The Ark of Letters and Universal Theater is a book by the Venezuelan Franciscan Fray Juan Antonio Navarrete. It is a monumental work, difficult to classify, with an extremely complex structure, multiple annotations and references to other works by him, as well as by various authors. It is in some way an encyclopedia or dictionary that compiles the existing knowledge of that time.[1]
In this work, Navarrete combines erudition and lexicography with great skill. His lexicographical technique is expressed in the numerous annotations where he provides help to interpret the work, the product of deep research and meditation.[1]The work deals with various topics, among which angels, visions, monsters, demons, letters, medicine, metals, games of chance and divination of the future stand out.[2]
At a time when the Inquisition exercised its power, Navarrete notes that “I do not write except for my own use” and “I do not write for others, if you do not write for me”, in order to establish the innocuousness of his task. Navarrete manifests himself as a supporter of independence, and of a university open to knowledge.[1]
Navarrete manages a very extensive bibliography, which includes Greco-Latin classics such as Aristotle, Plato, Boethius, Pliny the Younger, Pliny the Elder, Eusebius of Caesarea, Flavius Josephus, Plautus, Cicero, Terence, Ovid, Macrobius, Quintus Curtius, Quintilian, Aulo Gellius, Horace, Juvenal, Lactantius, Cassiodorus, among others.[1]
He also cites more contemporary works such as Louis Moreri’s Gran Diccionario, Juan Pérez de la Serna’s Geographical Dictionary, or the Dominican Father Augustin Calmet’s Historical Dictionary,[1]or to historians of Venezuela such as José Gumilla, José de Oviedo y Baños, Bartolomé de las Casas, Juan de Solórzano y Pereira, or Antonio de Alcedo. He also often refers to the Historia de España, by Juan de Mariana, or to the Holy Spain of Father Enrique Flórez.[1]
Some of the texts contained in the Arca de letras are considered by authors such as José Balza or Violeta Rojo as true antecedents of the micro-story.[3][4]
The work is divided into two parts:[1]
The first part consists of a kind of dictionary or encyclopedia arranged alphabetically, in which he deals with various topics ranging from treatments for diseases, anecdotes about ghosts, angels, demons and monsters, to geographical and historiographical references, or philosophical and theological reflections. The second part is more complex, since it brings together games invented by the author, various catalogs, and even a chronicle of the most important events that occurred in his time. It is divided into the following parts: The Game of Peace and War [Folios 253 a 255]
Curious Treatise on the Wheel of Fortune [Folios 256 a 260]
Book of Hippocrates written to Perdiccas, King of Macedonia [Folios 262 a 264]
astronomical pointer [Folios 265 a 273]
Unique Book in which the notable things of this 18th and 19th century are noted [Folios 274 a 283]
Royal and Supreme Side [Folios 284 a 290]
Supplement to the Abecedarios [Folios 291 a 324]
Terentian Table [Folios 326 a 327]
extraordinary poetry [Folio 328]
rhetoric table [Folios 329 a 334]
Accentuary Table [Folio 334]
Poetic Table [Folios 335 a 337]
Dictionary of some terms used by Philosophers, Astrologers, Politicians, Doctors, etc. [Folios 338 a 402]
Catalog of the most important Fathers and Writers [Folio 403]
Trique Explained in Folio 395 [Folio 403]
Manuscript history and editions[editar]
Navarrete began writing his Arca de letras y Teatro universal at the end of the 18th century. The National Library of Venezuela dates the manuscript from 1783, however, due to the mentions of the Venezuelan independence process, we know that he was writing it until at least 1813.[5]
The work was recovered by the Spanish-Venezuelan philosopher Juan David García Bacca, who in 1954 published some fragments of the Ark of letters in his work Anthology of Venezuelan philosophical thought.[6]
In 1962, the composer and musicologist José Antonio Calcaño, member of the National Academy of History of Venezuela, carried out a first edition, which consisted of fragments of the work, accompanied by a preliminary study.[7]
In 1993, Blas Bruni Celli edited the complete text, published in two volumes by the National Academy of History of Venezuela.[1]
See also[editar]
Venezuelan literature
Latin American literature
References[editar]
↑ a b c d e f g h Navarrete, Juan Antonio (1993). “Preliminary study”. In Blas Bruni Celli, ed. Letters Ark and Universal Theater I. Caracas: National Academy of History of Venezuela.
↑ Astorga, Omar (2010). «A look at philosophy and its links with Venezuelan thinking». Araucaria: Ibero-American Journal of Philosophy, Politics, Humanities and International Relations 12 (23): 3-28. ISSN 2340-2199. Accessed July 3, 2023.
↑ Balza, Jose (2000). «An image: Fray Juan Antonio». Philosophical Notes (Caracas: Central University of Venezuela) 17: 191-200.
↑ Red, Violet (2020). Minification is no longer what it used to be. Bogota: The White Workshop.
↑ Navarrete, Juan Antonio; Bruni Celli, Blaise (1783). Arca de Letras and Universal Theater. Accessed June 30, 2023.
↑ Garcia Bacca, Juan David (1954). Anthology of Venezuelan philosophical thought systematic introductions and historical prologues. Caracas: Editions of the Ministry of Education, Directorate of Culture and Fine Arts. p. 522.
↑ Navarrete, Juan Antonio (1962). Jose Antonio Calcano, ed. Arca de Letras and Universal Theater. Caracas: National Academy of History of Venezuela.
external links[editar]
2023-07-03 10:49:52
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