Meta Description: Join Dr. Jeff Winkle and Dr. David Noe in Ad Navseam Episode 186 as they explore the Romantic era’s complicated relationship with the classics. Discover Nathaniel Hawthorne’s disdain for antiquities, Margaret Fuller’s mythological abstractions, and resources to master the Latin language.
Introduction: Homeric Barbecues and Summer Travels
Welcome back, classical gourmands, to Episode 186 of the Ad Navseam Podcast! Broadcasting from the subterranean depths of the Vomitorium, your hosts, Dr. David Noe and Dr. Jeff Winkle, return to the microphones to discuss the intersection of classical antiquity and nineteenth-century American literature.
The hosts open the episode by skipping their usual extended banter to provide a brief, focused recap of their recent summer travels. Jeff shares stories from his study abroad trip to Greece, where he guided a dozen students through Athens during a massive summer heatwave, visiting ancient sites like Delphi and the islands of Aegina, Poros, and Hydra. Meanwhile, Dave recounts his extensive travels to Cape Town, South Africa, where he delivered an academic lecture on the French theologian Theodore Beza. Dave also attended a traditional Afrikaner braai (barbecue), comparing the impressive consumption of beef and red wine to the grand feasts of Homeric heroes. With the travelogues concluded, the boys turn their attention to their main text.
The Romantic Shift: From Aristotle to Plato
The core academic focus of Episode 186 is Chapter 5 of Carl Richard’s book, The Golden Age of the Classics in America, which focuses on the Romantic era.
Jeff sets the historical stage by describing the rhythmic, pendulum-like swings of human history. The preceding Enlightenment era was characterized by scientific reasoning, mathematics, and Aristotelian observation—an approach that required humans to look outward to understand the world through their physical senses. The Romantics, however, rejected this mathematical coldness, favoring mysticism, raw emotion, and the untamed divinity of nature. Instead of looking outward, the Romantics adopted a Platonic approach, turning inward to find truth and relying heavily on individual intuition.
Richard notes that this era successfully merged nationalism and democracy with Romanticism to form the first true national literature of the United States. Antebellum figures like Thomas Dew argued that a democratic society possessed the unique capacity to produce great art without the royal patronage that fueled the Augustan Age of Rome. Dew argued that while autocrats like Augustus and Maecenas might fund literature, their successors like Tiberius or Sejanus could easily starve and proscribe it tomorrow. Dew predicted that America’s massive population and commercial prosperity would provide a market for literature that kings could never match.
Repudiating Slavishness: Whitman and Hawthorne
A defining characteristic of American Romantics, including the Transcendentalists, was their utter rejection of “slavishness”. They absolutely despised the uncritical imitation of past masters. Even John Adams lectured his son, John Quincy, that while he must judge the great masters of antiquity critically, he must never imitate them, insisting he study nature instead.
Walt Whitman, perhaps the least classical of all the Romantics, criticized British poets like John Keats for writing ornamental verses imbued with the sentiment of gods from two millennia ago. Whitman argued that such poetry felt like the work of an elitist gentleman reading in a library, completely failing to address the direct wants and souls of the nineteenth century.
Nathaniel Hawthorne shared this distaste for the past. During an early visit to the British Museum, Hawthorne expressed a radical desire to see the Elgin Marbles and the friezes of the Parthenon burnt into lime. He complained that humanity wastes its earthly existence hoarding old shells rather than appreciating the warm, living present. Dave expresses genuine shock at Hawthorne’s desire to destroy priceless antiques, arguing that admiring classical forms is a deeply human pursuit.
Fortunately, Hawthorne eventually relented; on a later visit, he admitted the grace and nobility of the marbles seemed etched into the very heart of the stone. Hawthorne later incorporated his newfound appreciation for Italian antiquities into his successful 1860 novel, The Marble Faun, subtitled The Transformation in a clear reference to Ovid. The book features a protagonist named Donatello, who is treated as a mythical being descended from the gods. The novel even features a villain who meets his end by being hurled from the Tarpeian Rock, exactly like the Roman traitors of antiquity.
Emerson’s Roses and Thoreau’s Antigone
Ralph Waldo Emerson also rejected the worship of ancient heroes. In his famous essay Self-Reliance, Emerson wrote that the roses under his window make no reference to former roses or better ones, concluding that “Shakespeare will never be made by the study of Shakespeare”. He believed that true genius required listening exclusively to one’s own inner voice. Dave firmly disagrees with this sentiment, arguing that learning fundamentally requires the imitation of past masters before true originality can emerge. Emerson also possessed a strictly instrumentalized view of literature, arguing that Americans should only study Greek and Roman houses so they can better oversee the construction of their own modern homes.
While the Romantics dismissed classical imitation, they deeply admired specific ancient figures who embodied nonconformity. Emerson praised Socrates for defying the dogmas of his age and providing practical rules of life without relying on divine revelation.
Similarly, Henry David Thoreau felt profound inspiration in Sophocles’ tragedy Antigone. In the play, Antigone defies the king’s explicit edict to leave her brother unburied, appealing instead to an unwritten, divine natural law. Thoreau translated passages of the play as an undergraduate, and its themes of resistance against unjust human statutes directly influenced his essay on civil disobedience. Jeff points out that while Thoreau’s interpretation is culturally significant and later inspired modern figures like Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr., it strips the original Greek play of its specific theological context to serve a modern political purpose.
Margaret Fuller and the Abstraction of Myth
The chapter highlights the fascinating contributions of Margaret Fuller. Between 1839 and 1844, Fuller organized a series of conversations at a local bookstore, charging women the considerable sum of twenty dollars to hear her speak on various subjects, including classical mythology.
Fuller approached the ancient gods not as literal, historical figures, but as representations of human faculties. She argued that Apollo represented the light side of genius, while Bacchus represented its warm side. She viewed Jupiter as the embodiment of indomitable will successfully defeating the sensual passions of the Titans. Furthermore, she held up Minerva as a perfect model for women, combining traditional feminine qualities with masculine rationality and independence.
Dave and Jeff find this approach somewhat reductive, preferring to read the myths as compelling narratives rather than treating them as a checklist of universal abstractions. Tragically, Fuller’s life ended in a shipwreck. While returning from Italy, her ship struck a sandbar just a hundred yards off Fire Island, New York, where she perished alongside her husband, her young son, and the only manuscript of her completed history of the Roman Republic. The English writer Thomas Carlyle famously remarked that her life was as wild as the prophecy of a Sibyl.
Melville, Plutarch, and the Great Man Theory
The episode touches upon Herman Melville, whose 1851 novel Moby Dick moved beyond mere mythological references to adopt the actual tragic structure of the Athenian stage. Melville modeled Captain Ahab partly on the figure of Prometheus, utilizing the classical elements of a great hero committing a serious crime and enduring relentless torment.
Finally, Richard discusses the Romantic obsession with the Greek biographer Plutarch. Emerson called Plutarch the “elixir of Greece and Rome” and claimed he was a greater benefactor to humanity than Aristotle. The Romantics favored Plutarch because his Parallel Lives fueled the “Great Man Theory”—the belief that individual, nonconforming heroes determine the primary course of history. By focusing on individual defiance rather than institutional structure, the Romantics molded the ancient texts to perfectly fit the aesthetic and emotional needs of antebellum Americans.
Sponsors: Fueling the Classical Renaissance
Before the hosts transition to the parting shot, they thank the sponsors who make the show possible.
- Hackett Publishing: Celebrating fifty years of operation, Hackett offers a vast catalog of affordable, exceptional texts. Their website features everything from Stan Lombardo’s translation of Ovid’s Heroides to Aristophanes’ Lysistrata. Build your library at hackettpublishing.com and use the code AN2025 for a 20% discount and free shipping.
- Ratio Coffee: Discard your cheap, plastic coffee makers. The Ratio 8 and Ratio 4 machines deliver a flawless pour-over experience at the touch of a single button. Visit ratiocoffee.com/adnavseam and use the code AN2025 for a $20 discount on your order.
- Della Chelpka Art: Capture the people, places, and moments you cherish with custom oil paintings. Visit dellachelpka.art and use the code Apelles (named for the famous Greco-Roman artist) to receive a 10% discount on your purchase.
- The Moss Method & Latin Per Diem: Take your ancient Greek from neophyte to erudite with Dave’s Moss Method. If you wish to master the Latin language from the beginning (ab initio), visit latinperdiem.com. Use the code 10PLUS for a 10% discount on your entire order.
The Gustatory Parting Shot
To conclude Episode 186, Dave shares a brief Gustatory Parting Shot from Anthony T. Hinks.
“Happy Cabbage Day.”
Though the hosts admit they lack enthusiasm for this specific vegetable-themed holiday, they express gratitude for their audience. A special thanks to Mishka the sound engineer, and to Jeff Scheetz for the guitar riffs. Send in your corrections, ignore the spiteful banter, and keep taking in the classics. Valete!
