Dies Lunae
a.d. III Idus Martias

Lege Latine: Aen. 4.54–89.

Emendandum: in verse 54: for impenso substitute incensum.

The apparatus criticus for this reads:
54 impenso F¹p, 'alii' ap. DSeru.: penso P¹: incensum F²MP²Rω, Serv.

The superscript numbers indicate copyist hands, so P¹ indicates the main copyist of manuscript P, while P² indicates a second hand correcting manuscript P.

Meditare:

Literary Term of the Day: Polyptoton. Find one example in today's reading.

As always in this Book, note imagery of fire and madness, and moments that recall Book 2.

In epic literature, sacrifice scenes are heavily formulaic (like arrival, arming, dining, etc.), with certain features, phrases, and sequences repeated in each episode. In the sacrifice conducted by Dido and Anna, note how the expected conclusion--the immolation of the offering to the gods--is not mentioned. What is being burned in its place?

Throughout this Book there is a subtle interplay of internal and external; between concealed and expressed emotions; between fantasy and reality.

Memento: Probatiuncula Septima

Dies Mercurii
Idibus Martiis

Lege Latine: Aen. 4.160–197

Lege Anglice:

Aen. 4.89–159 (Mandelbaum, pp. 82–84 [vv. 119-212])

Apollonius, Argonautica 4. 1130f. (Wedding of Jason and Medea)

If the story of Jason and the Argonaut is a little murky, read a summary of the story from Wikipedia and/or the Greek Mythology Link.

Scribe: Scan 4.173–183 (Scanning Worksheet)

Meditare:

Why do both Juno and Venus decide to encourage Dido's love? What are their concealed motivations? Note how Venus does not explicitly consent to Juno's plan to marry Dido and Aeneas or swear an oath to support the union, but only smiles in approval.

Pay particular attention to authorial comments on the motivations, emotions, and actions of Dido and Aeneas. What does the narrator comment on the "wedding" in the cave? Milton will use the imagery of this moment to describe the Fall of Man in Paradise Lost (9.782f.).

The description of Fama has struck some as baroque in its exuberance and perhaps beyond the bounds of good taste. Do you agree? What metrical devices/allusions does Vergil deploy to heighten the intensity of the description?

Dies Veneris
a.d. XVI Kalendas Apriles

Lege Latine: Aen. 4.259–295

Lege Anglice:

Aen. 4.198–258 (Mandelbaum, pp. 85–87 [vv. 262–345])

Meditare:

How does Iarbas describe the Aeneas and the Trojans in his prayer to Jupiter?

The dressing of Mercury presents another manipulation of an epic formula (in this case an arming scene).

Mercury's reporting of Jupiter's exhortation to Aeneas is one of the few places in the Aeneid where Vergil reprises the Homeric technique of repeating speeches (the most extreme example of which occurs in the opening of Iliad, Book 2, where the false dream sent to Agamemnon is repeated thrice). Look closely at the speeches of Jupiter and Mercury. How does Mercury alter Jupiter's speech?

What is Aeneas doing when Mercury arrives. Why is his garb so significant?

Praesentatio: [Phil]

Dubois, P. 1976. "The Pharmakos of Virgil, Dido as Scapegoat," Vergilius 22, 14-23 and Saylor, C. 1986. "Some Stock Characteristics of the Roman Lover in Vergil, Aeneid 4," Vergilius 32, 73-77.