『農耕詩』第2歌における「接ぎ木」と「多様性」

Abstract

This paper considers 'grafting' (insere) and 'the second' (alter) as key terms in Book Two of the Georgics to present the ideal "e pluribus unum", the realization of which demands a miraculous unification of people with various backgrounds by surmounting their differences. 'The second' represents a first step, especially in the inclusive method of counting, toward a perpetual succession, as typically seen in the case of Iulus in the Aeneid. This implication of the term has a link to 'grafting' in the sense of connecting one to the other, and appears in the proem of Book Two, which begins with recapitulating Book One before calling upon Bacchus, with the transition emphasized by hactenus and nunc at the heads of lines 1 and 2 respectively. Trees, the subject of Book Two, are far more diverse in kinds (and so are the lands where they grow) than those of the other Books. Vergil emphasizes this diversity by placing it (2.9-258) before the passage about vine (2.259-396), which might have come right after the proem calling upon Bacchus, and it has a connection to 'grafting' in that (at least two) different kinds of trees are needed for it to be made. In fact, just as the mode of grafting and of budding is said to be not the one and same (nec modus simplex 2.73), so trees are said to be not single in kind (genus haud unum 2.83). Also, in Book Two we see a number of inserted passages, among which are the 'praises', features not appearing in the other Books, and even the section between the proem and the passage about vine, that is about the diversity of trees, could be regarded as an insertion. This insertion-heavy structure suggests the importance of 'grafting'. Why diversity ? Whereas Earth of her own accord was producing everything in the Golden Age (1.127-128), in the Iron Age every land cannot produce everything (nec uero terrae ferre omnes omnia possunt 2.109), therefore it seems that to acquire all the products requires all the lands in the world to cooperate for the production. With this diversity at work as the ultimate goal to reach, lines 2.167-176 give an impression as if Augustus is on his way there, and, once the task is complete, the earth can be called Saturnian, as in the Golden Age. In this regard it might be helpful to take into consideration the thought that Rome is superior to other nations in that it has been founded by many different talents in many ages of men (Cic. Rep. 2.2), which is reflected in the Catalogue of the Heroes in Book Six of the Aeneid. So, if a diversity of trees can be compared with that of talents which contribute to the founding of Rome, major trees (maiora 2.434) like vines and olives would represent great leaders, and at the same time, however, just as powerful men like Caesar and Pompeius in their confrontation brought about a horrible disaster (A. 6. 828-835), so wine is said to have been a cause of war (2.455-457), and if grafting, itself a productive method, is applied to wild olive, it could lead to a devastating wild fire (2.303-314). The more powerful, not just the more useful but the more dangerous when something goes wrong, and what matters is to build e pluribus unum, which is extremely difficult, since the more diverse a community, the more and deeper differences of its members to be surmounted.