5. Where was most of his literary work done? 6. Give the salient points in Vergil's character. 7. What element in his character especially fitted him for the post of Rome's epic poet? 8. Did he enjoy "a long life's evening" to sing the praises of Pollio? XII, 190. 9. Compare the civilization of Vergil's time with that of the Homeric age. V, 143, 432. STYLE AND WORKS 1. What rank is generally accorded Vergil among Roman poets? 2. Name his three principal productions. 3. The "Eclogues" or "Bucolics" were written in imitation of what Greek author? 4. What field of literature did the Romans cultivate, which is best treated in the "Georgics," and almost entirely neglected by the writers of the other nations of antiquity? 5. Give Montaigne's opinion of the "Georgics." IX, 209. 6. Why was Vergil regarded as an enchanter in the Middle Ages? VIII, 95. Give another reason. 7. What two good qualities of Vergil's character ennoble his verse? FROM THE "ÆNEID" 1. Æneas, after fleeing from Troy, sacked by the Greeks, encountered various misfortunes, like Odysseus, and at last arrived at Carthage, recently founded by Dido, of Phœnicia. He narrates his adventures to her, and she, doomed by the gods, who desire to keep Æneas out of Italy, is consumed with love for him. Warned by friendly divinities to sail for Italy at once, Æneas has already begun preparations for departure. 2. The "Iliad" and the "Odyssey" were composed and listened to by men of action, familiar with battlefield, shipwreck, and the whole outdoor struggle for existence. The "Æneid" was written in a library by a gentle scholar for an audience whose culture was far advanced beyond that of Homer's warriors. In the main this fact is not immediately apparent, for Vergil was a consummate artist and took pains to prevent his work from 'smelling of the lamp'; that is, from showing its bookish and studied origin. But his phrases are hackneyed by comparison with Homer's "rosy-fingered Dawn" and "Odysseus of many counsels." 3. Find contrasting passages from Vergil and Homer, VII, 79, illustrating the comparison in 2. 4. Is Dido true to life; is her rash self-destruction convincingly handled by the poet? 5. Æneas figures in this episode as the villain; what excuse could Vergil make for him which would be valid in the eyes of the Romans? 6. What series of wars that almost overwhelmed Rome was carried on by Carthage centuries later? VIII, 198 ff. FOR REFERENCE "The World's Leading Poets."--BOYNTON. "Stories from Vergil."--CHURCH. "The Æneid of Vergil" ("Everyman's Library").--TAYLOR. "The Story of the Æneid."--BROOKS. "The Country of Horace and Vergil."--BOISSIER. "Roman Poets of the Augustan Age."--SELLAR. "Old Pictures of Life."--SWING. "Great Writers."--WOODBERRY. DANTE ALIGHIERI (1265-1321)