Chapter Violenta to Virgil's Courtship of V by Brewer's Readers Handbook

Marco Girolamo Vida, author of Christias (in six books), is also called “The Christian Virgil” (1490–1566).

Aurelius Clemens Prudentius of Spain is called by Bentley, “The Virgil and Horace of Christians” (348-*).

The Virgil of our Dramatic Authors, Ben Jonson is so called by Dryden (1574–1637).

Shakespeare was the Homer or father of our dramatic poets; Jonson was the Virgil, and pattern of elaborate writing. I admire rare Ben, but I love Shakespeare.—Dryden.

The Virgil of the French Drama. Jean Racine is so called by sir Walter Scott (1639–1699).

Virgil’s Courtship. Godfrey Gobilyve told Graunde Amoure that Virgil the poet once made proposals to a lady of high rank in the Roman court, who resolved to punish him for his presumption. She told him that if he would appear on a given night before her window, he should be drawn up in a basket. Accordingly he kept his appointment, got into the basket, and, being drawn some twenty feet from the ground, was left there dangling till noon next day, the laugh and butt of the court and city. —Stephen Hawes: The Passe-tyme of Plesure, xxix. (1515).