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Zur Vereinbarkeit von ratio und reuerentia in Columellas Umgang mit Vergil

  • Lars Mielke
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Antike Erzähl- und Deutungsmuster
This chapter is in the book Antike Erzähl- und Deutungsmuster

Abstract

Many fruitful studies have been dedicated to Columella’s treatment of Vergil, the most frequently quoted and seemingly most revered among his literary sources. They commonly agree that in his agronomy Columella rarely opposes Vergil’s authority and that disagreement with him is usually voiced in an apologetic tone. This interpretation of Columella’s relationship with Vergil, however, conflicts with the author’s alleged independent and critical treatment of his sources, as well as with his optimistic pursuit of technical progress, which involves condemning “a too great deference to the ancients” (Colum. 2.1.2 nimio fauore priscorum). Christiane Reitz has highlighted this discrepancy in a recent paper (2017, 219) in which she examines Columella’s emphasis on the value of personal experience and innovation: “The praise of experiment gains more force through a quotation of Vergil. Does it not seem paradoxical that Columella first questions the authorities, but then cites Vergil?” In my contribution, I take up her observations and suggest the following solution: 1) Columellaʼs reverence for Vergil and his diuinum carmen follows a didactic strategy. By playing the fervent admirer of the Georgics, Columella provides his readers with the opportunity to resist the persuasive force of didactic poetry, helping them to develop their own independent and critical thinking further. 2) By allowing for a more playful treatment of Vergil, I intend to show that Columella’s criticism of Vergil is by no means negligible, but in fact substantial: Vergil’s teachings are often disproved and amended, and criticism is raised, albeit in a subtle and playful way. Concerning the authorities for agricultural writing Columella distinguishes between technical and stylistic excellence. By teaching this distinction to his readers, Columella applies the guidelines that already Cicero has set out for a disputatio: “In a disputatio it is not so much the weight of authority as of reason that should be demanded” (Cic. Nat. Deor. 1.10).

Abstract

Many fruitful studies have been dedicated to Columella’s treatment of Vergil, the most frequently quoted and seemingly most revered among his literary sources. They commonly agree that in his agronomy Columella rarely opposes Vergil’s authority and that disagreement with him is usually voiced in an apologetic tone. This interpretation of Columella’s relationship with Vergil, however, conflicts with the author’s alleged independent and critical treatment of his sources, as well as with his optimistic pursuit of technical progress, which involves condemning “a too great deference to the ancients” (Colum. 2.1.2 nimio fauore priscorum). Christiane Reitz has highlighted this discrepancy in a recent paper (2017, 219) in which she examines Columella’s emphasis on the value of personal experience and innovation: “The praise of experiment gains more force through a quotation of Vergil. Does it not seem paradoxical that Columella first questions the authorities, but then cites Vergil?” In my contribution, I take up her observations and suggest the following solution: 1) Columellaʼs reverence for Vergil and his diuinum carmen follows a didactic strategy. By playing the fervent admirer of the Georgics, Columella provides his readers with the opportunity to resist the persuasive force of didactic poetry, helping them to develop their own independent and critical thinking further. 2) By allowing for a more playful treatment of Vergil, I intend to show that Columella’s criticism of Vergil is by no means negligible, but in fact substantial: Vergil’s teachings are often disproved and amended, and criticism is raised, albeit in a subtle and playful way. Concerning the authorities for agricultural writing Columella distinguishes between technical and stylistic excellence. By teaching this distinction to his readers, Columella applies the guidelines that already Cicero has set out for a disputatio: “In a disputatio it is not so much the weight of authority as of reason that should be demanded” (Cic. Nat. Deor. 1.10).

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter I
  2. Inhalt VII
  3. Vorwort XI
  4. Laudatio XIII
  5. Kurzvita XVII
  6. Schriftenverzeichnis von Christiane Reitz XIX
  7. Tabula gratulatoria XXVII
  8. Autorenverzeichnis XXXIII
  9. Teil I: Die Tradition der epischen Dichtung von Homer bis Milton: Ambivalentes Heldentum und der epische Raum
  10. Einleitung 3
  11. Phoinix über die Verblendung des Helden 7
  12. Aeneas and Octavian: The Sharing of Epic Identity 37
  13. Resonantia saxa – Scylla und die Mauern von Megara (Ov. Met. 8.6–154) 71
  14. Iterum Philippi. La ‘doppiezza di Filippi’ da Virgilio a Lucano 91
  15. „Zweimal Emathien“: Das Proöm zu Lucans Bellum Ciuile und die Georgica Vergils 121
  16. Killed by Friendly Fire. Divine Scheming and Fatal Miscommunication in Valerius Flaccus’ Cyzicus Episode 145
  17. La mort de Tydée dans la Thébaïde de Stace 181
  18. Regulus and the Inconsistencies of Fame in Silius Italicus’ Punica 201
  19. The Vertical Axis in Classical and Post- Classical Epic 219
  20. Teil II: Literarische Autorität: Dichter, Gattungskonventionen und Erneuerung
  21. Einleitung 241
  22. Numerosus Horatius. Metren und inhaltliche Bezüge im ersten Odenbuch des Horaz 245
  23. The Po(e)ts and Pens of Persius’ Third Satire (The Waters of Roman Satire, Part 2) 267
  24. Schlaflos mit Kallimachos. Eine Interpretation von Stat. Silv. 5.4 285
  25. Enthüllte Göttinnen. Der Blick des Dichters (Ovid und Kallimachos) 311
  26. Macht und Übermacht der Tradition. Dichterkataloge in der lateinischen Literatur von Ovid bis Sidonius 335
  27. Der Mythos von Orpheus und Eurydice bei Ovid und Boethius 359
  28. Apuleius in France: La Fontaine’s Psyché and its Apuleian Model 385
  29. Rote Schafe, Goldene Zeit. Ein märchenhaftes Motiv bei Homer, Vergil und Voltaire 401
  30. Eduard Mörikes Roman von Cerinthus und Sulpicia 419
  31. Teil III: Wissensvermittlung in Text und Bild: Rhetorische Exemplarität und didaktische exempla
  32. Einleitung 449
  33. nempe exemplis discimus. Tradition und Beispiel bei Phaedrus (3.9) 455
  34. The Poetry of Animals in Love. A Reading of Oppian’s Halieutica and Cynegetica 473
  35. Beyond the Fence. Columella’s Garden 501
  36. Zur Vereinbarkeit von ratio und reuerentia in Columellas Umgang mit Vergil 515
  37. A Lesson from the East: A New Pattern of Virility in Ovid’s Fasti 547
  38. Mit Alexander dem Großen und Albinovanus Pedo am Ende der Welt 575
  39. The ‘Controversial’ Continence of Scipio in Literature and Art: Gellius’ Noctes Atticae and Nicolò dell’Abate 595
  40. Titi summa clementia. Unbeachtete Zeugen für ein sprichwörtliches Herrscherbild 617
  41. Disertus vel desertus (Aug. Conf. 2.3.5) 637
  42. The Endeavours and exempla of the German Refugee Classicists Eva Lehmann Fiesel and Ruth Fiesel 655
  43. Bibliography 689
https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110612516-025

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter I
  2. Inhalt VII
  3. Vorwort XI
  4. Laudatio XIII
  5. Kurzvita XVII
  6. Schriftenverzeichnis von Christiane Reitz XIX
  7. Tabula gratulatoria XXVII
  8. Autorenverzeichnis XXXIII
  9. Teil I: Die Tradition der epischen Dichtung von Homer bis Milton: Ambivalentes Heldentum und der epische Raum
  10. Einleitung 3
  11. Phoinix über die Verblendung des Helden 7
  12. Aeneas and Octavian: The Sharing of Epic Identity 37
  13. Resonantia saxa – Scylla und die Mauern von Megara (Ov. Met. 8.6–154) 71
  14. Iterum Philippi. La ‘doppiezza di Filippi’ da Virgilio a Lucano 91
  15. „Zweimal Emathien“: Das Proöm zu Lucans Bellum Ciuile und die Georgica Vergils 121
  16. Killed by Friendly Fire. Divine Scheming and Fatal Miscommunication in Valerius Flaccus’ Cyzicus Episode 145
  17. La mort de Tydée dans la Thébaïde de Stace 181
  18. Regulus and the Inconsistencies of Fame in Silius Italicus’ Punica 201
  19. The Vertical Axis in Classical and Post- Classical Epic 219
  20. Teil II: Literarische Autorität: Dichter, Gattungskonventionen und Erneuerung
  21. Einleitung 241
  22. Numerosus Horatius. Metren und inhaltliche Bezüge im ersten Odenbuch des Horaz 245
  23. The Po(e)ts and Pens of Persius’ Third Satire (The Waters of Roman Satire, Part 2) 267
  24. Schlaflos mit Kallimachos. Eine Interpretation von Stat. Silv. 5.4 285
  25. Enthüllte Göttinnen. Der Blick des Dichters (Ovid und Kallimachos) 311
  26. Macht und Übermacht der Tradition. Dichterkataloge in der lateinischen Literatur von Ovid bis Sidonius 335
  27. Der Mythos von Orpheus und Eurydice bei Ovid und Boethius 359
  28. Apuleius in France: La Fontaine’s Psyché and its Apuleian Model 385
  29. Rote Schafe, Goldene Zeit. Ein märchenhaftes Motiv bei Homer, Vergil und Voltaire 401
  30. Eduard Mörikes Roman von Cerinthus und Sulpicia 419
  31. Teil III: Wissensvermittlung in Text und Bild: Rhetorische Exemplarität und didaktische exempla
  32. Einleitung 449
  33. nempe exemplis discimus. Tradition und Beispiel bei Phaedrus (3.9) 455
  34. The Poetry of Animals in Love. A Reading of Oppian’s Halieutica and Cynegetica 473
  35. Beyond the Fence. Columella’s Garden 501
  36. Zur Vereinbarkeit von ratio und reuerentia in Columellas Umgang mit Vergil 515
  37. A Lesson from the East: A New Pattern of Virility in Ovid’s Fasti 547
  38. Mit Alexander dem Großen und Albinovanus Pedo am Ende der Welt 575
  39. The ‘Controversial’ Continence of Scipio in Literature and Art: Gellius’ Noctes Atticae and Nicolò dell’Abate 595
  40. Titi summa clementia. Unbeachtete Zeugen für ein sprichwörtliches Herrscherbild 617
  41. Disertus vel desertus (Aug. Conf. 2.3.5) 637
  42. The Endeavours and exempla of the German Refugee Classicists Eva Lehmann Fiesel and Ruth Fiesel 655
  43. Bibliography 689
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