The Allegory of the Golden Bough

34 Pages·2016·2.3 MB·English

by  Clifford Weber

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Faculty Publications Classics
1995
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Clifford Weber
Kenyon College, [email protected]
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THE ALLEGORY OF THE GOLDEN BOUGH
Author(s): Clifford Weber
Source: Vergilius (1959-), Vol. 41 (1995), pp. 3-34
Published by: The Vergilian Society
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THE ALLEGORY OF THE GOLDEN BOUGH
I
Not too many years ago, an essay bearing the title above would have
requireda n apology. ViktorP öschl's Die DichtkunstV irgil,s for example, pub-
lished in Englishi n 1962, "displayst hroughouatn uncompromisinglhyo stilea tti-
tudet owarda llegory."1I ndeed, the enormousp restigeo f thisb ook may be largely
responsiblef or the factt hati n the wake of its publication,m ostc riticismo mitted
even to mentiona llegoresisa s a methodo f interpretintgh e Aeneid. When David
Thompsonw rotei n 1970 thatP öschl's symbolicr eadingo f the poem is itself" in
manyc ases the veriesta llegory,"2t hisp rotesth ad the charactero f a voice crying
in thew ildernessT. hat, however,w as a quartero f a centuryag o. Since thent hings
have changed,a nd to such a degree thata discussiono f Virgiliana llegoryn ow
requiresb ibliographyr athert hana pology.3T hereforet, hankst o a criticalc limate
thatn o longerd ismisseso ut of hand the possibilityo f allegoryi n Virgil, we may
proceedd irectlyt o thep reliminartyh esiso f thisp aper.
II
In Aeneid 6.724-51, Virgil adoptst he mannero f Lucretiusa nd presentsa
philosophicallye clectic cosmologya ccordingt o whicht he macrocosmi s a living
organismc omposedo f body and soul. The overtL ucretianismisn thisp assage have
been notedi n detailb y Nordena nd Austin.4E lsewherei n thes ame book, however,
1 DavidT hompson"A, llegorayn dT ypologiyn theA enei,d" Arethus3a (1970): 147,
wherPeö schl'bs ooki s called" theg reatemsto dercnr iticwal orko nt heA enei.d"
2 Ibid.
3 Threer ecenbti bliographwieisll m aket hisc learT. hef irsatn dm ostr ecenits inR aymond
J. Starr", Vergil'sS eventhEc loguea nd Its ReadersB: iographicAall legorays an Interpretive
StrateginyA ntiquiatnyd L ateA ntiquityC,P" 90 (1995):1 29,n n.1 -2; 130,n . 8; 131,n . 12 (add
p. 351t ot hep agesc itedin V . Langholfasr ticle1);3 8,n . 50. Thes econdis inF redericEk. Brenk,
"TheG ateso f Dreamsa nda n Imageo f Life:C onsolatioann dA llegorayt theE ndo f Vergil's
AeneidV I," inS tudieisn L atinL iteratuarned R omanH istor, yed . CarlD erouxv, ol. 6 (Brussels,
1992),2 89,n . 37. Thet hirdi,n J osepFha rrellV, ergil'"sG eorgicasn" dt heT raditioonfsA ncient
Epic (NewY orka ndO xford1,9 91),2 58, n. 107; 262, n. 115. To thes ourcecs itedi n these
bibliographaidedsA . M. Bowie," TheD eatho fP riamA: llegorayn dH istoriyn t heA enei,d" CQ,
n.s.,4 0 (1990):4 70-81.A llegoresaiss a valida pproactho theA eneidis predicateodn Virgil's
familiarwitiyt hH ellenistailcl egorizatioonfH s omer.
4 EduardN ordene,d .,P . VergiliMusa ro:A eneiBs uchV fi( Darmstad1t9,8 4),3 09-10;R .
G. Austine,d ., P. VergilMi aronìAs enetdoUsb ers extus(O xford1,9 77),2 20-32.A dditional
sourceasr eg ivenin M ichaeWl igodskyV,e rgailn dE arlyL atinP oetr(yW iesbaden19, 72),1 37,n .
701, ande xtensivbeib liograpohnyL ucretiugse' nerainl fluenocne V irgiils tob e founidn t hef oot-
noteisb id.1 32-38.
Vergilius3
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Clifford Weber
Virgil's debt to Lucretiuse xtendsb eyondw ordsa nd phrasest o includei deas and
conceptions.I n lines 273-81, for example, Aeneas encountersa n assemblageo f
fearfualb stractionesn campeda t thee ntrancet o theu nderworld:
vestibuluman tei psump rimisquei n faucibusO rci
Luctuse t ultricesp osuerec ubiliaC urae,
pallentesqueh abitantM orbit ristisquSee nectus,
et Metuse t malesuadaF ames ac turpisE gestas,
terribilevs isu formae,L etumqueL abosque;
tumc onsanguineuLs eti Sopor et mala mentis
Gaudia, mortiferumquade versoi n limineB ellum,
ferreiqueE umenidumt halamie t Discordiad emens
vipereumc rinemv ittisi nnexac ruentis.
Here also, to be sure, Virgil is indebtedt o Lucretiusf or phraseology-" turpis
Egestas" in line 276 is a conflationo f "turpisc ontemptusa"n d "acris egestas" in
Lucretius3 .65- but he has borroweda conceptiona s well. In Lucretius3 .65-67,
"turpisc ontemptusa"n d "acris egestas"l oiterb eforef igurativgea teso f hell:
turpise nimf ermec ontemptuest acris egestas
semotaa b dulci vita stabiliquev idetur
et quasi iam letip ortasc unctariearn te
In Aeneid6 .273, as Agnes K. Michelso nce noted,5t hesef igurativge ates reappear
as an actual anterooml eading into Hades. Here Virgil has borroweda Lucretian
imagea nd turnedit intom aterialr eality.6
In thep ages thatf ollow,I will arguet hatV irgil's Golden Bough is another
instance,a lbeit a more complex one, of Lucretiani magerym ade real. More
generallyI, will also undertaket o show thatV irgild escribest he Golden Bough in
termst hata pplya s well to theu niono f bodya nd soul in a livingo rganism.F inally
I will considers ome implicationosf thisf actf ort he meaningo f theG olden Bough
5 AgnesK . Michels",L ucretiuans dt heS ixthB ooko ft heA eneid" ,A JP6 5 (1944):1 38-
40. Lucretiu"sl'e tip ortaer" eappeaars "letii anua"i n5 .373,i n a passagein w hichV irgifl ound
furthmera terifaol rh isd escriptioofnt hee ntrantcoet heu nderworFldo.r " vastoim manhisi atuo" f
thec avei nA en.6 .237,N orden(n .4 above2) 01c itesp arallelisn E uripidaens dA polloniubsu, th e
doesn otm entiotnh ei mmediastoeu rceb otho f Virgil'ps hrasaen do f itsc hthoncico ntextv,i z.,
Lucretiu"ss'e dp ateitm maneti v astor especthâita tu,w" hichoc curisn 5 .375a ndr efertso t he" leti
ianua"i n5 .373.F ort hec orrespondebnectew eeVni rgil'As verniacnav ea ndL ucretiufsi' gurative
gateo fd eaths,e e RaymonJd. Clark,C atabasisV: ergialn dt heW isdom-Tradi(tAiomns terdam,
1979),1 88-89.
6 Thisa spect(" remythologizatoiofnV "ir) gil'ds ebtt o Lucretiuiss d iscusseidn PhilipR .
' "
HardieV, irgil'sA eneind: " Cosmosa"n d Imperium(O xford1,9 86),1 78,1 80-82.
4 Vergilius
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THE ALLEGORYO F THEG OLDENB OUGH
in thec ontexto f Aeneid6 as a whole.7
Ill
In Aeneid 4.441-46, Aeneas is comparedt o an oak that,l ike Aeneas him-
self in Book 6, "in Tartarat endit"( 4.446). This "age-old simileb etweenm en and
trees"8i s groundedi n an anthropomorphpice rceptiono f treest hati s apparently
universal.9I n Latin, bracchia for rami, and coma for folia, are both trite
poeticisms,a nd even in commonp arlance,t runcusis appliedt o treet runksa s well
as to human torsos.10I ndeed, the formeri s the primarym eaningo f the word.
Amphibologyis thusi nherenitn the nount runcu,s a nd in Aeneid6 .207 , thisa spect
of the word is broughtt o the foreb y the additiono f the adjectivet eres, whichi s
itselfu sed of the humana natomyn o less thano f treesa nd theirb ranches.1T1 hus,
removed from its context, "teretis . . . truncos" in Aeneid 6.207 would be
ambiguous;i t could refert o trees,b uti t could equallyw ell refert o humanb odies.
The anthropomorphisomf the Golden Bough and its oak is, if anything,
even morep ronouncedi n the passage in whicht heya re firstm entionedI.n 6.141,
the Sibyl referst o the Bough as the "auricomos. . . fetus"o f the oak. The trans-
ferenceo f the nounf etus froma nimalst o plantsi s too commont o allow mucht o
be made of thath ere. Conversely,h owever,t he adjectivea uricomusi s unattested
beforet hiso ccurrence,a nd so it is notk nownh ow (or, indeed,w hethert) hisw ord
was used beforeV irgil. The Greek adjectivesx puffo/có/axnodç -коцод, on which
7 Fort hec opioubs ibliograpohny t heG oldenB oughs,e eJ ameEs. G. Zetzel," 'Romane
MementoJ':u sticaen dJ udgmeinntA eneid6 ," ТАРА1 19( 1989):2 76,n . 51; CharlePs . Segal,
EnciclopedViai rgilia,n vao l.4 (Rome1, 988),3 97,s .v. "Ramod 'oro.'*
8 WendeClll ausenV, irgil'"sA eneida"n dt heT raditioonfH ellenistPioc etr(yB erkeleayn d
LosA ngeles1,9 87),5 0.
9 The lastw ordo n thiss ubjectis WilhelmM annhardWt,a ld-u ndF eldkulte(B*e- rlin,
" "
1904-5r; eprintDedar mstad1t9,6 3);s eee sp.1 :1-4( Grundanschau)u anngd 2 :23-31( "Wechsel-
beziehunzgw ischeMn enscuhn dB aum")Y. ett hisim menwseo rkap pearnso tt om entiotnh ei mpor-
tantp henomenoofn t hea ncienbta ttlet rophyw,h ichc onsisteodf thed efeatewd arriora'sr mor
suspendefdr oma t reet runrke presentipnrge,s umabhlyis,t orsoT. hea nthropomorapshpiecc otf t he
trophiys salienitn Virgil'ds escriptioofnt het ropheyr ectebdy A eneasin A en.1 1.5-11( seea lso
11.83).F orb ibliograpohnyt het rophyse,e W . KendricPkr itcheTtth,e G reekSt atea t War, P art2
(Berkeleayn dL os Angeles1,9 74),2 46-51.T hereis alsot estimoinnyd icatinthga tin G reecet,r ee
trunkcso ulds ervea s aniconimc onumenstese:A . A. Donohue",X oana"a ndt heO riginosf G reek
Sculptur(Ae tlanta1,9 88),2 20; alsot hep assagqe uotedf romC lementP'sr otrepticibuisd .2 66-70.
Fort hep ersonificatoifot nr eeisn f armerlsa'n guagaen dm etamorphloesgise ndss,e eN orden(n . 4
above2) 18.
10C onverselbye,g inninwgi thP linyH N 1. 16.53,c orpucsa nd enotteh et runokf a treea s
opposedto itsb rancheSse. e OttoS kutsched, ., The" Annalso"f Q uintuEsn niu(sO xford1,9 85),
401; Norde(nn .4 above2) 18.
11S ee C. J. FordyceC, atullus(O xford1, 961),3 16; A. S. Hollis,e d., Ovid:A rs
AmatoriBao, okJ ( Oxford1,9 77),1 31.
Vergilius5
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Clifford Weber
auricomusi s modeled, are used primarilyo f gods (Apollo in particular).1I2f , as
seems likely,V irgil adheredt o the referenceo f his Greek models as faithfullays
he reproducedt heirf orm,a uricomif etus would be a bold personificationT. he
literalm eaningo f thea djectivew ould suggestt hati n any case. The same appliest o
the Sibyl's choice of words when, in 6.146, she tells Aeneas that, "si te fata
vocant,"t heB oughw ill provee asy to detach:
ipse volensf acilisques equetur
This too is an expressiont hatw ould ordinarilyr efert o an animateb eing.13O ut of
sixteeno thero ccurrencesi n Virgil, volens, for example,i s applied to gods or to
humanb eingsi n all cases buto ne ("volentiar ura"i n Georgics2 .500). Finally,t he
Bough is also personifiedi n 6.211, where "cunctantem,"a s othersh ave noted,
seems "to endow the branchw itha will, consciousness,a nd quasi-animateli fe of
itso wn.'44
As it is analyzedi n De rerumn atura3 and elsewhere,t hep hysiologyo f the
livingo rganismc orrespondsi n manyr espectsw itht he union of Virgil's Golden
Bougha nd its oak. Indeed, in thel ine of theA eneidj ust quoted,t hew ordingo f the
Sibyl's promiset hatt he Bough "ipse volens facilisques equetur"r ecalls Lucretius
3.400, wheret hea nima is said to departt heb odyi n thew ake of thea nimus:
sed comes insequiturf acile
Thus, the Sibyl characterizetsh e detachmenotf the Golden Bough fromi ts treei n
language that Lucretiusa pplies to the separationo f soul fromb ody. Such cor-
respondencesb etweenV irgil's Bough and its oak and the Lucretiana nalysis of
body and soul are in generals o numerous-a nd theiri mplicationsso suggestive-
thati t will be worthwhilteo considert hemi n some detail.
The lightf romt he Bough contrastws itht he darknesso f the oak withint he
dark forestw heret he oak grows.15T he importancoe f this contrasti s impliciti n
thef requencyw ithw hichV irgila lludest o it:
lateta rboreo paca
aureus et foliise t lentov iminer amus
(6.136-37)
12N orde(nп . 4 above1) 76.
13S o JohnH . D'Arms", Vergil''sC unctante(Rma mum)A': eneid6. 211,"C J5 9 (1964):
266,w herteh ep ersonificatinio" nau ricom.o .s . fetusi"s alson oted.
14C harlePs. Segal," TheH esitatioonft heG oldenB oughA: ReexaminatioHne,r" me9s6
(1968):7 8,i na greemewnitt hD 'Arm(sn . 13a bove2) 66-67.
15O nt hisp oinste eC harlePs. Segal," 'AeternuPmer S aeculaN oment,'h eG oldenB ough
andt heT ragedoyf H istoryA,"r ion4 (1965):6 25-26.
6 Vergilius
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The Allegory of the Golden Bough
hunc. . .
. . . obscuris clauduntc onvallibusu mbrae
(6.138-39)
... in lucos ubi pinguemd ives opacat
ramush umum
(6.195-96)
discolor undea uri per ramosa ura refulsit
(6.204)
talise rats pecies auri frondentoisp aca
ilice
(6.208-9)
The correspondinagn tithesios f the lighto f the soul locked in the darknesso f the
body (aůfjia агцха) is too familiart o required ocumentation.1In6 the Aeneid it is
founds ome 700 lines aftert he firstm entiono f the Golden Bough, thati s, in the
cosmologyt o whichr eferenche as alreadyb een made:
igneuse st ollis vigore t caelestiso rigo
seminibus
(6.730-31)
. . . neque auras
dispiciuntc lausae tenebrise t carcerec aeco
(6.733-34)
. . . purumquer elinquit
aetheriumse nsuma tque aurai simplicisi gnem
(6.746-47)
A furthelri nk witht he Bough is to be foundi n "aurai simplicisi gnem" in 6.747,
whichp arallels "auri . . . aura" in 6.204. In botho f thesee xpressions,w hicha re
strikingpr eciselyo n thisa ccount,17li ghti s referretdo as aura: thel ight/firteh ati s
soul in 6.747, and ther adianceo f theG oldenB oughi n 6.204.
16U sefullsyu ccincits Plu.2 .1130ba: vrijiтfе rrjv ěvioit Gìфv сХоаофофоc рo çe ivai
TTo) iiaíav oiiíÇovocivit,e di n AlbrechDti eterichN,e kyia(2L eipziga ndB erlin1, 913;r eprinted
Darmstad1t9,6 9),2 4,п . 1.
17C f. R. A. B. Brooks",' DiscolorA ura':R eflectioonns theG oldenB ough,A" JP7 4
(1953):2 73,r eprintiend V irgiAl: Collectioonf C riticaEls say,s e d. SteeleC ommag(eErn glewood
CliffsN, . J.,1 966),1 55,o nA en.6 .204:" aurai s evens trangeVri.r giils playinogf c oursoen t he
soundo fa urum, b utt hisc annobte thew holee xplanatioNno. rmaltlyh ew ordh asn ov isuasl ense."
Vergilius1
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Clifford Weber
In Aeneid 6.207, the Golden Bough is comparedt o mistletoee ncirclinga
tree:
[quale soletv iscum]t eretisc ircumdarter uncos18
As them istletoec lingst o its host,a similarlyt ightb ond ties the soul to all partso f
theb odyi n Lucretius3 :
nam ñeque [animas]t anto opere adnecti potuissep utandumst
corporibusn ostrise xtrinsecuisn sinuatas
(3.688-89)
namque[ anima]i ta conexa est per venas, viscera,n ervos
ossaque uti dentesq uoque sensup articipentur
(3.691-92)
пес [animae],t am contextaec um sint,e xirev identur
incólumesp osse et salvas exsolveres ese
omnibuse nervisa tqueo ssibusa rticulisque
(3.695-97)
In the Phaedo of Plato, no verb is used moreo ftent hanò sip , the exact equivalent
of necter,e and its compoundst o expresst he relationshipof soul to body.19T he
same conceptioni s also foundi n Aen. 4.695, wheret he meaningo f "nexos" (sc.
"animae") is clear fromt hef irstt wo passages quotedj ust above:
quae luctanteman imamn exosquer esolvereatr tus
Finally,t he similarityb etweena n animateb ody and a treew rappedi n mis-
tletoei s made overti n Lucretius3 .325. Here soul and body are comparedt o two
Truee nougha;n dh encet hep arallelisbmet wee6n. 204a nd6 .747,u nmentionbeydB rooksi,s the
morsea lienotn t haatc count.
18I nS en.E p. 92.13,t hes amev erbis usedt oe xprestsh eo ppositree lationshofipt h eb ody
enclosintgh es oull ikea garmen"th: oc[ sc.c orpusn]a turuat q uandamve steman imoci rcumdedit,"
withw hichcf .t hem anyso urcefso rt hisid eac itedin G . ZuntzP, ersephon(Oex ford1,9 71),4 06,
n. 4. Ont heo thehr andt, heries ane xactc orrespondebnectew ee"nt eretcisir cumdatrreu ncosa"n d
theP ythagore(?an) s ymbolisomf a largev eil = 'j/vxrve movefdr omth eb odya t deathf: ort his
imagoe nR omansa rcophagsie,e W illiamLa meere",U ns ymbopley thagoricdiaenns T artf unéraire
"
deR ome,B ull.C orrH. ell.6 3 (1939):7 9-85.
19C f.P hd.8 1D-E{ èvbelv8),2 E (bictôeïivr,p ooKoKhbàévi,)v, 83D {kcltolòenÌvp,o orjXovv,
itQooirepov8č4tAv )(,е укатаЬеЪ).
8 Vergilius
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The Allegory of the Golden Bough
plants which, like mistletoea nd tree, are so tightlye ntwinedt hatt hey seem to
springf romt hes ame roots:20
nam [animae t corpus]c ommunibuisn ters e radicibush aerent
This image is sustainedt hroughli nes 331-32, wheres oul atoms and body atoms
are implicitlyco mparedt o intertwininpgla nts:
implexisi ta principiisa b originep rima
inters e, fiunt[ animae t corpus]c onsortpi raeditav ita
The same botanicalm etaphoris latenti n Plato's choice of wordsi n Phaedo 81C ,
concerningth ec orruptionof soul by body:
àXXà disikrjßfjLsv.r .j v. viròt ov ouyLOiTosiòo, vоç а Ьту rj oyiCKíтaе
ка1 OVVOVOtÍOovL oáyiotroqò ià то àeì avvsivmk olÌò ià ttjv iroWrjv
fjLsXeTrèvjpe iroíriooev h<¡>vtov'
From the tightb ond unitings oul and body, Lucretiusd erivess ome impor-
tantc orollaries,a mongt hemt hen otion,e xpressedi n 3.695-97 above, thatt he soul
is not easily pried loose fromt he body. This idea, in turn,a ffectsL ucretius'd ic-
tion,f ort he separationo f soul fromb ody is sometimese xpressedw ithv erbsc on-
notinge fforto r even violence.21I n 3.326, a compoundo f velieres ervest hisp ur-
pose:22
nam communibuisn ters e radicibush aerent
nec sine pernicied ivellip osse videntur
Similarly,i t is difficult-n ay, impossiblei n most cases- to separatet he Golden
Boughf romt heo ak on whichi t grows:23
20" Thea tomosf s oula ndb odys o interpeneteraactheo ther. . . thatth eyh ave,a s itw ere,
a tangloef c ommorno ots"(C yriBl aileye,d ., Tit iL ucretCi ariD e rerumna turlai bris ex, voi.2
[Oxford1,9 47],1 048).
21T hisa specto f Lucretiutsh' anatoloigsy d iscusseidn CharlePs . Segal,L ucretiuosn
Deatha ndA nxiet(Pyr inceto1n9,9 0),6 0.
22I n 3.327a nd3 .563,e velleraen da velleraer eu sedw ithr eferentcoe o dora ndo culus
respectivetlyob , otho fw hicht hes ouli s compareAd.l soc f.c ompounodfst raherien 3.330a nd
3.844.T heo ccurrenocfec onvelleirne3 .340a nd3 .343i s not,h owevearp, positef,o rin b othli nes
thisc ompounrdef ernso tt ot hes eparatioonfs oula ndo fi tsa naloguwe,a tevr aporb, utr athetro t he
effectth atth iss eparatiohnas ,o rf ailst oh aveo, nt heb odya ndo nw aterre spectively.
23T hef orcree quirefdo rr emovinthg eB oughf romit st reeis expressendo to nlyb ya - and
convellerine thel inesq uotedb elow,b uta lsob y "decerpseriint" 1 41,b y "carpem anu"in 146
(im anur oughl=y "forcefullya"n)d, b y" corripiatn" d" refringiint"2 10. See Segal( n. 14 above)
74-76,w hichcr itiquWes illiamT. Avery",T heR eluctanGto ldenB ough,C" J6 1 (1966):2 71.
Vergilius9
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Clifford Weber
alitern on viribusu llis
vinceren ec durop oterisc onvelleref erro
(6.147-48)
Note the compoundo f veliere, as in Lucretius.C ombinedw itha differenptr efix,
thes ame verbi s used of theB oughi n Aeneid6 .143:
primoa vulso, non deficita lter
aureus
This idea is also foundi n Phaedo 108A-B, wherei t applies, however,o nly to the
class of souls corruptedb y theb ody:
r¡ fxèi>o vp Koafiía те ка1 (frpópiíio'рçv xv éirsTaí тг ка1 ovk ay posi та
жарорта' rj 6' èm0vfi7]TLKtOo)vç a ú^aroç s'ovaa . . . , irspis kslpot tóKvv
XPÓvovè iTTOTifiéкpаr1) irspì tòp оратор тотгор,т оХКа àpTiTsípaoa ка1
TToWài raOovaa,ß iy koùf ióyigv iròt ov irpooTSTayfjLSdPaOívp opoç oïxsrai
ayoyLSP-q.
It is likelyt hatt hen otiono f thed ifficultoyf separatingso ul fromb ody also
lies behind Aeneid 4.695, where Dido's soul is said to struggle ( luctar)i,
presumablyto freei tselff romt heq ueen's body:
quae luctantema nimamn exosquer esolvereai rtus
So does the same participleo f cunctari,r esemblinglu ctarip honeticallye, xpress
thed ifficultoyf separatingth eB oughf romi tst reei n 6.210-11:
corripitA eneas extemploa vidusquer efringit
cunctantem
This, however,i s differenftr omw hatt heS ibylt ellsA eneas to expecti n 6.146-48:
namquei pse volens facilisques equetur
si te fatav ocant;a litern onv iribusu llis
vinceren ec durop oterisc onvelleref erro
There are some strikingv erbalc orrespondencebse tweent he precedingt wo
passages on the Bough and the lines quoted above from Phaedo 108A-B24:
24T hereis also a closer esemblannceo,t edb y commentatobrest,w eePnh d.6 6B-Ca nd
lines7 30-34l aterin Aeneid6 . Thus,a connectiobnet weetnh eP haedoa ndV irgil'sB oughis a
priorai p lausiblhey pothesis.
10 Vergilius
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