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Formicola (C.) Virgilio. Etica, poetica, politica . (Forme Materiali e Ideologie del Mondo Antico 43.) Pp. x + 200. Naples : Liguori Editore , 2012. Paper, [euro]19.90. ISBN: 978-88-207-5790-8 .
Reviews
STUDIES IN THE GEORGICS AND AENEID
This book is F.'s collective research on Virgil integrated into one volume. In a condensed yet comprehensive passage the title and orientation of the volume are justified. The subcategories 'etica', 'poetica', 'politica' explore Virgil's political engagement in the Georgics and Aeneid.
The volume channels the investigation of Virgil's ethics, poetics and politics into two major directions: the centrality of teaching and educating in the political and social realms in Rome and the moral responsibilities these efforts carry. Virgil's ideas mature in the context of Octavian's policies dating from Actium when the poet's sense for the political reality in which he lives and works becomes sharpened and refined. F. proposes a philological enquiry into artistic components as being parts of the moral whole (Romanitas, p. 64) that have made Virgil's works so distinctive and unrivalled. This aim is evident on every page of the book.
In essence, the book is an exhaustive guide through classical traditions and models, which makes it valuable reading. Built on these fundamental parts, Virgil emerges as a poet of deep reflection offering a choice of living with a timeless message for posterity (p. 47). The many intricate syntactical and rhetorical analyses put forth by F. reveal the bewildering richness of sound and words in Virgil's poetics. 'Poetica' in the sense of this book refers to close and responsive reading of the text. It is an approach that opens ever new directions for the reader.
On this solid ground F. examines Virgil's political engagement with Rome and Octavian in particular. Virgil's works are saturated with the causa Romana but also with the support of the traditions of old Rome, the values of family and the origins of Rome....