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7/27/2019 Aristotelian Elements of Tragedy in the Fourth Book of the Aeneid
Recommended CitationCurtin, Timothy A., "Aristotelian Elements of Tragedy in the Fourth Book of the Aeneid" (1947). Master's Teses. Paper 127.hp://ecommons.luc.edu/luc_theses/127
Definition. of plot---Story of Dido---Unityof V i r g i l ~ s story---Dido episode is an involved plot---Recognition and reversal--Tragic incident---Dramatic technique
• • 6
II . THE ROLE OF FATE • • • • • • • • • • • • . • • • • • 27
Conflict in the plot---Fatum and i t s mean
ing---Jupiter and Fate---Dramatic role ofFate---Kinship with Euripides and Sophocles
I I I . THE ROLE OF THE GODS. • • • • • .. •· • • • • • • • • 39
Virgil 's idea of the gods---Role of the godsin drama as limited by Stagirite---Unity ofplot does not need help of gods---Juno andVenus---Fama---Mercury---Iris
IV. THE CHARACTER OF DIDO • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 51.Aristotle • s re-quirements for tragic character
---Noble family---Goodness---Objections togoodness of Dido---Tragic flaw in Dido--Propriety in tragic character---Dido is trueto life---Weaknesses in the portrai t of Dido---Consistency in the character of Dido---Symbol of Carthage in Dido
v. THE CHARACTER OF AlllmAS • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 70
Ancestry of Aeneas---Unpopularity of Aeneas---Aristotle 's requirement of goodness---
Tragic flaw in Aeneas---Propriety in Aeneas---Aeneas is not entirely true to l i fe--
Consistency in character of Aeneas
CONCLUSION • •
BIBLIOGRA.PHY •
• • •
• • •
• • • • • • • • • • • • •
• • • • • • • • • • • • •
• • • • •
• • • • •
• 93
• 96
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depart when Dido learns of his intention. She t r ies to change
is decisiOn by prayers, tears and threats. ~ e n a ll fai l , she
him and his descendants and then resolves to ki l l herself.
book ends with Aeneas sailing from the harbor in the early
while Dido stabs herself on the ~ · of presents she had
from Aeneas.
Has this s t o ~ y the beginning, middle and end that Aristctl
for a good tragedy? I t seems that i t has. sinoe the plot
s a well constructed whole. Before showing the natural develop-
of the story however, we must make an exception which is
of separate treatment. This is the part played by the
in the story of Dido. As can be seen, Virgil 's use of them
s quite extensive, but whether this is a virtue or defeat will
ot be decided now. This chapter is concerned with the natural
of the plot apart from the intervention of the gods.
this point, most of the commentators agree that the plot has
natural development.
!he psychology of passion's progress
in the f i rs t book i s convincingly ex-presse4 for the f i rs t time in anr
l i terature. !he poet simply and natu-rally leads hero and heroine throughthe experience of admiration, generoussympathy and gratitude to an inevitableaffection, which, at the night 's banquet,through a soul stirring tale told withdignity and heard in rapture, cojld onlyripen into a very human passion.
Versil, - ! Biosrapb.y, Henry Holt, New York, 1922, 178.
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also mentions the natural development of the love of
for Aeneas:
La passion de Didon nait et evoluesalon lea lois de la nature et i l ya la des etudes d 1 ime qui sont
v i v a n ~ e s et qui4
ont pour nous uninteret humain.
9
At f i rs t , then, we see in Dido only the interest of one
has met misfortune in the hardships of another - "non ignara
miseris succurrere disco."0 Her interest in Aeneas grows
of his striking appearance (made even more striking
the help of Venus) and also because of his past adventures.
interest naturally leads to a desire to seek his company,
desire which gives probability to the incident of the banquet
to the hunting partyon
the followingday. Heinze in part-
remarks on the gradual growth of the love of Dido for
saying that Virgil differs greatly in this from the story
f Apollonius Rhodius, whose Medea immediately falls in violent
with Jason:
Wir sahen, wie vial seelisoher Virgil
die Neigung vorbereitet, und dem ent-sprioht es dann auch, wenn er dem blos-sen Jnblioh die Kaoht nioht zusohreibt,den Brennstoff, mag er auch noch sosorgfaltig aufgehauft s e i n ~ zur lodern-den Flamme zu entzunden. zreilioh 1st
A.Oartault, L'art !! Virgile dans l 1Eneide, premiere partie,lea pressea universitalre de ~ e e , 1926, 308.Virgil, Aeneid, I , 630.
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~ a dieses Paar auch nicht zu ver-gleichen ~ t ~ e n e n des E r ~ s un-kundigen Junglingen and Madchen,die der unbekannten Leidensohaft
wehrlos anheimfallen. Von denldebesgefUhlen des Aeneas zu spreehen,hat der Dichter sinzlioh vermieden:erst bei der !rennung horen wir lurchkUrze Aadeutungen ansdruokl1ch,
6wie
t ief ibn die Liebe gepaokt hat.
10
i t is maintained by some that even apart from the inter-
of Venus (who has Cupid enflame the heart of Dido), the
course of action might have come to pass, but only after aperiod. 7
!he storm is more d i r e ~ t l y due to the action of Juno.
not entirely improbable, i t is not so naturally con-
as the incidents that preceded. !he fact however, that
close to Dido and comes to the same cave is easily
naturally explained. !he consummation of their love also
the passionate nature of Dido as i t has been revealed
the poet.
At this point in the story, Virgil introduces Fsma, a
who spreads the report of the queen•s love for Aeneas.
reason for creating Fama can easily be explained. There
s always danger of monotony after the climax of a story. Since
e cave scene is the climax of this book, Virgil wiShes to avoid
Heinze, 120.Band, 353, 364.
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On hearing the command of Mercury, Aeneas immediatel7
about fulfi l l ing what Jupiter wishes, although he is con
and startled atf i rs t
by the appearance of the god.9 His
is probable and natural since he is devoted to his
and to the gods. His confusion is also natural because
has fallen in love with Dido and the command to leave Carthage
him with a real problem. From this point almost to the
end of the episode, the part played by the gods is practical
As a result , the true dramatic ability of Virgil
seen most clearly in the denouement.
Aber er schnildert uns kein dumpfesungeregeltes Auf- und Abwogen derEmpfindungen, seine Dido wird nichtbin unt her geworfen in Widerstreitdar Leidenschaften; sondern in klarer
Gesetzmassigkeit schreitet die Ent-wicklung dem Ende zu. Soviel wiemoglich wird auch hier dramatischeWirkung angestrebt. O
thinks no other ending is possible to the story. l l Oartault
brings .out very clearly the dramatic development of the las t
of the Fourth Book:
Nous ;s arrivons [he is discussing IV 296]p,r ~ t ~ e s sucoe,sives: chaque p ~ o g r e sdes evenements developpe dans l ' a m ~ deDidon une si uatio; nouvelle, ~ · / etatpsychologique different des precedents,
9 Aeneid IV, 279.Heinze, 130.
364.
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Dido. Again, she might offer her hand ~ o one of the nomad
she has so often scorned, but she would then become an
of scorn and laughter. She oannot leave with the Trojans
they have shown themselves as ingrates and breakers of
word; they would not have her aboard their ship. To go
Aeneas on a separate ship would mean the abandonment of her
To persuade the whole nation to go to Italy would be
because she had great difficulty in bringing them to
Oartault concludes the passage:
Ainsi le parti qu'elle avait prisdans son desespoir lu i apparait oommele seul qui soit sage et raisonnable,comme le seul aboutissement logiquede la s i t u a t i o n . ~ o
the art ist ic standpoint, then, the suicide of Dido is amply
The poet has placed her in such a position that the
possible solution for a woman of her character is self de-
Heinze also gives a number of reasons drawn from the
of Dido which show why the suicide was a natural and
outcome of the plot 's action. He oites the loss of
er chastity and the consequent shame:l6
te propter eundemextinctus pudor et, qua sola sidera adibamfama prior.l7
Oartault,321.Heinze, 136
IV, 321.
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by the poet for good or bad fortune. 26 The example given
Aristotle to i l lus tra te recognition or discovery is taken from
Among the Taurians, by Euripides. Iphigenia is revealed
Orestes by the sending of the let ter .27 The Dido episode
now be studied to see whether these two marks of an involved
are present.
With regard to the reversal, several commentators make
mention of i t when commenting on the dramatic character
f the plot./
L'aotion/atteint son point deoisif ,par la r e ~ l i s ~ t i o n de l 'union desiree.Suit la peripetie p ; e p a r e ~ par leaplaintes du/rival dedaignee, brusque-ment r e a l i s ~ s par l 'ordre imperieuxde Jupiter.
puts the reversal at the same part of the book:
••• Aeneas in Karthago dauernd verweilen:Hera arbeitet darauf hin, Didos Liebebaut fest darauf, Aeneas selbst scheintseine Bestimmung vollig vergessen zuhaben - da plotzlioh t r i t t mit :MeroursErsoheinen die Peripetie ein, und unauf-haltsam drangt die Erz6hlung nach entge-gengesetzter Riohtung, zur Abfahrt des Aeneas.29
is a true reversal for i t is the opposite effect of what
s intended by Dido. Moreover, i t r ises from the action.
her union with Aeneas in the cave, Dido wants to attain
happiness, but the spread of her rumored love for Aeneas
as the opposite effect , for Aeneas i s ordered to leave Carthage.i t is the turning point of the drama, as Heinze remarks:
••• Virgil hat den tragischen Gegensatzempfunden, der darin l iegt , Dido dass zumletzten Male im vollen Glucke strahlenduns sichtbar wird an dem Tage, der ihreSehnsucht zwar erfullen, aber zugleich'des Todes erster Tag' werden soll te.30
The recognition is not so smoothly handled, or at least ,
t is not brought about through human a::1 d natural agents. In the
of Aeneas especially, Virgil fal ls back on a direct revel-
of the god, Mercury, to bring his hero to the recollection
f his mission to found Rome. I t should be noted that some
interpret this appearance of Mercury as an external man-
of the conscience of Aeneas.31 The recognition could
be explained on natural grounds, with the theophany of
as a mere piece of epic machinery. 32 In defence of Virgil ,
t can also be maintained that the sending of 1\1:ercury develops
the story, since i t was the prayer of Iarbas that caused
despatch Mercury with his message. Virgil i s open to
criticism also, particularly because there is no external
Heinze, 128.A.Pease, Publi V e r ~ i l i Maronis Aeneidos Liber Quartus,University Press,ambridge, Massachusetts, 1935, 53.Cartault, 314.
Harvard
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fulf i l led in the suicide of Dido. I t is hard to conceive a
effective use of this dramatic incident .since i t grows
from the plot and is a f i t t ing ending to the tragic love
f Dido.
/
Virgile, qui, suivant lee preceptes de1' ar t classique, n' abandonne une source
/ ' /de developpement qu'apres en avoir t i ret ~ u t ce q ~ ' e l l e contient, a longuement/decrit l 'evolution de la situation creeepar la rupture. Maintenant rien ne peutplus retarder le ~ e n o u e m e n t ; Didon n 'a
plus qu'a mourir. 6
Another division of the tragedies is made by Aristotle
he says that they differ according to motive, the tragedy
pathetic where the motive is passion and ethical where the
are ethical .31
The Dido incident will of course fal l
the pathetic tragedy or tragedy of suffering, for i t con-
the passion of a man for a woman and his consequent forget-
mission imposed on him by the gods.
Aristotle also requires a chorus which should be regarded
s one of the actorst i t should be an integral part of the whole
share in the action. Here of course, Virgil is unable to
any f i t t ing substitute. But i t must be recalled that
found a tragic element in Homer, who is also without
Cartault, 334.Aristotle, 1455B-1456A.
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y chorus. Virgil compensates in part for the lack of a chorus.
No chorus can well find a place in epic,yet i t s part , as expressing the reflectionsof the poet, is taken by occasional subjective
intrusions into the narrative (IV,65, 2 ~ § >and by passages of almost lyrical tone.
the statement i s true, i t hardly seems adequate. I t is
evident that such parenthetical intrusions do not form
essential.part of the plot. Pease maintains that the function
in the story, l ike that of Fama, is to set forth public
like the chorus in a Greek tragedy. 39 Something might
said in defence of this view of Fama, but i t seems better to
both Iarbas and the goddess just as they are represented
Virgil - Iarbas, because he is a person with his own proper
and personal reasons for acting as he did, Fama, because
to be another manifestation of Virgil 's f idelity to the
tradit ion.
In summing up what has been treated so far , Cartault finds
general requirements for tragedy in the story of Dido.
Pease, 10.
~ · t 51.
L' r ~ de Virgile doi t beauooup a ~ I
tragedie. I1 lu ie m p r u ~ t e
sea precedes,le contraste, la p 6 r i ~ e t i e , l ' inattendu,pour dramatiser son reci t . Le livreiVeest une tragedie veritable. Le premiera.cte ,c'est l'amour qui s'empare de Didon,
m a l g r ~ el le , la rende, consentante ma.lgrelea resistances de sa conscience. L'action
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i s ~ t i O J . l de l ' u n i ~ desiree. Suit lap e r i p e t ~ e preparee par lys p l ~ i n t e s du r ivaldedaigne, brusquement realisee par l 'ordre
i ~ e r i e u x de Jupiter. Enfin vient ledenouement et c 'est ce denouement queVirgile a particulierement developpe,n'amenant Didon au bucher qu'apres l 'avoirfai t p a s s e ~ p a r tous lea degree de ladouleur, menageant la situation de faconqu'elle lu i porte des coups toujoursnouveaux et de plus en plus violents.La composition,/la progression de ce dern!aracte de la tragedie est un chef-d'oeuvre.
22
Besides these more general characteristics of the drama,
also employs a great deal of tragic technique in his
of presentation, and i t would be interesting to put a few
f these down because they bring out very strongly the influence
drama on the writing of the Aeneid. There is , of course,
intention of proving that Virgil deliberately used these means
o heighten the resemblance to Greek tragedy.
In an article in the Classical Journal, to which several
will be made, DeWitt mentions a few of the tragic or
means that are employed by Virgil. He points out f i rs t
most of the scene is laid in the palace, a frequent center of
for the Greek tragedians. 41 Further, with regard to the
of the actors, there are only two persons together
i f the servants are not included) in such important scenes as
Cartault, 336.N.DeWitt, "Dido Episode as Tragedy", Classical Journal, 2, 284.
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Virgil heightens the suspense at theclimax of the action with great success.The reader knows that Aeneas• desertionof Dido will lead to her death and Virgilrepeatedly refers to Dido's own determ
ination to ~ d i e (Aeneid IV, 415, 436, 450,474, 508, 519). At the las t minute however,Virgil, insti l l ing an element of doubt inthe reader's mind by means of the uncertaintyof a character, makes Dido less certain of herfate; she debates with herself whether toseek marriage with one of her former suitorsor to accompany Aeneas, and she considers thepossibil i ty of pursuing the Trojans (AeneidIV, 5 3 4 - i ~ G ) . Her waverings are artist ically
natural.
24
Cartault says that i t is characteristic of the drama to
the length of time and to unite and shorten events in
l i fe down to a more narrow soope. This device is also
in the Dido episode.
/
I"art classique resume dans une~ " E m e unique, olaire, logiq..ue, /e m o u ~ a n t e ce qui dans la real i tese repand et !lotte dans le tempset dans l 'espace. La passion deD i ~ o n passe par un certain nombre
d ~ e t a t s ~ u o c e s s i f s , qui n ~ t t e m e n tdetermines, sont concentres dansuna e ~ o ~ i t i o n i?ensemble ett rai tes a fond.
A final important tragic technique that is used by Virgil
n this book is tragic irony, of which there are several out-
G.Duckworth, Foreshadowing and Suspense i n ~ Epios 2f Homer,Apollonius and Vergil, Harvard University Press, Princeton,l933, 98.
Cartault, 302.
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instances that may be used as examples. In the opening
of the fourth book (11. 9-53), when Dido and Anna are con
reader discovers from the l ips of Dido herself that
has made a vow of f ideli ty to Sychaeus (11.20-27). I t is
very vow however, which she then renews, that is to bring
er to ruin. Again, in a much clearer instance, Anna is being
as 'soror unanima' (line 8), as one who loves her sister
•o luce magis dilecta soror• (line 31). Yet i t is due in
part to her persuasive arguments (11. 31-53) that Dido weake
n her resolve and finally yields to Anna's pleas to betray the
of Sychaeus by obtaining Aeneas as her husband.
His dict is , impenso animum flammavit amore.Spemque dedit dubiae menti, solvitque pudorem.48
are the words that immediately follow the conversation
Anna and Dido. And i t is of course through this consent
Dido starts the tragic train of events that will lead to the
ruin of her l i fe .
A final instance of the same tragic irony may be noticed
the actions of the two sisters after their conversation (11.66-6
In the true spir i t of tragic irony,Virgil represents Dido and her sisteras sacrificing to win the favor ofheaven from which she has just invokeda curse on her faithlessness; and towhat goddesses does she sacrifice? To
Aeneid, IV, 54-56.
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Ceres, Apollo and ~ a e u s , the godspresiding over the foundations ofoities and the giving of laws, whenshe is forgetting her duty as a queen;to Juno, the goddess of marriage, when
she is f ~ ~ g e t t i n g her duty to herhusband.
26
This concludes the treatment of the similarit ies between
he plot of the Dido episode and Aristotle 's requirements for a
tragic plot. In i ts main outlines the Dido episode verifies
l l the important requirements. I t has organic unity in the
of incidents that follow eaoh other in probable
is , moreover, a complication and denouement, and
easily recognized reversal and discovery. Before going on
o discuss the role of the various charaoters however, something
said about the spir i t of Greek tragedy and the relation
t bears to the tale of Virgil. This is the subjeot of the
chapter.
H.Nettleship, Suggestions Introductory to a Stugy of the Aeneid
Appleton and Company, New York, 1875, 12'1'.- - -
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the different commentators. To prove that they are identical,
11cites Aeneid I , 257, IV, 614, XII, 726. In opposition,
12quotes Aeneid I , 261, IX, 97, X, 112. Therefore, i t seems
adhere to the opinion of Sellar who says that the original
of Jupiter and Fate i s le f t undefined.13 Glover, too,
that the general relation of the two is uncertain.l4
The relation of Fate to the plot must now be considered.
isthe dramatic role of Fate in the Dido episode? Whathas i t , i f any, to the concept of Fate that is found in
he Greek tragedians? The question comes up very prominently in
for he makes two statements that have been contested by
in his Magical ~ 2t Virgil. Sellar maintains f i r s t of a ll
the Fate which rules the fourth book is not a righteous one:
The fatum of Virgil can scarcely besaid to act with the purpose of estab-l ishing right in the world or of punishingwrong. Their (fates ') action is purelypol i t ical , neither ethical, though i tsultimate !gndency is beneficial, norpersonal.
calls this the doctrine of predestination in i t s hardest form,
statement which he confirms by saying that this concept of fate
Bailey, 228, 229.
2 Frank 185.3 Sellar , 337.
Glover, 298.5 Ibid. t 344.
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s much inferior both in intellectual subtlety and in ethical
to the Fate of the Greek tragedy in conflict with human will .
Rand however, presents a strong case to show that this
of Fate as presented by Virgil is ethical, noble and al'so
true spring of tragedy.
Virgil has infused into the idea offate an ethical content that i t didnot display in previous drama. Heidentifies i t with a l l that is best
and sacred in the Roman ideal and inthe fulfillment of ti't ideal in pastand present history.
is a strong confirmation of this statement in the conclusion
o Bailey's treatment of fate, for he sums up by saying:
And i f i t be asked what is the contentof this divine purpose, to what practicalend is i t guiding events, there can be nodoubt as to the answer. I t is the fu l f i l l -ment of Aeneas• destiny, his arrival inI taly, the establishment of his power, andbeyond that the foundation of Rome and the
18expansion of Rome's empire over the world.
Bailey prove their views by references to the
book, especially 11. 724 f f , 847-853, where Virgil most
expresses his own religious thoughts.
By identifYing then, the idea of Fate with that of the
Rome, Virgil makes i t a righteous thing and one that is
6 Sellar, 344.
Bailey, 233.
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for good. Sellar himself admits the Romans were con-
in the continued existence of the empire, a confidence
connected with religious belief; they believed they were
the world by the ordination of the gods.l9 This idea is
confirmed by the Romans themselves.
Quam volumus l ioet , patres oonsoripti,ipsi nos amemus, tamen nee numero His-panos nee robore Galloa neo caL l id i atePoenos nee artibus G.raecos nee deniquehoc ipso hujus gentis ao terrae domestioo
nativoque sensu Italos ipsos ac Latinos,sed pietate ao religione atque hac unasapientia quod deorum numine omnia regigubernarique perspeximus
2amnis gentes
nationesque superavimus.
statement of Horace, more commonly known, attributes the
empire to submisSion to the gods. "Dis te minorem quod
imperas.n2l
I t might be well to mention that this identification
the empire and destiny of Rome was not ih any way
idea that degraded the Providence of the world.
This identification of fate and thedestiny of Rome may seem to be a
narrowing conception to us, but i twas not so to the Roman of Augustus'time, because for him. there was noother real power, no other civilizing
9 Sellar ,336.Cicero, M.Tulli Ciceronis Scripta quae 1 ~ n s e r u n t Omnia, c.Mueller, Iri Aedibus Teubner!, Lipsiae, 1896, De HaruspicumResponsis Oratio, IX, 19.
Horace, Odes and Epodes, C.Bennett, W. Heinemann, London,1929, Odes I I I , 6.
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hence ••• pity and fear for those who aredoomed to defeat ••• In Sophocles, mostclearly in his Oedipus, righteous humanityi s brought to ruin through conflict withdivine law. One cannot repress the inquiryhovering on the Poet's l ips , i t would seem,whether this law can be just . The querygrows more urgent s t i l l for Euripides: i ti s no righteous d i v i ~ ~ t y that sends Hip-polytus to his doom.
35
I t i s necessary to pause here for a few moments and try
o reconstruct the rel igious beliefs of Virgil in the l ight of
has been said. Fate is closely connected with the destiny
f Rome·and with the will of the gods. Fate is also endowed with
ethical content; therefore i t punishes wrong and rewards
actions. I t is this Fate which punishes Dido with death
suicide. She dies because she violated her vow to the memory
dead husband. For the part Aeneas plays in the episode,
is both rewarded and punished. Because he forgot the wishes
f the gods and lingered at Carthage, he is punished by being
to leave the one he loves and also by the consciousness
his departure will break the heart of the Carthaginian
But his decision to depart shows f idel i ty to the will ofhe gods; for this he i s to be rewarded. This reward consists
founding of Rome, - a reward that is foreshadowed and
to the wandering hero in the sixth book.27
This proves
Rand, 369.
Aeneid, VI,724ff.
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for Virgil, the most tragic thing man could do, is disobey
he will of the gods.28 I t also confirms the reason given by
to explain why the episode was introduced into the Aeneid.
The poet adopted his version of thestory of Dido not simpl¥ as an affectingand pathetic episode, but to emphasizethe great lesson of the poem by showingthat the growth and glory of the Romandominion are due, under Providence, toRoman virtues and pietas - that sense ofduty to family, State and gods, which
r ises, in spite of t r ia ls and dangers,~ u p e r i o r to the enticements of ~ i a i v idual passion and selfish ease.2
Is there any similarity between the tragic spi r i t of Virgi
the older Greek dramatists? Glover finds a great kinship
the tragedy of Euripides and Virgil, saying that i f
is the most tragic of poets, a t i t le conferred on him
less an authority than Aristotle,30 then there is more
in the Aeneid than in a ll the rest of Latin l i terature.31
In reading the Dido episode, Glover further thinks that
he Greek drama is presupposed, and above a l l , the knowledge of
his reason is that i t is concerned with the conflict
f character and the coincident conflict of destiny, a theme that
L.Matthaei, The Fates, the Gods, and the Freedom of Man's Willin the A e n e i a : - C l a s s i c a ~ a r t e r l ~ O ! : 11, 1911:-22. - - - -W.Fowler, Religious Experience of the Roman People, Macmillanand Co., London, 1922, 416.
Aristotle, 1453A.Glover, 54.
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interested Euripides and is prominent in his plays:
We see the unfolding of a woman'soharaoter; we see how what is bestin her gives i t s opportunity to
what i s worst; we see the triumph of herlove become her ruin. Behind a llthis we see somedark divine powerforwarding a design, for which we
find i t hard to see an adequatereason, and yet for whioh the in-st inct and passion of a human creatureare saorifioed, a l i fe is §2ushed•••by the act of one beloved.
37
problem is thesame
one that is found in the Troades ofwhen Hecuba is the one who suffers, and also in the
of Phaedra. Because of this reappearing problem, ex
in a very similar way, Glover feels a great kinship
the Greek and Latin poet.
Rand, however, finds in Sophocles a closer counterpart
or Virgil; he says that in both his art and theology, Virgil i s
far closer t ies to Sophocles. Both pursue the same
truth in their poetry - the ideal of f inal purification
reconcilement of a noble human nature with the divine nature.3
is not so close to Euripides in spir i t , although "he isto Euripides in his pathos and far reaching humanitarian
They differ in spir i t because Virgil i s not in
to oast soorn on the gods. Rather, his fates are a moral
2 Glover, 54.
371, also Sellar, 344.Rand 370.
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References have been made frequently in the previous
to the part that i s played by the gods in the tragedy of
In taking up this subject now in more detai l , i t should be
that definite conclusions are almost impossible.
The Vergilian gods were for Vergila convenient dumping ground for a llthose degrading notions of anthropo-morphic weakness, from which he was
struggling to free his conception ofthe ruling power in things. The systemof the Olympian gods intrudes hope-lessly on the mystic Vergilian Stoico-Epicurean philosophy, and makes - there
1is no denying i t - one glorious muddle.
also agree that the part of the gods in the Aeneid is not
to appraise.2 Yet the gods cannot be ignored, because
speaks of the role of the supernatural in a tragedy and
as definite ideas on how the gods should be used in the plot .
here, more than in any other aspect of th is study, the
between tragedy and epic manifests i t se l f . Epic
goes directly contrary to the norms that are set down
Aristotle for the function and use of the gods in tragedy.
would have them introduced rarely, or at leas t , for a
purpose,3 epic wants them used frequently in a variety of
The reason for the divergence in use of gods r ises from two
Ma.tthaei, 14.Pease, 51.Aristotle, 1454B.
39
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factors. The f i r s t and more fundamental of these i s
of which Aristotle says: "The wonderful depends for i t s
effect on the irrational."4 Now epic and tragedy differ
this point because the scope of the i r rat ional is greatly
in tragedy. The reason l i es in the manner of presentation
brings up the second factor to explain the divergence be-
epic and tragedy. When a story is directly presented there
s less opportunity to introduce irrational elements.
The i r rat ional •••has wider scope inepic poetry, because there the personacting is not seen. Thus the pursuitof Hector would be ludicrous i f placedupon the stage - ..the Greeks standings t i l l and not joining in the pursuit ,and Achilles waving them back. But inthe epic pgem the absurdity passesunnoticed.
What has this to do with the role of the gods in the
Aristotle wishes to avoid any use of the gods where the
and continuity of the plot suffers by their introduction
s i r rat ional factors.
I t i s evident that the unravelling of
the plot , no less than the complicationmust r ise out of the plot i t se l f ; i tmust not be brought about by the deusex maohina••• Within the agtion theremust be nothing i r ra t ional .
Aristotle, 1460A.Ibid. , 1454A-l454B.Ib id .
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the l imits set by Aristotle to the action of the gods
s more narrow than the actual part given them by Virgil , there
re some grounds for effecting a reconciliation between Aristot le 's
and Virgil 's practice. From the context, i t can be seen
the prime purpose of Aristotle in l i ~ i t i n g the scope of the
of the gods is to prevent the entrance of the i r rat ional
the plot , either in the complication or the unravelling.
of the very nature of tragedy, such a demand l imits the
of the gods to the parts that are set down by Aristotle.
The deus ex machina should beemployed only for events externalto the drama - for antecedent orsubsequent events, which l ie be-yond the range of human knowledge,and which require to be foretoldor reported: for to the gods we
ascribe the power of see,ng al l .7
Whether or not Virgil could have written the episode of
without the help of the theophanies i s , then, not a mere
question, but one which will determine the role of the
The f i rs t chapter of this thesis tends to prove that this
have been comparatively easy.To
stress this unity of theconsidered in i t se l f and apart from the action of the gods,
s very important, because the passage just quoted from Aristotle
s directed against a prevailing abuse - the i r rat ional solution
f a complication in plot by the introduction of gods.
Aristotle, 1454B.
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ConwRy might also be mentioned as defending this view, although
he i s not overexplici t in his affirmation, but :nerely says the
cave scene was directly engineered by Juno.lO
By far the most common view is that the gods are mere
epic machinery. A number of ouotations from the authors will
best bring this out. 1'Eve}:ything in the story could have been
done without a god l i f t ing a f inger .nl l This statement of
Pease, strong as i t i s , finds confirmation in the words of Glove •
I t is ouite clear that the godsare not the supreme rulers of theuniverse. . . Set in the Aeneid,the Olympian gods are found to bedead beyond disguise - the t ruthcannot be f ~ d . They Bre mere epicmachinery.
And in speaking of the intervention of Cupid to arouse the loveof Dido for Aeneas, CartBult SAys:
I l n 'es t ou'une machine mythologiauequ ' i l a o:ru devoir employer paroequ ' i l ne concevait pas l 'epopee quedans les formes t radi t ionel les , maisdont il aurai t pu se passer, s ' i lava.i t e te hardi et novateur .13
Evans thinks that the gods are mere epic machinery because human
elements would be los t entirely i f Dido were merely the victim
of a plot of the gods. This alternative i s rejected, because
i s pictured in her f i r s t conversation with Anna as one who
resis t her love for the Trojan successfully i f she wished.l4
also follows this opinion.l6
A good example of the modified view between these extremes
s seen in Rand who speaks of the gods, not as the supreme rulers
f the l ives of men, and yet not as mere puppets or epic machinery.
Virgil 's gods are not merely humanpassions writ large, adding nothing
to the plot but epic mechanism andthe contrast of shifted scenes; theyare large, human actors, more powerful,but submissive, l ike men, to the fates .Their action has interest in i t se l f andtheir characters have personality. Theydescend to the human plane, help or retard, and withdraw.l6
too, i s close to this i iea. 17
From what has been said, i t is clear that there is wide
of opinion as to the exact nature of the role of the
Pease does not defend any of these positions, yet he in
finally to a position similar to that of Rand and Sellar.
seems to have t r ied by the actions of the gods to connect
e actions of men with the higher and more universal plans of
This las t interpretation ·appears the best of the thre
4 M.Evans, "A Study of Dido and Aeneas", Classical Journal,Vol. XXXIII, 100.Matthaei, 20·
364.
Sellar , 337.Pease, 51-52.
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ment la marche de l 'act ion, on peut' /supposer que, s ' i l la i n s e r ~ e , c ' e s ~ /
pour nous rappeler que le sejour d'Eneea Carthage a pour prototype c e l ~ gd'Ulysse dans l ' ! l e de Kalypeo.
49
t can be seen that the elaborate description of Mercury (238-261)
d his message to Aeneas (265-276} is another bow on the part of
to epic t radit ion. This is made a l l the more clear by
e com'nents of some of the authors who maintain that Mercury i s
e external manifestation of the cohscience of Aeneas, wakened
t l as t to a sense of his inf ideli ty and duty. Therefore, the
of Mercury cannot be classified as mere poetic
epic machinery, because he helps forward the plot .
i t i s important to notice that the same result could have been
through the natural intervention of conscience, especiall
Aeneas has been represented as a man devoted to duty and
e will of the gods.
The vision of Mercury i s not merelymythological machinery - a deus exmachina to give the action an onwardpush. I t externalizes two things:the workings of Aeneas' conscienseand the intervention of Heaven.3
The same view can be taken with reference to the dream
which Mercury appears and te l l s Aeneas to leave Carthage (560ff
action of the gods is the reflection in outward nature of the
Cartault, 314.
R.Henle,S.J., F o u r t h ~ Latin, Loyola University Press,Chicago, 1941, 239.
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Characters rank next to plot as the most important element
f trageay. 1 Aristotle speaks most commonly not of the characters
personae, but more of the two elements which make
the individual character, moral bent and intel lectual insight.
"";\ 1\
Y l t: / o \ or moral bent of the agent i s considered the more
of these two elements, the cf ( _ v o 'd- . or intel lectual
isthe less important. In various places of the Poetics,
l i s t s different requirements which apply to character
some one of the three senses named above. The purpose of
part of the thesis is to e x a m i ~ e the two most important
of the ~ i d o episode and try to verify in them A r i s t o t l e 'for tragio character. This chapter will ,;consider
e character of Dido, the next, the character of Aeneas.
The f i r s t requirement is one that is mentioned by Aristotle
passing: "He must be one who is highly renowned and prosperous,
person l ike Oedipus, Thyestes, or other i l lustr ious men of such
observes this rule throughout the Aeneid:The class from which the personagesof the Aeneid are taken is almost ex-clusively that of the most elevatedclasses in dignity and influence •••
Aristotle, 1450A.Ibid. , 1453A.
51
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The actors moreover, who play theirparts in these cr i t ica l events arenot considered common or mean••• Didoor Elissa was a name f a ~ u s inPhoenecian legend and a s s o o ~ a t e d withthe ancient renown of Tyre.
52
is also explici t in referring to Dido as a member of the
social classes.
De cet etre humain si magnifiquementorganisee Virgile a fa i t hommage al ' a r i s tocra t ie . Didon est aristoorate;el le a l a puissance, l 'opulence,/elle
joui t de tout ce qui donne de l ' ec la ta la vie , el le en jouit comme d'unechose qui lu i est due; elle regne, ellea une existence fasteuse.4
However, this i s a requirement that is more or less
and not characterist ic of the poet 's inner representatioh
f quali t ies of mind and heart . Aristotle is more interested
n these la t te r quali t ies .
In respect to character there arefour things to be aimed a t . Firstand most important, i t must be good.Now any speech or action that manifestsmoral purpose of any kind will be ex-pressive of character: the character
5will be good i f the purpose i s good.
t i s necessary therefore to prove f i r s t the goodness of the
of Dido from her words and actions. This i s easily
for Virgil has given numerous clues of the goodness of Dido.
Sellar , 357, also DeWitt, 284.Oartault, 337.
Aristotle, 1454A.
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f i r s t presents her as going to the temple, nor is this the
she is shown as God-fearing and rel igious.6 She is a
capable ruler of her people, she passes laws and dis
justice to her subjects.7 Other obvious signs of good-
of character are seen in her f idel i ty to the memory of her
Sychaeus, 8 her kindness to the shipwrecked Trojans,9
for her s i s ter , Anna and her devotion to the gods:
Her character as i t is represented
before the disturbing influence ofthis new passion produced by supernatural means, is that of a brave andloyal , a great and queenly, a puretrusting and compassionate nature.10
In order to anticipate objections, a few remarks will be
on certain aspects of the character of Dido which have been
First , her suicide at the end of the book, does
t destroy the essent ial goodness of Dido as portrayed by Virgil .
is well known that the Stoics permitted suicide as an escape
suffering. Beyond that , Virgil ' s words acquit her of gui l t :
nee fate, merita nee morte per ibat , l l
i f i t be admitted that "Dido dies in defiance of her fate;
is against the volit ion of the gods, an act of her own
Aeneid, I , 496, rr, 56, 457.Aeneid, I , 507-508.Aeneid, IV, 15-17, 457Aeneid, I , 562, 630.
~ e 1 l a r , 405.Aeneid, IV, 696.
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The character between these two extremes, -that of a man who is not eminently goodand jus t , yet whose misfortune is broughtabout not by vice or de8ravity, but bysome error or fra i l ty .2
The t ragic flaw in the character of Dido is revealed
56
in the fourth book, when she f i rs t te l ls Anna the effect
Aeneas has had on her. The flaw does not arise from ignoranc
seems to realize the peri ls of an attachment to
In the opening scene with Anna, (11. 8-53), Dido weighs
in her own mind and definitely says what her better
prompts her to - an oath that she would rather suffer
e horrors of the underworld, than in any way violate her honor. 2
In spite of arguments, Dido's conscienceis s t i l l on the side of this inst inct ofhers, and she knows that she is actingagainst her bet ter inst incts and her vowof loyalty to Sychaeus; she has thereforenot yet lost the tudor which she has vowedherself to lose s ould she prove unfaithfulto Sychaeus, but this is the f i r s t step inthe downfall; the endiis the outcome of thebeginning. To resolve to win the love ofAeneas is no wrong thought or action, butto attempt i t against her c o n ~ ~ i e n c e isthe f i r s t step towards shame.
e very protest and resistance to the natural inclination of her
shows that her sin is not due to ignorance, but deliberate
Aristotle, 1453A.Evans, 102.Glover, 190.
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Rand also place the tragic flaw at this point in the story.
e poet believed the sin was complete at the moment of decision
Aeneas is s t i l l unknowing, but Dido, by mentally consentin
hope to her wavering heart , and loosed her chastity.n23
rei terates tAe necessity of a fault for the sake of poetic
While placing i t at the same part of the story:
Damit Didos Tod poetisch geregfertigterscheine, musse sie eine Schuld be-steht darin, das sie die Phlict derTreue, die sie als bindend anerkennt,wissenlicht verletzt .24
I t is well to remember however, that the faul t of Dido,
deliberate, is s t i l l lessened in view of the facts.
Both Aeneas and Dido are fai thlessto an absolute moral standard and
their own ideals, but their infidel i tyi s so natural , - almost i r res is t ib le ,that we are ready to condone: "si fui terrandum, causas habet error honestas.n25
e faul t , then, is not a wanton violation of the will of the gods
ut one that is lessened by Dido's affectionate nature and the
of Venus.
How does i t happen that the t ragic character of Dido
the sympathy of the reader to such an extent, that Aeneas
in a very unsatisfactory l ight? I t is because Virgil has
so completely the spir i t of the Greek tragedy. There i s
Aeneid, IV, 93, also Rand, 353.Heinze, 122.
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in the fate of Dido and her unhappiness, but i t is not a
just ice:
!he powers at work are not commensuratewith our ideas of the powers of r ightand wrong, and the righteous issue aswe understand i t , is but d i m l ~ discerned,i f at a l l , by the straining eye. Onthese l ines, Virgil has drawn his pictureof the catastrophe of Dido. Brought byVenus to the breaking of her vow, shesuffers the ful l curse which she hasinvoked on herself i f she should do so.26
this qualification, then, that the punishment does not seem
to the faul t of which she i s guil ty, the well known
of Glover best sums up the si tuation. He says that
i s with Dido, but not our judgment.27 Like the
tragic hero of Aristotle, she fal ls from a ne.ight of
and the disaster that wrecks her l i fe may be traced
a deliberate faul t , but not to deliberate wickedness. Her
is due to a fai lure of will; when Aeneas was accidentally
into her l i f e , he became a temptation to which she yielded
Aristotle 's next requirement is stated by him very/ r' , ( /
fl toJCt-e_o V d ~ l:tl- ""-e_ J.t oT'n:> 1 / ~ t - the SeCOnd
to aim at is propriety.28 In explaining th is term he remark
there is a type of manly valor, but for a woman to be valiant
H.Nettleship, Vergil, 63.Glover, 202.
Aristotle, 1454A.
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ter r ible , would be inappropriate. I t remains then to prove
the character o ~ Dido, as painted by Virgil , is appropriate
her, or true to type.
First , there are two dist inct characterist ics in Dido,
r womanliness and her queenliness. In these, or in the com
of them, there is most danger of Virgil ' s fail ing to
Dido and her character appropriate.
Dido i s at once a woman and a queen,a woman in the large and ample sense,in inst inct , feeling and sympathy,and a queen in her ideals and in herachievements. Dido is a woman becauseshe notices the size and manliness ofAeneas; she i s imaginative and ~ ~ e r -stands his melancholy character.
some objection to the picture of Dido that is drawn
Virgil because he says that the poet did not make any attempt
portray her as a more convincing character. He maintains that
l the materials for a more convincing drawing of Dido was
from her past history, - from her actions after the death
husband, when she showed herself a practical and vigorous
whobrought her people to Carthage to found a
newnation.30
The answer to this objection seems to l ie in the question
which of the two tendencies in the character of Dido was the
Glover, 185.Heinze, 135.
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by Virgil , her womanliness must be accepted as the dom-
"Dido should be treated primarily as a woman, though
queen, to whom love was absolute and overpowering."31 From
e speeches that Dido makes, she i s shown as a highly emotional
deeply, particularly after she learns of Aeneas' intention
desert her, in love. 32Therefore, Virgil chose to emphasize
different aspect of the character of Dido than the one manifeste
her in earl ier l i fe . Certainly., this emphasis seems more in
with the desire of Aristotle than the emphasis of her
abi l i t ies . Yet Virgil i s careful not to make Dido
colorless and spineless creature in the face of Aeneas' desertio
Virgil ' s conception is at once morepassioned than that of Sophocles'Deianeira, and more womanly than theMedea and Phaedra of Euripides •••No weakness nor womanly ferocitymingles with the reproaches she utterson f i r s t awakening to the betrayal ofher t rust ••• Her passion goes on deep-ening in alterations of indignation andrecurring tenderness. I t reaches i t s
sublimest ~ ~ e v a t i o n in the prayer forvengeance.
This seems to prove that there i s propriety in Virgil ' s
of Dido; he does not develop the queenly aspects
Evans, 99.357.
Sellar, 406.
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f E[do'a soul very much, but he shows her imperious nature and
er spir i t in the f inal scene of the book where she manifests by
er words, her beautifully executed deception of her s is ter , Anna,
to her intention of kill ing herself , and finally by
er suicide, the q u a l ~ t i e s that made i t possible for her to
the queen and ruler of a new and prosperous city.
I t might be objected that such a person, especially i f
he be so tender of heart and so womanly, would not possess the
of character that Aristotle demands in such speeches
s the one where she prays for vengeance on Aeneas. In answer,
t might be denied that such an objection has any value because
t i s not inconsistent with so strong a character as Dido to
deeply when she has been so grievously ~ T o n g e d . There i s
more justif ication i f i t i s recalled that She was insane
hatred and despair. But even beyo.nd that , Cartault cal ls
to the fact that a l l these ideas of vengeance are ex-
in the form of classical remembrances and allusions.
I l ne faut point etre aurpris que
ces idees de vengeance retrospectiveet maintenant i r real isable se pres-entant a ella sous la forme de sou-venirs classiques; Virgile a voulula representer comme una femme dehaute culture l i te ra i re et en memetemps cas horreurs sur lesquelleselle promenes son i m a ~ i n a t i o n sonttellement etrangeres a sa naturequ 1 elle ne peut les concevoir que
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But there are some weaknesses in the portrai t of Dido
should be pointed out. A defect that i s more common in
characters of Virgil seems present in some degree a t least ,n the character of Dido.
The personages of Virgil are revealedpartly in his account of what they doand partly through the med4lum of setspeeches expressive of some particularatt i tude of mind. Virgil 's imaginationis that of an orator rather than adramatist. I t i s not a complete and
complex man, l iable to various moodsand standing in various relations toother men, but i t is some powerfulthumos in the man, that the oratoricalimagination is best fi t ted to express.44
to l ive most fully in the final scenes of the book
is st irred to the depths of her SDUl with a passionate
toward Aeneas that takes the nature of tenderness andin turn. The effectiveness of the portar i t of Dido,
i s , in a sense, accidental, because she was a type of
more fitted. to the imagination of Virgil . Because of
fail ing Virgil has not been able to give l i fe to the minor
of the Aeneid, to the men who are mere names, such
s ~ a s , Mnestheus and others.
Yet even i f i t be granted that Dido escapes the fate of
of Virgil 's characters in this regard, she is s t i l l not
true to l i fe . Heinze elaborates on the point when he
Sellar 396.
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that Dido has Qualities that draw the reader but that she
Eigenart", a personal and proper quality in
er character. He also adds that she i s negative in portrayal:
So i s t sie denn zu charakterisierenvor allem negativ; es i s t ferngehaltenvon ihrer Person al les madchenhaftNaive, Zaghafte, al les Niedrige, al lesTUoksiche, Gehassige und barbarischeRohe: aber auch das Klagen und Jammern,das sentimentale Sohwelgen im eigenenUngluok, unnutzes Bedauern, dass es sound nicht anders gekommen, a ll diese
Inventarstucke der tragischenI.!on0?!.ien
and hellenistischen Ruhrzenen sind aufsauberste sparsam verwendet.45
From these cri t icisms, i t is clear that Dido cannot be
to l i fe without qualification. She has much in her
draws our sympathy but she is not completely f i l led out as
i t i s only because of the strong scenes in which
he plays that she makes so strong an impression.
/ ' ' c /AriStOtle demandS r l - ro (e_<:OV J r ~ Op<f. ~ o V or consistency
s the fourth element in a good t ragic character. He adds that
though the subject, suggesting the type be inconsistent,
he must be consistently inconsistent.46 Virgil keeps
e picture of Dido's character consistent in a number of ways.
Heinze, 134.
Dido i s a woman of action, not ofref lection, and therefore in this
Aristotle, 1454A.
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time of t r i a l and doubt when shei s s p e ~ i n g with Anna in the f i r s tpart _of the episode she i s unequalto the occasion and yields to inclinat ion. H i t h e r t o ,
4~ e r s has been
an •unexamined l i f e ' .
66
characteristic i s prominent throughout the book. She goes
after th is scene to offer sacrif ice as a kind of
from the pressure of thought and reflect ion. She is
engaged in external action, - the banquet, revis i t ing
e hal l at night, showing Aeneas through the city andro
forth.soon as she discovers the intention of Aeneas to abandon her,
he goes to him. As Cartault , following the dramatic course of
e action, remarks, Virgi l has concentrated the las t part of
e episode in one decisive scene which f i t s the character of
Tf• • • elle ne tolere pas l ' incer t i tude; elle vaido perfectly:
au but et tout s'ecroule."48 She i s , then, warmly emotional
d affectionate throughout the book, not given to calm thought.
There is a great deal of the Epicurean in the character
f Dido, which is also presented consistently throughout the book.
Pleasure loving, craving friendship,prone to emotion and to individualself e ~ p r e s s i o n , skeptical of theintervention of divine beings inhuman concerns and emphasizing thepower of fortune, Vido exhibits not afew characteristics of the Epicurean.49
Glover, 189.
Cartault , 317.Pease, 36. Cf. Aeneid, IV, 379-380.
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surpassed in ancient or modern poetry.This episode has eclipsed in some sensethe res t , by. i t s fusion of delicate psy-chological insight with human sympathy,of splendid eloquence with burning passion.53
I t i s t rue, however, that the t r a g e ~ may not have been so
fe l t by the ancient Roman as by the modern reader. The
Dido would not have attracted them so strongly because
f her possible allegorical significance. She was the represent-
of Carthage, the arch enemy of Rome. Fowler believes this
the reason for i t s introduction into the Aeneid. 54 The Roman
feel that the death of Dido provided poetical just if ication
r the deadly enmity which animated the struggle between Rome
d Carthage.55
All this would tend to make Dido less a person
with consequent loss of t ragic effect .
But even granting the allegorical significance that might
to Dido, Virgil undoubtedly drew her with great care:
Passion i s exhibited in Dido in a fatalbut not ignoble struggle with the purposesand chosen instruments of Omnipotence. Thet ragic interest of this antagonism stimulatesthe imagination of the poet to a m o ~ ~energetic delineation of character.
J.Mackail, Virgil and His Meaning to the World of Today,Longmans, Green andl!ompany, New York, 1927, 91.
Religious Experience o f ~ Roman People, Macmillanand Company, London, 1922, 416.Sellar , 321.Ibid.
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t t might almost be said that Dido helped the poet picture her
convincingly by reason of the role she played. Therefore,
there are defects in Virgi l 's portrai t , and even though
have said that the Aeneid is an epic concerned with conflict
f principles rather than characters,57 what ~ m c k a i l has said of
is s t i l l t rue:
Dido i s perhaps Virgil ' s greatestcreation, and certainly one of thegreatest in a l l poetry. While shei s there she f i l l s the whole canvasand beside her Aeneas fades andchil ls . Into her Virgil pours a ll
his insight into the human heart and hissense of purely human tragedy•. He givesher immortal l i fe .58
Pease, 32, also Nettleship, Suggestions!£
Stud¥ of Aeneid, 36.Mackail, 107.
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The same general requirements that were taken from the
to determine the tragic character of Dido will be used
the treatment of the character of Aeneas. First , then, the
of Aeneas should be considered.
Aeneas as the son of a mightiergoddess i s distinguished by thehonor of a higher lineage thanAchilles in the I l iad. To Anchisesis attached the sanctity of oneenjoying a closer communion withthe immortals, of one at once favoredand affl icted above others, andelevated, l ike Oedipus, into h o ~ o rand influence beyond the grave.
thus has a mother who is a goddess and a father who enjoys
e honor of the gods after his death. Aeneas ful f i l l s the re-
of ~ t t i s t o t l e for i l lustr ious persons.
The treatment of the other requirements will present more
for cownentators have disagreed violently in appraising
e character of Aeneas •• On the one hand we find such statements
: "After reading the fourth book of the Aeneid, Charles Fox
to a friend, •can you bear this? 1, adding that Aeneas
always either insidious or odious."2 The calmer judgment of
is also unfavorable: "That Dido has ruined the character
Sellgr, 356.Harvard Lectures Qa the Vergilian ~ ' ' H a r v a r d Universi
Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1928, 67.
70
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f Aeneas with nine tenths of his reac.er s is the admission of one
f Virgil 's most sympathetic critics.(J.R.Green)"3 This reaction
balanced by statements at the opposite extreme.
I f i t be true that i t i s heroism tosacrifice one's a l l in following acal l one believes divine, that i t isa nobler thing to conquer self thanto conquer Latium, then Aeneas iscleared of cowardice and unmanliness.4
Norwood, speaking of the Dido episode says: "No blame
attaches toAeneas."5
Whatis
the truth?I t
will be theof this chapter to appraise Aeneas accurately.
Aristotle f i r s t requires goodness in his tragic characters.
t is quite easy to find evidence for believing in the essent ial
and sincerity of Aeneas. He is the hero of a Roman epic.
truly says,6 the Roman would be unable to distinguish the
of the epic from the character of the hero; i f then, the
were to be bad and i ~ o r a l , the epic would necessarily be
in the same l ight . As a resul t , the nature of the poem
d the role played by Aeneas demand goodness in his character.
Glover, 172.
To understandAeneas,
we mustf i r s t
picture a man whose whole soul i sf i l led by a reverent regard for
destiny and submission to Jove,who represents destiny on i t spersonal side. He can thereforenever play the part of the heroin revolt ; but at the same time he
i s human, and l iable to weaknesses.7
72
Aeneas is primarilya man who revered the will of the gods,
point that strongly proves his goodness. A hint of what Aristot l
goodness is found in his statement that the character
be good i f the purpose is good. 8If this means, that the
acts with good intention and to the best of his knowledge,
proof of the goodness of Aeneas is found in his reverence
gods.
I l est plein de respect pour tousI Iles dieux, meme pour ceux qui le .maltrai tent . Jamais i l ne lu iarrive de se plaindre de Junon, qui
le poursuit d ' ~ n e haine implacable,et au moment meme ou elle vient desoulever les enfers centre lu i , i limmole en son honneur la
9laie blanche
avec ses t rentes pet i t s .
hero should have some outstanding quality; that of Aeneas
undoubtedly his pietas, that devotion to kinsmen, race, nation
of which he has almost become a symbol. This submissionwill of the gods lays him open to the charge of being a
instrument of Fate, but this point will be considered la ter
W.A:rnold, Roman Stoicism, University Press, Manchester, 1906, 391Aristotle, l454A. .G.Boissier, La Religion Romaine, 2 vola. , Libraire Haohette,
Paris, 1874, I , 243.
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commentators agree to this quality of pietas in the sense
above;1°and this seems sufficient proof for call ing
in the sense explained by Aristotle. Confirmation
f their opinion can be found in the Aeneid. The frequent use of
he epithet pius shows i t ,1
the high opinion of Aeneas expressed
12his followers when they f i rs t meet Dido, his f idel i ty to the
of the gods even when he finds these cowaands diff icul t
o obey,13a ll bring out clearly that he had goodness as a
moral t ra i t .
This does not imply that Aeneas' part in the episod."e i s
Thlost commentators agree on the presence of a tragic
in his character.
But even the Stoic may have his
occasional and human lapse fromvir tue, and every t ragic hero musthave his moral flaw. This, inAeneas, is his deviation, even fora moment, from the task imposed onhim by fate. Indeed the fourthbook is a tragedy of forsakenloyalt ies, that of Dido to thememory of SWchaeus and that ofAeneas 1 ~ the high destiny of his
nation.
0 Pease, 42, also Nettleship, Vergil, 61, also Grant, 18.Characters and Epithets, Ya1e University Press,
IJmu Haven, 1926.2 Aeneid, I , 515.
IV, 281, 576-577.4 Pease, 44.
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also admits that "••• defence of Aeneas is impoasible.nl5
i t is not so much a question of finding a moral flaw in
as of l imiting i t within bounds that will save his
of character. The moral flaw would not be l imited to
of his destiny i f he had really married Dido and then
her, - and such an interpretat ion has i t s defenders.
speaks strongly in favor of making the marriage a
one, asking what more could possibly be required
Juno Pronuba, the goddess of marriage solemnized the
16 However, i t is hard to find just if ication for this
in the text of Virgil; indeed, refutat ion of the
is found especially in the l ines:
nec jam furtivum Dido meditatur amorem;oonjugium vocat; hoc praetexit nomine culpam.l7
passage that presents diff icul t ies , i f the legitimacy of
he marriage is defended is the direct denial of Aeneas:
nee conjugis umquampraetendi taedas aut haec in foedera veni.l8
would hardly put a direct l ie into his hero's mouth on
a point and Cartault does not refute these passages.
Even i f there is not a tragic flaw in the marriage, Aeneas
5 Mackail, Virgil ~ His Meaning to the World of Today, 106.Cartault, 310. He might have been influenced by the fact thatthe marriage of Jason in Apollonius' tale was a legitimate one.
IV, 1 7 1 ~ 1 7 2 .Ibid. , 339-340.
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not escape entirely without blame. Some, at leas t , have
to reduce the real guil t of Aeneas down to the dis-
point. Rand in part icular , while admitting that Aeneas
s at faul t , t r ies to show that he should not be blamed:
A very natural temptation i t is forAeneas, coming at the moment of ex-treme despair and after so many attemptsto raise the walls of a new Troy. I ~ g h tnot Carthage fu l f i l l at once the oracleand the dream?l9
reasoning does not seem just if ied. I f Aeneas thought
fulf i l led the oracle and the dream, there was no reason
or his not marrying Dido. I t would have been against his
not to have done so. Granting that he couli not act
his conscience, Aeneas either completely forgot his
and destiny or else he deliberately yielded to the tempt-
to linger at Carthage.
In trying to determine which of the two reasons named
kept Aeneas at Carthage, these thoughts suggest themselves
the likelihood of the f i r s t . I t i s impossible for a man
a mission and destiny that has kept him wandering forix years. Therefore, he must have realized that Carthage was not
he city he was destined to found. This seems to be the only
reason for not marrying Dido. The tragic flaw in the
of Aeneas is now clear. I t l ies in his delaying at
9 Rand, 353.
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so long, - a s in which Virgil undoubtedly considers
than his abandonment of Dido.
76
Is i t not, however, a greater flaw in the character of
to expose the l i fe and happiness of Dido to ruin, i f he
i t seems he must, that he would have to leave
Conway answers the diff icul ty by recall ing the
in moral standards of Christian and pagan times. 20
blames no one except perhaps Dido for the tragedy. The posit io
f women in the ti'ne of Augustus was s t i l l that of pawns used by
he men to further thei r own schemes. The example of Augustus,
juggled the women of his family into a variety of marriages
d all iances for pol i t ical purposes, set the norm for others .
that the connection of love and marriage seems natural
d inevitable in our own day, but at the time in which the Aeneid
written, no such connotation was had.21
According to the standards of Stoicism,Aeneas is blamesless and to be praisedfor what he did. Roman moralitv toleratedan amour de voyage, the sin could have lainin constancy to the love.22
examples Sikes names, as far back as the time of Cato, the
over by the Stoic of his wife Marcia to his friend
New Studies of a Great I n h e r i t a r _ : J . ~ , 58.Glover , 203.
2 Sikes , 19 0 •
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and in much more r·ecent times the adventure of Caesar
and Cleopatra. no bl.ame whatever attached to Julius Caesar becaus
e escapea., but contempt was fe l t for .Antony who later succumbed.
o the wiles of the Egyptian queen. The same point is urged even
strong1y by Henry, when he says that Aeneas is a f i t subject
or an epic poer:1 even though he did betray Dido. His reason is
i t is an error to raise the moral issue at al l ; that the
is pre-Christian and should be treated as another adventure.2
his las t opiniu1: g·:>ea too far as i t is one YJith which Virgil
seems to agree. An interest ing bit of evidence to show
the sympathies of Virgil were in this point, is recorded
Suetonius,24 who says that in the reading of this book, the
voice faltered on the appeal of Dido, ' ~ o c solum nomen
quoniam de conjuge res tat ." The same view is confirmed by others.
Whether the poet fel t as his readerstoday may be questioned. He wouldperhaps not have been so much shockedat such an episode in the l i fe of acontemporary, but i t is almost inconceivable that he did not see how i twould jar in the sett ing of his poetry.But whatever he thought or fe l t , he
made the significance clear. Thecharacter of Aeneas as conceived byVirgil is a background against whichsuch conduct is seen for what i t is -i t becomes something very l ike sin.25
R.Henry, "Medea and Dido", Classical Review, XIVL, 1930, 99.Suetonius, J.Rolfe, Suetonius, Loeb Library, William Heinemann,London, 1930, Virgil , 47.
Glover, 204.
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appreciate the intensity of Dido's nature, - a l imitation
blinds him to the intense pain his decision causes the queen
The tragedy very largely depends onmutual misunderstanding: an ambitious
and unimaginative man i s brought intocontact with an emotional woman whosetemperament i s beyond her own control.Aeneas i s not deliberately brutal; hemerely fa i ls to understand why Didg
6cannot view the position sensibly.
brings out the fact that Aeneas and Dido lived according to
philosophies, - Dido is primarily Epicurean, Aeneas is
Aeneas gives primacy to duty, Dido, to love and joy.
An even more vulnerable aspect of the character of Aeneas
s his automatic acceptance of the will of the gods. This does
ot seem f i t ted to a character who is true to l i fe :
In the part he plays he i s conceived as
one chosen by the supreme purpose of thegods, as an instrument of their will andthusnecessarily urunoved by the ordinaryhuman i ~ p u l s e s ••• That he i s on the onehand the passive receptacle of divineguidance, and on the other the imperson-ation of a modern ideal of humanity play-ing a part in a rude and turbulent time,are the two main causes of the tame andcolorless character of the protagonist.37
i f Sellar 's statement is t rue, Aeneas fa i l s signally
demand for a character true to l i fe . Men are not
as passive instruments, who exercise no influence over
M.Crump, The Epyllion ~ Theocritus to OVid, Basil BlackWell,Oxford, 1931, 349.
Sellar, 309.
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their destiny. Rather, " i t is not in our stars, but in ourselve
Tf• • • • But there is a vast difference between the passive sub-
mission of an instrument to the hands of a directing providence
and the wilful submission of a hero to his destiny.
The keynote of Aeneas' character is
complete submission to fate, as represented by Jupiter, but he does notsubmit blindly. Stoicism demands awilling acauiescence and Aeneas obeysagainst his wish, - "Italiam non sponteseq_uor", - but with the fu l l assent ofhis wil l . This is Stoicism at i t s
height. "Superanda omnis fortunaferendo est."38
Because Aeneas always does what pleases the gods, and does so
willingly, he is not a mere automaton. The proof that he i s a
real man comes in oases l ike the one above where the will of
the gods conflicts with his own desires. First impressions are
l iable to be unjust to a character like Aeneas. For this reason
a careful study will now be made to vindicate the character of
Aeneas as a man who is true to l i fe . I t must be remembered
always that Aeneas is a Stoic and that i t is characterist ic of
the Stoic to repress and hide his true emotions.
Virgil f i rs t gives an idea of his hero when the shipwrec
men land on the shores of Carthage. Aeneas addresses them:
38 Sikes, 187.
revooate animos maestumaue timoremmitti te; forsan et haec olim meminisse juvabit.
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per varios casus, per to t discrimina rerumtendimus in Latium, sedes ubi fata quietasostendunt i l l ic fas regna resurgere Troiae.durate et vosmet rebus servate secundis.ta l ia voce refert curisque ingentibus aeger
spem vultu simulat, premit altum corde dolorem.39
These are the words of a brave man of action, who has encountered
peri ls , does not wear his feelings on his sleeve, whose vision
is set on a distant goal, which somehow he will reach; deep woe
at hear ~ i th mastery of emotion, supreme reserve and. resolution,
these are the fundamental t ra i ts of the character of Aeneas.40
In the fourth book also, i t is ~ o s s i b l e to interpret the
character of the hero by looking beyond the external actions and
words to the feelings concealed beneath. The f i rs t impulse of the
reader is to say that Dido's love has no rea l effect on the•
Trojan hero, that the whole affair is merely an interlude. But
the opposite is true because the stay at Carthage brought real
suffering to Aeneas as well as to Dido. This must now be proved.
In the beginning of the fourth book, i t is true that Virgil
gives a ll his attention to Dido and does not mention the reactions
of Aeneas at a l l . Later on also, i t is Dido and her interior
feelings that are most clearly manifested, chiefly because i t is
more consonant with her nature to speak out what is in her heart .
No hint i s given of the feelings of Aeneas unt i l Jupiter f i rs t
39 Aeneid, I , 202-209.40 Rand, 352.
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the suffering that i t necessarily involved, Aeneas i s more true
to l i fe than many of Virgil 's commentators believe him to be.
Only after Dido hasbeen
carried into the palace, faint from theexcess of her feeling, is the love of Aeneas for the queen shown:
at pius Aeneas, quamquam lenire do lent emsolando cupit et dictu avertere curas,multa gemens magnoque animum labefactus amorejusaa tamen divum exsequitur classemque revisit .49
The most important word for expressing the feeling of Aeneas is
~ . the word for passionate love; yet because he is pius Aeneas
he ful f i l l s the c o ~ ~ a n d s of the gods. I f Aeneas had weakened
and gone to the palace to t e l l the queen of his intention to stay
then sympathy would have been with the hero, but this act would
have spoiled him as a true to l i fe character. It would have
reversed the picture Virgil has constructed so carefully in the
preceding books. The m & ~ who is obedient to the gods would have
been replaced by a stranger.
However, there i s weakness in the picture of Aeneas as a
true to l i fe character.
For though Aeneas can explain to otherswhere he is going and that i t is the will of thegods, he does not seem able to make i t clearto himself. He knows that he i s to seekI ta ly , but in spite of the abundance ofrevelations, he is outside the council ofthe gods. He needs, from time to time,the hand of heaven to push him forward.His quest i s not a spir i tual or inner
Aeneid, IV, 393-396.
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necessity to him... Aeneas did notconsciously have a conviction of afuture which would be the necessaryspiri tual outcome of his principles,and this want of clearness and convict ion tends to mar a fine conception.50
87
In other words, Italy seems to Aeneas merely to be a region, not
an idea. This is incongruous in a man who is destined to found
a new people. There i s , of course, some growth in the character
of Aeneas, which might partly account for this deficiency. But
he had already received revelations from Creusa and Venus; more-
over he had clearly informed Andromache of his mission. lThere,
then, is the vision that has kept him constant for six years?
A man cannot forget the mission that has made him a wanderer for
six years. Aeneas i s weak and colorless as a character because
there is no inner urge which corresponds or matches the commands
and revelations of the gods.
Duckworth says51 that Virgil had an epic precedent for
the forgetting of the commands of the gods. In Homer, the heroes
either forget or appear ignorant of the commands of the deit ies.
But precedents do not remove the inconsistency of characters.
Aristotle 's fourth demand for a true character i s that
he be consistently represented throughout the play. Because he
i s not true to l i fe , Aeneas i s also inconsistent in his actions.
50 Glover, 209-210.
51 G.Duckworth, F o r e s h a d o w i n g ~ Suspense in the Epics of Homer,Apollonius and Vergil, Harvard University Press,Princeton,l933,
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remain so long at Carthage is directly against the will of the
to fu l f i l l the commands of Mercury so exactly i s the essence
f pietas. Since forgetfulness of the command cannot be defended
n Aeneas, his disobedience was a deliberate lapse from the
virtue of pietas. What Rand says of the discourage
of Aeneas may be accepted, but his mistake i s not due to
or ignorance.
On the night before Aeneas sails from Carthage, Virgil
that he returned to the ship.
Aeneas celsi in puppi iam certus eundicarpebat somhos rebus iam r i te paratis.52
had just l e f t Dido after an unusually painful scene.
f he i s really in love with the queen, how can he sleep so calmly?
A la derniere nuit deDidon,
Virgileoppose par un contraste cruel laderniere nuit d'Enee a Carthage; Enee
/ /
a tout prepare methodiquement, c 'es tla seule preoccupation; sa resolutionde part i r est prise definitivement, eti l goute paisiblement le sommeil, tandisque Didon veil le et se ronge. Cetteatti tude decoule logiquement du part iqu'a pris Virgile de le montrer docileaux dieux et exterieurment impassable;
/
on regrette qu' i l n'eprouve point •••/
au moine quelque inquietude a propos deDidon.B3
also remarks that i f Aeneas loves Dido, i t is difficul t to
th is reaction.54But Aeneas is not without defenders.
Aeneid, IV, 554-555.Oartault, 330.'IDv l1 R JJ) ,.
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Rand finds a conclusion exactly opposite to the adverse cri t icism.
Carpebat somnos ••• is this a sign ofheartlessness? Rather after theanguish of his own struggle and the
pain of his sympatb.y with Dido'sgrief , he gains that peace whichsucceeds a bit ter f ight , and yieldsto his exhaustion when a ll has beendone that he can do.55
But i t i s s t i l l doubtful whether or not this is a normal reaction,
i t i s consistent ·with the circumstances Aeneas has just
endured. Though he may have been exhausted, he was s t i l l st irred
o the depths of his soul. A suspicion arises at to whether or
ot Virgil may not have been preparing the way for the reappearanc
of lilercu:t·y, who asks Aeneas to depart immediately. The sleep
to be merely a dramatic expedient which is not too
r t is t ical ly handled. As a consequence the character of Aeneas
suffers from a lack of consistency.
Vfuat then is to be concluded about the character of Aeneas
I t i s not completely satisfying from a dramatic point of view.
may be due partly to the incomplete condition in which the
Aeneid was l e f t by Virgil , but even beyond that there is an
in the character i t se l f .
362.
The character of Aeneas then is a fai lure,for want of conpleteness and conviction,but ••• a fai lure which opened for a ll timea door into a new world, which brought
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under poetry 's survey great conceptionsof man, the agent of heaven, attemptingand achieving acts small in themselvesbut of incredible consequence for mankind, of a divine purpose and providence.56
In summing up impressions of Aeneas' character, some
90
need emphasis. Firs t , the f inal solution adopted by Aeneas
the decision to leave Carthage and Dido, undoubtedly stamps him
hero. He saw the r ight values of love ancl duty.
In brief , Aeneas is an epic hero whoseheroicity i s moral rather than physical.He has his faul ts and sinks again andagain under the burden of destiny laidupon him by the will of the gods; but heinvariably r ises again, unt i l , afterbeing t r ied in the furnace of suffering,we see him emerge in the la t ter half of theAeneid a true Roman, justum et tenacemvirum proposit i .57
t even i f this i s admitted, there is no doubt that "a l i t t l e
f the sacred f i res of rebellion would have carried Aeneas straigh
o our heart of hearts.n58 The humanity of Aeneas would have been
deeply appreciated i f i t had been emphasised by Virgil; but
is a Stoic who must not reveal his emotions. Virgil en-
the characterist ic by making the references to his interior
very brief . ~ ~ t i s t i c a l l y speaking, this is a defect,
the character of Aeneas i s not sufficiently clear to the
Grant , 18.T.Glover, Studies in Virgil , Edward ~ t r n o l d , London, 1904, 195.Matthaei, 19.
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Because Virgil could not capture in i t s entirety the
of the figure in his i ~ g i n a t i o n , Aeneas is cold, distant
and somewhat removed from men.
There i s another factor that would make Aeneas less h u m & ~ e :As the head of his people he was notonly their general but also their highpriest , and this role , l ike his monarchicpower, both elevated and isolated him,making him one o:!: the lonel iest charactersin l i t e ra ture , more lonely even than D ~ ~ o ,who d.oes have some confidante in Anna.
:i. s A.:l 80 called a pathetic and heroic figure, removed from
in his vir tues as well as in his shortcomings.60
Because of the combination of a ll these factors, there i s
ot the same feeling of kinship with Aeneas as with other characte
doing what is r ight , he disappoints the reader, - a disappoint-
which can be traced back to the poet. Whether, as :Nor·wood
61 i t i s because Virgil le t Dido become more than a secondary
or whether, as Conway believes,62 i t is because Aeneas f i rs
ut lJve before duty and then reversed his decision, the episode
Aeneas down in the eyes of the ordinary reader.
Pease, 41.
I f for us the character of Aeneassuffers by his desertion of Dido,that i s simply because the poet,seized with intense pity for the
Virgil and His I:Ieaning to the World of Today, 103.
Norwood, 147.~ Studies of ~ Great Inheritance, 159.
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injured queen, seems for once, l ikehis own hero, to have forgotten hismission in the poem, and at the verymoment when he means t ~ show Aeneasperformi.ng the noblest act of self
sacrif ice, renouncing his individualpassion and l istening to the sterncal l of duty, human nature gets thebetter of him, and what he meant top ~ i n t as a noble act has ggme out onh1s canvas as a mean one.
92
he is overshadowed by the character of Dido, but he
s certainly not a colorless and uninspiring figure, even in this
Aeneas is shown as a national hero, who had the courage
o renounce his love in order to follow the cal l of duty. I t can
e truly said that not the least of the penalt ies consequent on
heroic decision has been the loss of esteem suffered by the
in the minds of many readers of Virgil .
3 Fowler, 416.
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