The Georgics is a Latin poem in four books about life on the land. Its subjects are crops, trees and vines, livestock, and beekeeping. Written after years of civil war, it praises honest labour and the order of the farmer's year.
Virgil teaches practical lessons, but he also reflects on hardship, the power of nature and the dignity of work. Passages on weather, plague and the bees' small society carry deeper thoughts about human life and community. Admired for its polished verse, it is often thought to be his finest craftsmanship.