Invocation of the Gods and the Beginning of Spring Plowing — Virgil, Georgics 1.1–1.73, Latin & English

Quid faciat laetas segetes, quo sidere terram

What makes the crops joyous, under what star it is fitting

vertere, Maecenas, ulmisque adiungere vitis

to turn the earth, Maecenas, and to join the vines to the elms,

conveniat, quae cura boum, qui cultus habendo

what care of cattle there should be, what cultivation for keeping

sit pecori,¹ apibus quanta experientia parcis,

the flock, how much experience for the thrifty bees,

hinc canere incipiam. Vos, o clarissima mundi

from here I will begin to sing. You, o brightest

lumina, labentem caelo quae ducitis annum,

lights of the world, who lead the slipping year through the sky,

Liber et alma Ceres, vestro si munere tellus

Liber and nourishing Ceres, if by your gift the earth

Chaoniam pingui glandem mutavit arista,²

exchanged Chaonian acorns for the rich ear of grain,

poculaque inventis Acheloia miscuit uvis;

and mixed Acheloian cups with the discovered grapes;

et vos, agrestum praesentia numina, Fauni,

and you, the present deities of the country, Fauns,

ferte simul Faunique pedem Dryadesque puellae:

come together, both Fauns and Dryad maidens:

Munera vestra cano. Tuque o, cui prima frementem

I sing of your gifts. And you, o, for whom the earth, struck

fudit equum magno tellus percussa tridenti,

by your great trident, first poured forth the neighing horse,

Neptune; et cultor nemorum, cui pinguia Ceae

Neptune; and you, cultivator of the groves, for whom three hundred

ter centum nivei tondent dumeta iuvenci;

snow-white bullocks crop the rich thickets of Ceos;

ipse nemus linquens patrium saltusque Lycaei,

leaving your native grove and the glades of Lycaeus,

Pan, ovium custos, tua si tibi Maenala curae,

Pan, guardian of sheep, if your Maenalus is dear to you,

adsis, o Tegeaee, favens, oleaeque Minerva

be present and favoring, Tegeaean; and Minerva, inventor of the olive;

inventrix, uncique puer monstrator aratri,

and the youth, pointer of the curved plow;

et teneram ab radice ferens, Silvane, cupressum,

and you, Silvanus, carrying a tender cypress from its root;

dique deaeque omnes, studium quibus arva tueri,

and all you gods and goddesses, whose care is to guard the fields,

quique novas alitis non ullo semine fruges,

both you who nourish new fruits from no seed,

quique satis largum caelo demittitis imbrem;

and you who send down from heaven abundant rain upon the sown fields;

tuque adeo, quem mox quae sint habitura deorum

and you especially, Caesar, whom it is yet uncertain what councils

concilia,³ incertum est, urbisne invisere, Caesar,

of the gods will soon hold—whether you wish to visit cities, Caesar,

terrarumque velis curam et te maximus orbis

and care for the lands, and the vast world receives you

auctorem frugum tempestatumque potentem

as the author of fruits and ruler of tempests,

accipiat, cingens materna tempora myrto,

binding your temples with your mother’s myrtle;

an deus inmensi venias maris ac tua nautae

or whether you come as the god of the boundless sea and sailors

numina sola colant, tibi serviat ultima Thule

worship your divinity alone, and furthest Thule serves you,

teque sibi generum Tethys emat omnibus undis,

and Tethys buys you for her son-in-law with all her waves;

anne novum tardis sidus te mensibus addas,

or whether you add yourself as a new star to the slow months,

qua locus Erigonen inter Chelasque sequentis

where a place is opened between Erigone and the following Claws—

panditur—ipse tibi iam bracchia contrahit ardens

already the burning Scorpio himself contracts his arms for you

Scorpius et caeli iusta plus parte reliquit—

and has left more than a just share of heaven—

quidquid eris,—nam te nec sperant Tartara regem

whatever you will be—for Tartarus does not hope for you as king,

nec tibi regnandi veniat tam dira cupido,

nor may so dire a desire for ruling come to you,

quamvis Elysios miretur Graecia campos

though Greece admires the Elysian fields

nec repetita sequi curet Proserpina matrem—

and Proserpina, demanded back, cares not to follow her mother—

da facilem cursum atque audacibus adnue coeptis

give an easy course, and nod assent to my bold undertakings,

ignarosque viae mecum miseratus agrestis

and pitying with me the rustics ignorant of the way,

ingredere et votis iam nunc adsuesce vocari.

advance, and even now accustom yourself to be called upon with vows.

Vere novo, gelidus canis cum montibus humor

In early spring, when icy moisture melts from the white mountains

liquitur et Zephyro putris se glaeba resolvit,

and the crumbling clod resolves itself under the West Wind,

depresso incipiat iam tum mihi taurus aratro

even then let my bull begin to groan under the deep-pressed plow,

ingemere et sulco attritus splendescere vomer.

and the share shine, worn by the furrow.

Illa seges demum votis respondet avari

That field alone responds to the vows of the greedy

agricolae, bis quae solem, bis frigora sensit;⁴

farmer, which has twice felt the sun, twice the frosts;

illius inmensae ruperunt horrea messes.

its boundless harvests burst the barns.

At prius ignotum ferro quam⁵ scindimus aequor,

But before we cleave with iron an unknown plain,

ventos et varium caeli praediscere morem

let it be our care to learn beforehand the winds and the varying habit of the sky,

cura sit ac patrios cultusque habitusque locorum

and the traditional cultures and characters of the places,

et quid quaeque ferat regio et quid quaeque recuset.

and what each region bears and what each rejects.

Hic segetes, illic veniunt felicius uvae,

Here crops, there grapes come more happily;

arborei fetus alibi, atque iniussa virescunt

elsewhere tree-fruits flourish, and grasses grow green

gramina. Nonne vides, croceos ut Tmolus odores,

unbidden. Do you not see how Tmolus sends saffron odors,

India mittit ebur, molles sua tura Sabaei,

India ivory, the soft Sabaeans their own frankincense,

at Chalybes nudi ferrum, virosaque Pontus

but the naked Chalybes iron, Pontus strong-smelling

castorea, Eliadum palmas Epiros equarum.

castor, Epirus the palms of Eliad mares?

Continuo has leges aeternaque foedera certis

From the beginning Nature imposed these laws and eternal

inposuit natura locis, quo tempore primum

covenants on certain places, at which time

Deucalion vacuum lapides iactavit in orbem,

Deucalion first cast stones into the empty world,

unde homines nati, durum genus. Ergo age, terrae

whence men were born, a hardy race. Therefore come, let the strong bulls

pingue solum primis extemplo a mensibus anni

turn the rich soil of the earth straightway from the first months of the year,

fortes invertant tauri glaebasque iacentis

and let the dusty summer bake the lying clods

pulverulenta coquat maturis solibus aestas;

with mature suns;

at si non fuerit tellus fecunda, sub ipsum

but if the land is not fertile, it will be enough just before

Arcturum tenui sat erit suspendere sulco:

Arcturus itself to suspend it in a shallow furrow:

illic, officiant laetis ne frugibus herbae,

in the former case, lest weeds harm the joyous crops;

hic, sterilem⁶ exiguus ne deserat humor harenam.

in the latter, lest the scanty moisture desert the sterile sand.

Alternis idem tonsas cessare novalis

You will also allow the reaped fallow fields to rest in alternate years,

et segnem patiere situ durescere campum;

and the idle plain to harden with neglect;

aut ibi flava seres mutato sidere farra,

or there, when the star is changed, you will sow golden spelt,

Syntax notes6 items

1.3habendo sit pecori
A gerundive construction with a dative; habendo pecori functions as a dative of purpose/use, meaning 'for keeping or maintaining the flock'.
1.8glandem mutavit arista
The verb mutare (to exchange) here takes the accusative of the thing given up (glandem 'acorns') and the ablative of the thing taken in exchange (arista 'ear of grain'), poetically describing the transition of human food from acorns to wheat.
1.24quem mox quae sint habitura deorum concilia
A complex structure introduced by the relative pronoun quem. The main clause is incertum est, which governs the indirect question containing the subjunctive verb sint. quem serves as the accusative object of habitura (sint) and refers back to the antecedent tu (Caesar).
1.48bis quae solem, bis frigora sensit
The phrase 'which has twice felt the sun, twice the frosts' refers to an intensive agricultural cycle where the field is left fallow for two years (two winters and two summers) with multiple plowings to ensure high productivity.
1.50prius ignotum ferro quam
The temporal conjunction priusquam (before) is split by tmesis into prius and quam, with the modifying phrase ignotum ferro ('unknown by iron') inserted between them.
1.69illic, officiant laetis ne frugibus herbae, hic, sterilem
The demonstratives illic ('in the former place') and hic ('in the latter place') refer back to the two scenarios just described: the fertile soil in lines 63-66 (plowed early and deep) and the thin soil in lines 67-68 (plowed late and shallow).

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-22)urn:cts:latinLit:phi0690.phi002.humanitext-lat2:1.1-1.73