My love still grows, as in the vernal prime The minstrel choir, the ripening grain destroy: Goats, from your pastures sated, homeward hie- 90 See, where bright Hesper fires the evening sky! GEORGIC I. ARGUMENT. VIRGIL begins the poem by propounding the subjects of his four books-Agriculture, Planting, the Breeding of Cattle, and the Management of Bees-After invoking every rural deity, he particularly calls on Augustus Cæsar to favour his attempt-He now opens the peculiar subject of the first book, by pointing out the proper seasons for ploughing-He advises the husbandman to acquire a previous knowledge of different soils and climates, of the prevailing modes of cultivation, and of the productions suited to each country: and of these he gives several examples-He then resumes the subject, and mentions the seasons best adapted for the ploughing either of rich or of poor soils-Recommends that the ground should lie fallow, or be refreshed by change of crops or manure; that the stubble should be burnt for the melioration of the soil; and that the ground be duly prepared by frequent ploughing and harrowing-He now enters on the subject of sowing, and advises that, immediately after that process, the clods be carefully broken, and the land artificially overflowed-He then proceeds to the growth of the corn, and recommends the feeding down of its rank luxuriance-He now mentions several circumstances prejudicial to agriculture, and attributes them to the will of Jove. This remark easily leads to a digression on the golden and silver ages-He then describes the origin of agriculture, and the instruments employed in it shows how to form a judgment of the ensuing harvest, and how to medicate and select the seeds-He then marks the connexion between agriculture and astronomy, which points out the different seasons for sowing different grains-From this connexion he likewise introduces the description of the annual course of the sun, and of the singular varieties occasioned by the position of the poles-He further evinces the utility of astronomical knowledge; enumerates several works to be performed in the rainy season, and what are lawful on festivals; gives |