Libro

Descripción

After analyzing the similes in Plato’s Dialogues and Homer’s poems I have worked on similes in the Bible, Lucretius and Vergil. This study will concentrate on the latter two authors, beginning with a discussion of terms: simile, analogy, and figurative versus literal comparisons. I will follow a definition of simile as "a figurative comparison in which both tenor and vehicle are expressed (with or without a prothesis)” in contrast to a metaphor, which is "an implied comparison in which only the vehicle is stated.” This differs slightly from the traditional definition going back to Aristotle (Rhetoric Book 3.4.1-4 [1406b- 1407]), who famously distinguished the two figures by citing an example from the Iliad (e.g., 20.164) where Achilles [tenor] ‘rose up like a lion [vehicle]’ (hôrto leôn hôs). If Homer had said simply “he rose up, a lion” that would be a metaphor since no word is included to indicate the shift in meaning (metaphora) of the word ‘lion’ from its literal to a more symbolic sense. The purpose of this study is to provide translations of all the similes in the six books of Lucretius’ De Rerum Natura and in Vergil’s poems.