Symbolae Philologorum Posnaniensium Graecae et Latinae
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A Ploughman’s Sense of the Past
No full textThe article discusses the concept of the past in Hesiod’s Works & Days. I argue that, contrary to traditional belief, Hesiod’s second poem does not focus on myths, but on the social reality he knew from experience, about which he makes pessimistic remarks. Hesiod strengthens his argument by recounting a particularly striking story about the five generations of humanity, from the best to the worst. This story serves the poet as an illustration and confirmation of his gloomy observations about the moral condition of his fellow Greeks. However, I also argue that despite having only oral accounts of the past (myths) at his disposal, Hesiod – the performer of public songs – was aware of the existence of categories of the past and of past events, regardless of how oral reports had rearranged them. I cite his distinction between truth and falsehood when reporting past events as evidence for this; such a distinction appears in ‘a confession’ of the Muses (Theog. 27–28).The article discusses the concept of the past in Hesiod’s Works & Days. I argue that, contrary to traditional belief, Hesiod’s second poem does not focus on myths, but on the social reality he knew from experience, about which he makes pessimistic remarks. Hesiod strengthens his argument by recounting a particularly striking story about the five generations of humanity, from the best to the worst. This story serves the poet as an illustration and confirmation of his gloomy observations about the moral condition of his fellow Greeks. However, I also argue that despite having only oral accounts of the past (myths) at his disposal, Hesiod – the performer of public songs – was aware of the existence of categories of the past and of past events, regardless of how oral reports had rearranged them. I cite his distinction between truth and falsehood when reporting past events as evidence for this; such a distinction appears in ‘a confession’ of the Muses (Theog. 27–28)
La recepción de las Sententiae de Publilio Siro en las paremias españolas en torno al dinero
No full textThis paper aims to examine how Publilius Syrus’ Sententiae, a collection with a long textual and paremiological tradition, may have influenced the formation of Spanish proverbs. Specifically, the study focuses on proverbs concerning the impact of money on people’s lives and behaviors to trace the continuity of Publilius Syrus’ maxims, as well as any divergences that may have emerged (in terms of content, form, or tone).This paper aims to examine how Publilius Syrus’ Sententiae, a collection with a long textual and paremiological tradition, may have influenced the formation of Spanish proverbs. Specifically, the study focuses on proverbs concerning the impact of money on people’s lives and behaviors to trace the continuity of Publilius Syrus’ maxims, as well as any divergences that may have emerged (in terms of content, form, or tone)
Odwołania do twórczości Seneki Młodszego w „Historycznym opisie miasta Szczecina” Paula Friedeborna
No full textThis article focuses on Latin quotations and paraphrases derived from the works of ancient authors that were incorporated by Paul Friedeborn into his chronicle of Szczecin, published in 1613. The aim of this study is to identify the sources from which Friedeborn drew the aforementioned excerpts. The analysis is based on passages taken from the works of Seneca the Younger, the ancient author cited most frequently in Friedeborn’s chronicle. Comparative analyses were conducted on more than 50% of the total number of Seneca quotations, considering two types of potential sources. First, they were compared with the text of selected editions of Seneca’s works published in the 16th and early 17th centuries. Next, the assumption that Friedeborn used intermediary sources was examined. This category includes narrative works from the period preceding the composition of the Szczecin chronicle, in which quotations from Seneca were employed in a manner analogous to Friedeborn’s approach (Hausbuch by Joachim von Wedel and Horologium principium by Antonio de Guevara). The analysis also takes into account popular collections of quotations, or commonplace books (Polyanthea by Domenico Nanni Mirabelli and a later edition of this collection edited by Joseph Lang). The results confirm that Friedeborn relied on intermediary sources for his quotations from Seneca, suggesting that he may have used a similar method to obtain excerpts from other ancient authors. This article focuses on Latin quotations and paraphrases derived from the works of ancient authors that were incorporated by Paul Friedeborn into his chronicle of Szczecin, published in 1613. The aim of this study is to identify the sources from which Friedeborn drew the aforementioned excerpts. The analysis is based on passages taken from the works of Seneca the Younger, the ancient author cited most frequently in Friedeborn’s chronicle. Comparative analyses were conducted on more than 50% of the total number of Seneca quotations, considering two types of potential sources. First, they were compared with the text of selected editions of Seneca’s works published in the 16th and early 17th centuries. Next, the assumption that Friedeborn used intermediary sources was examined. This category includes narrative works from the period preceding the composition of the Szczecin chronicle, in which quotations from Seneca were employed in a manner analogous to Friedeborn’s approach (Hausbuch by Joachim von Wedel and Horologium principium by Antonio de Guevara). The analysis also takes into account popular collections of quotations, or commonplace books (Polyanthea by Domenico Nanni Mirabelli and a later edition of this collection edited by Joseph Lang). The results confirm that Friedeborn relied on intermediary sources for his quotations from Seneca, suggesting that he may have used a similar method to obtain excerpts from other ancient authors. 
Rex Romae Recens Natus. Classical Motifs in the Occasional Poetry Celebrating the Birth of Napoleon’s Son
No full textThe birth in 1811 of the long-awaited heir to the French Empire resulted in literary creativity of both accomplished writers of the period and amateurs who took part in several poetic competitions or self-published their works. Due to the predominant classical model of education and symbolic language of the period, these works abounded in ancient allusions, motifs and themes, covering a broad range of mythological and historical figures and places. This paper seeks to assess the spectrum of the authors’ knowledge and versatility with classical topics by presenting both an approximation of the frequency of mythological personages, and a survey of the roles they played in the imaginarium of the authors, who rarely were professional teachers of ancient literature or history. The compiled material gives insight not only into the ways in which the birth of the imperial prince was represented in literature, but also into the knowledge of classics among ordinary educated people of the period.The birth in 1811 of the long-awaited heir to the French Empire resulted in literary creativity of both accomplished writers of the period and amateurs who took part in several poetic competitions or self-published their works. Due to the predominant classical model of education and symbolic language of the period, these works abounded in ancient allusions, motifs and themes, covering a broad range of mythological and historical figures and places. This paper seeks to assess the spectrum of the authors’ knowledge and versatility with classical topics by presenting both an approximation of the frequency of mythological personages, and a survey of the roles they played in the imaginarium of the authors, who rarely were professional teachers of ancient literature or history. The compiled material gives insight not only into the ways in which the birth of the imperial prince was represented in literature, but also into the knowledge of classics among ordinary educated people of the period
Muza Urania Mitylena. Motyw muzalny w tomie poetyckim Jacka Dobrowolskiego „Niepojęte”
No full textThe article analyses the realisation of the muse motif, with particular reference to Sappho as the ‘tenth muse’ and Urania, in the latest poetic volume by Jacek Dobrowolski.The article analyses the realisation of the muse motif, with particular reference to Sappho as the ‘tenth muse’ and Urania, in the latest poetic volume by Jacek Dobrowolski
The Artistic Re-elaboration of Colloquial Latin in the Aeneid. The Case Study of Aen. 5.159–82.
Full text linkThis article tries to identify some forms of artistic re-elaboration of colloquial Latin in the Aeneid, and to understand how Virgil integrated them in his work. After the definition of colloquial Latin, the method is explained: it combines a linguistic and stylistic approach with a pragmatic and sociolinguistic one. The results that emerged from the analysis of selected dialogues from the Aeneid are then summarised and Virgil’s modus operandi is presented. Finally, an in-depth analysis of a case study (Aen. 5.159–82) shows the presence of colloquial phenomena, their artistic re-elaboration, and their effects. This paper therefore deals with the poetic art of Virgil and allows us to explore his profound linguistic sensitivity.This article tries to identify some forms of artistic re-elaboration of colloquial Latin in the Aeneid, and to understand how Virgil integrated them in his work. After the definition of colloquial Latin, the method is explained: it combines a linguistic and stylistic approach with a pragmatic and sociolinguistic one. The results that emerged from the analysis of selected dialogues from the Aeneid are then summarised and Virgil’s modus operandi is presented. Finally, an in-depth analysis of a case study (Aen. 5.159–82) shows the presence of colloquial phenomena, their artistic re-elaboration, and their effects. This paper therefore deals with the poetic art of Virgil and allows us to explore his profound linguistic sensitivity
Tainted by Deception: Reading Virgil’s Dido in Light of Ovid’s Dido
Full text linkThe paper aims to reveal some aspects of deception and falsity in Virgil and Ovid’s famous portrayals of an unhappy Dido. Paradoxically, such a view helps us to understand not only the sophisticated game between the younger and older poet, but also the special tension existing in the structure of the image of Dido, Queen of Carthage, deceived or only abandoned by the Roman hero Aeneas.The paper aims to reveal some aspects of deception and falsity in Virgil and Ovid’s famous portrayals of an unhappy Dido. Paradoxically, such a view helps us to understand not only the sophisticated game between the younger and older poet, but also the special tension existing in the structure of the image of Dido, Queen of Carthage, deceived or only abandoned by the Roman hero Aeneas
Transformacje wergiliańskie. Wergiliusz w XXI wieku (Vergilian Transformations: Vergil in the Twenty-First Century)
Full text linkThe paper offers a concise survey of Vergil’s presence in contemporary culture, taking into consideration various contexts such as literature, film, comics, and music. Additionally, it explores the connection between Vergil’s works and the current debate on the literary canon.The paper offers a concise survey of Vergil’s presence in contemporary culture, taking into consideration various contexts such as literature, film, comics, and music. Additionally, it explores the connection between Vergil’s works and the current debate on the literary canon
Gramatyczna kategoria liczby w przedgramatycznej tradycji filozoficznej Grecji (Grammatical Category of Number in Pre-grammatical Philosophical Tradition of Greece)
Full text linkThe aim of the paper is to present the way in which the grammatical category of number was referred to by the Greeks before its description took the standard shape known particularly from the Τέχνη γραμματική, attributed to Dionysios Thrax. The research in this field shows that it was Aristotle who first pointed to this category in the 20th chapter of his Poetics, where the expression πτῶσις κατὰ τὸ ἑνὶ ἢ πολλοῖς [σημαῖνον] presents it as one of the bases of word variance peculiar to the name (ὄνομα) and verb (ῥῆμα). The next references to the category of number, already designated with the term ἀριθμοί (‘numbers’), are to be found in the Stoic lingustic doctrine. On the one hand, we come across them when specific classes of words (parts of speech) are being described, which is to say the verb (ῥῆμα), defined as a part of speech signifying something relating to one or many [objects], and the article (ἄρθρον), which is described as a part of speech discerning the genders and numbers of names, whereby the category of number was shown from an apecific relative perspective, i.e. as a characteristic of objects, which are implied by the semantics of a verb, and as a characteristic of names, which finds its indicator in the article. On the other hand, within this branch of Stoic logic, which includes discussions about things signified by the language, the syntactic features of the verb’s number (and person), i.e. following (or not) the rules of agreement with the number (and person) of the nominal exponent of the subject of predication, were given the status of a criterion of the classification of predicates expressed by the very verbs; on the basis of this criterion, the predicate of the σύμβαμα kind contrasts with the παρασύμβαμα one.The aim of the paper is to present the way in which the grammatical category of number was referred to by the Greeks before its description took the standard shape known particularly from the Τέχνη γραμματική, attributed to Dionysios Thrax. The research in this field shows that it was Aristotle who first pointed to this category in the 20th chapter of his Poetics, where the expression πτῶσις κατὰ τὸ ἑνὶ ἢ πολλοῖς [σημαῖνον] presents it as one of the bases of word variance peculiar to the name (ὄνομα) and verb (ῥῆμα). The next references to the category of number, already designated with the term ἀριθμοί (‘numbers’), are to be found in the Stoic lingustic doctrine. On the one hand, we come across them when specific classes of words (parts of speech) are being described, which is to say the verb (ῥῆμα), defined as a part of speech signifying something relating to one or many [objects], and the article (ἄρθρον), which is described as a part of speech discerning the genders and numbers of names, whereby the category of number was shown from an apecific relative perspective, i.e. as a characteristic of objects, which are implied by the semantics of a verb, and as a characteristic of names, which finds its indicator in the article. On the other hand, within this branch of Stoic logic, which includes discussions about things signified by the language, the syntactic features of the verb’s number (and person), i.e. following (or not) the rules of agreement with the number (and person) of the nominal exponent of the subject of predication, were given the status of a criterion of the classification of predicates expressed by the very verbs; on the basis of this criterion, the predicate of the σύμβαμα kind contrasts with the παρασύμβαμα one
Horoskopy Mahometa i pierwszych kalifów w tradycji przypisywanej Stefanowi z Aleksandrii
No full textThis article presents a philological and historical analysis of an eighth-century Greek astrological treatise attributed to the Pseudo-Stephanus of Alexandria, focusing on the figure of Muhammad and his politicalreligious legacy. The treatise includes a horoscope of the Prophet and a prophetic vision of the fate of the Arabs and the decline of the Umayyad dynasty. The study explores the structure and language of the text, its reliance on Ptolemaic astrology, and its incorporation of cosmological, medical, and theological concepts derived from late-antique traditions. Particular attention is given to rhetorical features, the use of classical sources – such as Aristotle, Galen, Manilius, and Dorotheus of Sidon – and the ideological function of the work in the context of Christian-Muslim polemics during the iconoclastic period.This article presents a philological and historical analysis of an eighth-century Greek astrological treatise attributed to the Pseudo-Stephanus of Alexandria, focusing on the figure of Muhammad and his politicalreligious legacy. The treatise includes a horoscope of the Prophet and a prophetic vision of the fate of the Arabs and the decline of the Umayyad dynasty. The study explores the structure and language of the text, its reliance on Ptolemaic astrology, and its incorporation of cosmological, medical, and theological concepts derived from late-antique traditions. Particular attention is given to rhetorical features, the use of classical sources – such as Aristotle, Galen, Manilius, and Dorotheus of Sidon – and the ideological function of the work in the context of Christian-Muslim polemics during the iconoclastic period