Crudelis tu quoque, mater. Sur un passage problématique du chant de Damon (Virgile, VIIIe Bucolique, v. 47-50)

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The verses 47-50 of the eighth Eclogue are very confusing: they refer to personae whose identity can’t be clearly established (crudelis mater, puer improbus). Besides, their inelegantly emphatic form lets us suppose a textual corruption. Yet, an intertextual approach helps us to shed light on the meaning of the passage: the portrayal of incest in Catullian Carmen 64 (v. 403-406) − which obviously influenced Virgil − is very close to Virgilian verses, and takes place in a similar context: the depiction of crimes induced by Love. Hence our hypothesis that the ‘cruel mother’ (crudelis mater) and the ‘indecent child’ (improbus puer) are mentioned as an anonymous exemplum of incest.

 

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