Treść książki
Przejdź do opcji czytnikaPrzejdź do nawigacjiPrzejdź do informacjiPrzejdź do stopki
THECITYTHATISNOT:APOPHASISANDANGLO-SAXONURBANISM
21
negativestatements:ifwerecalltheseeminglyconflictingremarksmade
bytheNeo-Platonicproponentofapophasis,Pseudo-Dionysius,wesee
asimilarantagonism.SpeakingofGodinhisDivineNames,Pseudo-
Dionysiussays:uHeisknowntoallfromallthingsandheisknownto
noonefromanything.”24TesenseofthecityofTeRuinislikewise
knownfromwhatitwasatthepoem)sgivenmomentofcreationand
itisalsoknownfromwhatitthenwasnot,thelatterultimatelybeing
impossibletobedeterminedbyanyone.
Terefore,onemayventureastatementthatforliteraryanddidactic
purposesofOldEnglishpoetryacitywhichnolongerisitsformer
splendidselfismuchmoreimportantandmuchmoreefective.Infact,
asurveyofotherOldEnglishimagesofthecityshowsapredominant
patternofassociationswithnegativeportrayalsofcitiesaseitherplaces
associatedwithdestructionbroughtbythebasicinstabilityofearthly
substanceorasplacesthreateningwiththedestructionofone)smoral
integrity.25Tomentiononeofthemostcharacteristicinstancesofsuch
didacticperspective,thetemporarinessofthejoyandsplendourthecit-
iesprovideiswhatTeSeafarercallsdeadelif/laeneonlonde,uadead
lifeloanedonland”(65-66).Foritsnarrator
Źseþeahlifeswyn
gebideninburgum,bealosiþahwon,
wloncondwingal,Ź26[27b-28a]
[Źhewholivesajoyfullifeincities,withlittlemisfortune,
proudandfushedwithwineŹ]
isalreadyspirituallydead,anditisthensteppingoutsidethecityor,with
referencetoTeRuinandAlfred)sMetreI,steppingintowhatthecity
nolongeristhatmayprovideonewithtruesense.
24
Pseudo-Dionysius,TeDivineNamesinPseudo-Dionysius.TeComplete
Works,trans.ColmLuibheid(London:SPCK,1987),109.
25Cf.PaoloZanna,uDescriptionesurbiumandElegyinLatinandVernaculars
intheEarlyMiddleAges,”Studiimedievali32(1991):523-96.
26
BernardJ.Muir,ed.,TeExeterAnthologyofOldEnglishPoetry,vol.
I
(Exeter:
ExeterUniversityPress:1994),233.
