What is it about?
This study reveals two hidden messages—an acrostic ("SERENE") and a telestich ("VESTA")—in Lucan’s praise of Cato. These link the passage to Seneca’s writings and to Horace, enriching our understanding of Lucan’s philosophical and poetic aims.
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Why is it important?
By uncovering both a SERENE acrostic and a VESTA telestich, the article shows how Lucan’s epic participates in a sophisticated dialogue with Stoic philosophy and literary tradition. It opens new ways to read Roman poetry intertextually and structurally.
Perspectives
Finding both the SERENE acrostic and the VESTA telestich was like discovering Lucan’s commentary hidden between the lines—a coded tribute to Stoic virtue, poetic immortality, and family legacy.
Dr Ábel Tamás
Eotvos Lorand Tudomanyegyetem
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This page is a summary of: “Serenus, You Should Understand”: Lucan’s Intertextual Acrostic at BC 9.600–605, Hermes, January 2025, Wissenschaftliche Verlagsgesellschaft mbH,
DOI: 10.25162/hermes-2025-0013.
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