pg 63 Quaestio

The specific aspect of Vergil's characterization of the great man he uses in his extended simile that prompts the reader to compare this man to Aeneas himself is the use of 'pietAte..virum' in line 151. In line 10, when Vergil first mentions Aeneas in this epic, he uses that same exact phrase, 'pietAte virum'. It is even the same form of both words. He describes this great man who is able to soothe the upset crowd as a devoted man, just as he describes Aeneas and makes the case that Juno should not be putting such a devoted man through the horrible troubles she was. He uses this to say that Aeneas can do what the man in his simile does. This is shown further in the poem, the part we read in translation. Aeneas gives his men a pep talk, perhaps like the one the great man in the simile could have given, and soothes his upset fleet, most likely worn down and worried about all the lost men. Therefore, Vergil describes the man in his simile and Aeneas as being 'pietAte virum' (line 10 and 151), comparing the two. He later supports that Aeneas is like this man when he gives the soothing speech to his remaining fleet.