Brown Classical Journal 26 2014, pp. 83-92, Lena M. Barsky On the Hidden Meanings in the Laudes Italiae of Virgil’s Georgics Book 2 On the surface, Virgil’s Georgics is a didactic poem that instructs his reader in the ways of farming. Each book covers a different topic: Book 1 addresses land management; Book 2 describes the care of plant life; Book 3 speaks to the raising of livestock; and Book 4 explains beekeeping as well as the practice of bugonia. There are several notable digressions from these agricultural topics, though; one of which, commonly referred to as the laudes Italiae, or “praise of Italy,” occurs in Book 2. This passage (lines 136-75) is called the laudes Italiae because it is a short, encomiastic section that proclaims Italy’s superiority over other lands. These lines have double meanings and subtler connotations, though: the laudes Italiae suggests that Italy is fertile because of the violence that brought the peninsula under Roman rule. Virgil is never so bold as to state this claim outwardly, nor does the literal meaning of his words condemn the violence that defines Roman society. The dualities present in this encomiastic passage and the conflicts it brings to attention, however, indicate a disconnect between the propagandistic Roman virtues of peace and prosperity and the bitter wars that brought Rome to its position of power in 29 BCE, when Virgil wrote the Georgics. By praising Italy through false and hyperbolic statements, Virgil forces his reader to question the legitimacy of his adulation in the laudes Italiae. He invites his reader to pass judgment on both the peace-through-war duality that is present in Roman society and the Roman mentality that a strong man can conquer anything, even nature. Virgil begins Book 2 with a catalog of various types of trees and vines from various lands. He describes the best type of soil for each plant, stating that nec vero terrae ferre omnes omnia possunt “not every type of earth is able to bear all things [i.e. all types of plant]” (Verg. G. 1 Brown Classical Journal 26 2014, pp. 83-92, Lena M. Barsky 2.109), and explains that each country is known for a specific variety of tree or vine. This passage transitions into the laudes Italiae encomium, which starts with Virgil’s claim: neque Medorum silvae, ditissima terra,/ nec pulcher Ganges atque auro turbidus Hermus/ laudibus Italiae certent, non Bactra neque Indi/ totaque turiferis Panchaia pinguis harenis. “…neither the land of the Medes, rich in forests,/ nor the beautiful Ganges or the Hermus clouded with gold/ can compete with the glories of Italy, neither Bactria nor India/ nor all of Panchaia fertile with incense-producing sand.” (Verg. G. 2.136-9)1 By providing a list of foreign places that are notable for their plant life and then proclaiming that Italy is the best, Virgil makes a clear encomiastic move. The phrase laudibus Italiae certent is strong praise language, through which Virgil implies that Italy is the best place to cultivate plants when compared to the Mediterranean and Eastern locales listed earlier in Book 2. The next section of the laudes Italiae praises Italy’s use of land for farming, not war. Virgil says, haec loca non tauri spirantes naribus ignem/invertere satis immanis dentibus hydri “Bulls breathing fire from their noses do not turn these places [i.e. plow Italy’s land]/for the sowing of the teeth of a huge dragon-snake” (Verg. G. 2.140-1). These lines reference a violent portion of the myth of Jason in which the hero tames fire-breathing bulls to plow land and then sows dragon’s teeth, causing an army of full-grown men to spring forth and fight against him to protect the Golden Fleece;2 the lines indicate that no mythological violence occurred on Italian soil. Also, Virgil claims nec galeis densisque virum seges horruit hastis “nor have its [Italy’s] grain fields shuddered at helmets and densely-packed spears of men” (Verg. G. 2.142), meaning that Italy’s fields have never been sites for wars. On the surface, these lines indicate that Italy’s fertility is due to peaceful existence. 1 2 All translations my own. Thomas 1988: 182. 2 Brown Classical Journal 26 2014, pp. 83-92, Lena M. Barsky While Virgil is correct in asserting that the Italian peninsula was not the site of Jason’s story, his claim that no war, mythological or real, has occurred on Italian land is blatantly false. The origin myth of Romulus and Remus ends with Remus’ death, a decidedly violent event, and the story of Aeneas’ founding of Rome (a version of which Virgil himself wrote) involves a great deal of violence on the Italian peninsula as the Trojan refugees fight the native Latians for control of the land. Italy’s land was overrun by war across many centuries as Rome expanded its territory throughout the peninsula, and a gruesome civil war between Marc Antony and Octavian had just finished as Virgil was writing the Georgics. He trusts that his reader is aware of all of these events, so in lines 140-2, his praise of Italy’s peaceful lands to comes off as insincere. For example, in line 142, the use of the modifier densis implies a heavy amount of warfare and soldiers. This adjective perpetuates the idea that Virgil was writing these lines with a doublemeaning in mind because with that word he calls attention to the immense amount of slaughter that has taken place on Italian soil. The disingenuousness of the lines analyzed above lends a new meaning to the following passage, which catalogs some of the many riches that Italian land has to offer: sed gravidae fruges et Bacchi Massicus umor/ implevere; tenent oleae armentaque laeta./ hinc bellator equus campo sese arduus infert,/ hinc albi, Clitumne, greges et maxima taurus/ uictima, saepe tuo perfusi flumine sacro,/ Romanos ad templa deum duxere triumphos. “But the abundant crops and the Massic juice of Bacchus filled [the land];/ olives and happy herds of cattle hold [the land]./ Here the war-horse bears itself loftily over the field,/ here, the bulls, Clitumnus, the snowy-white herds/ and the greatest of victims, having been bathed often in your sacred stream,/ have led Roman triumphs to the temples of the gods.” (Verg. G. 2.143-8) 3 Brown Classical Journal 26 2014, pp. 83-92, Lena M. Barsky Without studying Virgil’s words closely, the reader of the laudes Italiae might think that these resources are a result of Italy’s peaceful lands. However, since the reader is cognizant that the Italian peninsula is a land steeped in war, they can see that this prosperity is a result of strife, not peace. The gravidae fruges, Massicus umor, oleae, and armenta laeta are all produced on lands that were once held by Italian tribes—Mount Massicus is located in Campania and the Clitumnus River is located in Umbria, 3 both of which Rome conquered during its expansion across the peninsula. Since these riches once grew on non-Roman land, the only reason Rome is able to capitalize on Italy’s prosperity is because the land was forcibly taken. Therefore, while the land might once have produced these riches because it was peaceful, Virgil can no longer make that claim because the Italian peninsula has since been tainted by violence. Even if the reader believes that Italy’s land bears the products listed in lines 143-8 because it has never experienced war, two specific phrases call into question the “peaceful land” argument. The bellator equus (“war-horse”) that “bears itself loftily over the field” is out of place if the lands of Italy know no war. While horses are not mentioned in the line nec galeis densisque virum seges horruit hastis, which catalogs items used in war and directly establishes that Italian lands are free from conflict, the specific characterization bellator implies that there is conflict on the peninsula. The word bellator ensures that the equus is thought of as solely a military tool, not a farm animal. If Virgil meant for a reader of the laudes Italiae to believe that Italy’s fertility resulted from peace, he could have chosen to describe the equus differently or exclude it from this passage altogether. Similarly, the last line of this passage, Romanos ad templa deum duxere triumphos, also adds a dimension of doubt to the image of a peaceful Italy. On the surface, the idea of Italy’s bulls leading “Roman triumphs to the temples of the gods” does not directly imply that Italy is 3 Mynors 1990: 120-1. 4 Brown Classical Journal 26 2014, pp. 83-92, Lena M. Barsky not a land of peace, but careful consideration of the phrase Romanos triumphos indicates otherwise. A triumph is a celebration of a military victory; there are no Romanos triumphos in times of peace. There is some implication that these triumphs took place in the past and no longer occur: the tense of duxere is perfect, while other verbs in the passage (such as tenent and infert) are present tense. However, Virgil’s acknowledgement of past triumphs indicates his awareness of Rome’s military history—for the Romanos triumphos to occur, war must have taken place. The next passage, lines 149-54, enhances the encomiastic tone of the laudes Italiae as it depicts Italy as an agricultural paradise: hic ver adsiduum atque alienis mensibus aestas:/ bis gravidae pecudes, bis pomis utilis arbos./ at rabidae tigres absunt et saeva leonum/ semina, nec miseros fallunt aconita legentis,/ nec rapit immensos orbis per humum neque tanto/ squameus in spiram tractu se colligit anguis. “Here spring is incessant and summer [takes place] in other months:/ twice the sheep are pregnant, twice the trees are profitable with fruits./ But raging tigers and the savage offspring of lions are not present,/ nor does aconite deceive unfortunate gatherers,/ nor does a scaly snake drag its boundless coils across the ground/ and nor does it collect itself into a spiral with a huge drag.” (Verg. G. 2.149-54) This language is hyperbolic and presents an overly idealized vision of Italy that hearkens back to the mythological Golden Age. According to Mynors’ commentary, the imagery of an independent nature recalls the Golden Age, and when Virgil says bis gravidae pecudes, bis pomis utilis arbos, he bestows upon Italy the attributes of the Golden Age described since Hesiod op. 175.4 Furthermore, the lack of nature’s more evil creatures, such as the “scaly snake,” makes 4 Mynors 1990: 121. 5 Brown Classical Journal 26 2014, pp. 83-92, Lena M. Barsky Italy appear idyllic and peaceful.5 By linking present-day Italy to an oft-idealized mythological past, Virgil implies that a new, contemporary Golden Age is occurring in Italy. It is impossible to read this passage, however, without recognizing that this idealized Golden Age Italy clearly does not exist. Thomas argues that line 149 and its independent seasons clearly contradict the realities of the poem and the world since other sections of the poem emphasize a normal rhythm of seasons.6 Book 3 emphasizes that there is only one season for birthing livestock, and Book 2 details the season for harvesting fruits. The absence of snakes is a more blatant falsehood, as snakes are mentioned consistently in the Georgics (cf. 1.129; 2.215, 320; 3.416, 417, 425, 469, 545).7 As Virgil was well aware, the only true statement in these lines is rabidae tigres absunt et saeva leonum/semina. There is a deliberate tension here, as there is throughout the laudes Italiae, between Virgil’s words and the truth behind them. While this passage does not draw attention to Rome’s belligerence, as do the lines dissected above, the undisguised fictitiousness demonstrates to the reader that the laudes Italiae is more than just an encomium—it is praise with an undercurrent, praise that forces the reader to question the subject being lauded and the venerator’s motives. The next three lines intensify the implication that Italy is not in a Golden Age, albeit in a roundabout fashion. Virgil says, adde tot egregias urbes operumque laborem,/tot congesta manu praeruptis oppida saxis/flumniaque antiquos subterlabentia muros “Add [to all of that] so many exceptional cities and the effort of work,/so many towns built up by hand on steep stones/and rivers flowing beneath the ancient walls” (Verg. G. 2.155-7). It seems that Virgil simply describes these “Italian hill-cities”8 as another representation of Italy’s prosperity. The cities and 5 Ibid. Thomas 1988: 184. 7 Thomas 1988: 185. 8 Ibid. 6 6 Brown Classical Journal 26 2014, pp. 83-92, Lena M. Barsky towns have been built up as a result of diligent labor over the years—the muros, the city walls, are described as antiquos, indicating that these settlements existed for some time—and as such they are as much a part of Italy’s land as any of the natural elements. The fact that towns are not natural, and are instead man-made, is what calls into question Virgil’s meaning here: up until this point, he focused his praise on Italy’s natural aspects. The sudden tribute to buildings that are inherently the work of man, as opposed to naturally occurring, denotes a shift from an Italy that is the second coming of the Golden Age into one that represents the Italy in which Virgil lives. According to Thomas, “these towns belong to the age of Jupiter and toil”9 because the Golden Age is characterized by leisure and an easy life, while the age of Jupiter is characterized by hard work and suffering. The phrase operumque laborem directly references the work that mankind undertakes in age of Jupiter, and the use of manu to explain how the towns are built up (congesta oppida) emphasizes that “toil” is a common occurrence in Italy. Mynors points out that manu “suggests effort”10 and Thomas explains that force is “the most common implication of manu.”11 If the towns Virgil praises were created using effort and force, then the praise extends to include hard work and man-made creations. The following section of the laudes Italiae focuses on Italy’s maritime assets, but once again juxtaposes these natural resources with man-made ones: an mare quod supra memorem, quodque adluit infra?/ anne lacus tantos? te, Lari maxime, teque,/ fluctibus et fremitu adsurgens Benace marino?/ an memorem portus Lucrinoque addita claustra/ atque indignatum magnis stridoribus aequor,/ Iulia qua ponto longe sonat unda refuso/ Tyrrhenusque fretis immittitur aestus Avernis? “Or should I speak of the sea which laps [at Italy] above and below?/ 9 Ibid. Mynors 1990: 122. 11 Thomas 1988: 185. 10 7 Brown Classical Journal 26 2014, pp. 83-92, Lena M. Barsky Or [should I speak of] such great lakes? Or you, greatest Larius, and you,/ Benacus, rising with the waves and a marine roar? Or should I speak of harbors and the barrier added to the Lucrinus/ and the angered sea with great hissing,/ where the Julian waves resound with the sea having been poured back/ and Tyrrhenian tide is sent into the straits of Avernus?” (Verg. G. 2.158-64) The initial praise of the seas delineates Italy’s physical boundaries—the mare supra is the Adriatic Sea and the mare infra is the Tyrrhenian Sea.12 By including these two seas in praising the Italian peninsula, Virgil conveys that the bodies of water should be considered part of the land. The sea has no practical application to agricultural pursuits, however, raising questions as to why the Adriatic and Tyrrhenian would be included in a land-based laudes Italiae. Once Rome conquered the peninsula, it used the Tyrrhenian and Adriatic Seas as conduits to further expansion, thus recalling Roman naval travel and warfare. The subtle references to warmongering continue with the mention of Lari, which refers to lake Como, and Benace, which refers to Lake Garda. Both lakes are not part of Italia because they are not located on the peninsula—instead they belong to Gallia Cisalpina,13 which only became Roman land in 81 BCE as a province. Since both lakes are geographically separate from the Italian peninsula yet are still included in the laudes Italiae, Virgil clearly equates Italia with Roma, indicating that military might and/or imperial expansion is just as praiseworthy as fertile land. Any pretense of an “Italy without war” is now gone, and from this point on, violence is definitively a subject of the encomium. Virgil’s praise of a man-made maritime landmark cements this tonal shift, because both the Lucrino addita claustra and the fretis Avernis refer to the “Portus Julius” project of 37 12 13 Thomas 1988: 186. Mynors 1990: 122. 8 Brown Classical Journal 26 2014, pp. 83-92, Lena M. Barsky BCE.14 During the civil war between Octavian and Marc Antony, Agrippa needed a place to “train Octavian’s fleet against Sextus Pompeius,” 15 so he joined the two bodies of water by strengthening the breakwater of Lake Lucrine, located on the Campanian coast, and cut a channel through to the farther-inland Lake Avernus.16 Therefore, Virgil is not just celebrating a manmade body of water, but also a project that was the direct result of a vicious, destructive civil war that irrevocably changed Roman society. He also asserts man’s dominance over nature as “the inherent power in thundering lakes is in this instance curbed by man,” and this subduing of nature “is now associated with the use of potential energy for hostile purposes.”17 Where once the land’s fertility was used to grow vast amounts of crops and raise many flocks, that fertility has now been appropriated for mankind’s wars. By refocusing his praise on mankind and away from the land of Italy, and by outwardly condoning a gruesome civil war, Virgil forces his readers to bear in mind the realities behind his hyperbolic encomium. As a Roman citizen in 29 BCE, he cannot openly criticize the civil war or question man’s subjugation of the natural world, but through his doublespeak Virgil asks his readers to do so. The final portion of the laudes Italiae, lines 165-72, praises the land itself, cementing the tonal shift that occurs in preceding lines and directly addresses mankind and war: haec eadem argenti rivos aerisque metalla/ ostendit venis atque auro plurima fluxit./ haec genus acre virum, Marsos pubemque Sabellam/ adsuetumque malo Ligurem Volscosque verutos,/ extulit, haec Decios Marios magnosque Camillos,/ Scipiadas duros bello et te, maxime Caesar,/ qui nunc extremis Asiae iam victor in oris/ imbellem avertis Romanis arcibus Indum. “This same land has revealed rivers of silver and mines of bronze/ 14 Mynors 1990: 123. Putnam 1979: 101. 16 Thomas 1988: 186. 17 Putnam 1979: 101. 15 9 Brown Classical Journal 26 2014, pp. 83-92, Lena M. Barsky and flowed in abundance with gold in its veins./ This land has borne a vigorous race of men, Marsians and the Sabine population/ and the Ligurians accustomed to hardship and the Volscians bearing the veru,/ this land [has borne] the Decii, the Marii, and the great Camilii,/ the Scipios, harsh in war, and you, greatest Caesar,/ who now a victor on Asia’s farthest shores/ turn away the unwarlike Indian from Roman hilltops.” (Verg. G. 2.165-72) The opening lines are ostensibly a praise of Italy’s vast metal resources—the use of the word plurima implies an overabundance recalling Golden Age imagery, and the verb fluxit gives the reader an image of an Italian promised land literally flowing with metals. As Thomas points out, the “claim that silver, bronze, and gold exist in abundance carries with it the suggestion that the morality of the inhabitants is corrupt, as is clear from Horace, Odes 3.24.47-50.”18 If one agrees with Thomas, then Virgil uses the phrase plurima fluxit to refer to the wealth that is coveted by mankind and subtly reprimand his fellow citizens for their materialistic obsessions. The word aeris also has strong militaristic connotations: many weapons are forged of bronze, so if Italy is flowing with bronze, then it is a land primed for warfare. Italy deserves praise because its ample resources are useful for warmongering, underscored by the description of war on Italian soil in the following lines. As lines 167-70 explain, Italy is praiseworthy because genus acre virum… extulit and, because of the Georgics’ agricultural focus, these races of men may be thought of as the most important “crop” that the land has borne. The nations and families cataloged in these lines are Italy’s best produce because of their physical might, perhaps denoting a critique of Roman society’s core values of physical strength and glory; all of these names are included as deliberate references to warfare and military success. Rome conquered the Italian tribes of the Marsians, Sabines, Ligurians, and Volscians, despite the tribes’ reputation for fierceness in battle. Virgil 18 Thomas 1988: 187-8. 10 Brown Classical Journal 26 2014, pp. 83-92, Lena M. Barsky thus conveys that Rome is clearly the most ferocious of the races that Italy bore since it defeated all others. The Roman names listed are all important military figures: the Decii family fought Latin tribes, Marius conquered the Cimbri and the Teutones, Camillus fought the Gauls, the Scipios famously defeated Carthage, and Caesar (Octavian, here, not Julius) had conquests in Asia. The idea that Italy is laudable because it bore such militarily successful men demonstrates the importance that Rome placed on war and foreign expansion. Virgil’s praise of martial ambition is clearly backhanded, though, because of his inclusion of Marius and, to some extent, Octavian. Marius was notable not only for his defeat of the Cimbri and Teutones, but also for the vicious civil war that he waged on Rome and for his unprecedented six-year term as consul. Octavian, while princeps in 29 BCE and thus above criticism, similarly waged a bloody civil war and slaughtered many Roman citizens. Virgil’s inclusion of these two individuals denotes that while Italy bears strong, victorious men, she also bears vicious men who are willing to kill fellow citizens for power and personal gain. To Virgil, Italy would be better off merely producing the previously described agricultural wonders, rather than men who are too strong and too predisposed to start wars. The very last lines of the laudes Italiae serve as a sort of proem for the passage; yet, unlike traditional invocations, they occur at the end of the encomium as opposed to the beginning. Virgil praises Italy one last time, but also includes a direct mention of himself as the author of the laudes Italiae, saying, salve, magna parens frugum, Saturnia tellus,/ magna virum: tibi res antiquae laudis et artem/ ingredior sanctos ausus recludere fontis,/ Ascraeumque cano Romana per oppida carmen. “Hail, land of Saturn, great mother of grain,/ great mother of men: for you I set out on a subject and craft of ancient renown/ [for you I set out] having dared to open the sacred fountains,/ and I sing the Ascraean song through Roman towns.” (Verg. G. 2.173-6) 11 Brown Classical Journal 26 2014, pp. 83-92, Lena M. Barsky By starting with the phrase magna parens frugum… magna virum, Virgil deftly emphasizes that Italy has two different faces that have been at odds for the entire laudes Italiae. The magna parens frugum is the “Golden Age Italy” of fertile lands and boundless agricultural resources, which is ostensibly the Italy that Virgil praised throughout the passage; however, the magna [parens] virum is representative of the Italy inextricably linked to Rome, the Italy in which slaughter has taken place for centuries. By calling Italy Saturnia tellus, Virgil refers back to the Golden Age imagery and the representation of the peninsula as an agricultural paradise, yet the Italy that Virgil praises does not belong to such an age;19 it is impossible for the reader to view Italy in an idyllic light after reading lines 158-72, which spoke to the war on Italian soil and the triumph of mankind over nature. The second depiction of Italy is the “real Italy” of 29 BCE, and it is this Italy that he wishes to condemn. The language of lines 174-6 is certainly hyperbolic, but it drives home the point that Virgil controls this encomium. The first person verbs ingredior and cano shift the reader’s attention onto him, showing that Virgil dictates the tone and meaning of the passage, even if he does so in an oblique fashion. His nod to Hesiod’s Works and Days, a didactic “poem on husbandry,” through the phrase Ascraeum carmen20 forces the reader to remember the original purpose of the Georgics and question the true purpose of the laudes Italiae. In a poem whose central focus is farming, it makes little sense for a praise of Italian land to suddenly address military conquests and Roman might. This tension causes the reader to pause and think about the true meaning behind Virgil’s words. What begins as a passage that fits neatly within the scope of the Georgics suddenly transforms into something else entirely, and with this tonal shift Virgil conveys that the true meaning of the laudes Italiae cannot possibly be a praise of Italian land. 19 20 Putnam 1979: 106. Mynors 1990: 125. 12 Brown Classical Journal 26 2014, pp. 83-92, Lena M. Barsky Instead, he means to criticize what has taken place on that land, and he relies upon his reader to realize this double meaning. Though Virgil’s Georgics is a didactic poem focused on agriculture, there are several breaks from this theme, notably the laudes Italiae passage of Book 2, which indicate that the work is not solely focused on the explanation of farming techniques. Virgil grew up in a period of Roman history that was fraught with violence, and as such it is difficult to read his idealized portrayal of Italy as peaceful farming paradise as sincere praise. Writing this work in 29 BCE, Virgil as a Roman citizen was unable to outwardly disapprove of the civil wars and Rome’s tendency toward violence. However, by creating noticeable tensions in his praise, Virgil entrusts the power of criticism to his reader. The dualities present in the laudes Italiae demonstrate to the reader Virgil’s true opinions, and in the background of a passage that praises Italy’s agricultural fecundity there lies a sharp criticism of Rome’s belligerence and obsession with power. Bibliography Mynors, Roger A.B. 1990. Virgil: Georgics. Edited with a Commentary. New York: Oxford University Press. Putnam, Michael C.J. 1979. Virgil’s Poem of the Earth: Studies in the Georgics. Princeton: Princeton University Press. Thomas, Richard F. 1988. Cambridge Greek and Latin Classics: Virgil: Georgics Volume 1: Books I-II. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 13