Augustinus docet:<\/p>\n
\n"This," I said, "has become what they call a Tuscan <\/strong>argument: for this is the name they gave to an argument when instead of answering a difficulty, a man proposes another. It was this that our poet. . . in his Ecologues <\/em>judged fairly to be rustic and downright countryish: when one asks the other, where the heavens are no more than three ells broad, the other replies:<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
\nIn what land do flowers grow engraved with the names of kings?" <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
–Against the Academics<\/em> (O'Meara trans). Or, if you prefer<\/a>:<\/p>\n
[3.4.9] Hoc est, inquam, Tuscum illud iurgium<\/strong>, quod dici solet, cum quaestioni intentatae non eius solutio, sed alterius obiectio uidetur mederi. Quod etiam poeta noster — ut me aliquantum Licentii auribus dedam — decenter in Bucolico carmine hoc rusticanum et plane pastoricium esse iudicauit, cum alter alterum interrogat, ubi caeli spatium non amplius quam tres ulnas pateat, ille autem "quibus in terris inscripti nomina regum nascantur flores".<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Augustinus docet: "This," I said, "has become what they call a Tuscan argument: for this is the name they gave to an argument when instead of answering a difficulty, a man proposes another. It was this that our poet. . . in his Ecologues judged fairly to be rustic and downright countryish: when one asks … Continue reading Maledetti Toscani<\/span>