‘At a verse from the Aeneid, the sun goes back for us on the dial; our boyhood is recreated, and returns to us for a moment like a visitant from a happy dreamland.’—Tyrrell.
‘In merely technical quality the supremacy of Vergil’s art has never been disputed. The Latin Hexameter, the stateliest measure ever moulded by the lips of man, was brought by him to a perfection which made any further development impossible.’—Mackail.
‘As Homer among the Greeks, so Vergil among our own authors will best head the list; he is beyond doubt the second epic poet of either nation.’—Quint. X. i. 85.
‘The chastest poet and royalest, Vergilius Maro, that to the memory of man is known.’—Bacon.
[APPENDIX VII.]
NOTE
The following Chronological Outlines of Roman History and Literature are intended to illustrate the passages selected for translation. Important events and writers in contemporary History and Literature are added, in order to emphasise the comparative method of treating History.
The names of those Latin authors from whose works passages have been selected are printed in capitals in the Literature Column.
A fuller outline of the Imperial Period will be given in a later volume.