The Roman Poets of the Augustan Age

Roman literary culture under Augustus provides the setting for W. Y. Sellar's study of Virgil. The book connects poetry with imperial patronage, public feeling, Greek literary influences and the material conditions of Roman life. Its opening chapters consider Virgil's changing reputation, his place in Roman literature and the evidence available for his life and character. The preface explains that translations of quoted passages were added for readers with limited knowledge of Latin.

Close reading gives the study its particular interest. In the discussion of the Georgics, Sellar shows how directions for farming become pictures of woodland, harvest fields and flowing water. He traces comparisons between human life and the growth of trees, then considers Virgil's attention to working animals and communities of bees. Readers interested in classical literature can use these discussions to see how rural subjects carry feeling, observation and ideas about society within Latin verse.