The Analysis of Sexual Terms Used in Adversus Nationes by Arnobius Cover Image

„Genitalium membrorum (…) foeditates”. L’analisi dei termini sessuali ricorrenti nell’ Adversus Nationes di Arnobio
The Analysis of Sexual Terms Used in Adversus Nationes by Arnobius

Author(s): Anna Kucz
Subject(s): Applied Linguistics
Published by: Uniwersytet Adama Mickiewicza
Keywords: Arnobius; Adversus Nationes; body; sexual terms

Summary/Abstract: The aim of this article is to present the ways in which Arnobius speaks of the body and its sexuality, in particularhis linguistic strategies employed to articulate sexual terms. It analyses those fragments of AdversusNationes where the Rhetorician of Sicca Veneria does not shy away from sexual terms describing various bodyparts, yet is far from being vulgar or literal. Arnobius’s apologia constitutes a rich source of lexical materialcovering human anatomy and obscene behaviours. It is also an example of how to observe the rules of aestheticsin Late Antique literature.

  • Issue Year: XXVI/2016
  • Issue No: 2
  • Page Range: 59-70
  • Page Count: 12
  • Language: Italian