Between Nature and Spirit: Lucretian Resonances in Paulinus' "Carmen" 23

This paper contributes to the reassessment of the role of Lucretius' De rerum natura and Epicurean philosophy in early Christian writings by conducting a close study of Carmen 23 composed by the poet Paulinus of Nola. While previous scholarship has examined classical influences on Paulinus’ poe...

Full description

Saved in:  
Bibliographic Details
Subtitles:"Themenheft: Intertextuality"
Main Author: Wang, Yingxue ca. 20./21. Jh. (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Check availability: HBZ Gateway
Journals Online & Print:
Drawer...
Fernleihe:Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste
Published: De Gruyter 2023
In: Zeitschrift für antikes Christentum
Year: 2023, Volume: 27, Issue: 1, Pages: 173-209
Further subjects:B Eclecticism
B Lucretius
B early Christian poetry
B Atomism
B Epicureanism
B Late Antiquity
Online Access: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)

MARC

LEADER 00000caa a22000002 4500
001 1858134013
003 DE-627
005 20240329080551.0
007 cr uuu---uuuuu
008 230829s2023 xx |||||o 00| ||eng c
024 7 |a 10.1515/zac-2023-0009  |2 doi 
035 |a (DE-627)1858134013 
035 |a (DE-599)KXP1858134013 
040 |a DE-627  |b ger  |c DE-627  |e rda 
041 |a eng 
084 |a 1  |2 ssgn 
100 1 |e VerfasserIn  |0 (DE-588)130034752X  |0 (DE-627)1858133750  |4 aut  |a Wang, Yingxue  |d ca. 20./21. Jh. 
109 |a Wang, Yingxue ca. 20./21. Jh. 
245 1 0 |a Between Nature and Spirit  |b Lucretian Resonances in Paulinus' "Carmen" 23 
246 1 |i Rubrikentitel  |a "Themenheft: Intertextuality" 
264 1 |c 2023 
336 |a Text  |b txt  |2 rdacontent 
337 |a Computermedien  |b c  |2 rdamedia 
338 |a Online-Ressource  |b cr  |2 rdacarrier 
520 |a This paper contributes to the reassessment of the role of Lucretius' De rerum natura and Epicurean philosophy in early Christian writings by conducting a close study of Carmen 23 composed by the poet Paulinus of Nola. While previous scholarship has examined classical influences on Paulinus’ poetry, especially from Vergil, no existing study has attended to Paulinus' incorporation of Epicurean elements. This paper argues that in Carmen 23 Paulinus incorporates Epicurean doctrines and Lucretius' poetic imagery to appeal to an audience familiar with Epicurean ideas. Through the creative fusion of Epicurean physics with Christian metaphysics, Paulinus conjures up a poetic world in which the natural and spiritual realms constantly interact. While using Lucretian imagery to direct his audience's gaze toward the natural world, Paulinus nevertheless reveals a higher reality in which the invisible operation of God's spirit governs and perfects the mechanism of nature. In thus stretching his poetic imagination to encompass the working of nature and spirit, Paulinus invents a new eclectic literary form and a kind of physiological miracle account that blends naturalism and mysticism. As such, Carmen 23 attests to Paulinus' literary achievement in repurposing a classic of Epicurean philosophy and Latin poetry for Christian panegyric and hagiography. 
650 4 |a Epicureanism 
650 4 |a Lucretius 
650 4 |a Atomism 
650 4 |a early Christian poetry 
650 4 |a Eclecticism 
650 4 |a Late Antiquity 
773 0 8 |i Enthalten in  |t Zeitschrift für antikes Christentum  |d Berlin [u.a] : De Gruyter, 1997  |g 27(2023), 1, Seite 173-209  |h Online-Ressource  |w (DE-627)330065246  |w (DE-600)2049668-0  |w (DE-576)094531757  |x 1612-961X  |7 nnns 
773 1 8 |g volume:27  |g year:2023  |g number:1  |g pages:173-209 
856 4 0 |u https://doi.org/10.1515/zac-2023-0009  |x Resolving-System  |z lizenzpflichtig  |3 Volltext 
856 4 0 |u https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/zac-2023-0009/html  |x Verlag  |z lizenzpflichtig  |3 Volltext 
951 |a AR 
ELC |a 1 
ITA |a 1  |t 1 
LOK |0 000 xxxxxcx a22 zn 4500 
LOK |0 001 4370617405 
LOK |0 003 DE-627 
LOK |0 004 1858134013 
LOK |0 005 20230829081245 
LOK |0 008 230829||||||||||||||||ger||||||| 
LOK |0 040   |a DE-Tue135  |c DE-627  |d DE-Tue135 
LOK |0 092   |o n 
LOK |0 852   |a DE-Tue135 
LOK |0 852 1  |9 00 
LOK |0 935   |a ixzs  |a ixzo 
ORI |a SA-MARC-ixtheoa001.raw