>These are the notorious verses alleged by Donatus and Servius to have >been removed from the beginning of the Aeneid by its first editors: > > Ille ego qui quondam gracili modulatus auena > carmen, et egressus siluis uicina coegi > ut quamuis auido parerent arua colonis > gratum opus agricolis, at nunc horrentia Martis > >It must be ages since any half-decent critic has believed in them; the >likeliest explanation is that they were written above an author-portrait >in an early manuscript.
Apparently James Henry in his Aeneidea (1873-92) defended the authenticity of these verses. See C. Martindale (ed.), The Cambridge Companion to Virgil (1997), p. 160, where there is also a reference to R. G. Austin, 'Ille ego qui quondam', Classical Quarterly 18 (1968), 107-115. Simon Cauchi, Hamilton, New Zealand <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> ----------------------------------------------------------------------- To leave the Mantovano mailing list at any time, do NOT hit reply. Instead, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the message "unsubscribe mantovano" in the body (omitting the quotation marks). You can also unsubscribe at http://virgil.org/mantovano/mantovano.htm#unsub
