Natural Propagation and Artificial Cultivation of Trees — Virgil, Georgics 2.1–2.77, Latin & English

Hactenus arvorum cultus et sidera caeli,

Thus far the cultivation of fields and the stars of heaven;

nunc te, Bacche, canam, nec non silvestria tecum

now you, Bacchus, I will sing, and with you the woodland

virgulta et prolem tarde crescentis olivae.

shrubbery and the offspring of the slowly growing olive.

Huc, pater o Lenaee—tuis hic omnia plena

Hither, O father Lenaeus—here everything is full of your

muneribus, tibi pampineo gravidus autumno

gifts, for you the field flourishes heavy with the leafy autumn,

floret ager, spumat plenis vindemia labris—

the vintage foams at the full brims—

huc, pater o Lenaee, veni nudataque musto

hither, O father Lenaeus, come, and having stripped off your buskins,

tingue novo mecum direptis crura cothurnis.

tinge your bare shins with new must with me.

Principio arboribus varia est natura creandis.¹

In the first place, the nature for creating trees is diverse.

namque aliae nullis hominum cogentibus ipsae

For some, with no constraint from men, come of their own

sponte sua veniunt camposque et flumina late

accord and occupy the fields and far-winding

curva tenent, ut molle siler lentaeque genestae,

rivers, like the soft osier and the pliant broom,

populus et glauca canentia fronde salicta;

the poplar and the willow-beds whitening with hoary leaf;

pars autem posito surgunt de semine, ut altae

but a part rise from sown seed, such as the lofty

castaneae nemorumque Iovi quae maxima frondet

chestnuts, and the esculus, which buds most huge of groves for Jove,

aesculus atque habitae Grais oracula quercus.

and the oaks held as oracles by the Greeks.

Pullulat ab radice aliis densissima silva,

For others, a very dense forest sprouts from the root,

ut cerasis ulmisque; etiam Parnasia laurus

as with cherries and elms; even the small Parnassian laurel

parva sub ingenti matris se subicit umbra.

submits itself under the immense shade of its mother.

Hos natura modos primum dedit, his genus omne

Nature first gave these modes; by these every kind

silvarum fruticumque viret nemorumque sacrorum.

of forests and shrubs and sacred groves flourishes.

Sunt aliae, quas ipse via² sibi repperit usus.

There are others, which experience itself has found out for itself by practice.

Hic plantas tenero abscindens de corpore matrum

This man, cutting off suckers from the tender body of the mothers,

deposuit sulcis, hic stirpes obruit arvo

has placed them in furrows; another buries stems in the field,

quadrifidasque sudes et acuto robore vallos;

both four-cleft stakes and poles with sharpened wood;

silvarumque aliae pressos propaginis arcus

and some of the forest trees expect the bent arches of a layer

exspectant et viva sua plantaria terra;

and living nurseries in their own soil;

nil radicis egent aliae summumque putator

others need no root at all, and the pruner

haud dubitat terrae referens mandare cacumen.

does not hesitate to entrust the topmost shoot, returning it to the earth.

Quin et caudicibus sectis—mirabile dictu—

Nay, even when the trunks are cut—wonderful to tell—

truditur e sicco radix oleagina ligno.

an olive root is pushed out from the dry wood.

Et saepe alterius ramos inpune videmus

And often we see the branches of one tree turn harmlessly

vertere in alterius mutatamque insita mala

into those of another, and the changed pear bear grafted apples,

ferre pirum et prunis lapidosa rubescere corna.

and stony cornel-berries grow red on plum trees.

Quare agite o proprios generatim discite cultus,

Therefore come, O farmers, learn their proper cultivations class by class,

agricolae, fructusque feros mollite colendo,

and soften the wild fruits by tilling,

neu segnes iaceant terrae. Iuvat Ismara Baccho

nor let idle lands lie. It is a joy to plant Ismarus with Bacchus

conserere atque olea magnum vestire Taburnum.

and to clothe great Taburnus with olive.

Tuque ades inceptumque una decurre laborem,

And you, be present and run through the begun labor together,

O decus, o famae merito pars maxima nostrae,

O my honor, O justly the greatest part of my fame,

Maecenas, pelagoque volans da vela patenti;

Maecenas, and spread the flying sails to the open sea;

non ego cuncta meis amplecti versibus opto,

I do not wish to embrace all things in my verses,

non, mihi si linguae centum sint oraque centum,

no, not if I had a hundred tongues and a hundred mouths,

ferrea vox; ades et primi lege litoris oram.

and an iron voice; be present, and skirt the edge of the nearest shore.

In manibus terrae; non hic te carmine ficto

The lands are in hand; I will not hold you here with a feigned song

atque per ambages et longa exorsa tenebo.

and through digressions and long preambles.

Sponte sua quae se tollunt in luminis oras,

Those which raise themselves of their own accord into the borders of light

infecunda quidem, sed laeta et fortia surgunt;

rise unfruitful indeed, but gladsome and strong;

quippe solo natura subest. Tamen haec quoque, si quis

for natural force underlies the soil. Yet these too, if anyone

inserat aut scrobibus mandet mutata subactis,

should graft them or commit them, shifted, to well-worked trenches,

exuerint silvestrem animum cultuque frequenti

will strip off their wild spirit and by frequent cultivation

in quascumque voles artis haud tarda sequentur.

will follow, not slowly, into whatever arts you wish.

Nec non et sterilis, quae stirpibus exit ab imis,

And also the sterile sucker, which comes out from the lowest roots,

hoc faciat, vacuos si sit digesta per agros;

would do this, if it were distributed through the open fields;

nunc altae frondes et rami matris opacant

now the lofty leaves and branches of the mother overshadow it,

crescentique adimunt fetus uruntque ferentem.

and take away fruit from it as it grows, and wither it as it bears.

Iam quae seminibus iactis se sustulit arbos

Now the tree which has raised itself from cast seeds

tarda venit seris factura nepotibus umbram,

comes slowly, destined to make shade for late posterity,

pomaque degenerant sucos oblita priores

and the fruits degenerate, forgetting their former juices,

et turpis avibus praedam fert uva racemos.

and the grape brings ugly clusters as a prey for birds.

Scilicet omnibus est labor inpendendus et omnes

To be sure, labor must be spent on all, and all

cogendae in sulcum ac multa mercede domandae.

must be forced into the furrow and tamed with much cost.

Sed truncis oleae melius, propagine vites

But olives respond better from truncheons, vines from layers,

respondent, solido Paphiae de robore myrtus;

myrtles of Paphos from the solid wood;

plantis et durae coryli nascuntur et ingens

from suckers are born both hardy hazelnuts, and the huge

fraxinus Herculeaeque arbos umbrosa coronae

ash, and the shady tree of the Herculean crown,

Chaoniique patris glandes, etiam ardua palma

and the acorns of the Chaonian father; also the lofty palm

nascitur et casus abies visura marinos.

is born, and the fir destined to see marine misfortunes.

Inseritur vero et fetu nucis arbutus horrida,

But the rough arbutus is grafted with the offspring of the walnut,

et steriles platani malos gessere valentis;

and sterile planes have borne strong apple trees;

castaneae fagus,³ ornusque incanuit albo

the beech has whitened with chestnut, and the mountain-ash with the white

flore piri glandemque sues fregere sub ulmis.

flower of the pear, and swine have crushed acorns under elms.

Nec modus inserere atque oculos inponere simplex.

Nor is the method of grafting and of putting in eyes simple.

Nam qua se medio trudunt de cortice gemmae

For where the buds push themselves out from the middle of the bark

et tenuis rumpunt tunicas, angustus in ipso

and break the thin tunics, a narrow slit

fit nodo sinus: huc aliena ex arbore germen

is made in the very knot; hither they enclose a bud from another tree

includunt udoque docent inolescere libro.

and teach it to grow into the wet bark.

Syntax notes3 items

2.9arboribus ... creandis
The phrase 'arboribus creandis' is a dative (or ablative) gerundive construction expressing purpose or sphere: 'for the creation of trees' or 'in producing trees.'
2.22via
The ablative 'via' (ablative of manner or route) is used figuratively to mean 'by method,' 'through practice,' or 'in the course of experience,' contrasting human art with natural processes.
2.71castaneae fagus
The verb 'gessere' from §2.70 is understood here. 'castaneae' is either used for the accusative plural 'castaneas' (the beech has borne chestnuts) or as a dative of the tree to which the graft is made, meaning 'the beech tree [bore] chestnuts.'

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-22)urn:cts:latinLit:phi0690.phi002.humanitext-lat2:2.1-2.77