Which scholar states that fate in Virgil requires the cooperation of a man to fulfill a long-range plan?

• A. Galinsky
• B. Isabel Paintin
• C. R.D Williams
• D. Bob Cowan

Answer: (C)

In Virgil, fate isn’t a rigid script handed down from above; it unfolds through a dialog between divine plan and human action. The gods set a broad course and send omens, but the actual realization of that long-range plan depends on a mortal choosing to act in ways that fulfill that plan. This means the hero’s decisions, endurance, and sense of duty are essential to bringing prophecy to fruition, especially in the founding of Rome.

R. D. Williams is the scholar who emphasizes this exact point: fate requires a man’s cooperation to carry out a larger design. He treats the Aeneid as a project where human agency is necessary to translate divine intention into history, with Aeneas’s pietas and actions playing a pivotal role in completing the gods’ scheme.

The other scholars listed have produced important work on Virgil from different angles—ranging from literary form to political reading or stylistic analysis—but they do not foreground the claim that fate hinges on human cooperation to realize a long-range plan.