The Philosophical and Rhetorical Concept of Enargeia at Work in Latin Poetry Robert E
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Florida State University Libraries Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations The Graduate School 2015 Seeing the Unseeable: The Philosophical and Rhetorical Concept of Enargeia at Work in Latin Poetry Robert E. (Robert Edward) Hedrick Follow this and additional works at the FSU Digital Library. For more information, please contact [email protected] FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES SEEING THE UNSEEABLE: THE PHILOSOPHICAL AND RHETORICAL CONCEPT OF ENARGEIA AT WORK IN LATIN POETRY By ROBERT E. HEDRICK, III A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Classics in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Degree Awarded: Spring Semester, 2015 Robert Hedrick defended this dissertation on March 16, 2015. The members of the supervisory committee were: Timothy Stover Professor Co-Directing Dissertation Svetla Slaveva-Griffin Professor Co-Directing Dissertation John Roberts University Representative Nathaniel Stein Committee Member Francis Cairns Committee Member The Graduate School has verified and approved the above-named committee members, and certifies that the dissertation has been approved in accordance with university requirements. ii This manuscript is dedicated to two people who have deeply influenced me and who, in fact, share my name: my grandfather, Robert E. Hedrick (1920-1997), and my father, Robert Hedrick, Jr. My grandfather was a truly great person. He served his country as a captain in the U.S. Army during World War II and saw combat throughout Europe. After returning home, he went on to become the first “Doctor” in the family and was the director of the Orlando location of Florida Southern College. Without him, I would not be the man I am today. Throughout my life, my father has been the greatest influence on me both intellectually and ethically. He is also a truly great person and I have strived to emulate him in many ways. He received a B.A. and an M.A. from Duke University (the same college where I received my B.A.). As a high school teacher, he is on the front lines of the Classics discipline. I had the distinct pleasure of taking his classes throughout my high school years. Our countless conversations helped me to grow and develop my own critical thought and to become a person guided by the goals of altruism and generosity. He is also responsible for kindling my love of classical languages and literature. I can honestly say that none of this would have been possible without his help, encouragement, and love all along the way. It is with a great deal of love that I dedicate this manuscript to him. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This project was only made possible thanks to the help and guidance of many people and organizations throughout the last few years. I owe special thanks to my dissertation committee. In particular, Svetla Slaveva-Griffin and Tim Stover, as the co-chairs, read multiple drafts of each chapter and provided constructive criticism and encouragment throughout this process. I cannot thank you both enough. I would also like to thank the other members of the committee, Francis Cairns, Nathaniel Stein, and John Roberts, for their kindly advice, assistance, and feedback. Thanks also go out to Laurel Fulkerson for helping me learn the publishing process during my two years as her editorial assistant for The Classical Journal. I also wish to thank Jeff Bray and Patrick Burns for their help with paper work and for clearing up logistical problems along the way. In addition to them, the FSU Classics department has been a source of tremendous support throughout these years of graduate study. In particular, they provided me with sufficient funding throughout my graduate career and awarded me with the M. Lynnette Thompson Fellowship for the 2014-2015 school year. Without this support, this dissertation would surely not have been finished this year. I have also benefited from funding from the Duke Alumni Scholarship (2002-2005) and from the Semple Award from CAMWS to attend the American School in Athens during the summer of 2011. This dissertation had a very long gestation period. I was first exposed to the concept of enargeia in my first semester of graduate school, while working on a paper for John Marincola’s class on Xenophon’s Cyropaedia. In other courses, I often found myself returning to this topic and pursuing the study of ancient theories of vision and visualization. Chapter three developed from a paper that I wrote for Dr. Slaveva-Griffin’s class on Platonic Myths. Chapter four is largely based on a paper that I wrote for Dr. Stover’s seminar on Lucretius. The sections on iv Plato, Lucretius, and Virgil include portions of papers deliverd at recent CAMWS conferences and at the SCS conference this year. I owe thanks for the many comments and questions from the members of these panels and especially to the presiders and audience, with special thanks to David Armstrong, Sergio Yona, Wilson Shearin, and Ben Hicks. I also thank the anonymous referees at Philologus for feedback on the Lucretius chapter. On a more personal note, I wish to thank family and friends who have offered me much needed support throughout this process. My mother and father have steadfastly supported my studies and have always been there for me lending me love and encouragement. I owe special thanks to my brother, Stevie, and sister, Molly, and to their wonderful families for all the love and support along the way. I also would like to thank my grandparents, my Uncle Jim and Aunt Carol (now deceased), and especially to Topper for all your thoughtful encouragement. Thanks also go out to my in-laws, the Geer family, for welcoming me into their family and for their great love and generosity. To my closest friends throughout graduate school—Kyle, Shawn, Kristen, Charlie, Jordan, Sara, Deb, Kevin, Giulio, Ricardo, Ben, and Stephen—I owe many thanks as well. Over these years, you all have been there for me at various points along the way and you have often provided the necessary encouragement, studying assistance, as well as diversions that kept me going. Lastly and most importantly, I offer humble thanks to my wife, Ashley, who has patiently listened for countless hours as I waxed poetic on the subject of enargeia and who has even read numerous drafts of papers and chapters throughout this process. It is only with your generous and caring support that I was able to bring this project to fruition. This project has, I’ll admit, been daunting—both mentally and physically draining—but you have been there for me every step of the way and I cannot thank you enough. You are my best friend and my true love. I will forever v be thankful to you for helping to make this possible and, most of all, for your compassion and love every day of our lives together. Thank you, sweet girl. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract ......................................................................................................................................... viii CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................. 1 CHAPTER TWO: PERSPICUITAS: ENARGĒS AND THE HISTORY OF MEANING FROM HOMER TO PLATO .................................................................................................................... 15 CHAPTER THREE: EVIDENTIA: ENARGĒS AND ENARGEIA IN PLATO AND ARISTOTLE ................................................................................................................................ 28 CHAPTER FOUR: SCIENTIA: SELF-EVIDENCE AND THE CRITERIA OF TRUTH IN HELLENISTIC EPISTEMOLOGY ............................................................................................. 69 CHAPTER FIVE: ANTE OCULOS: ENARGEIA AS “PLACING BEFORE THE EYES” IN RHETORIC, LITERARY THEORY, AND PEDAGOGY ........................................................ 126 CHAPTER SIX: SPECIES RATIOQUE: ENARGEIA IN THE PHILOSOPHY AND POETRY OF LUCRETIUS ......................................................................................................................... 174 CHAPTER SEVEN: PROLĒPSEIS: CONCLUSION WITH ANTICIPATIONS ..................... 201 BIBLIOGRAPHY ....................................................................................................................... 226 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH ....................................................................................................... 254 vii ABSTRACT This dissertation examines the Hellenistic concept of enargeia (self-evidence/vividness) in both its philosophical and literary dimensions and then applies this concept to close readings of Lucretius’ De rerum natura and Virgil’s Aeneid. I argue that the theory of enargeia provides an important model for understanding the epistemological themes of these epic poems. My study offers a history of the concept from its origins in Homeric poetry through its development as a philosophical term in Plato and Aristotle, before turning to examine the theory of enargeia in epistemology, rhetoric, and literary theory in the Hellenistic period. Based on the foundation of these Hellenistic theories, I turn to a discussion of the stylistic effect of enargeia and the link between seeing and knowing in Lucretius. I illustrate how vivid imagery often serves to inspire knowledge in both the reader and the didactic addressee, Memmius. According to Epicurean (and Stoic philosophy), vision and sense-perception of self-evident facts ultimately provide the basis for knowledge. I maintain that we can see this same framework underpin Lucretius’ rhetorical