The Eclogues

Deeply sensitive and faithful to the original work, Guy Lee’s verse translation is here paralleled by the original Latin text.

Haunting and enigmatic, Virgil’s Eclogues combined a Greek literary form with scenes from contemporary Roman life to create a work that inspired a whole European tradition of pastoral poetry. For despite their rustic setting and the beauty of their phrasing, the poems in Virgil’s first collection are also grounded in reality. Shepherds are overwhelmed by the t…