Sergey Vorontsov | St.Tikhon's Orthodox University (original) (raw)
Papers by Sergey Vorontsov
Latomus: revue d'études latines, Vol. 83 (1), 2024, pp. 127-147., 2024
The article considers the topos of referring to the ancients in texts from the final centuries of... more The article considers the topos of referring to the ancients in texts from the final centuries of Late Antiquity, and argues that referring to the ancients is primarily a rhetorical device connoting authority. The variability of such references to the ancients has several functions. First, it enables the stereotypical element of the text to fit different contexts and thus to solve new rhetorical problems. Second, the authors may use variability as a resource to work out their own manner of elaborating arguments from the authority of the past without inventing new terms or meanings. To reveal these functions, the article begins by correlating the objects of references to the ‘ancients’ with stable rhetorical situations, which also demonstrate the complex system of literary authority accomplished by means of the variety of these references. It then proceeds to examine how they are used by three representative authors of the era.
Isidorianum, 2024
The writings in which an author expresses his thought are actually the product of certain cultura... more The writings in which an author expresses his thought are actually the product of certain cultural practices of his age. The article considers how such practices are manifested in the writings of Isidore of Seville, particularly with respect to the meaning of the metaphor of taste. Isidore borrows this metaphor from texts that explain the process of understanding Scripture and applies it to the achievement of wisdom. On the one hand, the metaphor
stresses the transformative aspect of understanding (rather than the informative, scientia). It focuses on the special experience of the reader who
senses the sweetness of the text, and not on the application of the text to
one’s life. On the other hand, reading and writing were imagined in
terms related to food. The text was food that had to be prepared, to
‘read’ meant to ‘taste’, to ‘meditate’ on it meant to ‘ruminate’. Against
this background, the writings of Isidore seem to appeal to the memory
of the reader and his ability to meditate upon the text and, finally, to experience the taste of wisdom. Only the outermost level of texts was intended to inform the reader.
![Research paper thumbnail of What does Babylon have to do with Jerusalem, or a Note on the Problem of Boundaries berween the Sacred and the Secular in the Latin West (late 6th — early 7th centuries) [in Russian]](https://attachments.academia-assets.com/109475661/thumbnails/1.jpg)
](Vestnik Pravoslavnogo Sviato-Tikhonovskogo gumanitarnogo universiteta. Seriia I : Bogoslovie. Filosofiia. Religiovedenie. 2023. Vol. 110. P. 33–54. , 2023
The article deals with the problem of boundaries and nature of the secular in the end of late Ant... more The article deals with the problem of boundaries and nature of the secular in the end of late Antiquity in the Latin West (focusing on the works of Isidore of Seville). The article focuses on the relation between the concept of the secular and the key oppositions of the late antique culture as it reveals itself within the process of defining identity of sacral groups (clergy and monks), instead of looking into the history of the conception of saeculum or searching for religiously neutral phenomena of social reality. This allows the article to overcome the simple perspective of sacralization or draining of the secular in this period. The article argues that, on the one hand, a firm boundary was erected between the secular and the divine, and, on the other hand, in some cases this boundary turned out to be rather permeable. The firm boundary was formed in the process of categorizing and constructing a positive identity of a small group of the saved, which is defined by its mode of behavior, related to its metaphorical political unity (conuersatio). The groups claiming a proximity to God relate the practices, which correspond to it, with their identity. Thus, secular people, secular cares, and secular knowledge come to be characterized by lacking contemplation and proximity to God. The boundary turns out to be permeable, firstly, with respect to knowledge, because the secular knowledge was necessary to read the Scriptures. The secular thereby was not antagonistic to the divine, but could lead up to it. The divine, in its turn, could “correct” the errors of secular knowledge, just as the action of the bishop, which was opposed to the action of secular power, corrected the morals of the secular people in the Neo-platonic spirit.
Диалог со временем, 2021
The article considers the function of the authority of the quoted text through the lens of thedic... more The article considers the function of the authority of the quoted text through the lens of thedichotomy of personal / textual authority. The study is focud on the last ages of Late Antiquity and particularly on the works of Isidore of Seville. By consideration of the images related to the prudent reader (prudens lector) the article comes to the following conclusions.
The extensive use of the authoritative quotations allows the text to represent the tradition, while its author as religious leader represented the Apostles and fathers of the Church. Thus, the authority of this leader turns out to be essentially symbolical. Relatively wide range of texts were considered authoritative. Making his own text, a prudent compiler
(prudens compilator) as a prudent reader (prudens lector) chose the quotations not randomly, but according to the presupposed effect of the compilation. The reader of this kind of text, according to the monastic craft of the thought, produced new ideas by mediation upon the quotations, i.e. remembering all the connotations and relating them to the situation of the reader. Thus, the main function of authority of the quotations was to give an impetus to the thought in terms of tradition and not to suppress it.
C. Codoñer, M. A. Andrés Sanz, J. C. Martín-Iglesias, D. Paniagua (eds.) Nuevos estudios de Latín medieval hispánico, Firenze, SISMEL - Edizioni del Galluzzo, pp. 465-478., 2021
It is generally assumed that the passages on philosophia in the works of Isidore of Seville refle... more It is generally assumed that the passages on philosophia in the works of Isidore of Seville reflect his misunderstanding of the subject. The article argues that the meaning of these passages is not restricted to the literal sense of the sentences in them. it is necessary to consider the structure of these passages and their relation to the source-texts in order to understand their meaning. it is concluded that Isidore changed the notion of philosophia by including Scripture in it. While in Differentiae II it is understood as a unity of contemplation of divine things (that
is equated to wisdom) and as action, in Etymologiae, wisdom remains undefined. It could be surmised that wisdom is the knowledge of God that can only be
revealed, and philosophy is the human pursuit of the same. The knowledge of the philosophers, though not opposed to wisdom, is represented as ambivalent, containing both the truth and absurdity. Moreover, the moral dimension of philosophizing is stressed, as is the interrelation of the epistemic (sapientia/stultitia) and moral (uerecundia/iactantia) dimensions.
Patristica et Mediævalia 41, 2020
El presente artículo versa sobre la estructura del tratado isidoriano llamado Liber differentiar... more El presente artículo versa sobre la estructura del tratado isidoriano llamado Liber differentiarum II (Diff. II). Hasta el momento, los trabajos acerca del contenido de la obra y su distribución han explicado su estructura según consideraciones que podríamos llamar "externas", en tanto se basan en ideas generales en relación con el género o la lógica del texto. En contraste con ello, el objetivo de este estudio es ofrecer una explicación "interna" de tal estructura, una fundada en su contenido conceptual. Nuestra hipótesis sostiene, pues, que la base para articular el texto entero es la definición de "hombre" que Isidoro desarrolla en Diff. II.16, así como su lugar en la escala de seres (Diff. II.13). En efecto, la posición especial del ser humano, que es considerado tanto por Isidoro como por sus fuentes como una creatura universal intermedia entre Dios (espíritu intelectual puro) y los seres materiales carentes de razón, es de capital importancia para la comprensión y consecuente estructuración de la obra.
Jacobsen, Anders-Christian; Usacheva, Anna (eds.) Christian Discourse in Late Antiquity: Hermeneutical, institutional and textual perspectives. Ferdinand Schöningh, 2020, pp. 175-194., 2020
In late antique compilations, the biblical text is frequently cited in conjunction with extensive... more In late antique compilations, the biblical text is frequently cited in conjunction with extensive quotations from patristic sources. This practice warrants further exploration. In the context of late antiquity, the problem of locating the semantic meaning of a text becomes difficult, because the role of the active reader — i.e. those responsible for generating the manifold meanings of the text — was maturing and expanding. The present article suggests that a focus on the ‘pragmatic’ meaning of the text might prove more fruitful, and so considers the textual function(s) of biblical citation. To this end, the article analyses the case of De ecclesiasticis officiis of Isidore of Seville (ca. 560–636). Isidore employs biblical quotations and allusions within larger passages from the writings of Christian authors in order to determine the origins of the practices of the Church. The article argues that the biblical quotations and allusions in the treatise allow Isidore to shape the identity of the clergy; Isidore represents the biblical text either as exemplum or praecepta. The article analyses the various connotations of these notions. This analysis allows us to conclude that the biblical text exercises three functions in De ecclesiasticis officiis: 1) it explains and legitimates the practices of the Church; 2) it frames history and law so as to fortify clerical identity; 3) it presents the objects of contemplation necessary for the moral perfection of the clergy and the fulfilment of their vocational duties.
Most texts of the last centuries of Late Antiquity are compilations. The conceptual analysis of t... more Most texts of the last centuries of Late Antiquity are compilations. The conceptual analysis of them that usually comes to the question of the changes in quotations is problematized by the assumption of accidental way of compiling the text (thus the structure and quotations has no internal logic). The article argues that origo in Isidore of Seville’s De ecclesiasticis officiis is essential element of the composition of the text (though it is a compilation) that possesses its own meaning. The hypothesis of the article runs as follows: origo in Isidore´s treatise is a contemplative basis for some instructions of the active live (in the ancient sense of the word). The argument consists of two parts: 1) the parallels with origo as a part of grammatical, rhetoric and legal texts are detected,
the most striking with the legal ones; 2) origo could be equated as a causa efficiens that was important to understand the divine rationality of the world and the law that rules both the divine and human things. This stoic pattern was introduced into Roman culture since Cicero’s times. Christian tradition changed the notion of the divine law that was to be found in the Scripture. Thus, Isidore’s origo deals not with the historical causality but with exegesis of the Scripture.
Isidore of Seville, Cicero, origo, Digesta, causation, De ecclesiasticis officiis,
law, contemplative and active life, clergy
Published on: http://www.ojs.unito.it/index.php/COL/index The article studies the reception of Ci... more Published on: http://www.ojs.unito.it/index.php/COL/index
The article studies the reception of Cicero's Laelius in Isidore of Seville's sententiae 3, 28-32, that offers the only extant theoretical conceptualization of amicitia as a form of interpersonal relation during the 6th and 7th centuries AD. Over the period, caritas was regularly used to describe social relations. Accordingly, the study s key question is: how was classical concept of amicitia reintegrated into the Christian discourse of 7th century Roman-Barbarian Spain? The article suggests that the question of true unity in friendship was central for Isidore:
he reconsiders patristic model of grounding amicitia in caritas that was interpreted as both the principle of right behaviour towards the neighbour and a ground of general political and religious unity of gens Gothorum. Thus, Isidore attempts to correlate the personal relations of amicitia with the principle of caritas that rules and unites the society. This suggestion helps to explain why Isidore pays attention to the ideal of friendship represented in Cicero s Laelius. In the final analysis, the study tries to explain why Isidore builds the chapters on friendship from quotations and allusions on Laelius, suggesting that by these means Isidore's text according to the principles of writing of Late Antiquity, established a set of references between relevant problems of unity and relations in 7th century Visigothic Spain and the authoritative text of the tradition.
The passage from the Etymologiae that concerns the etymology of the word religio was considered b... more The passage from the Etymologiae that concerns the etymology of the word religio was considered
by most of the scholars as a case of poorly correlated quotations, the first contains the derivation from religare
and the second that from relegere. Consequently, the integral conception of religion in the Etymologiae was out
of the question. On the basis of C. Sa´nchez Martı´nez’s concept of Isidorian etymology the article makes an
assumption that the first etymology can be considered as interpretatio (apprehension of the semantic value)
and the second as origo (formal derivation), thus the integrity of the Isidorian concept can be restored. Then
the article argues that this conception can be defined by comparison of the quotations and allusions from
Isidorian text with their sources. The author concludes that Isidore develops his concept of religion in three
ways: 1) by the etymology of the word religio ; 2) by correlation of religion with theological virtues; 3) introducing
religion in the sequence of notions concerning orthodoxy/heterodoxy. Thus religion is understood as a
way to establish the relation of service to God, the focal point of the theological virtues and the orthodoxy.
Isidore of Seville, being out of polemics between rhetoric and philosophy or between “pagan” and ... more Isidore of Seville, being out of polemics between rhetoric and philosophy or between “pagan” and Christian wisdom, used the concepts and arguments originated in these “quarrels” to build his own discourse. Thus he somehow summed up the results of them. The article analyzes Isidore’s approach to the eloquence in the light of the problem of using the source material. Two lines of correlation between the notion of eloquence and that of the wisdom are detected. One originates in the opposition of “pagan” and Christian wisdom, the other goes back to rhetoric / philosophy opposition. The first is ascetic developed in Sententiae by using the patristic argumentation against the “pagan” culture and by elaborating the ascetic concept of “speaking well” (bene loquor) concentrated on the matter of speaking not on its form. The second is presented in Differentae 2 and Etymologiae. In Differentiae 2 Isidore follows to Aulus Gellius and subjects eloquence to wisdom and rhetoric to dialectics. In Etymologiae he uses Quintilian’s concept of rhetoric and connects rhetoric and philosophy.
Возможно, рецензия на эту книжку будет кому-то интересна, поэтому выкладываю ее. Вышла в Вестнике... more Возможно, рецензия на эту книжку будет кому-то интересна, поэтому выкладываю ее. Вышла в Вестнике ПСТГУ. Сер. 1: Богословие. Философия. 2012. 4 (42).
Three great fi gures of the latin patristic philosophy – Ambrose, Jerome and Augustine – connect... more Three great fi gures of the latin patristic philosophy – Ambrose, Jerome and Augustine –
connected the fourfold scheme of the cardinal virtues with the notion of Christian salvation.
Isidore of Sevilla is one of the few authors of the Late Antiquity – Early Middle Ages, which do
not follow this line of interpretation of the cardinal virtues. The other point is that Isidore wrote
two different passages on the four virtues: one in Differentiae II that contains some Christian
elements and the other in Etymologiae that possesses pure stoic character. To explain these two
peculiarities the investigators pointed out that his writings were mere compilations. The main
disadvantage of this explanation is that all these features of Isidorian teaching on cardinal virtues
are explained externally. This article offers another interpretation of this teaching on the basis
of comparative analysis (comparing them with each other and with their sources) of Isidore’s
passages on the four virtues. The article argues that Isidore’s conception of the cardinal virtues
is common for Differentiae II and Etymologiae. Isidore considers stoic defi nitions of the four
virtues as universal in Etymologiae and expand them in Differentiae II, adding some Christian
elements to general stoic defi nitions.
Because of the paucity of purely philosophical texts produced during the early Middle Ages, the h... more Because of the paucity of purely philosophical texts produced during the early Middle Ages, the history of philosophy is forced to look for philosophy in texts actually belonging to other branches of thought. One example is that of Isidore of Seville (560-636). Isidore was one of the foremost compilers of encyclopedia-like knowledge of his time. The author analyses Isidore’s Differentiae I, a work which is known usually as a contribution to the history of philology. Its encyclopedia-like content was continued and perfected in Isidore’s later Etymologiae. In this way, the author’s discussion of the Differentiae I has bearing also on the study of the Etymologiae, Isidore’s most influential work. The author discusses isidore’s work from a philosophical point of view and his intention is to show which philosophical ideas were present in Isidore’s work. On the one hand, it would seem that the philosophemes of the Stoics indirectly influenced Isidore’s content and method. On the other hand it is possible to differentiate several ways in which various philosophical ideas were actually present: 1) the rudiments of philosophical ideas in the lemmas which refer to the domain of grammar; 2) isolated philosophical ideas in the framework of single lemmas which have usually been lifted from patristic texts but which were not further developed by Isidore; 3) philosophical ideas which were further creatively developed within the framework of thematic groups of lemmas (for example, religion, virtues).
The recent edition of Isidore’s of Sevilla “Differentiae I” (by C. Codoñer) reveals some particu... more The recent edition of Isidore’s of Sevilla “Differentiae I” (by C. Codoñer)
reveals some particulars of the text, that concern its sources,
composition and selection of the words. This article suggests that these
particulars differ “Differentiae I” from other grammatical treatises of
this genre and may indicate some philosophical elements of the text.
The views of Isidore of Seville on predestination are described based mainly on the thirtieth ch... more The views of Isidore of Seville on predestination are described based mainly on the
thirtieth chapter of the second book of his De diff erentiis verborum and the sixth chapter
of the third book of his Sententiae. A comparative analysis of the texts of Isidore with
their sources follows. As a result, the author of this article refutes earlier argumentation
claiming that Isidore’s teaching on predestination contained nothing new but was
totally lifted from that of Fulgentius of Ruspe and Gregory the Great. The author on the
contrary points out the original elements in Isidore’s teaching.
Vol. 41.2 (2020) by Sergey Vorontsov
Sergey Vorontsov. Patristica et Mediaevalia 41.2, 2020
Books by Sergey Vorontsov
The translation of a patchwork text from Late Antiquity requires extensive commentary and detaile... more The translation of a patchwork text from Late Antiquity requires extensive commentary and detailed explanations. For it is not only the exact wording that demands the reader's attention but connotations and intertextual relations should be decoded as well. This Russian translation of De ecclesiasticis officiis (DEO) of Isidore of Seville is an attempt to reveal to the reader the richness and complexity of this treatise.
The introduction provides an overview of the historical context, the author and the treatise. DEO was especially significant for the politics of unitas, being an attempt to make the liturgy in Visigothic Spain uniform (this was accomplished at the fourth Council of Toledo). It is an important primary source for the studies of liturgical practice and clergy self-representation in the early seventh century in the Latin West; it noticeably influenced the Carolingian authors.
To read DEO correctly, one should keep in mind that this treatise is written according to the canons of late antique poetics. Chapters two, three, and four explore these principles in action in the text of DEO. In the second chapter, Elena Marey considers the use of Ps.-Jerome’s writing De septem ordinibus ecclesiae in the second book of DEO Isidore extensively drew upon this treatise for quotations in his work. However, when describing the figure of the bishop DEO significantly diverges from its source. While for Ps.-Jerome the correlation of the bishop to the figure of Christ is decisive, —because the bishop is one, in whom dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily— Isidore never compares the bishop to Christ. At the same time, he pays a lot of attention to the episcopal duties and canonical norms. Thus, using and quoting his source, Isidore implicitly argues against it. While Ps.-Jerome’s bishop is concentrated on the contemplation, and the clergy accomplish the action, Isidore’s bishop is much more engaged in the active life himself.
Whereas most of the direct or indirect sources of DEO are well-known, others are desperately lost, which is demonstrated by Liubov Chernin in the third chapter. Along with the traditional parts of the Christian representation of Judaism, DEO provides the reader with information that could not be found in the patristic sources. For instance, Isidore knows about minyan (that is, the quorum of the participants for the public prayer "among the Jews"). The account of the authors of the Old Testament in DEO is in a striking parallel to that of the Babylonian Talmud. However, it seems that Isidore hardly was acquainted with the Hebrew text. One should assume that there existed some intermediate sources between the Jewish tradition and the text of Isidore, which are lost.
Sergey Vorontsov carries out the structural analyses of the treatise in the fourth chapter. Each piece of DEO that aims at explaining some point, consists of two parts: the first one clarifies the origin of a liturgical practice (mostly book one) or of a Church group (book two), discovering it in the Old Testament, the New Testament and the tradition of the Church; the second includes norms, duties and customs related to the subject, which are more or less derived from its origin.
Chapters five and six address the two main topics of DEO. Andrey Volkov thoroughly studied the evidence regarding liturgical practices of the Spanish Church in the times of Isidore, comparing DEO with the liturgical documents of the subsequent periods. Being a treatise on liturgical exegesis, DEO does not provide a reader with detailed information on the liturgical practice, however, it is a unique source of information on this topic for early seventh-century Spain.
Mikhail Birkin in the sixth chapter explains exactly how Isidore constructs the collective identity of the clergy. The symbolic meaning of the tonsure, the etymological exegesis of the word clerus, and the norms of virginity and literacy shaped this identity. Using the writings of Minucius Felix and Augustine Isidore alludes to early Christian communities and virginity. All these points reinforce the position of the clergy in the realm of the sacred and outside of the realm of the secular in the social space of late antique Spain.
The last two chapters offer an interpretation of the two key notions of the treatise that was initially entitled De origine officiorum. The concept of origo (as argued by Sergey Vorontsov) correlates to the explanation of the roots of practices and groups in the Church, borrowed from the Scripture (especially Old Testament) and the custom of the Church. At the same time, origo possesses the connotations of rhetorical conjecture, juridic precedent and causa efficiens. In Antiquity, the causation had been especially relevant for the understanding of the divine law both in the nature of things and in history. However, in the patristic period, it was Scripture that became the main source of the divine law. Consequently, Isidore’s origo deals not with historical causality but with the exegesis of the Scripture.
According to Mikhail Birkin, the concept of officium in the works of Isidore reflected the continuity and change of the late antique social space in Visigothic Spain. On the one hand, officia conserved the ancient connotations of the reciprocal duties that guaranteed the unity of the society. On the other hand, due to the influence of the famous treatise of Ambrose, the officia became a benchmark for each particular group inside the Church. Thus, each group received its model of social behaviour. The reciprocity of the officia remained crucial for the society, but these reciprocal relations were rooted in the grace of God. First of all, this grace was thought to be received through the sacraments of baptism and the eucharist.
This introductory study is intended not only to represent the variety of attitudes to DEO but also to reveal the principles of the work (of writing?) of Isidore of Seville, define its novelty and creativity, explain the meaning of the treatise in the context of the seventh century Visigothic Spain. The commentary provides the reader with an intertextual analysis, explaining the use of quotations, allusions, and connotations.
Latomus: revue d'études latines, Vol. 83 (1), 2024, pp. 127-147., 2024
The article considers the topos of referring to the ancients in texts from the final centuries of... more The article considers the topos of referring to the ancients in texts from the final centuries of Late Antiquity, and argues that referring to the ancients is primarily a rhetorical device connoting authority. The variability of such references to the ancients has several functions. First, it enables the stereotypical element of the text to fit different contexts and thus to solve new rhetorical problems. Second, the authors may use variability as a resource to work out their own manner of elaborating arguments from the authority of the past without inventing new terms or meanings. To reveal these functions, the article begins by correlating the objects of references to the ‘ancients’ with stable rhetorical situations, which also demonstrate the complex system of literary authority accomplished by means of the variety of these references. It then proceeds to examine how they are used by three representative authors of the era.
Isidorianum, 2024
The writings in which an author expresses his thought are actually the product of certain cultura... more The writings in which an author expresses his thought are actually the product of certain cultural practices of his age. The article considers how such practices are manifested in the writings of Isidore of Seville, particularly with respect to the meaning of the metaphor of taste. Isidore borrows this metaphor from texts that explain the process of understanding Scripture and applies it to the achievement of wisdom. On the one hand, the metaphor
stresses the transformative aspect of understanding (rather than the informative, scientia). It focuses on the special experience of the reader who
senses the sweetness of the text, and not on the application of the text to
one’s life. On the other hand, reading and writing were imagined in
terms related to food. The text was food that had to be prepared, to
‘read’ meant to ‘taste’, to ‘meditate’ on it meant to ‘ruminate’. Against
this background, the writings of Isidore seem to appeal to the memory
of the reader and his ability to meditate upon the text and, finally, to experience the taste of wisdom. Only the outermost level of texts was intended to inform the reader.
Vestnik Pravoslavnogo Sviato-Tikhonovskogo gumanitarnogo universiteta. Seriia I : Bogoslovie. Filosofiia. Religiovedenie. 2023. Vol. 110. P. 33–54. , 2023
The article deals with the problem of boundaries and nature of the secular in the end of late Ant... more The article deals with the problem of boundaries and nature of the secular in the end of late Antiquity in the Latin West (focusing on the works of Isidore of Seville). The article focuses on the relation between the concept of the secular and the key oppositions of the late antique culture as it reveals itself within the process of defining identity of sacral groups (clergy and monks), instead of looking into the history of the conception of saeculum or searching for religiously neutral phenomena of social reality. This allows the article to overcome the simple perspective of sacralization or draining of the secular in this period. The article argues that, on the one hand, a firm boundary was erected between the secular and the divine, and, on the other hand, in some cases this boundary turned out to be rather permeable. The firm boundary was formed in the process of categorizing and constructing a positive identity of a small group of the saved, which is defined by its mode of behavior, related to its metaphorical political unity (conuersatio). The groups claiming a proximity to God relate the practices, which correspond to it, with their identity. Thus, secular people, secular cares, and secular knowledge come to be characterized by lacking contemplation and proximity to God. The boundary turns out to be permeable, firstly, with respect to knowledge, because the secular knowledge was necessary to read the Scriptures. The secular thereby was not antagonistic to the divine, but could lead up to it. The divine, in its turn, could “correct” the errors of secular knowledge, just as the action of the bishop, which was opposed to the action of secular power, corrected the morals of the secular people in the Neo-platonic spirit.
Диалог со временем, 2021
The article considers the function of the authority of the quoted text through the lens of thedic... more The article considers the function of the authority of the quoted text through the lens of thedichotomy of personal / textual authority. The study is focud on the last ages of Late Antiquity and particularly on the works of Isidore of Seville. By consideration of the images related to the prudent reader (prudens lector) the article comes to the following conclusions.
The extensive use of the authoritative quotations allows the text to represent the tradition, while its author as religious leader represented the Apostles and fathers of the Church. Thus, the authority of this leader turns out to be essentially symbolical. Relatively wide range of texts were considered authoritative. Making his own text, a prudent compiler
(prudens compilator) as a prudent reader (prudens lector) chose the quotations not randomly, but according to the presupposed effect of the compilation. The reader of this kind of text, according to the monastic craft of the thought, produced new ideas by mediation upon the quotations, i.e. remembering all the connotations and relating them to the situation of the reader. Thus, the main function of authority of the quotations was to give an impetus to the thought in terms of tradition and not to suppress it.
C. Codoñer, M. A. Andrés Sanz, J. C. Martín-Iglesias, D. Paniagua (eds.) Nuevos estudios de Latín medieval hispánico, Firenze, SISMEL - Edizioni del Galluzzo, pp. 465-478., 2021
It is generally assumed that the passages on philosophia in the works of Isidore of Seville refle... more It is generally assumed that the passages on philosophia in the works of Isidore of Seville reflect his misunderstanding of the subject. The article argues that the meaning of these passages is not restricted to the literal sense of the sentences in them. it is necessary to consider the structure of these passages and their relation to the source-texts in order to understand their meaning. it is concluded that Isidore changed the notion of philosophia by including Scripture in it. While in Differentiae II it is understood as a unity of contemplation of divine things (that
is equated to wisdom) and as action, in Etymologiae, wisdom remains undefined. It could be surmised that wisdom is the knowledge of God that can only be
revealed, and philosophy is the human pursuit of the same. The knowledge of the philosophers, though not opposed to wisdom, is represented as ambivalent, containing both the truth and absurdity. Moreover, the moral dimension of philosophizing is stressed, as is the interrelation of the epistemic (sapientia/stultitia) and moral (uerecundia/iactantia) dimensions.
Patristica et Mediævalia 41, 2020
El presente artículo versa sobre la estructura del tratado isidoriano llamado Liber differentiar... more El presente artículo versa sobre la estructura del tratado isidoriano llamado Liber differentiarum II (Diff. II). Hasta el momento, los trabajos acerca del contenido de la obra y su distribución han explicado su estructura según consideraciones que podríamos llamar "externas", en tanto se basan en ideas generales en relación con el género o la lógica del texto. En contraste con ello, el objetivo de este estudio es ofrecer una explicación "interna" de tal estructura, una fundada en su contenido conceptual. Nuestra hipótesis sostiene, pues, que la base para articular el texto entero es la definición de "hombre" que Isidoro desarrolla en Diff. II.16, así como su lugar en la escala de seres (Diff. II.13). En efecto, la posición especial del ser humano, que es considerado tanto por Isidoro como por sus fuentes como una creatura universal intermedia entre Dios (espíritu intelectual puro) y los seres materiales carentes de razón, es de capital importancia para la comprensión y consecuente estructuración de la obra.
Jacobsen, Anders-Christian; Usacheva, Anna (eds.) Christian Discourse in Late Antiquity: Hermeneutical, institutional and textual perspectives. Ferdinand Schöningh, 2020, pp. 175-194., 2020
In late antique compilations, the biblical text is frequently cited in conjunction with extensive... more In late antique compilations, the biblical text is frequently cited in conjunction with extensive quotations from patristic sources. This practice warrants further exploration. In the context of late antiquity, the problem of locating the semantic meaning of a text becomes difficult, because the role of the active reader — i.e. those responsible for generating the manifold meanings of the text — was maturing and expanding. The present article suggests that a focus on the ‘pragmatic’ meaning of the text might prove more fruitful, and so considers the textual function(s) of biblical citation. To this end, the article analyses the case of De ecclesiasticis officiis of Isidore of Seville (ca. 560–636). Isidore employs biblical quotations and allusions within larger passages from the writings of Christian authors in order to determine the origins of the practices of the Church. The article argues that the biblical quotations and allusions in the treatise allow Isidore to shape the identity of the clergy; Isidore represents the biblical text either as exemplum or praecepta. The article analyses the various connotations of these notions. This analysis allows us to conclude that the biblical text exercises three functions in De ecclesiasticis officiis: 1) it explains and legitimates the practices of the Church; 2) it frames history and law so as to fortify clerical identity; 3) it presents the objects of contemplation necessary for the moral perfection of the clergy and the fulfilment of their vocational duties.
Most texts of the last centuries of Late Antiquity are compilations. The conceptual analysis of t... more Most texts of the last centuries of Late Antiquity are compilations. The conceptual analysis of them that usually comes to the question of the changes in quotations is problematized by the assumption of accidental way of compiling the text (thus the structure and quotations has no internal logic). The article argues that origo in Isidore of Seville’s De ecclesiasticis officiis is essential element of the composition of the text (though it is a compilation) that possesses its own meaning. The hypothesis of the article runs as follows: origo in Isidore´s treatise is a contemplative basis for some instructions of the active live (in the ancient sense of the word). The argument consists of two parts: 1) the parallels with origo as a part of grammatical, rhetoric and legal texts are detected,
the most striking with the legal ones; 2) origo could be equated as a causa efficiens that was important to understand the divine rationality of the world and the law that rules both the divine and human things. This stoic pattern was introduced into Roman culture since Cicero’s times. Christian tradition changed the notion of the divine law that was to be found in the Scripture. Thus, Isidore’s origo deals not with the historical causality but with exegesis of the Scripture.
Isidore of Seville, Cicero, origo, Digesta, causation, De ecclesiasticis officiis,
law, contemplative and active life, clergy
Published on: http://www.ojs.unito.it/index.php/COL/index The article studies the reception of Ci... more Published on: http://www.ojs.unito.it/index.php/COL/index
The article studies the reception of Cicero's Laelius in Isidore of Seville's sententiae 3, 28-32, that offers the only extant theoretical conceptualization of amicitia as a form of interpersonal relation during the 6th and 7th centuries AD. Over the period, caritas was regularly used to describe social relations. Accordingly, the study s key question is: how was classical concept of amicitia reintegrated into the Christian discourse of 7th century Roman-Barbarian Spain? The article suggests that the question of true unity in friendship was central for Isidore:
he reconsiders patristic model of grounding amicitia in caritas that was interpreted as both the principle of right behaviour towards the neighbour and a ground of general political and religious unity of gens Gothorum. Thus, Isidore attempts to correlate the personal relations of amicitia with the principle of caritas that rules and unites the society. This suggestion helps to explain why Isidore pays attention to the ideal of friendship represented in Cicero s Laelius. In the final analysis, the study tries to explain why Isidore builds the chapters on friendship from quotations and allusions on Laelius, suggesting that by these means Isidore's text according to the principles of writing of Late Antiquity, established a set of references between relevant problems of unity and relations in 7th century Visigothic Spain and the authoritative text of the tradition.
The passage from the Etymologiae that concerns the etymology of the word religio was considered b... more The passage from the Etymologiae that concerns the etymology of the word religio was considered
by most of the scholars as a case of poorly correlated quotations, the first contains the derivation from religare
and the second that from relegere. Consequently, the integral conception of religion in the Etymologiae was out
of the question. On the basis of C. Sa´nchez Martı´nez’s concept of Isidorian etymology the article makes an
assumption that the first etymology can be considered as interpretatio (apprehension of the semantic value)
and the second as origo (formal derivation), thus the integrity of the Isidorian concept can be restored. Then
the article argues that this conception can be defined by comparison of the quotations and allusions from
Isidorian text with their sources. The author concludes that Isidore develops his concept of religion in three
ways: 1) by the etymology of the word religio ; 2) by correlation of religion with theological virtues; 3) introducing
religion in the sequence of notions concerning orthodoxy/heterodoxy. Thus religion is understood as a
way to establish the relation of service to God, the focal point of the theological virtues and the orthodoxy.
Isidore of Seville, being out of polemics between rhetoric and philosophy or between “pagan” and ... more Isidore of Seville, being out of polemics between rhetoric and philosophy or between “pagan” and Christian wisdom, used the concepts and arguments originated in these “quarrels” to build his own discourse. Thus he somehow summed up the results of them. The article analyzes Isidore’s approach to the eloquence in the light of the problem of using the source material. Two lines of correlation between the notion of eloquence and that of the wisdom are detected. One originates in the opposition of “pagan” and Christian wisdom, the other goes back to rhetoric / philosophy opposition. The first is ascetic developed in Sententiae by using the patristic argumentation against the “pagan” culture and by elaborating the ascetic concept of “speaking well” (bene loquor) concentrated on the matter of speaking not on its form. The second is presented in Differentae 2 and Etymologiae. In Differentiae 2 Isidore follows to Aulus Gellius and subjects eloquence to wisdom and rhetoric to dialectics. In Etymologiae he uses Quintilian’s concept of rhetoric and connects rhetoric and philosophy.
Возможно, рецензия на эту книжку будет кому-то интересна, поэтому выкладываю ее. Вышла в Вестнике... more Возможно, рецензия на эту книжку будет кому-то интересна, поэтому выкладываю ее. Вышла в Вестнике ПСТГУ. Сер. 1: Богословие. Философия. 2012. 4 (42).
Three great fi gures of the latin patristic philosophy – Ambrose, Jerome and Augustine – connect... more Three great fi gures of the latin patristic philosophy – Ambrose, Jerome and Augustine –
connected the fourfold scheme of the cardinal virtues with the notion of Christian salvation.
Isidore of Sevilla is one of the few authors of the Late Antiquity – Early Middle Ages, which do
not follow this line of interpretation of the cardinal virtues. The other point is that Isidore wrote
two different passages on the four virtues: one in Differentiae II that contains some Christian
elements and the other in Etymologiae that possesses pure stoic character. To explain these two
peculiarities the investigators pointed out that his writings were mere compilations. The main
disadvantage of this explanation is that all these features of Isidorian teaching on cardinal virtues
are explained externally. This article offers another interpretation of this teaching on the basis
of comparative analysis (comparing them with each other and with their sources) of Isidore’s
passages on the four virtues. The article argues that Isidore’s conception of the cardinal virtues
is common for Differentiae II and Etymologiae. Isidore considers stoic defi nitions of the four
virtues as universal in Etymologiae and expand them in Differentiae II, adding some Christian
elements to general stoic defi nitions.
Because of the paucity of purely philosophical texts produced during the early Middle Ages, the h... more Because of the paucity of purely philosophical texts produced during the early Middle Ages, the history of philosophy is forced to look for philosophy in texts actually belonging to other branches of thought. One example is that of Isidore of Seville (560-636). Isidore was one of the foremost compilers of encyclopedia-like knowledge of his time. The author analyses Isidore’s Differentiae I, a work which is known usually as a contribution to the history of philology. Its encyclopedia-like content was continued and perfected in Isidore’s later Etymologiae. In this way, the author’s discussion of the Differentiae I has bearing also on the study of the Etymologiae, Isidore’s most influential work. The author discusses isidore’s work from a philosophical point of view and his intention is to show which philosophical ideas were present in Isidore’s work. On the one hand, it would seem that the philosophemes of the Stoics indirectly influenced Isidore’s content and method. On the other hand it is possible to differentiate several ways in which various philosophical ideas were actually present: 1) the rudiments of philosophical ideas in the lemmas which refer to the domain of grammar; 2) isolated philosophical ideas in the framework of single lemmas which have usually been lifted from patristic texts but which were not further developed by Isidore; 3) philosophical ideas which were further creatively developed within the framework of thematic groups of lemmas (for example, religion, virtues).
The recent edition of Isidore’s of Sevilla “Differentiae I” (by C. Codoñer) reveals some particu... more The recent edition of Isidore’s of Sevilla “Differentiae I” (by C. Codoñer)
reveals some particulars of the text, that concern its sources,
composition and selection of the words. This article suggests that these
particulars differ “Differentiae I” from other grammatical treatises of
this genre and may indicate some philosophical elements of the text.
The views of Isidore of Seville on predestination are described based mainly on the thirtieth ch... more The views of Isidore of Seville on predestination are described based mainly on the
thirtieth chapter of the second book of his De diff erentiis verborum and the sixth chapter
of the third book of his Sententiae. A comparative analysis of the texts of Isidore with
their sources follows. As a result, the author of this article refutes earlier argumentation
claiming that Isidore’s teaching on predestination contained nothing new but was
totally lifted from that of Fulgentius of Ruspe and Gregory the Great. The author on the
contrary points out the original elements in Isidore’s teaching.
Sergey Vorontsov. Patristica et Mediaevalia 41.2, 2020
The translation of a patchwork text from Late Antiquity requires extensive commentary and detaile... more The translation of a patchwork text from Late Antiquity requires extensive commentary and detailed explanations. For it is not only the exact wording that demands the reader's attention but connotations and intertextual relations should be decoded as well. This Russian translation of De ecclesiasticis officiis (DEO) of Isidore of Seville is an attempt to reveal to the reader the richness and complexity of this treatise.
The introduction provides an overview of the historical context, the author and the treatise. DEO was especially significant for the politics of unitas, being an attempt to make the liturgy in Visigothic Spain uniform (this was accomplished at the fourth Council of Toledo). It is an important primary source for the studies of liturgical practice and clergy self-representation in the early seventh century in the Latin West; it noticeably influenced the Carolingian authors.
To read DEO correctly, one should keep in mind that this treatise is written according to the canons of late antique poetics. Chapters two, three, and four explore these principles in action in the text of DEO. In the second chapter, Elena Marey considers the use of Ps.-Jerome’s writing De septem ordinibus ecclesiae in the second book of DEO Isidore extensively drew upon this treatise for quotations in his work. However, when describing the figure of the bishop DEO significantly diverges from its source. While for Ps.-Jerome the correlation of the bishop to the figure of Christ is decisive, —because the bishop is one, in whom dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily— Isidore never compares the bishop to Christ. At the same time, he pays a lot of attention to the episcopal duties and canonical norms. Thus, using and quoting his source, Isidore implicitly argues against it. While Ps.-Jerome’s bishop is concentrated on the contemplation, and the clergy accomplish the action, Isidore’s bishop is much more engaged in the active life himself.
Whereas most of the direct or indirect sources of DEO are well-known, others are desperately lost, which is demonstrated by Liubov Chernin in the third chapter. Along with the traditional parts of the Christian representation of Judaism, DEO provides the reader with information that could not be found in the patristic sources. For instance, Isidore knows about minyan (that is, the quorum of the participants for the public prayer "among the Jews"). The account of the authors of the Old Testament in DEO is in a striking parallel to that of the Babylonian Talmud. However, it seems that Isidore hardly was acquainted with the Hebrew text. One should assume that there existed some intermediate sources between the Jewish tradition and the text of Isidore, which are lost.
Sergey Vorontsov carries out the structural analyses of the treatise in the fourth chapter. Each piece of DEO that aims at explaining some point, consists of two parts: the first one clarifies the origin of a liturgical practice (mostly book one) or of a Church group (book two), discovering it in the Old Testament, the New Testament and the tradition of the Church; the second includes norms, duties and customs related to the subject, which are more or less derived from its origin.
Chapters five and six address the two main topics of DEO. Andrey Volkov thoroughly studied the evidence regarding liturgical practices of the Spanish Church in the times of Isidore, comparing DEO with the liturgical documents of the subsequent periods. Being a treatise on liturgical exegesis, DEO does not provide a reader with detailed information on the liturgical practice, however, it is a unique source of information on this topic for early seventh-century Spain.
Mikhail Birkin in the sixth chapter explains exactly how Isidore constructs the collective identity of the clergy. The symbolic meaning of the tonsure, the etymological exegesis of the word clerus, and the norms of virginity and literacy shaped this identity. Using the writings of Minucius Felix and Augustine Isidore alludes to early Christian communities and virginity. All these points reinforce the position of the clergy in the realm of the sacred and outside of the realm of the secular in the social space of late antique Spain.
The last two chapters offer an interpretation of the two key notions of the treatise that was initially entitled De origine officiorum. The concept of origo (as argued by Sergey Vorontsov) correlates to the explanation of the roots of practices and groups in the Church, borrowed from the Scripture (especially Old Testament) and the custom of the Church. At the same time, origo possesses the connotations of rhetorical conjecture, juridic precedent and causa efficiens. In Antiquity, the causation had been especially relevant for the understanding of the divine law both in the nature of things and in history. However, in the patristic period, it was Scripture that became the main source of the divine law. Consequently, Isidore’s origo deals not with historical causality but with the exegesis of the Scripture.
According to Mikhail Birkin, the concept of officium in the works of Isidore reflected the continuity and change of the late antique social space in Visigothic Spain. On the one hand, officia conserved the ancient connotations of the reciprocal duties that guaranteed the unity of the society. On the other hand, due to the influence of the famous treatise of Ambrose, the officia became a benchmark for each particular group inside the Church. Thus, each group received its model of social behaviour. The reciprocity of the officia remained crucial for the society, but these reciprocal relations were rooted in the grace of God. First of all, this grace was thought to be received through the sacraments of baptism and the eucharist.
This introductory study is intended not only to represent the variety of attitudes to DEO but also to reveal the principles of the work (of writing?) of Isidore of Seville, define its novelty and creativity, explain the meaning of the treatise in the context of the seventh century Visigothic Spain. The commentary provides the reader with an intertextual analysis, explaining the use of quotations, allusions, and connotations.