The Aeneid (Everyman's Library)

Rating:
Summary: A worthwhile purchase
Review: I am currently in the process of re-reading this translation of Vergil's Aeneid. When I first read it, I had much less experience in Latin than I now have. Thus, the language seemed cumbersome to me, and the story was simply a rather uninteresting spin-off of Homer's classics.
For my senior year of hich scool, I studied the original Latin of the Aeneid, and have come to a greater appreciation for the poetic beauty and complexity which is wrought throughout the work. Occasionally I resorted to Fitsgerald's translation to see exactly how my rendering compares with his, and this is where I feel the books few weaknesses became transparent.
Fitzgerald's translation is a noble contribution to English verse in its own right. His variety of word choice and understnading of the original texts makes this translation one of the best. However, for someone like myself, who wants to compare translations, the lines of the book are numbered accoriding to how Fitsgerald has translated them. For example, the first page shows 26 lines, while covering only the first 16 lines of the first book. This can be annoying, but it is truly minor if one is reading Vergil for pleasure.
The other weakness (and this can hardly be considered one) relates to Fitxgerald's translational style as a whole. For those of you who are Bible translation-buffs, I think that Fitzgerald captures Vergil's original meaning as well as the NLT (New Living Translation) retains the sense of the Biblical texts. This is not an indictment of the NLT, but merely a comparison. And like the NLT, this translation has its rightful place on the shelf of any serious Latin scholar. However, for those of us who are more literal-minded, a more literal transation may be better.
On the whole, a great book.

Rating:
Summary: Virgil and Fitzegerald - an excellent edition.
Review: (NOTE: This review deals entirely with Fitzgerald's translation.)

The Aeneid is often called the founding epic of the Roman Empire. I think this requires a little explanation. The Romans absorbed almost completely the culture and art of Greece, and Homer's 'Illiad' and "Oddessy' were well known to the Romans. Virgil's 'Aeneid' is stylistically derived from Homer, but Virgil breaks new ground as well. Virgil's is much more of a national epic, and of course Homer couldn't be as nationalistic since Greece was not a nation in the same sense that Rome was. Also, Virgil is writing centuries after Homer and the events depicted in the 'Aeneid'. A lot of the story foreshadows the future of Rome and Virgil is writing about Rome's (mythical) history only to put his present day Rome in context. For example, he explains why there was such a national enmity between the Rome and the Carthage, why Latin came to be spoken in Rome, and he alludes to the origin of several famous Roman gens, including the 'Julius'. Any student of the classics will appreciate the mythological world created here by Virgil.

The translation by Fitzgerald is very good. The problem of translating poetry is twofold: stick to a literal translation, and you loose the verse; try to keep the verse and you probably will have a hard time staying true to the text. Fitzgerald's translation is in verse, and it is very lucid and flowing, not at all difficult to read. He may at times take some artistic license from time to time for the sake of preserving the verse, but I have the feeling he has stayed very close to the Latin text, and there is something to be said for reading the book as Virgil intended it - in verse.

Lastly, I recommend this particular edition (Everyman's Library, ISBN 0679413359) because of the introduction (Philip Hardie), the Post Script (Fitzgerald) and the extensive notes (Fitzgerald) on each chapter, explaining much that the casual reader would otherwise miss in reading such an historically loaded book. There is also a index of the people and places mentioned in the book, which is absolutely essential given the various people and events Virgil alludes to.

By the way, Fitzgerald has also translated the 'Illiad' and "Oddessy', and I would recommend those translations as well. Indeed, it would be best if you were to read: 'Illiad' and "Oddessy' by Homer, 'War at Troy' by Quintus of Smyrna, 'Annals' by Tacitus, and some of the relevant lives from Plutarch. Although this is certainly not required to enjoy the 'Aeneid', it would help the reader get more out of the book.

Rating:
Summary: A Pretty Good Translation
Review: I read the Aeneid in high school in the original Latin, and I now realize it was one of the formative experiences of my life. My Latin teacher knew all 12 books in the original Latin backward and forward, and the class was really something else! Fitzgerald's translation is pretty faithful to the original Latin, and he captures the original feeling as well as the meaning of what the great poet intended to convey. However, I have to say that Fitzgaerald is a bit too literal. He doesn't try to make it relevant for a modern audience the same way that Robert Fagles has recently done for both the Iliad and the Odyssey. We need a translator who can capture the verve as well as the grammar if Vergil is to be made available to modern readers as recent translations of Danta, Horace and Aeschylus have done. Until then, however, I think it's safe to stick with Fitzgerald (although I would recommend Dryden just for the experience!).

Rating:
Summary: Incomparable
Review: It's Virgil's answer to Homer. It's Rome's answer to Troy.Virgil may have imitated Homer, but he did not imitate his language and this remains the finest example of literary genius in the Latin language. It has been splendidly translated in this Everyman edition.

Rating:
Summary: why don't we still learn Latin?
Review: One of the first great literary works of Western Civilization, The Aeneid is the founding epic of Rome, making the case for a sort of Roman version of Manifest Destiny. It picks up with the fall of Troy and follows Aeneas and a hardy band of survivors through their victory over and fusion with the Latins. Along the way, it explains the undying enmity between Rome and Carthage, as Aeneas abandons his lover Dido, Queen of Carthage, and, in its day, it served as a justification for the rise and rule of Caesar Augustus, portraying the Roman Empire as predestined and paralleling Aeneas and Augustus as instruments of that destiny. In fact, Virgil, despite over a decade of effort, considered the work to be unfinished and unworthy, so he requested that it be burned upon his death, but Augustus, thankfully, intervened and saved it.

One interesting facet of the story is that Aeneas himself often takes a back seat to other characters. In particular Dido and the Latin warrior Turnus, prince of the Rutulians. Indeed, Turnus emerges as one of the great heroes in literature as he struggles against the fates and he wars against Aeneas and the Trojans, whom the gods have decreed will rule all of Italy.

One of the great tragedies of modern education is the rarity of Latin and Greek in the curriculum, replaced by French and Spanish. Hard to believe I wasted 6 years on Spanish classes (never learning to conjugate verbs mind you) when we could have been learning not merely the languages upon so much of English is based, but also studying the great seminal works of Western Civilization. The epic poems of Virgil and Homer remain vital to our culture and remain well worth reading.

GRADE: A

Rating:
Summary: ONE OF THE GREAT BOOKS
Review: Virgil's Aeneid is one of the great books the geniuses of humanity have written. Great is the tale, great is the sense and perception about the human affairs. Just like a classic, it impossible to describe its greatness on few lines, or even on many, because the light of the genius brights above it all.

Rating:
Summary: Still a Classic
Review: Well bound good translation. Worth a long intense read if you haven't read it, but keep a pad ready if you want to keep extensive track of the universe that is a bit different from our own. Don't confuse Virgil's world with the poor imitation that Hollywood has put forth.

Rating:
Summary: An excellent version of this classic epic
Review: What can be said about this classic masterpiece in epic poetry? Virgil clearly emanated the Homeric style of epic, and his debt to Homer is very apparent in this work. Still, it retains a style and flavor all its own. The poem tells the story of Aeneas, the Trojan hero from the Iliad who survived to found the Roman race in Italy. The first half of the poem are his adventures in reaching Italy (comparable to the Odyssey), and the second half deal with the war that results from his landing there (comparable to the Iliad).

It is said that Virgil wrote this poem at least partially in hopes of fostering the national sentiment of the Romans, of making them proud of their heritage, and of uniting them in a common ancestry. His motives are very clear--there are a number of references to the future glory of Rome, and various visions of the leaders and generals who would bring Rome her greatest glory. Interestingly, this poem was never completed, and Virgil, on his deathbed, asked that it be destroyed. It was preserved, however, by Augustus, and so we have it in its mostly finished form today.

This translation by Fitzgerald is excellent. Like his translations of Homer, Fitzgerald's Aeneid flows very smoothly, and stays true to the feel of the original. Also, there is a postscript in the back detailing both the history of the times, and various events in Virgil's life. This postscript is very helpful in understanding the world in which the poet lived.

There is also a glossary of names in the back, very useful for keeping all the people, places, and deity straight. The Everyman's binding is a great way to go at an affordable price. All in all, this version of The Aenied is very satisfying. I highly recommend it.