Gustavo Cambraia FRANCO, Ricardo da COSTA

Original title: A sapientia christiana e a analogia das artes liberais em um Sermão de São Vicente Ferrer (1350-1419)

Published in

Keywords: Analogical Thinking, Medieval Science, Medieval Sermon, Saint Vincent Ferrer, liberal arts.

This article contains an exposition and an analysis on the theme of the Liberal Arts in a sermon of Saint Vincent Ferrer, renowned Dominican Valencian preacher during the passage between the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. We intend to show that the Liberal Arts are addressed by the sermonist within the traditional theoretical scope of classification of sciences in the medieval period, as branches of knowledge for the service of the higher science, Theology, to avail the scholastic dictum philosophia ancilla theologiae. In his exposition, the author follows the medieval didactic principles of analogical thinking, the figurative hermeneutics and the allegorical exegesis of the Bible, by which he ensnares the meanings and properties of each science or Liberal Art, namely Grammar, Logic and Rhetoric, the Trivium sciences, and Music, Arithmetic, Geometry and Astrology, Quadrivium sciences, in a web of metaphorical and analogical relations aimed, at the end, to confer spiritual, religious and moral meaning and utility to each of them, as well as subordinate them to the royal domain of the sapientia christiana.

Eirini ARTEMI

Published in

Keywords: Allegory, Celsus, Neoplatonism, Origen, Platonism, School of Alexandria.

In this paper it will be examined the School of Alexandria. The latter was a great center of Christianity, for a span of five centuries, until the reign of Justinian (529 A.D.). In it, the first system of Christian theology was formed and the allegorical method of biblical exegesis was devised. The School of Alexandria adopted the allegorical interpretation of the Holy Scripture, believing that it hides the truth and at the same time reveals it. It hides the truth from the ignorant, whose eyes are blinded by sin and pride, hence they are prevented from the knowledge of the truth. Origen, one of the greatest Christian theologians employed the allegorical method of the interpretation of the Bible in the belief that he was explaining them, whereas he was exploiting them on behalf his own dogmatic teaching. He was accused of that by other fathers of the Christian Church but also by many heretics. Origen had to defend his exegetical method against the various attacks from heretics, from laymen the church and from Celsus who attacked the Christian writers because, being «ashamed of these things (which are written the Bible), they take refuge allegory». On the other hand, Origen was not a «pure» allegorist in that he has some place for literal interpretation as well. Finally, Origen’s basic commitments were to the Scriptures as the word of God, the church as the guardian of the tradition and the household of faith, and to Platonic metaphysics He thus wanted to hold both to his literally true Christian history, and to his spiritually true Platonism and Neoplatonism.

Fleury Marinho da SILVA, Rodolfo Costa SYLVESTRE, José Guilherme Pinheiro PIRES

Original title: O Uso de Epônimos na Prática Médica

Published in

Keywords: Eponyms, Medical Education, Medical Humanities, Terminology.

An eponym is a medical term derived from a person’s name, either real or fictitious. Several authors that stand against the use of eponyms in Biology or Medicine argue that the practice is anti-didactic because it is impossible to memorize over ten thousand existing eponyms, the same eponym may designate two different biomedical entities, or the eponyms can render tribute to infamous physicians. However, there are authors who support their use and describe that its practice is a medical art, reflecting the medical history over the years. For them, the use of eponyms is a correct attitude of recognition and a deserved tribute to those who contributed with their observation and research for developing the medical sciences.

Adrian SEVILLE

Published in Games from Antiquity to Baroque

Keywords: 17th century, Art History, Board game history, Emblematics, France, Jesuits, Missionaries in Canada, Missionaries in Turkey, Religious instruction.

During the 17th century, French Jesuits adapted the well-known jeu de l’oie (Game of the Goose) for the purposes of religious instruction in their foreign Missions. These games consisted of a series of religious emblems arranged to form a spiral track, the movement of tokens along this being determined by chance, subject to particular rules. The earliest of these games, the Jeu du Point au Point, is analysed in detail, giving historical background and explanation of the emblems and their significance. Two similar Jesuit games are surveyed and compared with other religious games of the period. It is evident that the visual image played a commanding role in Jesuit education.