Manilius: Poetry & Science after Vergil
by Mary Pendergraft, Wake Forest University
Manilius' evocation of Vergil is more subtle and more far-reaching than his relationship to Lucretius: His own language is steeped in Vergil's; the structure of his poem appears to be influenced by that of the Georgics, as the inclusion of this tiny epyllion of Perseus & Andromeda in Bk 5 seems to designed to correspond to that of Orpheus & Eurydice in Georgics 4. (At the same time the choice of this story seems to depend on Ovid's Metamorphoses). As we’ve seen, it’s possible to understand his entire undertaking in this massive poem as a response to Vergil's ideal poem of Georgics 2 and Aeneid 1. In fact, he addresses all the topics about which Iopas sang, and about which Vergil longed to sing. The paths of heaven and the stars are indeed the core material of his new song, and it is his determination to recount all the lore of astrology that make the poem such a challenge for its readers, for instance, lunar eclipses and lunar cycles:
Astronomica 1.221-26
te testem dat, luna, sui glomeraminis orbis,
quae cum mersa mnigris per nocem deficis umbris,
non omnis pariter confundis sidere gentes,
sed prius eoae quaerunt tua lumina terrae,
post medio subiecta polo quaecumque coluntur,
seraque in hesperiis quatiuntur gentibus aera.
The earth makes you, O Moon, a witness to its roundness: when at night your star is plunged into utter darkness and suffers eclipse, it does not bewilder all nations at the same time; but first the lands of the orient miss your light, then the places situated beneath the middle sky, and late is the brass clashed among the peoples of the west. tr. G. P. Goold
Astronomica 2.96-98
atque iterum ex isdem repetis, quantumque reliquit
aut dedit ille, refers et sidus sidere constas;
Thus you too return your features to your brother's car and second time from it reseek them, and as much as he grudged or lavished on you do you reflect, your star dependent on his. tr. G. P. Goold
Manilius may not be able to explain earthquakes and floods (unde tremor terris…) but he points out that their occurrence is simply part of the natural order of things (4.828-29); in lengthy passage he discusses the seasonal changes in the length of day light (3.443-82). Like Iopas Manilius sings of Arcturus (1.316-18) and of the Bears (5.119). His most important response to Vergil, though, lies in his answers to the questions beginning with unde: unde hominum genus et pecudes; his answer is deus et ratio et sidera.
Astronomica 2.82-86
hic igitur deus et ratio, quae cuncta gubernat,
ducit ab aetheriis terrena animalia signis,
quae, quamquam longo, cogit, summota recessu,
sentiri tamen, ut vitas ac fata ministrent
gentibus ac proprios per singula corpora mores.
This God and all-controlling reason, then, derives earthly beings from the signs of heaven; though the stars are remote at a far distance, he compels recognition of their influences, that they give to the peoples of the world their lives and destinies and to each man his own character.
tr. G. P. Goold
And in various forms this answer applies to the other questions as well. Furthermore, Manilius insists that to understand the heavens is to understand God, and is characteristic of human kind in contrast to the animals.
Astronomica 4.883-85
iam nusquam natura latet; pervidimus omnem
et capto potimur mundo nostrumque parentem
pars sua perspicimus genitique accedimus astris.
Now nature holds no mysteries for us; we have surveyed it in its entirety and are masters of the conquered sky; we perceive our creator, of whom we are part, and rise to the stars, whose children we are.
tr. G. P. Goold
Astronomica 4.893-97
quid mirum, noscere mundum
si possunt homines, quibus est et mundus in ipsis
exemplumque dei quisque est in imagine parva?
an cuiquam genitos, nisi caelo, credere fas est
esse homines?
Why wonder that that men
can comprehend heaven, when heaven exists in their very beings and each one is in a smaller likeness the image of God himself? Are we to believe that man is born of aught but heaven? tr. G. P. Goold
Manilius stresses God’s eagerness for us to understand his heavens:
Astronomica 4.915-19
atque ideo faciem caeli non invidet orbi
ipse deus vultusque suos corpusque recludit
volvendo semper seque ipsum inculcat et offert,
ut bene cognosci possit doceatque videntis,
qualis eat, cogatque suas attendere leges.
God grudges not the earth the sight of heaven but reveals his face and form by ceaseless revolution, offering, nay impressing, himself upon us to the end that he can be truly known, can teach his nature to those who have eyes to see, and can compel them to mark his laws. tr. G. P. Goold
And this knowledge, Manilius assures his reader, is within our grasp, because "reason is what triumphs over all"--ratio omnia vincit (4.932; Goold’s translation). This phrase evokes its familiar ancestor from Georgics I: omnia vicit labor/improbus-- "Toil mastered everything, relentless toil" (I.145-46).The context of Vergil's dictum is, you remember, how the arts of civilization developed in order to provide humankind a livelihood, since Jupiter had determined that their lives would not be easy.
Curiously, when Lucretius had surveyed the growth of human society, he summarizes progress in this way:
Lucretius DNR 5.1448-57
Navigia atque agri culturas moenia leges
arma vias vestes [et] cetera de genere horum,
praemia, delicias quoque vitae funditus omnis,
carmina, picturas et daedala signa polita
usus et impigrae simul experientia mentis
paulatim docuit pedetemptim progredientis.
sic unum quicquid paulatim protrahit aetas
in medium ratioque in luminis erigit oras;
namque alid ex alio clarescere corde videbant,
artibus ad summum donec venere cacumen.
Seafaring and farming, city walls, and laws
And arms, roads, clothing, and all such other things,
All the rewards, all the delights of life,
Songs, pictures, statues curiously wrought,
All these they learnt by practice gradually
And by experiments of eager minds
As step by step they made their forward ways
So each thing in its turn by slow degrees
Time doth bring forward to the lives of men,
And reason lifts it to the light of day.
For as one concept followed on another
Men saw it form and brighten in their minds
till by their arts they scaled the highest peak. tr. Melville
Apparently here Manilius agrees with Lucretius about the power of ratio to improve the lot of humankinds, and he goes as far as to correct Vergil in an unmistakable way. This example leads us back to my earlier assertion, that to see where Manilius differs from Vergil can perhaps help us to think about Vergil more clearly. Think of the questions this notion can open for your class: Does Vergil seem to doubt the power of reason? Is Tennyson right when he calls Vergil majestic in his sadness at the doubtful doom of human kind?
If Manilius’ formidable poem can help spark discussions like this, time spent with it will be well invested.
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