At 12:46 PM -0400 7/16/98, Philip Thibodeau wrote: >>>There's certainly no question that Donatus and Servius saw one of the most >>>important purposes of the Aeneid to be praise of Augustus, but I think it >>>important to keep in mind that they are advancing interpretations from a >>>grammarian's point of view. And the grammarians tend to be very >>>sympathetic to the idea that poetry and oratory are more or less two >>>aspects of the same phenomenon, hence that you can read poetry as though it >>>were a kind of versified oratory, and oratory as though it were a kind of >>>prose poetry. From this point of view, it will seem natural to regard the >>>Aeneid as a sort of very long panegyric. >> >>Forgive my obtuseness, but I frankly do not see how this follows. >> >>Furthermore, how can one ignore the Actium episode, for one? Of course the >>poem praises Augustus, as well he should be praised by anyone of common >>sense then or now. Clearly Vergil, who prized the bridling of both civic >>and individual "impius furor" as one of the highest accomplishments of >>civilized man, would praise the Princeps for his monumental accomplishment >>in bringing peace to a world torn by murderous and incessant civil strife. >>Praise, however, is not adulation; Book XII certainly reveals the poet's >>innate skepticism regarding the founders and foundation of empires, however >>sadly necessary they may be. For Augustus to read this book and still set >>aside the poet's last will and testament argues once more his serene >>maturity and self-confidence.
> >My point was just a formal one: the ancient literary genre of 'praise', >laudes, could be instantiated either in poetry or in prose, i.e. oratory. >But to think in terms of categories which devalue the poetry/oratory >distinction is indicative of a certain way of thinking, one which you find >in many of the grammarians and in, for example, the writings of Quintilian >or ps.-Longinus. Philosophical writers, on the other hand, tend to >emphasize the differences between poetry and oratory. > >I think your distinction between praise and adulation is very well drawn. >Praise need not mean sycophancy. And it is on the occasions when a poet is >able to praise the victorious athlete or general that he has his best >chance to advise him (if he will listen) and remind him that success is >fleeting and that even if people call him a god he is mortal. >PT Many thanks for your incisive clarification. I understand, and fully share your view. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 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
