NPPF: Notes Line 286

[Mary Krimmel]

At 07:39 PM 10/13/03 -0400, Paul Mackin wrote:
...
>In Latin it's Et in Arcadia ego Virgil
>
>
>Also the name of a Poussin painting. (shepherds discovering a tomb)

Can you or anyone tell us the context of Virgil's use of that phrase? Or 
tell us what work it is found in? Was Virgil quoting someone else?

I have understood (from I don't know what sources) that the words are or 
were inscribed on a tombstone and that they are the earliest known written 
Latin; is that correct? The Poussin painting suggests the tombstone, but 
which came first - the fact or generally accepted idea of the tomb, or the 
painting?

Why does there never seem to be any doubt that the "ego" of the phrase is 
Death? Even if there is no doubt that it was carved on a tombstone, that 
seems to me to be no reason to conclude definitely that Death is the speaker.

Also, I have understood (again, no back-up) that Arcady has the reputation 
of being an idyllic Eden-like spot; is that correct? I.e., does it have 
such a reputation? If so, and if Death is the speaker, the phrase makes a 
poignant point. But it looks to me as though it's often interpreted in 
order to suggest the point, without any real justification.

Mary Krimmel