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Vergil · Georgics

Georgics 4.548–558

The rites and the new swarm

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Georg. 4.548Haud mora;No delay; Georg. 4.548continuō mātris praecepta facessit;at once he carries out his mother's instructions; Georg. 4.549ad dēlūbra venit, mōnstrātās excitat ārās,
550quattuor eximiōs praestantī corpore taurōs
dūcit et intāctā totidem cervīce iuvencās.
he comes to the shrines, raises the altars she showed him, and leads four choice bulls of outstanding form and as many heifers with necks untouched by the yoke.
Georg. 4.552Post, ubi nōna suōs Aurōra indūxerat ortūs,
īnferiās Orpheī mittit lūcumque revīsit.
Afterwards, when the ninth Dawn had brought in her rising, he sends the offerings to Orpheus and revisits the grove.
Georg. 4.554Hīc vērō subitum ac dictū mīrābile mōnstrum
555adspiciunt, liquefacta boum per viscera tōtō
strīdere apēs uterō et ruptīs effervere costīs,
immēnsāsque trahī nūbēs, iamque arbore summā
cōnfluere et lentīs ūvam dēmittere rāmīs.
Here indeed they see a sudden portent, wonderful to tell: through the melted flesh of the oxen bees buzzing all through the belly and seething out of the burst ribs, and vast clouds trailing, and now streaming together at a treetop and hanging in a cluster from the pliant boughs.

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Grammar in this passage: ablative absolute ×1, indirect statement ×5

Latin vocabulary for this passage (65 words)
haud, adv.not at all, by no means, not
mora, -ae, f.delay
continuō (adv.)at once, immediately
māter, mātris, f.mother
praeceptum, -ī n.instruction, order
facessō, -ere, -īvī, -ītumcarry out; go away, be off
ad, prep. with acc.to, toward; at, near; for
dēlūbrum, -ī n.shrine, sanctuary
veniō, venīre, vēnī, ventuscome
mōnstrō, -āre, -āvī, -ātuspoint out, show
excitō, -citāre, -citāvī, -citātuscall out, arouse
āra, -ae, f.altar
quattuor, indecl. adj.four
eximius, -a, -umoutstanding, exceptional
praestāns, -stantis, adj.preëminent, remarkable
corpus, corporis, n.body
taurus, -ī, m.bull
dūcō, dūcere, dūxī, ductuslead; make, dig; with or without in mātrimōnium, marry
et, conj.and; et ... et, both ... and
intāctus, -a, -umuntouched, unharmed
totidem (indecl.)just as many
cervīx, -īcis f.neck (often pl.)
iuvenca, -ae f.heifer, young cow
post, adv.after, later; prep. with acc., after, behind
ubi, adv.where; conj., when
nōnus, -a, -umninth
suus, -a, -umhis, her, its, or their own; his, her, its, their
aurōra, -ae f.dawn
indūcō, -dūcere, dūxī, -ductuslead in or on, move, excite
ortus, -ūs m.rising (ortus sōlis: sunrise)
īnferiae, -ārum f. pl.offerings to the dead, funeral rites
mittō, mittere, mīsī, missussend
lūcus, -ī m.sacred grove
que, enclitic conj.and
revīsō, -erego back to see, revisit
hīc, adv.here; hereupon
vērō, adv.in truth, indeed; however
subitus, -a, -umsudden
atque, ac (conj.)and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants)
dīcō, dīcere, dīxī, dictussay, speak; diem dīcere, to appoint or set a day
mīrābilis, -ewonderful, marvellous
mōnstrum, -ī, n.wonder, monster
aspiciō, -spicere, -spēxī, -spectuslook at or on, behold
liquefaciō, -facere, -fēcī, -factusmelt
bōs, bovis, gen. plur. boum, dat. and abl. plur. bōbus, m. and f.ox, bull, cow
per, prep, with ace.through, by means of
viscus, -eris n. (usu. pl. viscera)inner organs, vitals; the heart, the core
tōtus, -a, -umall the, the whole or entire
strīdō, -ere, strīdīhiss, whistle, make a shrill noise
apis, -is f.bee
uterus, -ī m.belly, womb
rumpō, rumpere, rūpī, ruptusbreak, burst
effervō, -ereboil up, boil over; swarm out
costa, -ae f.rib; side
immēnsus (inmēnsus), -a, -umimmeasurable, boundless, vast
trahō, trahere, trāxī, trāctusdraw, drag
nūbēs, -is, f.cloud
iam, adv.now, already
arbor, -oris, f.tree
summus, -a, -umuppermost, highest, greatest
cōnfluō, -ere, -flūxīflow together; flock together, gather
lentus, -a, -umslow, sluggish
ūva, -ae f.grape; bunch of grapes
dēmittō, -mittere, -mīsī, -missussend down, let fall; animōs dēmittere, to lose courage
rāmus, -ī, m.branch, bough
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.