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Some Aspects of the Concept of Virtus in Roman Literature Until Livy

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Some Aspects of the Concept of Virtus in Roman Literature Until Livy STUDIA PHILOLOGICA JYV ASKYLAENSIA 16 JUHANI SARSILA SOME ASPECTS OF THE CONCEPT OF VIRTUS IN ROMAN LITERATURE UNTIL LIVY ACADEMIC DISSERTATION TO THE PUBLICLY DISCUSSED, BY PERMISSION OF THE FACULTY OF HUMANITIES, OF THE UNIVERSITY OF JYVASKYLA, IN AUDITORIUM S 212, ON APRIL 7, 1982, AT 12 O'CLOCK NOON UNIVERSITY OF ]YVASKYLA, JYVASKYLA 1982 SOME ASPECTS OF THE CONCEPT OF VIRTUS IN ROMAN LITERATURE UNTIL LIVY STUDIA PHILOLOGICA JYVASKYLAENSIA 16 JUHANI SARSILA SOME ASPECTS OF THE CONCEPT OF VIRTUS IN ROMAN LITERATURE UNTIL LIVY UNIVERSITY OF JYVASKYLA, JYVASKYLA 1982 URN:ISBN:978-951-39-8309-3 ISBN 978-951-39-8309-3 (PDF) ISSN 0585-5462 lSBN 951-678-661-8 ISSN 0585-5462 COPYRIGHT © 1982, by University of Jyvliskylli Jyvliskyllin yliopisto monistuskeskus Kirjapaino Oy Sisa-Suomi. Jyvliskylli 1982 ABSTRACT Sarsila, Juhani, Some Aspects of the Concept of Virtus in Roman Literature until Livy / Juhani Sarsila. - Jyvaskyla Jyvaskylan yliopisto, 1981. - 153 s. - (Studia Philologica Jyvaskylaensia, ISSN 0585-5462; 16) ISBN 951-678-661-8 Diss. This study is an interpretation of some essential occurrences of virtus in the Roman literature from the beginnings until Livy. The method can be characterized as philological, more precisely compara­ tive-diachronical. Despite the great variety of literary genres, virtus remains rather similar from one author to another. The fact that the Romans repeatedly emphasized the importance of virtus goes to show the fundamental significance of this concept for their so­ ciety. Originally the conception of virtus was quite narrow consisting in the readiness of the agrarian and militant community to wage war and to endure hard toil. Gradually virtus was expanded to contain intellectual values, and virtus, which should mean 'manliness', included all individual virtues in the ethical terminology of Cicero. The result of the terminological expansion and the conceptual extension was that, by the time of Livy, virtus connoted the ideal combination of the characteristics of any living organism or artificial product. Thus it had become identical with apE,n. In the world of values of the practically-minded Romans, virtus was impervious to contemplation, it was unremitting action. Some authors, however, considered action for displaying virtus and acquiring fame am bivalent. Here an individ­ ualistic tendency against a collectivistic world of values becomes apparent. Virtus is a rationalistic value; there is not a single occurrence where virtus should imply reverence to gods. In the expressly masculine Roman culture virtus is the combination of the characteristics of men of will and action. The opposite of this Stoically-coloured Roman virtus is Epicurean quietism and amiable sensi bility. virtus. apE,n. ideal characteristics. unremitting action. heroism. military efficiency. intellectual faculties. select few. men of will. PREFACE The interpretation one attempts to give on the abstract concept of virtus is mainly hypothetical and, consequently, subject to ever­ recurring discussions. Virtus cannot be explained away. In the course of the present study, I have become more and more conscious of the difficulties of interpreting the emotional aspects of values. A Lebens­ begriff, so to speak, eschews definition and involves one's personal opinion. I owe much to Professor PiivH Oksala who, in the early seventies, first directed my attention to the Roman idea of history and guided my first steps in the field of classical philology. My interest in virtus was aroused by Professor Tuomo Pekkanen. He has given me val­ uable advice and stimulating suggestions through all the stages of my work. I am deeply grateful to him for his support. I would also like to thank Doctor Matti Sainio for his helpful criticism. Con­ stant encouragement and constructive criticism have been provided generously at all times by Doctor Unto Paananen. I also wish to thank Doctor Teivas Oksala, who has shown interest in my work and also read the manuscript. I would like to offer my thanks to Erkki Palm�n, Lecturer of Latin, for our inspiring discussions on Roman literature during all these years. I am much obliged to Professor Heikki Salin and Anneli Salin for their kind help in practical ar­ rangements in Rome. The generous financial assistance from the Academia scientiarum Fennica Foundation, the University of Jyviskyli, and the Emil Aalto­ nen Foundation has enabled me to carry out my work in Munich, where I studied the collections of literature and index cards of the The­ saurus Linguae Latinae Library. These visits (1976 and 1978) were of great help in the work of checking. Further on, I have received the valuable economic support from the Institutum Romanum Finlandiae Foundation, permitting me to make acquaintance with several libraries in Rome in the first half of 1979. My discussions with Mr. Hannu Vatka have been of great help particularly in linguistic problems. I thank Professor Kalevi Tarvainen and the publishers of Acta Philologica Jyviskyliensia for accepting this work to be printed. Last but not least, I would like to thank my wife Marjatta for her practical support and patience through these years of reading and writing. Jyvaskyla, December, 1981 Juhani Sarsila CONTENTS L. INTRODUCTION 11 1.1. On the Previous Studies 11 1.2. Task and Method 14 1.3. Word Formation and Meaning l 7 2. INTERPRETATION 23 2.1. Livius Andronicus and Naevius 23 2.2. Plautus 28 2. 3. Terence 39 2.4. Ennius 40 2.5. Cato 45 2.6. Further fragmentary instances 46 2.7. Lucilius 53 2.8. Publilius Syrus 59 2.9. Lucretius 64 2.10. Catullus 67 2.11. Caesar 70 2.12. Nepos 76 2. L3. Sallust 79 2.14. Cicero 85 2.15. Virgil 102 2.16. Appendix Vergiliana 107 2.17. Tibullus and Propertius 109 2.18. Horace 110 2.19. Ovid 117 2.20. Livy l 22 3. SUMMARY 132 BIBLIOGRAPHY 137 INDEX OF PASSAGES 14l SUOMENKIELINEN TIIVISTELMA 149 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1. On the pPevious studies ViPtus is the most central of the abstract concepts which are 1 characteristic of the Roman sphere of values. How did the Romans understand ViPtus and what did they include in it? The answer should be sought by the comparative analysis of the significant occurrences of the word in Roman literarure. As viPtus has been formed in other age and place than those where the author is now studying it, the concept turns out to be rather difficult to be approached. ViPtus, 2 as well as libePtas, is rather explosive than exact. In the Roman mind, these concepts arouse an emotional response for the social norms and values they express or arise from. Problems due to the extent and the interpretation of the material had made D.C. Earl give up his plans to draw up the history of the concept of viPtus 3 from its first occurrences up to St. Augustine. In his lexicographically exacting work Eisenhut accomplished what Earl had considered to be impossible. In order to sift the source material as exhaustively as possible, Eisenhut interpreted the occurrences from the Laws of the Twelve Tables up to Christian literature. The diachronic approach indisputably does credit to 4 Eisenhut as well as to the early work of K. Blichner. In both works each author is studied in chronological order, and the variability of the conceptual contents is illustrated. Both works are based on the principle that the study of any author's use of viPtus is sat­ isfactory only when it is known to what extent he uses the word in original meanings on one hand, and in the traditional meanings on the other hand. After the edition of Eisenhut's chronologically extensive study (1973) Blichner's article became in a sense obsolete. Eisenhut pointed out that Blichner had dealt with only part of the material and there­ fore come to a wrong conclusion about the contents of the so-called 1 Cf. Hellegouarc'h 1963:242ff ..1974:2O7f. 2 Cf. Koebner - Schmidt xivf. 3 Earl 1967:8 4 AltrHmische und Horazische Virtus, Antike l5,1939:145ff. Studien zur rHmischen Literatur III,1962:lff. 12 "Old Roman (i.e. pre-Horatian) virtus". According to Bilchner, before Horace virtus contained "standhaftes Ausharren, trotziges Sichein­ 1 stemmen, hartes Nichtwanken" . A definition emphasizing solely the defensive character of the quality is undoubtedly appropriate in many cases, but as the general contents of the concept it is un­ founded. Eisenhut's quotations from the Laws of the Twelve Tables (Plin.nat.21,7 ; Cic.leg.2,60), Plautus (Amph.191; Mil.12 and 3 2; Epid.445 ), Terence (Eun.778), and. Claudius2 . Quadrigarius. ('fr.12 Peter ) f demonstrate virtus to be aggressive. Besides irmness in defence, the quality can also appear as determination in offence. The other course of study is synchronic. Although it has certain justifications, it has the restriction of being an attempt to illus­ trate only one author's world of values without making comparisons with others. H. Haas (1938) and R. Feger (1944 ) have written their virtus monographs about Tacitus, in whom the Germans were parti­ cularly interested at that time because of ideologico-national rea­ sons. In addition to Tacitus, only Cicero has got a virtus mono­ graph by Liebers in 1942. In the light of these monographs, the in­ terest in (and the need of) virtus seems to have been at its highest at the time of the Second World War, which offered ample opportuni­ ties to display that more or less admirable characteristic called virtus by the Romans. V. Poschl (1940) has said a great deal about virtus in Sallust leaving, however, the question open for future interpretations, which, a generation later, have been written al­ 3 most solely by Eisenhut I do not think it necessary to mention the numerous studies which have had their aims elsewhere and have dealt with virtus only in passing.
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