VERGIL 



VERGIL 



Cremona and at Milan, Vergil went to Rome, 

 where he particularly delighted in his work in 

 philosophy under the Epicurean Siron. Just 

 what he did at the close of his period of Ro- 

 man study is not known, for Vergil, unlike 

 Horace, has littte to say of his own life. It is 

 probable, however, that he went back to his 

 father's farm beyond the Po, and gave his time 

 to literary composition. As he was not a Ro- 

 man citizen, all careers in the Republic were not 

 open to him, and even if they had been he was 

 too modest and retiring to care for public life. 



In the allotment of spoils to the soldiers of 

 Antony and Octavian after the Battle of Phil- 

 ippi, Vergil, like Horace, lost his paternal es- 

 tate; and though through the good offices of 

 Asinius Pollio, governor of the territory in 

 which he lived, he recovered it, further trouble 

 arose, and he abandoned it permanently. Some 

 of his friends, who appreciated his literary tal- 

 ent, urged him to go to Rome; in the capital 

 city he made friends rapidly, despite his ex- 

 treme shyness. Among these new acquaint- 

 ances were Octavian and Maecenas, the fore- 

 most of the wealthy patrons of letters. The 

 influence of these men secured for him an es- 

 tate in Campania in place of the one he had 

 lost, and the generosity of Maecenas made it 

 possible for him to live without financial worry 

 and to devote himself to poetry. Horace, too, 

 was among the intimate and lasting friends he 

 made at this time. 



The Aeneid His Masterpiece. Octavian's 

 friendship for Vergil continued when the for- 

 mer became Augustus, and it was under his 

 encouragement that the Aeneid was begun. 

 His impatience and that of the Roman people 

 for the appearance of this national epic was 

 great, and during the course of its composition 

 th<- poet used to recite portions of it to his 

 imperial patron and the royal family. Occa- 

 sionally complimentary allusions to the em- 

 peror or some member of his household - 



xluccd, and it is said that Octavia, tin 

 sister of Augustus, gave him a large reward 

 is lines on her son, who had died. 



When draft of the Aeneid was fin- 



ished Vergil went to Athens, intending to spend 

 several years in Greece and in Asia Minor, 

 -ing and completing his great poem. The 

 arrival of the emperor from the East, how* 

 aged his plans, for Augustus prevailed on 

 poet to return with him to Italy. A visit 

 to Megara in the burning sun overtaxed Ver- 

 constitution, always far from robust, and 

 A:IS ill when he left Greece. He grew n in- 



stantly worse on the voyage, and died a few 

 days after landing at Brundisium. His pride 

 in exquisite workmanship made him hesitate 

 to leave the Aeneid in what he considered a 

 very imperfect state, and he asked to have it 

 burned, but the command of Augustus saved 

 the precious manuscript. It was intrusted to 

 Vergil's friends, Varius and Tucca, who edited 

 it most carefully, making only such changes as 

 were absolutely necessary. 



The earliest poems which are with definite 

 certainty ascribed to Vergil are the Eclogues 

 or Bucolics, written probably between 43 and 

 37 B. c. There are ten of these, and they are in 

 the main pastoral in character, although only 

 five are strictly pastoral, dealing with the life 

 of shepherds. While these Eclogues are based 

 largely on the Idylls of Theocritus, Vergil suc- 

 ceeded in imparting to them a distinctly Ro- 

 man tone. The Gcorgics consist of four books 

 on agricultural subjects, dealing respectively 

 with the tilling of the soil, the cultivation of 

 fruit trees, the raising of cattle and horses and 

 with beekeeping. Because of his deep inter- 

 est in rural life and his practical knowledge of 

 it, Vergil was well fitted to write upon these 

 themes, and he presents them in an attractive 

 and interesting manner. The work is the most 

 finished of all Vergil's poetry, and has, in fact, 

 been called the most finished of all poems. 



Nevertheless, the Aeneid stands as the mas- 

 terpiece of Vergil and as one of the master- 

 pieces of the world. Modeled as it is on th. 

 Iliad and the Odyssey, it falls below these 

 great poems in certain respects, notably in the 

 presentation of dramatic scenes. And yet it is 

 a noble conception, full of religious and i 

 otic ideals; and in Dido it gives one real, liv- 

 ing character to the gallery of men and women 

 in fiction. In its metrical beauty the poem has 

 few rivals and probably no superiors. The ear- 

 liest and one of the favorite verse translations 

 is that of Dryden. 



The writings of Vergil arc an important part 

 of every Latin course in the high schools, 

 nearly always constituting all of the work of 

 tin- fourth >. ir in that language. A.MCC. 



Consult Duff's A Literary History of Rome; 

 Sellar's Roman Poets of the Augusta* Age: Ver- 

 gil. 



Related Subjeet*. The following articles in 

 these volumes will explain the references in the 

 above discussion of Vergil, and will give added 

 information : 



Aeneid Iliad 



Augustus Odyssey 



