TY - JOUR
T1 - Fire and human error in Vergil's second Georgic
AU - Nappa, Christopher
PY - 2003
Y1 - 2003
N2 - At Georgics 2.303-14, a devastating fire rages through an olive grove with tragic consequences. The poet's description of the fire emphasizes that a major aspect of labor, one of the poem's crucial themes, is the accuracy with which his precepts are carried out; the fire makes it clear that human error often lies at the root of human failure. This reading can shed light on current debates surrounding the overall tenor of the poem, which allows for the possibility of both failure and success and, at least here, puts the choice between the two squarely in human hands.
AB - At Georgics 2.303-14, a devastating fire rages through an olive grove with tragic consequences. The poet's description of the fire emphasizes that a major aspect of labor, one of the poem's crucial themes, is the accuracy with which his precepts are carried out; the fire makes it clear that human error often lies at the root of human failure. This reading can shed light on current debates surrounding the overall tenor of the poem, which allows for the possibility of both failure and success and, at least here, puts the choice between the two squarely in human hands.
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U2 - 10.1353/ajp.2003.0024
DO - 10.1353/ajp.2003.0024
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:70449982188
SN - 0002-9475
VL - 124
SP - 39
EP - 56
JO - American Journal of Philology
JF - American Journal of Philology
IS - 1
ER -