Besides this poetical retreat, which his imagination could command at any time, Virgil had a real and delightful villa near Naples, where he composed his Georgics, and wrote great part of the Æneid. [b] When Augustus, or any eminent citizen, distinguished by his public merit, appeared in the theatre, the people testified their joy by acclamations, and unbounded applause. It is recorded by Horace, that Mæcenas received that public honour. ----Datus in theatro Cum tibi plausus, Care Mæcenas eques, ut paterni Fluminis ripæ, simul et jocosa Redderet laudes tibi Vaticani Montis imago. Lib. i. ode 20. When Virgil appeared, the audience paid the same compliment to a man whose poetry adorned the Roman story. The letters from Augustus, which are mentioned in this passage, have perished in the ruins of ancient literature. [c] Pomponius Secundus was of consular rank, and an eminent writer of tragedy. See _Annals_, b. ii. s. 13. His life was written by Pliny the elder, whose nephew mentions the fact (book iii. epist. 5), and says it was a tribute to friendship. Quintilian pronounces him the best of all the dramatic poets whom he had seen; though the critics whose judgement was matured by years, did not think him sufficiently tragical. They admitted, however, that his erudition was considerable, and the beauty of his composition surpassed all his contemporaries. _Eorum, quos viderim, longe princeps Pomponius Secundus, quem senes parum tragicum putabant, eruditione ac nitore præstare confitebantur._ Lib. x. cap. 1.