Meliboeus And Julius Caesar Essay
Virgil and Horace, respected poets during the Roman empire wrote two collections based on
Pastoral imagery and had many metaphors dealing with the change in power from Julius Caesar to
Augustus Caesar. The first of Horace’s poetry is known at the Odes. And the first of Virgil’s collections are the Eclogues.
In the first of Virgil’s eclogues, he addresses the issue of property and the differences in the lives of two Roman men. The two main characters in the first eclogue, Tityrus and Meliboeus discuss their living situations after the Battle of Philippi, a time when many people’s land was being seized or transferred. Tityrus regained his land and is still prosperous, while Meliboeus has very little land and has to work harder than most …show more content…
We flee our homeland; you,
Tityrus, cool in shade, are teaching woods to echo Lovely Amaryllis.” [E.1.3-5] Here, also, the first of many references to shade and shadow is made. Tityrus is having to deal with the confiscation of his land by Augustus. His land is being given to Augustus’ soldiers as a reward for defeating Brutus and Cassius.
However this brings up the question how is Tityrus saving his land while Meliboeus is losing his?
Meliboeus expresses that he is not envious of Tityrus’ fate, “more amazed: the
countryside’s all in such turmoil. Sick myself, look, Tityrus...” [E.1.11-12]
Previously, Tityrus
claims that “a god has made this leisure ours.” [E.1.6] But when asked who that god is, all Tityrus says is, “the city men call Rome I reckoned, Meliboeus.” [E.1.20] According to Tityrus, he had always seen things as equal, regardless if they were bigger or smaller, greater or inferior, puppies or dogs. [E.1.23] Then when asked why he has begun to see her, Rome, with her head raised among the other cities, “high as a cypress tree above the guelder-rose.” [E.1.25] Tityrus responds …show more content…
It says that it is expected that the people of Rome will only get worse with time. However, saying something like that could be just the motivation that someone needs to better themselves.
Comparing these two passages, one will notice the similarities in pastoral imagery and the references to shade and shadow. In addition, it can also be noted that these both have very dark and pessimistic tones to them. Having both been written after the Punic wars and the rise of Augustus, these poems show the displacement of familial values and the daily struggles of the people of Rome after Julius Caesar. Tityrus has lost his land and has to resort to leaving the country. Girls of the land cannot learn traditional “Ionian dance steps” because they have been lost to “obscene lusts” and wives have been lost to “Spanish sea captain calls”.
Horace and Virgil, through Odes and Eclogues, respectively, have shown the downfall of
Roman culture after the ascent of Augustus Caesar. Their statuses as respected poets amongst the people of Rome allow them a position of influence to restore the society to what it once was,
Pastoral imagery and had many metaphors dealing with the change in power from Julius Caesar to
Augustus Caesar. The first of Horace’s poetry is known at the Odes. And the first of Virgil’s collections are the Eclogues.
In the first of Virgil’s eclogues, he addresses the issue of property and the differences in the lives of two Roman men. The two main characters in the first eclogue, Tityrus and Meliboeus discuss their living situations after the Battle of Philippi, a time when many people’s land was being seized or transferred. Tityrus regained his land and is still prosperous, while Meliboeus has very little land and has to work harder than most …show more content…
We flee our homeland; you,
Tityrus, cool in shade, are teaching woods to echo Lovely Amaryllis.” [E.1.3-5] Here, also, the first of many references to shade and shadow is made. Tityrus is having to deal with the confiscation of his land by Augustus. His land is being given to Augustus’ soldiers as a reward for defeating Brutus and Cassius.
However this brings up the question how is Tityrus saving his land while Meliboeus is losing his?
Meliboeus expresses that he is not envious of Tityrus’ fate, “more amazed: the
countryside’s all in such turmoil. Sick myself, look, Tityrus...” [E.1.11-12]
Previously, Tityrus
claims that “a god has made this leisure ours.” [E.1.6] But when asked who that god is, all Tityrus says is, “the city men call Rome I reckoned, Meliboeus.” [E.1.20] According to Tityrus, he had always seen things as equal, regardless if they were bigger or smaller, greater or inferior, puppies or dogs. [E.1.23] Then when asked why he has begun to see her, Rome, with her head raised among the other cities, “high as a cypress tree above the guelder-rose.” [E.1.25] Tityrus responds …show more content…
It says that it is expected that the people of Rome will only get worse with time. However, saying something like that could be just the motivation that someone needs to better themselves.
Comparing these two passages, one will notice the similarities in pastoral imagery and the references to shade and shadow. In addition, it can also be noted that these both have very dark and pessimistic tones to them. Having both been written after the Punic wars and the rise of Augustus, these poems show the displacement of familial values and the daily struggles of the people of Rome after Julius Caesar. Tityrus has lost his land and has to resort to leaving the country. Girls of the land cannot learn traditional “Ionian dance steps” because they have been lost to “obscene lusts” and wives have been lost to “Spanish sea captain calls”.
Horace and Virgil, through Odes and Eclogues, respectively, have shown the downfall of
Roman culture after the ascent of Augustus Caesar. Their statuses as respected poets amongst the people of Rome allow them a position of influence to restore the society to what it once was,