Some Remarks on Musical Symbolism of Philo’s Hermeneutics in “De Posteritate Caini”

Philo of Alexandria can hardly be called a philosopher, especially given a certain speculative or systematic philosophy. But also, contrary to the prevailing opinion in contemporary research, it could hardly be defined as an exegete, especially given the modern content of the term. At the same time, the impression remains that the most often associated concept with his name – allegory (allegorical interpretation) is usually perceived too narrowly, and not enough attention is paid to the actual literary and hermeneutical skills of the author. Modern translations of his works often do not reflect the symbolism used by Philo at all, as is the case with music imagery in the opening paragraph of De Posteritate Caini. The musical theme and symbolism in Philo's work undoubtedly deserve a special and thorough study, which would go far beyond the scope of this article.

Rule of Love and Rule of Faith in Augustine’s Hermeneutics: A Complex Dialectic of the Twofold Rules

Since the sixteenth-century Reformation, literal interpretation of the Bible has been deemed the best hermeneutical method to unearth the biblical writers’ original meaning. For the Reformers, allegorical interpretation was denigrated for reading an extraneous, or spiritual, meaning into any text. Although Augustine was among the first who champions a literal interpretation of the Scripture—as he outlined in his De doctrina christiana—until recent decades, Augustine is still being perceived as inconsistent in following his hermeneutical method as it is attested in his interpretation of the Good Samaritan. In his interpretation, Augustine seems to have allegorized the parable, thus his method was accused of being inconsistent. Is it really the case? This article attempts to contest such an accusation by showing that Augustine’s method of interpretation cannot simply be categorized as either entirely literal or allegorical. Augustine never professes as a literalist, an exegete who only applies what is now known as a historical-critical method. On the other hand, he did not recklessly legitimate the application of allegorical reading to any text. Taken as a whole, Augustine’s hermeneutics revolves around a complex dialectic of regula dilectionis (the rule of love) and regula fidei (the rule of faith) that allows both interpretations to be considered to be true.

“Firearm art” in honor of the Russian State abroad: to the question of Russia’s representation in Europe during the time of Peter the Great

This article determines the key principles of designing fireworks and illumination compositions created in honor of the Russian State in foreign territories in the late XVII – early XVIII centuries. The analysis of themes and images contained therein in conducted in the context of the problematic of representative culture of that time. The article is first to attract the preserved graphic sources and published written archival materials discovered in recent years, including by the author of this research. Special attention is given to fireworks and illuminations on the occasion of the Treaty of Nystad, which did not receive due coverage within the scientific literature. Due to the peculiarities of “firearm art”, the research methodology relies on the scientific reconstruction with the use of art history, historical-cultural, as well as elements of iconographic and iconological analysis. It is revealed the firework festivities were one of the remarkable form of Russia’s representation abroad during the time of Peter the Great. In allegorical interpretation, they not only glorified the Russian State, but also reflected far-reaching plans of the monarch aimed at obtaining the imperial status of the country. Most of the fireworks and illumination compositions were based on the traditional for ambassadorial ceremonial culture of that time motif of the triumphal arch, and the arsenal of themes and images resembled the Russian festive complexes. The fire paintings were created in accordance with the principles similar to heraldic images: centerpoint, vertical and horizontal hierarchy, and laws of symmetry. As far back as his first trip to Europe, Peter the Great knew that fire performances is a source of creating awareness and excellent opportunity to make the country know to the world.

Satanological Myth in the Coptic literature and its development

The article deals with the satanic myth, its Biblical genesis and further development in Judaism and early Christianity as well as its variants in Coptic literature. The myth is based on the story about the fall of the Supreme Angel and his subsequent transformation into an evil spirit. Two versions of the myth are known conventionally called “The proud man” and the “Envious man”. The first is the “legend of Lucifer” when Satan wished to become higher than God or equal to Him and was cast down. This legend goes back to the Biblical prophets as well as the pre-Christian exegesis. The second version describes how Satan was cast down for refusing to worship Adam. This legend is partly rooted in the book of Job and could have developed as a result of two coexisting, however, separate motives were found in the Jewish and early Christian exegesis. Both variants occur in great detail in various Coptic texts, including magical ones. The Biblical basis of the myth enlarged by various additions. Besides, there is also a version, which comprises details from both legends. The Satanological myth, like other apocryphal legends about angels and demons based upon the Biblical narrative in Coptic literature is developed in two ways: 1) personification of abstract concepts and properties, 2) allegorical interpretation of stories regarding Biblical characters as legends about angels or demons.

On the Interpretation of Metaphors and Similes in the Psalms: subtilitas intelligendi – subtilitas explicandi – subtilitas applicandi

Based on the example of sacred Psalter explanations, the article examines numerous metaphorical descriptions with the intention to reconstruct the procedures and operations for extracting the spiritual meaning from the veil of the literal. According to the authoritative explanations in question, metaphors and figurative comparisons (similes) used by the psalm singer differ in their inherent meaning despite the coincidence in the semantic mechanism of transposition and the need for their subsequent transformation in interpretation. Some of them, in a poetic way, reflect David’s state of mind; others are filled with a deeper spiritual meaning. As a consequence, instructions for their interpretation become different. In the figurative-symbolic interpretation, explaining conditions for the choice of an auxiliary object, it is the nearest linguistic context that becomes an explanatory instruction; and when there is no such context it is the presumption of similarity by which X can be linked to Y in expressions like “God, the horn of my salvation” that serves this function. In the symbolic-allegorical interpretation, designed to explain metaphorical expressions at a different level of understanding, it is the presumption of spiritual meaning that becomes the instruction explaining metaphorical expressions in accordance with the rules of the Christian exegesis as a prefiguration of the New Testament history (in the typological reading), as a norm of moral behavior (in the tropological reading), and as the fulfillment of promises (in the anagogic reading). The basics for hermeneutics are implemented in the following way: subtilitas intelligendi, subtilitas explicanda, and subtilitas applicandi.

Alegorisasi Hagar Sebagai Gunung Sinai dan Yerusalem dalam Penafsiran Paulus

This article aims to explain the allegorization of Hagar and Mount Sinai in Paul's theology as written in Galatians 4:24-25 as a result of exegesis studies. To achieve this goal, the author uses a historical-grammatical approach. In addition, the author presents the interpretation debate by New Testament theologians about the text as consideration for deciding the interpretation following Paul's intent. In conclusion, Paul uses an allegorical interpretation of Galatians 4:24-25 by explaining that Hagar as Mount Sinai and Jerusalem is an allusion to the Old Testament and legalistic Judaism, not grace.

Archiving Fragments of Time

<p><b>Beneath the urban concrete of Wellington city lies a plethora of lost stories and voices, sometimes only accessible as fragments, which should contribute to the rich polyvocal narratives of a site. Recognition of these stories, even as fragments, enables local inhabitants and a wider audience to begin to understand the significance of place.</b></p> <p>Heritage stories transform from one time period to the next, creating overlapping layers of a site’s identity evolving over time. Each layer, while potentially representing its own unique story, contributes to the meta-narrative of a place. This design-led research investigation looks at the problem that arises when important stories of a place are lost when a site has transformed over time. The true story of a site is represented by the hidden layers from previous time periods, which have often fragmented or faded over time. This thesis proposes that lost layers, fragmented stories and faded voices can be reawakened through speculative architectural representation.</p> <p>Fragments of stories can be used to stimulate the imagination. The allegorical interpretation of fragments can be used to generate dreamscapes. Within a dreamscape, the multiple voices of multiple fragments can be heard together, even when they represent stories from different times. When dreamscapes are captured as allegorical drawing fragments, these multiple voices can be heard and retained even when they have partially faded away.</p> <p>This thesis explores how an allegorical architectural project, framed within techniques found in allegorical narrative fiction, can be successfully used as a critical method to help reawaken and unveil lost voices of place and generate speculative architectural outcomes that allow these voices to be heard. This design-led research proposes to reawaken lost voices of place through mapping the field of imagination, collage and the creation of dreamscapes, and allegorical drawing fragments.</p> <p>Italo Calvino’s Invisible Cities and Alan Lightman’s Einstein’s Dreams are examples of literary approaches to the allegorical interpretation of fragments. They are used in this investigation as literary provocateurs—allegorical generators to engage the imagination to reawaken lost voices as fragments and allow them to be heard in a collection—an archive of fragments. These two novels are effectively re-presenting place and time as dreamscapes. By enabling a series of fragmented stories to be heard as one, a richly polyvocal narrative is established that allows the reader to understand the significance of a place.</p> <p>Two neighbouring urban sites along the edge of Wellington Harbour have been selected for this investigation: the Taranaki Wharf Cut-out and the Kumutoto Stream Outlet. Both have unique tales to tell. The Kumutoto Stream Outlet is the site of the first culverted stream in Wellington. This entire stream has been silenced and has disappeared forever, yet it survives deep underground; this narrow outlet along the Wellington Harbour edge is the last vestigial remnant of its tale. The Taranaki Wharf Cut-out exposes the lost shoreline of Wellington before urban expansion. This shoreline has been silenced and has disappeared forever, and the cut-out provides the last visual connection to the lost landscape below. Fragments of the urban concrete have been removed from both these sites to reveal the lost remnants of the sites tales they once concealed. These sites are engaged as allegorical portals that invite a viewer below the surface of Wellington’s urban concrete to explore the lost layers of fragmented stories that lay hidden beneath. These sites are presented as ‘characters’ that narrate ‘stories’ of Wellington waterfront’s surrounding context and the transformation of the landscape over time.</p> <p>The original heritage conditions of a place often cannot be physically returned to their sites without disrupting the contemporary urban context. In this investigation, sites are not engaged as grounds for architectural intervention. Instead, they are provocateurs for how an allegorical architectural project can dig below the urban concrete and reawaken and unveil lost voices of a place. These voices are presented as a speculative archive of fragmented artefacts that invite viewers to witness, through these allegorical artefacts, an urban environment’s rich litany of heritage stories that may have been permanently lost or displaced. These artefacts take the form of maps, collages and drawings, and they are designed to read both as individual artefacts and together as a collection within an archive, this bound codex of work—an Archive of Fragments of Time.</p> <p>This thesis asks:How can an allegorical architectural project be successfully used as a critical method to reawaken and unveil lost voices of a place, and generate speculative architectural outcomes that allow these voices to be heard?</p>

Archiving Fragments of Time

<p><b>Beneath the urban concrete of Wellington city lies a plethora of lost stories and voices, sometimes only accessible as fragments, which should contribute to the rich polyvocal narratives of a site. Recognition of these stories, even as fragments, enables local inhabitants and a wider audience to begin to understand the significance of place.</b></p> <p>Heritage stories transform from one time period to the next, creating overlapping layers of a site’s identity evolving over time. Each layer, while potentially representing its own unique story, contributes to the meta-narrative of a place. This design-led research investigation looks at the problem that arises when important stories of a place are lost when a site has transformed over time. The true story of a site is represented by the hidden layers from previous time periods, which have often fragmented or faded over time. This thesis proposes that lost layers, fragmented stories and faded voices can be reawakened through speculative architectural representation.</p> <p>Fragments of stories can be used to stimulate the imagination. The allegorical interpretation of fragments can be used to generate dreamscapes. Within a dreamscape, the multiple voices of multiple fragments can be heard together, even when they represent stories from different times. When dreamscapes are captured as allegorical drawing fragments, these multiple voices can be heard and retained even when they have partially faded away.</p> <p>This thesis explores how an allegorical architectural project, framed within techniques found in allegorical narrative fiction, can be successfully used as a critical method to help reawaken and unveil lost voices of place and generate speculative architectural outcomes that allow these voices to be heard. This design-led research proposes to reawaken lost voices of place through mapping the field of imagination, collage and the creation of dreamscapes, and allegorical drawing fragments.</p> <p>Italo Calvino’s Invisible Cities and Alan Lightman’s Einstein’s Dreams are examples of literary approaches to the allegorical interpretation of fragments. They are used in this investigation as literary provocateurs—allegorical generators to engage the imagination to reawaken lost voices as fragments and allow them to be heard in a collection—an archive of fragments. These two novels are effectively re-presenting place and time as dreamscapes. By enabling a series of fragmented stories to be heard as one, a richly polyvocal narrative is established that allows the reader to understand the significance of a place.</p> <p>Two neighbouring urban sites along the edge of Wellington Harbour have been selected for this investigation: the Taranaki Wharf Cut-out and the Kumutoto Stream Outlet. Both have unique tales to tell. The Kumutoto Stream Outlet is the site of the first culverted stream in Wellington. This entire stream has been silenced and has disappeared forever, yet it survives deep underground; this narrow outlet along the Wellington Harbour edge is the last vestigial remnant of its tale. The Taranaki Wharf Cut-out exposes the lost shoreline of Wellington before urban expansion. This shoreline has been silenced and has disappeared forever, and the cut-out provides the last visual connection to the lost landscape below. Fragments of the urban concrete have been removed from both these sites to reveal the lost remnants of the sites tales they once concealed. These sites are engaged as allegorical portals that invite a viewer below the surface of Wellington’s urban concrete to explore the lost layers of fragmented stories that lay hidden beneath. These sites are presented as ‘characters’ that narrate ‘stories’ of Wellington waterfront’s surrounding context and the transformation of the landscape over time.</p> <p>The original heritage conditions of a place often cannot be physically returned to their sites without disrupting the contemporary urban context. In this investigation, sites are not engaged as grounds for architectural intervention. Instead, they are provocateurs for how an allegorical architectural project can dig below the urban concrete and reawaken and unveil lost voices of a place. These voices are presented as a speculative archive of fragmented artefacts that invite viewers to witness, through these allegorical artefacts, an urban environment’s rich litany of heritage stories that may have been permanently lost or displaced. These artefacts take the form of maps, collages and drawings, and they are designed to read both as individual artefacts and together as a collection within an archive, this bound codex of work—an Archive of Fragments of Time.</p> <p>This thesis asks:How can an allegorical architectural project be successfully used as a critical method to reawaken and unveil lost voices of a place, and generate speculative architectural outcomes that allow these voices to be heard?</p>

Philip-Philagathos’ allegorical interpretation of Heliodorus’ Aithiopika: Eros, mimesis and scriptural anagogical exegesis

The debate over the authorship of the allegorical interpretation of Heliodorus’ novel extant in codex Marc. Gr. 410 (coll. 522) bequeathed to subsequent scholarship the assumption that the text belongs to the Neoplatonic allegorical tradition of reading Homer. This essay aims to revisit this philosophical attribution and argue that the terms and philosophical categories alluded in this allegory are characteristic of a long tradition of Patristic analysis, and more specifically of Gregory of Nyssa and Maximus Confessor’s exegesis. Setting forth new textual evidence, it argues that the exegetical practice displayed in the allegory reflects Maximus Confessor’s anagogical exegesis (i. e., the etymological and numerical speculations) and Gregory of Nyssa’s pedagogy of desire and doctrine of spiritual progress as set forth in the Homilies on the Song of Songs and The Life of Moses.

The Philosophical Tradition

This chapter traces the development of the image and use of the mythological figure of Heracles in philosophical contexts. Heracles’ mythology is notoriously amoral, but the figure gets drawn into moral roles over time, in tandem with the development of virtue from a heroic to a civic value. Pindar employs him as an example of attaining immortality through virtuous actions and Prodicus’ tale implies that his deeds were the result of autonomous moral choice. Antisthenes and Cynic tradition elevate him to the paradigm for the Cynic way in opting for action (above theory), itinerancy, training of body and soul, and toil. Others also claimed Heracles to have philosophized through his deeds, but prefer an allegorical interpretation of the mythology, a tradition of interpretation that ran from Herodorus through the Stoics Cleanthes, Cornutus and Seneca, and into early Christian apologetics.