The Aeneid Modern Scholarship Practice Test

Moral evaluation of heroic choices in epic literature is what this item is assessing. Ian Du Quesney emphasizes the rightness of Aeneas' decision and the wrongness of Antony's by foregrounding pietas—devotion to the gods, to family, and to Rome—as the essential measure of virtue. He treats Aeneas's choice, guided by fate and the mission to found a new Troy, as virtuous even when it involves personal sacrifice, and he presents Antony's pursuits as morally misguided because they prioritize passion and personal gain over duty. This framing uses the characters to embody competing ethical ideals, making Aeneas a model of responsible leadership and Antony a warning against letting desire derail public obligations. Other scholars may explore psychological nuance, rhetoric, or historical context, but they don’t foreground this clear moral dichotomy to the same extent.