Ronald Knox’s Lectures on Virgil’s Aeneid: With Introduction and Critical Essays

This book makes available Ronald Knox’s hitherto unpublished lectures on Virgil’s Aeneid delivered at Trinity College, Oxford, as part of a lecture course on Virgil in 1912. Written with Knox’s customary incisiveness and with frequent allusions to contemporary life, the lectures are devoted to the appreciation of the Aeneid and focus on what he called the ‘essential and dominant characteristics’ that make up its greatness. They deal with Virgil’s political and religious outlook, ideas of the afterlife, sense of romance and pathos, narrative style, sources, versification and appreciation of scenery. His interpretation of the relationship between Dido and Aeneas renders redundant the question, much debated to this day, of whether Aeneas loved Dido, and also portrays Aeneas more sympathetically than is currently fashionable. The additional introductory and critical essays by the contributors place the lectures in their historical and scholarly context, bring out their enduring relevance and illustrate how Ronald Knox’s distinctive approach might be still developed to advantage. As Robert Speaight noted in his presidential address to the Virgil Society in 1958, ‘many of us who love our Virgil will now understand him better because Ronald Knox loved and understood him so well’. This book makes available for the first time Ronald Knox’s hitherto unpublished lectures on Virgil’s Aeneid delivered at Trinity College, Oxford, in 1912 as part of a lecture course on Virgil. Knox’s extraordinary facility in Latin and Greek was widely recognized by his contemporaries and Virgil was a constant companion throughout his life, both before and after his ordination to the priesthood. The Trinity lectures, written with Knox’s customary wit and incisiveness, enlivened with frequent allusions to contemporary life, focus on what he called the ‘essential and dominant characteristics’ that make up the poem’s charm and greatness. They deal with Virgil’s political and religious outlook, ideas of the afterlife, sense of romance and pathos, narrative style, sources, versification and appreciation of scenery. The foreword, introduction and three essays by modern scholars supplement the text of Knox’s lectures and make apparent their enduring relevance. Robert Speaight recognized these qualities and urged that they be published. In his presidential address in memory of Ronald Knox to the Virgil Society in 1958, he noted that ‘many of us who love our Virgil will now understand him better because Ronald Knox loved and understood him so well’. Certainly, his ingenious and unconventional interpretations will intrigue scholars and students alike.