The Georgics by Virgil Paperback Book 9781513280295

quotIn the whole of European literature there is no poet who can furnish the texts for a more significant variety of discourse than Virgil He symbolizes so much in the history of Europe and represents such central European valuesquot TS EliotThe Georgics 29 BC is a poem by Roman poet Virgil Although less prominent than The Aeneid Virgils legendary epic of the Trojan hero Aeneas and his discovery of what would later become the city of Rome The Georgics have endured as a landmark in the history of poetry The Georgics were inspired by Lucretiuss De Rerum Natura and Hesiods Works and Days an Ancient Greek poem describing the creation of the cosmos the history of Earth and the role of agriculture in human life The Georgics is considered Virgils second major work of three and has inspired generations of poets and scholars interested in the ability of literature to bridge the artificial gap between humanity and the natural worldquotWhat makes the cornfield smile What pains for cattlekeeping or what proof Of patient trial serves for thrifty bees Such are my themesquot Beginning with these lines Virgils Georgics is a poem about the life of the world and the need for order to ensure humanitys survival Surveying such diverse topics as the creation of the universe the cycles of human history and the technical processes applied to soil and animals to produce food and sustain life itself this poem attempts to rekindle in its reader a sense of unity with the world Written in a time...