Dies Lunae
a.d. III Ides Apriles

Lege Latine: Aen. Bk. 6.724–759, 778–790

Lege Anglice:

Aen. 6.535–723, 760-–787 (Mandelbaum, pp. 148–154, 155–156 [English vv. 709–955, 1003–1025])

Meditare:

In general, how to the spirits in the underworld differ from those seen in the Odyssey?

The Sibyl prevents Aeneas from answering Deiphobus's inquiry. Note the description of the palace surrounding Tartarus. Who narrates the description of those suffering inside? What sorts of evils have the nameless damned done? What about (most of) those who are named?

What does Aeneas do with the Golden Bough?

Who tells Aeneas where to find Anchises? Is his occupation significant? What is Anchises doing with Aeneas and the Sibyl arrive?

What happens to souls after death releases them from their bodies? How are they purified by punishment? What happens to those few souls that do not achieve the Fields of Gladness and release from the cycle of the cosmos?

What spirits does Anchises show to Aeneas? Whom will Aeneas marry and who will be his last-born son? What will Romulus accomplish?

Memento: Probatiuncula Undecima

Praesentio: [Jessy]

Brooks, R. A. 1953, "Discolor aura: Reflections on the Golden Bough," AJP 74, 260-80 and Michels, A.K. 1981. "The Insomnium of Aeneas," CQ 31, 140-46.

Dies Mercurii
Idibus Aprilibus

Lege Latine: Aen. 6.791–841

Scribe:

Aen. 6.826–835 (Scanning Worksheet)

Meditare:

What comment does Anchises make when he sees Augustus? How is this method of introducing Augustus into the epic clever?

What moment of Julius Caesar's life does Anchises/Vergil describe?

Dies Veneris
a.d. XVII Kalendas Maias

Lege Latine: Aen. 6.842–871, 886–902

Lege Anglice:

Aen. 6.872–885 (Mandelbaum, p. 159–160 [English vv. 1161–1182])

Meditare:

How does Anchises summarize the ways in which Romans will excel the other peoples of the earth? In what fields will they not distinguish themselves? Note a particular artistic skill at whichAnchises/Vergil does not admit the Romans will be difficient.

In his Life of Augustus, Suetonius relates that Vergil himself read books II, IV, and VI to Augustus, and when he read this passage, with the mention of Marcellus's premature death, Marcellus's mother, Octavia, fainted and was only revived with great difficulty (Suet. Aug. 32). This story has inspired several painters: Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, Wicar, Angelica Kauffman, and Antonio Zucchi.