On Sat, 18 Sep 1999, James Lewis wrote:
> Randi Eldevik wrote:
>
> [snip]
>
> >For my purposes, the Teutonic Knights and _all_ their activities are
> >just another example of an arrogant approach to cultural hegemony that was
> >all too common in Western Christianity during the Middle Ages; afterward,
> >too. I might just as well have mentioned the example of the Spanish
> >conquistadors who wanted to convert the Amerinds of Mexico and Central
> >America, but who forbade Amerind converts to be ordained to the priesthood
> >because, somehow, even after baptism and Catholic education, they were
> >considered to be "not good enough." Sadly, the _Aeneid_ is tied in with
> >all these various attempts at cultural hegemony:
>
> Frankly, this wearyingly frequent animadversion against Western
> Christianity as a uniquely arrogant aggressor is a canard that should be
> dismissed out of hand by anyone who pretends to scholarly objectivity (does
> such thing exist anymore?). Economic, military, demographic and cultural
> expansion are the nearly inevitable hallmarks of all civilizations at times
> when a new spiritual environment transforms and charges individuals and
> groups with cultural energy. What about the conquests of Islam? What about
> the suspiciously aggressive activities of Shaka and his Zulus? What about
> the bestial destruction throughout Western Cristendom and elsewhere at the
> hands of the pagan Northmen? In fact, what about the bloodthirsty round-ups
> of victims in their thousands among the Tlascalans by the Aztecs, round-ups
> so awful that the Tlascalans (and others) were the eager collaborators with
> Hernan Cortes' Four Hundred in the destruction of Tenochtitlan? One can go
> on and on throughout the history of mankind. Let's face it: we're not a
> pretty species, but we certainly are both energetic and capable of great
> spiritual transformations, perhaps as a balance over against our
> belligerence. It is possible to regret what we and our ancestors--wherever
> they have sojourned--have done to each other, and at the same time
> recognize that such behavior is probably a cultural determinant, at least
> above a certain level of cultural sophistication. And how, by the way, is
> Vergil to blame for any of this?
>
Allow me to repeat: I NEVER SAID VIRGIL WAS TO BLAME FOR ANY OF THIS.
And I never said the attitude was unique to Christianity. I know about
Islam and all the rest. What I say is that it is an attitude found almost
universally in the human race, which crept into the INTERPRETATION of
Virgil, and which crept into the activities of the Christian Church, inter
alia. from the 4th century onward.
I happen to think very highly of Christianity (Christianity as it was
meant to be) and, far from attacking Christianity _per se_, I merely
deplore and regret anything creeping into Christianity that prevents it
from being purely a religion of love and compassion.
For the final time (I want to put an end to this!) I was merely
replying to someone who assumed that medieval Christians were all gentle
and kind, and that what they liked in the _Aeneid_ was Virgil's gentleness
and kindness. To refute that idea, I mentioned some historical examples
of aggressive behavior by people who called themselves Christians.
As I've said before, I am not such a fool as to posit a crude,
direct, cause-and-effect relationship between the _Aeneid_ and these
unfortunate historical incidents. As I see it, whatever aggression and
arrogance there may be in the _Aeneid_, or in various people's readings of
the _Aeneid_, is a symptom, not a cause.
Is it too much to ask that respondents read all of a thread before
responding--not just a single posting from many days ago?
Randi Eldevik
Oklahoma State University
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