Treny od 19 do 1: niedoskonałość i doskonałość
Laments from 19 to 1: Imperfection and Perfection

Summary/Abstract: This article presents a renewed attempt at explaining the cyclical nature of Jan Kochanowski’s Treny [Laments] in relation to their interpretative contexts, in particular that of Psałterz Dawidów [David's Psalter]. When poetically paraphrasing the Psalms, Kochanowski might have come across the medieval tradition of symbolic and arithmetic speculation, which, according to the author of this article, allows for a numerological reading of Treny within the framework of the idea of the humanitas / divinitas unity. This idea brings Kochanowski’s funeral cycle closer to both the Orphic-Pythagorean tradition, blended into a Christian humanist neo-Platonism, and the fundamental Christological truths in Christianity – from this perspective, the imperfection of the number 19 leads to the perfection of the number 1, which reflects the One (Giordano Bruno). At the same time, the author tries to prove that the given sequence of works in the cycle (for example, the special position of the number 11) strengthens and supports the dramatic nature of the thoughts of the poet, who is struggling with a personal tragedy.

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