The Works and Days of Hesiod and Vergil's Georgics are fundamental texts in the classical canon. Here Nelson brings them together with a metaphysical eye, showing how the two writers each viewed the farming lifestyle as a system of belief unto itself. She represents the ethos of the farm as a way of understanding the earth, the gods, and man between them in vital relation to each other. This study also includes a sparkling new translation of Works and Days by esteemed translator David Grene.