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O fortunatos nimium …

“O fortunatos nimium, sua si bona norint agricolas!” utters Pegleg after their ship is run over by the Roman fleet about to conquer Britain. Pegleg quotes Virgil here, who penned down this line in Georgics (Book 2, line 458). Translated to English it reads: “The farmers would consider themselves lucky, if only they knew their own blessings.”

o fortunatos nimium, sua si bona norint agricolas.

Georgics

Virgil’s Georgics is a four-book didactic poem written around 29 BCE, designed to teach and celebrate the art of farming. The title comes from the Greek word georgos, meaning “farmer” or “tiller of the soil.” Commissioned by Maecenas, Virgil’s patron, the poem praises agriculture not only as a practical necessity but also as a noble way of life, deeply connected to human virtue, the rhythms of nature, and the divine.

Book 2, where the Latin quote “O fortunatos nimium, sua si bona norint agricolas” originates, extols the virtues of rural life and the abundance of the natural world. Virgil praises the rewards of farming and offers practical advice on cultivating vineyards, orchards, and olive groves. He also weaves in philosophical reflections, celebrating the harmony between humans and nature.

The Georgics is not just a farming manual but also a deeply philosophical work. It reflects on humanity’s place in the world, the interplay of labor and nature, and the ways in which agricultural life can be a metaphor for broader human endeavors.

asterix and the britains pirates run over

Redbeard’s response

I don’t get Redbeard’s response … what is they silly joke that is been made here. Is it just that Pegleg would rather be a farmer than a pirate? The panels leading up to this one don’t give me any clues. I looked at the French version and even the synopsis written by Goscinny, but to no avail.

asterix chez les bretons synopsis by goscinny page one french
Asterix chez les Bretons – deluxe version

Translation

On the Mare Britannicum, the arm of the sea that separates Brittany from the Continent, a pirate ship sails cautiously. “Good!” says the pirate. “We were able to save enough money to buy this ship, but let’s be careful; let’s watch out for the Gauls!” “Navi’ a tibobo’!” cries the lookout. “Are they Gauls, by Toutatis?” asks the worried pirate. “No! Are they Romans, by Jupiter?” replies the lookout.

The pirate rubs his hands, happy. But he ceases to be so when he is told that there are several Roman ships. There are so many of them that the sea is completely covered. And before the pirate can flee, the immense fleet has passed without even stopping, leaving only a few floating debris from the pirate ship on the Mare Britannicum.

“O fortunatos nimium, sua si bona norint, Agricolas!” says one of the crew members.
“Instead of making easy puns, boy,” says the captain, “I’d really like to know what that was! That was simply Julius Caesar about to invade Brittany with his fleet and his entire army.”

I don’t get it

I don’t mind learning Latin from Asterix at all. On the contrary, I enjoy it. In this case the joke is or either beyond me or maybe I am thinking too much of it and is the joke indeed that Pegleg would rather be a farmer than a pirate right now. What are your thoughts/