His two major works,  the Eclogues and the Aeneid, emphasize different aspects of this longing.  The Eclogues, written first, is a collection of escapist poems that dwell on the ideal nature of a peaceful, rural life.  The Aeneid, a more complete consideration of the new world Virgil desired, considers the political form under which this new order will come. Virgil's importance to world literature is difficult to underestimate.