The publication of this volume has been long delayed: owing partly to the fact that for a considerable part of the time during which he was writing his commentary Mr. Conington was engaged upon other works, partly to the labour of seeing the sheets through the press, partly to the lamentable event which devolved upon me the duty of bringing out the book.

I must briefly explain what has been my share in the work. In 1863-Mr. Conington first proposed to me that I should assist him in the third volume of his edition of Virgil by writing the notes on the last three books of the Aeneid. I did not begin my part of the work until 1864; and on my finding that I could not keep pace with him, we agreed ultimately that he should write the notes on Book 11, and that I should confine myself to Books 10 and 12. The notes on Books 7, 8, 9, and 11 are accordingly the work of Mr. Conington, while for those on Books 10 and 12 I am mainly responsible. I say mainly, for Mr. Conington made considerable additions to the notes which I had originally written on Book 10. He had not, however, read through the notes on more than about three hundred lines of Book 12 before his death. The rest of the notes on Book 12 have been looked through by Professor Munro, to whose kindness I owe some valuable remarks, some of which have been embodied in the notes, and others printed among the Addenda.