Tratamientos jurídico y criminológicos clínicos.

Vico c o n s id e re d t h a t any s o lu tio n to th e Homeric q u e s tio n must come from Homer 28

h im s e lf . In o th e r words th e answer to th e problem c o u ld o n ly be g ain ed by means o f i n t e r n a l c r i t i c i s m . Since th e Homeric w r i t i n g s w ere th e e a r l i e s t t h a t had s u r -

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v iv e d , th e u se o f a u th o rs such a s P lu ta r c h and H ero d o tu s were to be eschew ed. S in ce th e y had l iv e d a t a much l a t e r d a te th a n Homer they were n o t in a p o s i t i o n t o be aw are o f th e d e t a i l s o f h i s l i f e , no r were th e y l i k e l y to have a p p r e c ia te d th e s p i r i t which dom inated h i s c o m p o sitio n s. Having r e j e c t e d a l l te stim o n y r e g a r d in g Homer and h is works Vico was l e f t w ith only th e Homeric c o r p u s . I t was an ex am in atio n o f t h i s co rp u s i t s e l f , however, which he b e lie v e d would c l e a r up th e p e c u l i a r i t i e s

su rro u n d in g i t .

To p ro ceed in t h i s manner, however, n e c e s s i t a t e d th e u se o f i n t e r p r e t a t i v e c o n c e p ts and m odels f o r th e e p ic s th e m selv e s d id n o t make any d i r e c t s ta te m e n ts on how, when, o r by whom th ey were composed. Any in fo r m a tio n b e a r in g on th e s e m a tte r s must be i n f e r r e d . The need f o r some t h e o r e t i c a l framework was a c c o rd in g ly e s s e n t i a l , Vico proceeded to i n t e r p r e t th e poems by means o f h i s p o e tic t h e o r i e s - he examined

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them a s p o e tic ^ in th e V ich ian sen se ) p r o d u c ts . I n The Autobiography he r e c o r d s how he began to re a d

. . . th e poems o f Homer in th e l i g h t o f h i s p r i n c i p l e s o f p h ilo lo g y ; and by c e r t a i n canons o f m ythology which he had c o n c e iv e d , he g iv e s th e s e poems an a s p e c t d i f f e r e n t from t h a t w hich th e y have h i t h e r t o b o rn e , and shows how d iv in e ly th e p o et w eaves in to th e tre a tm e n t o f h i s two s u b je c ts two gro u p s o f Greek s t o r i e s , th e one b e lo n g in g to th e ob scu re p e rio d and th e o th e r to th e h e ro ic ^ p e r io d ^ . . . 31 In V ic o 's v iew , th e fundam ental assu m p tio n which had been r e s p o n s ib le f o r n u l l i f y i n g a l l a tte m p ts to so lv e th e Homeric problem was th e b e l i e f t h a t Homer had been a p h ilo s o p h e r , a c i v i l i s e d man, a man o f a b s t r a c t , r e f l e c t i v e wisdom. P la to had p e r p e tr a t e d t h i s f a l l a c y and su b seq u en t s c h o la r s had b l i n d l y fo llo w e d i n h i s

52 wake.

2 8 . The New S c ie n c e . 788.

29. i b i d . . 867. A 'L if e o f Homer’ had been a t t r i b u t e d to b o th th e s e a u th o r s . 30. See C h.V I.

31. The Autobiography, p p .159-160. 32. The New S c ie n c e . 780.

Homer, how ever, was in no sense a p h ilo s o p h e r , th e p h ilo s o p h ic a l c o n te n t a t t r i b u t ­ ed to th e e p ic s b e in g f a b r i c a t i o n s o f l a t e r s c h o la r s :

• • • th e p h ilo s o p h e rs d id n o t d is c o v e r t h e i r p h ilo s o p h ie s in th e Homeric f a b l e s b u t r a t h e r in s e r t e d them t h e r e i n . 33

V ic o ’ s re a s o n s f o r s u s p e c tin g t h a t Homer was in no sen se a p h ilo s o p h e r were num erous. The v e ry f a c t t h a t he was an ex trem ely a n c ie n t a u th o r le d him to con­ je c t u r e t h a t he may have been p o e t i c . S in ce he l i v e d a t a tim e when hum anity was in i t s e a r l y s ta g e s o f developm ent, V ic o ’ s c u l t u r a l ap p ro ach n e c e s s i t a t e d t h a t

34

Homer h im s e lf should resem b le h i s f e llo w s and hence be ru d e and p r i m i t i v e .

A f u r t h e r re a so n f o r b e lie v in g Homer p o e tic was th e n a tu r e o f th e c h a r a c t e r s in th e e p i c s . Vico c o n s id e re d th e s e b ra s h and u n d i s c i p l in e d ,

. . . l i k e boys in th e f r i v o l i t y o f t h e i r m inds, l i k e women in th e v ig o r o f t h e i r im a g in a tio n s and l i k e t u r b u l e n t y o u th s in th e b o i l i n g f e r v o r o f t h e i r w r a t h . . . 35

He pondered w hether such c r e a t i o n s c o u ld be th e " n a t u r a l p ro d u c t o f a calm , c u l t i v - 36

a te d and g e n tle p h ilo s o p h e r " . He came to th e c o n c lu s io n t h a t th e y r a t h e r b e f i t t e d

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one who was p o sse sse d o f th e p o e tic mind, o f a ’p r i m i t i v e ' m e n ta lity .

The mores d e p ic te d in th e e p ic s Vico a ls o found i n c o n s i s t e n t w ith Homer b e in g 38

a p h ilo s o p h e r. The custom s and p r a c t i c e s a t t r i b u t e d to th e gods and h e r o e s , even

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to th e p ru d e n t U ly s s e s , he c o n sid e re d most im proper i f Homer was a m oral p h ilo s o p h e r . G ranted t h a t Homer d escended to th e l e v e l o f th e common p e o p le , why d id he a ro u se

40 such a d m ira tio n f o r , and ta k e p le a s u r e in r e c o u n tin g , such a c t i v i t i e s ?

A f u r t h e r d i f f i c u l t y f o r th e c o n v e n tio n a l t h e o r i e s was th e s t y l e in which th e poems were w r i t t e n . Was i t th e s t y l e o f a c i v i l i s e d man? Vico found i t

im p o ssib le t h a t th e

. . . t r u c u l e n t and savage s t y l e in w hich he /Korner] d e s c r ib e s so many, such v a r ie d and such bloody b a t t l e s , so many and such e x tr a v a g a n tly c r u e l k in d s o f b u tc h e ry a s make up a l l th e s u b lim ity o f th e I l i a d in p a r t i c u l a r . . . o r ig i n a te d in a mind hum anized and s o fte n e d by any p h ilo s o p h y . 41 33. i b i d . . 901 . 34. i b i d . . 780. 35. i b i d . . 829. C f . A c h i l l e s . 3 6 . i b i d . . 828. 3 7 . i b i d . . 787. 3 8 . i b i d . . 78 6 . See The I l i a d , p . 3 9 0 . 3 9 . The New S c i e n c e . 7 8 4 . See The O dyssey. 4 0 . The New S c i e n c e . 782.

4 1 . i b i d . . 7 8 5 .