Poetry, Rhetoric, and Science: The Case of Plaustra Bootes

This article examines the aural qualities of the collocation plaustra Bootes, its application in Latin poetry, and the precepts of rhetorical theory which explain its use. Plaustra Bootes, which occurs frequently, refers to either or both of the circumpolar constellations Ursa Major and Ursa Minor, configured as 'wagons', and to Bootes, the 'Oxman' who tends them. The case is made that the collocation is a poetic formula characterized by solemnity of diction, and that its application is limited to contexts, usually characterized by highly elaborate rhetoric, which train the attention on matters of natural science and philosophy. The rhetorical theory of the sublime provides the means to explain the pairing of diction and subject matter. It establishes a hierarchy of sublime topics which include philosophy and natural science, and it indicates the appropriate manner to express elevated thought. In this way rhetorical theory raises the question of the place of science in rhetoric and poetry. Implicit in the theory of the sublime is a system of thought in which rhetoric, poetic theory, and science are aligned with each other as representations in different domains of the same reality.