Programska knjižica - Hrvatsko filozofsko društvo

THE CLAUSULAE OF THE CLASSICAL POETS
IN RUĐER BOŠKOVIĆ’S ECLOGA (1753)
In composing verse each poet of the antiquity tended to draw from the tradition
and the most prominent exponents of the genre, this practice being also
adopted by the Neolatinists. The influence of predecessors is more articulate in
poetry than in prose because of the principle of quantitative versification: metre
is composed of feet, in which long and short syllables interchange regularly.
In hexameter, metre consisting of six dactyl feet, the part easily remembered
was its ending, the so-called clausula. The practice of borrowing clausula from
some other poet was not viewed as plagiarism, but as proof that he was well
read and familiar with literature. This certainly helped the poets whose mother
tongue was other than Latin to determine the length of each syllable in the way
so easily done by the Romans. Modern technology provides the tools to examine
every clausula respectively and determine its origin.
In order to write in an extinct language, extensive reading of the original
texts was a priority. In order to write in any literary genre, thorough knowledge
of the predecessors, great classical writers who were major figures of
the genre, had to be of prime concern. With regard to eclogue in Latin, Virgil
earned the position of the leading model among the Romans, the names of Lycidas
and Tytirus reflecting his influence on Bošković. May the clausulae that
Ruđer Bošković used in his Ecloga (1753) be also ascribed to Virgil? Could
they possibly be related to Virgil’s Eclogues or to some other work? Are there
any clausulae borrowed from other writers? What is the statistical correlation
between the works and writers? Can Virgil’s influence on Ruđer Bošković be
proved mathematically? These are the questions I shall try to answer in my
lecture, and also suggest some other topics for future research.
Key words: Ruđer Bošković, eclogue, hexameter, clausula
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