Reference: source of the words "pent-up Utica ..."
Reference information: The reference is to an ancient city called Utica, but I think the author is being humorous in his use of a well-known phrase, "pent-up Utica", which is a quote from a play called "Epilogue to Cato" by Samuel Sewall: SEWALL, Samuel, jurist, born in Bishopstoke, England, 28 March, 1652; died in Boston, Massachusetts, 1 January, 1730. In an "Epilogue to Cato," written in 1778, drawing a parallel between the characters and events of the Revolution and those of the play, occurs the couplet, "No pent-up Utica contracts your powers, But the whole boundless continent is yours," which Park Benjamin adopted as the motto of his paper, "The New World." His poems, which were mostly the productions of his youth, were collected into a volume (Portsmouth, 1801).— http://www.famousamericans.net/samuelsewall/
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There is a connection between Utica in Carthage (now Tunisia) and Cato - Cato the Elder, I think (the Cato who was famous for saying "Carthage must be destroyed" at the end of every speech). Utica is an ancient city northwest of Carthage near the outflow of the Medjerda River into the Mediterranean Sea, traditionally considered to be the first colony founded by the Phoenicians in North Africa.[1] Today, Utica no longer exists, and its remains are located not on the coast where it once lay, but further inland because deforestation and agriculture upriver led to massive erosion and the Medjerda River silted over its original mouth. [2] "Utica" is from the Phoenician atiq (identical to modern Arabic عُتَيقة) meaning "old [town]," contrasting with the later colony "Carthage", meaning "new town."[3][4] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utica,_Tunisia
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It's the connection with Cato that makes me think it's the Utica in Carthage.
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On the other hand, it could be Cato the Younger, who is clearly associated with Utica: Marcus Porcius Cato Uticensis (95 BC–46 BC), known as Cato the Younger (Cato Minor) to distinguish him from his great-grandfather (Cato the Elder), ... en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cato_the_Younger He was called "Cato Uticensis", i.e. "Cato of Utica".
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If these words "pent-up Utica ..." come from a play written in 1778, the author, surely, is putting them into Aristotle's mouth for comic effect.
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On the evidence I've seen, "pent-up Utica that contracts your powers" is a phrase that was widely quoted in the USA. I think it became the motto of a journal. Perhaps others can provide more information about this, and about the play.
| Dylan Edwards United Kingdom Native speaker of: English PRO pts in category: 16
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