Latin culture class, fourth lesson. Quarta lezione di cultura latina

Richard II

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IV lezione 15-28

“Epic objectivity” ( is a callida iunctura , perspicacious matching of words by Mazzarino, Il pensiero storico classico, Laterza)

The historiographers profess, declare their impartiality. The model of latin writers of history was, above all athenian, Tucidide (460-400 b. C) who gets rid of myth (I, 22, 4) and the fabulous, because he wants that is History of peloponnesian war might be useful to whom wishes to learn how works the history whose deeds recur with cyclicity. He asserts to be realistic and impartial.

Luciano (120-185) in Pw'" dei' iJstorivan suggravfein As you have to write the history, asserts :" JO d j ou\n Qoukudivdh"...ejnomoqevthse" (42), Thucidides legislated.On the other side, already Omero (VIII b. C.) was objective recognizing valour to Troians and also Erodoto (norn 484-dead after 430) who in the prologue of his history of persian wars writes: I want to tell the deeds great and wonderful showed by greeks and barbarians (e[rga megavla te kai; qwmastav, ta; me;n {Ellhsi, ta; de; barbavroisi ajpodecqevnta)

Well, Tucidide really legislated and latin Tacito (55-120) often follows this model: in incipit of his Historiae proclaims his impartiality and objectivity. He does not deny that his career was made easier by Vespasiano (69-79), Tito (79-81) and even the bad emperor Domiziano (91-96). The last of these three flavii imperatores (Vespasiano and his sons) is handed on as very bad, neverheless Tacito writes: "sed incorruptam fidem professis, neque amore quisquam et sine odio dicendus est "(Hist. I, 1), but by the writers who profess unshaken faith everybody must be related without love and hate. This is the first chapter of Historiae that narrated years 69-96 (but we have only the years 69-70). Historiae were written about 110 a. C.

Annales are the last work. Tacito died about 117-120

In incipit of Annales Tacito announces that he will write pauca de Augusto et extrema, few and the last acts of Augustus, mox Tiberii principatum, after the reign of Tiberius, et cetera sine ira et studio quorum causas procul habeo" (I, 1) and the rest (till the death of Nero, 68 a. C, but we have only years from 14 to 66 a. C, wihout years 29-31 and 37-47) without anger and partisanship whose cause are far from me.

Anyway the history is not a list of past things, but a connection of deeds in a picture and the historiographer is a painter who must give soul and body to the ghosts of history, otherwise he is a guardian of a cemetry who keeps scrupulously the catalogue of battles and corpses.

However the objectivity is often only a programmatic introduction, as we can read also in Sallustio’s monograph on the plot of Catilina (40 b. C.): “Igitur de Catilinae coniuratione, quam verissume potero paucis absolvam” (Bellum Catilinae I, 4) I shall write about the plot of Catilina few pages with the maximum historical truth I can. But the author is objective with Mitridate, not with Catilina.

The fear of tyrant (he fears and frightens). Metus tyranni is genitive subjective and objective.

Becomes difficult to write verissume, with all truth, when the dictatorship is entire and hard. The tyrant fears to lose his power and to be killed, so he eliminate first of all parrhsiva parresia, the freedom of world the cell most significant of the body of democracy

In Oedipus by Seneca, Creonte says: “Qui sceptra duro saevus imperio regit,/timet timentes; metus in auctorem redit " (vv. 703-704), the cruel king who keeps the sceptre, the crown, with hard power, fears those who are afraid of him: the fear turns back to the author of terror, as boomerang

Un paio di pagine tratte dal percorso sulla letteratura latina che sto preparando per il Pontificio Ateneo Salesiano

An excursus, a digression in modern literature

Here you can see how many english words have an etymological relationship with latin words.

There is a king of Shakespeare who gives the reasons of the fear that kings and tyrants have: he is Richard II and speaks when has lost his power.

Richard II[1] was deposed in 1399 by Bolingbroke the following Henry IV.

The king deprived of power and a little after of life, exposes the sad history of the life and death of many kings:

“For God’sake let us sit (lat. sedeo, gr. e[zomai) upon the ground

And tell sad (–lat. satur, full) stories ( historia, iJstoriva) of the death of kings:/

How some have been deposed (de-pono), some slain in war,

Some haunted by the ghosts they have deposed,

Some poisoned (potio-onis,drink, ) by their wives, some sleeping kill’d,

All murdered (lat. mors). For within the hollow

 Crown (lat. corona, wreath, korwniv") /

That rounds-rotundus- the mortal temples (lat.mortalia tempora) of a king/

Keeps death his court (cohors, courtyard); and there the antic (antiquus) sits,/

Scoffing his state and grinning at his pomp-( –lat. pompa, pomphv solemn procession),/

Allowing-late latin. allocare ( to allot, lat. al – for ad, to, and locare, to place, from locus, a place). him a breath, a little scene- lat. scena-skhnhv,

To monarchize, be fear’d-(lat. periculum, danger), and kill with looks,

Infusing(lat. infusus p. p. of infundo in e fundo to pour), him with self and vain(vanus) conceit,/

As if this flesh which walls-(vallum and vallus palisade, vallare, to entrench)- about our life/

Were brass impregnable (lat. in negative prefix, not,+prehendere, to take); and humour’d (-lat. umor-,moisture, lat. umēre, to be moist)- thus,

Comes at the last, and with a little pin ( lat- pinna , a wing, fin, pen)

bores(-lat. forare)- through his castle (castellum, dimin. of castrum, a fortified place) wall, and farewell king!/

Cover (lat. cooperio, to cover) your heads, and mock not late (l. muccare, to blow the nose mucus –mucus from the nose) flesh and blood/

With solemn (lat sol(l)emnis da sollus,entire, complet)+ annus, year) reverence (reverentia), throw (Idg. base*trē, as in Gk. trh'ma, a hole The grade*ter appears in L. terere, to bore, to consume, GK, teivrein, to bore, to wear out). away respect (lat. respectus, pp. of respicio, a looking at)

Tradition (traditus pp of tradere=trā for trans, across,+dere for dare , to give) form-(lat. forma ,shape), and ceremonious-lat caerimonia, a caeremony, rite) duty;/

For you have but mistook me all this while.

I live with bread, like you; feel want,

Taste-(lat. taxo an intensive form of tango, I touch) grief ( lat. gravis, heav)-, need friends. Subjected-(subiectus pp. of subicio, tu put under, sub under, iacere, to cast, to put) thus ,/

How can you say to me I am a king? (Riccardo II, III, ii, 155-177)

The royalty is unmasked and shown naked also in The tempest (1613) when the boatswain says: “what cares these roarers for the name of King?”

And after, the same sailor says to the king Alonso and to nobleman Gonzalo: “To cabin: silence trouble-lat. turba- us not!” (I, 1)

  

Tyrant against authors and books

The consciousness of precariousness of high position whence is easy to fall down (in the rugged, steep necessity where one cannot

avail himself of valid foot, writes Sofocle in Edipo re - e[nq j ouj podi; crhsivmw/-crh'tai vv. 873-879-), well, such consciousness pushes the king, or worse the tyrant, to be suspicious and repressive.

Let us read again Tacito who reveals the methods and arcana imperii, the secrets of powers: “Neque in ipsos modo auctores, sed in libros quoque saevītum” (Agricola, 2), not only against the authors of books but also against books they (several emperors) committed cruelties.

Several historical works were burnt publicly in the forum.

CONTINUA

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[1] Richard II Plantagenet  was king of England from 1377 to 1399. The tragedy by Shakespeare was written in 1595.