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(Dryden, 2.738 - 762)
A countryman cleaves earth with his crooked plough. Such is the labour of his life. So he sustains his native land and those who follow in his footsteps; so he supports a team of oxen and keeps cattle in good order. All go and no let up –– so that the seasons teem with fruit, fields fill up with bullocks, and big arms of barley stand instooks. They’ve overflowed the furrows, they’ll burst the barns. Come winter, and the best of olives run spilling from the mills, the pigs come back aglow on feeds of acorns, the arbutus tree refreshes its pale foliage –– and in such ways the autumn serves its bounty, while up on open ground the vintage basks on boulders and ripens in the sun’s caress. And all the while dear sons await each show of his affection, his home remains a model of propriety, with milkers plunging their four quarters, and kids delighting in lush pastures and locking horns in playful jousts. (Fallon, 2.513 - 526)
Sustaining the Farmer’s Life: The Georgics in Dryden’s Words
The selected passage marks the conclusion of Virgil’s extensive juxtaposition between the corruption of wealthy city-dwellers and the virtues of a modest life in the countryside. The two translations I discuss, one by John Dryden and a more recent one by Peter Fallon, both maintain Virgil’s assertions that the life of a farmer is enjoyable and respectable. By arguing this, Virgil seeks to inspire farmers to happily make the most of the land and pass down the profession in order to provide for the state and maintain the class structure. Dryden’s translation, however, is more effective than Fallon’s in using this praise to discuss the humility of a sustainable lifestyle. Particularly, Dryden is more explicit than Fallon in identifying the moral superiority, increased life satisfaction, and admired work ethic that the farmer gains from nutritionally sustaining his community.
As previously mentioned, the passage I selected is part of a sequence that morally positions farmers above the wealthy and their shallow acts. Dryden makes an immediate value judgement on “The peasant, innocent of all these ills (Dryden, 2.738),” whereas Fallon is more neutral in his labeling of “A countryman (Fallon, 2.513).” Dryden’s choice to name the laborer’s innocence creates a much stronger contrast against urban life. Dryden also portrays the farmer as a selfless citizen who uses his harvest first for his country and then for his family with what remains (Dryden, 2.741 - 744). Fallon identifies the countryman’s contributions to “his native land (Fallon, 2.514),” but he does not imply an order, unlike Dryden. This emphasis on service to the state as a moral good is in line with Virgil’s continuous praises of Italy.
Another important distinction between these translations is how they describe the benefits of a successful harvest. Both provide vivid images of the abundance gained, but Dryden's version takes it a step further, elaborating on the successful yield, stating, “Thus every several season is employed,/Some spent in toil, and some in ease enjoyed (Dryden, 2.749-750).” It is not just that the farmer enjoys the luxury of excess, but that abundance allows him to keep working without too much worry about his yield. Here, Dryden praises the farmer’s work ethic, as continuous labor is essential to the efficiency of agriculture.
Thirdly, Dryden is much more successful than Fallon in describing a satisfying family life. Dryden paints a picture of children excitedly welcoming their father home from his work and calls this “bliss (Dryden, 2.759 - 762).” Conversely, “dear sons await each show of his affection” in Fallon’s version of this scene (Fallon, 2.523). Seeing that the children must wait for affection, the latter image feels unnecessarily formal and emotionally dull in comparison to the first. As demonstrated by this difference, Fallon’s translation dictates a morally pure life while Dryden’s actually shows the joy and satisfaction that should result. By praising the role of the farmer, preaching the benefits of efficient labor, and promising greater life satisfaction, Dryden makes Virgil’s morale boost to the working class more persuasive.
Works Cited
Virgil. Georgics. Translated by John Dryden. 1697. OUP Oxford, 1987.
Virgil. Georgics. Translated by Peter Fallon. OUP Oxford, 2006.
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