This passage, which is in a way a digression from the main subject of the second book, arboriculture, and stands out from the rest of the poem, is one of the best known of the entire work, chiefly, it would seem, on account of its exquisite beauty, but partly also, no doubt, for the distinctly modern note it strikes; for it can justly be regarded as an early example of a national anthem. As a matter of fact, it has been (...) recognized as such from the dawn of the Renaissance, and Petrarch's famous Salue cara Deo tellus: sanctissima salue: was directly inspired by Vergil's Salue, magna parens frugum, Saturnia tellus, Magna uirum. (shrink)