Joyeux Anniversaire !

Talora la decorazione di un codice risulta di difficile interpreta- zione o non è stata completata o è stata effettuata in maniera difettosa, ingenerando fraintendimenti ed errori nella tradizione successiva. Altre volte, invece, la decora- zione fornisce elementi utili per determinare l’origine di un manoscritto : è il caso del Vaticano Ross. 550 che contiene la traduzione latina delle Historiae di Polibio realizzata da Niccolò Perotti e che, come il Laur. LXV 39 e il Bodmer 139, fu allestito intorno alla metà del sesto decennio del Quattrocento nella bottega di Vespasiano da Bisticci.

Abstract : Sometimes the ornamentation of a codex is difficult to interpret, incomplete, or suffers from defective execution, giving rise to misunderstadings and errors in the subsequent tradition. At other times, however, ornamentation provides useful hints as to the origins of a manuscript, as in the case of Vatican Ross. 550, which contains Polybius’ Histories translated into Latin by Niccolò Perotti. This manuscript, just like mss. Laur. LXV 39 and Bodmer 139, was assembled halfway through the sixth decade of the fifteenth century in the workshop of Vespasiano da Bisticci.

À lire une comédie de Plaute ou de Térence, on a le sentiment que le flot de paroles des personnages principaux du drame ne s’interrompt pas. Pourtant, les mots prononcés sur scène mentionnent régulièrement le silence. En fait, dans la palliata, le silence est un phénomène plus riche qu’on ne pourrait le penser à première vue. Une gamme assez nuancée d’usages peut être mise en valeur, du silence impossible au silence réel et plus signifiant.

Abstract : In Plautus’ or Terence’s comedies, the main characters usually give the impression of uttering an endless stream of words. However, silence is regularly mentioned on stage. This paper aims to show that in the palliata silence is a richer phenomenon than one might think. A fairly nuanced set of uses can be defined, ranging from cases where silence is impossible to those where silence is real and more meaningful.

L’euphemia rituelle du culte des Euménides-Semnai au début de l’Œdipe à Colone est mise en scène d’une façon qui donne à Œdipe une place exception- nelle. Le héros est ainsi qualifié pour prononcer ses terribles Arai contre ses fils, avant sa disparition dans un lieu dont on ne pourra parler. La pièce est en grande partie bâtie sur ce jeu entre silence religieux et parole efficace.

Abstract : The ritual euphemia by which the Eumenidai or Semnai are worshipped is staged in a way that gives Oedipus an exceptional part. This enables him to pro- nounce his awful arai against his sons, before disappearing into a place which cannot be spoken about. The play is built mainly on this contrast between silent worship and efficacious speech.

Le champ lexical montre des emplois orientant vers des formes distinctes de silence. Elinguis exprime l’incapacité de parler, mutus le silence de celui qui aurait bien à dire. La différence entre les deux verbes principaux concerne la position du locuteur par rapport à la situation de communication, selon qu’il s’en écarte avec la possibilité d’y revenir (tacere) ou qu’il reste en dehors de l’échange (silere). La retenue calculée (tacere) explique les emplois de taciturnitas pour la discrétion et de reticentia pour l’aposiopèse. L’emploi conjoint de tacere avec loqui oriente vers une corrélation entre la perspective d’une parole toujours possible (tacere) et la dynamique de l’eloquentia et de ses ressources. L’on comprend alors qu’elle ne soit pas désignée à partir d’un verbe signifiant « dire ». Comme la parole, le silence est un langage et un pouvoir.

Abstract : Usage in the lexical field tends to distinguish between discrete forms of silence. Elinguis expresses an inability to speak, while mutus is the silence one keeps when there is much one could say. The difference between the two principal verbs concerns the speaker’s attitude towards the communication situation, either avoiding it while leaving open the possibility of coming back (tacere), or remaining outside the field of exchange (silere). Such calculated restraint (tacere) explains the use of taciturnitas to signify discretion and reticentia for aposiopesis. By combining tacere with loqui, speech which remains an open possibility (tacere) is linked to the dynamics of eloquentia and the resources this entails. It is thus clear how this cannot be expressed using any verbal root meaning ‘to say’. Silence, as much as speech, is itself a language and a form of power.

Prenant comme point de départ la distinction, attribuée à Zénon, entre le poing serré et la main ouverte pour indiquer la différence entre raisonnement dialectique et discours rhétorique, cet article s’interroge sur la vérité de l’affirmation selon laquelle le discours de l’orateur serait toujours « dilaté ». La réponse négative proposée se fonde sur l’analyse du sens stratégique d’une série de silences conseillés par la théorie rhétorique elle-même au jeune orateur. Déjà selon Aristote et Théophraste, l’enthymème, en soi identique au syllogisme philosophique du point de vue de la forme, sera d’autant plus persuasif que ce qui est déjà connu sera omis. En ce cas, les auditeurs se réjouiront non seulement de sa concision, mais aussi de leur propre intelligence, parce qu’ils seront capables d’intégrer ce qui n’a pas été dit. Dans cette recherche d’une « connaissance rapide » (Arist. Rhet. 1410b 21), l’orateur peut parfois donner à son enthymème la forme d’une maxime ou se servir d’une métaphore au lieu d’une compa- raison, laissant à l’auditeur la tâche de suppléer le raisonnement logique qui n’a pas été explicité. Parmi d’autres silences stratégiques, on peut mentionner l’omission de ce que pourrait causer un dommage, quand on se sert de l’insinuatio ; la brevitas d’une narration qui omet certains détails défavorables ; ou encore les discours allusifs qui doivent laisser comprendre ce que l’orateur ne veut pas dire ouvertement par peur ou pudeur.

Abstract : Starting from the well-known distinction, attributed to Zeno, between the closed fist and the open hand as a way of differentiating betwen dialectical reasoning and rhetorical speech, this paper examines the truth of the assumption that the speech of an orator is always ‘dilated’. The negative answer proposed here is based on an analysis of the strategic meaning of various kinds of silences that rhetorical theory itself teaches orators to use. For Aristotle and Theophrastus, enthymeme, identical in form to the philosophical syllogism, is all the more persuasive if known items are omitted. In such cases the audience derives pleasure not only from the concision of the wording, but also from its own intelligence as it supplies what is missing. In seeking to attain this ‘quick knowledge’ (Arist. Rhet. 1410b 21) the orator can cast his enthymeme as a maxim or use a metaphor instead of a comparison, leaving it up to the listener to fill in the logical reasoning left unstated. The paper also discusses, among other strategic silences, the omission, via insinuatio, of potentially harmful statements; the brevitas of a narrative which omits unfavourable details; and the use of allusive speech which leaves implicit things that the orator, for fear or shame, does not wish to state openly.

Una delle più intense esperienze di silenzio vissute dall’oratore è costituita dal “muto stupore” che lo coglie dinanzi ad un’immagine particolarmente vivida : incapace di eguagliare l’effetto di realismo suggerito dalla pittura, egli rifiuta di descrivere il dipinto per timore che il suo discorso possa non essere all’altezza del disegno raffigurato. Questa stessa dinamica si ripresenta nella comunicazione letteraria, laddove l’immaginazione è considerata alla base del processo di composizione testuale e alla parola è associato un contenuto fatto di immagini. Sono queste le premesse che inducono l’autore del Sublime a sostenere che il silenzio sia la più alta forma di comu- nicazione artistica quando si presenti la necessità di esprimere forti sentimenti. Ma il rischio, evidenziato già dai molti studiosi che hanno affrontato l’argomento, è che a questo punto l’oratore abbia la tentazione di rinunciare al mezzo linguistico e far parlare solo le immagini. Questo studio vuole illustrare le dinamiche della comunicazione poste in essere dalla parola, dall’immagine e dal silenzio, che sembra tracciare il confine tra i due concetti, per presentare una soluzione che salvi la retorica dal rischio dell’afasia. Perciò, alla lettura del Sublime, che verrà proposta per capire i termini alla base della “retorica del silenzio”, verrà aggiunto lo studio di un testo di Luciano, il de domo. In questo dialogo, non composto certamente per rispondere al Sublime, ma che tuttavia considera analoghe dinamiche comunicative provocate dalla visione del bello, si alter- nano due punti di vista : l’uno ritiene il silenzio l’unica risposta possibile alla bellezza delle immagini ; l’altro individua nell’immagine spettacolare un elemento di ispirazione e accetta la sfida di comporre un discorso che per la sua vivezza riesca a superare la pit- tura stessa. La lettura in parallelo dei due testi mostra un patrimonio condiviso di ter- mini e concetti da cui scaturisce che la retorica del “muto stupore” del Sublime trova il suo superamento nel de domo. In epoca di Seconda Sofistica la sfida è vinta dalla parola e il silenzio è una scelta dell’oratore, non un suo limite.

Abstract : One of the most intense kinds of silence experienced by a speaker is the ‘dumb amazement’ that takes hold of him when struck by a particularly vivid painting: he is unable to match the effect of realism conjured up by the picture and refuses to describe it for fear that his speech would not be able to compete with its beauty. This same dynamic exists in literary communication, in which the imagination is the basis for the process of textual composition and words are associated with contents made up of images. Such are the premises leading the author of The Sublime to argue that silence is the highest form of artistic communication when strong feelings are to be expressed. But the risk, already highlighted by many scholars who have studied the subject, is that the speaker gives in to the temptation to stop speaking. This paper sets out to illustrate the dynamics of communi- cation dealing with words, images and silence (which seems to mark the boundary between the first two) with the aim of presenting a solution that guards rhetoric against the risk of aphasia. Therefore, to the reading of The Sublime proposed here to understand the ‘rhet- oric of silence’ will be added a study of a text written by Lucian, the de domo, a dialogue which considers similar communication dynamics in response to the sight of beauty, and puts forward two views in alternation: one holds silence to be the only possible response to the beauty of images; the other sees images as an inspiration for oratory and accepts the invitation to compose speech using words whose vividness surpasses painting. Reading the two texts in parallel shows a shared heritage of terms and concepts, from which it emerges that The Sublime’s ‘rhetoric of silence’ is surpassed by the use of words in de domo. In the Second Sophistic the communication contest is won by the word, and silence is a choice at the disposal of the speaker, not a limitation.

I fogli cartacei medievali su cui furono incollate le celebri minia- ture tardoantiche dell’Ilias Picta contengono, tra gli scolî omerici, i primi 102 versi dell’Andromaca di Euripide. Mescolati a questi si leggono cinque scolî alla tragedia ; altri due sono riportati sulla miniatura 24 (che forse, a sua volta, reca tracce di una lettura scenica). Dal punto di vista testuale, il materiale, sia pur circoscritto, si rivela affine alla prima famiglia della tradizione manoscritta euripidea, in particolare al codice V. Dal punto di vista della circolazione culturale, nella compagine di immagini e fogli di sup- porto, pur dedicata all’Iliade, la voce della tragedia sovrasta, singolarmente, il silenzio dell’epos.

Abstract : The medieval sheets of paper on to which were glued the famous late-antique miniatures known as Ilias Picta contain, among Homeric scholia, the first 102 lines of Euripides’ Andromache. Mixed in with these are five scholia to the tragedy; a further two are found on miniature 24 (itself perhaps inspired by a staged performance). From the textual point of view, this material, limited though it may be in quantity, displays close similarities with the first family of the Euripidean manuscript tradition, especially codex V. On the more general issue of cultural circulation, within the codex comprised by the paper sheets and the miniatures, although dedicated to the Iliad, the tragic voice dominates the silence of epos.

Nella poesia greca di età arcaica e classica l’incapacità di trattenere la lingua e mantenere il silenzio è un disvalore, più volte criticato. La ciarloneria ha nefaste conseguenze sul piano personale e sociale. L’idea prende corpo in personaggi del mito (esemplare la figura di Tersite) e in storie varie, ma anche in un lessico pecu- liare, in immagini vivide e metafore icastiche, da Omero alla poesia lirica (specialmente Simonide) al teatro.

Abstract : In archaic and classical Greek poetry an inability to hold one’s tongue and keep silent is seen in a negative light and is frequently subject to criticism. Chattering has dire consequences in both the individual and social spheres. This view is embodied in mythical characters (e.g. Thersites) and in a number of stories, but also in a specific vocab- ulary, vivid images and metaphors, from Homer to lyric poetry (especially Simonides) and the theatre.

Gli astri, se si esclude l’armonia dei suoni prodotti dai pianeti nel loro orbitare – armonia teorizzata solo da alcune scuole filosofiche e comunque perce- pita da pochi iniziati – tacciono. A dispetto di questo silenzio, il cielo per gli Antichi comunica con gli uomini, servendosi di segni che richiedono però di essere decodifi- cati. Il marinaio, che, traducendo i segnali luminosi della volta celeste traccia la rotta o prevede i mutamenti meteorologici, l’astrologo che, applicando i dettami della sua arte, misura gli influssi sinergici di stelle e pianeti e, in generale, gli interpreti dei geroglifici astrali danno così voce al silenzio del cielo.

Abstract : If one excludes the harmony of sounds produced by orbiting planets – postulated by only a few schools of philosophy and in any case perceived by a small number of initiates – celestial bodies are silent. Despite this, in Antiquity people believed that the sky communicates with human beings, using signs that, however, need to be interpreted. Sailors deciphering the sky’s luminous signals to plan a route or forecast changes in the weather, astrologers applying the precepts of their art to assess the interrelated influences of stars and planets, along with all other interpreters of astral hieroglyphs, give a voice to the sky’s silence.

Dans cet article sont examinés les passages où l’idée, plutôt que la pratique, du silence est mise en avant par l’orateur, soit en sa faveur, soit pour attaquer son adversaire. L’utilisation des termes σιγή, σιωπή, ἡσυχία et des formes apparentées, ainsi qu’εὐφημία, montre que les orateurs attiques oscillent entre le refus d’une parole publique intempestive – qui caractérise le citoyen modéré –, et la nécessaire prise de parole qu’impose l’implication dans les affaires de la cité.

Abstract : This paper examines passages where the idea, rather than the practice, of silence is put forward by the speaker, either in his favour or to attack his adversary. The use of the terms σιγή, σιωπή, ἡσυχία and related forms, as well as εὐφημία, shows that the attic orators oscillate between the refusal of an untimely public speech – which characterizes the moderate citizen –, and the necessity of speech imposed by the implication in the affairs of the city.

Lo studio dell’evoluzione del ruolo dei silentiarii mostra il loro legame stretto con il Grande Palazzo imperiale di Costantinopoli tra V e VI secolo d.C. Il controllo del silenzio e dei cerimoniali intorno all’imperatore d’Oriente divenne in quel momento una importante novità. La debolezza della figura dei silentiarii in Occidente testimonia di uno sviluppo storico diverso del potere e della sua manifestazione rispetto all’Oriente durante il tardo impero romano.

Abstract : The evolution of the role of the silentiarii shows their close connection with the Great Imperial Palace of Constantinople over the fifth and sixth centuries A.D. In this period the control of silence and ceremonies in relation to the emperor of the East became an important innovation. The weakness of the silentiarii in the West testifies to a different historical development of political power and its manifestations compared to the East in the late Roman Empire.

Euripide, ce poète dont Aristophane raille la tendance au bavardage, a su utiliser dans son œuvre toutes les possibilités dramatiques du silence ; ce sont par exemple, dans les récits de messager, les pauses qui précèdent une crise ou un événement surnaturel et lui donnent un relief saisissant, ailleurs les longs silences de personnages qu’accablent la souffrance et la honte. Mais c’est avec le motif banal de la demande de silence adressée aux choreutes que le poète fait preuve de la plus grande originalité, dénonçant et exploitant en même temps, dans une série de scènes et de situations très diverses, les conventions liées à la présence du chœur sur la scène tragique.

Abstract : Euripides, whom Aristophanes mocks for being such a talkative poet, mastered in his plays the full range of dramatic possibilities offered by the use of silence; examples of these are the sudden pauses in a messenger’s speech before a crisis or a supernat- ural event, to striking effect, or else the long silences of characters overcome by suffering and shame. But it is via the motif of an ordinary request for silence addressed to the chorus that the poet displays the greatest originality, in a series of highly diversified scenes and situations that simultaneously denounce and draw fully on the conventions associated with the pres- ence of the chorus in a tragedy.

Cette étude se propose de montrer que, chaque fois que le silence apparaît chez Lucain, il est lié à l’idée, la pensée, la menace ou la réalité de la mort. La forme la plus littéraire en est la prétérition (c’est particulièrement vrai pour les morts de Curion et de Pompée, ou pour le carnage de Pharsale…), avec, dans le même contexte, le silence des armées. Mais l’au-delà aussi est, chez Lucain, étrangement silencieux, qu’il s’agisse des Enfers ou des dieux. Et la seule mort digne est la mort silencieuse. Dès lors, le silence qui saisit Rome confrontée à la guerre civile ne saurait être, lui aussi, qu’un silence de mort, celui de la liberté perdue.

Abstract : The aim of this study is to show that in Lucan’s poetry silence is always associated with the idea, the thought, the threat or the reality of death. The most literary manifestation of this is the device of preterition (particularly telling examples are the deaths of Curio and Pompey, or the mass killings at Pharsalus, among others), and, in the same context, the evocation of the silent armies. But the afterworld, too, is strangely silent in Lucan’s work, whether this is situated in the underworld or with the gods. The only digni- fied death, moreover, is a silent one. And so the silence that grips Rome when confronted with civil war can only be the silence of death, that of lost freedom.

Il contributo intende sondare le modalità in cui viene portato in scena il silenzio in uno dei drammi più antichi della produzione sofoclea. Nelle Trachinie il poeta sembra mettere alla prova tecniche differenti di rappresentazione del silenzio teatrale : dal silenzio di Iole inserito in un vero e proprio tableau vivant, a quello reticente di Lica e di Deianira, al silenzio intorno al corpo di Eracle sofferente (che a sua volta si autoimporrà, nella chiusa della tragedia, un silenzio definitivo).

Abstract : The aim of this paper is to investigate the different ways in which silence is handled in one of Sophocles’ oldest dramas, Women of Trachis, where the poet seems to be experimenting with various techniques for representing silence on stage: Iole’s silence is worked into a veritable tableau vivant; Lichas and Deianeira display reticence; and a deep silence surrounds the suffering of Heracles as he is brought on stage, before he in turn, in the exodos, imposes lasting silence on himself.

Le silence est un thème essentiel de l’Agamemnon, une pièce construite autour d’une stratégie dramatique précise qui oppose au contrôle du logos de la part de Clytemnestre une dimension inquiétante de « non-dit ». Le silence et la réticence embarrassée de ses sujets laissent en effet présager le surgissement d’une vérité qu’Eschyle confie au personnage le plus nettement caractérisé par son silence, Cassandre. Eschyle met sous nos yeux deux parcours opposés : celui des Vieux d’Argos, qui se termine par un silence et qui confine douloureusement la connaissance dans l’obs- curité des viscères, et celui de la prophétesse, qui va du silence vers la parole et la vérité, quel que soit le prix à payer. L’interruption du silence de Cassandre met en crise l’équi- libre précaire entre connaissance et parole qui avait été gardé par le Garde et le Chœur dans la première partie du drame. Au-delà de sa fonction de démystification vis-à-vis du logos de la reine, le silence de la prisonnière entretient donc une relation complexe avec les autres autres silences qui le précèdent, dans un parcours articulé qui mène le spectateur d’abord à percevoir et à s’approprier la sensation de malaise et d’amertume qui envahit les personnages « qui savent » (μαθόντες), mais sont obligés de subir le kratos et la domination dialectique de la reine, puis à vivre l’effarement qui accompagne le passage du silence à la parole.

Abstract : Silence is an essential theme in Aeschylus’ Agamemnon, a play centred on the opposition between Clytemnestra’s control of logos and the disquieting dimension created by an unspoken truth which is known to some of her subjects, who, however, cannot state it overtly. Their silence and embarrassed reticence instil a foreboding that the truth will be revealed, a task assigned by Aeschylus to Cassandra, the character most clearly characterized by silence. As the play unfolds, Aeschylus shows us two different pathways: that taken by the Old Men of Argos, which ends in silence, keeping knowledge of the truth buried in the darkness of their hearts, and that of the prophetess, who moves from silence to speech and the revelation of the truth, no matter what the cost. Breaking her silence undermines the precarious balance between knowledge and speech maintained by the Watchman and the Chorus in the first half of the play. In addition to demystifying the nature of Clytemnestra’s logos, Cassandra’s silence is involved in a complex relationship with the other silences that go before it, within a structured dramatic development which leads the audience at first to perceive and identify with the discomfort and bitterness felt by the characters who ‘know’ (μαθόντες) but have to submit to Clytemnestra’s kratos and the dialectical domination she exercises, and then to experience the shock unleashed by the movement from silence to speech.

Cet article vise à dégager les implications terminologiques et nar- ratologiques de la brièveté comme qualité du récit rhétorique. Après avoir rappelé l’arrière-plan doctrinal grec d’une notion emblématique de l’interpénétration entre qualités du style et qualités du récit, il examine, de la Rhétorique à Herennius à l’Institution oratoire, l’évolution des préceptes délivrés, la nature des exemples utilisés et la ter- minologie employée. Sur le plan terminologique, Quintilien introduit une innovation intéressante, à savoir la distinction entre narratio concise (circumcisa) et narratio brève (breuis). L’adoption du calque sémantique circumcisus, que Quintilien est le premier à utiliser dans un contexte doctrinal où l’on attendrait, pour traduire le terme grec σύντομος, le mot concisus, montre que le rhéteur ressent la nécessité d’établir de manière plus claire une distinction terminologique entre versant positif et versant négatif de la brièveté. Cette innovation nous semble ainsi sous-tendue par la double volonté d’opé- rer une clarification (il s’agit de remédier à l’insuffisance du seul terme breuis employé par ses prédécesseurs latins pour renvoyer aux deux versants de la concision) et d’éviter l’emploi d’un mot de la terminologie critique et rhétorique (concisus) affecté d’une connotation péjorative car fréquemment utilisé par Cicéron pour fustiger le style des stoïciens et des atticistes. Sur le plan narratif, la mise en œuvre de la brièveté au sein du récit s’inscrit dans la palette de stratégies discursives à la disposition de l’orateur lorsqu’il s’agit d’exploiter la valeur rhétorique du silence : elle repose en effet sur une sélection des faits racontés qui doit laisser le destinataire restituer mentalement les éléments omis. Elle fait ainsi appel aux capacités d’inférence de l’auditeur, et concerne essentiellement, comme le montre l’analyse des exemples et contre-exemples accompagnant les préceptes, des actions à caractère stéréotypé organisées de manière sérielle.

Abstract : This paper aims to bring out the terminological and narratological implications of brevity as a quality of rhetorical narratives. After recalling the Greek doc- trinal background to this notion, with its typical interpenetration of the virtues of style and those of rhetorical narrative, the paper analyses, from the Rhetorica ad Herennium onwards to the Institutio oratoria, the theoretical evolutions and the examples used to illustrate the precepts. On a terminological level, Quintilian introduces an interesting inno- vation (the distinction between narratio circumcisa and narratio breuis). It is argued that the semantic calque circumcisus, which Quintilian is the first to use in a doctrinal context where concisus would be more appropriate to translate the Greek term σύντομος, suggests that the rhetor feels bound to clarify the distinction between the positive and negative sides of brevity by remedying the unsatisfactory use of the single word breuis by his Roman pre- decessors, and by avoiding a term (concisus) frequently used by Cicero to criticize the Stoics’ and Atticists’ style. On a narratological level, brevity as a quality of rhetorical narrative is one of the various discursive strategies available to the orator to put the rhetorical value of silence to use. Indeed, brevity depends on selecting the facts in such a way that the audience is able to reconstruct them by inference, which is possible only if these facts have a stereotyped and serial character.

Cette étude part de la forme de la tragédie telle qu’elle est définie chez Aristote dans la Poétique 1451a3-15 et 1455b24-29, dans les mêmes termes que le style de la période (κατεστραμμένη) dans la Rhétorique 1409 a36-b6, qui s’inspire peut-être du vers 344 de l’Agamemnon (κάμψαι διαύλου θάτερον κῶλον πάλιν), selon le modèle de la course double (δίαυλος) avec tournant central. La position des silences dans l’Agamemnon d’Eschyle s’insère dans la logique de ce mouvement à virage central, ici le 3e stasimon où l’Érinys s’empare du chant des vieillards, après lequel tous les éléments reviennent inversés d’un point de vue narratologique. Ainsi, le silence du chœur face aux questions du messager correspond à son silence impuissant au moment du meurtre d’Agamemnon, tandis que le refus du messager de faire le récit sur Ménélas correspond au silence de Cassandre qui arrache ses bandelettes prophétiques dans son refus de rester au service d’Apollon. Cette correspondance entre des silences dans la forme du drame se retrouve notamment dans les Perses ou les Sept contre Thèbes.

Abstract : Tragic form as defined by Aristotle (Poetics 1451a3-15 and 1455b24- 29) has much in common with his definition of periodic style (κατεστραμμένη) in Rhetoric 1409 a36-b6, which was perhaps inspired by Agamemnon 344 (κάμψαι διαύλου θάτερον κῶλον πάλιν); both may be compared to the double race (δίαυλος), with its central turning-point (καμπτήρ). In Aeschylus’ Agamemnon silences are positioned in accordance with such a movement structured around a central about-turn, here situated in the third stasimon, where the Erinyes take possession of the chorus of old men, after which each of the foregoing narrative elements returns in reverse order. Thus the chorus’ silence in response to the messenger’s questions mirrors the silence induced by its incapacity to act during the murder of Agamamnon, while the messenger’s refusal to give an account of Menelaus’ dis- appearance mirrors Cassandra’s refusal, as she rips off her prophetess’ regalia, to continue serving Apollo. Similar correspondences between silences in the structure of the drama can also be found in other tragedies by Aeschylus, especially Persians and Seven against Thebes.

Proporre il silenzio come occasione comunicativa e relazionale è una scelta consapevolmente fuori luogo e fuori tempo. L’opzione del silenzio è dislocata e antieconomica, comporta la rinuncia a direzionalità e ottimizzazione, due delle grandi leve del contemporaneo. Se si esplorano le origini e gli estremi, i “bordi” del tempo e dello spazio, lì il silenzio abita naturalmente. Non è atemporale, ma controtempo. Non aspaziale, ma altrove. Il vuoto ospita due azioni, che non hanno nulla di passivo : l’attesa ordinante e ordinatrice e la contemplazione ristrutturante. E’ qui che s’innesta una paideia del silenzio. La scelta di una qualità non eccitata del vivere e dell’apprendere, che è al centro della didattica di Accademia del Silenzio, nata nel 2010 allo scopo di sviluppare una conoscenza del silenzio come tema educativo, sociale e politico.

Abstract : Proposing silence as a vehicle for communication and interpersonal exchanges is a decision deliberately out of place and out of time. The choice of silence is displaced and anti-economic, it implies forswearing directionality and optimization, two of the great levers of the contemporary. Only in the exploration of origins and extremes, the ‘edges’ of time and space, does silence dwell naturally. It is not atemporal, but offbeat. Not aspatial, but elsewhere. Quietness can be host to two activities which have nothing passive about them: expectation, which fosters order, and contemplation, with its restructuring properties. It is here that a paideia of silence is possible: the choice of a quality of life and learning free of agitation lies at the centre of the teachings of the Silence Academy, which was founded in 2010 with the aim of nurturing awareness of silence as an educational, social and political phenomenon.

Un épisode de l’Agésilas (5) est l’un des cas de silence le plus remarquables du corpus de Xénophon. Cet épisode relate comment Agésilas fait preuve de la plus grande maîtrise de soi, lorsqu’il est confronté au rite du baiser perse avec Mégabatès, le jeune fils d’un allié perse dont il est tombé amoureux. On peut analyser le silence qui précède la réponse du roi en le comparant à d’autres scènes où le silence d’un interlocuteur est particulièrement significatif (des Mémorables à la Cyropédie). Agésilas est plus proche de Socrate et de Cyrus que de Critobule ou d’Euthydème. Si ce silence peut témoigner de la réflexion prolongée du roi, comme Agésilas adopte un parti pris divin, il est possible aussi de lui donner une signification religieuse. C’est ce que peut suggérer le serment final du roi, que l’on prenne ou non en compte la présence éventuelle d’un premier serment aux Dioscures.

Abstract : In the Agesilaos (5) there is one of the most remarkable examples of silence in Xenophon’s dialogues. The scene reports how Agesilaos displayed his nkrateia when he had to give Megabates, the young son of a Persian ally with whom he had fallen in love, a ritual kiss. We analyse the king’s expressive silence before he gives his answer by comparing it with three other scenes in which silence from one of the interlocutors is particularly significant (from Cyropaedia, Symposium and Memorabilia). Agesilaos is more akin to Socrates and Cyrus than to Critobulus or Euthydemus. That is why his silence is not aporetic: we stress its religious meaning, which is confirmed by the final oath to all the gods, whether or not we take into account the doubtful oath to the Dioscuri.

Scopo di questo studio è mostrare come nella commedia greca e romana alcuni momenti di silenzio nel dialogo possano essere riempiti dal gesto osceno ; il gesto osceno nella commedia tende a generare il sorriso nel pubblico integrando il vuoto di parole o fornendo la corretta interpretazione a descrizioni e situazioni ambigue ; tutto questo è esemplificato da tre esempi tratti dalle Nuvole di Aristofane, il Dyskolos di Menandro, le Bacchides di Plauto.

Abstract : The intent of this paper is to show how in Greek and Roman comedy certain moments of silence in dialogue may be filled in with obscene gesture; in comedy, obscene gestures tend to make the audience laugh, which fills in the absence of words or points to the correct interpretation of ambiguous descriptions and situations; this is exemplified with three examples taken from Aristophanes’ Clouds, Menander’s Dyskolos and Plautus’ Bacchides.

Le tacebo (« je me tairai ») qui se trouve au centre de la Pharsale et au cœur du récit de la bataille est d’abord un acte d’énonciation : il est un « anti-cano », par lequel le poète semble nier l’acte même de raconter qui l’institue comme poète épique. Il ne correspond totalement à aucune figure répertoriée, mais doit être compris dans son contexte, et ceci à plusieurs niveaux : contexte immédiat, où se produit un glis- sement du récit au « discours », puis du « discours » au récit ; contexte de l’ensemble de la bataille et de l’épopée en général. L’idée centrale est qu’on ne peut dire le nefas de la guerre civile dans ce qu’il a de plus scandaleux. Le topos épique de l’indicibilité est ainsi transféré sur le plan moral. Le refus de dire est aussi un refus de célébrer et un refus de nommer, Lucain pratiquant dans son récit une dissociation entre les faits et les noms. Enfin, Lucain, par son tacebo, assume sa responsabilité de poète face aux lecteurs de sa génération, qui subissent encore les conséquences politiques de Pharsale. Les pratiques énonciatives et les affirmations morales s’inscrivent ainsi dans une conscience historique.

Abstract : The tacebo (‘I will be silent’) at both the centre of the Pharsalia and the heart of Lucan’s account of the battle is first and foremost an act of enunciation: it is an ‘anti-cano’, by which the poet seems to deny the very act of narration that establishes his status as an epic poet. It does not completely match any standard figure, but must be understood in its context, and on different levels: the immediate context, where a shift occurs from narrative to ‘discourse’, then from ‘discourse’ to narrative; the context of the battle as a whole and the epic in general. The central idea is that words cannot utter the nefas of the civil war in its most scandalous aspect. The epic topos of unutterability is thus transferred to the moral sphere. The refusal to speak is also a refusal to celebrate and name, Lucan’s narrative operating a dissociation between facts and names. Finally, Lucan affirms through his tacebo his responsibility as a poet among the readers of his generation, who are still suffering from the political consequences of Pharsalus. His enunciative practices and moral affirmations are thus part of a historical consciousness.

La récurrence de personnages mutiques dans les Métamorphoses d’Ovide invite à s’interroger sur la signification du silence. Souvent lié au passage de l’être dans une forme autre qu’humaine, le silence constitue un élément prégnant à ce stade d’incertitude identitaire, alors que la dramatisation de l’action est à son comble. Comment le poète exprime-t-il, à travers cette perte de la parole, l’intensité des pas- sions et la permanence de l’être ? Quel rôle joue le mutisme dans cet espace transitoire de l’identité ? On s’interrogera sur la finalité de cette représentation au sein d’un conti- nuum qui demeure le fil conjonctif de tout le poème et sur sa validité dans le processus poïétique mis en œuvre.

Abstract : The recurrence of silent characters in Ovid’s Metamorphoses raises ques- tions about the meaning of silence. Often linked with transformations into non-human forms, silence is a striking feature of this phase of uncertain identity during which the dramatization of the action is at its peak. How does the poet express, through loss of speech, the intensity of passions and permanence of being? What part does silence play in this transitional phase of identity? The paper discusses the purpose of this representation within a continuum which remains the connective thread throughout the poem, and its validity in the poietic process.

Si illustrano alcune tipologie di silenzio o meglio alcune occasioni di stretto rapporto tra non detto e parola, ora in contrapposizione, ora in sinergia. La narrazione epica, la scrittura e la messa in scena teatrale, la riflessione retorica suggeri- scono differenti prospettive di realizzazione dell’articolato rapporto tra comunicazione verbale e non verbale.

Abstract : This paper aims to illustrate several types of silence or rather situations in which there is a close relationship between speech and things left unsaid, sometimes in opposition, sometimes in synergy. Epic narrative, writing for the stage and staging itself, rhetorical theory and practice offer different perspectives on the articulated relationship between verbal and non-verbal communication.

Selon Cicéron ou Plutarque, le banquet romain, expérience du vivre ensemble (con-uiuium), est aussi expérience du parler ensemble. Pourtant, la représenta- tion que trois satiristes latins, Horace, Pétrone et Juvénal, donnent du banquet est tout autre. Les conversations communes y sont extrêmement rares ; les convives y parlent très peu et sont même, chez Juvénal, réduits au silence complet. Relire les célèbres Cenae Nasidieni, Trimalcionis et Vironnis pour y observer comment y circule la parole permet de comprendre comment et pourquoi. Le banquet, tel que peint dans ces Cenae, n’est en effet pas un lieu de communication mais un lieu de pouvoir, où la maîtrise de la parole est confisquée par l’hôte-tyran et où le convive mange, regarde et se tait.

Abstract : According to Cicero or Plutarch the roman banquet, the conuiuium, an experience of living together (con-uiuium), is also meant for talking together. However, the representation of banquets given by three Latin satirists, Horace, Petronius and Juvenal, is quite different. Shared conversations are extremely rare; guests speak very little and in Juvenal’s poems are even reduced to complete silence. Re-reading the famous Cenae Nasidieni, Trimalcionis and Vironnis to see how the spoken word circulates enables us to understand how and why. In these Cenae, the banquet is not a place for communication but for the exercise of power, where speech is ruled by the tyrant-host, and the guests eat, look and keep silent.

Au début du livre 14 des Annales de Tacite se trouve le récit détaillé, et fort connu, du meurtre d’Agrippine la Jeune par son fils, l’empereur Néron. Une lecture attentive de cet épisode particulièrement commenté y révèle l’importance du motif du silence, que l’auteur fait surgir à différentes reprises, notamment à travers la réaction de mutisme que manifestent plusieurs protagonistes. L’étude des passages concernés permet d’abord de mettre en relief des effets de contraste qui impliquent une forme de mise en scène sonore du récit. Elle révèle en outre que la notion de silence est associée par l’historien à une position de retrait qui éclaire la dimension éthico-politique du comportement qu’il prête à ses personnages. Ce phénomène correspond à une intention profonde de Tacite : mettre en relief la violence des rapports institués par le principat néronien.

Abstract : At the beginning of Book 14 of the Annals, Tacitus gives his detailed and well-known account of the murder of Agrippina the Younger by her son, the Emperor Nero. A careful reading of this much-commented episode brings to light the importance of the motif of silence, which appears in several places, notably in the form of silent reactions from a number of the protagonists. A study of these passages highlights effects involving contrasts that imply a form of staging of the narrative in sound. It also shows that Tacitus associates the notion of silence with a position of withdrawal, thereby illuminating the ethico-political dimension of the behaviour he attributes to his characters. This reflects a profound intention on his part: to bring out the violence of the relations instituted by Nero’s exercise of princely power.

Les Vies anciennes des poètes grecs sont des textes au caractère extrê- mement sélectif. Certains silences ou omissions semblent relever de choix qui éclairent les particularités du genre biographique en Grèce ancienne, notamment son désintérêt général pour la chronologie, ou son écriture orientée, visant à créer une figure de poète dotée de traits particuliers. D’autres formes de silence éclairent des tendances générales d’évolution de l’écriture au cours des siècles, comme l’utilisation d’une énonciation de plus en plus impersonnelle, produisant des fictions de vérité objective. L’effacement d’une voix personnelle prend souvent une valeur démonstrative, au service de la dimen- sion panégyrique des Vies : elle donne pour universels les jugements émis sur le poète. Les différents usages du silence dans les Vies des poètes permettent de définir des lignes de partage entre des rédacteurs avec un véritable projet auctorial, tels Satyros, ou, à l’autre extrémité chronologique des textes conservés, Eustathe de Thessalonique, et des rédacteurs anonymes, s’effaçant totalement derrière des textes qui, en se donnant des allures d’objectivité, accroissent le désarroi des lecteurs modernes lorsque ces derniers tentent de statuer sur la nature des informations conservées.

Abstract : The ancient Lives of the Greek poets are extremely selective texts. Certain silences or omissions appear to reflect choices which shed light on the specific nature of the biography as a genre in ancient Greece, notably its general lack of interest in chronol- ogy, or its writing biased towards creating figures of poets endowed with a particular set of traits. Other forms of silence shed light on general trends in the evolution of writing over the centuries, such as the use of increasingly impersonal wording, which produces a fictitious appearance of objective truth. Effacing a personal voice often gives a text the status of a demonstration, which serves the panegyric dimension of the Lives, casting judgments on the poet as universal. The different uses of silence in the lives of poets make it possible to define lines of division between writers with a true auctorial project – such as Satyros or, among the latest whose texts have survived, Eustathius of Thessalonica – and anonymous writers, who disappear completely behind texts which, by taking on an appearance of objectivity, deepen the disarray of modern readers attempting to rule on the nature of the information preserved.

Compte tenu de l’importance accordée à la parole dans l’anthropolo- gie antique et dans la pensée cicéronienne, cet article s’interroge sur la valeur du silence dans la morale cicéronienne. Il s’agit de montrer que Cicéron, guidé par sa pratique oratoire, prend en compte, dans son enseignement philosophique, la dimension active et ambivalente du silence. La distinction entre tacere et celare suggère une axiologie oratoire du silence, qui transparaît également dans les dialogues philosophiques : net- tement condamné quand il est associé au mensonge et à la ruse, le silence, favorable à la méditation, est valorisé comme instrument de progrès moral dans le cadre du sermo intumus.

Abstract : This article studies the value of silence in Ciceronian ethics, taking into account the importance attached to speech in ancient anthropology and Ciceronian thought. Its aim is to demonstrate that in his philosophical teaching Cicero, drawing on his experience as an orator, takes into account the active and ambivalent aspects of silence. The distinction between the words tacere and celare suggests an oratory valuation of silence which can also be seen in the philosophical dialogues: clearly condemned when linked with lying and trickery, silence, because it fosters meditation, is valued as a tool for moral progress in the context of sermo intumus.