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Why can't Aeneas, instead of "forgetting the validity" of pietas when overtaken by grief for Pallas, feel trapped and frustrated by it? After all he has sacrificed and after having the leadership and hope of a nation of refugees thrust upon him, when he would have so gladly died pointlessly defending Troy, isn't Aeneas entitled to let loose some of his pent up emotions--not only the grief for Pallas, but all the rage and frustration, the loneliness that have built up over 7 years of wandering and loss?
I continue not to understand why Putnam sees Aeneas' actions in a negative light. To my mind, Aeneas sees himself in Lausus. Even someone as young as myself has experienced the frustration, rage, and desolation of seeing a younger person follow blindly in your own footsteps when you know the hardships that are ahead for them.
To me the scene shows Aeneas, pushed to the breaking point by a dear protege and friend, who he should have protected. As he is raising his sword to kill one of the most nefarious villains of the epic, another young warrior intervenes. Lausus no doubt recalls to Aeneas Pallas, and even Euryalus, these young men who should live instead of reaching for the "glory" that is war. But perhaps worse than the reminder of these young lives taken too soon, Aeneas sees a shadow of himself. Even if Virgil never says so, I think Aeneas words to Lausus ("Whither do you rush, about to die, and dare deeds greater than your strength? Your piety deceives you in your folly." [Putnam 135]) reveal both these things. The question holds him up against Pallas and Euryalus, but the next sentence draws a connection between Lausus and Aeneas. Aeneas, known for his piety, is criticizing it in another. Is it too modern an interpretation to think that Aeneas registers their common virtue, and instead of feeling kinship or some other common feeling with Lausus (which doesn't come until the boy is dead) he feels contempt or frustration. Aeneas has wandered for seven years to fulfill the duty he owes to his descendants, to the gods, he does as his parents--deity and mortal--ask him. When Anchises wanted to die in Troy, he was willing to stay; when Anchises decided to flee, Aeneas carried him to safety.
I continue not to understand why Putnam sees Aeneas' actions in a negative light. To my mind, Aeneas sees himself in Lausus. Even someone as young as myself has experienced the frustration, rage, and desolation of seeing a younger person follow blindly in your own footsteps when you know the hardships that are ahead for them.
To me the scene shows Aeneas, pushed to the breaking point by a dear protege and friend, who he should have protected. As he is raising his sword to kill one of the most nefarious villains of the epic, another young warrior intervenes. Lausus no doubt recalls to Aeneas Pallas, and even Euryalus, these young men who should live instead of reaching for the "glory" that is war. But perhaps worse than the reminder of these young lives taken too soon, Aeneas sees a shadow of himself. Even if Virgil never says so, I think Aeneas words to Lausus ("Whither do you rush, about to die, and dare deeds greater than your strength? Your piety deceives you in your folly." [Putnam 135]) reveal both these things. The question holds him up against Pallas and Euryalus, but the next sentence draws a connection between Lausus and Aeneas. Aeneas, known for his piety, is criticizing it in another. Is it too modern an interpretation to think that Aeneas registers their common virtue, and instead of feeling kinship or some other common feeling with Lausus (which doesn't come until the boy is dead) he feels contempt or frustration. Aeneas has wandered for seven years to fulfill the duty he owes to his descendants, to the gods, he does as his parents--deity and mortal--ask him. When Anchises wanted to die in Troy, he was willing to stay; when Anchises decided to flee, Aeneas carried him to safety.
