Aquinum 2

In the recent post on Aquinum, I forgot to mention that I also saw a nice classical reference in modern-day Aquino in the large piazza in front of the main church in town. On a monument to soldiers fallen in battle one finds the following:

Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori is from Horace Odes 3.2. Here is the text of the whole ode:

Angustam amice pauperiem pati
robustus acri militia puer
condiscat et Parthos ferocis
uexet eques metuendus hasta

uitamque sub diuo et trepidis agat 5
in rebus. Illum ex moenibus hosticis
matrona bellantis tyranni
prospiciens et adulta uirgo

suspiret, eheu, ne rudis agminum
sponsus lacessat regius asperum 10
tactu leonem, quem cruenta
per medias rapit ira caedes.

Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori:
mors et fugacem persequitur uirum
nec parcit inbellis iuuentae
poplitibus timidoue tergo. 15

Virtus, repulsae nescia sordidae,
intaminatis fulget honoribus
nec sumit aut ponit securis
arbitrio popularis aurae. 20

Virtus, recludens inmeritis mori
caelum, negata temptat iter uia
coetusque uolgaris et udam
spernit humum fugiente pinna.

Est et fideli tuta silentio 25
merces: uetabo, qui Cereris sacrum
uolgarit arcanae, sub isdem
sit trabibus fragilemque mecum

soluat phaselon; saepe Diespiter
neglectus incesto addidit integrum, 30
raro antecedentem scelestum
deseruit pede Poena claudo.

More on Fifth-Foot Spondees (Updated)

I was surprised to find not just one, but two fifth-foot spondees in Ausonius' Versus Paschales, found under heading IV in Green's edition--a poem of only 31 lines. Moreover, the two lines come in quick succession, only separated by one line. Here are lines 21-5:

trina fides auctore uno, spes certa salutis
hunc numerum iunctis virtutibus amplectenti.
tale et terrenis specimen spectatur in oris
Augustus genitor, geminum sator Augustorum...

Update: Upon looking through Green's commentary, I realized I missed a third spondeiazon, which comes only three lines after the last one mentioned:

...omnia solus habens atque omnia dilargitus. (28)

This really is remarkable--three spondeizontes within six lines?

For readers interested in the interpretation of this poem (and it is, to my mind, a very interesting poem), Green points us to the treatment of J.-L. Charlet entitled 'Theologie, politique et rhetorique: la celebration poetique de Paques a la cour de Valentinien et d'Honorius, d'apres Ausone (Versus Paschales) et Claudien (de Salvatore)', found on pp. 259-87 in La Poesia tardo-antica: tra retorica, teologia e politica (Messina 1984).

Where's the ACL?

The American Classical League's web server can not currently be found. Does anyone know why?

How are folks like me supposed to find a job?

In other news, I'm reading the Apology with my ninth grade student, a budding linguist who is further along in Greek than the students at the college who started at the same time.

After April 1st I'll be reading book 2 of Plato's Republic with J, AKA 'the Hawk' (no foolin'). We read book 1 with Eric while taking Greek Rose Comp with Gil Prose.

As my thesis winds down I'll find plenty more classical stuff to blog about. Right now hazy chronology and the technical nature of metrical analysis have been stealing my time, and don't seem very blogworthy.

I will say, though, that Byzantine scholarship has really grabbed my attention. I'd like to continue with that once this work is done, though I'd first like to make up for all the ancient classics I've never had much of a chance to read. Can you imagine tragedy and comedy never even being offered during my graduate career?