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Eclogue 4, also known as the Fourth Eclogue, is a Latin poem by the Roman poet Virgil. The poem is dated to 40 BC by its mention of the consulship of Virgil's patron Gaius Asinius Pollio . The work predicts the birth of a boy, a supposed savior, who—once he is of age—will become divine and eventually rule over the world.
The Roman emperor Constantine the Great was one of the first major figures to believe that Eclogue 4 was a pre-Christian augury concerning Jesus Christ. [9]According to Classicist Domenico Comparetti, in the early Christian era, "A certain theological doctrine, supported by various passages of [Judeo-Christian] scripture, induced men to look for prophets of Christ among the Gentiles". [10]
The average length of each eclogue is 83 lines, and long and short poems alternate. Thus the 3rd eclogue in each half is the longest, while the 2nd and 4th are the shortest: [11] 1 – 83 lines 2 – 73 3 – 111 4 – 63 5 – 90 6 – 86 lines 7 – 70 8 – 108 9 – 67 10 – 77
Virgil addressed the famous fourth eclogue to him, although there is uncertainty regarding whether Virgil composed the poem in anticipation of Pollio's consulship or to celebrate his part in the Treaty of Brundisium. Virgil, like other Romans, hoped that peace was at hand and looked forward to a Golden Age under Pollio's consulship.
Although Virgil's Eclogues are Calpurnius's principal sources/models, Eclogue V is a didactic poem inspired by Virgil's Georgics – in particular Georgic III [34] or, as MacKail puts it, it is "a brief Georgic made formally a pastoral by being put into the mouth of an old shepherd sitting in the shade at midday". [35]
Pope's Messiah deals with Virgil's Fourth Eclogue which was said to predict the birth of Christ. [2] The poem merges the prophecy of Isaiah about the Messiah with wording that echoes Virgil. [4] Johnson's translation into Latin relies on Virgil directly and incorporates more of the Eclogue's language. [4]
The beginning of Virgil's Eclogues, 15th century manuscript, Vatican Library. An eclogue is a poem in a classical style on a pastoral subject. Poems in the genre are sometimes also called bucolics. The term is also used for a musical genre thought of as evoking a pastoral scene.
The hope for a savior was expressed in Virgil’s “Fourth Eclogue". The Church fathers later claimed this was a reference to Jesus Christ, however, the poem was dedicated to Pollio, one of the great influential men at the time of the civil wars and Virgil's patron and friend.