Roman Poets of the Augustan Age: Virgil

This work by William Young Sellar (1825-1890) was first published in 1877, when Sellar was well established as Professor of Humanity at the University of Edinburgh. It is a companion volume to his equally acclaimed Roman Poets of the Republic and the later continuation Horace and the Elegaic Poets, all three of which remain of value to scholars today. The book’s ten chapters give an overview of the Augustan Age and Virgil’s life and work in context (chapters 1-3), then moving to the Eclogues (chapter 4) and the Georgics (chapters 5-7), before devoting the remaining chapters to the Aeneid. A detailed table of contents allows the reader to navigate between analysis of the historical context, Virgil’s literary forms and motives, and general literary interpretation. This work is both a meticulous work of scholarship, and, as the affectionate dedication shows, a tribute to the author’s passion for his subject.