The Speeches in Vergil’s "Aeneid" 069106234X, 9780691062341

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THE SPEECHES IN VERGIL’S

GILBERT

PRINCETON, PRINCETON

HIGHET

NEW

JERSEY

UNIVERSITY

PRESS

H0

J

Copyright © 1972 by Gilbert Highet ALL RIGHTS RESERVED l.c. card: ISBN:

73-39787

0-691-06234-x

Publication of this book has been aided by a grant from the Louis A. Robb Fund of Princeton University Press. This book has been composed in Linotype Granjon

Printed in the United States of America by Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey

CONTENTS

ix

Acknowledgments

i.

Typographical Note

2

Introduction

3

Importance of the speeches in the Aeneid

3

Views of Roman critics

3 8

Discussions by modern scholars

ii.

The Speeches and Their Speakers

f

Definition

IKj

Length Numbers

, N 20

Distribution by books

in.

Grouping

22

The characters and their speeches Aeneas

25 29

Aeneas and his interlocutors

36

Other characters

43

Formal Speeches

47

Introduction

47

Political and legalistic speeches

5°

Ilioneus

52

Debate of the Latins and their allies

55

Debate in heaven

65

Aeneas to Dido

72

Aeneas to Evander Anna to Dido

79 80

Latinus to Turnus

81

Commanders’ speeches

82

Praise and blame

89

r

V

202615

CONTENTS Informal Speeches

97

Factual speeches

97

Prophecies

97

Descriptions

I05 107

Narratives Questions

TI3 114

Emotional speeches Farewells Threats and challenges

TI5 116

Prayers

117

Commands

121

Persuasions

I24

Responses to persuasion

*39

Apostrophes

T53

Soliloquies

T57

The Speeches and Their Models

M OO

114

Introduction

HH OO

Greetings

Aeneas

187

Turnus

210

Dido

2l8

Anchises

23I 244

Minor characters The Sibyl

244

Sinon

247

Drances

248

Latinus

251

Evander

253 256

Helenus Numanus

257

Ilioneus

259

The gods

259

Jupiter

259 263

Neptune VI

CONTENTS

VI.

Juno

264

Venus

271

Vergilivs Orator an Poeta

277

Vergil was a poet rather than an orator

277

Formal speeches are few

278

Emotional speeches are not rhetorically constructed

278

Rhetorical devices are used with discretion

280

Vergil’s models were poets rather than orators

282

He does not praise the art of oratory

282

Oratory and truth

285

Conclusion

289

Appendixes 1. The speeches in the Aeneid listed in sequence

291

2. Classification of the speeches

305

3. Grouping of the speeches

320

4. The speeches listed by names of characters

327

5. Speeches by disguised characters

340

6. Speeches within speeches

341

7. Speeches and thoughts in oratio obliqua

342

Select Bibliography

345

Index Locorvm

351

Index Nominvm et Rervm

370

vii

'

*1

'

- .

•V

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS My gratitude goes to Professor Georg Luck of Bonn and Johns Hopkins, who was kind enough to read the entire book in draft form and to give me salutary criticism, and to the late Professor George Duckworth of Prince¬ ton, who discussed certain problems with me by letter. I have also to thank several scholars who helped me by answering enquiries: my Columbia colleagues Professors W. M. Calder

III

and

Steele

Commager;

Professor

Henry Rowell of Johns Hopkins; Professor Rudolf Pfeiffer, now of Munich; and Profes¬ sor G. Widmann, head of the Tubingen Uni¬ versity Library. G. H. Columbia University, New Yor\ July igyi

-

The Speeches in Vergil’s Aeneid

o

TYPOGRAPHICAL NOTE

The symbol -f- joins two passages which should be considered as a unity. Thus, Dido’s speech on her deathbed is denoted by Aen. 4.651-658 + 659-662. The symbol