Virtues From the Journey, Essay Example

This philosophical analysis will compare the context and framework of two stories. The first story is found in the novel of “The Aeneid”, written by Virgil (sometimes spelled Vergil) is the great story of Aeneas, who was the believed son of the Trojan Prince, Anchises, and the Goddess Venus. Aeneas had courageously protected Troy until the time which it was burnt down by the ancient Greek armies after ten of war.

Now the oracles predict in the form of a prophecy, that the destiny for him as the original founder of the city state of ancient Rome, where he must compel his son Ascanius as he is called while the remainder of the Trojan armies have already abandon their city’s ruin. The character utilization, framework, setting, story line, and symbolism are all considered to be important elements of analyzing this literate novel of art.

Virgil, who was a successful Roman poet, was given credit for what is regarded as a well-known masterpiece in The Aeneid. This piece of writing was widely regarded as probably the most inspirational work of literate art that was ever produced in the times of ancient Rome. The poet Virgil was originally born under the name Publius Vergilius Maro. He comes from Andes, which is a village located in the northern part of Italy located around the area of Mantua.

The Aeneid is greatly regarded as the initial greatest literary work of art. This is adverse to the work of poetry known as Iliad, which was produced with profound literary artistry yet is considered in essence as verbal poetry. The Aeneid, unlike the Iliad poetry or even the Bible, is not a handed down piece relating to national sensibility. The Aeneid is rather a premeditated pursuit by Virgil, given at the orders of Augustus, to exalt ancient Rome by celebrating the assumed Trojan ancestry of its peoples and, particularly, the accomplishments as well as the ideals of Rome under the new ruler.

These historical elements relating to Augustan tradition are more so extrusive between the books of five through eight. These books are strongly considered as the central pieces of the poem. Because of its inspirational designs, the smooth luxury of its genre, and its profound humanity, however, the Aeneid book is able to achieve a universal vision.

The Aeneid had eventually become a classical piece of artistic and literate work in its own time. Throughout the times of these Middle Ages, various philosophical substances were read into it, and Virgil was often considered to be a psychic, or even a prophet, and at many times a magician. When the Roman soldiers over took the vestige of Alexander’s empire back in the year 168 BC, they also were able to conquer what were known as the Greek states at the time. The Romans then soon realized the rare event of what it was that they had actually achieved. “Captured Greece captured its fierce conqueror,” were the words inscribed by the Roman poet known as Horace.

His perspective was that the Romans had realized something that was founded within the Greek ethnicity that happened to be more remarkable than just about anything else that the ancient Rome itself had previously been able to accomplish. This was all due to that of the ancient Rome’s bizarre militant related successes. The end result was that the ancient Roman ethnicity had adapted their people into the structure of Greece, which was primarily in the elements of art, religious beliefs, as well as artistic writings. Roman statues of art, churches, cathedrals, as well as building structures were all restructured in imitation to greatly resemble those found in Greece culture.

This text by Virgil clearly portrays the story of a journey about the development of the ancient Roman Empire. It is comprised of mostly historical events relating to ancient Rome but in a fictional sense. This journey is unique in the sense that it is a fictional story containing elements from reality, such as the development of ancient Rome.

The next story if found in an autobiography which was entitled “Confessions”. This story was written by St. Augustine of Hippo who simply goes by Augustine. This work of literate art was comprised of thirteen books all of which were written in the Latin language between 397 and 400 AD. The work is a recapitulation Augustine’s rather sinful youth life and his changeover to Christianity. This collection of books is widely regarded as the first Western autobiography ever written, and was an inspirational model for many other Christian writers throughout the following thousand years to come which took place through the Middle Ages.

Augustine titled his profoundly philosophical as well as theological auto-biography with the inscription Confessions in order to suggest two elements of the form which the work would manifest into. The first form of the word which was to confess, in Augustine’s ancient times, meant both to give a responsibility to one’s own faults to God and also to give praise to God or to profess one’s love for God.

These two perspectives are drawn together in the book Confessions in a mature but composite sense. Augustine narrates his own ascendance from sinfulness to faithfulness not just for the simplicity of the practical betterment of his audience, but also because he truly believes that narrative itself to be a story of God’s beauty and of the paramount love that all living beings have for Him. With these factors being considered in the book Confessions, Augustine’s work of literate art makes for content to a great degree.

That is the natural state for Augustine’s life story of redemption to take would be considered as a straight forward address to God himself. This is because Augustine believes that it is God who must be credited for such life redemption. All things being said, a straight forward address to God himself was a very original form of literature for Augustine to have utilized during his time.

This idea from Augustine’s perspectives in his auto-biography should also help the audience to interpret the supposed unbalanced and unusual formation of the writing. The initial nine Books of the Confessions collections are dedicated to the story of Augustine’s life just up until his mother’s passing. However, the last four Books of the Confessions collection make a pivotal, tedious departure into the pure elements of both theology and philosophy.

This change should be interpreted in the same substance as the dual meaning of the word “confessions”. Augustine and the auto-biographical story of his sin compelled life in youth as well as the redemption that followed it is in fact an abstruse religious and philosophical matter. This is because his story is only just one example of the way which all imperfect creations are driven to eventually return to God. Therefore, Augustine’s story of his return to God is first set out in the form of an autobiography, and then into a more conceptual context.

This text by Augustine is different from Virgil’s text in the sense that firstly, it is written in the form of an auto-biography as opposed to a fictional story. Augustine’s auto-biography shows the profound story of his journey from first being a youthful sinner and then realizing his mistakes. After realizing his misdeeds, Augustine is compelled to return to God who he believes is his original creator. This is the classical story of redemption in a religious sense.

We see actually see very similar virtues emphasized in the two texts. Both stories are written to portray a journey to redemption or self-improvement. The story of redemption is both a philosophical and artistic virtue because it is natural for an entity to have the desire of rising again after suffering the hardships of failure.

The endpoints of these two journeys are assumed to shape the narrative of the audience in how they experience these works by demonstrating that any victory must first be realized through a loss in any sense of the word. Such losses in life, religion, war, self-worth, or philosophy must be followed up with the dramatic yet endearing journey that leads to a victory. That is the purpose of these fine works of artistic literature, to show the audience that with any desired victory, first comes the journey to it.

It is possible that the Roman and philosophical virtues displayed in Aeneid may co-exist with the virtues of Christianity simply because the fact is that despite Augustine’s auto-biographical story, Christianity is still not accepted by science as a concept of fact. Christianity carries very similar virtues to those found in Aeneid in regards to moral fiber, ambition, and ethics which somehow make the stories similar from that perspective.