He was a master of literary form, seen at its best in the "Georgics" and the "Æneid," though the latter is an unfinished work with which Vergil was so little satisfied that in his will he directed its destruction. This wish was rightly regarded as the fastidious, nervous whim of the poet and was therefore unheeded.
The "Messianic Eclogue" prophesies the birth of a child under whose rule the Golden Age with prosperity and happiness should be restored to the earth. It is not certain what child the poet had in mind, though the phrase, "a world by righteous father tamed," would indicate a flattering reference to Antony or Augustus, who then shared the control of the world. In the Middle Ages it was firmly believed by the scholars that Vergil had been divinely inspired with the knowledge of the coming of Christ, and his fame as a magician was partly based on this idea.
THE MAN
1. In what part of Italy was the childhood of Vergil spent?
2. Why do subsequent epic poets refer to him as 'the Mantuan' and 'father Vergil'?
3. Of what court may we call him the poet laureate?
4. Did Vergil realize that in the reign of Augustus the Roman world had reached its zenith? XII, 188, 189.
5. Where was most of his literary work done?
6. Give the salient points in Vergil's character.