Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-10-24

On the 2,000th anniversary of the
Latin poet vergil he Is declared by the
New Orleans Item to be perhaps even
more alive at this time than he was in
the flesh" because "his works ,are more
widely read than they were even when
he was at the height Of his first fame
in ancient Rome" American comment
puts emphasis on the fact that while
this writer wanted his work to be
burned, as he believed 1t lacked perfec-
ton. it has greatly influenced the de-
velopment Of thought and language. He
is placed among the giants.
like Shakespeare, like Dante, and
like all truly great writer's throughout
the ages. the singer of Arms and the
Man wrote not for his own brief period
alone, but for all time" says the Kala-
n1azoo Gazette The Utica Observer
Dispatch testifies that those who hold
the Latin poets in high esteem have
always loved Vergil'; that latter the
establishment of Christianity, tConstan-
tine the Great accepted his Fourth Ec-
logue as a prophecy" and that when
Dante made his famous visit to Purga-
tory he chose Vergil as his guide" .
"How many, remembering school
days, when they read Caesar's Com
mentaries' before 'tackling' the
sAeneid'" suggests the Oakland Tr1-
bune, "will voice an opinion it is the
latter which remains in the mind, and
even above the eloquence Of Cicero?
praise a large domain, cultivate small
state wrote Vergil 1000 years ago, and
in that there may be thought for
Mussolini." The Tribune declares there
have been mightier geniuSes, but ne
lives in more hearts and minds"
II \ X X
ssHe saw the majesty Of man and was
filled with sadness that life is so hest-
ing and so crowded with Illustration.
thinks the youngstown Vindicator, with
a tribute to the poets message as 'of
definite value to the world today. .
That paper continues: His sense OF
the illusion of life, the dignity OF man
struggling against overwhelming ooos
to conquer nature and himself, gives
his work a philosophical interest,
which never ceases to attract the
thoughtful. It is Vergil the philos-
opher who has put his thoughts into
perfect poetry who lives and is scele-
brated today. He Is loved for the
piety. the gravity and the sweetness OF
his view of life. Farmers should make
him their patron saint, for he spent
seven years on his Georges manual
of farming, written in some OF the most
beautiful poetry ever penned. the
sGeorgics' illustrates Vergil's nature.
He saw the dignity of farming, as he
saw the dignity of all Of the common
tasks by which man must live, and ne
strove to show its nobility and the sat
isfaction the farmer may take IN MS
close relationship with nature"
Tamenting the abandonment OF
farms, the Columbia State looks upon
the great cities trying in vain to shell
ter and feed the minions OF a Starving,
motley. city-frenzied population ana
adds: "Vergil, on his fathers 1arm ana
on his own, and in his magnificent sing
ing poetry. dedicated to the tillers OF
the soil, has a sharp lesson for us OF
the world" -,
1--WE do wen to mark Vergifs bimh-
lenarv." advises the st. Louis Post-Dls-
match "None more than he belongs 10
the ages" The Green Bay Press
Gazette feels that "it might surprise him
to know how many high school young
sters. in spite Of dull class room routine,
have got a few thrills out OF the
'Aeneid,'" though he DAD not Wrlte tnat
great story for a text book" The Press
Gazette calls him zone of the literary
giants of all time"
eve would not say" according to the
Atlanta Journal, "that the life and
work of this great poet have meant
more to the world than have the in
vention Of the steam engine, the dis
covery and application Of the power OF
electricity and all the marvels and Ntili-
ties of the age of the machine, for the
values of the one are so essentially DIFF
ferent from those of the other that 1t,
would be as pointless to compare them
as to ask whether the stars or the
waves were of more moment to wan
dering mariner. But we do say that
no performance of our industrial age,
no heaping UP of perishsble wealth
counts for a 1.-THE as much in the
progress OF the human spirit as the