Socratis et Socraticorum epistolae – (nie)jednolitość zbioru
Socratis et Socraticorum Epistolae: The (Non)Uniformity of Collection

Summary/Abstract: The aim of the considerations and analyses undertaken in this article is an attempt to define the collection of Socrates and the Socratic Letters as a work based on the coherence of its internal structure. In proving this, the manuscript tradition of the letters and their editions was taken into account because we can observe the confused sequence of Socratic correspondence therein. In taking a closer look at the structure of the plot, which is one of the main determinants of the work’s unity, and in trying to identify the authorship and more precisely the existence of more than one author of Socrates’ pupils’ letters, I analysed two groups of letters – epp. 8-13 and 14-17. As these groups also create independent narratives, I used the storytelling model proposed by Jean M. Mandler in the framework of research on the grammar of storytelling. Additionally, to confirm the observations made, I referred to the rules of building an oral narrative indicated by William Labov and Joshua Waletzky. The results of the analysis of both stories made it possible to negate the existence of the structural uniformity and integrity of the collection. The only link that connects this collection is Socratic thought. Socratis et Socraticorum epistolae thus form something akin to an “epistolary philosophical tale”

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