At its core, civilization affects discontent. Although it seems its purpose would be to ameliorate human suffering and misery, Sigmund Freud argues that civilization is in fact, largely responsible for that suffering.

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Even a positive thing casts a shadow...

its unique excellence is at the same time its tragic flaw.

-William Irwin Thompson

At its core, civilization affects discontent.  Although it seems its purpose would be to ameliorate human suffering and misery, Sigmund Freud argues that civilization is in fact, largely responsible for that suffering.  The initial impetus to form civilization is man’s desire to protect himself from the natural world by exploiting Earth’s resources.

There is a dreadful disharmony within the human psyche caused by man’s innate need to control that which he cannot.  

            The Aeneid is a beautifully written allegorical tale, which extols the virtues of Aeneis upon his divine mission of leading the landless, war torn Trojans to their promise land; a place where they could make a new beginning and found the Roman civilization.  His journey was not easy.  Lost at sea, he and his men were exposed to the merciless rage of the external world.  He was able to master his fortune by the simple act of endurance, and as a result, gained the glory of his destiny fulfilled.  Although the glories of civilization were gained, much was lost along the way.  After all, for every great advance made by mankind, something great is lost.  

        Civilization requires us to repress volatile instincts so that we may have order.  This proves to be a difficult task because fundamentally, we are all egocentric beings driven to the satisfaction of our instincts.    If we think in terms of masculine energy as civilization, then female energy represents its discontents.  

              Women soon come into opposition to civilization and display their

                  restraining and retarding influence- those very women who, in the

                  beginning, laid the foundations of civilization by the claims of their love...

                  Thus the woman finds herself forced into the background by the claims of

                  civilization and she develops a hostile attitude towards it. 

Looming at the heart of this Virgilian tale is the struggle between matriarchal and patriarchal religions.  Aeneis emerges from a primitive, goddess-worshipping world to create something new.  He cannot look to the past for an example of what’s ahead; he can only look toward the future, of what is yet to come.  It is clear by the unsavory light cast upon women that patriarchal imperatives drive the plot of this poem.    

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The Aeneid explores civilization and its discontents by revealing the forces that move us to action.  There is a creative force, Eros, and a destructive force, Thanatos.  We are still struggling to maintain balance between these forces.  Laws have been created in an attempt to repress Thanatos for the greater good of all in a civilized world.

Laws are the most precious legacy of civilization, yet “they must be tempered with justice...a goddess whom exudes the qualities of mercy, compassion and fairness, if order is to be maintained.”  Balance is at the core of all stable things.  The image of Justice ...

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