Vere Rosa: A Priapian Quatrain from the Appendix Vergiliana

Abstract

Within the realm of Latin literature, the figure of Priapus is frequently evoked, a symbol of eroticism, of virility and of nature’s fecundity, always armed with his fearsome willow scythe, an accessory meant to scare away birds and thieves from vineyards and orchards. Several poems included in the Appendix Vergiliana – even entitled Priapea – are dedicated to this divine guardian of gardens and vineyards. This collection of verses debuts with a quatrain: Vere rosa, which enumerates the various joys, but also the difficulties or dangers that the agricultural god experiences, at once with the cyclical turning of the seasons. As such, the text explores a wide variety of motifs and emotional registers, from the euphoria of celebrating the harvest to hibernal melancholy, unrest, anxiety and lament – everything expressed concisely, with elegance and poise, qualities which make it into a tiny literary jewel.