The Georgics A Poem of the Land

Virgil's glorious celebration of the natural world-brought vividly to life in a powerful new translation. Virgil 's Georgicsis an extraordinary work and one of the greatest poems of the classical world. This new verse translation captures the rich beauty and abundant imagery of the original, recreating the ancient masterpiece for our times. "Georgic" means "to work the earth," and The Georgicscombines practical wisdom on tending the land with exuberant eulogies to the rhythms of nature. From idyllic descriptions of hills strewn with wild berries in "vinespread autumn" to warnings of gods and natural disasters, it is at once a reflection on the cycles of life, death, and rebirth; an argument for the nobility of labor; and an impassioned reflection on the Roman empire.

Virgil, born in 70 B.C., is best remembered for his masterpiece, The Aeneid. He earned great favor by portraying Augustus as a descendant of the half-god, half-man Aeneas. Although Virgil swore on his deathbed that The Aeneid was incomplete and unworthy, it has been considered one of the greatest works of Western literature for more than two thousand years.