The controversial relationship between Thomas Hobbes and the ancient Greek culture is quite well known. Likewise well known is his translation of The History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides, which marks the beginning of his career as a writer and political thinker. No less famous, but undoubtedly less appreciated is his English version of the Homeric poems, published at a late age when the philosopher, by now at the fringes of political life, had already printed – or at least edited – all his most significant works. In spite of the evident discrepancy of appreciation between these two works, a crucial link exists that binds them by a double thread, a link concerning the function attributed to them by Hobbes, a link which risks escaping if we settle for analysing them only as translations, a link, finally, that deals with their paideutic value. Starting from and moving within this theoretical framework, the essay examines these two texts from the perspective of their being both translations and means of propaganda and education. It also aims to highlight similarities, differences, elements of continuity and discontinuity even in the light of the contextual framework that, in the forty years that are between them, changes radically due to the dramatic events characterising the English history of that period.

Il Tucidide e l’Omero di Hobbes: tra traduzione e propaganda

andrea catanzaro
2020-01-01

Abstract

The controversial relationship between Thomas Hobbes and the ancient Greek culture is quite well known. Likewise well known is his translation of The History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides, which marks the beginning of his career as a writer and political thinker. No less famous, but undoubtedly less appreciated is his English version of the Homeric poems, published at a late age when the philosopher, by now at the fringes of political life, had already printed – or at least edited – all his most significant works. In spite of the evident discrepancy of appreciation between these two works, a crucial link exists that binds them by a double thread, a link concerning the function attributed to them by Hobbes, a link which risks escaping if we settle for analysing them only as translations, a link, finally, that deals with their paideutic value. Starting from and moving within this theoretical framework, the essay examines these two texts from the perspective of their being both translations and means of propaganda and education. It also aims to highlight similarities, differences, elements of continuity and discontinuity even in the light of the contextual framework that, in the forty years that are between them, changes radically due to the dramatic events characterising the English history of that period.
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11567/1015573
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