Avsonivs: vt doceam docendvs ipse

Abstract

Summary:Centones are works that might be interpreted as bis in idem, in a positive manner, being si- multaneously a revitalisation of prior works and an independent piece, which grants a perception per se. In addition to their poetic value, a major relevance draws from the text itself, as descendant of a previous source, perfectly known not only to the author of the cento, but to the public as well, capable to appreci- ate the virtuosity. Cento nuptialis composed by Ausonius is to be considered both as Vergilian inheritance manoeuvred with poetic skill and as binomial of theory and practice, preserved in the letter addressed to Paulus.We examine two formal aspects: the iunctura points and the entire verses taken from Vergil. The iunctura of the hemistichs seems to be occasionally generated by the presence of a certain word. Regard- ing the entire Vergilian verses, the letter addressed to Paulus states that two consecutive entire verses ineptum est: the assertion might be understood either as aiming at two consecutive verses in the source text, or as two entire verses, belonging to different parts of the source text. If the second interpretation is correct, Cento nuptialis begins inelegantly (ineptum).