At 01:21 PM 5/7/03 +0100, Martin Hughes wrote:
>Did V really weigh every word and load every word with meaning to the
>extent that Paschalis supposes?
If Suetonius-Donatus is to be believed, Virgil composed the Aeneid at the
rate of three lines per day. (That is, if you don't count weekends.) He
also adopted a style that was, in contrast to his primary Greek model,
restrained. He wasn't just weighing words, though; he was also weighing
sounds. That makes it hard to know how much weight to put on the words.
Hence the need for tact (which is, admittedly, not a method or a strategy).
Perhaps it might help if we looked at other references to Caesar and
Pompey. The one in book 6 is the most obvious, because it names Caesar and
Pompey. But there is also a pretty clear reference to Pompey in book 2:
A 2.554 Haec finis Priami fatorum; hic exitus illum
A 2.555 sorte tulit, Troiam incensam et prolapsa uidentem
A 2.556 Pergama, tot quondam populis terrisque superbum
A 2.557 regnatorem Asiae. Iacet ingens litore truncus,
A 2.558 auolsumque umeris caput, et sine nomine corpus.
You don't have to know a lot about Roman history (and I don't) to recognize
an allusion to the death of Pompey. According to Plutarch, the assassins
"cut off Pompeys head, and threw the rest of his
body overboard, leaving it naked upon the shore, to be viewed by any that
had the curiosity to see so sad a spectacle."
Priam, in Virgil's account, is killed by Pyrrhus in a way that is both
vulgar and profane. But Pyrrhus is not Caesar; if you want to read the
whole episode as a historical allegory, Pyrrhus is the Egyptians, who
killed Pompey in order to ingratiate themselves with Caesar. But Caesar
himself was disgusted by the deed, and punished the assassins (though
perhaps he was pleased with the outcome). All that we can say (and I think
it is saying a lot) is that the fall of Troy (in Virgil's poem) seems to
foreshadow the demise of the Republic (in Virgil's lifetime); that the
death of Pompey seems to mark the demise of the Republic; and that Virgil
is impressed with the dignity and majesty of the old constitution and its
champion. I say "Virgil is impressed with," not "Virgil favors." For Virgil
is impressed with, and values, many things in this poem, not all of which
are compatible with each other. It is hard, for instance, not to admire
Dido and Turnus, at least in some things. Why didn't Aeneas just say,
"Dido, I have something to do, but I'll be back in a couple of months"?
Then he could go to Italy, put Turnus in charge of homeland security, help
Mezentius find a new hobby, and visit Carthage on the weekends.
Of course, that's not how it turns out, because this is a poem for
grown-ups. (Yes, I know I'm being glib. But, seriously, what did you expect
to happen?)
Back to Caesar and Pompey. If you want a picture of Caesar, look at
Anchises. It's partially sanitized, for obvious reasons, but it's not
hagiography. Anchises is a nice old man, but he is confused about the next
step. Instead of sending the fleet to Italy, he takes them to Crete. Julius
Caesar was not, I am assuming, a nice old man. Like Anchises, though, he
couldn't figure out how to handle the transition. Troy (= the Republic) is
a thing of the past. But what comes next? He doesn't know; that's for his
son (= Octavian) to figure out.
As for the fall of the Republic: whose fault was it? I think there's a
clue, again, in Virgil's description of the fall of Troy:
A 2.626 ac ueluti summis antiquam in montibus ornum
A 2.627 cum ferro accisam crebrisque bipennibus instant
A 2.628 eruere agricolae certatim,--illa usque minatur
A 2.629 et tremefacta comam concusso uertice nutat,
A 2.630 uolneribus donec paulatim euicta, supremum
A 2.631 congemuit, traxitque iugis auolsa ruinam.
The tree, I take it, is the constitution: not a document, of course, but
"the way we handle things around here." It is not brought down by anything
in particular: rather, there is a series of little wounds, which are
inflicted on the tree in or by competition (certatim). Pettiness on all
sides: that was what destroyed the Republic -- or so I fancy.
---
David Wilson-Okamurahttp://virgil.org [EMAIL PROTECTED]
East Carolina UniversityVirgil reception, discussion, documents, &c
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