“Appropriate” Meanings and American Traits in Webster’s 1828 Dictionary

During the eighteenth century, many philosophers were attempting to determine the origin of language and to develop a universal theory of linguistics, but a debate at the Prussian Royal Academy questioned the endeavour by claiming that languages have different origins and that it is impossible to explain the progress of human thought by studying them because national languages influence the way their speakers see the world. In answer to that, Webster proposes that all modern languages have a common divine origin and that the universal truth could be accessed by studying etymology. He claims that words have an “absolute” significance, which, due to the development of the different languages, assumed meanings that are “appropriate” to each individual language. This article proposes that nationalism in the American Dictionary of the English Language is not represented by a substantial number of Americanisms, but by giving “appropriate” meaning that evidences how “absolute” significances evolved and came to characterize the United States. The article provides evidence to support that Webster’s lexicographic contribution is constituted by the new organization he gives to the entries and by definitions that show how old terms came to represent new concepts when compared to those in Samuel Johnson’s dictionary.

THE ROLE OF DIFFERENT MEDIA FOR THE URDHVA PATANA OF PARADA

In our ancient literature of Rasashastra, Parada or Rasa is considered the supreme Dravya out of all Rasoparasa’s, Dhatu’s etc1and described to be of divine origin. The importance of Parada is highlighted mainly for Rasachikitsa. Mercury always comes with natural impurities i.e., “Naisargika dosha”, when mercury is put to trade and commercial use it is adulterated with cheaper metals like Naga and Vanga for more commercial gains. As a result, mercury in the market is often available with this kind of adulterants, which are considered as “Yougi- ka Dosha”. Consumption of impure mercury is considered highly toxic and hazardous. It can be made into medi- cine by adopting proper Shodhana procedures. In Rasashastra process of Shodhana is having greater im- portance. Hence a wide range of purification methods is described for each metal and mineral including Parada. The literary meaning of Shodhana is purification, but in Rasashastra Shodana is a Samskara which essentially improves the potency along with detoxifying the metal or mineral. In our classics, various methods have been told for Shodhana of Parada, in which Patana plays a very important role2. All the different classical references of Urdhva Patana Samskaras are compiled and critically analysed to know their role in Shodhana of Parada. Various media told are Tamra churna, Sarja Kshara, Yava Kshara, Hingu, Panchalavana and Kaashtoaushadis such as Kumari, Nisha churna etc. An attempt is made to analyse the role of various media for the Urdhva Patana of Parada. Keywords: Parada, Shodhana, Urdhva Patana, Mercury

Sofocle: Magia, Medicina, Religione

In Sophocles’ tragedies the interweaving of medicine, religion and magic produces a lot of meanings and concepts that show the complexity of the Greek thought of the Fifth century. In his tragedies, Sophocles shows his interest both in the magical and religious medicine and in the new Hippocratic medical science. The aim of this paper is to analyze the conceptual and lexical intertwining that reflects this interest, focusing on the character of Oedipus. In fact, Oedipus is the hero who best embodies this duplicity. At the beginning of the drama he assumes a rational investigation method through which he tries to discover Laius’ murderer and then to heal Thebes from the plague that afflicts it. However, his responsibility emerges during the tragedy; Oedipus’ fault has divine origin and makes him the first cause of the evil of the city. In the Oedipus at Colonus, Oedipus’ body is released from the contamination that had made him the origin of the plague and the hero’s body turns into a sort of magic amulet to protect the polis that will guard it when he will be dead.

Représentations du corps ivre dans la littérature et la peinture hispaniques

Wine has been linked to Spanish culture since the time of the Romans and early Christianity. In Spain, a land of vines since antiquity, the representation of the drunken body in literature and painting is an omnipresent topos since the Middle Ages. The pros and cons of this are found in medical, philosophical, moral and religious texts, but especially in novels, which warn against excess. This article studies how Spanish painters and writers developed the imaginary of wine in all its forms, be they masculine or feminine, solar or twilight, enthusiastic or drowsy, in their reflections, in their drawings and paintings, in poems or novels, in order to transmit the ideological transformation that was going to occur in Spain around this drink. For only the artist seems to preserve the tradition of the divine origin of wine, reclaiming its thaumaturgical role thanks to the Bacchic nectar. Spanish men and women suffer or benefit from the virtues of wine, the main alcoholic beverage in Spain until the 21st century.

Odkud řeč. Herderovo hledání odpovědi na otázku po lidském, či božském původu řeči

The article aims to present Herder’s early philosophy of language against the background of the question regarding the human or divine origin of language, which influenced mainly the German discussion in the 1760s. It focuses on the interpretation of two writings in which Herder answers the question of the origin of speech in a seemingly different way: A Treatise on the Origin of Language and The Oldest Document of the Human Race. While in the Treatise Herder insists on the human origin of language, in The Oldest Document he admits the need for “God’s teaching” for its origin. The question therefore arises as to whether Herder has revised his original position. However, we demonstrate that The Oldest Document is not a revision, but a supplement to the theses contained in the Treatise by metaphysical assumptions, which form an indispensable framework for Herder’s philosophy of language.

Social justice — the basis of public accord in modern society (Part 2)

Since the beginning of socio-economic transformations (1991), the state system has changed, but the concept of the essence of social justice established over the years of socialism has been preserved. This circumstance is crucial for mutual understanding and consent in our society. All subsequent events up to voting on the constitutional amendments (2020), convincingly testify in favor of the statement made. These amendments are a specific invention that opens up the possibility for the government to relieve constantly increasing tension for some time. The fact is that since the departure of tsarism from the historical scene (based on the divine origin of its power), the Constitution represents the country as a state ruled rule by law and in fact performs the function of a social contract. Therefore, according to the established tradition, a change of power always entails constitutional transformations. At the same time, everyone understands that there is a gap between the well-written constitutional norms and the reality of life in the country, which allows the government to rule at their own discretion. At the same time, the possibilities for maneuvering are far from unlimited. Both the constitutional amendments and the actions of the authorities during the period of self-isolation show a reverse movement towards socialist distributional relations. This is an inevitable payment for the use of market mechanisms in society, for which, even many years after the start of reforms, distribution relations serve as the main criterion for social justice. By initiating such amendments, the government show their concern and desire at least to look like wishing to restore social justice, and with it to increase trust, harmony, and cohesion in the society.

Social justice - the basis of public accord in modern society

Since the beginning of socio-economic transformations (1991), the state system has changed, but the concept of the essence of social justice established in the years of socialism has been preserved. This circumstance is crucial for mutual understanding and consent in our society. All subsequent events, including voting on constitutional amendments (2020), serve as convincing evidence in favor of the statement made. These amendments are a specific invention that opens up the possibility for the government to relieve the constantly increasing tension for some time. The fact is that after the departure of tsarism from the historical scene (based on the idea of divine origin of its power), the Constitution represents Russia as a state governed by the rule of law and actually fulfills the function of a social contract. Therefore, according to the established tradition, a change of power always entails constitutional transformations. At the same time, everyone understands that there is a gap between the well-written constitutional norms and the reality of life in the country, which allows the government to administer the affairs at their discretion. Still, the possibilities of maneuvering are far from unlimited. Both the constitutional amendments and the actions of the authorities during the period of self-isolation show a reverse movement towards socialist distribution relations. This is an inevitable payment for the use of market mechanisms in the society, for which, even many years after the start of reforms, distribution relations serve as the main criterion of social justice. By initiating such amendments, the authorities show their concern and desire at least for an ostentatious restoration of social justice, thus increasing trust, harmony, and cohesion in the society.

The Russian Symbolist Viacheslav Ivanov on Aesthetic Experience as Religious

Viacheslav Ivanov (1866, Moscow–1949, Rome) is one of the most prominent Russian symbolist poets and a leading theorist of symbolism at the beginning of the twentieth century. The article demonstrates that Ivanov understood art (and, more broadly, aesthetic experience) as one of the most effective forms of contact between the human being and the spiritual world, as well as with its first cause. Ivanov distinguishes between three “aesthetic principles” of the universe, which all together constitute “the beautiful”—the sublime, beauty, and the chaotic—and links them to the three stages of being of the artist in the process of creative activity. The artist first passes through the chthonian, subconscious stage of demonic chaos. Next, artists undergo the process of ascent into the ideal, spiritual sphere, where they gain experience, which cannot be expressed in words. After that, the process of the descent of the artist towards the earth takes place, where artists attempt to express in the form of artistic symbols the experience that they have acquired. Ivanov sees the artistic symbol as a materially given structure, which nevertheless cannot be described in words. This structure not only expresses a spiritual essence, but also really and energetically manifests it. Hence, Ivanov sees the creator of high, symbolic art (“realist symbolism”) as an artist-theurge (theurgy is the art of the future, of the future mystery on the basis of a synthesis of the arts that receives divine assistance), who contributes to the augmentation of being. For the recipient, the artistic symbol is anagogical (from the Greek ἀναγογή, “leading up”). It leads one up from the real world to a more real one (a realibus ad realiora). According to Ivanov, both the symbol and its content, myth, are of divine origin; they are “embodiments of the divine truth.” Therefore, high art is one of the principal ways of one’s ascent to spiritual reality by means of sensory reality.

A city in (un)health: learning through physical or Mental Suffering in Ancient Greek Tragedies

The spread of healing cults and practices of the 5th century. BC. inspired tragedians to search for new forms of depicting heroes suffering from physical or mental illnesses. The understanding of illness in tragedies contrasted with their rational understanding, affirmed the divine origin of painful suffering and the possibility of learning through them. In Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides, heroes suffering from diseases are often in the role of students, and those around them are in the role of mentors, helping to cope with the disease or just observing its course. The article discusses different strategies for teaching heroes through mental or physical illness, presented in the tragedies "Orestes", "Ajax" and "Philoctetus". The pedagogical dimension of the formula "resentment - illness - death / threat of death" is considered as explaining the peculiarities of the dramatic representation of the city as a space of (un)health.

SYMBOL AND REALITY IN THE VIEWS OF VYACHESLAV IVANOV

The coincidence of the symbol with reality is an ancient question, which in Vyacheslav Ivanov’s symbolism is re-proposed as absolutely current, at the beginning of the 20th century and even more so today, in the third millennium. Ivanov’s reflection on “form” begins with the mystical search for the “inner form” that characterized the history of the Symbolist movement, and in general of the whole “silver century” of Russian culture. The common sentiment led to changing the cultural and social forms, and at the same time to the rediscovery of the sources and the authentic nature of the Russian soul and its poetic and literary expressions, but also theological and ecclesial ones. The union of soul and body, of being and essence, in the movement of reality is the encounter of the divine and the human, which gives meaning to the existence of the universe: it is the movement of the “Stars Nocchieri [Pilot Stars]”, title of the first collection of poems by Ivanov. Faith is not a denial of power, as Nietzsche argued, but it is the act in which the whole power of being manifests itself in the form of living beings. In the post-modern era, the Nietzschean objection is taken up in an even more radical and nihilistic form, for which there is no unity between form and matter, since the essence of both one and the other is excluded: the divine origin of every being is not denied, the being of every reality is denied. It is therefore more necessary than ever to rediscover the meaning of the existence of things, not to save the divine, but not to completely lose the human. Keywords: symbol, reality, form, material, energy, Silver