.	way, manner
ōrō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	speak; beg, pray
quī, quae, quod, interrog. pron. adj.	what?
sum, esse, fuī, futūrus	be
prius, adv.	before, first
ōrdō, ōrdinis, m.	arrangement, order, rank; ex ōrdine, in order
dīcō, dīcere, dīxī, dictus	say, speak; diem dīcere, to appoint or set a day
quattuor, indecl. adj.	four
eximius, -a, -um	outstanding, exceptional
praestāns, -stantis, adj.	preëminent, remarkable
corpus, corporis, n.	body
taurus, -ī, m.	bull
nunc, adv.	now
viridis, -e	green
dēpāscō, -ere, -pāvī, -pāstus	graze down, feed off; consume
summus, -a, -um	uppermost, highest, greatest
Lycaeus, -a, -um	Lycaean, of Mount Lycaeus in Arcadia, sacred to Pan
dēligō, -ligere, -lēgī, -lēctus	choose out, choose, select
intāctus, -a, -um	untouched, unharmed
totidem (indecl.)	just as many
cervīx, -īcis f.	neck (often pl.)
iuvenca, -ae f.	heifer, young cow
āra, -ae, f.	altar
ad, prep. with acc.	to, toward; at, near; for
dēlūbrum, -ī n.	shrine, sanctuary
dea, -ae f.	goddess
cōnstituō, -stituere, -stituī, -stitūtus	set together or up; appoint; determine
sacer, sacra, sacrum	sacred, holy
iugulum, -ī n.	throat
dēmittō, -mittere, -mīsī, -missus	send down, let fall; animōs dēmittere, to lose courage
cruor, -ōris m.	blood (shed), gore
ipse, ipsa, ipsum, intensive pron.	self, himself, herself, itself, themselves; often to be rendered by very
bōs, bovis, gen. plur. boum, dat. and abl. plur. bōbus, m. and f.	ox, bull, cow
frondōsus, -a, -um	leafy, covered with foliage
dēserō, -serere, -seruī, -sertus	desert
post, adv.	after, later; prep. with acc., after, behind
ubi, adv.	where; conj., when
nōnus, -a, -um	ninth
suus, -a, -um	his, her, its, or their own; his, her, its, their
aurōra, -ae f.	dawn
ostendō, -tendere, -tendī, -tentus	stretch out before, show, explain
ortus, -ūs m.	rising (ortus sōlis: sunrise)
īnferiae, -ārum f. pl.	offerings to the dead, funeral rites
Lēthaeus, -a, -um	of Lethe, the underworld river of forgetfulness
papāver, -eris n.	poppy
niger, nigra, nigrum	black
mactō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	sacrifice; slaughter; punish
ovis, -is, f.	sheep
revīsō, -ere	go back to see, revisit
plācō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	calm, appease
vitula, -ae f.	heifer, young cow
caedō, -ere, cecīdī, caesum	cut, cut down; kill

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.