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Title: The Aeneid of Virgil by Allen Mandlebaum, Virgil, Allen Mandelbaum, Barry Moser ISBN: 0-520-04550-5 Publisher: University of California Press Pub. Date: November, 1982 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.88 (17 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: The Forbidden Fruit
Comment: This translation of Virgil's masterpiece is the perfect choice for a reader who wishes to experience the original form of this Augustine work of art. It is written in easy flowing and accessible blank verse, unlike the rather cloggy and unattractive prose translations. After all The Aeneid was written to be read as an epic poem: not the post Renaissance format of a novel, and Lewis's translation is as close to capturing the originally intended delivery as you can get without the lengthy process of learning Latin .
This classic epic poem was commissioned by Augustus Caesar in 31BC, a task which was reluctantly accepted by Virgil. Ten years of writing followed, and unfortunately the poet died, by contracting a disease, whilst returning from a trip to Athens. The epic was not fully revised by then, yet the contents of all twelve books are complete except for a rather abrupt ending.
However, just before his death Virgil left strict instructions for The Aeneid to be burnt: lost to the world for all time. Yet this commanded was counteracted by Caesar. Why was this? Why didn't Virgil want the greatest poem in Latin to be discovered for its prominence?
These are questions which will truly interest any reader. When you hold this book in your hands you cannot help thinking that Virgil did not want you to read this - if it had not been for the Imperial arm of Caesar we would be forever lacking this great Latin work. Thus a guilty feeling pervades when reading The Aeneid, moreover, those of you already well versed in Greek mythology will know that Actaeon paid very highly for his antlers, a lesson hard to forget whilst perusing prohibited splendour.
When commissioned to write an epic with the sole purpose of portraying an almighty Augustus in 31 BC it is difficult to capture the magic of Homeric Hymns. To have the inclusion of gods and mystical powers in ordered Roman society would have been simply laughed at. Therefore Virgil chose the legendary founder of Rome - Aeneas of Troy - as the protagonist of his epic. This poem documents the various adventures of Aphrodite's son: whose quest is to find his destined homeland - Italy. Jupiter has ordained that Aeneas's ancestors will become the great masters of Rome, and it is here that Virgil can cleverly celebrate Augustus's magnificent achievements.
But what is the underlying meaning to Virgil's epic? What you can witness in The Aeneid is Homer's similar appreciation of acts of bravery; yet what you will observe for the first time is the dreadful price that Imperialism exacts. Aeneas is forced to reject his passionate love, experience the death of his father, and kill the noble sons of people he is destined to rule.
Therefore a fundamental enigma in Virgil's work must be to endeavour whether this is a work that supports Imperialism or refutes it. Did Virgil advocate Augustus's omnipotence? If yes, why did the poet wish the epic to be destroyed? The price of blood for the fellowship of freedom is one continual theme that pervades not only archaic history, but also that of the modern day; and in Virgil's masterpiece it is portrayed no less effectively than in all great works of literature.
Rating: 5
Summary: Arms, the man, and the poet.
Comment: This is another one of the books that I had to read for Fall quarter 2000. Like the rest of that group, "The Aeneid" was just extraordinary. My teacher's smart choice of the Mandelbaum translation was good to my pocket and to my mind, since it is accessible and clear. I actually prefer parts of the Fitzgerald version (especially the unusual beginning "I sing of warfare and a man at war..."), but I read the Mandelbaum because it was easier to follow the lectures using the same book everyone else had. Mandelbaum does a great job of translating meaning and feeling from Latin to English, and from the world of Virgil 2000 years ago to our world. The Glossary helps a lot, and the Introduction is instructive and very candid: not every day a major scholar tells us he had intentionally neglected a major work of literature simply based on the biased opinion of others. After reading "The Aeneid" I am convinced that Augustus did the right thing in ignoring Virgil's wishes, even if in his treatment of Ovid he was too harsh. This version of the poem should introduce a fascinating literary work to those who have never read it (like me before Fall 2000), and hopefully interest many readers in other works of Classical Literature. The destruction of Troy, Queen Dido and her tragic fate, the clash of cultures in Italy between the invading Trojans and the native Latins, the descent into the netherworld, the gods playing with humankind, the mythical foundation of Rome, the controversial progression of Aeneas from man to ruler to symbol who sacrifices part of his humanity in order to achieve the mission that has been determined for him, all this forms part of one of the greatest epic poems of all time. "The Aeneid" is war, and men, and a poet who believed that Rome, in spite of all her faults, was a prize worth saving and preserving. Augustus thought the same of Virgil's poem.
Rating: 3
Summary: Aeneid (Story of Aeneas)
Comment: Unlike Homer or many who came before him, Virgil didn't believe in the myths like the ancient Greeks did. So where the "Iliad" was probably based on some real event, the "Aeneid" is completly made up. That dose not mean that it is bad, it isn't. It's like the best parts of "Iliad" and "Odyssey" put into this one poem. Aeneas and a small band of Trojans escape the carnage of Troy and eventually land in what would become Rome. There is adventure, action, drama, and a little romance. It has the makings of a great story, and sometimes it is. Oh, how do you trash a classic? You don't, but still there is too much national pride and propaganda of "future" Roman heros for my taste. Still worth it's reading, if you can get it cheap, or more likely, get it at the library.
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Title: Confessions (Oxford World's Classics) by Saint Augustine, Henry Chadwick ISBN: 0192833723 Publisher: Oxford Press Pub. Date: April, 1998 List Price(USD): $7.95 |
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Title: Metamorphoses (Oxford World's Classics) by Ovid, A. D. Melville, E. J. Kenney ISBN: 019283472X Publisher: Oxford Press Pub. Date: June, 1998 List Price(USD): $8.95 |
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Title: The Iliad of Homer by Homer, Richmond Lattimore ISBN: 0226469409 Publisher: University of Chicago Press (Trd) Pub. Date: July, 1961 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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Title: The Odyssey by Homer, Robert Fagles, Bernard Knox ISBN: 0140268863 Publisher: Penguin USA (Paper) Pub. Date: 29 November, 1999 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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Title: The Odyssey of Homer by Richmond Lattimore ISBN: 0060931957 Publisher: Perennial Pub. Date: 01 June, 1999 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
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