See also:

• VIRGIL (PUBLIUS VERGILIUS MARC)
• VIRGIL, POLYDORE (c. 1470-1555)

VIRGIL (PUBLIUS VERGILIUS MARC)  , the See also:

• GREAT

great See also:

• ROMAN

Roman poet, was See also:

• BORN, IGNAZ, EDLER VON (1742–1791)

born on the 15th of See also:

• OCTOBER

October in the See also:

• YEAR

year 70 B.C., on a See also:

• FARM

farm on the See also:

• BANKS, GEORGE LINNAEUS (1821-1881)
• BANKS, NATHANIEL PRENTISS (1816–1894)
• BANKS, SIR JOSEPH
• BANKS, THOMAS (1735-1805)

banks of the Mincio, in the See also:

• DISTRICT

district of See also:

• ANDES

Andes, not far from the See also:

• TOWN

town of See also:

• MANTUA (Ital. Mantova)

Mantua . In the region See also:

• NORTH
• NORTH, BARONS
• NORTH, MARIANNE (1830—1890)
• NORTH, ROGER (1653-1734)
• NORTH, SIR THOMAS (1535?-16o1?)

north of the Po a See also:

• RACE

race of more imaginative susceptibility than the See also:

• PEOPLE

people of See also:

• LATIUM

Latium formed See also:

• PART

part of the Latin-speaking See also:

• POPULATION (Lat. populus, people; populare, to populate)

population . It was favourable to his development as a See also:

• NATIONAL

national poet that he was born and educated during the See also:

• INTERVAL

interval of See also:

• COMPARATIVE

comparative See also:

• CALM

calm between the first and second See also:

• CIVIL

civil See also:

• WARS

wars, and that he belonged to a See also:

• GENERATION (from Lat. generare, to beget, procreate; genus, stock, race)

generation which, as the result of the social See also:

• WAR
• WAR (O. Eng. werre, Fr. guerre, of Teutonic origin; cf. O.H.G. werran, to confound)

war, first enjoyed the sense of an See also:

• ITALIAN

Italian See also:

• NATIONALITY

nationality . Yet it was only after See also:

• VIRGIL (PUBLIUS VERGILIUS MARC)
• VIRGIL, POLYDORE (c. 1470-1555)

Virgil had grown to manhood that the See also:

• PROVINCE
• PROVINCE (Lat. provincia; perhaps a contraction of providentia)

province to which he belonged obtained the full rights of Roman See also:

• CITIZEN (a form corrupted in Eng., apparently by analogy with " denizen," from O. Fr. citeain, mod. Fr. citoyen)

citizen, See also:

• SHIP

ship . It is remarkable that the two poets whose See also:

• IMAGINATION

imagination seems to have been most powerfully possessed by the spell of See also:

• ROME
• ROME (Roma)

Rome—See also:

• ENNIUS, QUINTUS (239-170 B.c.)

Ennius and Virgil—were born outside the See also:

• PALE (through Fr. pal, from Lat. palms, a stake, for paglus, from the stem pag- of pangere, to fix; " pole " is from the same original source)

pale of Roman citizenship . The scenery See also:

• FAMILIAR (through the Fr. familier, from Lat. familiaris, of or belonging to the familia, family)

familiar to his childhood, which he recalls with See also:

• AFFECTION (Lat. ad, and facere, to do something to, sc. a person)

affection both in the Eclogues and the Georgics, was that of the See also:

• GREEN, A
• GREEN, ALEXANDER HENRY (1832—1896)
• GREEN, DUFF (1791—1875)
• GREEN, JOHN RICHARD (1837—1883)
• GREEN, MATTHEW (1696-1737)
• GREEN, THOMAS HILL (1836-1882)
• GREEN, VALENTINE (1739–1813)
• GREEN, WILLIAM HENRY (.1825–1900)

green banks and slow windings of the Mincio and the See also:

• RICH, BARNABE (c. 1540-1617)
• RICH, CLAUDIUS JAMES (1787-1821)
• RICH, JOHN (1692-1761)
• RICH, PENELOPE, LADY (c. 1562–1607)
• RICH, RICHARD, 1ST BARON RICH (1490?-1567)

rich pastures in its neighbourhood . Like his friend and contemporary See also:

• HORACE [QuINTus HORATIUS FLACCUS] (65-8 B.C.)

Horace, he sprung from the class of yeomen, whose See also:

• STATE
• STATE, GREAT OFFICERS OF

state he pronounces the happiest allotted to See also:

• MAN
• MAN, ISLE OF (anc. Mona)

man and most conducive to virtue and piety . Virgil, as well as Horace, was fortunate in having a See also:

• FATHER

father who, though probably uneducated himself, discerned his See also:

• GENIUS (from Lat. genere, gignere)

genius and spared no pains in giving it the best culture then obtainable in the See also:

• WORLD

world . At the See also:

• AGE (Fr. age, through late Lat. aetaticum, from aetas)

age of twelve he was taken for his See also:

• EDUCATION

education to See also:

• CREMONA
• CREMONA, LUIGI (1830-1903)

Cremona, and from an expression in one of the See also:

• MINOR
• MINOR (Lat. for smaller, lesser)
• MINOR, ROBERT CRANNELL (1839-1904)

minor poems attributed to him, about the authenticity of which there cannot be any reasonable doubt, it may be inferred that his father accompanied him . Afterwards he removed to See also:

• MILAN
• MILAN (Ital. Milano, Ger. Mailand, anc. Mediolanum, q.v.)

Milan, where he continued engaged in study till he went to Rome two years later . The See also:

• TIME (0. Eng. Lima, cf. Icel. timi, Swed. timme, hour, Dan. time; from the root also seen in " tide," properly the time of between the flow and ebb of the sea, cf. O. Eng. getidan, to happen, " even-tide," &c.; it is not directly related to Lat. tempus)
• TIME, MEASUREMENT OF
• TIME, STANDARD

time of his removal to Rome must have nearly coincided with the publication of the poem of See also:

• LUCRETIUS (TITUS LUCRETIUS CARUS) (c. 98–55 B.C.)

Lucretius and of the collected poems of See also:

• CATULLUS, GAIUS VALERIUS (?84-J4 B.C.)

Catullus . After studying See also:

• RHETORIC (Gr. psroperctj TEXvq, the art of the orator)

rhetoric he began the study of See also:

• PHILOSOPHY (Gr. gthos, fond of, and vo4 (a, wisdom)

philosophy under Siron the Epicurean .

One of the minor poems written about this time in the scazon See also:

• METRE ((terpuc?, sc. rFxvf, from Gr. Or poi', measure)

metre tells of his delight at the immediate prospect of entering on the study of philosophy, and of the first stirring of that See also:

• ENTHUSIASM

enthusiasm for philosophical investigation which haunted him through the whole of his See also:

• LIFE

life . At the end of the poem, the real See also:

• MASTER (Lat. magister, related to tnagis, more, as the corresponding minister is to minus, less; the English form is due partly to the O. Eng. maegister, and partly to O. Fr. maistre, mod. maitre; cf. Du. meester, Ger. Meister, Ital. maestro)

master-See also:

• PASSION (post-classical Lat. passio, formed from pati, passus, to suffer, endure)

passion of his life, the See also:

• CHARM (through the Fr. from the Lat. carmen, a song)

charm of the See also:

• MUSES, THE (Gr. Mo6o-at, the thinkers)

Muses, reasserts itself (Catalepton v.) . Our next knowledge of him is derived from allusions in the Eclogues, and belongs to a See also:

• PERIOD
• PERIOD (Gr. irepioSos, a going or way round, circuit, aepi, round, and &Sis, way, road)

period nine or ten years later . Of what happened to him in the interval, during which the first civil war took See also:

• PLACE (through Fr. from Lat. platea, street; Gr. IrAar6s, wide)

place and See also:

• JULIUS

Julius See also:

• CAESAR, GAIUS JULIUS (102—44 B.c.)
• CAESAR, SIR JULIUS (1557-1558-1636)

Caesar was assassinated, we have no indication from See also:

• ANCIENT
• ANCIENT (also spelt ANTIENT; derived, through the Fr. ancien, old, from the late Lat. antianum, from ante, before)

ancient testimony or from his own writings . In 42 B.C., the year of the See also:

• BATTLE

battle of See also:

• PHILIPPI (Turk. Filibejik)

Philippi, we find him " cultivating his woodland Muse " under the See also:

• PROTECTION

protection of Asinius Pellio, See also:

• GOVERNOR (from the Fr. gouverneur, from gouverner, O. Fr. governer, Lat. gubernare, to steer a ship, to direct, guide)

governor of the district north of the Po . In the following year the famous See also:

• CONFISCATION (from Lat. confiscare, to consign to the fiscus, or imperial treasury)

confiscation's of See also:

• LAND

land for the benefit of the soldiers of the triumvirs took place . Of the impression produced on Virgil by these confiscations, and of their effect on his fortunes, we have a vivid See also:

• RECORD (Lat. recordari, to recall to mind, from cor, heart or mind)

record in the first and ninth eclogues . Mantua, in consequence of its vicinity to Cremona, which had been faithful to the cause of the re-public, was involved in this calamity; and Virgil's father was driven from his farm . By the See also:

• INFLUENCE (Late Lat. influentia, from influere, to flow in)

influence of his powerful See also:

• FRIENDS, SOCIETY
• FRIENDS, SOCIETY OF

friends, and by See also:

• PERSONAL

personal application to the See also:

• YOUNG
• YOUNG, A
• YOUNG, ARTHUR (1741-1820)
• YOUNG, BRIGHAM (1801-1877)
• YOUNG, CHARLES MAYNE (1777–1856)
• YOUNG, EDWARD (1683–1765)
• YOUNG, JAMES (1811-1883)
• YOUNG, THOMAS (1773-1829)

young Octavian, Virgil obtained the restitution of his land . In the meantime he had taken his father and See also:

• FAMILY

family with him to the small See also:

• COUNTRY (from the Mid. Eng. contre or contrie, and O. Fr. cuntree; Late Lat. contrata, showing the derivation from contra, opposite, over against, thus the tract of land which fronts the sight, cf. Ger. Gegend, neighbourhood)

country See also:

• HOUSE
• HOUSE (O. Eng. hiss, a word common to Teutonic languages, cf. Dut. huis, Ger. Haus; in Gothic it is only found in gudhiss, a temple; it may be ultimately connected with the root of " hide," conceal)

house of his old teacher Siron (Catolepton x.) . Soon afterwards we hear of him living in Rome, enjoying, in addition to the patronage of Polio, the favour of See also:

• MAECENAS, GAIUS (CILNIUS)

Maecenas, intimate with Varius, who was at first regarded as the rising poet of the new era, and later on with Horace . His friendship with See also:

• GALLUS, C
• GALLUS, CORNELIUS (c. 70-26 B.C.)
• GALLUS, GAIUS AELIUS
• GALLUS, GAIUS CESTIUS
• GALLUS, GAIUS SULPICIUS

Gallus, for whom he indicates a warmer affection and more enthusiastic admiration than for any one else, was formed before his second See also:

• RESIDENCE (Latin residere, to remain behind, to dwell, reside)

residence in Rome, in the Cisalpine province, with which Gallus also was connected both by See also:

• BIRTH (a word common in various forms to Teutonic languages from the root of the verb " to bear ")

birth and See also:

• OFFICE (from Lat. officium, " duty," " service," a shortened form of opifacium, from facere, " to do," and either the stem of opes, " wealth," " aid," or opus, " work ")

office .

The See also:

• PASTORAL (from Lat. pastor, a shepherd)

pastoral poems, or " eclogues," commenced in his native district, were finished and published in Rome, probably in 37 B.C . Soon afterwards he withdrew from habitual residence in Rome, and lived chiefly in See also:

• CAMPANIA

Campania, either at See also:

• NAPLES
• NAPLES (Ital. Napoli, and Lat. Neapolis)
• NAPLES, KINGDOM OF

Naples or in the neighbourhood of See also:

• NOLA

Nola . He was one of the companions of Horace in the famous See also:

• JOURNEY (through O. Fr. jornee or journee, mod. Fr. journee, from med. Lat. diurnata, Lat. diurnus, of or belonging to dies, day)

journey to See also:

• BRUNDISIUM (Gr. Bpevrkwv, mod. Brindisi)

Brundisium; and it seems not unlikely that, some time before 23 B.C., he made the voyage to See also:

• ATHENS
• ATHENS ['AN vat, Athenae, modem colloquial Greek `Ath va]

Athens which forms the subject of the third See also:

• ODE (Gr. uiSri, from aei&ew, to sing)

ode of the first See also:

• BOOK

book of the Odes of Horace . , The seven years from 37 to 30 B.C. were devoted to the See also:

• COMPOSITION
• COMPOSITION (Lat. compositio, from componere, to put together)

composition of the Georgics . In the following year he read the poem to See also:

• AUGUSTUS (a name 1 derived from Lat. augeo, increase, i.e. venerable, majestic, Gr. Ee0avr6s)

Augustus, on his return from See also:

• ASIA

Asia . The remaining years of his life were spent on the composition of the Aeneid . In 19 B.C., after the Aeneid was finished but not finally corrected, he set out for Athens, intending to pass three years in See also:

• GREECE

Greece and Asia and to devote that time to perfecting the poem . At Athens he met Augustus, and was persuaded by him to return with him to See also:

• ITALY
• ITALY (Italia)

Italy . While visiting See also:

• MEGARA

Megara under a burning See also:

• SUN
• SUN (0. Eng. sonne, Ger. sonne. Fr. soleil, Lat. sol, Gr. ijXior, from which comes helio- in various English compounds)

sun, he was seized with illness, and, as he continued his voyage without interruption, he See also:

• GREW, NEHEMIAH (1641-1712)

grew rapidly worse, and died on the 21st of See also:

• SEPTEMBER (Lat. septem, seven)

September, in his fifty-first year, a few days after landing at Brundisium . In his last illness he called for the cases containing his See also:

• MANUSCRIPTS

manuscripts, with the intention of burning the Aeneid . He had previously See also:

• LEFT

left directions in his will that his See also:

• LITERARY

literary executors, Varius and Tucca, should publish nothing of his which had not already been given to the world by himself . This pathetic See also:

• DESIRE

desire that the See also:

• WORK

work to which he had given so much care, and of which such great expectations were formed, should not survive him has been used as an See also:

• ARGUMENT

argument to prove his own dissatisfaction with the poem .

A passage from a See also:

• LETTER (through Fr. lettre from Lat. littera or litera, letter of the alphabet; the origin of the Latin word is obscure; it has probably no connexion with the root of linere, to smear, i.e. with wax, for an inscription with a stilus)

letter of his to Augustus is also quoted, in which he speaks as if he See also:

• FELT (cognate with Ger. Filz, Du. vilt, Swed. and Dan. fill; the root is unknown; the word has given Med. Lat. filtrum, " filter ")

felt that the undertaking of the work had been a See also:

• MISTAKE (i.e. take amiss)

mistake . This dissatisfaction with his work may be ascribed to his passion. for perfection of workmanship, which See also:

• DEATH

death prevented him from attaining . The command of Augustus overrode the poet's wish and rescued the poem . Virgil was buried at Naples, where his See also:

• TOMB (Gr. Tuµ/3a, Tuµ(3os, probably allied to Lat. tumulus, literally a swelling, tumere, to swell)

tomb was See also:

• LONG, GEORGE (1800-1879)
• LONG, JOHN DAVIS (1838– )

long regarded with religious veneration . Horace is our most See also:

• DIRECT

direct See also:

• WITNESS
• WITNESS (from O. Eng. witan, to know)

witness of the affection which he inspired among his contemporaries . The qualities by which he gained their love were, according to his testimony, candor—sincerity of nature and goodness of See also:

• HEART
• HEART, LUNG

heart —and See also:

• PIETAS

pietas—the See also:

• UNION
• UNION (known locally as Union Hill and officially as Town of Union)

union of deep affection for kindred, friends and country with a spirit of reverence . The statement of his biographer, that be was known in Naples by the name " Parthenias," is a testimony to the exceptional purity of his life in an age of See also:

• LICENCE (through the French from Lat. licentia, licere, to be lawful)

licence . The seclusion of his life and his devotion to his See also:

• ART

art touched the imagination of his countrymen as the finer qualities of his nature touched the heart of his friends . It had been, from the time of See also:

• CICERO

Cicero,' the ambition of the men of finest culture and most See also:

• ORIGINAL

original genius in Rome to produce a national literature which might See also:

• RIVAL

rival that of Greece; and the feeling that at last a poem was about to appear which would equal ' Cf . Tusc . Disp. ii . 2: " Quamobrem hortor omnes qui facere id possunt, ut hujus quoque generis laudem jam languenti Graeciae eripiant," &c .

These words apply specially to philosophical literature, but other passages in the same and in other See also:

• WORKS

works imply that Cicero thought that the See also:

• ROMANS
• ROMANS, EPISTLE TO THE

Romans had equal aptitudes for other departments of literature; and the practice of the Augustan poets in each appropriating to himself a See also:

• SPECIAL

special province of See also:

• GREEK
• GREEK, ETRUSCAN AND

Greek literary art seems to indicate the same ambition.or surpass the greatest among all the works of Greek genius found a See also:

• VOICE (Fr. voix, from Lat. vox)

voice in the lines of See also:

• PROPERTIUS, SEXTUS (ft. 30-15 B.C.)

Propertius " Cedite Romani scriptoles, cedite Graii; Nescio quid majus nascitur Iliade." The feeling of his countrymen and contemporaries seems justified by the personal impression which he produces on See also:

• MODERN

modern readers—an impression of sanctity, as of one who habitually lived in a higher and serener See also:

• SPHERE (Gr. vclsa?pa, a ball or globe)

sphere than that of this world . The veneration in which his name was held during the long interval between the overthrow of Western See also:

• CIVILIZATION

civilization and the revival of letters affords testimony of the See also:

• DEPTH

depth of the impression which he made on the heart and imagination of the ancient world . The traditional belief in his pre-See also:

• EMINENCE (Lat. eminentia)

eminence has been on the whole sustained, though not with See also:

• ABSOLUTE (Lat. absolvere, to loose, set free)

absolute unanimity, in modern times . By the scholars and men of letters of the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries it was never seriously questioned . During the first See also:

• HALF

half of the 19th See also:

• CENTURY (from Lat. centuria, a division of a hundred men)

century his right to be ranked among the great poets of the world was disputed by some See also:

• GERMAN
• GERMAN, DUTCH AND SCANDINAVIAN

German and See also:

• ENGLISH

English critics . The effect of this was a juster estimate of Virgil's relative position among the poets of the world . It may still be a See also:

• MATTER

matter of individual See also:

• OPINION (Lat. opinio, from opinari, to think)

opinion whether Lucretius himself was not a more powerful and original poetical force, whether he does not speak more directly to the heart and imagination of our own time . But it can hardly be questioned, on a survey of Roman literature, as a continuous expression of the national mind, from the age of See also:

• NAEVIUS, GNAEUS (c. 264–? 194 B.C.)

Naevius to the age of Claudian, that the position of Virgil is central and commanding, while that of Lucretius is in a great measure isolated . If we could imagine the place of Virgil in Roman literature vacant, it would be much the same as if we imagined the place of See also:

• DANTE

Dante vacant in modern Italian, and that of See also:

• GOETHE, JOHANN WOLFGANG VON (1749-1832)

Goethe in German literature . The serious efforts of the See also:

• EARLY
• EARLY, JUBAL ANDERSON (1816-1894)

early Roman literature—the efforts of the older epic and tragic See also:

• POETRY

poetry—found their fulfilment in him . The See also:

• REVELATION, BOOK OF

revelation of the See also:

• POWER [WILLIAM GRATTAN] TYRONE (1797-1841)

power and life of Nature, first made to Lucretius, was able to charm the Roman mind, only after it had passed into the mind of Virgil . Virgil is the only See also:

• COMPLETE

complete representative of the deepest sentiment and highest See also:

• MOOD

mood of his countrymen and of his time .

In his pastoral and didactic poems he gives a living voice to the whole charm of Italy, in the Aeneid to the whole See also:

• GLORY (through the O. Fr. glorie, modern gloire, from Lat. gloria, cognate with Gr. KXebs, abets)

glory of Rome . He was in the maturity of his See also:

• POWERS, HIRAM (1805-1873)

powers at the most See also:

• CRITICAL (in alphabetical order of authors)

critical See also:

• EPOCH (Gr. E7roxij, holding in suspense, a pause, from E1rxav, to hold up, to stop)

epoch of the national life, one of the most critical epochs in the See also:

• HISTORY

history of the world . Keeping aloof from the trivial daily life of his See also:

• CON

con-temporaries, he was moved more profoundly than any of them by the deeper currents of emotion in the sphere of See also:

• GOVERNMENT
• GOVERNMENT (0. Fr. governement, mod. gouvernement, O. Fr. governer, mod. gouverner, from Lat. gubernare, to steer a ship, guide, rule; cf. Gr. xv(3epvav)

government, See also:

• RELIGION
• RELIGION, FOLKLORE, CUSTOM

religion, morals and human feeling which were then changing the world; and in uttering the enthusiasm of the See also:

• HOUR

hour, and all the new sensibilities that were stirring in his own heart and imagination, he had, in the words of Sainte-Beuve, " divined at a decisive hour of the world what the future would love." He was also by universal See also:

• ACKNOWLEDGMENT (from the old acknow, a compound of on- and know, to know by the senses, which passed through the forms oknow, aknow and acknow; acknowledge is formed on analogy of " knowledge ")

acknowledgment the greatest literary artist whom Rome produced . Virgil had a more See also:

• CATHOLIC (Gr. KcaBoXuK6s, general, universal)

catholic sympathy with the whole range of Greek poetry, from See also:

• HOMER, WINSLOW (1836-191o)

Homer and See also:

• HESIOD

Hesiod to See also:

• THEOCRITUS

Theocritus and the Alexandrians, than any one else at any period of Roman literature . The effort of the preceding generation to attain to beauty of See also:

• FORM (Lat. forma)

form and finish of See also:

• ARTISTIC

artistic See also:

• EXECUTION (from Lat. ex-sequor, exsecutus, follow or carry out)

execution found in him, at the most susceptible period of his life, a ready recipient of its influence . The See also:

• RUDE, FRANCOIS (1784–1855)

rude See also:

• DIALECT (from Gr. Sia stcror, conversation, manner of speaking, &aXeyec6at, to converse)

dialect of Latium had been moulded into a powerful and harmonious See also:

• ORGAN

organ of literary expression by a long See also:

• SERIES (a Latin word from serere, to join)

series of orators; the Latin See also:

• HEXAMETER

hexameter, first shaped by Ennius to meet the wants of his own spirit and of his high argument, had been smoothed and polished by Lucretius, and still more perfected by the finer See also:

• EAR (common Teut.; O.E. are, Ger. Ohr, Du. oor, akin to Lat. auris, Gr. ovs)

ear and more careful See also:

• INDUSTRY (Lat. industria, from indu-, a form of the pre, position in, and either stare, to stand, or struere, to pile up)

industry of Catullus and his circle; but neither had yet attained their final development . It was left for Virgil to bring both diction and See also:

• RHYTHM (Greek pvBµds, from bap, to flow)

rhythm to as high a See also:

• PITCH
• PITCH, MUSICAL

pitch of artistic perfection as has been attained in any literature . This great work was accomplished by the steady devotion of his genius to his appointed task . For the first half of his life he prepared himself to be the poet of his time and country with a high ambition and unresting industry . The second half of his career was a religious See also:

• CONSECRATION (Lat. consecrallo, from con and sacrare, " to make sacred ")

consecration of all his powers of heart, mind and spirit to his high office . Virgil's fame as a poet rests on the three acknowledged works of his early and mature manhood—the pastoral poems or Eclogues, the Georgics and the Aeneid—all written in that hexameter See also:

• VERSE (from Lat. versus, literally a line or furrow drawn by turning the plough, from vertere, and afterwards signifying an arrangement of syllables into feet)

verse which See also:

• TENNYSON, ALFRED TENNYSON

Tennyson has called " The stateliest measure ever moulded by the lips of man." The pastoral poems or Eclogues—a word denoting See also:

• SHORT, FRANCIS JOB (1857– )

short selected pieces—were composed between the years 42 and 37 B.C., when Eclogues . Virgil was between the age of twenty-eight and See also:

• THIRTY

thirty- three .

By his invocation to the " Sicelides Musae " and " See also:

• ARETHUSA

Arethusa," and by many other indications, he avows the purpose of eliciting from the strong Latin See also:

• LANGUAGE (adapted from the Fr. langage, from langue, tongue, Lat. lingua)

language the See also:

• MELODY (Gr. ,ueXw3ia, a choral song, from name, tune, and gi6i, song)

melody which the " Sicilian shepherd " See also:

• DREW
• DREW, SAMUEL (1765-1833)

drew out of the " Doric See also:

• REED
• REED, ANDREW (1787-1862)
• REED, ISAAC (1742—1807)
• REED, JOSEPH (1741—1785)
• REED, THOMAS BRACKETT (1839—1902)

reed," and of expressing that See also:

• TENDER

tender feeling for the beauty of Italian scenes which Theocritus had expressed for the beauty of See also:

• SICILY (Ital. Sicilia)

Sicily . The earliest poems in the series were the second, third and fifth; and these, along with the seventh, are the most purely Theocritean in See also:

• CHARACTER (Gr. xapareri7p, from xap&crew, to scratch)

character . The first and ninth, which probably were next in See also:

• ORDER
• ORDER (through Fr. ordre, for earlier ordene, from Lat. ordo, ordinis, rank, service, arrangement; the ultimate source is generally taken to be the root seen in Lat. oriri, rise, arise, begin; cf. " origin ")
• ORDER, HOLY

order, are much more Italian in sentiment, are much more an expression of the poet's own feelings, and have a much more direct reference both to his own circumstances and the circumstances of the time . The first is a true poetical reflex of the See also:

• DISTRESS

distress and confusion which arose out of the new See also:

• DISTRIBUTION (Lat. distribuere, to deal out)

distribution of lands, and blends the poet's own deep love of his See also:

• HOME
• HOME, DANIEL DUNGLAS (1833-1886)
• HOME, EARLS OF

home, and of the See also:

• SIGHTS

sights and sounds familiar to him from childhood, with his Italian susceptibility to the beauty of nature . The ninth is immediately connected in subject with the first . It contains the lines which seem accurately to describe the site of Virgil's farm, at the point where the range of hills which accompany the See also:

• RIVER

river for some distance from the See also:

• FOOT

foot of the Lago di See also:

• GARDA, LAKE OF (the Lacus Benacus of the Romans)

Garda sinks into the See also:

• PLAIN (O. Fr. plain, from Lat. plenum)

plain about 14 or 15 M. above Mantua . The See also:

• SIXTH

sixth is addressed to Varus, who succeeded See also:

• POLLIO, GAIUS ASINIUS (76 B.C.–A.D. 5; according to some, 75 B.C.–A.D. 4)

Pollio as governor of the Cisalpine district . Its theme is the creation of the world (according to the Epicurean See also:

• COSMOGONY (from Gr. K6Qµos, world and yiyvevGay to be born)

cosmogony), and the See also:

• OLDEST

oldest tales of See also:

• MYTHOLOGY

mythology.' The See also:

• FOURTH

fourth and eighth are both closely associated with the name of Virgil's earliest See also:

• PROTECTOR

protector, Pollio . The fourth celebrates the consulship of his See also:

• PATRON

patron in 40 B.C., and also the prospective birth of a See also:

• CHILD
• CHILD, FRANCIS JAMES (1825-1896)
• CHILD, L
• CHILD, LYDIA MARIA (1802-1880)
• CHILD, SIR FRANCIS (1642-1713)
• CHILD, SIR JOHN (d. 1690)
• CHILD, SIR JOSIAH (163o - 1699)

child, though it was disputed in antiquity, and still is disputed, who was meant by this child whose birth was to be coincident with the See also:

• ADVENT (Lat. Adventus, sc. Redemptoris, " the coming of the Saviour ")

advent of the new era, and who, after filling the other great offices of state, was to " See also:

• RULE

rule with his father's virtues the world at See also:

• PEACE
• PEACE, BREACH OF THE

peace." 2 The See also:

• MAIN (from the Aryan root which appears in " may " and " might," and Lat. magnus, great)
• MAIN (Lat. Moenus)

main purpose of the poem, however, is to See also:

• EXPRESS (through the French from the past participle of the Lat. exprimere, to press out, by transference used of representing objects in painting or sculpture, or of thoughts, &c. in words)

express the longing of the world for a new era of peace and happiness, of which the treaty of Brundisium seemed to hold out some definite hopes . There is no trace in this poem of Theocritean influence . The ideas are derived partly from Greek representations of the See also:

• GOLDEN

Golden Age, and partly, it is supposed, from the later Sibylline prophecies, circulated after the burning in the time of See also:

• SULLA, LUCIUS CORNELIUS (138–78 B.C.)

Sulla of the old Sibylline books, and possibly tinged with Jewish ideas . Some of the phraseology of the poem led to a belief in the early See also:

• CHRISTIAN
• CHRISTIAN, WILLIAM (1608-1663)

Christian See also:

• CHURCH
• CHURCH (according to most authorities derived from the Gr. Kvpcaxov [&wµa], " the Lord's [house]," and common to many Teutonic, Slavonic and other languages under various forms—Scottish kirk, Ger. Kirche, Swed. kirka, Dan. kirke, Russ. tserkov, Buig. cerk
• CHURCH, FREDERICK EDWIN (1826-1900)
• CHURCH, GEORGE EARL (1835–1910)
• CHURCH, RICHARD WILLIAM (1815–189o)
• CHURCH, SIR RICHARD (1784–1873)

church that Virgil had been an unconscious See also:

• INSTRUMENT (Lat. instrumentum, from insincere, to build up, furnish, arrange, prepare)

instrument of inspired prophecy .

The date of the eighth is fixed by a reference to the See also:

• CAMPAIGN

campaign of Pollio against the Dalmatians in 39 B.C . It is founded on the 4'aptaaKevrpla of Theocritus, but brings before us, with Italian associations, two love tales of homely Italian life . The tenth reproduces the See also:

• DAPHNIS

Daphnis of Theocritus, and is a See also:

• DIRGE

dirge over the unhappy love of Gallus and Lycoris . As in the other poems, the second and eighth, of which love is the See also:

• BURDEN, or BURTHEN

burden, it is to the romantic and fantastic See also:

• MELANCHOLY (Gr. µe)tayXotia, from µEtas, black, and Xotii, bile)

melancholy which the passion assumes in certain natures that Virgil gives a voice . There is no important work in Latin literature, with the exception of the See also:

• COMEDY

comedy of See also:

• TERENCE

Terence, so imitative as the Eclogues . But they are not, like the comedies of Terence, purely See also:

• EXOTIC (Gr. EWTIK6s, foreign, from few, outside)

exotic as well as imitative . They are rather composite, partly Greek and partly Italian, and, as a vehicle for the expression of feeling, hold an undefined place between the objectivity of the Greek idyll and the subjectivity of the Latin See also:

• ELEGY

elegy . For the most part, they express the sentiment inspired by the beauty of the world, and the kindred sentiment inspired by the charm of human relationships . Virgil's susceptibility to the beauty of nature appears in the truth with which his work suggests the charm of Italy—the fresh life of an Italian See also:

• SPRING (from " to spring," " to leap or jump up," " burst out," O. Eng., springau, a common Teut. word, cf. Ger. springer, possibly allied to Gr. QnrFpxecOac, to move rapidly)

spring, the delicate hues of the See also:

• WILD, JONATHAN (c. 1682-1725)

wild See also:

• FLOWERS, ARTIFICIAL

flowers and the quiet beauty of the pastures and orchards of his native district . The representative character of the poems is enhanced by the fidelity and See also:

• GRACE (Fr. grace, Lat. gratia, from grates, beloved, pleasing; formed from the root cra-, Gr. xav-, cf. xaipw, x6p,ua, Xapts)
• GRACE, WILLIAM GILBERT (1848– )

grace with which he has expressed the Italian See also:

• PEASANT (O. Fr. paysant, Mod. paysan; Lat. pagensis, belonging to the pagus or country; cf. " pagan ")

peasant's love of his home and of all things associated with it . The supreme charm of the diction and rhythm is universally recognized . The power of varied See also:

• HARMONY (Gr. dpµovia, a concord of musical sounds, dpA'ew to join; &plan midi (sc. TeXvil)

harmony is as conspicuous in Virgil's earliest poems as in the maturer and more elaborate workmanship of the Georgics and Aeneid .

The Italian language, without See also:

• SACRIFICE (from Lat. sacrificium; sacer, holy, and facere, to make)

sacrifice of the fulness, strength and See also:

• MAJESTY (Fr. majeste; Lat. majestas, grandeur, greatness, from the base mag-, as in magnus, great, major, greater, &c.)

majesty of its tones, acquired a more tender grace and more liquid flow from the See also:

• GIFT (a common Teutonic word, cf. Ger. die Gift, gift, das Gift, poison, formed from the Teut. stem gab-, to give, cf. Dutch geven, Ger. geben; in O. Eng. the word appears with initial y, the guttural of later English is due to Scandinavian influence)

gift—the " molle atque facetum "—which the Muses of country life bestowed on Virgil . In the Georgics also Virgil attempts to combine See also:

• SCIENCE (Lat. scientia, from scire; to learn, know)

science with the poetic fancies which filled its place in older times . 2 See Virgil's Messianic See also:

• ECLOGUE

Eclogue: Its Meaning, Occasion and See also:

• SOURCES

Sources, three studies by J . B . See also:

• MAYOR (Lat. major, greater)
• MAYOR, JOHN EYTON BICKERSTETH (1825– )

Mayor, W . Warde See also:

• FOWLER, CHARLES (1792-1867)
• FOWLER, EDWARD (1632-1714)
• FOWLER, JOHN (1826-1864)
• FOWLER, SIR JOHN (1817-1898)
• FOWLER, WILLIAM (c. 156o-1614)

Fowler and R . S . See also:

• CONWAY (Conwy, or Aberconwy)
• CONWAY, HENRY SEYMOUR (1721-1795)
• CONWAY, HUGH
• CONWAY, MONCURE DANIEL (1832–1907)
• CONWAY, SIR WILLIAM MARTIN (1856– )

Conway (1907) . But these Muses had a more serious and dignified See also:

• FUNCTION

function to fulfil than that of glorifying the picturesque pastime, the " otia dia," of rural life . The Italian imagination formed an ideal of Georgics. the happiness of a country life nobler than that of passive susceptibility to the sights and sounds of the outward world . It is stated that Maecenas, acting on the principle of employing the poets of the time in favour of the conservative and restorative policy of the new government, directed the genius of Virgil to the subject of the Georgics . No See also:

• OBJECT

object could be of more consequence in the eyes of a statesman whose master inherited the policy of the popular leaders than the revival of the great national industry, associated with happier memories of Rome, which had fallen into See also:

• ABEYANCE (O. Fr. abeance, " gaping")

abeyance owing to the long unsettlement of the revolutionary era as well as to other causes .

Virgil's previous life and associations made it natural for him to identify himself with this object, while his genius fitted him to enlist the imagination of his countrymen in its favour . It would be a most inadequate view of his purpose to suppose that, like the Alexandrian poets or the didactic poets of modern times, he desired merely to make useful See also:

• INFORMATION (from Lat. informare, to give shape or form to, to represent, describe)

information more attractive by the aid of verse . His aim was rather to describe with realistic fidelity, and to surround with an See also:

• ATMOSPHERE (Gr. fir µ6r, vapour; orkaipa, a sphere)

atmosphere of poetry, the See also:

• ANNUAL

annual See also:

• ROUND (O. Fr. rond, Lat. rotundus, the Fr. is the source also of Du. rond; Ger., Swed., Dan. and Nor. rond)

round of labour in which the Italian See also:

• YEOMAN

yeoman's life was passed; to bring out the intimate relation with nature into which man was brought in the course of that life, and to suggest the delight to heart and imagination which he drew from it; to contrast the simplicity, See also:

• SECURITY (Lat. securus, free from care, safe)

security and sanctity of such a life with the luxury and lawless passions of the great world; and to See also:

• ASSOCIATE (Lat. associates, from ad, to, and sociare to join)

associate the ideal of a life of rustic labour with the beauties of Italy and the glories of Rome . This larger conception of the dignity of his subject separates the didactic poem of Virgil from all other didactic, as distinct from philosophic, poems . He has produced in the Georgics a new type of didactic, as in the Aeneid he has produced a new type of epic, poetry . The subject is treated in four books, varying in length from 514 to 566 lines . The first treats of the tillage of the See also:

• FIELDS, JAMES THOMAS (1817-1881)

fields, of the constellations, the rise and setting of which form the See also:

• FARMER, RICHARD (1735–1787)

farmer's See also:

• CALENDAR

calendar, and of the signs of the See also:

• WEATHER (O. Eng. weder; the word is common to Teutonic languages; cf. Du. weder, Dan. veir, Icel. ve8r, and Ger. Wetter and Gewitter, storm; the root is wa- to blow, from which is derived " wind ")

weather, on which the success of his labours largely depends . The second treats of trees, and especially of the See also:

• VINE

vine and See also:

• OLIVE (Olea europaea)

olive, two great staples of the national See also:

• WEALTH

wealth and industry of Italy; the third of the rearing of herds and flocks and the breeding of horses; the fourth of bees . As he had found in Theocritus a See also:

• MODEL (0. Fr. modelle, mod. modele; It. modello, pattern, mould; from Lat. modus, measure, standard)

model for the form in which his idler fancies were expressed, he turned to an older See also:

• PAGE
• PAGE, THOMAS NELSON (1853- )
• PAGE, WILLIAM (1811-1885)

page in Greek literature for the outline of the form in which his graver See also:

• INTEREST

interest in rural affairs was to find its outlet . The Works and Days of Hesiod could not See also:

• SUPPLY (through Fr. from Lat. supplere, to fill up)

supply an adequate See also:

• MOULD

mould for the systematic treatment of all the processes of rural industry, and still less for the treatment of the larger ideas to which this was subsidiary, yet that Virgil considered him as his prototype is shown by the See also:

• LINE

line which concludes one of the See also:

• CARDINAL (Lat. cardinalis)

cardinal episodes'of the poem " Ascraeumque See also:

• CANO, ALONZO (1601–1667)
• CANO, MELCHIOR (1525-1560)

cano See also:

• ROMANA

Romana per oppida carmen." Virgil accepts also the guidance of the Alexandrian poets who treated the science of their See also:

• DAY (O. Eng. dreg, Ger. Tag; according to the New English Dictionary, " in no way related to the Lat. dies")
• DAY, JOHN (1574-1640?)
• DAY, THOMAS (1748-1789)

day—See also:

• ASTRONOMY (from Gr. &arpov, a star, and v ,usiv, to classify or arrange)

astronomy, natural history and See also:

• GEOGRAPHY (Gr. yil, earth, and ypiickty, to write)

geography—in the metre and diction of epic poetry . But, in availing himself of the work of the Alexandrians, Virgil is like a great master making use of See also:

• MECHANICAL

mechanical assistants . A more powerful influence on the form, ideas, sentiment and diction of the Georgics was exercised by the great philosophical poem of Lucretius, of which Virgil had probably been a diligent student since the time of its first See also:

• APPEARANCE (from Lat. apparere, to appear)

appearance, and with which his mind was saturated when he was engaged in the composition of the Georgics .

Virgil is at once attracted and repelled by the genius and attitude of the philosophic poet . He is possessed by his imaginative conception of nature, as a living, all-pervading power; he shares his Italian love of the beauty of the world, and his sympathy with See also:

• ANIMAL
• ANIMAL (Lat. animalis, from anima, breath, soul)

animal as well as human life . He recognizes with enthusiasm his contemplative See also:

• ELEVATION

elevation above the See also:

• PETTY, SIR WILLIAM (1623-1687)

petty interests and passions of Iite . But he is repelled by his apparent separation from the See also:

• ORDINARY (med. Lat. ordinarius, Fr. ordinaire)

ordinary beliefs, hopes and fears of his See also:

• FELLOW

fellow-men . Virgil is in thorough sympathy with the best restorative tendencies—religious, social and national —of his time; Lucretius was driven into See also:

• ISOLATION

isolation by the anarchic and dissolving forces of his . So far as any speculative See also:

• IDEA (Gr. Ibia, connected with i&eiv, to see; cf. Lat. species from specere, to look at)

idea underlying the details of the Georgics can be detected, it is one of which the source can be traced to Lucretius—the idea of the struggle of human force with the forces of nature . In Virgil this idea is modified by Italian piety and by the Italian delight in the results of labour . In the See also:

• GENERAL
• GENERAL (Lat. generalis, of or relating to a genus, kind or class)

general See also:

• PLAN
• PLAN (from Lat. planes, flat)

plan of the poem Virgil follows the guidance of Lucretius rather than that of any Greek model . The distinction between a poem addressed to national and one addressed to philosophical sympathies is marked by the prominence assigned in the one poem to Caesar as the supreme See also:

• PERSONALITY (from Lat. persona, originally an actor's mask, from personare,1 to sound through)

personality of the age, in the other to See also:

• EPICURUS (342–270 B.C.)

Epicurus as the supreme master in the realms of mind . The invocation to the " Di agrestes," to the old gods of mythology and art, to the living Caesar as the latest power added to the See also:

• PAGAN
• PAGAN (Lat. paganus, of or belonging to a pagus, a canton, county district, village, commune)

pagan See also:

• PANTHEON (Lat. pantheum or pantheon; Gr. srav& ov, all-holy, from re, s, all, and Oeor god)

Pantheon, is both a parallel and a contrast to the invocation to the all-pervading principle of life, personified as " See also:

• ALMA

Alma See also:

• VENUS

Venus." In the systematic treatment of his materials, and the interspersion of episodes dealing with the deeper poetical and human interest of the subject, Virgil adheres to the practice of the older poet . He uses his connecting I I 4 links and formulas, such as " principio," " nunc age," &c., but uses them more sparingly, so as to make the logical mechanism of the poem Iess rigid, while he still keeps up the liveliness of a personal address . All his topics admit of being vitalized by attributing to natural processes the vivacity of human relationships and sensibility, and by association with the joy which the ideal farmer feels in the results of his See also:

• ENERGY (from the Gr. ivipyela; iv, in, ipyov, work)

energy .

Much of the argument of Lucretius, on the other See also:

• HAND
• HAND (a word common to Teutonic languages; cf. Ger. Hand, Goth. handus)
• HAND, FERDINAND GOTTHELF (1786-185r)

hand, is as remote from the genial presence of nature as from human associations . Virgil makes a much larger use than Lucretius of See also:

• ORNAMENT (Lat. ornare, to adorn)

ornament borrowed from older poetry, art, science and mythology . There is uniformity of chastened excellence in the diction and versification of the Georgics, contrasting with the imaginative force of isolated expressions and the majesty of isolated lines and passages in Lucretius . The " vivida vis' of imagination is more apparent in the older poet; the artistic perfection of Virgil is even more conspicuous in the Georgics than in the Eclogues or the Aeneid . The See also:

• PRINCIPAL

principal episodes of the poem, in which the true dignity and human interest of the subject are brought out, occur in the first and second books . Other shorter episodes add variety to the different books . These episodes are not detached or isolated ornaments, but give a higher unity to the poem, and are the main ground of its permanent hold upon the world . There is indeed one marked exception to this rule . The long See also:

• EPISODE

episode with which the whole poem ends—the See also:

• TALE (O.Eng. talu, number, account, story; the word is common to many Teutonic languages; cf. Ger. Zahl, number, Erzahlung, narrative, Du. taal, speech, language)

tale of the shepherd See also:

• ARISTAEUS

Aristaeus, with which is connected the more poetical See also:

• FABLE (Fr. fable, Lat. fabula)

fable of See also:

• ORPHEUS

Orpheus and See also:

• EURYDICE (Evpuiixq)

Eurydice—has only the slightest connexion with the general ideas and sentiment of the poem . It is altogether at variance with the truthful See also:

• REALISM (from Low Lat. realis, appertaining to res, things, as opposed to ideas and imaginations)

realism and the Italian feeling which pervade it . But we are distinctly told that the original conclusion had contained the praises of Gallus, the friend of Virgil's youth, who, about the time when Virgil was See also:

• FINISHING

finishing the poem, had gained distinction in the war against See also:

• CLEOPATRA

Cleopatra, and had in consequence been made the first governor of the new province of See also:

• EGYPT

Egypt . Such a conclusion might well have been in keeping with the main purpose of the poem .

After the fall of Gallus, owing to his ambitious failure in his See also:

• EGYPTIAN

Egyptian See also:

• ADMINISTRATION (Lat. administrare, to serve)

administration, and his death in 26 s.c., the poet, according to the See also:

• STORY, JOHN (c. 1510-1571)
• STORY, JOSEPH (1779-1845)
• STORY, ROBERT HERBERT (1835-1907)
• STORY, WILLIAM WETMORE (1819—1895)

story, in obedience to the command of the See also:

• EMPEROR (Fr. empereur, from the Lat. imperator)

emperor, substituted for this encomium the beautiful but irrelevant fable of Orpheus and Eurydice, in which he first displayed the narrative skill, the pathos and the magical power of making the See also:

• MYSTERY (Gr. µw(Trilpcov, from tcuvrm, an initiate, µfew, to shut the mouth)

mystery of the unseen world See also:

• PRESENT

present to the imagination which characterize the Aeneid . The cardinal episodes of the poem, as it now stands, are the passages in bk. i. from line 464 to the end, and in bk. ii. from 136 to 176 and from 475 to 542 . The first, introduced in connexion with the signs of the weather, recounts the omens which accompanied the death of Julius Caesar, and shows how the misery of Italy and the neglected state of the fields are the See also:

• PUNISHMENT (from Lat. punire, to punish, from poena, punishment, Gr. 7rocvil)

punishment for the great See also:

• SIN
• SIN (O. Eng. syn: a common Teutonic word, cf. Dutch zonde, Ger. Siinde)

sin of the previous generation . In the second of these passages the true keynote of the poem is struck in the invocation to Italy " Salve, magna parens frugum, See also:

• SATURNIA (mod. Saturnia)

Saturnia tellus, Magna virum." The thought of the beauties of the land, of the abundance and variety of its products, of its ancient cities and mighty works of man, its brave and See also:

• HARDY, ALEXANDRE (1569?-1631)
• HARDY, SIR THOMAS DUFFUS (1804-1878)
• HARDY, SIR THOMAS MASTERMAN
• HARDY, THOMAS (1840- )

hardy races, the great men who had fought for her in old times, and of him, the greatest among her sons, who was then defending Rome against her enemies in the farthest See also:

• EAST
• EAST, ALFRED (1849- )

East, inspires the poet, and gives dignity to the trivial details of farm life . But a still higher and more catholic interest is given to the subject in the greatest of the episodes—the most perfect passage in all Latin poetry—that from line 458, " O fortunatos nimium," to the end . The subject is there glorified by its connexion not only with the national well-being but with the highest life and purest happiness of man . The old delight in the labours of the See also:

• FIELD (a word common to many West German languages, cf. Ger. Feld, Dutch veld, possibly cognate with O.E. f olde, the earth, and ultimately with root of the Gr. irAaror, broad)
• FIELD, CYRUS WEST (1819-1892)
• FIELD, DAVID DUDLEY (18o5-1894)
• FIELD, EUGENE (1850-1895)
• FIELD, FREDERICK (18o1—1885)
• FIELD, HENRY MARTYN (1822-1907)
• FIELD, JOHN (1782—1837)
• FIELD, MARSHALL (183 1906)
• FIELD, NATHAN (1587—1633)
• FIELD, STEPHEN JOHNSON (1816-1899)
• FIELD, WILLIAM VENTRIS FIELD, BARON (1813-1907)

field blends with the new delight in the beauty of nature, and is associated with that purity and happiness of family life which was an Italian ideal, and with the poetry of those religious beliefs and observances which imparted a sense of security, a constantly recurring charm, and a See also:

• BOND
• BOND, SIR EDWARD AUGUSTUS (1815-1898)

bond of social sympathy to the old rustic life . The Georgics is not only the most perfect, but the most native of all the works of the ancient Italian genius . Even where he borrows from Greek originals, Virgil makes the Greek mind tributary to his national See also:

• DESIGN (Fr. desiin, drawing; Lat. designare, to mark out)

design . The Georgics, the poem of the land, is as essentially Italian as the Odyssey, the poem of the See also:

• SEA (in O. Eng. sae, a common Teutonic word; cf. Ger. See, Dutch Zee, &c.; the ultimate source is uncertain)
• SEA, COMMAND OF THE

sea, is essentially Greek . Nature is presented to us as she is revealed in the soft luxuriance of Italian landscape, not in the clearly defined forms of Greek scenery . The poem shows the Italian susceptibility to the beauty of the outward world, the dignity and sobriety of the Italian imagination, the See also:

• FIRM

firm and enduring structure of all Roman workmanship, while it is essentially Italian in its religious and ethical feeling .

The work which yet remained for Virgil to accomplish was the addition of a great Roman epic to literature . This had been the Aenold earliest effort of the national imagination, when it first departed from the See also:

• MERE
• MERE, ADALBERT (1838-1909)

mere imitative See also:

• REPRODUCTION

reproduction of Greek originals . The work which had given the truest expression to the genius of Rome before the time of Virgil h