20-24 septembrie 2009 - Biblioteca Metropolitana Bucuresti

The first aromanian writers and their relationship with the Greek... 759excerpts from Bible and, what was quite uncommon for the time, a trilingualGreek-Aromanian-Albanian Vocabulary, among the first of its kind.Composing and publishing The Vocabulary, Cavalioti was putting intopractice Leibniz’s ideas, which he got to know through means of teachingof his teacher from Ianina and Cojani, Evghenie Vulgaris. Connoisseur,supporter and propagator of Greek culture and language, Cavalioti wasproving now, even if indirectly, that he was aware of his belonging to theAromanian kin, who was living with Albanians, in Moscopole and in thesurrounding area.Even if it was developed in order to spread knowledge of Greek amongAromanians and Albanians (as noted Capidan 1932: 48 ş.u. and Peyfuss,1994: 24.), the hidden idea was to put in an illuminist spirit the equalitybetween the Greek “lingua sancta” and “barbarian” languages, Aromanianand Albanian, being in a permanent contact.On the other hand, the three columns of words, Greek, Aromanian andAlbanian, allowed the comparison of lexical items of the three languages,in the spirit of the same Leibniz’s incentives, placing Cavalioti’s workabove the purely academic interest. It was the expression of a people’snecessity and perhaps this explains its rapid depletion. But is no less truethat Greek ecclesiastical authorities disregarded these type of culturalactivities, too bold in an area where the revival of the Greek imperial ideawas sought, and is likely that Cavalioti’s published work had been trackedand destroyed 8. Luckily, in time, it had got in the hands of scientists such asJohann Thunmann.6. Cavalioti’s example was followed some years later, at a higherlevel, by Daniil Moscopoleanul, in the paper Εισαγογική διδακαλια “Theintroductory teaching”, printed in Venice 1794 9 , few years later afterMoscopole’s devastation (1788).Not many facts are known about the author. From dedication toMetropolitan Nectarie of Pelagonia, who prefaces the paper, we find thatDaniil Mihali Adami Hagi Moscopleanul was bursar and preacher.Daniil’s book includes knowledge of religion, mathematics, physics andother sciences which were taught in Moscopole, epistolary style elements,all in Greek, and, what is most important and made the paper famous –8Cf. Papacostea, 1983: 401. The author, having also other data, informs us that thePatriarchate of Constantinopole launched an anathema against Boiagi’s grammar, in 1815,immediatly after the appearence, its author being excommunicated.9Apud. Papahagi Per, 1909: 107, 1802 appears as year of publication, but Capidan,Aromânii: 55, clearly established that the publishing date is 1794, Venice. 1802 is the yearof the second edition.