Rivisitazione dei concetti di fame e sazietà secondo S. Caterina da Siena Alcune riflessioni sopra il lessico mistico del Dialogo della Divina Provvidenza
Revisitation of concepts of hunger and satiety in St. Cathrine of Siena Some reflections on the mystical vocabulary of the Dialogue of Divine Providence

Summary/Abstract: The aim of the article is to show how the concepts of hunger and satiety are conceptualized in the Dialogue of Divine Providence of St. Catherine of Siena. An outline of the state of research on the mystical language was presented and its characteristics were indicated. Afterwards, an analysis of phrases and collocations related to the way of understanding the above-mentioned concepts by this fourteenth-century mystic was made. The analyzed corpus consists of examples of metaphors containing words related to the domain of hunger and satiation, such as: taste, hunger, food, con- sume, table, feed, hungry, satiety and insatiability. Phrases and expressions referring to satisfying hunger or satiation, along with metaphors related to light and fire, are among the most numerously represented in the entire work. Since mystics are unable to fully describe their spiritual experiences, they use everyday vocabulary, expanding the semantic range of words. As St. Catherine directs her reflection towards the supernatural reality, she uses words expressing hunger and satiety primarily in the spiritual context.

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