Girolamo Fracastoro

Nei decenni iniziali del Cinquecento, prima nella poesia latina e poi in quella volgare, il "lusus pastoralis" si afferma configurandosi come un genere libero da obblighi allegorici, quindi volutamente semplice, ma carico di potenziali valenze metapoetiche: ibrido originato dall’intersezione tra ecloga ed epigramma, esso dà luogo a un punto di contatto fra la tradizione poetica greco-latina e quella volgare che non sarà privo di risvolti polemici. Come per il genere cui appartiene, quello polimorfo della pastorale, da cui trae gli essenziali elementi figurativi e finzionali, l’impiego o il rifiuto del lusus rivelano una presa di posizione sul valore e sulle finalità della poesia e del poeta, sul rapporto che sussiste fra "res" e "verba", fra letteratura e verità. A tale presa di posizione se ne affiancano, soprattutto nell’ambito della lirica volgare, altre di ordine storico-letterario – l’esigenza di rinnovamento del modello petrarchesco – e retorico – l’opposizione stilistica fra gravitas e suavitas – che segnano confini precisi all’interno dei territori, spesso indistinti, della lirica cinquecentesca. Tramite trattazioni monografiche e analisi per lo più in ottica macrotestuale, mettendo in dialogo teoria e prassi, il libro cerca quindi di comprendere il significato del lusus nell’opera degli autori presi in esame e la funzione che, nel rapporto fra le parti e il tutto, singoli testi o più estese sequenze pastorali svolgono in alcune sillogi della prima metà del Cinquecento.

Η πανδημία μας ταλαιπωρεί πάνω από δύο χρόνια και τα περισσότερα έντυπα έχουν ανακυκλώσει την ισπανική γρίπη τόσες φορές που σταμάτησαν πια να γράφουν και γι’ αυτήν. Αυτό το διάστημα σχεδόν όλοι αγωνιούμε για δύο θέματα, (πέρα από την αγωνία για την ειρήνη στην Ευρώπη): πού θα φτάσει η τιμή της κιλοβατώρας; δηλαδή πόσα θα πληρώνουμε για τις αυτονόητες ανάγκες του νοικοκυριού μας; και πότε θα βγάλουμεμε ασφάλεια τις μάσκες;
Αυτή η λογική περιδίνηση με οδήγησε να γράψω δύο λόγια για τον Girolamo Fracastoro (Τζιρόλαμο Φρακαστόρο, 1478-1553) τον οποίο όλοι οι γιατροί γνωρίζουν.

Cultural differences between Europe and the Ottoman Empire could be seen in many aspects of life, including the medical approaches to diseases. Such differences in the medical approach revealed itself firstly in the perception of diseases, and then in the treatment of them. Syphilis was associated with certain sins in Europe. Moreover, physicians who wrote medical books condemned people who were afflicted with syphilis, which reflects the reasons beneath many terrible trials and massacres upon the syphilitics in the European societies. On the other hand, such accusations were not attributed to syphilis patients and social reflex against syphilis was not terrifying in the Ottoman Empire. Rather, Ottoman physicians, like Hayatizade, approached them with tolerance without condemnations or false judgments. This paper compares two different works on syphilis, Girolamo Fracastoro’s Syphilis sive Morbus Gallicus (1530) and Hayatizade Mustafa Fevzi Efendi’s Risale-i Maraz-ı Frengi (1670s). In this way, I will argue that stylistic differences as well as the ways of dealing and describing the disease might point to cultural differences in these two societies. Also, Hayatizade’s accounts on syphilis and a syphilitic soldier will be introduced.

The astrological council of the planetary gods Saturn, Jupiter, and Mars in the first book of Girolamo Fracastoro´s didactic poem "Syphilis" is not, as commonly assumed, an allegory of the conjunction of 1484, but of that of 1504. The two conjunctions were chronologically contaminated by Fracastoro. The present contribution provides an introduction, translation (German), and thorough analysis of Frac. Syph. 1,219-246 including relevant material from other writings of Fracastoro.

Published in: S. Heilen et al., In Pursuit of Wissenschaft. Festschrift für William M. Calder III zum 75. Geburtstag, Hildesheim 2008 (Spudasmata vol. 119), 143-176.

Epidemics are a challenge to individualism. While we tend to think of illnesses in terms of personal suffering (and choices) that may or may not occur, plagues affect inevitably communities and societies over long times. Epidemics turn the perspective to the collective, the transcendent, and the external. Fear, therapy, prevention, care — they all become universal, rather than individual. I will show that these are the lessons we can gather from Renaissance philosophers’ theories of epidemics. Marsilio Ficino (1433-99), known for restoring Platonism to modern philosophy, gave “Advice against the pestilence” by emphasizing the harmony of body with the environment (air and the planets). Girolamo Fracastoro (1477-1553) produced the first description of "Syphilis," both scientifically and poetically. He invented the name for that contagion. He saw sexual activity as one of the typical behaviors among fellow humans. Care for one’s health requires respect for the others; and blaming others (as in ‘French disease’) is useless. Jean Fernel (1497-1558) called for strictly medical research into epidemics; at the same time, he acknowledged the insufficiency of data; hence the title of his book "The hidden causes." Thus, he explained the irrational behavior of populations and some scholars. The task is to live with uncertainty and to contain epidemics by containing the unknown. https://ojs.tnkul.pl/index.php/rkult/article/view/14482

Epidemics are a challenge to individualism. While we tend to think of illnesses in terms of personal suffering and choices, plagues affect communities and societies over long times. Epidemics turn the perspective to the collective, the transcendent, and the external, and fear, therapy and care become universal, rather than individual. These are the lessons we can gather from Renaissance philosophers’ theories of epidemics. Marsilio Ficino (1433-99) gave “Advice against the pestilence” by emphasizing the harmony of body with the environment (air and the planets). Girolamo Fracastoro (1477-1553) produced the first description of “Syphilis,” both scientifically and poetically. He invented the name for that contagion. He saw sexual activity as one of the typical behaviors among fellow humans. Care for one’s health requires respect for the others; and blaming others (as in ‘French disease’) is useless. Jean Fernel (1497-1558) called for strictly medical research into epidemics; at the same time, he acknowledged the insufficiency of data; hence the title of his book “The hidden causes.” Thus, he explained the irrational behavior of populations and some scholars. The task is to live with uncertainty and to contain epidemics by containing the unknown. 
[Draft for Annals of Cultural Studies / Annales des Études Culturelles ISSN 2082-8578]