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The Aeneid And On The Shortness Of Life

1772 Words8 Pages

The Aeneid is about the story of Aeneas who is on a journey to Italy to found Rome. On the other hand, “On the Shortness of Life” is an essay written by Seneca, the Roman stoic philosopher, who reflects on the brevity of life and urges others to make the most of their life by living virtuously. According to Seneca, the virtuous life is achieved through actions of virtue. Some of the guidelines Seneca gives for living a virtuous life are focusing on what truly matters, maintaining peace of mind, and practicing self-discipline. Virtue is the state of stability and tranquility. Aeneas from The Aeneid is known for being pious, but Aeneas' relationship with virtue is complex. Aeneas’ relationship with virtue is multifaceted, as he displays …show more content…

Aeneas defeats Turnus in The Aeneid and has a moment of hesitation before killing Turnus due to Turnus’ plea for his life. However, when Aeneas sees Pallas’ belt, Aeneas was “Ablaze with rage, awful in anger” (The Aeneid, 12.946) and then cried out, “Should I let you slip away, wearing what you / tore from the one I loved? Pallas sacrifices / you, Pallas punishes your profane blood.” (The Aeneid, 12.947-949) before killing Turnus. By describing Aeneas “ablaze” with his rage, Vergil is creating the imagery of Aeneas consumed by his burning anger, like how one is consumed by flames. In addition to describing Aeneas as ablaze with rage, the use of the phrase “awful in anger” depicts Aeneas’ ferocity and his anger being powerful and terrifying. Through the use of this imagery, Vergil induces the audience into seeing Aeneas as overwhelmed by his anger, that he is no longer in control of his emotions. In which, conveys the intensity of the situation and the emotions that drive Aeneas into killing Turnus. In addition, by utilizing Pallas’ name, Vergil demonstrates Aeneas’ desire to punish Turnus for his actions, to take revenge on Turnus for killing Pallas and Turnus’ other heinous acts. In short, by killing Turnus in revenge for killing Pallas out of anger, Aeneas is succumbing to the vice of revenge. Killing Turnus out of anger is a vice because he …show more content…

As discussed in the essay, Aeneas’ relationship with virtue is complex because he displays moments of true virtue in his decisions along with moments of vice. Aeneas makes the vice decision to stay in Carthage due to his desire for Dido, but makes the virtuous decision to leave Carthage to continue his journey to Rome in order to fulfill his duty. Aeneas also makes the vice decision to kill Turnus out of revenge, but this action could be seen as a virtuous decision as he is working towards his goals and fulfilling his duty as the leader of Rome. This complexity of Aeneas’ relationship with virtue reflects the challenges of being human and the effort to harmonize one’s obligations with one’s true desires. In conclusion, similar to Aeneas, relationships with virtue is not a straightforward concept, but one that requires constant reflection. One can only attempt to live a virtuous life by following the guidelines of virtue, which include indifference, self-control, and focusing on a fixed

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