The Aeneid Primitiveness Quotes Page 2
Citations follow this format: (Book.Line). We used Robert Fitzgerald's translation.
| Quote #4 Conversing of such matters, going toward |
Even more striking is the contrast Virgil here draws between Evander's settlement and the Rome of his day – which occupied the same site. Based on evidence elsewhere in Virgil's poem (or in his other poems, The Eclogues and The Georgics, if you have read them), do you think that Virgil thinks this change was for the better?
| Quote #5 On this he called for dishes and winecups |
Here we see more evidence of the Arcadians' primitive, rustic way of life.
| Quote #6 As they came up to the door, |
Now Evander instructs Aeneas not to look down on his humble life; heck, if Hercules thought it was OK, then anyone should. To gain a sense of the value Virgil's poem places on the simple life, compare Evander's instructions on how "to merit godhead" (i.e., become a god) with Anchises's discussion of how souls are contaminated by worldly desires when he teaches Aeneas about reincarnation in Book 6.
