Edwards 1960. the Expression of Stoic Ideas in the Aeneid

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The Expression of Stoic Ideas in the "Aeneid"Author(s): Mark W. EdwardsSource: Phoenix, Vol. 14, No. 3 (Autumn, 1960), pp. 151-165Published by: Classical Association of CanadaStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1086300 .

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THE EXPRESSION OF STOIC IDEAS IN THE AENEIDMARK W. EDWARDS

MY PLAN in this article is first o demonstrateVirgil's adoption inmanypassages of a certainStoic expression, nd then to consider howstrongthe influence f this philosophywas on his general attitudeofmind towardshuman existence.My justification oradding this to theenormousVirgilianbibliography's that somepassages gain a greaterbutoften overlooked significance f the underlyingStoic phraseology isrecognised. shall not discusshere his borrowings rom toic cosmologyand Platoniceschatology, orhisadoptionof tenetsfrom certain choolin these areas would not necessarilymean that he accepted theirviewson moralquestions.There is a clearexampleofVirgil's onscious doptionofa Stoicphrasein the way he refersto man's relationshipto Fate. The Stoics oftenexpressed heir earch for ccordwithnatureand the universe s "follow-ing Fate" or "followingthe god," thewords used beingusuallyfreoOator &KoXovOrev,equi or comitari.For examplesmay be given the lines ofCleanthes:

(you 6bP9,6 Zfv^,Kalofr y trek'pompeg,,67ro iroO00' ipv tel' baarerayp'os,wS 41opal y' OKPoKvoS 8b yeYi pXci ,KaKdsyebv6pevos,bbgv r77ov'qopat. (SVF 1. no. 527).twoofmanyinstances n Seneca:boni viri . . nontrahunturfortuna, sequuntur llametaequantgradus (De Prov. 5.4.)deumsequere De Vita Beata 15.5)

and one fromEpictetus:2eI ydap 7l lyo'veoL,RiWs t r(Xos 1.reuoOatOeoi2s;(Disc. 1.12.5).

'In discussing Virgil'spersonal temperament have triedto give credit to thosewhohave already presentedviews pertinent o myown, eitherpro or contra,but because ofthe sheerbulk of publishedwork n the area I have not attemptedto refer o all that Ihave examined. For recent work I am indebted to G. Duckworth's bibliography inCW 51 (1957-8).2Other xamples are: Seneca, translationof thequoted linesofCleanthes (Ep. 107.11),and Ep. 96.2, De Ben. 5.5.3: Epictetus Disc. 1.12.8: Aurelius 7.31. It seems to be almosta technical term,taken over by Virgil as he did exercite atis (3.182 and 5.725) andpraecepi (6.105); see C. M. Bowra, "Aeneas and the Stoic Ideal," Greece& Rome3 (1933)14 and 15: From VirgiltoMilton (London 1945) 59 and 63; and Norden's commentaryon 6.103 in his Aeneis Buch VI (Leipzig 1903).151

THE PHOENIX,Vol. 14 (1960)3.

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152 THE PHOENIXThe idea is vividlypresented n Chrysippus'sparallel betweenman'spositionof bondage to Fate and that of a dog tied to a cart,whichhemust"follow"willingly r reluctantly.3The expression s of frequentoccurrencein Virgil; sometimes themetaphor s strengthened y the additionof viamor iter, esultingn therather ommonplace omparisonoflifeto a journey.For example:

datafata secutus (1.382).quo fata trahunt etrahuntque,equamur (5.709).quo deus etquo dura vocat ortuna, equamur (12.677).divomducuntqua iussa, sequamur (3.114).etquamcumqueviamdederitfortuna,equatur (10.49).qua prima, inquit,fortuna alutismonstratter, uaque ostendit e dextra, equamur (2.387-8).superat quoniamfortuna, equamur;quoque vocat,vertamuster (5.22-3).In the above instances there can be no doubt of the reference o"followingFate." In 5.22-23 it would be difficulto determinewhetherthe practical advice--Palinurus is advising Aeneas to run with thewind-or the moral precept, to go where Fate leads, ispredominant;fortunatelyt is not desirableto attemptto make such a decision.For

therearemanypassages whereVirgil s clearlycombining generalanda particularmeaning n the same phrase,forexample attollens umerofamamque tfata nepolum8.731), and this s a similar ffect.4Furthermore,hereare otherphraseswhere theuse ofsequi, viam,oritersuggest the same underlyingnsinuationof compliancewith Fate,eventhough heobviousreferences tosomething lse. The best nstancesare: Italiam nonsponte equor (4.361)where the sense includesa feeling kin to that of Cleanthes's oO'6v 7rrov'opa& I, sequere taliam ventis (4.381)wherethe hintof submission to Fate may still cling in Dido's savagewords;and again inAeneas's pathetic

Italiam sequimurfugientem (5.629).3SVF 2 no.975.41 consider,for nstance, that it is useless to attempt to decide whether untlacrimaererumet mentemmortalia angunt s particularor general (as has been done) or whosetears are vain in 4.449-Anna's, Dido's, or Aeneas'; theyare the tearsof all these,andman's; see also the last quotation in this paper. Compare P. De Lacy, "Stoic Viewsof Poetry," AyP 69 (1948) 267: "Chrysippus said that what is good in a poem mustbe interpreted s applying to thingsof the same kind beyond the limits of thepoem(Plut. dud. Poet. 34B); and Seneca would have us regardthe Vergilianline, una salusvictisnullamsperaresalutem,as applicable to the whole human race (Nat. Quaest. 6.2.2.)." These double meanings are not dissimilar in effect o the formal ambiguitiestreated by W. B. Stanford,Ambiguityn GreekLiterature Oxford 1939).



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STOIC IDEAS IN THE AENEID 153In some of the other places where sequi occurs there is at least apossibilitythat Virgil s consciouslyor unconsciously pproachingthe

same idea. For example,Anchises yields in the second book with thewords sequor,etqua ducitis,adsum (2.701).His advice to Aeneas in the thirdbook is

cedamusPhoebo,et monitimeliora equamur (3.188).And Aeneas himself,on three occasions where divine guidance is inquestion,uses the same word:

quemsequimur?quove reiubes? (3.88).quidve equenstantospossim superare abores? (3.368).sequimur e,sanctedeorum,quisquis es, imperioque terum aremusovantes (4.576-577).There may even be a verbal interchange, kind ofhypallage, ntendedin such instancesas:

hac, Turne,sequamurTroiugenas,qua prima viamvictoria andit (12.625-626).mepulsumpatria pelagique extrema equentemfortuna omnipotens t ineluctabilefatumhis posuere ocis (8.333-335).Aenean etfata extrema ecutus (9.204).

The fewpassages where t appears thatfortune r Fate "follows" thehero, nsteadofvice-versa, an I thinkbe satisfactorilyccountedfor fit is noted that sequi, togetherwithcomitari nd theGreekfTreoOacandaKKoXovOeTv,as the meaning "accompany (as subordinate)" ratherthanthe more precise "move along behind" which the English "follow"denotes, nd thechange nsense from hatof themore ommon xpressionis not so wide as thatgivenby theEnglishrendering; he nstances re:5

hac Troiana tenusfueritfortunaecuta (6.62).sifortunasequatur (8.15).forsan miserosmeliora equentur (12.153).5Si modo,quod memoras, actumfortunasequatur 4.109) is difficult, s Venus is un-certain of Fate's decision and particularlydubious whether t will allow the plan Junohas just proposed; in this special case theremay be a definite dea of acting first ndhoping that Fate will give its approval afterwards.Perhaps the answer is that the use

offortuna instead of fata in these examples is not coincidental and that the idea of"chance" is implied; compare casus factumquicumquesequentur 9.299 and 12.32). Seeon this C. Bailey, Religion in Virgil (Oxford 1935) 235-237. On the whole, however,Virgil, like the Stoics, seems to make no importantdifferentiation etweenfata andfortuna,or even fors; as Bailey says (op. cit. 235) "It is, however,probably true tosay that even where the 'chance' sense [offortuna] s most prominent,that of 'fate'is lurkingbeneath thesurface,and where ortuna eems mostequivalent tofatum,thereyetremainsa touchof chance' in its significance."The rigid imitsdrawnup by Serviusbetween the spheres offata, natura, andfortunaor casus (ad vv.8.334, 1.39, 4.653; see



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154 THE PHOENIXThere are also otherpassages where,thoughsequi is not used, I amconvincedthatVirgil s repeating hesame allusion;moreexplicitly,hat

he is intending o conveynot onlythat Aeneas is embarkedupon exten-sive travels njoineduponhimbyFate but also thathe, ikeall mankind,is makinghis laboriousway through lifewhich has been foreordained.Consider hephrases:indedatummolitur ter (6.477).pergemodo, tqua te ducitvia, dirigegressum (1.401).contra udentior toqua tua tefortuna inet' (6.95-96).vixi etquemdederat ursumfortuna eregi (4.653).viviteelices,quibus est ortunaperactaiam sua (3.493-494).

One further ase should be mentionedwhereacknowledgment f therecurrence f this allusionmay bringout the sense, hereby restrictingratherthan wideningthe range of the expression.This is the phrasefataviam nvenient3.395 and 10.113),which take to mean not "a wayforthemselves"nor"a way out ofthedifficulty,"ut "a road (forman)to travel."7It seems thenthatVirgilhas takenover an essentialelementofStoicthought n Stoic phraseologyand used it repeatedly throughout heAeneid to express the necessaryrelationshipbetween man and Fate.Sometimes hereferences direct, ometimes llusive;but moreseemstobe intendedthan ust recurrentmagery, orthemetaphorwas probablyalreadycommonplace,8nd it seems fair to suppose that theexpressionis used in consciousallusion to thephilosophicdoctrine.Seneca's masterlyStoic formula n his rendering f Cleanthes's lines,

ducuntvolentemfata, olentem rahunt (Ep. 107.11)raises the questionwhetherthe Stoic motif n Virgil s carriedfurther.Is thereany trace in the Aeneidof the second part of the aphorism, feventual but reluctant ompliance?E. O. Wallace, The Notes on Philosophy n theCommentaryfServius .. [New York1938] 62-64, 161) are not justified by Virgil's usage. The difficulties f determiningpreciselywhat an author understood by these words emerges clearly in the attemptmade to distinguishthem by I. Kajanto, God and Fate in Livy (Turku 1957) 53-89.

6MSS ofVirgilread quam, those of Seneca (Ep. 82.18) qua. I thinkthe presentargu-mentgives some slightadditional reason forreading,withNorden's 3rd edition (1927),qua. Contra,V. P6schl, DichtkunstVirgils (Innsbruck 1950) 92, note 1.7Though Seneca may have taken it in the first ense quoted; Cons. ad Marc. 21.6euntvia sua fata.8E.g., Cicero, Pro Milone 95 quemcumquecursumfortuna dederit; the thought iscommon on tombs, see A. S. Pease, Aeneid IV (Cambridge, Mass. 1935) 37 and ref-erences there.



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STOIC IDEAS IN THE AENEID 155The description its heAeneas of the first ix booksquitewell.Bowrahas shown in his excellent article "Aeneas and the Stoic Ideal"' that

Aeneas fails, in these books particularly, n all the Stoic divisionsofvirtue-wisdom, moderation,courage, ustice-except justice; that heis, in fact,heredepictedas undergoing testingprocessthroughwhichhe eventuallyachieves something ike the true Stoic outlook. Similarlyin these books he often shows a certain amount of recalcitrance. nBook 2 his actions oftengo against the preceptshe is supernaturallygiven-his joiningbattle afterHector's instructions o the contrary, isimpulse to slay Helen, his movement to return to the fighting fterAnchises's refusalto accompanyhim,his returnforCreusa-and thereare many wordsof bitterness nd reproachto the gods.'1 This periodin his reactions nds with thewordcessi,"I gave in," in the last lineofthesecondbook,wherethemeaning ncludesthat ofsubmission o Fate.The wordhas alreadybeenused with this widesignificance yAnchises:cedoequidem,nec, nate,tibicomes re recuso (2.704)and he lateruses it again in advice to his son:cedamusPhoebo,etmonitimeliora equamur (3.188).Aeneas himselfaterrepeatsthe advice to Dares:nonvires lias conversaque umina sentis?cededeo (5.466-467).It is evenconceivablethatdespitethe nterpositionfseveralbooks (andthe confusing eminiscences f Catullus) the poet intendedan echo ofthismeaningoftheword to be heardagain ininvitus, egina, uo de litore essi (6.460).

At theend ofBook 2 he has yieldedto Fate. In Book 3 his actionsarewell-intentioned,hough often erroneous,and in Books 4 and 5 hecompliesobedientlywith instructions, houghwith lapses." In Book 6and thenceforwardis actions and purposeare assured,and Virgilevenmakes himboast ofhis acceptanceofhis Fate, with a certainblindnessto thefacts:sed mea mevirtus t sancta oracula divom ..coniunxere ibi,etfatisegerevolentem (8.131-133).

So faras thesequence ofeventsdemands,Aeneas maybe considered n9Greecend Rome 3 (1933) 8-21.102.402,428, 602-603, 622-623; 3.1-2. F. H. Cowles, "The Epic Question in Virgil,"Cy36 (1940-1) 132f.stresses the resentment t the discrepancybetweenmeritum ndfatum. Though he does not say this, I think t emergesfromhis study that it is in thesecond book that the bitterness s strongest."In Book 5 notice that thoughhe is iam .... certus ter 1-2) he can still hesitatein 702-703 Siculisne resideret rvis/oblitusatorum talasne capesseret ras.



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156 THE PHOENIXobedientStoic,thoughhis submission s at first nforced.His subsequentattitudewillbe discussed morefully ater.

Strong indications,then, of the Stoic philosophyare found in thenarration f the actions ofAeneas, the personon whom the purposeofthe poem requiresFate to lay its hand most firmly. erhaps also thisidea of reluctant but eventual compliance might have suggested toVirgilhis theory fJuno's abilityto hinder,but not to prevent ntirely,the accomplishment f Fate;'2 her reactionsthroughout re much likethose of an obstinatedog in thesituationdescribedby Chrysippus, ndher final abandonment of her opposition, cedo equidem . . ." (12.818), isvery ike thatofAnchises nd Aeneas. But theposition fother haractersis moredifficulto determine. ate triumphs,fcourse,eventually,'8 ndAeneas fulfils is destiny.Yet Dido and Turnus obviously attempttoobstructthis purpose,and thismakes it at least awkwardto considerthemas Stoic sapienteswhohave not achievedas greata measureof thesupremegood as has Aeneas, before, romthe forceof uncontrollablecircumstance, heysuffered nd died untimely.14But beforeresorting o the position that those who oppose Aeneasare theStoicwicked there s anotherpossibility hatmust be considered.This is the view that Virgilbelieved that Fate itself ncludesapparentconflictsnd injustices, hatcertain ndividualfatesare inconsistentndconflicting ith thegreat designofFate, and hence thatsomeindividualsmust be sacrificed o theultimatecommongood; or to express t inmoregeneralterms, hathe feels thepathosof humansuffering orestronglythan theessentialbeneficence f theworldorderforhumanity, nd theresult s that there s morepathos than triumphn his hymnto Rome.This position s most clearlystated by Bailey;'5 "In a sense the whole

127.315;10.622. Compare Vulcan's words in 8.398-399.13L. E. Matthaei, "The Fates, the Gods, and the Freedom of Man's Will in theAeneid," CQ 11 (1917) Ilf. goes too far in seeing Dido's suicide as a defiance of andescape fromFate, as suicide seems never to have been explicitly o regarded;probablythe nearest approach is the two paths of destinyprophesiedas open to Scipio (CiceroDe Repub. 6.12). I take the few instances of expressed doubt about the certaintyofFate (6.770, 828, 882) to be purely literaryphrases, perhaps taken over from suchpassages as Iliad 17.321.14E.V. Arnold,Roman Stoicism Cambridge 1911) 291.150p.cit. (above, note 5) 213; see also 211 and 234f.; W. H. Semple in BulletinoftheJohnRylands Library34 (1951-52) 119f. Matthaei (op. cit. above, note 13) gives agood expositionof a basically similarposition,without inking t eitherto Stoicism orto Greek literary deas. On the relationshipbetween the gods and Fate her views areless rigid,and I thinkbetter,than Bailey's, but she lays much stresson the importanceofwilling acquiescence to Fate, which s difficulto support; if "the right tate ofmindis a joyful acquiescence" (p. 22) why is not Aeneas rathermore oyful? Similarly Ifindher idea of Dido's suicide as a glorious rebellion against Destiny a reasonableviewpoint but not Virgil's.



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STOIC IDEAS IN THE AENEID 157Aeneidmight e said to be the tory ftheconflictfmoirai i.e. ndividualfates]and its ultimate decisionby a higher ate.... These lesser fates'of ndividualsor racesmay come intoconflictwith one another nd mayin some cases be postponedor even avoided altogether, ometimes venby the freeaction of the personconcerned.They are at all timessub-ordinate to the world-destinywhich affects ll men and races alike."The theoryhas oftenbeen expressed by others with slightlydifferentemphasis; for instance,W. S. Maguinness has recentlypresentedtheidea of electionand rejection n Virgil,of "destinythat needed the oneand rejectedtheother" (Aeneas and Turnus), and ofVirgilian eflection-that "conquest cannot be made and thedomination f a peopleor a manestablishedwithout the sacrificeof beautiful and innocentcreatures,sufferingo noble victims,and treachery nd heartlessness n thepartofthoseambitiousforpower."'1Others feelVirgil'spathosmore tronglythantheprotest, nd write fhissadness at theprice xactedfor rogresswithout seeing any hint of resentment r challenge of Fate." Alter-natively,man's freewillmay be emphasisedand man made responsiblefortheconsequencesofhisown decisions.18It is natural to wonder f any form f the Stoic fatalismmighthavefurnishedVirgil with a rationalised foundationfor this idea of dis-harmonyof fatewithfate.-9 or the originof the idea, Bailey suggestsonly an undefinedGreek conception--"Moira in the Greek conceptionis limited and may be overruled by the wider and more universalheimarmene."20n some of the Stoics there are ideas whichmighthave

x6Quotations re fromhis Aeneid XII (London 1953) 13, and SomeReflectionsn theAeneid (Virgil Society, London 1951) 8. See also his Tragic Spirit oftheAeneid (Virg.Soc., London 1955) 7f. He does not connect the idea with Stoicism; his apparentdistinctionbetween Fortune and fatum ("[Dido and Turnus] have been or done whatfortune,which s thenegationoftheirfatum, as allowed; what theymighthave becomeand achieved is unfulfilled"-Tragic Spirit p. 8) is not fullyexplained."1Bowra,op. cit. (above, note 9) 21; L. Feder, "Vergil's Tragic Theme," Cy49 (1954)197-209, sees the sadness principallyat unmeritedhardship followingglory. Virgil'ssomewhat ndeterminate rinciplesare excellently ummedup byW. P. Clark, "Vergil'sGods," CW 42 (1948-9) 53. That this "tone of bewilderment or pity" can also befound in the early poems is shown by W. C. Greene,"Young Virgiland the DoubtfulDoomofHumanKind,'"'P 43 (1922)344f.8SG.Duckworth, "Fate and Free Will in Vergil's Aeneid," C7 51 (1955-6). 357f.J. MacInnes, "Conception of Fata in the Aeneid," CR 24 (1910) 169f. presents asimilar view with less proof.The major instance is of course 10.111-112, sua cuiqueexorsa laborem/fortunamqueerent,but Virgil is hardly consistent.1"Juno'sreference ofatis contrarianostris/fata hrygum 7.293-294) is adequatelyexplained by Bailey, op. cit. (above, note 5) 221; in the other instance where the ex-pressionrecurs 1.239, solabar,fatiscontrariafatarependens)no conflict s involved butmerelythe opposite, not opposing, fates of Troy and Rome. Matthaei takes anotherview.

200Op.it. (above, note 5) 211.



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158 THE PHOENIXbeen developedinto therequiredconflict. he nearestapproachappearsas earlyas Cleanthes,who "perceiving hefactofevil,soughtto relieveProvidence,thoughnot Fate, fromresponsibility or t, arguing unlikeChrysippus) that though all that comes throughProvidence is alsofated,not all that is fated is providential" W. C. Greene).21 his con-tains the nucleus of the idea, but the attitude taken here towardsevilnever seems to have beenpopularwith atermembers ftheschool,andit is impossibleto tell whetherVirgilwas likelyto be aware of it. TheStoics closerto Virgil'sown time could hardlyhave providedthegenesisofsuch a universaldisharmony. anaetius had refined heoriginalStoicdoctrine f iving n accord withnaturebyrequiring doubleconformity,bothwithuniversalnatureand with the mpulsesof humannature,"2utit is impossible to extend either this dichotomyor his psychologicaldualism23o thedegreeofdivergence equired.Posidoniusseems to haveadvised a healthyscorn of Fate and relianceupon oneself,but withoutmitigating heunityand universality f Fate's power;24nor s the eewaywhichCicero allows thegods in overlookingminor nequities magnadicurant,parva negleguntDe Nat. Deor. 2. 66.167]) sufficiento coversatisfactorilyhe tragediesof the Aeneid. It mustbe assumed thereforethat this dea ofindividualdestinies n essential conflictwitheach otherhad no basis in fundamental toic thought;and in fact it is doubtful fFate's decree s creditedwith such all-embracing ower n Virgil.The remaining toicexplanation fthedepiction f the esser haractersis that Dido and Turnus,for nstance, re amongthewicked,thosewhofromrootedperversity f mind and inabilityto control the power ofemotion rrbygiving ssentwrongly o thosethingswhichare not trulyin accordance withnature and (presumably)Fate. The minordifficultyat once arises that both Dido and Turnus appear to be fullyaware ofthepowerofFate and do not explicitly allaway from tsdesigns.Didoisfati nesciaat first1.299), but at that time the situation s not thatsheis attempting o detainAeneas but thatshe is indangerof nevermeetinghim; and hergreatEpicurean outburst n theheightofherfury gainstAeneas,

2Moira (Cambridge, Mass. 1948) 344-345; SVF 2 no. 933."Cicero, De Off.1.31.110 (= Panaetius fr. 97 van Straaten [part]) "sic enim estfaciendum,ut contra universam naturam nihil contendamus, ea tamen conservatapropriam nostram sequamur"; cf. De Fin. 3.22.73. See M. van Straaten, Panittius(Amsterdam1946) 140-144, and the alternative view taken by M. Pohlenz,Gnomon21(1949) 118."Van Straaten (op. cit. above, note 22) 105-106; Cicero, De Off. .28.101 = Panaetiusfr.107 van Str.; Schmekel,Philosophicdermittlerentoa (Berlin 1892) 210-212. Thereis no directevidence forwhatmeasure offreewillPanaetius allowed toman,and opinionsdiffer; ee Schmekel 94-95, van Straaten 85-86."Self-reliance: L. Edelstein, "Philosophical System of Posidonius," At7P 57 (1936)313-316; Seneca, Ep. 113.28. Fate: SVF 2 no. 915,



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STOIC IDEAS IN THE AENEID 159scilicets superisabor st, a curaquietossollicitat!154.379-380)

is counterbalancedby her last words, an assertionthat she has beenfollowing ate's path all the time;26vixi tquem ederatursumortunaeregi (4.653).In the case of Turnus, though his action once provokes the poet'sexclamation nesciamens ominumati sortisquefuturae,et ervaremodumebusublata ecundis! (10.501-502)as he takes the fatefulbelt fromthe dead Pallas, the words seem torefer to man's mortal limitations, n the spiritof Homer and Greektragedy, nd in particularto Turnus's ignorance fthecircumstances fhis comingdeath; certainlynot to actioncontrary o Fate. And he too,just beforehisdeath,says

quodeus tquoduravocatortuna,equamur (12.677)and often peaks ofhis ownfata, ofwhichhe is quite conscious."But ifthisdifficultys disregarded,s therea case forsupposing t isVirgil's intention to representDido and Turnus as sinners,wilfullydisobedientto thedecreesofFate, as describedby Cleanthes?obir6ryLe',vramEpyov rl XOov oD1Xa, 5aipov,o~reKar' alOeproveovw6'Xovoiv' vin7r6vT~iXr)tv7ro6a / ov0 KaKolaerTpaOwL &voiaLs.(Hymn 5-17Zuntz HSCP 63 (1958) 301]).Dido's consciousness fguiltat herbetrayalof theself-imposedrusttoher dead husband calls for no demonstration.Turnus, whose crimetowards thedead Pallas is emphasizedas thedirectcause ofhisdeath atAeneas' hands,28s aware, as he goes into the finalduel, that heaven isagainsthim: nonme uafervidaerrentdicta,ferox;i me errentt uppiter ostis (12.894-895).

26Abibliographyof workon Dido's Epicureanism is given by Pease, op. cit. (above,note 8) p. 36, note 285.'6Nec fato merita nec morte eribat (4.696) seems to mean only "not by a naturaldeath," with no allusion to fatalism; Gellius 13.1, quoted with approval by Norden,op. cit. (above, note 2) 12.B'Suntet mea contra/fatamihi (9.136-137), confirmedby Jupiter in 10.471-472.Quaecumqueestfortuna,meaest 12.694) seems to mean simply"luck." The onlyexplicitcase I know of a mistake beingmade in estimatingthe designsof Fate is a minorone,that of Latinus in thinkingthe Latins are being destroyed by Fate (7.594) when theyare in fact acting in opposition to it (7.583-584).'"This seems to be Virgil's attitude; see W. Warde Fowler, Death of Turnus (Oxford1919), Maguinness, Tragic Spirit (above, note 16) 1-2. There is a strange confusionof Homeric and contemporarymorality n many of the battle scenes.



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160 THE PHOENIXMezentius,the triumphant nrepentant inner gainstgods and men, sdefeated in pathetic circumstances. t has even been suggested thatEvander is culpable, and hence is punished,"9nd there are a fewhintsofguilton thepart of the Trojans beforeTroy fell.a0 ut nothing heydo obstructs the ultimate purpose of Fate, and the outcome of theirbehaviourmightbe construed s exemplifyingleanthes'

dAXXaOT ai ra 7eprLOT'araraatL &pr OEiEvaLKat KOaOELPTrooJaaK ol 4IXa aol ~LXaaLrLv.(Hymn 8-19)and Seneca's

malusquepatiar quodpati licuitbono (Ep. 107.11).This mightthenbe fairly rthodoxStoicism;butwhen thepoem as awhole is considered it becomes impossible to conceive that Virgil isintendingno morethan to point a Stoic moral,and the limitsto whichtheStoic influence an be stressedbecomeapparent.For Virgil's ympa-thies lie so clearlywith the sinners;Turnus has youth, pride, and thelove ofthehaplessJuturna,Mezentius is given many of Achilles' traits

(and someofhisbest ines) and themostcourageousdeath in theAeneid;and thedepictionofDido, superbly nachronisticn literary s muchasin politicalhistory, hows the fullest oncentration nd intensity f thepoet's inspiration. he sufferings hich fallupon so manyofthe charac-ters n the Aeneid, ncludingAeneas himself, re brought bout by theirhumanfeelings, ut these are regardednot as weaknesses,not with theStoic's rejectionof the emotions,but as pathetic and oftenadmirabletraitsofhumannature; and the conflictwhichmakes thetragedy ftheAeneid s not thatofthenaked clash ofmoirawith heimarmen-ut thatofthefactsofhumannaturewith thefactsof humanexistence, f naturalhumanfeelingswith the inhumanand invincibleforceof circumstance.To emphasizethis,Virgilhas confronted is intenselyhumancharacterswith the rigid conceptionof Fate which he took over fromthe Stoicphilosophy, nd whichwas also essential to enable him to predictthefutureof Rome and the ultimateidealisticrule of peace. Stoicismpro-videshimnotwitha rule of ifefromwhichhischaractersdepartat theirperil,butwithunyielding risonbarsagainstwhichtheydash themselvesto death. It is not surprising hat thisuse of the terminologynd con-ceptionsof a rationalistic hilosophical ode combinedwithhispersonalemotionalfeelings fpityand admirationforhumansufferingesults n

t"G. Carlsson, "The Hero and Fate in Virgil's Aeneid," Eranos 43 (1945) 120-121argues that Evander is an example of ... nolentem rahunt,but rests his case ratherheavily on the omission of volentemn 8.333-336.so2.54; 10.109-110.



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STOIC IDEAS IN THE AENEID 161inconsistent nd confusing ontradictions n therelationship f man andFate. It is an expression f new meaningby means of borrowed erms.

The nextquestionis whether heStoic idea ofpronoia,Providence, sat all similar to Virgil'sview of man's generalsituationand theoutlookof his hero Aeneas. There is certainlynothing n Virgilresembling hebuoyant confidence n the all-pervadinggoodness of God which isapparent in Aratus,who was an important ource of Stoic influencenRome,8" nd in the latterpart of thesecondbook ofCicero's De NaturaDeorum. (Neither is there,on the whole, in Seneca, who displays anoccasional pessimismas profoundas that of Virgil.)32t is of courseincredible hatVirgil hould think he divineorder and the rule ofRomeevil, and at least unlikelythat he should consider them ndifferent,utthe extentof his confidencen theultimategoodnessofthingshas some-times been overstated.He contemplatesRoman rule and civilizationasthe best means of ensuringpeace, which he saw as the end most to bedesired,83 ut he contemplates t sadly."4His profoundsympathy, ndefiance fStoic precept,36nd all his art in character-drawingre givento themanynoblesouls towhom, venthoughtheymay try o helphim,Aeneas brings sorrowor death, because they value somethingmore$'Arnold,p. cit. above, note14) 80; J. Martin,Aratos Florence1956),on lines1-18: "Ces versdonnenta cl6 du pokme ntier; 'univers st rempli e la presenced'un dieud6vou6 u bonheur es hommes,es enfants;l guide eurstravaux ar dessignes tdes avertissementsansnombre, ui n'exigent 'euxqu'unefforte d6chiffre-ment.Aratos ntreprendneceuvrede pi6t6;r6v6lerux hommesa bont6de Zeusen leurexpliquant es signes."3"Seneca'spessimisms excellentlyllustrated y C. Favez, "Le Pessimisme eSen~que,"REL 25 1947) 158-163, ndhisfear fdeathbyP. BenoitnRev. esSciencesPhilos. tThtol. 2 (1948) 38-51."Presentedmoststrongly, ith stresson Virgil's ptimism, y C. N. Cochrane,Christianitynd Classical CultureOxford1940) 27-29 and 243. The same viewistakenby H. G. Mullens, Tragic Optimismn the Aeneid,"Greece nd Rome11(1941-2) 137-138.34Attitudeso this uestion realmost ntirelyubjective. cannot efutehosewhoderivehopefrom heAeneid ut can only tate theevidence nwhichmyownview sbased.Virgil's onfidentaith n a deliberatend beneficentivinepurposehas beenpresented owerfullyyBailey,op. cit. above,note5) 232-233.Many creditVirgilwith eeingboth ides,withouttriking balance; would mentionxpeciallyW. C.Greene n CW 24 (1931) 179; H. W. Garrod, nglish iteraturendtheClassics ed.G. S. Gordon,Oxford 912) 146-166;W. S. Maguinness,pp. citt. above, note16);W.P. Clark, p. it.above,note 7).Others ivepredominantlacetoa feelingpproach-ingbitternesst life'sunfairness;. Feder, p.cit. above,note17); F. H. Cowles, p.cit. above,note10). Someagain eeinVirgil vision f omethingn humanifemoreimportanthanhappinessndexcludingt; C. S. Lewis,PrefaceoParadiseLost Lon-don 1942) 35-38; T. S. Eliot, "Vergil nd theChristianWorld," ewaneeReview 1(1953) 1-14.S3SVF no.641; 1 no.213: Seneca,De Clem. . 4.4f.



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162 THE PHOENIXhighly hantheyvalue the future fRome; this s the case notonlywiththe principalcharactersbut also with such figures s Juturna,Camilla,Mezentius,Nisus and Euryalus, Numanus,and even thewearyAeneadaewho abandon theirourney 5.655-656 and 714). In addition,the famouslines ofVirgilianmelancholybetrayhowdeepwas his sense of themiseryofhumanlife.3"As a part of thisquestionof Virgil'sfundamental ptimismor pessi-mismthe treatment fhis hero Aeneas must again be takenup. I havenointention ftryingoimprove ponBowra's discussion fthecharacterof Aeneas and its relationship o Stoicism,"7 ut I want to amplifyhispoint thatAeneas, though attempting o be a good Stoic-one who haspassed through he fire f trial-and also a good Augustan leader,stillin the ast six books contains too much ofVirgil'sgentleness,s toomuchof a "pityingand philosophiccharacter"to succeed. It is impossibletocombine n a character headmiredStoicqualities,theadmiredAugustanqualities, and the personalityof Virgil; the result is the "far-reachingcontradiction etweenconception nd execution"whichwas pointedoutby H. W. Garrod.18Only the poet's deep melancholycan account forthe failureof an accomplishedStoic, a victorious eader, the consciousfounder fthegreatest mpireand greatest ource ofpeace and civiliza-tion the worldhad known, o achieve theproper onfident almofmind,the ataraxia and euthumia.One sympathizeswithhim almost as muchas withDido; manyhave called his ourneya vocation,a pilgrimage, utit is one without the quiet innersatisfactionwhich a pilgrimage houldtruly nclude. The herowhosays crudelis uquoque 1.407) to hismother,who despairs of happiness in life (quae lucis miseris tam dira cupido?[6.721]) is, so faras we are told,unaffected yvisions ofthe futuregloryofhis line."3And thereare twoparticularoccasions in thelater books inwhichhe showsa similar utlook,and inboth thinkVirgil,bytechnicalvirtuosity,makesclearthereasonwhyhischaracterbehavesinthisway.When he is about toenterwhat heshould knowmustbe theconcludingand victoriousbattle of the war, Aeneas can wish forhis son a betterlot thanhisown:4"8*E.g., 1.11, 462; 2.354; 4.449; 6.376; 10.758-759; 11.51-52, 182-183; 12.503-504.370Op.cit. (above, note 9). This interpretation nswers adequately, in my opinion,many of the questions asked about Aeneas, beforeand after its publication, and ismore uccessfulthan thatof G. Carlsson (op. cit., above, note29). Arnold'sconsiderationof Aeneas as a Stoic hero (op. cit., above, note 14) rests upon a differentonceptionofthe character.S3Op. it. (above, note 34).3sVirgil ells us only that he leaves throughthe gate of false dreams, whatever thatmay mean, just as he descended insano labori (6.135).40Thispoint is raised, and a differentxplanationgiven, by L. A. MacKay, "Achillesas Model for Aeneas," TAPA 88 (1957) 15. MacKay also refers to 8.522, from adifferentngle from that which I present below.



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STOIC IDEAS IN THE AENEID 163discepuer virtutemx meverumque aborem,fortunam x allis (12.435-436).

And the reasonfor his gloomis made abundantlyclear, I think,by thecontext;Aeneas aviduspugnae suras incluserat urohincatque hinc, oditquemoras,hastamque oruscat (12.430-431)that is, he is playing the Homeric or Augustan warrior.But no suchenthusiasmforwarfare s to be expectedfromVirgil-only a few inesabove he has written

ittristis d aethera lamorbellantumuvenum t durosub Marte cadentum (12.409-410).He makes his feelings lear partly n Aeneas' words,whichare similarin tone to his last farewell o Pallas,nos alias hincad lacrimas eademhorridabellifata vocant. . (11.96-97)

and partly n the lines immediately recedinghis farewell o his son:Ascaniumfusis circum omplectiturrmissummaqueper galeamdelibansosculafatur. .. (12.433-434).

Realization of the twofoldmeaningofarmis,the vaguenessofreferenceof fusis ("throwing his arms around him" or "having donned hisarmour"?) and theambiguity fthe ablatives ("instrument" r ablativeabsolute?)makes it suddenly nd strikinglylearthatthe embrace s onein whichbothofthemare surroundednot only by thearms of thelovedone but by the horrors f war in present,past, and probably future;and Virgil, akingover for his purposea familiar entiment,41e-uses tbrilliantly o expresshis ownpityforthosebound to such a fate.Again, assuming onlyVirgil'sdetestationofwar and his poetic skill,it is not difficult o account, I thinksatisfactorily, or the similarlyperplexingmelancholyof Aeneas afterhe has receivedencouragementand practicalhelp fromEvander (8.520 ff.).Evander's lastwordsthem-selves are ominous:Arcadas huic equitesbis centum, oborapubislectadabo,totidemqueuo tibi nomine Pallas (8.518-519)

foreven to one who does not yetknowtheoutcome thename of Pallasshouldimplythesadness ofearlydeath.42 he gloomyfeelings fAeneasand Achates are thereforen accordwiththoseofVirgil.Suddenly, n a41FromAccius immediately Macrobius, Sat. 6.1.58) and Sophocles and othersmoreremotely;see MacKay, op. cit. (above, note 40), to whom I owe this reference.4It would do so to a Roman, at least; Pallas was the son of Hercules, died young,and was buried on the Palatine, which took its name fromhim (Dionysius 10.32.43;see R. Heinze, VirgilsEpische Technik3Leipzig 1914] 178).



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164 THE PHOENIXclear sky,the armourappears; and Aeneas, now resummoned o battleafter he dyllicnterlude t the ite ofRome,speakswordsfull fdramaticirony: ne vero,hospes,ne quaereprofectoquemcasumportentaferant;goposcor Olympo (8.532-533).Indeed he is; and indeedhishost should not ask what theportentmeansto him,or to Pallas, who is soon to be buried n a robe wovenby anothervictimofAeneas' destiny.Lines like

quam multa ub undasscuta virum aleasque etfortia orporavolves,Thybri ater!43 (8.538-540)come as muchfromVirgil'spersonalhorror s fromhis sense ofdutytohiscommission; nd the rony fthewhole ssummedup inthe mmenselyclever and brilliantlyffective erbalplay in

hocsignumcecinitmissuramdiva creatrix (8.534)where hemomentarymbiguity fcecinit"this signalhas sounded..."corrected o "she prophesied hat she would send thissign ..") firmlyfocuses attentionon the disparity fthequality,thesacredpowers,thetitle, and the maternal relationshipof the goddess and the bloodyfunction he is currently erforming.Aeneas has enoughofVirgil n himto be unhappymostof the time,and his last action s takennotfor heglory rsecurity f thefuture utexplicitlyforan un-Stoic,perhaps un-Virgilian, ut veryhumandesireforrevenge.Turnus must be destroyed, or he stands forwar44thoughVirgilfeels sensitive ntellectual's eluctant dmiration or hesplendidbarbarian), but the carefulemphasizingof the emotionalweakness ofAeneas inlovingand avengingPallas, likethe ove of Nisus and Euryalus(whofailto fulfil vitalmissionforpersonalmotives45), would take fora last challenge to the possibility, nd desirability, f achieving theStoic ideal.

Virgilhas taken over from he Stoicphilosophy heconception f man's43ComparePallas' epitaph, haec teprima diesbellodedit,haeceademaufert/cumameni ngentesRutulorum inquis acervos 10.508-509), where the feeling"and was it worthit?" penetrates the superficialheroics. Perhaps there is irony behind Apollo's praise

of Ascanius after he has killed Numanus: sic iturad astra (9.641).*4As is suggested, for instance, by C. J. Ellingham, "Virgil's Pilgrim's Progress,"Greece nd Rome 16 (1947) 74, and A. H. F. Thornton, "Last Scene of the Aeneid,"ib. 22 (1953) 82.4"I thinkthere s distaste, as well as political finesse, n Virgil's equivocal remarkonthe supreme action of the Stoic hero Brutus: utcumqueferent ea facta minores...(6.822). Is it because Aeneas makes a personal decision to kill Turnus that the appealto the Scales of Destiny in 12.725-727 is, so far as we are told,so oddly inconclusive?



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STOIC IDEAS IN THE AENEID 165enforced ubmission o Fate, and used it with a profound eeling fman'sweaknessbeforethe power that rules his lifeand happiness.There areof course several reasons why it was convenientand wise46 o includeStoic ideas withinthe thoughtof thepoem; amongthem think s therational basis thisfatalismgivesfor hepoet's melancholy emperament.Lack of deep interest n or agreementwith the Stoic world-picture otonly results n minor nconsistencies ver the powersof Fate, Jupiter,and man, but allows the poet to make thewilfuldisobedience, fthat iswhat it is, of the lesser characterswhollyappealing to humanfeelings.Aeneas himself onforms n action, but he is not a Stoic and I cannotbelieveVirgil ntendedhimto be. Nor is he Augustus; ratherhe is themouthpiece fVirgilhimself,withhisyearning orpeace, his fear oflifeand its responsibilities,ts decisions and its commitments, is humanemotionalfeelingsnot overcomeby Stoic reason,his sense of vocationand duty,hisfeeling funworthiness orhis task and lack ofsatisfactionat its completion.Want of the courage to believe in philosophyrobsVirgil'sunderworld f the nobilityone feels n the SomniumScipionis,contraststhework of the poet who was a scepticfromweakness47 iththat of the less imaginativepoliticianand eclectic,and robs his heroofthe strength f Stoicism; the self-sufficient,mperturbableCaptain ofhis Soul is utterly oreign o him.These ideas, the Stoic tenetoffollowing ate combinedwith the mageof following path through ife,and the melancholy,pityingview ofman's predicamentwhichbanishes the Stoic calm, come together n afamouspassage:

Ibant obscuri ola sub nocte er umbram,perquedomos Ditis vacuas et nania regna;quale per incertamunam sub luce malignaestiter n silvis,ubi caelum condiditumbraIuppiter, et rebus nox abstulit tra colorem .. (6.268ff.).

Virgilsees man's way through ifeas he picturesAeneas journeyingtothe Shades, seeingdimlyand surroundedby Grief,Care, Fear, Want,Death, and otherevil forms;most prominent mongst them are Warand Discord. Against the Scyllas and Gorgons,the vain terrors f theimagination,his learned docta, 6.292) companion can reassurehim,asanother philosophycomfortedLucretius; but about the sorrows andfearsand sufferingsf lifeVirgilgiveshernothing o say."6As is argued by N. W. DeWitt, "Virgil,Augustus, Epicureanism," CW 35 (1941-2)281-282.47"Un 6clectique par timidit'"--J. Carcopino, Virgile et les originesd'Ostie (Paris1919) 314, note 3. (I owe the reference o Pease, op. cit. [above, note 8] 37).

Documents

Edwards 1960. the Expression of Stoic Ideas in the Aeneid