Book 4, lines 198-237

This is a lengthy passage (due to my laziness right before spring break), encompassing Iarbas' prayer to Juppiter and Juppiter's response, spoken to Mercury.  A couple smaller notes first:

lines 199-202 are a great example of do ut des ('I give so that you give'), an important component of Roman (and Greek) religion; Iarbas has set up all these temples, etc. to Juppiter, so Juppiter should have his back in this situation.  The description of what Iarbas has done leads right into Iarbas' appeal to Juppiter.  Iarbas takes it for granted that Juppiter should back him over Aeneas as a potential husband for Dido, simply because he has done so much for Juppiter.

Vergil builds the tension nicely leading into the speech by delaying the expected complementary infinitive with dicitur (orasse) for a full line and a half, going so far as to add somewhat superfluous phrases in the middle such as media inter numina divum, which is fairly redundant after ante oras.

Throughout this whole episode, I find the character of Juppiter quite interesting.  First of all, it seems odd that he knows nothing about what is going on; while Venus and Juno watch Aeneas and his situation like hawks, Juppiter is completely oblivious, having to find out through Iarbas' prayer.  In the Iliad, when various gods want to help the Greeks without the permission of Zeus, Hera has to seduce him and lull him to sleep; here, no distraction has been necessary - he's just not paying attention.

Interesting, too, is that no reply or reference is made to Iarbas' plea; Aeneas must leave because his fate lies in Italy and, therefore, Dido is the wrong woman for him.  Iarbas' plea seems to be little more than a plot device to alert Juppiter, especially since Venus' feigned agreement with Juno's plan would keep her from complaining to Juppiter.

We find in Juppiter's speech the threefold task/reward/fate of Aeneas (229-231) - to rule Italy, found a new race from Trojan blood, and submit the entire world under their laws.  Of course, the first of these Aeneas only partly accomplishes - he will defeat the Latins and establish a kingdom in Italy, but it will be nearly 800 years before the Romans actually rule all Italy; the last of them is certainly an accomplishment of the later Romans, and may even be meant to refer specifically to Augustus, who had certainly expanded the already significant Roman dominions.  The lines, especially with the mention of Ascanius about to come, seem to foreshadow the conversation of Aeneas and Anchises in Book 6 in the underworld, when the future greatness of Rome is described, along with its own task - to spare the humble and war down the proud.

Book 4, lines 173-197

Today's passage encompasses the extended description of Fama.  There is certainly plenty to be said about the passage; one thing that struck me is that Vergil seems to continually build the sense of personification throughout the description.  If the first line, Extemplo Libyae magnas it Fama per urbes, stood alone, one could certainly argue for fama instead of Fama; the next line probably requires the capital letter and personification, but the description remains vague.  With lines 175-178 we begin to see an actual form emerge (or perhaps more appropriately, 'flourish and acquire strength'), but all we hear is that it stretches from the ground into the clouds.  The next two lines gives us our first connection to the human world, as Fama's family is described; then in 180 we find the first physical description - pedibus celerem et pernicibus alis.  From there, we dive into a deliciously, monstrously detailed description of the many eyes, tongues, mouths, and ears.  A few lines later, she actually speaks (although it is in indirect statement).  The overall effect is of continuously increasing tension and involvement of the reader (or at least this reader) in the scene.

One more small note: I think the way Vergil describes the actions of Fama towards people is quite clever and appropriate.  In 189, 'she fills the people with manifold speech/gossip,' and in 195 she 'spreads these things into the mouths of men;' in both cases there is a sense of putting her words into men so that they will spread them.  In 189, there seems to be a sense of being filled with gossip so that that gossip can be spread; in 195, the words are put into the mouths, not the ears, of men specifically so that they can be passed on.

As I said, a great deal can be drawn from these passages; these are the thoughts that initially struck me, but (as always) I welcome new thoughts on the lines as well as comments on these thoughts.

Book 4, lines 156-172

Text

l. 156: At puer Ascanius is also used at 1.267 (and I suspect elsewhere); it seems to be a formulaic phrase that fits smoothly at the beginning of a line.

l. 157-8: there is a nice parallelism between the separation of spumantem and aprum and that of fulvum and leonem; whether there is any particular purpose behind it, I am not sure.

l. 160: magno misceri murmure (the blog title!) is directly repeated from 1.124 and is very close to magno cum murmure montis from 1.55; clearly Vergil loves this particular bit of alliteration.  At 1.124, it is used of the storm stirred up by Aeolus at Juno's request, suggesting that it is particularly a storm phrase.  This may be a stretch, but it may be specific even to Juno's storms (i.e. ones unfavorable to the Trojans); the storm in book 5 that puts out the fire on the Trojan ships does not repeat the phrase.  Another thought - is this magnus murmur foreshadowing the passage about Fama that is coming up - after all, what is Fama but a great murmuring/muttering?

The following lines contain more repeated phrases, in this case from Juno's speech telling Venus what she will do, only a few lines earlier (4.115-127).  Commixta grandine nimbus changes only the case of nimbus, while the entire sentence Speluncam...deveniunt is repeated exactly.  It seems to emphasize Juno's preparation, planning, and control (things happen literally exactly as she plans); I find this interesting because 1) Juno's beloved Dido is in the exact opposite frame of mind and 2) Juno's plans nevertheless fail completely.

The major issue of debate in the next several lines is how valid this "marriage" is; I am not going to go into a great deal of detail here, but some quick thoughts: 1) in the end, Vergil pretty clearly comes down against Dido in line 172 in particular - "she calls (vocat) it marriage, and she covers her fault (culpam) with this name."  That seems to make it pretty clear that this is not a binding, official marriage.  At the same time, one could argue that the setting - Mother Earth and Juno as witnesses, lightning for wedding torches, etc. - actually makes it more legitimate, rather than less legitimate as it is not exactly a public, official setting.  On a side note, I believe ululo is commonly used of funereal mourning, which of course would foreshadow the disastrous result of the relationship, adding a subtle element to the plainer statement of 169-70.

While we got through 180 in class, I'm going to wait to discuss the Fama passage as a whole tomorrow.

Helpful Websites

Before we get to the Aeneid, a couple links that may be helpful:

The Latin Library - Vergil - Latin text of all of Vergil's works

Perseus (old)/Perseus (new) - includes two English translations, as well as the Latin text with linked dictionary/parsing tool (sometimes very slow)

Itaque incipit...

This blog is, first and foremost, a collection of my own thoughts and reactions to passages of Vergil, specifically what we have been reading in the AP Vergil class that I teach.  The posts will undoubtedly vary greatly in method, as in some passages individual words or phrases may strike me, while in others I may respond more to broader, underlying themes.  Questions and comments are welcome and encouraged (and my students should know that extra credit will be given for insightful, intelligent, or interesting questions and responses - just make sure that I know who you are!).