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Having identified \f7whom\f6 Eumolpus admires and whom he does not,
it now remains to identify \f7what\f6 he admires,
and to evaluate the \f7Bellum Ciuile\f6 against those values.
There are five main guidelines for a good poem set out in section 118; they are:
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• The poet's mind ought to be steeped in the literary tradition
(\f7ingenti flumine litterarum inundata\f6, 118.3;
\f7plenus litteris\f6, 118.6), so that his poetry can be allusive
(\f7per ambages\f6, 118.6),

• The diction of poetry ought to be refined
(\f7refugiendum est ab omni verborum, ut ita dicam, vilitate
et sumendae voces a plebe summotae\f6, 118.4),

• The ostentatious \f7sententia\f6 is the preserve of declaimers
(\f7controuersiam sententiolis uibrantibus pictam\f6, 118.2);
in poetry \f7sententiae\f6 ought to be worked into the fabric of the whole
(\f7ne sententiae emineant extra corpus orationis expressae\f6, 118.5),

• Poetry ought to make use of divine machinery
(\f7deorumque ministeria\f6, 118.6),

• Inspiration ought to trump faithfulness to fact in historical poetry
(\f7potius furentis animi uaticinatio appareat
quam religiosae orationis sub testibus fides\f6, 118.6).

.ck
In his use of \f8allusion\f6 Eumolpus does prove himself
to be at least somewhat \f7plenus litteris\f6.
The \f7Bellum Ciuile\f6 is allusive in general and in detail.
When it comes to general inspiration, it has already been noted
that Eumolpus' greatest debt is probably to Lucan.
George calls into question the relevance of the intense debate
on Petronius' relationship with Lucan
and convincingly disproves many of the supposed parallels between the two,
but even he must allow that
``it remains possible that Petronius was aware in a general way
of some of the characteristics of Lucan's work'', even if,
``at most, it would explain the choice of subject,
and Petronius' penchant for theology.''\|\c
.f "George (1974) 132"
That is to say, it is not necessary to think of Lucan specifically
in order to attribute the inspiration for the \f7Bellum Ciuile\f6
to a contemporary trend in literature.
This in itself seems to go against Eumolpus' conservative literary programme,
but presumably \f7plenus litteris\f6 means as much
``keeping up with the state of the art'' as it does
absorbing the traditional masterpieces.
Indeed, Eumolpus' attempt on the whole seems to be
to unite traditional technique with contemporary themes.
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As for specific textual parallels, Rose assembles a list of those with Lucan;\c
.f "Rose (1971) 87–94."
to which Grimal adds Vergil, Seneca, Ennius, and Ovid;\c
.f "Grimal (1977) 261–292."
and Baldwin Horace, Catullus, and Lucretius.\c
.f "Baldwin (1911) 22–5."
Zeitlin makes a convincing case that of these influences
it is not Lucan's but Vergil's that is the most prominent,
and the most important clue to understanding the \f7Bellum Ciuile\f6.\c
.f "Zietlin (1971a) 76–9."
Particularly striking are the similarities between:
the description of the Phlegraean fields (vv. 67–75)
and Aeneas' adventures in the underworld (\f7A.\f6 6.237–242);
the divine conference for war of Dis and Fortuna (vv. 76–121)
and that of Juno and Allecto (\f7A.\f6 7.286–340);
the appearance of \f7Fama\f6 (v. 211)
and that of the same creature (\f7A.\f6 4.173–88),
as well as Allecto (\f7A.\f6 7.511–18);
the flight from Rome (vv. 215–237) and that from Troy (\f7A.\f6 7.511–18);
\f7Furor\f6's bursting forth (vv. 258–60)
and her imprisonment (\f7A.\f6 1.294–6);
the description of Discordia (vv. 271 ff.)
and that of the same goddess (\f7A.\f6 6.280, 8.702).
Besides Vergil, Eumolpus makes striking use of Livy:
his description of Caesar's descent from the Alps (v. 185–208)
draws heavily on Livy's description of Hannibal's descent (Liv. 21.35–6).
In the same passage, the particular detail of the breaking of (molecular?) bonds
as troops and horses trample the ice (\f7turmae nimbos fregere ligatos /
et pauidus quadrupes undarum uincula rupit\f6, vv. 187–8) seems almost Lucretian.
The implications of all this allusion will be discussed
in the third part of the present work; it is enough to note here
that, in keeping with his poetic precepts,
Eumolpus does indeed demonstrate an ability
to draw on a wealth of literary references.