«Шаги / Steps» Журнал Школы актуальных гуманитарных исследований

SHAGI/STEPS 6(1)

Ключевые слова: Gaius Iulius Solinus, Pliny the Elder, Claudius Salmasius, Claude de Saumaise, Latin prefaces, ancient ethnogeography, rhetorical topics

Аннотация: The article focuses on the so-called “first” preface to Solinus’ Collectanea rerum memorabilium, and especially on the way its functions (stylistic, structural, rhetorical and genre-defining) are revealed against the background of the third-century rhetorical system. The genre status and semantic connections of the preface, the similes, metaphors and various rhetorical elements created on their basis are discussed. By analyzing them we should be able to better understand the figure of the author himself, his methods, intentions and even personal tastes, as well as the aim and focus of this work as a whole. While utilizing themes and common places that are traditional for Latin prefaces, Solinus reveals the methods of selecting material for his compilation, the features of the material, he even comments on the attraction of paradoxography and on his own vision of of composing a geographical work; all this, as a result, creates a unique text. As for Solinus’ rhetorical devices, these include, but are not limited to, the use of synonyms and polysemy; special attention is paid to the sound of words and phrases (he uses diminutives, assonances, etc.); and to the use of metaphors and juxtapositions of contrasting words. A distinctive feature of Solinus’ work is that he starts a geographical account (a description of the oikoumene) with a passage about Rome’s founding and a brief history of the Roman Empire as the author tells already in the Preface.

Для цитирования: Ilyushechkina, E. V. (2020). Some remarks on the Preface of Caius Iulius Solinus. Shagi/Steps, 6(1), 101–112. DOI: 10.22394/2412-9410-2020-6-1-101-112.