P. Virgilii Maronis Bucolica P. Rami Eloquentiae & Philosophiae Professoris Regii Praelectionibus Exposita: Quibus Poëtae Vita Praeposita Est.
by Virgil
| P. Virgilii Maronis Bucolica | ||
 at the College of William & Mary. |
||
| Author | Virgil | |
| Edition | Precise edition unknown | |
| Desc. | 12mo | |
Publius Vergilius Maro (Virgil) (70 – 19 BCE) was a Roman poet born in Cisalpine, Gaul, on the side of the Alps closest to Rome. His family was well-off, enabling his studies at Cremona and Milan, as well as Rome and Naples, the latter under the Epicurean philosopher Siro.[1] When land was confiscated following the battle of Phillippi in 42 BCE for the army veterans of Antony and Octavian, Virgil's family lost land. They were likely compensated, however, with property near Naples.[2] Virgil’s Eclogues, his first collection of poems, were likely written around that time, perhaps as late as 38 BCE, as the confiscations were a central topic of two of the poems.[3] At some later point, Virgil became part of the poetic circle around Maecenas, putting him in close contact with Octavian, the future emperor Augustus.
Evidence for Inclusion in Wythe's Library
Thomas Jefferson listed "Virgilii Bucolica Rami. 12mo." in his inventory of Wythe's Library in the section of titles he kept for himself. Brown's Bibliography[4] includes the 1590 edition published in Frankfurt based on the copy Jefferson sold to the Library of Congress as described in Millicent Sowerby's Catalogue of the Library of Thomas Jefferson.[5] Unfortunately, this volume does not survive to verify the edition or Wythe's prior ownership. George Wythe's Library[6] on LibraryThing notes Sowerby's entry but indicates "Precise edition unknown." The Wolf Law Library chose to look for a copy of the 1590 edition but has not found one yet.
See also
- Jefferson Inventory
- P. Virgilii Maronis Bucolica, Georgica, et Aeneis
- P. Virgilii Maronis Opera
- Publii Virgilii Maronis Bucolica, Georgica, et Aeneis
- The Works of Virgil, Containing His Pastorals, Georgics and Æneis
- Wythe's Library
References
- ↑ "Virgil” in The Oxford Companion to Classical Literature, ed. by M.C. Howatson (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011).
- ↑ Ibid.
- ↑ "Virgil " in Oxford Dictionary of the Classical World, ed. by John Roberts (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007)
- ↑ Bennie Brown, "The Library of George Wythe of Williamsburg and Richmond," (unpublished manuscript, 2009, rev. 2023) Microsoft Word document (on file at the Wolf Law Library, William & Mary Law School).
- ↑ E. Millicent Sowerby, Catalogue of the Library of Thomas Jefferson,(Washington, D.C.: The Library of Congress, 1952-1959), 4:502, no.4464.
- ↑ LibraryThing, s. v. "Member: George Wythe," accessed on July 11, 2025, http://www.librarything.com/profile/GeorgeWythe