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Excerpt

Excerpt from Pharsalia; Dramatic Episodes of the Civil Wars, by Lucan

                     First witness of thy fall,<br />

And of thy noble bearing in defeat,
Larissa. Weeping, yet with gifts of price
Fit for a victor, from her teeming gates
Poured forth her citizens, their homes and fanes
Flung open; wishing it had been their lot
With thee to share disaster. Of thy name
Still much survives, unto thy former self
Alone inferior, still could'st thou to arms
All nations call and challenge fate again.
But thus he spake: "To cities nor to men
Avails the conquered aught; then pledge your faith
To him who has the victory." Caesar trod
Pharsalia's slaughter, while his daughter's spouse
Thus gave him kingdoms; but Pompeius fled
'Mid sobs and groans and blaming of the gods
For this their fierce commandment; and he fled
Full of the fruits and knowledge of the love
The peoples bore him, which he knew not his
In times of happiness.

                     When Italian blood<br />

Flowed deep enough upon the fatal field,
Caesar bade halt, and gave their lives to those
Whose death had been no gain. But that their camp
Might not recall the foe, nor calm of night
Banish their fears, he bids his cohorts dash,
While Fortune glowed and terror filled the plain,
Straight on the ramparts of the conquered foe.
Light was the task to urge them to the spoil;
"Soldiers," he said, "the victory is ours,
Full and triumphant: there doth lie the prize
Which you have won, not Caesar; at your feet
Behold the booty of the hostile camp.
Snatched from Hesperian nations ruddy gold,
And all the riches of the Orient world,
Are piled within the tents. The wealth of kings
And of Pompeius here awaits its lords.
Haste, soldiers, and outstrip the flying foe;
E'en now the vanquished of Pharsalia's field
Anticipate your spoils." No more he said,
But drave them, blind with frenzy for the gold,
To spurn the bodies of their fallen sires,
And trample chiefs in dashing on their prey.
What rampart had restrained them as they rushed
To seize the prize for wickedness and war
And learn the price of guilt? And though they found
In ponderous masses heaped for need of war
The trophies of a world, yet were their minds
Unsatisfied, that asked for all. Whate'er
Iberian mines or Tagus bring to day,
Or Arimaspians from golden sands
May gather, had they seized; still had they thought
Their guilt too cheaply sold. When pledged to them
Was the Tarpeian rock, for victory won,
And all the spoils of Rome, by Caesar's word,
Shall camps suffice them?

                          Then plebeian limbs<br />

On senators' turf took rest, on kingly couch
The meanest soldier; and the murderer lay
Where yesternight his brother or his sire.
In raving dreams within their waking brains
Yet raged the battle, and the guilty hand
Still wrought its deeds of blood, and restless sought
The absent sword-hilt. Thou had'st said that groans
Issued from all the plain, that parted souls
Had breathed a life into the guilty soil,
That earthly darkness teemed with gibbering ghosts
And Stygian terrors. Victory foully won
Thus claimed its punishment. The slumbering sense
Already heard the hiss of vengeful flames
As from the depths of Acheron. One saw
Deep in the trances of the night his sire
And one his brother slain. But all the dead
In long array were visioned to the eyes
Of Caesar dreaming. Not in other guise
Orestes saw the Furies ere he fled
To purge his sin within the Scythian bounds;
Nor in more fierce convulsions raged the soul
Of Pentheus raving; nor Agavé's (26) mind
When she had known her son. Before his gaze
Flashed all the javelins which Pharsalia saw,
Or that avenging day when drew their blades
The Roman senators; and on his couch,
Infernal monsters from the depths of hell
Scourged him in slumber. Thus his guilty mind
Brought retribution. Ere his rival died
The terrors that enfold the Stygian stream
And black Avernus, and the ghostly slain
Broke on his sleep.

Explanation

**Analysis of the Excerpt from Pharsalia (Lucan’s Bellum Civile)**

Lucan’s Pharsalia (also known as De Bello Civili, or On the Civil War) is an epic poem written in the 1st century AD during the reign of Nero. Unlike traditional epics that glorify war and heroes (e.g., Homer’s Iliad or Virgil’s Aeneid), Lucan’s work is a dark, anti-war epic that portrays the Roman Civil War (49–45 BC) between Julius Caesar and Pompey the Great as a catastrophic moral collapse. The excerpt provided depicts the aftermath of the Battle of Pharsalus (48 BC), where Caesar decisively defeated Pompey, marking a turning point in the war.

The passage is rich in themes of guilt, moral corruption, the cost of victory, and the psychological toll of civil war, while employing vivid imagery, dramatic irony, and rhetorical devices to convey its bleak vision.

Detailed Breakdown of the Excerpt

1. Larissa’s Lament and Pompey’s Flight (Lines 1–12)

"First witness of thy fall, And of thy noble bearing in defeat, Larissa. Weeping, yet with gifts of price Fit for a victor, from her teeming gates Poured forth her citizens, their homes and fanes Flung open; wishing it had been their lot With thee to share disaster..."

Context: After his defeat at Pharsalus, Pompey flees to Larissa (a city in Thessaly), where the citizens mourn his fall but still honor him as if he were a victor. This contrasts sharply with Caesar’s later behavior.
Themes:
- Nobility in Defeat vs. Corruption in Victory: Pompey is portrayed as dignified even in loss, while Caesar’s victory is tainted by greed and brutality.
- Loyalty and Betrayal: The people of Larissa wish they had suffered with Pompey, highlighting his lost but still revered leadership.
Literary Devices:
- Paradox: Pompey is defeated yet treated as a victor ("gifts of price / Fit for a victor").
- Personification: Larissa is given human emotions ("Weeping").
- Foreshadowing: The line "still could'st thou to arms / All nations call" suggests Pompey’s lingering influence, though he will soon be murdered in Egypt.

"But thus he spake: 'To cities nor to men Avails the conquered aught; then pledge your faith To him who has the victory.'"

Caesar’s Cynicism: He dismisses any value in loyalty to the defeated, urging surrender to the victor—a Machiavellian stance that reflects his ruthless pragmatism.
Irony: Caesar, Pompey’s former ally (through marriage to Pompey’s daughter, Julia), now demands absolute submission.

"Caesar trod Pharsalia's slaughter, while his daughter's spouse Thus gave him kingdoms..."

Historical Reference: Caesar’s marriage to Pompey’s daughter Julia (now dead) once bound them politically, making their conflict a family betrayal.
Imagery: "Trod Pharsalia's slaughter"—Caesar literally walks over the corpses of Romans, emphasizing the horror of civil war.

"...but Pompeius fled 'Mid sobs and groans and blaming of the gods For this their fierce commandment..."

Pompey’s Tragic Figure: Unlike Caesar, he is emotional, blaming the gods rather than embracing his fate. This aligns with Stoic themes of divine injustice.
Dramatic Irony: The gods’ "fierce commandment" may refer to Fate (Fortuna), a recurring force in Pharsalia that drives men to destruction.

2. Caesar’s Exploitation of Victory (Lines 13–30)

"When Italian blood Flowed deep enough upon the fatal field, Caesar bade halt, and gave their lives to those Whose death had been no gain."

Caesar’s Calculated Mercy: He spares some not out of compassion, but because their deaths would serve no strategic purpose.
Theme of Utility Over Morality: War is reduced to cost-benefit analysis, dehumanizing the soldiers.

"But that their camp Might not recall the foe, nor calm of night Banish their fears, he bids his cohorts dash, While Fortune glowed and terror filled the plain, Straight on the ramparts of the conquered foe."

Psychological Warfare: Caesar prevents Pompey’s army from regrouping by exploiting their fear—a tactic that shows his manipulative genius.
Personification of Fortune: "While Fortune glowed"—Fortune (Fortuna) is a fickle goddess who favors Caesar now but may abandon him later.

"Light was the task to urge them to the spoil; 'Soldiers,' he said, 'the victory is ours, Full and triumphant: there doth lie the prize Which you have won, not Caesar...'"

Rhetorical Manipulation: Caesar flatteringly credits his men to incite their greed, though he will later claim all glory.
Irony: The "prize" is Roman wealth, stolen from their own countrymen—highlighting the perversion of civil war.

"Snatched from Hesperian nations ruddy gold, And all the riches of the Orient world, Are piled within the tents. The wealth of kings And of Pompeius here awaits its lords."

Hyperbole & Imagery: The spoils are described in exaggerated, luxurious terms ("ruddy gold," "riches of the Orient"), emphasizing the corrupting allure of wealth.
Symbolism: The plunder represents Rome’s moral decay—soldiers enrich themselves by destroying their own nation.

"Haste, soldiers, and outstrip the flying foe; E'en now the vanquished of Pharsalia's field Anticipate your spoils."

Dark Humor/Irony: The "vanquished" are dead Romans, yet Caesar frames their possessions as rightful spoils—cannibalizing their own people.

"No more he said, But drave them, blind with frenzy for the gold, To spurn the bodies of their fallen sires, And trample chiefs in dashing on their prey."

Dehumanization: The soldiers, maddened by greed, desecrate the corpses of their fathers and leaders.
Imagery of Chaos: The scene is Dantesque—men become beasts, trampling the dead in a frenzy of avarice.

"What rampart had restrained them as they rushed To seize the prize for wickedness and war And learn the price of guilt?"

Rhetorical Question: The answer is none—no moral barrier remains.
Theme of Guilt: The soldiers embrace their corruption, learning that war’s true "prize" is sin.

3. The Aftermath: Haunted Victory (Lines 31–54)

"Then plebeian limbs On senators' turf took rest, on kingly couch The meanest soldier; and the murderer lay Where yesternight his brother or his sire."

Social Inversion: The lowest soldiers now occupy the beds of nobles, symbolizing the collapse of Roman hierarchy.
Horror of Civil War: Men sleep where their kinsmen died, emphasizing the unnaturalness of Roman fighting Roman.

"In raving dreams within their waking brains Yet raged the battle, and the guilty hand Still wrought its deeds of blood..."

Psychological Trauma: The soldiers are haunted by their actions, unable to escape the guilt of fratricide.
Imagery of Madness: Their minds are still at war, even in sleep.

"Thou had'st said that groans Issued from all the plain, that parted souls Had breathed a life into the guilty soil, That earthly darkness teemed with gibbering ghosts And Stygian terrors."

Supernatural Horror: The battlefield is cursed, filled with ghosts and demons—a living hell.
Classical Allusions: The "Stygian terrors" refer to the underworld (Hades), suggesting the land itself is damned.

"Victory foully won Thus claimed its punishment. The slumbering sense Already heard the hiss of vengeful flames As from the depths of Acheron."

Divine Justice: Even in victory, retribution is coming—the "hiss of vengeful flames" foreshadows Caesar’s assassination (44 BC).
Mythological Reference: Acheron is a river of the underworld, symbolizing inevitable doom.

4. Caesar’s Nightmare (Lines 55–68)

"One saw Deep in the trances of the night his sire And one his brother slain. But all the dead In long array were visioned to the eyes Of Caesar dreaming."

Collective Guilt vs. Personal Torment: While the soldiers see individual victims, Caesar sees all the dead—his burden is greater.
Dramatic Irony: The man who seemed invincible is now terrified by his own conscience.

"Not in other guise Orestes saw the Furies ere he fled To purge his sin within the Scythian bounds; Nor in more fierce convulsions raged the soul Of Pentheus raving; nor Agavé's mind When she had known her son."

Mythological Comparisons:
- Orestes: Haunted by the Furies for killing his mother (symbolizing unending guilt).
- Pentheus: Torn apart by his own mother in a Dionysian frenzy (symbolizing madness and divine punishment).
- Agavé: Who, in a delirium, killed her son—another image of maternal betrayal.
Significance: Caesar’s torment is worse than these mythic sinners, suggesting his crime (destroying Rome) is unprecedented.

"Before his gaze Flashed all the javelins which Pharsalia saw, Or that avenging day when drew their blades The Roman senators; and on his couch, Infernal monsters from the depths of hell Scourged him in slumber."

Prophetic Imagery: The "avenging day" foreshadows Caesar’s assassination by senators (the Ides of March).
Supernatural Punishment: Hell itself torments him, reinforcing the idea that his victory is cursed.

"Thus his guilty mind Brought retribution. Ere his rival died The terrors that enfold the Stygian stream And black Avernus, and the ghostly slain Broke on his sleep."

Final Judgment: Even before Pompey’s death, Caesar is already damned.
Symbolism of Avernus: A volcanic lake near Naples, considered an entrance to the underworld—his fate is inescapable.

Themes & Significance

The Corruption of Victory
- Caesar’s triumph is hollow, built on greed, betrayal, and bloodshed.
- The soldiers’ moral decay mirrors Rome’s decline.
Civil War as Unnatural
- The inversion of social order (plebeians on senators’ beds) and kinslaying (brothers killing brothers) violate Roman values (pietas).
- The haunted landscape suggests the earth itself rejects this war.
Fate and Divine Justice
- Fortuna (Fortune) is fickle, but divine retribution is certain.
- Caesar’s nightmares foreshadow his assassination, reinforcing the idea that tyranny is unsustainable.
Psychological Horror of War
- The trauma of the soldiers (reliving battles in dreams) and Caesar’s guilt-ridden visions show war’s lasting scars.
Anti-Epic Tone
- Unlike Homer or Virgil, Lucan does not glorify war—instead, he presents it as a moral catastrophe.
- The lack of a true hero (both Caesar and Pompey are flawed) underscores the tragedy of civil conflict.

Literary Devices Summary

Device	Example	Effect
Imagery	"trample chiefs in dashing on their prey"	Creates a visceral, brutal scene.
Personification	"Larissa. Weeping"	Gives emotional weight to the city’s mourning.
Irony	"gifts of price / Fit for a victor" (for the defeated)	Highlights the paradox of noble defeat.
Hyperbole	"all the riches of the Orient world"	Emphasizes the excessive greed of war.
Allusion	"Orestes saw the Furies"	Connects Caesar’s guilt to mythic proportions.
Rhetorical Question	"What rampart had restrained them?"	Emphasizes the absence of moral limits.
Supernatural Elements	"gibbering ghosts / And Stygian terrors"	Reinforces the cursed nature of the victory.

Conclusion: Why This Passage Matters

This excerpt is one of the most powerful condemnations of civil war in literature. Lucan rejects the glorification of conquest, instead showing how victory itself becomes a curse. The psychological torment of Caesar, the dehumanization of the soldiers, and the haunted landscape all serve to warn against the dangers of unchecked ambition and internal conflict.

In a broader sense, Pharsalia is a meditation on power, morality, and the cost of empire—themes that resonate far beyond ancient Rome. The passage forces the reader to confront the horror of war not as a distant spectacle, but as a deeply personal and moral collapse.

Would you like any specific aspect explored further (e.g., Stoic influences, historical accuracy, or comparisons to other epics)?

Questions

Question 1

The passage’s depiction of Larissa’s response to Pompey’s defeat serves primarily to:

A. establish a counterpoint to Caesar’s later exploitation of victory, underscoring the moral contrast between dignified loss and corrupt triumph.
B. illustrate the strategic folly of Pompey’s retreat, as his lingering popularity among Greek cities could have been leveraged for a counteroffensive.
C. evoke the pathos of a fallen hero through classical allusions to Homeric hospitality, wherein defeated warriors are honored as gods.
D. foreshadow Pompey’s eventual assassination in Egypt by emphasizing his vulnerability and the fickleness of public loyalty.
E. critique the materialism of war, as Larissa’s "gifts of price" symbolize the hollow exchange of wealth for political allegiance.

Question 2

The line "the victory is ours, / Full and triumphant: there doth lie the prize / Which you have won, not Caesar" is best understood as an example of:

A. dramatic irony, since the soldiers’ greed will later be their undoing, while Caesar retains ultimate control.
B. litotes, as Caesar downplays his own role to manipulate his troops into greater brutality.
C. apostrophe, wherein Caesar directly addresses the absent Pompey to assert his dominance over the defeated.
D. rhetorical captatio benevolentiae, flattering the soldiers to incite their avarice while obscuring his own culpability.
E. zeugma, linking the concepts of "victory" and "prize" to emphasize the moral equivalence of spoils and slaughter.

Question 3

The passage’s supernatural imagery—"gibbering ghosts / And Stygian terrors"—primarily functions to:

A. externalize the psychological guilt of the soldiers and Caesar, transforming their moral corruption into a tangible, cosmic punishment.
B. invoke the conventions of epic poetry, wherein divine intervention serves to elevate the stature of the conflict.
C. contrast the rational Stoicism of Pompey with the superstitious dread of Caesar’s forces, reinforcing their intellectual inferiority.
D. foreshadow the political chaos of Caesar’s assassination by figuratively summoning the spirits of his future conspirators.
E. parody Roman religious practices, suggesting that the gods are mere projections of human fear rather than arbiters of justice.

Question 4

Which of the following best describes the structural relationship between the two halves of the passage (Larissa/Pompey vs. Caesar’s camp)?

A. Thesis and antithesis, wherein Pompey’s nobility is posited as an ideal later dismantled by Caesar’s pragmatism.
B. Cause and effect, where Pompey’s defeat directly triggers the moral decay of Caesar’s soldiers.
C. Frame narrative, with Larissa’s lament serving as a prologue to the central horror of the plundered camp.
D. Juxtaposition of public and private spheres, contrasting Pompey’s political exile with Caesar’s domestic nightmares.
E. Chiasmus, as the passage inverts the expected arc of victory (honor in defeat vs. shame in triumph) to subvert epic conventions.

Question 5

The allusion to Orestes, Pentheus, and Agavé in Caesar’s nightmare serves to:

A. elevate Caesar’s suffering to the level of mythic tragedy, thereby garnering sympathetic pity for his inevitable downfall.
B. imply that Caesar’s crimes are less severe than those of the mythological figures, as his guilt is political rather than familial.
C. suggest that Caesar’s psychological torment transcends individual guilt, embodying the collective sin of civil war itself.
D. foreshadow Caesar’s eventual deification, as the Furies historically target those who defy divine will.
E. critique the excesses of epic poetry by comparing Caesar’s mundane ambition to the grandiose sins of Greek legend.

Solutions and Explanations

1) Correct answer: A

Why A is most correct: The passage explicitly contrasts Larissa’s noble mourning of Pompey with Caesar’s later exploitation of victory. Larissa’s citizens honor Pompey with "gifts of price / Fit for a victor," despite his defeat, while Caesar’s soldiers trample corpses in a frenzy for gold. This moral inversion—dignity in loss vs. corruption in triumph—is the passage’s central tension.