死の幻像セネカ『トロイアの女たち』第二合唱歌をめぐって

Abstract

The second choral ode of Seneca's Troades denies the existence of life after death, saying that nothing is after death and death itself is nothing. This view of death is inconsistent with the mood of the chorus in the rest of the play, especially at the commos where they are in grievous mourning. This paper attempts to interpret the inconsistency as representing a psychological conflict in the chorus' minds, and thereby characterizing their tears as fletus cum sapientia, in contrast not only to those of the turba in Act 5, but to Andromacha's and Hecuba's in Acts 3 and 4 respectively. The commos in Act 1 is led by Hecuba's impatient urge, "lamenta cessant?"(63), answered by the chorus, "non rude vulgus lacrimisque novum/ lugere iubes... non indociles lugere sumus"(67-8, 82), because not a day has passed when they did not shed tears since the Trojan War began ten years before. Why, then, had they ceased weeping at this moment, just after the fall of Troy, which should have most naturally evoked their most painful lamentation? The reason for this hesitation of the chorus about lamentation at the beginning of the commos should be sought for in the second choral ode, because it is, as Owen(1970a) has convincingly demonstrated, represented as simultaneous with the event in Act 1, and therefore we can assume that the thoughts expressed there is also in the chorus's mind at the commos. The ode, with a suspicious questioning about life after death(A : 371-81) and its definite negation as a fancy(A' : 397-408) in the outer frame, balances an end-of-the-world image reminiscent of ekpyrosis(B : 382-9) with similes of smoke and cloud scattered by the winds which recall Lucretian passages(B' : 392b-5), embracing in the center the sententia that the dead are nowhere(C : 390-2a). Therefore, the two imageries (B-B') are structurally represented as closely counected with each other and unfolding the chorus's thoughts. No doubt the fall of Troy has brought image B to the chorus's minds, and image B' is recurrently used of the fall of Troy(cf. 17-21, 1053-5 ; Aisch. Ag. 818, Eur. Tro. 128-9, 1320-1). Then, here it seems to be implied that the chorus, experiencing the fall of Troy, has come to the wisdom on life and death, and that is the inner voice which held back the chorus from weeping. We may compare with Andromacha. She, for whom Hector was Troy itself, had fallen into apathy at his death, and subsequently had been incapable of mourning(409-17). Bearing in mind this wisdom, which denies the existence of the dead, however, the chorus resumes lamentation, in compliance with Hecuba's urging. To consider the mourning the chorus puts on, it first should be compared with the tears shed by the people in Act 5 who gather to watch the deaths as if acted on the stage(spectator : 1087 ; theatri more : 1125). The same words are used for those people(turba : 1077, 1081, 1099, 1119 ; vulgus : 1078, 1093, 1128, 1143) and for the chorus(turba : 63, 409 ; vulgus : 67, 81), but the former is just a crowd moved by transient emotions while the latter call themselves non rude vulgus lugere(67f.), non indociles lugere(82). These expressions suggest that, unlike the turba in Act 5, in their weeping they are eruditae and doctae, that is, having philosophical learning, which probably refers to the learning to be expressed in the second choral ode. When the chorus resumes lamentation with all the wisdom, their tears will be given great weight, as they come from the eyes with profound insight into life and death. We can also see the chorus flentes cum sapientia, looking upon the stage throughout the play, standing in a sharp contrast with the illusions or misunderstandings involved in Andromacha's and Hecuba's tears for their children, as is examined below. Schetter has ingeniously illustrated Andromacha's illusion about her husband's power to save her son in Act 3. She suffers another illusion when she bids her son farewell in tears. She must have believed that her words could relieve him from fear of death(789b-91), but his cry to her "Miserere, mater"(792), ironically sounds as if he was afraid of his mother as an enemy threatening his life, for it echoes the very words the mother herself used twice to supplicate Ulixes to spare her son : "miserere matris"(694, 703). In Act 4, Polyxena's soul, describes Andromacha, is mighty enough to be joyful(laetus) in knowing her doom(945), while, according to the usual interpretation of the text we have in the MS, Hecuba sees tears burst from Polyxena's eyes and tells her to be joyful(laetare) (965b-7a). To solve this inconsistency, most modern editors except Zwierlein have accepted Richter's suggestion that 11. 967-8 be put after 978, attributing the tears to Hecuba and providing an answer to Helena's words in 1.978. This transposition, however, does not fulfill the purpose since it still remains that the person who is already joyful is urged to be joyful. We should begin again by considering the incongruity as it is. At the same time that Polyxena happily hears her fate, Hecuba faints and falls down(949-50), so we can imagine that she has had no time to notice Polyxena's reaction. Soon she returns to life(954), but there is no indication that she has stood up. Here we may compare with Eur. Tro. 462ff., where, after Kassandra is taken away, Hekabe falls down, declines a hand offered by the chorus to help her rise, and chooses to remain lying because that posture is fitting for her mishaps which she now begins to tell. For Hecuba here also it is natural to lie down, probably with her eyes cast down, while she weeps over her sufferings and wishes for her soul to slip away(955-64a). If so, she is not yet likely to look at Polyxena. And the moment she utters the word funeral, tears come down(remitte funus inrigat fletus genas : 965), as if the thought of the funeral has drawn out the tears. The situation here seems that Hecuba, buried deep in grief and remembering innumerable funerals she has attended, sees Polyxena standing on Achilles's tomb for her wedding-funeral in an illusory vision : there she sheds tears for Polyxena, and encourages her to rejoice because she believes her daughter must be in great sorrow as she herself is. Andromacha's following words (Nos, Hecuba, nos, nos, Hecuba, lugendae sumus : 969) sound appropriate to recall Hecuba from such a vision back to reality : she is trying to wake Hecuba by calling her name twice and make her aware by triple repetitions of "us" that it is not Polyxena, who will have her resting place, who should be grieved, but rather the Trojan women including Hecuba who will be taken to unknown lands. If Hecuba has come to herself after this call, and is somewhat relieved to see Polyxena's appearance, then it is understandable that there is no mention of her until Pyrrhus appears to take her away.