INTRODUCTION TO THE GEORGICS. THE civil wars, that had distracted the Roman empire, had nearly desolated Italy. The land lay neglected, and the inhabitants were reduced to great distress for want of the necessaries of life. In this state of things, they cast the blame upon Augustus, and murmured against his administration. To remedy the existing evils, and to avert heavier calamities, it became necessary to revive agriculture; which for many years had been almost wholly neglected, the people being taken from their lands to supply the armies. It occurred to Mæcenas that a treatise upon that subject would be highly useful to the inhabitants of Italy; he therefore engaged Virgil, who had just finished his Eclogues, to undertake the work. It had the desired effect. For, after the publication of the Georgics, Italy began to assume a new and flourishing appearance, and the people found themselves in plenty, and in the enjoyment of peace and content. Virgil spent about seven years in this part of his works. His correct taste, his chaste style, and above all, his extensive knowledge, duly qualified him for a work of this kind. The Georgics, like the Eclogues, were every where well received. The rules for the improvement of husbandry, and the advice given to the farmer upon the several subjects connected with it, were not only suited to the climate of Italy, but have been esteemed valuable in every country where “due honor has been paid to the plough," down to the present time. The word Georgica is from the Greek. Its original word properly signifies the cultivation or tillage of the earth. In the Georgics, Virgil imitated Hesiod, who wrote a treatise upon this subject, entitled, Opera et Dies, but he far excelled him in every respect. He began this part of his works in the year of Rome 717, being then about thirty-two years of age, and dedicated it to Mæcenas, his friend and patron, at whose request he wrote it. The Georgics are divided into four books. The first treas of the various soils, and the proper method of managing each., The second treats of the various ways of propagating fruit trees, and particularly the vine. The third treats of the several kinds of grass, and the proper method of raising horses, cattle, sheep, and goats. The fourth treats of the proper management of bees. With the main subject, the poet hath interwoven several very interesting fables and episodes, which contribute to our pleasure, and relieve the mind under the dryness of precept. QUESTIONS. What was the state of Italy, when Virgil began his Georgics? At whose request did he write them? From what language is the word derived? What effect had the Georgics upon the state of Italy? How long was Virgil in writing them? Were they well received by his countrymen? Was Virgil well qualified to write upon the subject of agriculture? Whom did he imitate? What is the comparative merit of each work? Do the Georgics contain valuable rules and directions to the agriculturist in all countries? Into how many books are they divided? P. VIRGILII MARONIS GEORGICA. LIBER PRIMUS. THIS BOOK opens with the plan of the whole work: and in the four first lines informs us of the subject of each book. The poet then proceeds to invoke the gods, that were thought to have any concern in the affairs of tillage or husbandry; and particularly, he compliments Augustus with divinity. After which, he goes on to show the different kinds of tillage proper for the different soils. He traces out the origin of agriculture. He describes the various implements proper for that use. He notices the prognostics <of the weather. And concludes, by relating the prodigies which happened about the time of Julius Cæsar's death; and by invoking the gods for the safety of Augustus, his prince. The whole is embellished with a variety of other matter, so judiciously blended with the subject, that, besides preventing languor and fatigue under the dryness of precept, it contributes to our pleasure and delight. -QUID faciat lætas segetes; quo sidere terram NOTES. 1. Latas: in the sense of copiosas vel fer tiles. 3. Qui cultus, &c. What management is necessary for raising cattle. It is plain that necessarius, aptus, or some word of the like import, is to be supplied, agreeing with cultus. Habendo may be a future part. pass. or a gerund in do, of the dat. case. 4. Quanta experientia, &c. How great care, or attention, is necessary to rear the frugal bees. Or, it may mean; how great experience, foresight, and regular management, in their affairs, there may be to the frugal bees. When sentences are very elliptical, it is sometimes difficult to fall upon the meaning of the author. 6. Lumina. We are here to understand, I apprehend, the sun and moon, as they go 5 2. O Mecenas, incipiam canere hinc, quid faciat lætas segetes, quo sidere conveniat vertere terram 3. Quæ sit cura boum; qui 7. O Liber, et alma Ceres, si vern the seasons; rather than Ceres and Bacchus, as some imagine. 7. Liber et alma Ceres. Ruæus considers these as the Clarissima Lumina mundi in the preceding line. But the reason which he gives for so doing appears insufficient. Alma: an adj. cherishing-nourishing. In this sense it is a very appropriate epithet of Ceres, as being the goddess of husbandry. It also signifies, pure-holy, &c. 8. Chaoniam glandem: Chaonian acorns, or mast: here put for mast in general; the species for the genus. Chaoniam: an adj. from Chaonia, a part of Epirus, in which was the famous grove Dodona,that abounded in mast-trees. 9. Acheloïa pocula: draughts of pure wa ter. Pocula, properly the cups, here put by 10. Et vos, O Fauni, Et vos, agrestûm præsentia numina, Fauni, præsentia numina agres- Ferte simul Faunique pedem Dryadesque puellæ ; tum; O Faunique Dry- Munera vestra cano. Tuque ô, cui prima frementem adesque puellæ, ferte pedem simul: Fudit equum magno tellus percussa tridenti, 14. Et, tu O Aristae, Neptune: et cultor nemorum, cui pinguia Cææ cultor nemorum, cui ter Ter centum nivei tondent dumeta juvenci: centum nivei juvenci Ipse nemus linquens patrium, saltusque Lycæi, 16. Tu ipse, O Tegee Pan ovium custos, tua si tibi Mænala curæ, Pan, custos ovium, linquens patrium nemus, Adsis, ô Tegeæe, favens: oleæque Minerva NOTES. meton. for the water itself. Acheloïa: an adj. from Achelous, a river of Ætolia, supposed by the ancients to have been the first that arose out of the earth: hence put, frequently, for water in general. Ceres, it is said, taught inen husbandry, and Bacchus, the cultivation of the vine: to which the words vestro munere allude. At the first, men lived upon the spontaneous productions of the earth. 10. Præsentia: in the sense of propitia. 11. Dryades. Nymphs or goddesses of the woods, from a Greek word signifying an oak. See Ecl. ii. 46. 14. Neptune. Neptune, god of the sea, and father of fountains and rivers. He was the son of Saturn and Ops, and brother of Jupiter and Pluto. In the division of the world with his brothers, he obtained the empire of the sea. He is said to have married Amphitrite, the daughter of Nereus or Oceanus. He is said to have been the first who tamed the horse. Hence the poets feign, that when a dispute arose between him and Minerva, respecting the name to be given to the city Athens, it was referred to the gods for their decision; who declared it should be called by the name of the party that should confer on mankind the greatest benefit; whereupon Neptune struck the earth with his trident and produced the horse, a warlike animal; and Minerva with her spear produced the olive, the emblem of peace upon which the case was given in her favor. Neptunus, by meton. is often put for the sea. Cultor nemorum. The person here meant is Aristaus, the reputed son of Apollo and the nymph Cyrene, the daughter of Peneus, the god of the river Peneus in Thessaly. After his son Acteon was torn to pieces by dogs for looking upon Diana, as she was bathing, Aristaus left Thebes, and took up his residence in the island Caa, one of the Cyclades. He is said to have been the first, who taught mankind the cultivation of bees. See Geor. iv. 317. 17. Si tua Manala, &c. The meaning is: if you have a regard for Mænalus, Lycæus, and the rest of your mountains in Arcadia, come and be propitious to my undertaking. These mountains were sacred to Pan. 18. Tegeœe: an adj. from Tegea, a city of Arcadia, sacred to Pan. Minerva. Goddess ner. 10 15 of wisdom and the liberal arts. She is said to have been produced from the brain of Jupiter full grown, and immediately admitted into the assembly of the gods; where she distinguished herself by her wise counsel. Her power was very great. She could hurl the thunderbolts of Jupiter, prolong the lives of men, and bestow the gift of prophecy. Arachne, the daughter of Idmon, a Lydian, challenged the goddess to a trial of skill in embroidery. She represented on her piece the amours of Jupiter in a masterly manShe was, however, outdone, and having hung herself through chagrin, was changed into a spider by the victorious goddess. Minerva took a very active part in support of the Greeks at the siege of Troy, and protected her favorite Ulysses in all his dangers. Her worship was universally established. She had magnificent temples dedicated to her in most countries. Sais, Rhodes, and Athens, were her favorite places. She was variously represented according to the characters in which she appeared; but most generally with a helmet on her head, and a large plume waving in the air; with one hand holding a spear; with the other a shield, having the head of Medusa upon it. This shield was called the Ægis. When she is represented as the goddess of the liberal arts, she is covered with a veil called the Peplum. She had a very celebrated statue called the Palladium, said to have been about three cubits in height, and represented her sitting, and holding in her right hand a pipe, and in her left a distaff and a spindle. It is said to have fallen from heaven near the tent of Ilus, as he was building the citadel of Troy, on the preservation of which, the safety of that city depended. It was carried off by Ulysses and Diomede, who privately found a way into the temple. It is said, however, that the true palladium was not taken away, but only a statue of similar shape; and that Eneas carried the true one with him to Italy. The olive-tree, the cock, the owl, and the dragon, were sacred to her. She had various names, and as various offices and functions attributed to her. She was called Athena, from the city of Athens, of which she was the tutelar goddess: Pallas, from a giant of that name whom she slew ; Inventrix, uncique puer monstrator aratri: NOTES. or rather, from a Greek word signifying to vibrate, because as goddess of war, she brandished a spear in her right hand: Parthenos, because she preserved her chastity: Tritona, because she was worshipped near a lake of that name in Africa: Glaucopia, because she had blue eyes: Agorea, because she presided over markets: Hippia, because she taught mankind to manage the horse: Stratia, and Area, because of her martial character. 19. Puer. Triptolemus the son of Celeus, king of Elusina, a city of Attica. He is said to have taught the Greeks agriculture, having himself been previously instructed by Ceres. See Ecl. v. 79. 20. Sylvane. One of those demi-gods that go under the general name of satyrs. He is said to have been passionately fond of the boy Cyparissus, who having, through mistake, killed a deer, of which he was very fond, pined away and died. He was changed into the Cypress tree. See Ecl. 5. 73. 21. Studium: in the sense of cura. 22. Non ullo semine. Some read nonnullo semine. But the former appears to be the better; and it is supported by several ancient manuscripts, as Pierus informs us. Nonullo semine: from no seed, that is, such as spring up spontaneously. Heyne, after Hunsius, reads non ullo semine. 24. Adeò: in the sense of præcipuè. 25. Urbes. The common reading is urbis; but as all interpreters agree that it is for urbes, the acc. plu. I have ventured so to write it. The nom. and acc, plu. of the third declensions sometimes ended in eis, which was contracted into is; as, omnes, contracted omnis—urbeis, contracted urbis. But there is no reason that it should be retained in preference to the regular termination. Valpy reads urbes. 26. Maximus: the sup. in the sense of the pos.: the great world. 27. Potentem: the ruler-one who has power over: rectorem, says Ruæus. It has here the force and efficacy of a substantive. Tempestatum: in the sense of temporum. 28. Materna myrto. The myrtle tree was sacred to Venus, the mother of Æneas, from whom, according to Virgil, Cæsar descended. 30. Thule. One of the Shetland islands on the north of Scotland, the farthest land westward known to the ancients. The poet, therefore, calls it ultima. Colant: in the sense of adorent, vel precentur. 31. Tethys. The daughter of Cœlus and Terra, and wife of Oceanus. She was mother of the nymphs Oceanides; elegantly put, by meton. for the sea itself. 32. Anne addas, &c. Or, whether you would add yourself a new constellation to the slow summer months. The months are called slow, because the days in the summer are the longest, and so their motion appears the slower; or rather, to speak philosophically, because the earth moves slower in her orbit, during the summer months. 33. Erigonen. Erigone, the daughter of Icarus, who, on account of the murder of her translated to heaven, and made the constelfather, hung herself for grief; but was lation Virgo. Sequentes Chelas: the following claws the claws following the sign Virgo. The Chele were the claws or arms the sign of Libra. The ancients at first of Scorpio, extending over, and occupying divided the Ecliptic into eleven parts, leaving space of the Zodiac equal to 60°. By reout the sign Libra, and giving to Scorpio a ducing it to an equality with the rest of the signs, a space of 30° remained for Caesar, if he chose to occupy it. 34. Ardens: impatient-greatly desirous of thy coming; rather than ardent, burning, &c. as it is sometimes rendered. |
