Kathy Eden
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- October 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780300087574
- eISBN:
- 9780300133646
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300087574.001.0001
- Subject:
- Law, Intellectual Property, IT, and Media Law
Erasmus's Adages—a vast collection of the proverbial wisdom of Greek and Roman antiquity—was published in 1508 and became one of the most influential works of the Renaissance. It also marked a ...
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Erasmus's Adages—a vast collection of the proverbial wisdom of Greek and Roman antiquity—was published in 1508 and became one of the most influential works of the Renaissance. It also marked a turning point in the history of Western thinking about literary property. At once a singularly successful commercial product of the new printing industry and a repository of intellectual wealth, the Adages looks ahead to the development of copyright and back to an ancient philosophical tradition that ideas should be universally shared in the spirit of friendship. This book focuses on both the commitment to friendship and common property that Erasmus shares with his favorite philosophers—Pythagoras, Plato, and Christ—and the early history of private property that gradually transformed European attitudes concerning the right to copy. In the process it accounts for the peculiar shape of Erasmus's collection of more than 3,000 proverbs and provides readings of such ancient philosophical and religious thinkers as Pythagoras, Plato, Aristotle, Cicero, Iamblichus, Tertullian, Basil, Jerome, and Augustine.Less
Erasmus's Adages—a vast collection of the proverbial wisdom of Greek and Roman antiquity—was published in 1508 and became one of the most influential works of the Renaissance. It also marked a turning point in the history of Western thinking about literary property. At once a singularly successful commercial product of the new printing industry and a repository of intellectual wealth, the Adages looks ahead to the development of copyright and back to an ancient philosophical tradition that ideas should be universally shared in the spirit of friendship. This book focuses on both the commitment to friendship and common property that Erasmus shares with his favorite philosophers—Pythagoras, Plato, and Christ—and the early history of private property that gradually transformed European attitudes concerning the right to copy. In the process it accounts for the peculiar shape of Erasmus's collection of more than 3,000 proverbs and provides readings of such ancient philosophical and religious thinkers as Pythagoras, Plato, Aristotle, Cicero, Iamblichus, Tertullian, Basil, Jerome, and Augustine.
Adam Fox
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199251032
- eISBN:
- 9780191698019
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199251032.003.0003
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Early Modern History, Cultural History
This chapter focuses on the usage and importance of proverbs to the modes of thought and expression which personified England in the 16th and 17th centuries. There were about 12,000 proverbs and ...
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This chapter focuses on the usage and importance of proverbs to the modes of thought and expression which personified England in the 16th and 17th centuries. There were about 12,000 proverbs and proverbial phrases in regular use in England during that time. Proverbial wisdom expressed the accumulated ethical values of ordinary people in early modern England. It was an ubiquitous ornament to both spoken and written English language and infused the phrase and fable of communication. Different individuals and groups used proverbial wisdom variedly in differing social circumstances.Less
This chapter focuses on the usage and importance of proverbs to the modes of thought and expression which personified England in the 16th and 17th centuries. There were about 12,000 proverbs and proverbial phrases in regular use in England during that time. Proverbial wisdom expressed the accumulated ethical values of ordinary people in early modern England. It was an ubiquitous ornament to both spoken and written English language and infused the phrase and fable of communication. Different individuals and groups used proverbial wisdom variedly in differing social circumstances.
Alexander Samely
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- January 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780199684328
- eISBN:
- 9780191764981
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199684328.003.0005
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism, Religion in the Ancient World
This chapter explains the varieties of features one encounters in texts of thematic discourse or description, a key branch of ancient Jewish literature. In particular, both texts of proverbial ...
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This chapter explains the varieties of features one encounters in texts of thematic discourse or description, a key branch of ancient Jewish literature. In particular, both texts of proverbial wisdom, such as Wisdom and Sirach, and texts of law, such as 4QMMT and Mishnah, have conspicuously ‘loose’ thematic coherence. The contribution to this of stereotypical small forms and their ‘mere juxtaposition’ is explained. The chapter addresses the problematic role which modern coherence expectations, which often go unexamined in scholarship, play in diachronic criticism of apparently ‘incoherent’ ancient Jewish texts. The chapter also takes into view thematic discourse which is set in a narrative frame, such as 4 Ezra, 1 Baruch and some ‘Testaments’.Less
This chapter explains the varieties of features one encounters in texts of thematic discourse or description, a key branch of ancient Jewish literature. In particular, both texts of proverbial wisdom, such as Wisdom and Sirach, and texts of law, such as 4QMMT and Mishnah, have conspicuously ‘loose’ thematic coherence. The contribution to this of stereotypical small forms and their ‘mere juxtaposition’ is explained. The chapter addresses the problematic role which modern coherence expectations, which often go unexamined in scholarship, play in diachronic criticism of apparently ‘incoherent’ ancient Jewish texts. The chapter also takes into view thematic discourse which is set in a narrative frame, such as 4 Ezra, 1 Baruch and some ‘Testaments’.
Alexander Samely
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- January 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780199684328
- eISBN:
- 9780191764981
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199684328.003.0008
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism, Religion in the Ancient World
This chapter presents the categories that describe recurrent small literary forms, relevant in particular for wisdom and law texts of the pre-rabbinic and rabbinic periods. It also contains an ...
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This chapter presents the categories that describe recurrent small literary forms, relevant in particular for wisdom and law texts of the pre-rabbinic and rabbinic periods. It also contains an overview of categories that help to describe a text that combines narrative features with thematic discourse or commentary. Categories are provided for noting certain stereotypical forms that present casuistic law, quoted speech, proof-texts, reasons, proverbial formulations, homiletic-rhetorical units, disputes, question-answer units, and small narrative formats and motifs.Less
This chapter presents the categories that describe recurrent small literary forms, relevant in particular for wisdom and law texts of the pre-rabbinic and rabbinic periods. It also contains an overview of categories that help to describe a text that combines narrative features with thematic discourse or commentary. Categories are provided for noting certain stereotypical forms that present casuistic law, quoted speech, proof-texts, reasons, proverbial formulations, homiletic-rhetorical units, disputes, question-answer units, and small narrative formats and motifs.
James Doelman
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- January 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780719096440
- eISBN:
- 9781526115218
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Manchester University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7228/manchester/9780719096440.003.0001
- Subject:
- Literature, Criticism/Theory
This chapter outlines the tradition of the epigram in the Classical, Medieval and Renaissance periods, with particular focus on the influence of Martial, Catullus, and the Greek Anthology. Despite ...
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This chapter outlines the tradition of the epigram in the Classical, Medieval and Renaissance periods, with particular focus on the influence of Martial, Catullus, and the Greek Anthology. Despite the genre’s reputation for licentiousness and cynicism, it came to be used for a wide variety of subjects. However, a commitment to brevity and sharpness of wit distinguished the genre regardless of subject and was often noted by Renaissance theorists. The chapter also explores some more limited influences, such as the medieval proverbial epigram, on the Renaissance use of the genre.Less
This chapter outlines the tradition of the epigram in the Classical, Medieval and Renaissance periods, with particular focus on the influence of Martial, Catullus, and the Greek Anthology. Despite the genre’s reputation for licentiousness and cynicism, it came to be used for a wide variety of subjects. However, a commitment to brevity and sharpness of wit distinguished the genre regardless of subject and was often noted by Renaissance theorists. The chapter also explores some more limited influences, such as the medieval proverbial epigram, on the Renaissance use of the genre.
