The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1902-03-16
vERG|L'S POETIC ART
Prof. Henry Linscott, at
St. Mary's.
His Lecture on THE Poetic Art in vergiP.
Aeneid" Was Greatly Enjoyed bya
Large Crowd Last Night.

Last night at st. Marys College Prof.
North Carolina, delivered most interest
ing lecture on the Poetic Art in Vergil's
Aeneid." There was a large crowd of col
leges girls and their friends and friends
of the classics that completely filled the
large hall.
The speaker first discussed the infiu-
ence of Vergil in literary history. Brief
reference was made to his position in
Roman times to the enthusiastic admit
ration of the middle ages, the alteration
of Dante and finally to the estimates of
later critics The discussion then turned
to the attitude of certain writer's who
criticise the theme and its treatment on
the ground that the story is not naturally
and nobly ideal. This criticism is based
usually on a comparison with Homer. But
the pertinence and validity of this com
parison was denied for the reason that
the Had and Odyssey are primitive epics
while the Aeneid is a literary epic like
those of Dante and Milton. Between two
different forms of literature comparison
may net rightly be made.
The critics are also wrong in their
nance but a personal allegory of the
history of Rome. The purpose of the
roet is not that of giving a romantic
story like a modern novel His purpose
is Roman always; he seeks to tell the
marvellous story of the empire and it's
God given destiny to rule the world for
the worlds good So the hero is subordi-
mated 10 the Roman purpose and a ro-
n rltt frno Is
impossible.
The thought then turned to the ques-
tion of Vergils place among the world S
great epic poets. His was found to be
creative genius, first because he wrote
the worlds first epic of complex civili-
zatioR and second because he first ex-
pressed one of the three great charac-
tiers of Divinity. Homers gods had been
merely greater men and of supreme
strength Vergil added the second quality,
Justice, and Dante then gave to Divinity
the Christian attribute of mercy.
Of the Aeneid the greatest books are
the second, fourth and sixth. These tell
of the tragedy of national humiliation in
the fall of Troy, the tragedy of love,
despair and suicide in the death of Dido,
and the pathetic visit of Aeneas to the
SHdueS. III all Jnfeo DOCKS the tone is
sad and suhdued. This was found to be
the tone of thought in which Vergil is
at his best. He belongs, then, not to the
class of poets who treat of daily life nor
to those of inpetuous inspiration, but
rather to the type whose thought is dealing
with the sadness of human life, who seek
the meaning of this living and this dying;
who finally are always yearning for
something truer and nobler.
The poetic art of the Aeneid may be
said in general terms. to be in the sim
plicity of the religious thought and in
the dignity of the theme. VergiI is most
simply pious. He believed that man does
nothing of himself: that he is guarded by
the gods and led by them through life
to the realization of his destiny. So the
gods made the Roman Empire great and
not man. He looks at the superb work
done for civilization by Rome and says,
work of Cod That thought is both sim
ply religious and dignified 1t is also
poetic. Finally reference was made to
the poets mastery of the magic art Of
touching the human soul deeply. This
has been felt by all ages since the poets
death. This art was defined as the power
of using the simplest and most natural
words for the expression of thoughts
which serve to stir emotions which we
knew were in us; which, however. we
could not ourselves have round so thor
cughly. This quality has made Vergil
The most quoted of all poets of antiquity.