CONTENTS

CHAPTER I.                  
GENERAL INTRODUCTION.
PAGE
I. Relation of the Augustan Age to other Literary Epochs 1–8
Relation of the Augustan poetry to that of the preceding Age 1
Parallel of the Augustan Age with other great literary Epochs 4
—— especially with the Age of Louis XIV 5
Chief conditions modifying the poetry of the Augustan Age 7
II. Influence of the enthusiasm in favour of the Empire 8–21
General longing for peace 8
Revival of national sentiment and pride of Empire 10
Moral and religious reaction 13
Augustus the centre of the national enthusiasm 14
Deification of the Emperor in the poetry of the Age 15
—— illustrated by other extant works of art 19
Direction given to national sentiment by Augustus 20
III. Influence of Patronage on the Augustan Poetry 21–31
Poetry employed in the interest of the Government 21
Patrons of literature—Augustus 22
Personal influence of Maecenas 23
Pollio, Messala, Agrippa, Cornelius Gallus 26
Causes of the connexion between literature and social eminence 28
Effects of this connexion on the tone of literature 29
IV. Influence of material conditions on Literature 31–37
Wealth and luxury of Rome in the Augustan Age 31
Liberality of Augustus and Maecenas to Virgil and Horace 33
Effects of this on the art of these poets 34
Reaction from the luxury of the Age apparent in literature 35
V. General condition of literary culture as affecting the Augustan Poetry 37–54
Intellectual character of the last years of the Republic and earlier years of the Empire 37
Distinction between the earlier and later periods 38
Appreciation of Greek art and literature in both 39
Alexandrine influences on the Augustan poetry 41
Characteristics of the Alexandrine poets 42
Their treatment of mythological subjects 43
Scientific and learned character of their poetry 44
Their treatment of the passion of love 45
Their treatment of external Nature 46
Pictorial art of the later Greeks 48
Superiority of the Augustan to the Alexandrine literature 49
Friendly relations among the poets of the Augustan Age 51
Influence of these relations on their art 52
Hostility of other literary coteries 53
VI. Causes of the special devotion to Poetry in the Augustan Age 54–58
Effect of the Monarchy on the great forms of prose literature 55
Poetry later in feeling the effects of Despotism 56
The Augustan literature the maturest development of the national mind 57
 
CHAPTER II.
VIRGIL’S PLACE IN ROMAN LITERATURE.
Virgil’s pre-eminence acknowledged till recent times 59
Disparagement of his genius in the present century 60
I. Estimate of Virgil in former times 60–68
His former reputation as a great Epic Poet 61
Estimate of the Aeneid among the Romans 61
  "   "   during the ‘Dark Ages’ 64
  "   "   at the revival of letters 65
  "   "   during the 17th and 18th centuries 67
II. Change in the estimate of Virgil in the present century 68–77
Virgil’s alleged dissatisfaction with the Aeneid 69
Probable explanation of this 70
Adverse criticisms in the present century 71
Causes of these criticisms 74
Advance in Greek scholarship 74
Modern interest in remote antiquity 74
Literary reaction at the end of the 18th century 75
III. Virgil’s supreme importance as a representative writer 77–87
Virgil a great representative of his country and age 78
  "   "   of the idea of Rome 79
  "   "   of the sentiment of Italy 80
  "   "   of the political feeling of his age 81
  "   "   of its ethical and religious sensibility 83
  "   "   of Roman culture and learning 84
  "   "   of Roman art and style 85
The style of Virgil the maturity preceding decay 86
IV. Virgil’s claim to rank among the great Poets of the World 87–92
Distinction between Greek, Latin, and modern imagination 87
Vividness and realism of feeling characteristic of the Latin imagination 89
Modes in which this vividness and realism are manifested by Virgil 90
 
CHAPTER III.
LIFE AND PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS OF VIRGIL.
I. Sources of our knowledge of Virgil’s Life 93–99
Various sources of ancient literary biography 93
Direct personal statements of the authors 93
Indirect self-revelations in their works 94
Evidence of contemporaries 94
Works of ancient Grammarians, etc. 95
Remains of ancient art 95
Knowledge of Virgil derived from his works 95
Testimony of Horace 95
Biographies of Probus and Donatus 98
Their value as evidence of facts and character 98
II. Life of Virgil 99–121
His name and the year of his birth 99
His birth-place as affecting his genius 101
His birth-place as affecting his culture 103
  "   "   "   his political feeling 104
Characteristics of the class from which he sprang 105
His early years 107
His studies at Rome 109
His later life in his native district 113
Loss of his farm 115
Publication of the Eclogues and preparation of the Georgics 116
Testimonies of Horace as to his life during this time 117
The Georgics composed at Naples 119
His death and wish to destroy the Aeneid 120
III. Personal Characteristics 121–129
His recluse and studious life 122
His personal appearance and habits 123
Impression of his character derived from Horace 124
  "   "   "   from his own works 125
His indifference to political freedom 127
His devotion to his art 127
 
CHAPTER IV.
THE ECLOGUES.
I. The Eclogues examined in the order of their composition 130–152
Character of the Eclogues indicated by expressions used in them 130
Order and time of their composition 131
Imitative character of the second and third 132
The fifth founded on the death and apotheosis of Julius Caesar 137
Purely Theocritean character of the seventh 138
The first and ninth Eclogues 139
Elements of interest in the sixth 143
The ‘Pollio’ 144
Questions discussed in connexion with that poem 146
The eighth and tenth Eclogues 148
II. Relation of the Eclogues to the Greek Pastoral 152–160
Theocritean origin of Virgil’s Eclogues 152
Primitive pastoral poem among the Greeks 154
The ‘woes of Daphnis’ 155
The love of the Cyclops for Galatea 156
Origin of the pastoral dialogue 157
Artistic form given to these primitive elements by Theocritus 157
Difference between the pastoral life of Sicily and rural life of Italy 159
III. Truth of feeling in the Eclogues 161–173
Inferiority of the Eclogues in truth and vividness of representation 161
Allusive personal references in the Eclogues 161
Mythological and geographical allusions 162
The sentiment of Nature in the Eclogues 164
The love of home and of the land 165
The passion of love 167
Style and rhythm of the Eclogues 168
Their Italian character 172
 
CHAPTER V.
MOTIVES, FORM, SUBSTANCE, AND SOURCES OF THE GEORGICS.
I. Original motives of the Poem 174–180
Desire to treat of rural life in the spirit of Hesiod 175
Influence of Maecenas on the choice of the subject 177
Virgil’s sympathy with the old class of husbandmen 178
II. Form of poetry adopted by Virgil 180–184
What forms of poetry available for Virgil’s purpose? 180
Character of didactic poetry among the Greeks 182
New type of didactic poetry introduced by Virgil 183
III. National interest and substance of the Poem 185–190
Italian character of the subject 185
Connexion of the subject with national history 187
Exceptional character of the concluding episode 189
IV. Sources of the Poem 190–198
Materials derived by Virgil from his own life 191
From Greek and Roman writers on agriculture 191
Relation of the Georgics to the ‘Works and Days’ 193
  "   "   to the Alexandrine Metaphrastae 195
 
CHAPTER VI.
STRUCTURE AND COMPOSITION OF THE POEM IN RELATION TO THE POEM OF LUCRETIUS.
I. Personal affinities and contrast between Lucretius and Virgil 199–204
Influence of Lucretius on the ideas, method, and style of the Georgics 199
Virgil’s recognition of his relation to Lucretius 200
Identity of feeling in the two poets 201
Difference in position and sympathies 202
Difference between the philosophic poet and poetic artist 203
II. The Lucretian idea of Nature in the Georgics 204–214
Nature more fully revealed in Lucretius than in earlier poetry 204
Idea of the struggle of man with Nature in Lucretius 205
Lesson drawn by him from this idea 207
Presence of the same idea in other Roman writers 207
Virgil’s sense of the life of Nature derived from Lucretius 208
Idea of the struggle with Nature as ordained by Providence 209
Prominence thus given to the duty of labour 211
Lesson inculcated in the Georgics 212
Scientific beliefs of Lucretius as adopted or rejected by Virgil 213
III. Dedications and Invocations in the two Poems 214–228
Lucretius Virgil’s chief model in technical execution 214
Address to Maecenas compared with address to Memmius 215
Eulogy of Caesar compared with eulogy of Epicurus 216
Meaning of their Invocation of Supernatural aid 217
Varieties of religious feeling and belief in the Augustan Age 218
Rustic Paganism of Italy 218
Religious conceptions embodied in Greek art 219
Religious elements in Greek speculative philosophy 221
National religion of Rome 222
Meaning of the Invocation of Caesar 224
Union of various modes of religious belief in the Invocation 225
Proems to the other Books of the Georgics 227
IV. Comparison of Virgil with Lucretius in didactic exposition and illustration 229–244
Method of science in Lucretius, of art in Virgil 229
Greater selection and elimination of materials in Virgil 230
Illustration of Virgil’s subject from his sense of beauty 231
—— from his sense of the life of Nature 232
—— from his sympathy with the life of animals 233
—— from his conception of human energy in conflict with Nature 234
—— from literary and mythological associations 235
—— from astronomy, antiquity, religious usages 239
Inferiority of Virgil to Lucretius in the use of imaginative analogies 240
More uniform excellence in diction and rhythm 241
Virgil more of a conscious artist 242
V. The Episodes in the Georgics 244–260
Purpose of the episodes in Lucretius and in the Georgics 244
The minor episodes in the Georgics 245
Episodes at the end of Books iii. and iv. 248
Episode of the omens accompanying the death of Julius Caesar 252
Episode of the Glory of Italy 255
Episode at the end of Book ii. 256
 
CHAPTER VII.
THE GEORGICS A POEM REPRESENTATIVE OF ITALY 261–279
The Georgics an original work of Latin genius 261
Technical value of the poem as an exposition of Italian husbandry 263
Relation of the illustrative matter to the cultivated Italian mind 266
Feeling of the dignity of labour an Italian sentiment 267
Italian feeling and representation of Nature 268
Italian character of the religious sentiment of the poem 272
  "   "   of its ethical and political sentiment 273
  "   "   of its artistic execution 276
 
CHAPTER VIII.
THE ROMAN EPIC BEFORE THE TIME OF VIRGIL 280–294
Distinction between primitive and literary epic 280
Absence of primitive epics from Roman literature 281
The Roman epic originates in the imitation of the Greek epic 282
New character given to the Roman epic from the national sentiment and commemorative instinct 283
—— from admiration of great men 284
—— from capacity for works of massive execution 285
National characteristics of the poem of Naevius 286
Historical substance of the early Roman epic 287
Representative character of the Annals of Ennius 288
Later annalistic and panegyrical poems 289
New type of Roman epic introduced by Varro Atacinus 291
Type of historical epic rejected in the maturity of Roman art 292
 
CHAPTER IX.
FORM AND SUBJECT OF THE AENEID.
I. Purpose of the Aeneid and motives determining the form of the Poem 295–300
Literary motives of the poem 295
Motive originating in the state of public feeling 296
  "   "   "   in the position of Augustus 297
New problem in literary art presented to Virgil 298
The Aeneid the epic of the national fortunes 299
II. Adaptation of the legend of Aeneas to Virgil’s purpose 300–310
Adaptation of the legend of Romulus to a poem founded on national sentiment 300
Deficiency of the legend of Aeneas in national and human interest 301
Greek origin of the legend 301
Its late reception among the Romans 303
Vague and composite character of the legend 304
Grounds on which Virgil’s choice was justified 305
Connexion of the legend with the Homeric cycle of events 305
Its recognition by the State for more than two centuries 306
Connexion with the glory of the Julian family 308
Largeness of scope afforded by the vagueness of the legend 309
Adaptation to a poem representative of Rome in the Augustan Age 309
III. Composite character of the Aeneid illustrated by an examination of the Poem 310–324
Twofold purpose of Virgil in composing the Aeneid 310
Native and Greek sources employed by him 310
Prominence given to his double purpose in the statement of the subject of the poem 311
This double purpose traced in the details of the action 313
  "   "   "   in the ‘Inferno’ and in the ‘Shield of Aeneas’ 323
The Aeneid a new type of epic poetry 324
 
CHAPTER X.
THE AENEID AS THE EPIC OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE.
I. Modes of national Sentiment expressed in the Aeneid 325–335
Pride of Empire 325
Sense of national continuity 328
Patriotic Italian sentiment 330
Antagonism to other races 333
II. Influence of the Religious Idea of Rome on the action of the poem 336–347
Roman belief in the ‘Fortuna Urbis’ 336
Idea of ‘Fate’ in the Aeneid 337
Compared with the same idea in Tacitus 339
Origin and meaning of the Roman idea of Fate 340
Influence of this idea on the religious motives of the poem 341
Ethical aspect of religion in the Aeneid 344
III. Place assigned to Augustus in the Aeneid 347–354
Augustus the typical embodiment of Roman imperialism 347
Meaning given by Virgil to his relation to Aeneas 349
Imaginative and ethical value of the idea on which the Aeneid is founded 352
 
CHAPTER XI.
THE AENEID AS AN EPIC POEM OF HUMAN LIFE.
I. General character of the action as affected by the Age in which the poem was written, and by the author’s genius 355–364
Dignity of the circumstances treated in the poem 355
Distinction of the actors 356
Interest to Roman readers of the revival of Homeric life 357
  "   "   "   of the new romance of Italy 358
Virgil’s narrative power 359
Inferiority to Homer in exhibiting a vivid image of life 360
  "   "   from causes personal to Virgil 360
  "   "   from the character of his Age 361
Virgil’s representation an artistic compromise 363
Sources of creative power in Virgil’s genius 364
II. Supernatural Agencies, Observances, and Beliefs in the Aeneid 365–374
Part played by the Olympian Divinities in the Aeneid 365
  "   by the Powers of the Italian mythology 369
Survivals of primitive religious worship in the Aeneid 369
Belief in local deities 370
Worship of the dead 371
Virgil’s ‘Inferno’ 373
His exact acquaintance with religious ceremonial 374
III. Political and Social Life, etc. as represented in the Aeneid 376–394
Idea of a Paternal Government in the Aeneid 376
Sense of majesty attaching to Government 378
Relation of States to one another 379
Material civilisation 381
Social manners 382
Sea-adventure 384
Battle-scenes 388
Appeal to local associations 392
IV. Conception and Delineation of Character in the Aeneid 395–408
Weakness of dramatic imagination in Virgil 395
Conception and delineation of Aeneas 396
The minor characters of the poem 400
Turnus 402
Mezentius 404
Dido 405
V. On the Style, etc. of the Aeneid 408–423
Virgil’s imagination oratorical rather than dramatic 408
Characteristics of the speeches in the Aeneid 409
Descriptive faculty 410
Illustrative imagery 413
Rhythm and diction of the poem 418
Greatness of its style 421