Everyone agrees that warfare is an undesirable fact of our world’s history, examples such as the war in the Aeneid show us the gruesome and dehumanizing effects battle can bring to people and nations. However, it is disputed over what the Virgil intended the Aeneid to portray about war. Some say the book is meant to display that war can be justified, however, I believe this book is meant to not state whether or not war is right or wrong, but to show us that war is a disgusting, brutal and sometimes idiotic means of settling differences. There are many examples of this in the Aeneid to back up this statement, such as the means of war, a quote from Juno, and a quote from Virgil himself.
The first proof that shows Virgil’s disgust for war is the means of which they start. From the beginning of the story Virgil reveals what he thinks about war by …show more content…
This quote is much less subtle then the quote from Juno, it is written by Virgil himself, not a page after Juno’s anti-war testimony. Again in chapter seven, Virgil states, “Then driven wild, shouting for arms, for arms he ransacked house and chamber. Lust of steel raged in him, brute insanity of war, and wrath above all, as when fiery sticks are piled with a loud crackling by the side of a caldron boiling, and the water heaves and seethes inside the vessel, steaming up with foam, and bubbling higher, till the surface holds no more, and vapor mounts to heaven.” These lines describe the reaction of Turnus, immediately after the Fury Allecto has convinced him to make war against the Trojans. Not only is this an amazing discretion but it also gives us insight into Virgil’s thoughts. Phrases like driven wild, ransacked, lust for steel, rage, and brute insanity show us how very primitive and inhuman Turnus becomes when he decides to go to war. How Virgil words Turnus in this paragraph shows us how degrading to humanity war is to
The first proof that shows Virgil’s disgust for war is the means of which they start. From the beginning of the story Virgil reveals what he thinks about war by …show more content…
This quote is much less subtle then the quote from Juno, it is written by Virgil himself, not a page after Juno’s anti-war testimony. Again in chapter seven, Virgil states, “Then driven wild, shouting for arms, for arms he ransacked house and chamber. Lust of steel raged in him, brute insanity of war, and wrath above all, as when fiery sticks are piled with a loud crackling by the side of a caldron boiling, and the water heaves and seethes inside the vessel, steaming up with foam, and bubbling higher, till the surface holds no more, and vapor mounts to heaven.” These lines describe the reaction of Turnus, immediately after the Fury Allecto has convinced him to make war against the Trojans. Not only is this an amazing discretion but it also gives us insight into Virgil’s thoughts. Phrases like driven wild, ransacked, lust for steel, rage, and brute insanity show us how very primitive and inhuman Turnus becomes when he decides to go to war. How Virgil words Turnus in this paragraph shows us how degrading to humanity war is to