The Eclogues of Virgil

“Fresh-minted and sparkling . . . Ferry’s translation wonderfully preserves the exquisite harmonies of the mode while giving it a vigorous edge of reality.” —Robert Taylor, The Boston Globe

Virgil’s great lyrics, rendered by the acclaimed translator of Gilgamesh . . .

The Eclogues of Virgil gave definitive form to the pastoral mode, and these magically beautiful poems, which were influential in so much subsequent literature, perhaps best exemplify what pastoral can do. “Song replying to song replying to song,’ touchingly comic, poignantly sad, sublimely joyful, the various music that these shepherds make echoes in scenes of repose and harmony, and of hardship and trouble in work and love.

Available in ebook for the first time, this English-only edition of The Eclogues of Virgil includes concise, informative notes and an introduction that describes the fundamental role of this deeply original book in the pastoral tradition.

“Direct, unmannered and fresh: a modern version of classical simplicity.” —Merle Rubin, Los Angeles Times

“Mr. Ferry is a gifted poet and much-admired translator . . . Those to whom the original is a sealed book will enjoy much of its charm through the medium of the author’s accomplished translation, while those who, like Shakespeare, have ‘small Latin’ can experience the additional pleasure of savoring, with Mr. Ferry’s help, the musical perfection of Virgil’s lines.” —Bernard Knox, The Washington Times

“Ferry has achieved a high degree of fidelity to what Virgil wrote . . . Simple, luminous clarity.” —Richard Jenkyns, The New Republic

© 2024 Farrar, Straus and Giroux (Ebook): 9781466894914

Translators: David Ferry

Release date

Ebook: 26 March 2024