Historia zwłok Łazarza – wskrzeszenie dzieła literackiego
The History of Lazarus’ Cadaver: Revival of a Literary Work

Summary/Abstract: The article deals with a metaphor of resurrection, used by Francis Bacon to describe the desire of bringing back the Literary Spirit (genius literarius) of former ages. An attempt to revive a literary work by the historian is compared to the story of Lazarus, brought back to life by Christ four days after laying his body to the grave. Although it is impossible for a literary scientist to assume the position of God, he – despite his limited abilities – recovers the work from the non-existence of time and memory, waking it up from a long slumber. The article touches on issues of specificity of revival language, authority over literature, as well as the existence of its limits, as is the case with the relation “dead – alive”. The context of the biblical narrative on Lazarus’ existence are poems of Jarosław Marek Rymkiewicz. The purpose of the article is undertaking a possible history of literature project, using the resurrected as an example. It is also an attempt of deliberating over the permanence of literature.

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