ÆNEID, the name of Virgil's celebrated epic poem. Blair's The subject of the Æneid, which is the establishment of Æneas in Italy, is extremely happy. Nothing could be more interesting to the Romans than to look back to their origin from so famous a hero. While the object was splendid itself, the traditional history of his country opened interesting fields to the poet; and he could glance at all the future great exploits of the Romans, in its ancient and fabulous state.
As to the unity of action, it is perfectly well preserved in the Æneid. The settlement of Æneas, by the order of the gods, is constantly kept in view. The episodes are linked properly with the main subject. The nodus, or intrigue of the poem, is happily managed. The wrath of Juno, who opposes Æneas, gives rise to all his difficulties, and connects the human with the celestial operations throughout the whole poem.
One great imperfection of the Æneid, however, is, that there are almost no marked characters in it. Anchises, Cloanthes, Gyges, and other Trojan heroes who accompanied Æneas into Italy, are insipid figures. Even Æneas himself is without interest. The character of Dido is the best supported in the whole Æneid.
The principal excellency of Virgil is tenderness. His soul was full of sensibility. He must have felt himself all the affecting circumstances in the scenes he describes; and he knew how to touch the heart by a single stroke. In an epic poem this merit is the next to sublimity. The second book of the Æneid is one of the greatest masterpieces that ever was executed. The death of old Priam, and the family-pieces of Æneas, Anchises, and Creüsa, are as tender as can be conceived. In the fourth book, the unhappy passion and death of Dido are admirable. The episodes of Pallas and Evander, of Nifus and Euryalus, of Lausus and Menzitus, are all superlatively fine.
In his battles Virgil is far inferior to Homer. But in the important episode, the descent into hell, he has outdone Homer by many degrees. There is nothing in antiquity to equal the sixth book of the Æneid.