The Eclogues and Georgics of Virgil

What it is

This book is an English translation of two of Virgil's poems, the Eclogues and the Georgics, made by the scholar John William Mackail. This particular copy is a 1915 edition held by a university library, stamped with its catalogue and barcode labels.

Why it matters

Though Virgil wrote in Latin almost two thousand years ago, translations like this one allowed readers who could not read Latin to still encounter his poetry about rural life, farming and the countryside. It shows how Virgil's work kept being republished and read long after the Roman Empire ended.

Look closer

• What is gained, and what might be lost, when a poem is translated out of its original language?
• Why do you think this particular edition was kept carefully in a library collection?
• What does the continued printing of Virgil's poems centuries later suggest about their importance?