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The Tropology of Numbers in Marulić’s De Humilitate
Ivan Bodrožić
; Teološki fakultet, Split
Sažetak
In his Christological work De humilitate et gloria Christi, Marko Marulić encounters certain numbers that necessarily arise from the scriptural writings, which he feels it incumbent upon him to interpret or to ascribe symbolic, tropological meanings, referring specifically in several places to such exegesis. The numbers that in this way of looking at things afford allegorical meanings are: 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 10, 12, 50, 70, 100, 153 and 200, although Marulić does not ascribe such a meaning to all the numbers that he mentions in his texts.
The meaning that Marulić finds in numbers is not an individual invention, rather his considerations are to be located in the context of exegetic lore and interpretations that go back to patristic times. This is how he also explains certain places in the scriptures, taking over the knowledge and accomplishments that were worked out in their works by the greatest Christian thinkers, themselves led on and spurred by allegorical interpretations present in given philosophical traditions of the time such as Pythagoreanism and Neo-Platonism.
In this research hence a start is made in the texts from De humilitate, an en-deavour being made to arrive at the sources that Marulić was inspired by and the findings of which he summarised in his theological work, showing in this way that he was an accomplished expert in theological literature as well as highlighting the most important biblical commentaries that concerned this challenging argument.
The first chapter is more analytical, its objective being to put forward certain issues in which Marulić interprets numbers. Concerned are the following gospel texts, to which Marulić regularly adds other texts as proof of the correctness of his own ideas. The number three is mentioned in the transfiguration on the mount and during the prayers in the garden of olives; four is important because Jesus’s robe was torn into four parts, and because of the four gospel writers; six is mentioned during Jesus’ crucifixion at six o’clock, during mention of the darkness that came to pass at that time, and also when there is discussion of the 60 stadia that divide Emmaus from Jerusalem; the number 12 is that of the apostles; there are 200 spans dividing the boat from the shore; there were 153 large fish caught in the post-Easter fishing; and fifty is the number of the Quinquagesima.
The second part of the article is devoted to a further consideration of these numbers, and the sources for Marulić’s arguments in patristic thinking are found, whether it is dependence strictly speaking that is concerned, or whether it is more a matter of a similarity in the handling of the discussion. As for the number two, although its symbolism in Christian circles regularly represented the two covenants, and it is difficult to cite any precise sources, it is nevertheless shown that the Split prelate found most of the elements in St Augustine’s exegetic works. The same holds true for the numbers three and four, with the proviso that with respect to four, among other things, there is a very great correspondence with the interpretation of the text on the rending of Jesus’ garment under the cross, so that it all tends to suggest the school of Hippo in this case too. Marulić has a stratified interpretation of the number six, but the basic idea that six refers to the six periods of history is shown to be undoubtedly Augustinian, which leads directly on to the interpretation of seven. The same holds true for 12, and the influence of August-ine in the interpretation of the gospel verse »Does the day not have twelve hours?« is also demonstrated. But with respect to the number fifty, as the number of the forgiveness of sin, Marulić was probably under the influence of Jerome, whose exegetic gradation in this number is seen as a symbol of forgiveness exclusively, while the Augustinian tradition was more complex, without such a meaning ever being attributed to it. For the number one hundred it is shown that Marulić was under the influence of the patristic-rhetorical language of the fingers (loquela digitorum), without being dependent on any specific author, and consistently, in all his writings, considered one hundred as the number of blessedness. This is also true of the numbers 153 and 200, which he interprets in a way typical of himself, combining individual elements that he accepted from the patristic allegorical exegesis of numbers.
The third part of the article is a short synthesis of the most essential principles of Marulić’s thought that concern the tropology of numbers in De humilitate.
Ključne riječi
Hrčak ID:
23923
URI
Datum izdavanja:
22.4.2008.
Posjeta: 3.806 *