At 02:08 AM 4/15/99 -0400, Catherine Tate wrote:
>Aeneas becomes "DUX" at the end of the Aenead. He is definitely no longer
>"pius" or "pietas" (which ever) if for some reason you think that he is
>then pius near the end Aeneas is no longer a `how would you say a
>fledgling' he is a `dux' pietas matters no more the objective must happen
> and as a man I suppose he does what "HE" feels should be done , but under
>no reasoning can he be "pietas" or "pius"!
The argument for the hero's pietas at the end of the story is at least as
old as Servius:
Omnis intentio ad Aeneae pertinet gloriam. Nam et ex eo
quod hosti cogitat parcere, pius ostenditur: & ex eo quod eum
interimit, pietatis gestat insigne. Nam Euandri intuitu
Pallantis vlciscitur mortem.
[Each inclination does honor to Aeneas. Insofar as he considers
sparing his enemy, he is shown to be piteous. Likewise he bears
the mark of piety for killing him, in that he avenges the death
of Pallas out of regard for Evander.]
Not that this will change anyone's mind. I note with pleasure, however,
that the Servian reading has found a modern advocate in Sarah Dever:
> I think that Aeneas expresses pietas in just
>thinking about sparing Turnus, where else in the epic does he do
>this- certainly not in Book 10 when he is begged by numerous men to
>spare their lives (Magnus, Tarquinus, Lucagus...). The love he felt
>towards Pallas and the debt he felt he owed to Evander is evident in
>his slaying of Turnus.
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David Wilson-Okamura http://www.virgil.org/chaucer
[EMAIL PROTECTED] Chaucer: an annotated guide to online resources
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