Laus est ardua dura sustinere: riprese e originalità nell'elogio sidoniano di Narbona (carm. 23,37-96)

Sidonius’ the laus of Narbonne (carm. 23,37-96) is divided in three different thematic sections: the first and the third sections contain the praise of everything makes the city beautiful and rich, and the mention of its distinguished ‘children’. These are ‘topical’ sections of the laudes about towns and places, where it is possible to identify some similarities with Ausonio and Virgil. The central section is not only the most complex, but also the least conventional: Sidonius seems to contraddict even the convention which prescribed that in this type of composition there should be described only the bona of the celebrated place. In these central lines the poet reminds the value shown by Narbonne during the siege of Theodoric I - XIII - referring it to the visible ruins in the town. They should be praised and not blamed, as they are a tangible sign of the town’s courage and ability to face difficult challenges. In the central lines are studied the great praises Sidonius addresses to Theodoric II. The laus of Narbonne is a precious evidence of the Gallo-Roman poet’s ability of taking from the heritage of the literary tradition and give birth to an ‘original’ work of art: the city described by him is courageous and reliable as a veteran, open to a new future. Once again, his lines are not simply a lusus ‘neoalexandrine’, but they can represent a way of ‘to do’ polics.