Virgil Recomposed: The Mythological and Secular Centos in Antiquity (American Classical Studies)

260 Pages·2005·1.01 MB·English

by  Scott McGill

Virgil Recomposed
AMERICAN PHILOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION
AMERICAN CLASSICAL STUDIES
VOLUME 48
Series Editor
DONALD J. MASTRONARDE
Studies in Classical History and Society
MEYER REINHOLD
Sextus Empiricus
The Transmission and Recovery of Pyrrhonism
LUCIANO FLORIDI
Greek Mythology in the Roman World
ALAN CAMERON
The Augustan Succession
An Historical Commentary on Cassius Dio’s ‘‘Roman History’’
Books 55–56 (9 B.C.–A.D. 14)
PETER MICHAEL SWAN
Virgil Recomposed
The Mythological and Secular Centos in Antiquity
SCOTT MCGILL
Virgil Recomposed
The Mythological and Secular
Centos in Antiquity
Scott McGill
1
2005
1
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McGill,Scott,1968–
Virgilrecomposed:themythologicalandsecularcentosinantiquity/ScottMcGill.
p. cm.—(Americanclassicalstudies;no.48)
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN-13978-0-19-517564-6
ISBN0-19-517564-6
1.Virgil—Adaptations—Historyandcriticism. 2.Virgil—Parodies,imitations,etc.—Historyand
criticism. 3.Epicpoetry,Latin—Adaptations—Historyandcriticism. 4.Centos—Historyand
criticism. 5.Mythology,Roman,inliterature. 6.Virgil—Appreciation—Rome. I.Title.II.Series.
PA6825.M3952005
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9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica
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To My Son, Charlie
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Acknowledgments
This book began when I decided to take Ausonius outside with me on a lazy
summerdayandreadtheMoselle.OpeningGreen’seditionatrandom,Iinstead
encounteredtheCentoNuptialis,andadissertationtopicwasborn.Desidiosum
iuvat Fortuna.
Severalyearshavepassedsincethen.Icompletedandmanytimesrevisedthe
dissertation; finishing (or better, abandoning) it now as a monograph, I feel
somewhatwistful,sincetheprojectissocloselyassociatedwitharemarkabletime
inmylife,andwithmanyremarkablepeople.Ilearnedmuchasagraduatestudent
from my professors, particularly Michael Anderson, Bob Babcock, Susanna
Braund,andGordonWilliams,whowereallmodelsofmentoring,proddingme
patiently and amiably to think harder and with more clarity. As an advisor sine
tituloandareaderofthedissertation,MichaelRobertshelpedmetorealizethis
project in more ways than I can recount. Finally, John Matthews and Ellen
Oliensiswereasgenerous,supportive,andrigorousadvisorsasIcouldhavehoped
tohave.
SincearrivingatRiceUniversity,Ihavebenefitedfromthehealthyandnur-
turing environment that the university and the Classical Studies Department
create for its junior faculty. In more concrete terms, I appreciate the editorial
workofCyndyBrown,whichcertainlyspedmyprogress.Mycolleagues,Coulter
George,ChristopherKelty,MichaelMaas,HilaryMackie,DonMorrison,Car-
oline Quenemoen, and Harvey Yunis also facilitated the preparation of my
manuscript.Conversationwiththem,teachingalongsidethem,andhavingthem
aseditorshavebeentrulyenjoyableandproductiveexperiences.
Whenthisbookneededafinalroundofscrubbing,DonaldMastronardeandthe
anonymous readers at the APA provided me with both general and specific assis-
tance.Theircriticismallowedmetoavoidmanyerrorsandescapemanypitfalls—
thoughfallibilityisstubborn,andIamsurethatmistakesandinfelicitiesremain,for
which of course I am alone responsible. I must also thank Eve Bachrach, Jessica
Ryan,andGwenColvinatOxfordUniversityPressfortheirguidance.
XVIIICentoNuptialisfromTheWorksofAusonius,byR.P.H.Green(1991),
was reprinted by permission of Oxford University Press. The translation of
Ausonius’s epistle to Paulus was reprinted by permission of the publishers and
viii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
the Trustees of the Loeb Classical Library from Ausonius: Volume 1, Loeb
ClassicalLibraryvol.96,translatedbyH.G.Evelyn-White(Cambridge,Mass.:
Harvard University Press, 1919). The Loeb Classical Library 1 is a registered
trademark of the President and Fellows of Harvard College. The De Alea was
reprinted by permission of Loffredo Editore Napoli SpA. Finally, the Epitha-
lamium Fridi and Medea were reprinted by permission of K.G. Saur Verlag.
Throughout the entire process of writing this book, my family has been an
anchor.IparticularlywanttothankmybrotherSeanandmyparents,whotaught
me by example how to be disciplined and to stick to a task until it is done. In
different ways, I am indebted to old friends in the Northeast (though the
academicdiasporahastakenustofar-flunglocations)andnewonesinHouston,
and especially to Joseph Luzzi. Finally, Sarah Ellenzweig makes everything
worthwhile and better than I deserve.
At the risk of being precious, let me end by saying what a pleasure it has
beenthesepastyearstoreadandthinkaboutnotonlysomeofthewildesttexts
inantiquitybutalsoVirgil,whoasapoethasnosuperiorandjustafewequals.
non, mihi si linguae centum sint oraque centum (A. 6.625),
caelicolae magni (A. 10.6) possim superare labores (A. 3.368)
carminaqui(G.4.565)matrisquededittibi,Mantua,nomen(A.10.200).
Contents
Abbreviations xi
Text Editions Used xiii
Introduction xv
1. Playing with Poetry: Writing and Reading
the Virgilian Centos 1
2. Tragic Virgil: The Medea 31
3. Virgil and the Everyday: The De Panificio and De Alea 53
4. Omnia Iam Vulgata? Approaches to the
Mythological Centos 71
5. Weddings, Sex, and ‘‘Virgil the Maiden’’: The Cento Nuptialis
and the Epithalamium Fridi 92
Conclusion 115
Appendix: Texts of the Mythological and Secular Centos 119
Notes 153
Bibliography 217
Index 227