Eclogue 9 37-67

This passage, taken from Virgil’s ninth Eclogue, depicts two countrymen, Moeris and Lycidas, as
they discus the poetry of their friend Menalcus. Moeris has been recently evicted from his land in
order to allow a veteran to take his place, a parallel to the land confiscations being carried out by
Augustus at the time. This passage is seemingly self aware as to its place in the cycle of eclogues,
as imagery of closing and ending recurrs throughout.

Like Eclogues 1, 3, 5, and 7, this poem is a dialogue between two characters. The use of this form,
amoboean poetry, seen in earlier bucolic poetry such as Theocritus’ Fourth Idyll, is

Throughout the Eclogues, Virgil has imitated his Greek forefather of bucolic poetry, Theocritus. In
this poem, he uses extracts adapted from Theocritus’ Idyll 11, in which Polypehmus sings to
Galatea, the sea nymph. In this Idyll, Polyphemus offers Galatea cheese, milk, and song, and
describes the island on which they might live. In Virgil’s Eclogue, this Polyphemus describes his
island. We focus on the natural features, the flores, the populus and the vites, as an idyllic
environment is described. However, this locus amoenus, this pleasant place, does not permeate the
entire passage. Moeris, has been evicted from his land, and he can only remember the long summer
days spent singing from his youth; his ending the day singing only happened when he was a boy
puerum. The pleasant places exist only in the songs sang by the shepherds, but no longer in reality.

Another ability central to this Eclogue is the loss of the ability to sing. Neither Lycidas nor Moeris
can recite a full poem, instead, they can only offer fragments. The loss of this ability is shown by
the use of subjunctives such as valeam memiinisse (38), and Lycisas’ only being partially able to
sing, as he remembers the meter, but not the words of another song: numeros memini, si verba
tenerem (45). This is exacerbated in Moeris, who has forgotten so many songs, and has lost his
ability to sing even if he could remember: nunc oblita mihi tot carmina: vox quoque Moerim iam
fugit ipsa (53-4). Moeris’ loss is made even more poignant by the fact that he is the object of these
verbs (direct object Moerim, indirect object mihi), and has no power or agency over his former
ability. Throughout the cycle, the countrydwellers have shown themselves to be skilled singers: for
example, in Eclogue 8 Damon and Alphesiboeus compete. This sequential loss of the ability to sing
is pessimistic, as pastoral poetry comes to an end, in the same way that the cycle of Eclogues will
soon be over.

The final two lines, spoken by Moeris, bring us back to the present. The imperative desine (66) and
the suggestion quod nunc instat agamus (66) bring us firmly back to the present, as the affairs of the
moment must be attended to. The final line looks towards the future (canemus, 67) and may be seen
as optimism, as Moeris believes they will sing the songs better (carmina tum melius 67). However,
this is mitigated by the condition that one man himself arrives: Menalcas. While absent, he is to be
more suited to singing the songs to Lycidas than Moeris: sed tamen ista satis refert tibi saepe
Menalcus (55). Although the future perfect tense of venerit (67) and the future referet (55) implies
that it will happen one day, this return of the renowned, revered master poet is set at an uncertain
point in the future, suggesting this state of transition, of waiting for a better time, may continue for
an unknown length of time.