I now agree that the Aeneid wasn't favored over other epics during the Middle Ages due to any reflections on the morality of force that seem apparent in it today. In fact, even the most devout early Christians, I believe , would not make the ana lysis of the Aeneid that some do today. Citing Christ's line "Compel them to come in," (to the church), Augustine, as the Bishop of Hippo, believed that physical force was justified in the task of conversion, specifically of the Donatists. Later, Augustine's sanction of force was accepted as authoritative and became the justification for the Christian soldier.
----------------------------------------------------------------------- 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
