A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology. By various writers. Ed. by William Smith. Illustrated by numerous engravings on wood.

VIRGILI US. VIRGILIUS. 126G7
colouring which pervades it, and the great amount Tib. Claudius Donatus, an "' Index absolutissimus
of antiquarian learning which he has scattered in Mauri Servii Honorati Commentarios in Virthrough it, make the Aeneid a study for the his- gilium," and an " Index Auctorum in Servii Comtorian of Rome. Virgil's good sense and taste are mentariis citatorum." All these matters make the
always conspicuous, and make up for the defect edition of Masvicius very usefil. P. Burmcann's
of originality. As a whole, the Aeneid leaves no edition appeared at Amsterdam, 1746, 4 vols. 4to.
strong impression, which arises from the fact that C. G. Heyne bestowed great labour on his edition
it is not really a national poem, like the Iliad or of Virgil, 1767-1775, Leipzig, 4 vols. 8vo, with
the Odyssey, the monument of an age of which a copious index: it was reprinted with improvewe have no other literary monument; it is a ments in 1788. In the fourth edition of Heyne's
learned poem, the production of an age in which it Virgil, by G. P. E. Wagner, Leipzig, 1830, 4 vols.
does not appear as all embodiment of the national 8vo, the text has been corrected after the best
feeling, but as a monument of the talent and in- MSS., the punctuation improved, and the orthodustry of an individual. The Aeneid contains graphy altered or amended. The text of this
many obscure passages, which a long series of edition is also published separately in a single
commentators have laboured to elucidate. Virgil volume with the title " Publii Vergilii Maronis
has the merit of being the best of the Roman epic Carmina ad pristinam Orthographiam quoad ejus
poets, superior both to Ennius who preceded him, fieri potuit revocata, edidit P. Wagner, Leipzig,
and on whom he levied contributions, and to Lu- 1831, 8vo." It also contains the " Orthographia
can, Silius Italicus, and Valerius Flaccus, who Vergiliana," or remarks on the orthography of many
belong to a later age. The passion for rhetorical words in Virgil, arranged in alphabetical order.
display, which characterises all the literature of The works of Virgil have been more fortunate
Rome, is much less offensive in Virgil than in those than those of most of the writers of antiquity, for
who followed him in the line of epic poetry. there are many very old MSS. of his poems. That
The larger editions of Virgil contain some short which is called the Medicean, may probably have
poems, which are attributed to him, and may have been written before the downfal of the Roman
been among his earlier works. The Culex or empire. An exact fac-simile of it was published
Gnat is a kind of Bucolic poem in 413 hexame- by Foggini at Florence, 1741, 4to. The Codex
ters, often very obscure; the Ciris, or the mythus Vaticanus, which is also of great antiquity, was
of Scylla the daughter of Nisus, king of Megara, published by Bottari, Rome, 1741, folio; but it is
in 541 hexameters, has been attributed to Cor- said not to be so accurate a copy as the fac-simile
nelius Gallus and others, but Scaliger maintains of Fogglini. Wagner in his Praefatio has briefly
that it is by Virgil; the Moretum, in 123 verses, discussed the relative ages of these two MSS.;
the name of a compound mess, is a poem in hex- but there seem to be no grounds for deciding the
ameters, on the daily labour of a cultivator, but it question. They are both undoubtedly very old.
contains only the description of the labours of the The editions of the several parts of Virgil and the
first part of the day, which consist in preparing school editions are very numerous. The " Handthe Moretum: the female servant of the rustic buch der Classischen Bibliographie" of Schweigger,
Simulus is a negress; none was ever better de- ii. pp. 1145-1258, contains a long list. The ediscribed, tion of A. Forbiger, 3 vols. 8vo, Leipzig, 1836,
"' Afra genus, tota patriam testante figura, and a second edition, 1845-1846, contains a
Torta comam, labroque tumens et fusca colo- sufficiently copious commentary for ordinary use,
rem, which is composed of selections from the commenPectore lata, jacens mammis, compressior alvo,tators and his own notes.
Cruribus exilis spatiosa prodiga, planta."'The Bucolica were translated into German verse
by J. H. Voss with useful notes; and a second
The Copa, in elegiac verse, is an invitation by a edition by A. Voss, appeared at Altona, 1830.
female tavern keeper or servant attached to a J. H. Voss's poetical translation of the Georgics is
Caupona, to passengers to come in and enjoy them- highly esteemed. His complete translation of
selves. There are also fourteen short pieces in Virgil appeared at Brunswick in 3 vols. 8vo, 1799.
various metres, classed under the general name of Martyn, professor of Botany at Cambridge, pubCatalecta. That addressed " Ad Venerem," shows lished a prose version of the Georgica, London,
that the writer, whoever he was, had a talent for 1741, and of the Georgica, 1749, with maily vaelegiac poetry. luable notes. The commentary of Martyn on the
The first edition of Virgil, a small folio, was Georgica is perhaps the best that has appeared for
printed at Rome about A. D. 1469 by Sweynheym the elucidation of the matter of the poem. Gawin
and Pannartz, and dedicated to Pope Paul II. Douglas, bishop of Dunkeld, translated the Aeneid
This rare edition was reprinted in 1471, but it is into Scottish verse, London, 1553. Ogilby's verse
of no great value. The Virgil printed by Aldus at translation was published at London, 1649 and
Venice in 1501, 8vo, is also very scarce. At the 1650; and Dryden's was published by Tonson,
cilose of the fifteenth and the beginning of the six- London, 1697. The blank verse translation of
teenth centuries there were many prints of Virgil, Dr. J. Trapp is very poor. The Aeneid translated
with the commentary of Servius and others. The by C. Pitt, and the Bucolica and Georgica by
edition of J. L. de la Cerda, which is valued for the Joseph Warton, were published by Dodsley, Loncommentary, appeared at Madrid in 3 vols. folio, don, 1783, 4 vols. 8vo. Sotheby's poetic version
1608-1617. The valuable edition of Nic. Hein- of the Georgica contains the original text and the
sius was published at Amsterdam in 1676. The versions of De Lille, Soave, Guzman, and Voss.
well printed edition of P. Masvicius, Leeuwarden, The chief authority for the Life of Virgil is the
1727, 2 vols. 4to, contains the complete commen- Life by Donatus, which, though not a critical pertaries of Servius, Philargyrius, and Pierius, with formance, is undoubtedly founded on good mathe " Index Erythraei," the Life of Virgil by terials. It is printed inl Waguer's edition of Viigit
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