Classical Authors Research Articles

The School of Bunesti, Arges, Romania: Hand-made Architecture, A Craft of Self-limitation

Weary of the present-day inflation of possibilities for planning, building, learning, and living, and with an increasingly acute sense of the artificiality of our professional training, we—a historian, an architect, and a small group of students—chose to get away from urban scenery and to put ourselves to the test through a summer. We settled in the middle of a forest, giving ourselves time for reflection and action from a radically different perspective. Inspired by classic authors and classical culture, since 2008 we have been taking the local natural building techniques of a Wallachian valley as a guide to the timeless topography of the ancient world.

Villa Rhabani: Foreshadowing Wilder’s Masterpieces

Abstract Villa Rhabani, an unfinished play by Thornton Wilder (only the first three Acts of a projected four Acts were completed), written in 1920–21, presents many motifs and personality types that the author would explore comprehensively in his mature works. These themes include “the long hymn of love” (qtd. in Niven 191), the independent, resourceful woman with inner beauty, tragic deaths of young women as in The Alcestiad and Our Town, and the proper role of money. The main characters are prototypes that would become the life-giving manipulator, Dolly Levi, and the profound writers and commentators on love, the Marquesa de Montemayor and the Abbess Madre María del Pilar in The Bridge of San Luis Rey. Wilder’s intertextuality with Dante and Henry James is prominent in this play, and will lead to a lifetime of engagement with classic authors.

"Clothe you his body, he will help to apparel your mind": Imitation and Narcissism in Cynthia's Revels

abstract: This study examines the relationship between imitation and narcissism in the early modern period through a rereading of Ben Jonson's Cynthia's Revels . Contrary to modern psychoanalytic understanding that a close connection exists between imitation and narcissism, imitation, as a method of translation and creation, in the early modern period does not relate to narcissism; in fact, they can be viewed as opposing concepts. To explore the relationship between imitation and narcissism and to establish a connection between the two concepts in psychoanalysis, this study uses the works of Sigmund Freud and Jacques Lacan. Through an analysis of characters, Criticus and Amorphus, in Cynthia's Revels , this study reveals that, while Criticus often imitates classical authors such as Horace, Seneca, and Juvenal, he is not regarded as a narcissist. Contrastingly, characters such as Amorphus are portrayed as narcissistic, though they only quote Latin idioms and do not imitate them. Their behavior is mimicry, a superficial imitation without substance. This article then rereads the portrayals of Criticus and Amorphus from a modern-day psychoanalytic perspective, suggesting that Criticus can be perceived as narcissistic and that Amorphus can be seen as a force of satire instead of a satirized target.

Literary allusions serving as tools for comic effect in the works of Tertullian

AbstractThe overwhelming majority of early Christian authors considered humour and laughter inappropriate. A significant exception to this is Tertullian, who ‒ as a trained orator ‒ was well aware of the importance of verbal humour, particularly as manifested in his apologetic works. In his disputes with heretics and pagans Tertullian practically destroyed his opponents with the weapons of irony, sarcasm, and mockery. However, in this article, we only examine the role of literary allusions in Tertullian's humour. Both Cicero and Quintilian approved of the use of quotations from classical authors for the sake of humorous effect. To our greatest surprise, Tertullian went so far even as to quote from the low-down comedy writers (mimographoi) to achieve this effect. He did all this despite the fact that ‒ as a Christian moralist ‒ he deeply despised and condemned these lowly theatre plays.

Natation et perfection : un marqueur de la civilisation arabo-islamique

Abstract Swimming (sibāḥa / ʿawm) enjoyed a very positive image in the premodern Arab world and, according to several classical authors, its practice was highly recommended by the caliph ʿUmar b. al-Ḫaṭṭāb. Pioneering work has shown that Greek traditions are at the root of such a phenomenon. It remains to be understood, however, why Arab scholars had recourse especially to the caliph ʿUmar as the most suitable authority to promote Swimming, and why, specifically in the Arab area, the importance of swimming was stressed to such an extent that, combined with knowledge of Arabic writing and archery, it became a means of achieving perfection, disregarding, thus, any constraints, such as religion or kinship.

Kant and Schopenhauer on the Ultimate Goal of Human Life

Contemporary reflection concerning man focuses upon man as a being living only “here and now”, it is “short-termed” in character. In this paper, going against the current of this dominant tendency, I would like to show how interesting and important is the question about the ultimate goal of human life. In my considerations I refer to the thought of Immanuel Kant and Arthur Schopenhauer – two classical authors of modern philosophy – who still seem to exert a significant influence on the European culture. Even if in their systems they depart from similar assumptions, their conclusions concerning man are radically different: for Kant, every human being has unique value and is called to create “civil society”; for Schopenhauer every individual being (including man) is volatile and devoid of meaning and value. The question remains open as to whether the ultimate message of their philosophy can be still an inspiration for us today, or whether it already sounds rather strange and unfamiliar in confrontation with the spirit of modernity.

Ctirad and Šárka. Comparative analysis of selected aspects of the style of historical epics by Jaroslav Vrchlický and Julius Zeyer

The aim of the paper is a comparative analysis of selected aspects of the singular styles of the historical epics Šárka by Jaroslav Vrchlický (1853–1912) and Ctirad Julius Zeyer (1841–1901); classical authors of Czech literature from the so-called Lumira generation of the second half of the 19th century. The juxtaposition of thematically similar texts allowed for a more pronounced identification of the characteristic features of the singular styles of both poets, possibly the specificity of their historical and mythic epic poetry, ideally the stylistic dominance of the authorial styles of Jaroslav Vrchlický and Julius Zeyer in mutual comparison. In order to achieve the set objectives, the methods of comparative and mathematical stylistics were used.

Orus, Ἀττικῶν λέξεων συναγωγή

This article presents an overview of Orus’ Collection of Attic Words, addressing its transmission, structure, sources, evaluative terminology, and views of the canon of classical authors.

Phrynichus Atticista, Σοφιστικὴ προπαρασκευή (Praeparatio sophistica)

This article presents an overview of Phrynichus Atticista’s Praeparatio sophistica, addressing its transmission, structure, sources, evaluative terminology, and views of the canon of classical authors.

Moeris, Ἀττικιστής

This article presents an overview of Moeris’ Atticista, addressing its transmission, structure, sources, evaluative terminology, and views of the canon of classical authors.

Pausanias Atticista, Ἀττικῶν ὀνομάτων συναγωγή

This article presents an overview of Pausanias Atticista’s Collection of Attic Words, addressing its transmission, structure, sources, evaluative terminology, and views of the canon of classical authors.

Thomas Magister, ’Ονομάτων Ἀττικῶν ἐκλογή

This article presents an overview of Thomas Magister’s Eclogue, addressing its transmission, structure, sources, evaluative terminology, and views of the canon of classical authors.

Iulius Pollux, Ὀνομαστικόν (Onomasticon)

This article presents an overview of Iulius Pollux’ Onomasticon, addressing its transmission, structure, sources, evaluative terminology, and views of the canon of classical authors.

Herodian], Φιλέταιρος (Philetaerus)

This article presents an overview of the pseudo-Herodianic Philetaerus, addressing its transmission, structure, sources, evaluative terminology, and views of the canon of classical authors.

Aelius Dionysius, Ἀττικὰ ὀνόματα

This article presents an overview of Aelius Dionysius’ Attic Words, addressing its transmission, structure, sources, evaluative terminology, and views of the canon of classical authors.

Philemon, Περὶ Ἀττικῆς ἀντιλογίας τῆς ἐν ταῖς λέξεσιν

This article presents an overview of Philemon’s On Attic Controversy about Words, addressing its transmission, structure, sources, evaluative terminology, and views of the canon of classical authors.

The Ecological-Spiritual Complex in Novels of Southern Vietnam in the First Half of the 20th Century

Ecocriticism began in the 70s of the twentieth century. Up to now, the theory of ecocriticism is becoming more and more complete. Understanding the relationship between humans and nature, in the spirit of ecological humanism, non-anthropocentrism, philosophy of respect for life, and respect for “place” has brought ecocriticism to a new level in literary research. Ecocriticism elevates nature to the level of humans in the symbiotic relationship of coexistence in today's turbulent universe, especially with the threat of an increasingly harsh human living environment (drought, flood, earthquake, disease, etc.). Applying the theory of ecocriticism when studying classic literary works of the world helps scientists reconsider the concept of classical authors on the relationship between the natural environment and humans. With statistical analysis and comparative methods, we use ecological criticism theory to study some Southern Vietnamese novels of the early 20th century, especially the aspect of spiritual ecological complexity.

THEORY OF SOCIAL REPRESENTATIONS AND USER SAFETY IN PRIMARY HEALTH CARE: Construction of theoretical-methodological path

This research aimed to develop a theoretical-methodological path between the Theory of Social Representations and the safety of users of Primary Health Care. This is a theoretical essay, guided by productions in the fields of social sciences, politics, sociology, of philosophy and health, digital and in printed materials. Electronic databases: MEDLINE, LILACS, BDENF, VHL and Google Scholar were used. The content was deepened through consultations in books by classic authors that discuss the theory and its insertion in social reality. To support inferential analysis, Bradin's content analysis technique was used. For analytical and reflective scope, the discussion covered four topics, namely: The Theory of Social Representations: preliminary notes; Social Representations: intertwining and deepening based on Moscovici's postulates; The processes of elaboration of social representations: transforming the unfamiliar, or unfamiliarity itself, into the familiar; Arrival: outline of a theoretical path between the Theory of Social Representations and User Safety in Primary Health Care. The identification of how representations are created and how they are organized in everyday life, supporting the understanding of knowledge, feelings, values, symbols and culture that can influence and modify practices within primary care. Shared and socially constructed knowledge can influence new practices and behaviors regarding user safety in Primary Health Care.

Понятийные пятерки в текстах философии йоги

The article treats the identification of a fundamental methodological feature peculiar to the classical Indian philosophy and Indian theoretical thinking in general. The example of the tradition of yoga philosophy (yoga-darshana) is used. These are lists of terms, always more than two-membered, that together cover a certain thematical area. The material of the article consists of five five-membered lists. First, three methodological guidelines of the researcher of the yoga tradition are considered, which are thought to be prerequisites of any remarcable success. It is stated that they are mostly ignored. Further, a statement is made based on Nyāya classical author (Paksilalasvāmin) that these lists represent a key feature in the organization of the Indian systematic text. The factor preventing the elaboration and application of such lists in the European tradition of thinking is briefly considered. It comes out to be the distinction between concepts and judgments and an obvious limitation of judgments by the dichotomy of affirmative and negative. Indian thought, on the contrary, elaborated a theory of “mind contents” (jñāna) without any distinction of concepts and judgements. The common field of the two methodological techniques, viz. the concept definition and conceptual enumeration is exemplified. On its basis, five conceptual lists of the yoga tradition are interpreted with the identification of their uniform formal structure: modes of intentionality (citta); events of intentionality (cittavrtti); “afflictions” (kleśa) i.e. unavoidable impediments to the goals of yoga; factors of meditation (dhyāna) and indispensable behavioral self-limitations of a yogin (yama). It is argued that such lists are just an example of the application of a common Indian methodological technique.

The Pathological A priori

While classical authority is positivistic in form, authority in the age of Radical Democracy is negative in form. The latter produces shame as the pathological a priori of modern subjectivity. Shame springs from unworthiness in the face of the infinite demand emitted by the concept of the “coming community,” which, as the never-there-but-always-to-come, puts every present into the state of a normative subtraction. To be ashamed means to experience oneself as not yet worthy as to what the coming community demands.