4.1-7

Vergil addresses his patron Maecenas and announces the topic of this book, the “wars, customs and peoples” of the honeybee hive.  

This kind of introduction is called a proem, a preface which gives an overview in a very few lines of the entire content of the book. Most ancient epic poems open with a proem (for example, Aeneid 1.1-7). Vergil transitions from Book 3 of the Georgics to a new topic, where he will explore the gifts of the honeybees, whose accomplishments and race are truly wondrous.

1  prōtinus: “moving straight on,” OLD protinus 1.b. Vergil is moving on to his next subject, beekeeping. 

1  āëriī (and caelestia): The ancients believed that honey descended from the sky as dew, and the bees simply gathered it (Aristotle HA 5.22, Pliny NH 11.11). Thus, these adjectives indicate both the divine and “actual” origin of honey.

2  exsequar: Vergil emphasizes his opening by enjambment of the first line (a line of verse that continues onto the next line). 

2  Maecēnās: Vergil’s patron, a friend of and advisor to Augustus. Maecenas is also addressed at the very opening of the Georgics (1.2) and in all the subsequent books (2.41, 3.41); the address to him here creates a frame, offers balance, and suggests a new beginning.

2  partem: “section” of the Georgics as a whole.

3–5  admīranda…dīcam =dīcam spectācula levium rērum admīranda tibi, magnanimōsque ducēs, -que mōrēs tōtīus gentis ōrdine, et studia, et populōs, et proelia. Vergil places admiranda first for emphasis. Along with spectacula it promises amazing things, despite the humble content.

3  tibī: both an indirect object with dīcam and a dative of agent with the gerundive admīranda (AG 374). The second “i” usually scans short, but it can also be long, as it is here. 

3  levium: the short “e” tells us this means “light” instead of “smooth.” The “light” things are the honeybees themselves.

4  magnanimōs ducēs: starting in line 3 the language suggests Vergil will be discussing epic themes, but only as they apply to bees. Thus, Vergil’s treatment of bees and their behavior will be ironic, since the great battles and heroic acts of the bees are written as if they are on a human scale. 

4  ōrdine: “in order.”

6  In tenuī: supply rē, “on a slight (i.e., trivial) topic,” OLD tenuis 9.

6  labor: the work of the poet in researching the topic and explaining it in verse.

6  glōria: supply est. 

6  quem: for aliquem (AG 310a).

6–7  sī quem…Apollō: a modest expression of hope for good luck and divine inspiration, as the poet embarks on a difficult task.

7  laeva: “unfavorable” or “hostile.” 

7  sinunt > sinō, sinere, sīvī, situs. 

7  Apollo: as the god of music and poetry, it would be fitting for Apollo to favor a poet’s work, and a powerful ally against any hostile gods.