and he was buried near the city at Puteoli. By
his will he left some property to his friends Varius and Nicca, with
the injunction that they should burn the unfinished epic. The
injunction was never carried out, by the express command of the
emperor, who directed Varius to publish the poem without any additions
of any kind. An order carefully executed, for as the "Aeneid" stands
there are numerous imperfect lines.

This epic poem on the foundation of Rome by a colony from Troy is
based on an old Latin tradition, and is modelled on the form of the
poems of Homer. The first six books remind the student of the
adventures of Ulysses in the "Odyssey," while the last six books,
recounting the contest of the Trojan settlers under Aeneas with the
native inhabitants under their King Latinus, follow the style of the
battle-pieces of the "Iliad." The most striking and original part of
the plan of the poem is the introduction of Carthage and the
Carthaginian queen, on whose coasts Aeneas, in defiance of all
chronology, is described as suffering shipwreck. The historic conflict
between Rome and Carthage, when Hannibal and his cavalry rode from one
end of Italy to another, and encamped under the walls of Rome itself,
left an indelible impression on the imagination of the Romans. The war
with Carthage was to them all that the Arab invasion was to Spain, or
the Saracen hordes to Eastern Europe. It was the first great struggle
for empire in times of which history holds record, between the East
and the West, between the Semitic and Aryan races, and Virgil, with
consummate skill, took the opportunity of predicting the future
rivalry between Rome and Carthage, and the ultimate triumph of the
former power. All through the poem there are allusions to the history
of Rome, and to the descent of the Julian house from the great Trojan
hero. The hero Aeneas, himself, is rather an insipid character, but, on
the other hand, Dido is painted with great force, truth, and
tenderness. The visit to Carthage gives occasion for the narrative of
the fall of Troy in the second and third books, while the sixth book,
describing the landing in Italy and the hero's descent to the infernal
regions, has been regarded as containing the esoteric teaching of the
ancient mysteries, and has influenced deeply the belief of the
Christian world. Virgil lived, it may be said, at the parting of the
ways. The old gods, who were goodly and glad, had become discredited;
the