Which author defines Aeneas's pietas as Virgil's defining social responsibility?

• A. Edith Hall
• B. R.D Williams
• C. Camps
• D. Harrison

Answer: (B)

Pietas in the Aeneid can be read as a form of social responsibility that ties private duty to the public good. R. D. Williams argues that Virgil uses Aeneas's pietas to present a defining social obligation of the poet and, by extension, of Roman society—a framework in which personal fidelity to gods and family is inseparable from duties to the city and the state’s foundation. This reading treats the epic as not only a tale of individual virtue but a statement about what Romans owe to one another and to the community, aligning with Augustan ideals of social order, leadership, and public responsibility. While other scholars examine pietas from different angles, Williams specifically foregrounds this social-responsibility dimension as central to Virgil’s project.