I suppose that we have a portrait of Ressentiment, at any rate in its bourgeois/pompous/hypocritical form, in Drances' speech to Latinus' Council. As to the terror that the protagonists strike into each other, I would think that Aeneas is much more terrifying to Turnus than Turnus is to him. Turnus' mood-swings are a sign of his insecurity - he half knows that he is an out of date kind of hero. I don't deny that Turnus' ideology, insecurity expressed as angry, vindictive nationalism, remains frightening to this day. - Martin Hughes
On Wed, 13 Aug 2003, Leofranc Holford-Strevens wrote: > Whether Aeneas is more terrifying as an imperialist than Turnus as a > warmonger is a matter of opinion; from V. I get the opposite impression. > He acquires pathos at death, but even Mezentius does. However. if we are > to use modern language, I can't help thinking of Nietzsche's distinction > between low Ressentiment and noble Rache. > > Leofranc Holford-Strevens > > In message <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, M W > Hughes <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes > >Prompted by a colleague's remarks about the difference between resentment > >and indignation, I looked again at Mackail's note on the final line of the > >Aeneid - 'vitaque cum gemitu fugit indignata sub umbras' - used both here > >when Turnus dies and earlier when Camilla falls victim to Arruns (xi,831). > >Mackail compares the death of Lausus (x,819) where 'vita per auras > >concessit maesta ad manis' and mentions Servius' rahter wooden comment > >that the souls of the young always leave this life with great distress. M > >goes on 'There is more to it than that. They die indignant because their > >death means the wreckage of the cause for which they had fought and the > >sense that all their heroism had been unavailing. The final cadence of > >the Aeneid is touched with indignation that the Powers that control life > >should be so pitiless'. > > > >I think that different characters point up the difference between many > >forms of distress. > > > >Nisus and Euryalus have a troubling relationship, militaristic and erotic, > >though deeply committed. Euryalus' bloodstained writhing is read by Nisus > >as a last appeal for help after Volcens has delivered a mortal wound. > >Nisus' irresistible fury means that the apparently well-guarded Volcens > >doesn't stand a chance - and neither does Nisus when Volcens' men recover > >from their shock and close in. This is passionate resentment, beyond > >reason. But if Nisus feels moral indignation, it is not against Volcens > >but agaist himself for not looking after Euryalus as the Hellenistic code > >demanded. > > > >Pallas and Lausus die 'maiore sub hoste', facing Turnus and Aeneas, who > >outclass and overwhelm them. Pallas just ceases to exist. As for Lausus, > >the line quoted by Mackail, where his eagerness and uncomplicated loyalty > >to Mezentius vanish into a little wisp of sadness captures the logic of > >his character extraordinarily well. He never really had an adult > >understanding of the battle and he cannot muster either resentment or > >indigation. > > > >The atheist tyrant Mezentius starts out to do the voodoo that he usually > >does so well, only to find that he is at last making some kind of peace > >with himself. His last words to Aeneas, who asks where his fiery spirit > >has gone, seem to rule out moral indignation. The phrase 'nullum in caede > >nefas', presumably delivered with a rueful smile, means something like 'I > >never had much objection to killing'. This does not mean that he abandons > >personal resentment against Aeneas, even though he asks for burial. He > >still uses the words 'My bitter enemy' and anyone would resent a bitter > >enemy about to wield a sword. This seems to be resentment without > >indignation. > > > >Camilla, by contrast, is on the battlefield solely for political and > >unselfish reasons. Mackail's comment about indignation because the cause > >is lost seems to apply best to her. She never saw Arruns' sneaky approach > >and would probably disdain to resent him. This seems to be indignation > >without resentment. > > > >In the last scene there is more of a union between the personal and the > >political, which maybe Mackail's comment does not fully recognise. Aeneas > >drives his sword through Turnus as if he were laying a foundation - the > >'ferrum condit' of the end of the poem recalls the 'condere gentem' of the > >beginning. But he could not have struck this great political blow unless > >he also remembered on the personal side how Turnus had obliterated little > >Pallas. From Turnus' point of view the act is both personally unmerciful > >and an indication that his cause is lost and that victory has gone to a > >terrifying form of imperialism, on fire with belief in a divine mission > >that he cannot understand. Resentment and indignation unite - the kind of > >sentiment that is so active in our day. - Martin Hughes > >----------------------------------------------------------------------- > >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 > > -- > *_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_* > > Leofranc Holford-Strevens > 67 St Bernard's Road usque adeone > Oxford scire MEVM nihil est, nisi ME scire hoc sciat alter? > OX2 6EJ > > tel. +44 (0)1865 552808(home)/353865(work) fax +44 (0)1865 512237 > email: > [EMAIL PROTECTED] (home)/[EMAIL PROTECTED] (work) > > *_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_* > > ----------------------------------------------------------------------- > 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 > ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 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
