Sunt Lacrimae Rerum: Aeneas' Pity in the Aeneid

This thesis examines significant moments in the Aeneid where Aeneas reacts to the sufferings of others, analyzing how his response to that suffering changes over the course of the epic. I argue that Aeneas passes through three stages in his response to the suffering of others. In stage one, during the fall of Troy, Aeneas exhibits a form of pity comparable to Aristotle’s definition, relating to the pain around him through anxiety for himself and his family; in addition, he feels not pity alone but horror as well. In stage two, during his interactions with Dido, Aeneas mirrors the distance and resistance to painful compassion enjoined by Lucretius’ philosophy, which encouraged its adherents to instead embody untroubled serenity. In stage three, during his interactions with Dido’s ghost, Lausus, and Evander, Aeneas develops a more mature and deeply compassionate response to suffering. In this stage, he imaginatively enters the experience of others, accepts responsibility when appropriate, and offers aid when possible. As Virgil develops Aeneas’ character, he moves him beyond the models of pity displayed in the first and second stages; at the same time, he reveals the futility of Aeneas’ newfound compassion within the tragic divine framework of the Aeneid.