Page:The Works of Virgil - Davidson - Buckley.djvu/13



was born on the 15th of October, 70, at Andes, a little village near Mantua. His mother's name was Maia, and his father was probably a small landowner. Great attention must have been bestowed upon the education of our poet, as he appears to have been thoroughly imbued with the spirit of ancient philosophy by his master, Syron. Delicacy of health, and the probable want of influence arising from his not being a Roman citizen by birth, no doubt prevented his attention to the more rising professions of war and oratory, and contributed to strengthen his natural inclination for a retirement sacred to poetry and agriculture.

The fatal issue of the battle of Philippi, in 42, placed Mark Antony and Octavianus at the head of affairs, and the latter quickly began, on his return, to reward his soldiers with allotments of land. To make way for these new occupants, the old possessors had to give up their own estates, and among these sufferers was Virgil. The particulars of the case are insufficiently