From rthomas@fas.harvard.edu Sun Mar 25 11:33:21 2001
Received: from mxu2.u.washington.edu (mxu2.u.washington.edu [140.142.32.9])
	by lists.u.washington.edu (8.9.3+UW00.05/8.9.3+UW00.12) with ESMTP id LAA37390
	for <classics@lists.u.washington.edu>; Sun, 25 Mar 2001 11:33:20 -0800
Received: from smtp2.fas.harvard.edu (IDENT:root@smtp2.fas.harvard.edu [140.247.30.82])
	by mxu2.u.washington.edu (8.11.2+UW01.01/8.11.2+UW01.03) with ESMTP id f2PJXKM23339
	for <classics@u.washington.edu>; Sun, 25 Mar 2001 11:33:20 -0800
Received: from is07.fas.harvard.edu (IDENT:rthomas@is07.fas.harvard.edu [140.247.30.107]) by smtp2.fas.harvard.edu with ESMTP id OAA11799; Sun, 25 Mar 2001 14:33:19 -0500 (EST)
Received: by is07.fas.harvard.edu with ESMTP id OAA09534; Sun, 25 Mar 2001 14:33:19 -0500 (EST)
Date: Sun, 25 Mar 2001 14:33:19 -0500 (EST)
From: Richard Thomas <rthomas@fas.harvard.edu>
To: classics@u.washington.edu
Subject: Re: Vergilian archetecture (was: Dryden and Richard Thomas)
In-Reply-To: <3ABDB3A8.9CDA4094@earthlink.net>
Message-ID: <Pine.OSF.4.10.10103251426110.19113-100000@is07.fas.harvard.edu>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII


On Sun, 25 Mar 2001, Thomas R. Walsh wrote:
> 
>  In essence, the passage to which Thomas draws our attention is
> precisely the kind of thing Virgil, panygerist though he be, so often
> does: he makes us uncomfortable, where we could have been comforted,
> yes, quite easily comforted by a less thoughtful poet whose only wish to
> was to kiss Augustus' ... ring. In the history of praise-poetry, it must
> be said, this is not unheard of. It is called "dark-foil" in Pindaric
> studies, and is appropriate when the laudandus has, in the course of
> things, something negative which the honest and skillful laudator must
> take account of.  And accounting for those things marks the difference
> between the poetry of praise and mere flattery.  

I don't actually think (surprise) the Aeneid is panegyric, but the
Pindaric parallel Tom adduces is very appropriate, and leads to the
further question: why do critics accept such "dark-foils" (and other
forms of ambiguity) in Pindar e.g., but have such trouble doing so in
Virgil. Answer: Augustus and constructions of Augustus, which necessitates
constructions of Virgil.

RFT
 

.