The Aeneid of Virgil

A bit hard to read...

...and I mean literally not logically. This particular book is a photocopy of a paperback book so the writing is very small even when put to extra, extra large. The full text is there so I am not disappointed with the material.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Perfect for the English Reader or the Latin Lover

What a wondeful translation of Vergil's Aeneid. As a student of the classics, I found Mandelbaum's translation pleasant to read in English, as the verse, which I dislike in most English translations from Latin, flowed smoothly and kept up a lively pace. As a 3rd year Latin student translating the Aenead, it made a perfect reference for checking my translations because it stayed so true to the original Latin without becoming dry to read.

'...each man's relentless longing...'

This review relates to Allen Mandelbaum's English verse translation of Virgil's -Aeneid-. (Bantam Books; 1961/1981). This edition is excellent for the opening 'life' of Virgil, for Mandelbaum's 'Introduction,' and for his verse translation of Virgil's epic (poem) as well. Mandelbaum's explanation for his own overlooking of Virgil's greatness in his youth because of a tendency to listen to the critical perspectives of others who compared him unfavorably to Homer or because the critic saw the heroes depicted as figures who 'live the cool and limited existence of shadows, nourished by the blood of noble zeal, blood that has been sacrificed in the attempt to recall what has forever disappeared,' all mislead (as Mandelbaum now believes) the reader from truly appreciating the depth and fully human awarenesses that Virgil puts into his epic. Some of the 'Introduction,' is too academic and studied in its inspective fussiness, but then Mandelbaum will come up with something enlivening and satisfying like this: 'Virgil does not have Plato's humor; but he does have Platonic tolerance (and more compassion than Plato). And if the relative weights of the Epicurean, the Stoic, the Pythagorean in him are often hard to assess, his humanity is constant -- and vital, not lumbering, not marmoreal. And not shrill; and when, with the goad of public despair, my own poetic voice has had to struggle often with shrillness, the work on this translation has been most welcome.' Wondrous and insightful. Mandelbaum's verse translation: 'Their minds and hearts were one;/in war they charged together; and now, too,/they shared a sentry station at one gate./ And Nisus says: 'Euryalus, is it/the gods who put this fire in our minds,/or is it that each man's relentless longing becomes a god to him?''

The Aeneid- Great Book

The Aeneid is a great book for an itelligent teenager or interested adult. The book is very detailed and in depth. I would suggest foot notes for this book. It introduces many characters and in depth ideas.

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