Meta Description: Join Dr. Jeff Winkle and Dr. David Noe in Ad Navseam Episode 102 as they conclude their journey through Aeneid Book VI. Discover the link between Mumford & Sons and St. Francis, Roman reincarnation, the Ivory Gate of Sleep, and resources to master the Latin language.
Introduction: Resonant Voices in the Vomitorium
Welcome back, classical gourmands, to Episode 102 of the Ad Navseam Podcast! Broadcasting from the subterranean depths of Vomitorium South, located in the basement of the Reformation Heritage Bookstore, your hosts, Dr. David Noe and Dr. Jeff Winkle, return to the microphones.
Jeff begins the episode by offering praise for his co-host, though Dave jokes that while his voice feels “resonant” today, he feels he lacks intellectual substance upstairs. Jeff reassures him that the conversation always picks up steam, with a “podcaster in resonance”. With the initial banter complete, the boys prepare to exit the Roman underworld, conclude the katabasis, and head up the Tiber River to ready themselves for the martial brawl that consumes Books VII through XII of Vergil’s epic.
Listener Mail: Chesterton, St. Francis, and Mumford & Sons
Before tackling Vergil, the hosts open the mailbag to read an observation from Aaron Potter, a former Latin student of Jeff’s.
Aaron writes in with a gentle correction regarding a previous episode that explored classical references in pop music. In that episode, Jeff noted that the Mumford & Sons song “The Cave” referenced Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, focusing on the lyric: “So come out of your cave walking on your hands”. While the Platonic connection was accurate, the specific imagery of doing a handstand puzzled the hosts.
Aaron reveals that the lyric is a direct quotation from G.K. Chesterton’s biography of St. Francis of Assisi. Chesterton wrote that when Francis emerged from a dark cavern, he underwent a psychological reversal. According to Chesterton, the saint looked at the world so differently than other men that it was as if he had come out of that dark hole walking on his hands. Dave and Jeff appreciate this layered literary connection, proving that great art weaves multiple philosophical traditions together.
Reincarnation, Metempsychosis, and Soul Laundry
Returning to the Aeneid, the narrative picks up in the blessed fields of Elysium. Here, Aeneas’s deceased father, Anchises, explains the mechanics of Roman reincarnation, known as metempsychosis.
Anchises reveals that the heavens, the earth, and the seas are sustained by an internal divine spirit and infused with a celestial mind. This divine fire pulses within all living seeds, but mortal bodies dull and slow the energy. When mortals die, their souls retain “corporeal taints” and the dark stains of their past sins. Therefore, they must face discipline and expiation. Some souls hang in the wind, others wash under swirling waters, and some burn in intense fire. Once the soul is pure, it rolls the wheel of time for a thousand years before drinking from the River Lethe.
Dave notes a fascinating linguistic detail: the noun Lethe comes from the Greek verb lanthano, meaning “to escape the notice of”. Thus, the Greek word for truth, aletheia, translates to “not forgetting”. Plato made great use of this concept, arguing that true knowledge is simply the act of not forgetting. By drinking the waters of forgetfulness, the souls erase all memory of their past, allowing them to desire rebirth in a new human body.
Jeff mentions that this process resembles Eastern philosophies, citing the Buddha’s enlightenment under the Bodhi tree or Muhammad’s night journey, where the interconnectedness of all life is revealed in a sweeping glance. Dave adds that Vergil utilizes Platonic psychology and Stoic concepts of “celestial fire” to tell his specific narrative, and then clarifies a common misconception: the Platonists did not view the human physical body as inherently evil, a view held by later Gnostics and Manicheans. Instead, Platonists viewed the body as the unfortunate locus of the worldly contaminations that affect the soul.
The Parade of Romans and Autochthonous Squatters
After detailing the mechanics of the afterlife, Anchises introduces his son to a parade of the souls waiting to be reborn as future Roman leaders.
The parade begins with Silvius, the future son of Aeneas and his Italian bride, Lavinia. Anchises explains that Silvius will establish a royal line at Alba Longa, the legendary home of Rome’s earliest kings before Romulus moves the site to the banks of the Tiber River. Anchises also points out figures like Cato, the Gracchi, and the Scipios. Dave mentions that there are multiple Catos, including Cato the Elder (Cato Censorius), who claimed to hate Greek literature but read it anyway, and Cato the Younger (Uticensis), who took his own life during the Civil War.
Jeff points out that Vergil deliberately emphasizes the mixing of Trojan blood with the indigenous Italian population. This stands in sharp contrast to ancient Greek myths of autochthony. The word autochthony combines the Greek roots autos (self) and chthon (earth), describing mythological figures who sprang directly from the soil, such as the dragon-tooth soldiers of Thebes or the snake-king Cecrops in Athens. Autochthony served as the ultimate claim to squatter’s rights, allowing ancient peoples to argue they owned their land because they were born from its dirt. Vergil constructs a sophisticated geopolitical narrative, acknowledging that Rome’s greatness stems from a fated mixture of distinct cultures.
The True Roman Arts vs. Greek Arts
As the grand parade of future Romans marches forward, Anchises delivers some of the most defining lines in all of Latin literature. He outlines the fundamental difference between the Greeks and the Romans.
Anchises concedes that other nations will always excel in the finer arts. They will draw living faces out of marble, argue law cases with superior skill, and trace the rising stars with scientific precision. However, Anchises commands the Romans to remember their own unique arts: to rule the nations with ultimate authority, to impose the habit of peace, to spare the downtrodden, and to crush the arrogant in war (parcere subiectis et debellare superbos).
The Romans harbored a cultural inferiority complex regarding Greek art and philosophy. The Romans always tried to claim they had a direct equivalent for every Greek genius. For instance, Vergil serves as the Roman Homer, Cicero acts as the Roman equivalent to Plato and Demosthenes, and Sallust or Livy stand in for Thucydides. However, their attempts to match Greek artistic creativity always felt somewhat secondary, with only the poet Horace being truly honest about Roman cultural shortcomings. Nevertheless, they found deep pride in their unmatched engineering, military organization, and legal administration.
The Tragedy of Marcellus
The glorious parade culminates with Augustus Caesar, promising a renewed Golden Age. However, Vergil tempers this triumphant climax with devastating sorrow. The final soul introduced is Marcellus, Augustus’s beloved nephew and presumed heir, who tragically died in 23 BC at roughly nineteen years old. Anchises weeps as he describes the young man, noting that fate will only permit him to walk the earth for a brief, heartbreaking moment. Dave and Jeff debate why Vergil chose to end this triumphant vision with heavy pathos, concluding that it both served to honor the immediate grief of his contemporary audience and reinforced the overarching theme that the glory of Rome demands a steep, deadly personal cost.
The Ivory Gate of False Dreams
To conclude the underworld journey, Aeneas must depart. Anchises leads his son to the twin gates of sleep.
Vergil describes one gate crafted of simple horn, which provides an easy exit for true, authentic shades. The other gate is finished with glimmering, polished ivory, but the spirits use it to send false dreams (falsa insomnia) up to the mortal world above. Without further explanation, Anchises escorts Aeneas and the Sibyl through the ivory gate of false dreams. Aeneas then returns to his ships, casts his anchors, and prepares to sail.
To introduce this concept, Jeff reads from R.J. Tarrant’s 1982 academic article, Aeneas and the Gates of Sleep. Tarrant argues that this oblique connection to deception, illusion, and unreality must have an intentionally disturbing, ominous effect. Tarrant notes a striking structural pattern: the first six books of the Aeneid consistently end with a painful loss (Dido, Creusa, Palinurus, and now the future death of Marcellus). Dave points out that the word falsa does not necessarily mean the prophesied events did not happen; rather, it suggests that the resulting empire might be hollow, disappointing, or deceptive in the ultimate cost it requires. By leaving the exact meaning unsaid, Vergil forces the reader to sit with the uncomfortable ambiguity.
Sponsors: Fueling the Classical Renaissance
Before concluding the episode, the boys thank their sponsors for keeping the bunker operational.
- Ratio Coffee: Step away from the cheap, plastic drip machines and upgrade your morning routine. Mark Hellweg’s Ratio 8 and Ratio 6 machines utilize a Fibonacci showerhead to evenly distribute hot water over the grounds. This specific design handles the “bloom phase,” allowing the coffee to off-gas trapped carbon dioxide. This prevents the dreaded “brackish tang” and extracts the perfect flavor every single time. Visit ratiocoffee.com and use the code ANCO7B for a 15% discount on your order.
- Hackett Publishing: Celebrating their 50th golden anniversary, Hackett continues to provide affordable, top-quality texts. Whether you need Nicholas White’s A Companion to Plato’s Republic, classical epics, or modern philosophical treatises, Hackett has you covered. Go to hackettpublishing.com and use the code AN2022 to receive a 20% discount and free shipping.
- MossMethod & LatinPerDiem: Take your ancient Greek from “neophyte to erudite” by visiting mossmethod.com. Dave’s thorough, precise modules come complete with interactive Friday “Moffice Hours”. Alternatively, if you want to master the Latin language entirely from the ground up (ab initio), check out latinperdiem.com/llpsi to learn using Hans Ørberg’s famous Lingua Latina Per Se Illustrata curriculum.
The Gustatory Parting Shot
To close out Episode 102, Dave delivers a unique Gustatory Parting Shot courtesy of the poet and novelist Vikram Seth.
“To steel yourself against mangoes showed a degree of iciness that was almost inhuman.”
Jeff agrees, noting that mangoes are an enchanting, sweet, and intoxicating fruit. Thanks to Mishka the sound engineer and Scott Van Zen for the guitar riffs. Avoid the false dreams, skip the brackish tang, and keep taking in the classics. Valete!
