Obraz natury w kulturze intelektualnej, literackiej i artystycznej doby staropolskiej
Nature in Intellectual, Literary and Artistic Culture in Old Poland
Contributor(s): Elwira Buszewicz (Editor), Justyna Dąbkowska-Kujko (Editor), Aleksandra Jakóbczyk-Gola (Editor), Alina Nowicka-Jeżowa (Editor)
Subject(s): History, Language and Literature Studies, Cultural history, Theoretical Linguistics, Studies of Literature
Published by: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego
Keywords: Old Poland; nature; intellectual culture; artistic culture; literary culture
Summary/Abstract: A collection of works which offers a panoramic perspective on the state of research concerning the perception of nature in 15th–18th century Poland. It includes dissertations on the principles of early modern natural science, the conditions necessary to understand and explore it and the examples of imaginary and practical oriented transformations.
- E-ISBN-13: 978-83-235-4694-8
- Print-ISBN-13: 978-83-235-4686-3
- Page Count: 484
- Publication Year: 2020
- Language: Polish
„Bóg i lepsza natura” Stwórca i stworzenie w dawnej polskiej myśli teologicznej Rekonesans
„Bóg i lepsza natura” Stwórca i stworzenie w dawnej polskiej myśli teologicznej Rekonesans
(“God and Better Nature”. The Creator and Creation in Old Polish Theological Thought. A Reconnaissance)
- Author(s):Elwira Buszewicz
- Language:Polish
- Subject(s):Cultural history, Theoretical Linguistics, Studies of Literature
- Page Range:20-48
- No. of Pages:29
- Keywords:natura naturata; nature in theological thought; humanism and theology; theology and reformation; theology and science; theology and new philosophical trends; theological thought in sermons
- Summary/Abstract:The article attempts to establish to what extent early modern Polish theological thought influenced cosmological notions (the image of the world) and the relation between the Creator and the creation. Theological thought at Cracow Academy began at the time when the discipline aimed to explain the whole world and the scholars used methods appropriate to other disciplines (e.g. philosophy). The education system based on the seven liberal arts favoured interdisciplinarity, which resulted from medieval scientific universalism. Academic theology in Poland was scholastic and based on commentaries to Peter Lombard’s sentences. The interpretation of such commentaries can be important from a theological perspective. Academic theology developed and changed, evolving towards biblical and theological problems. The reflections on the Creator or the creation often resulted from biblical commentaries (e.g. Scopus biblicus by Wojciech Nowopolczyk). Scholasticism was not always adequate as it was often challenged by new cosmological theories (heliocentrism), new ideas and religious trends (humanism, reformation, antitrinitarism). The theological response to them was either irenic or agonistic. An interesting phenomenon which connected European and Polish theological thought concerning nature is the work of Annibale Roselli, the author of the theological commentary to Pymander. It was a part of Corpus hermeticum. God and the creation are also present in Jesuit theological thought. In the 17th century theology has to take a stance towards new philosophical trends influencing perception of the world (Galileo and the importance of the mathematical order of reality, Hugo Grotius and the idea of natural law independent of God, etc.); in the 18th century theology will be challenged by deism and materialistic atomism. This article explores how the traditional, catholic image of the Creator and the creation was transformed as a result of its contact with humanism (Jan Trzciana, Annibale Rosseli, Mikołaj Dłuski) and heterodox beliefs, and how the latter developed new theological arguments (e.g. Dudycz’s antitrinitarian doctrine). The last part of the article is devoted to nature metaphors used by medieval and renaissance preachers. Philosophical and theological treatises influenced by Platonism and humanism show dignity and greatness of man, whereas medieval and baroque sermons expose vanity of creation tainted by sin.
- Price: 4.50 €
Maîtres et possesseurs de la nature Filozoficzne uzasadnienie nowożytności
Maîtres et possesseurs de la nature Filozoficzne uzasadnienie nowożytności
(Maîtres et possesseurs de la nature. The Philosophical Justification of Modernity)
- Author(s):Jakub Koryl
- Language:Polish
- Subject(s):Cultural history, Studies of Literature, Theory of Literature
- Page Range:49-112
- No. of Pages:64
- Keywords:modernity; Cartesianism; Socinianism; rationalism; Prometheism; subject; res cogitans; system of thought; superstition; miracle; natura naturans; rational grammar; Bacon; Descartes; Spinoza; Arnauld
- Summary/Abstract:The text discusses fundamental and profoundly distinctive changes which occurredin understanding the nature in Polish and European 17th century philosophy. Due tothe specifi c nature of these transformations and intellectual, separatist and culturalintentions of philosophers of that time, the main issue of this work is not nature itself,but the answer to the question how the epochal identity, signifi cance and distinctivenessof modern age can be justifi ed in exploring nature as the object of reasoning. The aimofthe text is to reconstruct the main metaphysical stance of modern age and its modernsystem of thought. The text consists of four parts. The fi rst part discusses twohistoriosophical ideas of the modern era: discontinuity of Mediterranean culture andmodernity as a radically new beginning. The key problem here is the philosophicalcognition and rejecting superstition as a form of thought based on someone else’s authority. The second part discusses several issues: the reconstruction of a modernsystem of thought based on the 17th century idea of subjectivity; the methods employedin rejecting sermocinal thinking and applying the realistic one; a new concept of knowledgeand truth; a new idea of nature – signifi cantly broaden – as the subject of thought.The attempts to justify a miracle as a natural phenomenon are particular cases discussedin the text. The third part explores the modern concept of natural language formulatedwithin rational grammar, which provides grounds for the epochal distinctiveness ofmodernity. The last part presents the modern breakthrough as a source of its owncrisis. Consequently, two basic, albeit concealed, Promethean implications and consequencesof modernity are identifi ed: undeifi cation of rationalised God and alienationof man in his own subjectivity.
- Price: 4.50 €
Recepcja myśli Isaaca Newtona w polskiej filozofii eksperymentalnej na przykładzie dyskusji o prawach natury (Jan Śniadecki)
Recepcja myśli Isaaca Newtona w polskiej filozofii eksperymentalnej na przykładzie dyskusji o prawach natury (Jan Śniadecki)
(Newton’s Reception in Polish Experimental Philosophy: The Case of the Laws of Nature as discussed by Jan Śniadecki)
- Author(s):Hanna Szabelska
- Language:Polish
- Subject(s):Cultural history, Studies of Literature, Theory of Literature
- Page Range:113-135
- No. of Pages:23
- Keywords:Newton; Jan Śniadecki; Jan Bohomolec; laws of nature; modern scientific notion; descriptive law of nature; experiment; superstition; comet; prescriptive law of nature; experimental philosophy; empiric
- Summary/Abstract:The essay examines the reception of Newton’s legacy, in particular, of his concept of laws of nature, in writings by Jan Śniadecki. As Peter Anstey has recently shown, the modern concept of scientific, i.e. descriptive law of nature emerged and was developed in two stages: a speculative (Descartes) and an experimental (Newton). Śniadecki’s concept of scientific law is both descriptive and experimental, and thus is to be taken as a model example of the second stage. This claim can be fleshed out by comparing Śniadecki to Jan Bohomolec. While traditionally established as an emblem of campaigns against cometary superstition (Bad or Good Omen: Comets of the Year 1769 and 1770), Bohomolec does resort to the concept of prescriptive law of nature, directly governed by divine legislation. This sheds new light on Śniadecki’s scientific achievements as an experimental philosopher par excellence that dismissed the term ‘empiricism’ as a Kantian novelty.
- Price: 4.50 €
Od niebieskich znaków do kosmosu nowej astronomii: komety i wszechświat w Prognostyku Jana Bohomolca
Od niebieskich znaków do kosmosu nowej astronomii: komety i wszechświat w Prognostyku Jana Bohomolca
(From the Blue Signs to the Space of New Astronomy: Comets and Universe in Jan Bohomolec’s Prediction)
- Author(s):Grzegorz Raubo
- Language:Polish
- Subject(s):Cultural history, Studies of Literature, Theory of Literature
- Page Range:136-162
- No. of Pages:27
- Keywords:Enlightenment; science popularisation; new astronomy; Newtonianism; comets; prognostic tradition
- Summary/Abstract:The article discusses Prediction Good or Bad of the 1769 and 1770 Comet or Nature and the End of Comets with a Short Description of Celestial Rotation, the work of the Enlightenment writer, science populariser and Jesuit, Jan Bohomolec. The works critically analyses the views on comets present in science (based on the Aristotelian cosmology and referring to the idea of celestial spheres and the Cartesian theory of vortices) and culture (in fortune-telling and prognostic tradition). Against this background, the author shows the development of views on comets in new astronomy formed in the era of scientific revolution. The book popularises the achievements of new astronomy, emphasising the role of the heliocentric theory, the discoveries made through the telescopic exploration of the sky, and Isaac Newton’s law of gravitation. Bohomolec’s Prognosis explores other issues discussed in Enlightenment science and literature, including the notion of cosmic pluralism he is sceptical about. The Polish writer emphasises that the perfection of the world structure and mechanism shown by new astronomy is consistent with its religious genesis and relevant working principles.
- Price: 4.50 €
Małpa i lustro. O kilku aspektach pojęcia natury w dawnej refleksji estetycznej
Małpa i lustro. O kilku aspektach pojęcia natury w dawnej refleksji estetycznej
(A Monkey and a Mirror. Nature in Old Aesthetic Reflexion)
- Author(s):Barbara Niebelska-Rajca
- Language:Polish
- Subject(s):Cultural history, Studies of Literature, Theory of Literature
- Page Range:164-180
- No. of Pages:17
- Keywords:aesthetics; ancient philosophy; mimesis; art and nature; belle nature; Marsilio Ficino; Francesco Patrizi; Philip Sidney; Federico Zucchari; aping; symbol of ape; imitatio naturae; artistic creation
- Summary/Abstract:In early modern and modern aesthetics inherited from ancient philosophy the notion of nature provided essential context for the theory of creativity and an indispensable element of the definition of art (techne, ars). Under the doctrine of mimesis nature was an idea which, on the one hand, founded and systematised the notion of art but, on the other, competed with it. The rivalry between art and nature was especially seen in Mannerism: the classic 17th century doctrine postulated enhancing and idealising the works of nature (natura naturata); later it was also advocated by Enlightenment Classicists(the idea of belle nature). The article presents several essential meanings which were attributed to the notion of nature in the theories of art and literature between the 15th and 18th centuries. It emphasises the importance of self-causing nature (natura naturans), which in the 15th century aesthetics thought (M. Ficino) became a model to explain the process of creation and its relation with deliberate and rational acts of nature. The natura naturans category was crucial to aesthetics theories which emphasised the creative aspect of creation. It was frequently used by theoreticians such as F. Patrizi, Ph. Sidney, F. Zucchari, who opposing the rule of imitatio naturae understood as passive imitating, aping nature, compared an artist to creative nature or called him the “other nature”. The notion of natura naturans like the Neoplatonist idea of plastic nature had a universal meaning for early modern and Enlightenment theories of art. The analogy between artistic creation and creative nature proved to be more inspiring and useful in modern aesthetics than the famous Renaissance comparison of an artist and creating God.
- Price: 4.50 €
Ewolucja obrazu natury w malarstwie ikonowym na terenie Polski w epoce nowożytnej
Ewolucja obrazu natury w malarstwie ikonowym na terenie Polski w epoce nowożytnej
(The Evolution of the Image of Nature in Icon Painting in Poland in the Modern Age)
- Author(s):Michał Janocha
- Language:Polish
- Subject(s):Cultural history, Studies of Literature, Theory of Literature
- Page Range:181-197
- No. of Pages:17
- Keywords:icon painting; orthodox art; nature in painting; deification; occidentalisation; symbolism; realism; religious and secular painting; East-West meeting
- Summary/Abstract:In classic icon painting, like in modern European painting, the image of nature is juxtaposed with the image of man. But – like in a baroque rhetorical figure – both oppositions are opposite. In modern painting the figure of man often represents transience, whereas nature – persistence. In icon painting it is nature that is ephemeral and the figure of man is deified and eternal. The dissertation shows the evolution of the image of nature in icon painting between the 15th and 18th centuries. Under the influence of Polish painting nature loses its ephemeral qualities and evolves from symbolism to realism. In the 18th century the image of nature in icon painting does not differ from the one in Polish religious and secular art. It is the reflection of the wider process of occidentalisation of orthodox art in modern times, which occurred at the meeting of the East and West.
- Price: 4.50 €
Natura w drewnie wyrzezana O drzeworytach z polskich zielników drukowanych w XVI stuleciu
Natura w drewnie wyrzezana O drzeworytach z polskich zielników drukowanych w XVI stuleciu
(Nature Carved in Wood. Woodcuts from Polish 16th Century Printed Herbaria)
- Author(s):Katarzyna Krzak-Weiss
- Language:Polish
- Subject(s):Cultural history, Studies of Literature, Theory of Literature
- Page Range:198-220
- No. of Pages:23
- Keywords:graphics; herbarium; Stefan Falimirz; Emiliusz Macer; Hieronim Spiczyński; Marcin Siennik; woodcuts; print; history of book; scientific illustration
- Summary/Abstract:The article discusses graphics which adorned Polish 16th century printed herbaria. The analysis of illustrations published in the works of Stefan Falimirz, Emiliusz Macer, Hieronim Spiczyński and Marcin Siennik provides an opportunity to compare the woodcuts and the books. It allows to indicate the sources which inspired the illustrations and the herbaria themselves, offering an opportunity to present them against a wider,international background.
- Price: 4.50 €
Baltazar Castiglione o naturze i naturalności. Uwagi tłumacza
Baltazar Castiglione o naturze i naturalności. Uwagi tłumacza
(Baltazar Castiglione on Nature and Naturalness. Translator’s Comments)
- Author(s):Andrzej Borowski
- Language:Polish
- Subject(s):Cultural history, Studies of Literature, Theory of Literature
- Page Range:222-235
- No. of Pages:14
- Keywords:paraenesis; paraphrase; courtier; Renaissance aesthetics; nature and naturalness; natural beauty; artistic beauty; dialogue; translation; Baldassare Castiglione
- Summary/Abstract:Castiglione’s dialogue "Il libro del cortegiano" is one of the most important parenetic texts written in the humanistic circles of early modern Italian and European culture. The text was an inspiration for Łukasz Górnicki, who wrote a Polish paraphrase of this work (using entirely Polish realities, location and interlocutors) and published it under the title "Dworzanin polski" ("A Polish Courtier"). The notions of nature and naturalness are of special interest to Castiglione’s interlocutors, who perceive them from two perspectives.The first one is “metaphysical” as the interlocutors discussing nature, naturalness and the theory of existence refer to Thomas Aquinas and implicitly to Aristotle. The second thread concerning nature and naturalness is closely connected with aesthetics. Castiglione considers the “tension” between the notion of “natural beauty”, which inspires an artist, and the artistic beauty of the “work of art”. It is connected with the individual act of creation, which is thoroughly and competently discussed by the interlocutors. The work on the Polish translation of Castiglione’s text allows to understand the meaning of the dialogue, as translation is not simply finding the correct words, but also interpreting the meaning (hermeneia). And this is what the article discusses.
- Price: 4.50 €
Wizja natury w pismach Francesca Petrarki
Wizja natury w pismach Francesca Petrarki
(The Image of Nature in Petrarch’s Writings)
- Author(s):Marta Zyśko
- Language:Polish
- Subject(s):Cultural history, Studies of Literature, Theory of Literature
- Page Range:236-258
- No. of Pages:23
- Keywords:Petrarch; letter; image of nature; biography; anthropocentric analysis; locus amoenus; locus horridus; rus – urbs; natura naturata; poet’s stance
- Summary/Abstract:The dissertation explores the images of nature in Petrarch’s writings. It concentrates on the texts which present the poet himself. Thus the article does not focus on the image of nature in the poems, but on its place in the author’s system of ideas. The works analysed are primarily letters and prose, which contain much biographical information and allow a profound insight into Petrarch’s philosophical exploration and his beliefs. Thus we can see where Petrarch places nature as a poet, thinker, man and friend. Epistolae Matricae written in verse and lyrical Bucolicum Carmen are analysed with regard to biographical information, life guiding principles and philosophical stances and not nature symbolism as an element of poetic language per se. The essence of Petrarch’s writings are clear tensions and oppositions: locus amoenus – locus horridus and rus – urbs. He concentrates on presenting the idea of natura naturata and identifies nature with wildlife, flora and landscape. Its beauty should not dissuade an artist and a sage from the true religious and intellectual ideal. Petrarch in his anthropocentric analysis appears as torn between the image of a stoic sage – the ideal rejecting worldly joys and a poet, who often confessed love to fame – a laurel wreath and, at the same time, reacted angrily to all criticism. His devotion to the idea of self-improvement is doubtless, whereas nature is one of the means on the path to true wisdom.
- Price: 4.50 €
Język i natura, język w naturze Lingua Erazma z Rotterdamu
Język i natura, język w naturze Lingua Erazma z Rotterdamu
(Languages and Nature, Language in Nature. Lingua of Erasmus of Rotterdam)
- Author(s):Justyna Dąbkowska-Kujko
- Language:Polish
- Subject(s):Cultural history, Studies of Literature, Theory of Literature
- Page Range:259-273
- No. of Pages:15
- Keywords:language; Erasmus of Rotterdam; logos; nature and language; rhetorical figures; animal images; humanitas; thought and word; emulating Christ
- Summary/Abstract:The study is devoted to the problem of language in Lingua of Erasmus of Rotterdam, which is considered, on the one hand, from the theological, anthropological and social communication perspective and, on the other hand, from the natural law position. A dynamic, changing and rhetorical language transforms nature and sets it into motion, becoming the fifth force, which is more dangerous than all earthquakes, floods, fires and plagues. The word from Erasmus’ treatise evades biblical or philosophical meanings; not only does it become autonomous from logos, its divine archetype, but it also degenerates, transgressing all theological and anthropological reasons. The lack of boundaries makes language a powerful instrument of creation and depravity in the world. The word of man is seen as a very active factor in continuous discourse, which influences the form and the quality of the reality. Language has the characteristics of the elements: it generates good and evil, it bears fruit and wreaks havoc, it becomes part of the grand spectacle of nature – a witness to God’s will and power. When Erasmus tells the “adventures” of language in nature, he uses various strategies such as onomatopoeia and catachresis to show how great is man’s participation in nature. Hence numerous images of a barking and biting dog, a squealing piglet, a neighing horse or – when the author describes the most hideous categories of people: slanderers, hypocrites, frauds – a hissing snake, adder, lizard or scorpion. Such images are meant to theriomorphise man and, even though they are metaphorical, Erasmus’ man transgressing his natural boundaries is situated on the peripheries of humanitas and perceived as alienated albeit entitled to his own, independent ontology. The essence of Erasmus’ argument lies in his belief that man – if he does not undertake this effort, does not realise how decisive it is to bring the thought closer to the word, what consequences responsibility for a language, sentence, word, letter or even sound can have for whole societies – will degenerate. Thus in Lingua a man is formed ethically, he either cultivates his humanity or degenerates by participating in the animal world. The Dutch humanist believes that using language does not make man different or better than other creatures and that he should aim to become – through his words and in his words – the image of Christ.
- Price: 4.50 €
Natura naturata i natura naturans – komplementarność czy koincydencja? Strategie poetyckie doby renesansu i baroku: rekonesans
Natura naturata i natura naturans – komplementarność czy koincydencja? Strategie poetyckie doby renesansu i baroku: rekonesans
(Natura Naturata and Natura Naturans – Complementarity or Coincidence? Poetic Strategies in Renaissance and Baroque – Reconaissance)
- Author(s):Marek Prejs
- Language:Polish
- Subject(s):Cultural history, Studies of Literature, Theory of Literature
- Page Range:274-287
- No. of Pages:14
- Keywords:poetic strategies; natura naturata; complementarity; coincidence; Renaissance literature; Baroque literature; Kochanowski; Rej; cycles of nature; perpetual metamorphosis; mechanistic utopia
- Summary/Abstract:The dissertation analyses poetic strategies aiming to establish two levels of reality in the created picture of the world (natura naturata and natura naturans) and discusses the most characteristic models of building the relations between both spheres. Such relations defined as “complementarity” and “coincidence” are equally relevant to Renaissance and Baroque, and the main dividing line in Polish literary tradition does not run between the periods but between the poetry of Jan Kochanowski and Mikołaj Rej. The Renaissance writers build “the whole earthly circle” (a three-dimensional space which is subjectively created) through overlapping the rhythm of human existence and the cycles of nature, which is to prove the all-embracing, cosmic strength of neo-platonic love. A specific type of poetic imagery, focused on processuality and typicality, supports such a poetic structure. When this common rhythm is distorted due to a natural disaster or a human tragedy, poetic images become sensually concrete. This model, adopted by the Baroque poets mainly from Mikołaj Rej, becomes more sensually detailed, substituting stability with the rule of perpetual metamorphosis, which may result in divine reality “slipping” to “nature created” – beautiful but transient.(Hieronim Morsztyn). To prevent it and stabilise the image of the Creator, poetry has to appeal to the mechanistic utopia of “the world as a clock wound once by God” (Wacław Potocki, Elżbieta Drużbacka).
- Price: 4.50 €
Dlaczego „z morza wszytki gwiazdy żyją”? Źródła, znaczenia i funkcje motywu gwiazd pijących morze u Jana Kochanowskiego
Dlaczego „z morza wszytki gwiazdy żyją”? Źródła, znaczenia i funkcje motywu gwiazd pijących morze u Jana Kochanowskiego
(Why do “all the stars from the sea live”? The Sources, Meanings and Functions of the Sea Drinking Stars in Kochanowski’s Poetry)
- Author(s):Agata Starownik
- Language:Polish
- Subject(s):Cultural history, Studies of Literature, Theory of Literature
- Page Range:288-312
- No. of Pages:25
- Keywords:stars; sea; Jan Kochanowski; epigram; natural science; fire; water; elements; Aristotle; Plato; the end of the world; disaster; Claudius Ptolemaeus; Diogenes Laertius; Seneca; Pliny; Cleanthe; Cicero
- Summary/Abstract:The texts explores the origin of the “stars from the sea” motif in two Jan Kochanowski’s epigrams: On Drunkards and Prayer for Rain in the view of old natural science concepts. The literary perspectives of the motif, which is used in two thematically different epigrams, is explored to show how natural science knowledge of the poet (derived from ancient works – in this case most probably from Cicero’s De natura deorum) translates into his poetic language. The motif can be understood more widely as the birth of fire from water. This is why, after presenting the problem and the epigrams with the discussed motif, the relation between these two elements, according to Aristotle and Plato as the founders of the old thought concerning man, nature and cosmos, was recollected. Then the stoic tradition, which is the main context and the source of the work, was described. The argument was illustrated with the quotations from Claudius Ptolemaeus, Diogenes Laertius, Seneca, Pliny, Cleanthes and Cicero. Also, the notion of balance and the end of the world according to stoics and epicureans (Lucretius) was compared. As the last context, selected mentions referring to elements and cosmic doomsday in the Bible (the Book of Wisdom and the Apocalypse of St. John) were presented. In subsequent parts of the text the epigrams are discussed in view of other Kochanowski’s poems, especially those referring to the harmony of elements and its imbalance during natural disasters. The fragments analysed include: the so-called Psalm of Flood, the poems: God, What Do You Want from Us for Your Generous Gifts? Phenomena, Psalms 65, 29 and 104, Accord and one of the epigrams To Love. Finally, the meaning of On Drunkards was interpreted as a convivial text in the context of Foricoenium 12, and the conclusions were drawn concerning the two epigrams: the defence of carefree drinking and a fervent prayer at the time of drought.
- Price: 4.50 €
Pieśń o potopie. Od Jana Kochanowskiego do Stanisława Grochowskiego
Pieśń o potopie. Od Jana Kochanowskiego do Stanisława Grochowskiego
(Flood Psalm. From Jan Kochanowski to Stanisław Grochowski)
- Author(s):Monika Szczot
- Language:Polish
- Subject(s):Cultural history, Studies of Literature, Theory of Literature
- Page Range:313-329
- No. of Pages:17
- Keywords:flood; Ovid; Horace; Old Polish literature; Kochanowski; Grochowski; natural disaster; catastrophe; imitation; emulation; harmonious co-existence of world and man; rhetoric; literary tradition
- Summary/Abstract:A flood myth is one of the most popular and best known motifs in the history of human kind. It occurs in the Bible (Genesis 6-9) and in Greek mythology, in the story of Deucalion and Pyrrha, which was described in Ovid’s Metamorphoses (I, 216−245) and in Horace’s Carmina (I, 2). The ancient tradition is present in two old Polish flood psalms, which are analysed in this article. Jan Kochanowski in the Flood Psalm (Carmina II, 1) and Stanisław Grochowski in Lamentable Camena on Severe Flood in Anno Domini 1605 artfully unite descriptions of disasters at that time with literary tradition, placing their works between occasional writings and classic topique, which shows nature in its horror (locus horridus). Kochanowski’s elaborate psalm inspires Grochowski to imitate and emulate it as the author of Lamentable Camena… is inspired by various sources and, as a result, improves the rhetorical staffage of the text deepening its religious and moralistic significance. The article analyses both works from dichotomous approaches, between philology and exegesis, poetry and rhetoric, nature and culture and thus demonstrates the problematic and formal complexity of the poems. The interpretations lead to the conclusion that literary tradition and rhetoric do not only enhance the aesthetics of the works, but also allow to adjust to disasters, order and hierarchise the natural world in belief that the world and man live in harmony with God’s perpetual involvement in its existence.
- Price: 4.50 €
Katastrofa naturalna – Boża przestroga. Zapał srogi góry neapolitańskiej Fryderyka Szembeka
Katastrofa naturalna – Boża przestroga. Zapał srogi góry neapolitańskiej Fryderyka Szembeka
(A Natural Disaster – God’s Warning. A Violent Eruption of the Mountain in Naples by Fryderyk Szembek)
- Author(s):Janusz S. Gruchała
- Language:Polish
- Subject(s):Cultural history, Studies of Literature, Theory of Literature
- Page Range:330-343
- No. of Pages:14
- Keywords:Vesuvius; eruption; natural disaster; report; Jesuit literature; moralistic approach; Fryderyk Szembek
- Summary/Abstract:The aim of the dissertation is to show Fryderyk Szembek’s A Violent Eruption of the Mountain in Naples (1633) in several important aspects. The description of Vesuvius eruption is analysed as a sign of cultural curiosity. Since this phenomenon was quite exotic for the Poles, the author could be certain of great interest it would arouse in readers. Another matter is the relation of Szembek’s text to the Italian sources describing the disaster. The analysis shows a reporting character of the text and such a way of conducting the discourse that Szembek can be considered a very interesting prose writer of the time. His work combines different perspectives: a pioneering, reporting structure also includes a moral commentary characteristic of post-tridentine pastoral style. This duality is the result of the approach of the 17th century author and his readers to a natural disaster in baroque piety context and, in broader meaning, of the relation to wild nature, ruled by God and within his domain. On the one hand, the dissertation seeks to confirm the old Polish tendency to perceive natural disasters in the archetypical, biblical context; on the other hand, it attempts to show a seminal form in Polish literature.
- Price: 4.50 €
Akceptacja, podziw, lęk. Natura w twórczości Franciszka Karpińskiego
Akceptacja, podziw, lęk. Natura w twórczości Franciszka Karpińskiego
(Acceptance, Admiration, Fear. Nature in Franciszek Karpiński’s Works)
- Author(s):Tomasz Chachulski
- Language:Polish
- Subject(s):Cultural history, Studies of Literature, Theory of Literature
- Page Range:344-353
- No. of Pages:10
- Keywords:Franciszek Karpiński; Enlightenment poetry; nature in poetry; the book of nature; aesthetics of nature; Jacques Delille; Georges Buffon; Enlightenment aesthetics
- Summary/Abstract:Franciszek Karpiński in his works refers to almost all meanings of “nature”, which were used in the 18th century: he perceives nature as a constellation of specific traits, as a characteristic of a person or a thing, as the opposition to culture. Karpiński’s poems demonstrate how he uses these terms. Certain patterns emerge from it: nature is the source of self-knowledge, it signifies what is primeval, authentic and true – not beautiful but ethical. Nature is the world reluctant to suffering, the space of sensitivity and harmony. Alienation and evil are the consequence of crossing nature’s boundaries. The beauty of the world (“the book of nature”, “the spectacle of nature”) is admired by the lyrical subject. The categories Karpiński uses when describing the perfection of the world are taken from Denis Diderot’s works; he also uses – through Jacques Delille’s “Gardens” – George Buffon’s “Natural History”, which he himself translated in 1783. In his later works, probably because of his translation of “The Book of Psalms”, Karpiński underlines the unconditioned submission of nature to the Creator. The term “God of nature” is also used in the Psalms (1786) and the Pious Hymns (1792).
- Price: 4.50 €
Ars agriculturae w staropolskim piśmiennictwie rolniczym
Ars agriculturae w staropolskim piśmiennictwie rolniczym
(Ars agriculturae in Old Polish Agricultural Literature)
- Author(s):Maria Wichowa
- Language:Polish
- Subject(s):Cultural history, Studies of Literature, Theory of Literature
- Page Range:356-389
- No. of Pages:34
- Keywords:ars agricultura; praise of farm work in Old Polish literature; man’s symbiosis with nature; improvement of nature’s creations; locus amoenus; Cicero; Varro; ars bene vivendi; ethos of a landowner
- Summary/Abstract:The creators of Old Polish utilitarian agricultural magazines, treaties, guides, encyclopedias, following Cicero and Varro, but primarily using their own knowledge and “expertness”, understood the concept of ars agricultura as gaining experience, improving skills, thoroughly analyzing their knowledge, improving it until reaching the level of mastery and passing it on to people interested in practicing this art, improving their professional skills. They showed that the country is the locus amoenus, that working on the land is a form of man’s symbiosis with nature, a source of pleasure and health, which ennobles man. They made readers aware that knowledge must go hand in hand with experience, and then the good host – ars bene vivendi is reached. Masteringars agricultura, achieving a high degree of initiation into the arc of this art gives enormous joy of performing it and satisfaction with its results. Ars agricultura is improving, perfecting nature, ennobling it. A farmer – a landowner is a rationalist and pragmatist cultivating the cult of work on the land, which achieves the rank of art. Animal husbandry is also ars involving the gathering and practical application of vast knowledge of both domestic and wild animals. Animal husbandry is also a skill that requires high qualifications of a farmer, knowledge of the nature of the animal, its nutritional and health needs, knowledge about the prevention of animal diseases and their treatment. Establishing and running zoos is also ars. A detailed program of nature protection, respect for the laws of nature and living in accordance with their commands, should be a planned, rational and long-term imperative for noble people responsible for the effects of their activities. Often, however, man turns out to be cruel to animals, but Old Polish literature also has texts expressing sympathy for representatives of the forest fauna. An important issue raised in the analyzed texts is ecology on the landowner’s farm. The topic of farmer’s work ethos is also discussed, in which virtue and reason are to be the guides of the landowner.
- Price: 4.50 €
Obrazy natury w relacjach z podróży królewicza Władysława Wazy do krajów Europy Zachodniej (1624–1625)
Obrazy natury w relacjach z podróży królewicza Władysława Wazy do krajów Europy Zachodniej (1624–1625)
(The Images of Nature in Prince Wladyslaw Vasa’s Reports on the Journey to West European Countries (1624−1625))
- Author(s):Bernadetta Puchalska-Dąbrowska
- Language:Polish
- Subject(s):Cultural history, Studies of Literature, Theory of Literature
- Page Range:390-409
- No. of Pages:20
- Keywords:Wladislaw Vasa; relation; travel report; landscape; fauna; meteorological conditions; Stefan Pac; Jan Hagenaw; Albrycht Stanisław Radziwiłł; court culture; spectacle; peregrination
- Summary/Abstract:The article discusses the image of nature present in Prince Wladysław Vasa’s reports on his journey to West European countries (1624-1625) by Stefan Pac, Jan Hagenaw and Albrycht Stanisław Radziwiłł. The analysed texts concern meteorological conditions, the elements of the landscape and fauna. The authors of the reports also observe nature set into the objects of everyday use and nature “directed” by man and shown as part of court spectacles. The narrative techniques used by the writers are various and depend on their involvement and the appeal of the event.
- Price: 4.50 €
Gabinety osobliwości natury Barokowe ogrody w świetle kultury kolekcjonowania
Gabinety osobliwości natury Barokowe ogrody w świetle kultury kolekcjonowania
(Cabinets of Curiosities. Baroque Gardens and the Culture of Collecting)
- Author(s):Aleksandra Jakóbczyk-Gola
- Language:Polish
- Subject(s):Cultural history, Studies of Literature, Theory of Literature
- Page Range:410-433
- No. of Pages:34
- Keywords:scientific revolution; herbarium; florilegium; botanic; collecting; microscope; scientific illustration; cabinet of curiosities; Ulisses Aldrovandi; Jakub Kazimierz Haur; museology; museum catalogue
- Summary/Abstract:The dissertation discusses a visible change in attitude to nature in the 17th century, when science started to view nature in more detail. This revolution was seen at many levels: herbaria and florilegia – collections of flower graphics – became popular, illustrations showing whole plants and their elements in different stages appeared, the first attempts to use a microscope were made, botanical gardens were laid out to examine overseas plants and local flora. A plant became a precious object, an exhibit in a garden which, in turn, became an exhibition space. A garden was admired by visitors and bore testimony to good taste and expertise of its founder. As a result, a new profession was born: a botanist and a collector. The text draws a parallel between a cabinet of curiosities, a 17th century Wunderkammer and a garden, where exhibits of different origins were on display: artefacts and examples of architecture, engineering solutions, and the most valuable of them – plants. The dissertation analyses two strategies for collecting and describing plants in the context of the culture of collecting: the books by Ulisses Aldrovandi and Jakub Kazimierz Haur. The two scientists perceive nature differently than collectors of curiosities. They do not try to reproduce the world in its fullness or are not based on the idea of microcosmos, but they attempt to order the existing world. Their ideas are not an abstract exercise of intellect, but an attempt to organise fragments of knowledge. Ulisses Aldrovandi was an author of an encyclopaedia, which documented and systematised natural science; he was also a collector of plants and animals from all over the world, which he exhibited in his museum. Jakub Kazimierz Haur in his General Land Economics describes his collectables as if they belonged to a museum collection. In the chapter Herbarium of Flowers and Herbs the species are shown like in a museum catalogue. Thus the origins of natural history museums are not found in the 18th century collections,but in the scientific ideas of humanists – collectors.
- Price: 4.50 €
Natura i/a kuchnia
Natura i/a kuchnia
(Nature and Cuisine)
- Author(s):Joanna Partyka
- Language:Polish
- Subject(s):Cultural history, Studies of Literature, Theory of Literature
- Page Range:434-444
- No. of Pages:11
- Keywords:relation between nature and cuisine; nutrition; handbooks; modernity; women writers; dietary knowledge; humourism; alchemy; astrology; secret books; taming of nature; modern science
- Summary/Abstract:The text discusses various relations between nature and culture. It refers to modern nutrition publications, drawing particular attention to women writers who spread dietary knowledge. It also shows the relations between culinary art and humourism, astrology and alchemy, which could be observed in so-called secret books revealing secrets of nature. It emphasises the fact that culinary self-help books sold in numerous copies played an important part in development of modern science. The author observes that culinary art transforms nature into culture in a creative process. The process can also be interpreted as the taming of nature when man-subject rules over nature-object.
- Price: 4.50 €