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.

Le metamorfosi di una freccia A proposito dell’enigma 65 di Simposio

In Symposius’ riddle 65 the virtuosic mixture of multiple referential fields seems to hide some echoes from the astronomical tradition on the constellation of the Arrow. The disclosure of this semantic level is not incompatible with the literal interpretation of the verses and testifies to Symposius’ original approach to kosmische Rätsel.

The Eunuch and the Baldhead: Sexuality in Early Jewish-Christian Polemic

Defining appropriate attitudes towards sexuality has always been an issue in Jewish-Christian polemic. Contemporary Jewish writers tend to boast of Judaism’s liberal attitude toward sexuality, while medieval Jewish polemicists were defensive when confronting Christian attacks on this matter. In ancient times, when sexual puritanism was less popular, Jewish theologians did not refrain from showing their contempt for the Christian value ​​of celibacy. This article proposes a new reading of the Talmudic legend about an argument between Joshua b. Karhah and a Christian eunuch. In this reading, the Christian figure stands for Origen, a Church father described in Christian sources as having castrated himself owing to a literal interpretation of the New Testament. In this reading, the debate summarizes the Talmudic rabbis’ perspective on the difference between Jewish and Christian views of sexuality.

The Last Princes of Tarusa in the Synodikon of the Moscow Cathedral of the Dormition

New data on the genealogy of the princes of Tarusa in the Synodikon of the Cathedral of the Dormition in Moscow are compared with rare mentions of representatives of this family in the testaments and treaties of the grand princes of Muscovy from the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, as well as other sources. Some researchers suggested identifying the princes of Tarusa in these sources with representatives of other families, i. e. Prince Vasily Ivanovich of Tarusa in the Moscow-Lithuanian treaty of 1449 with Prince Vasily Ivanovich of Obolensk, Prince Ivan Borisovich of Tarusa in the razryad of the Smolensk campaign of 1502 with Prince Ivan Borisovich of Ruza, and Princess Evdokia of Tarusa in the grand princely testament of 1504 with Grand Princess Evdokia, the widow of Dmitry Donskoy. The author demonstrates that the commemoration of the princes of Tarusa in the Synodikon of the Moscow Cathedral of the Dormition provides grounds for a literal interpretation of the mentions of this family between the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, while the identifications proposed in the literature require unnecessarily risky presumptions.

The journey of Jephthah’s daughter: On spatial cognition, body and language in Judges 11:37

The traditional literal interpretation of the text in Judges 11:37 shows exceptional variation in topographic depiction. The literal interpretation of Driver, published in Zeitschrift für die Alttestamentliche Wissenschaft, is an example. From a linguistic perspective, no attention was paid whatsoever to the relation of interiority between an objective body and an objective space. This article proposes a cognitive semantic perspective and argues that the motion-path verb ירד (yrd) in Judges 11:37 carries a metaphorical meaning, and the linguistic processing, that is, the metaphorical mapping of the image schematic structure of CHANGE (up-down) as the source domain onto that of BEHAVIOUR as the target domain, involving activation of cultural spatial and bodily systems. With this background in mind, Judges 11:37 represents a new understanding for similar UP-DOWN image schemas applied in the Hebrew Bible.Contribution: This article contributes to the understanding of the apparent ‘inexact’ sense of the use of ירד (yrd) in Judges 11:37.

The Conflict between the Legal Form and the Economic Content of the Contract and Methods of its Resolution on the Example of a Buyout Lease Agreement

The paper substantiates that the reason for the collision between the legal form and the economic content of the contract is the discrepancy between the real economic goals of the parties to a particular contract and the goals that the legislator had in mind when constructing the legal structure of the corresponding contract, for example, a lease payment in a buyout lease agreement includes not only payment for the use of the property, as it should be for the lease, but also the redemption value of the property. The author identifies and analyzes three ways to resolve this conflict: re-qualification of the contract as a whole or its individual conditions according to the rules on sham transactions, direct application of the general legal principle of justice and the priority of revealing the actual common will of the parties over the literal interpretation of the contract. It is substantiated that the parties to the contract have the right to use certain contractual structures to achieve uncharacteristic economic goals, if such goals are not illegal.

Critique of the radical religious paradigm: An epistemological analysis from the principles of Islamic jurisprudence

One important factor enabling Islamophobia, radicalism has been a global issue endangering personal safety and public security. It is strongly associated with incorrect understanding of religious doctrines. This paper aims to present a critique of the religious paradigm promoted by the radical groups from the principles of Islamic jurisprudence (ushul fiqh) perspective. Using an epistemological analysis to uncover the nature of their religious understanding and its justification, this study argues that the radical religious paradigm is characterized by a monolithic, textual, and rigid interpretation of the sacred texts. According to the radical groups, the sources of Islamic laws or teachings are restricted to only the Qur’an and the hadith, leaving no space for alternative interpretations. They do not give place for ra’yu (reason) in determining the laws or teachings. On the other hand, ushul fiqh perspective maintains that the sources of the Islamic laws or teachings are not restricted to only the two said sources; it also gives place for ra’yu (reason). The sources can also be found in the form of isyarah (signaling) and ruh (spirit) of the Qur’an and the hadith. In this sense, ushul fiqh refuses the literal interpretation proposed by the radical groups since not all of the texts in the Qur’an and the hadith can be understood literally. Taken together, these findings strengthen the idea that incorrect understanding of religious doctrines helps lead to the absolute, puritanical, and intolerant stance towards differences.

Aristotle on Substance as Primary in Time

In a notoriously obscure passage in Metaphysics 7.1 Aristotle claims that substance is primary in time. The only concrete literal interpretation suggested so far of this controversial claim is in terms of existing before and after in time. I argue that this interpretation faces serious problems. I then present a novel literal interpretation, in terms of being an appropriate subject of temporal predications, that is immune to these problems and strongly supported by philosophical and contextual considerations.

Biblical and Talmudic Tradition

This chapter discusses the treatment of medical matters in the Biblical and Talmudic tradition. It talks about the way in which the holy books, as well as the midrashic, ethical, and kabbalistic literature based on them, influenced curative practices in Jewish society. Among the many customs of Jewish society, there are many examples of instrumental treatment of books. The Bible and Talmud created a system of laws regulating all aspects of a Jew's life, and contained many detailed pronouncements on health-related issues, including physical cleanliness, procedures designed to help maintain physical health, and the correct diet. So many and such varied matters were regulated in various places scattered throughout the extensive treatises and chapters that it seemed impossible to know them all fully. Assistance was at hand in the form of the halakhic codes but the rabbinic authorities of Ashkenaz discouraged study of halakhic matters from sources other than those written in Hebrew as they did not trust translations. The wealth of Bible-related resources grew larger the further one departed from a literal interpretation of words and quotations. The Bible constituted a boundless reservoir of quotes which might be used in conjurations against illnesses or on amulets. These were seen not only as guidance for action, but also as integral elements of sorcery.

Most-Favored-Nation Clause in the Practice of Establishing the Jurisdiction of the International Center for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID)

Based on the analysis of arbitration practice and doctrine, the author identifies the principles of interpretation of the most-favored-nation clause in order to resolve the issue of the jurisdiction of the International Center for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) by arbitration. The author concludes that the arbitration should be guided not only by the principle of literal interpretation of the international investment agreement and, in case of uncertainty, establish the intention of the contracting states to apply the most-favored-nation clause to the process of resolving investment disputes, but also take into account the public policy of the contracting states.