Virgil: The Power Of Civic Duty
264 Words2 Pages
The metaphor that Virgil uses to underscore the power of civic duty and responsibility to overcome the demands of human love with a group of ants. Virgil writes “Bustling about their business, a black line moving; The way ants do when they remember winter; And raid a hill of grain, to haul and store it; At home, across the plain, the column moving; In think black line through the grass, part of them shoving; Great seeds on little shoulders, and part bossing” (Lines 120-125). The ants are able to perform their civic duty and still find a way to love those around them and help them with their struggles. Dido demonstrates the opposite of this because she weeps as civic duty is being performed. She is saddened that Aeneas must leave her in order