970 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters. 
a number of ancient works. In view of this general survival 
of the classics; in view of John’s character, his travels, his 
friends, and his humanistic leanings, one would naturally ex¬ 
pect to find in him an extensive knowledge of the classics. 
Of the authors whom he quotes, Virgil is, of course, the 
foremost, as he was with preceding writers.* To John, Virgil 
is the world philosopher—“procedat tibi poeta Mantuanus, qui, 
sub imagine fabularum, totius philosophiae exprimit veri- 
tatem” * 1 and the Aeneid the book of life—” Virgilius in libro 
quo totius philosophiae rimatur arcana.” 2 The conception of 
the Aeneid as held by the school of Chartres, John enlarges 
with great detail. The first book with its story of the ship 
wreck 3 symbolizes the trials of sturdy child-hood; the second 
book illustrates the development and frank curiosity of boy¬ 
hood; the third, the errors of youth; the fourth pictures illicit 
love; the fifth shows manhood, fully developed, beginning to 
verge toward old age, while in the sixth old age with failing 
powers is awaiting impending death. This does not mean, 
however, that John knew only the first six books of the Aeneid. 
On the contrary some of his longest quotations are taken from 
the later books. 
The Georgies and Eclogues are equally well known to him. 
In the first, especially, he finds many lessons for his own genera¬ 
tion, and a very notable instance of this is the passage wherein 
he quotes sixty-seven lines from the fourth Georgic, introduc¬ 
ing the quotation with the words “Poetarum doctissimus Maro 
ut civilem vitam ab apibus mutuetur” 4 and concluding with the 
comment “Pepublicae omnes auctores percurrere, rerum pub- 
licarum revolve historias, vita civilis tibi rectius et elegantius 
nus quam occuret. Essentque procul dubio beatae civitates, si 
hanc sibi vivendi praescriberent formam.” 5 Such lessons he 
* The detailed consideration of John’s use of each author has been 
omitted from this paper. This material may he had by reference to the 
original thesis in the library of the University of Wisconsin. 
1 Migne, p. 621. 
2 Migne, p. 430. 
s Ibid, pp. 620-2. 
4 Ibid, pp. 619-20. 
s Migne, p. 620. 
