Nr 448, wrzesień 1992 - Znak

ISUMMARY I
In one of the previous issues (January 1992) we followed up the paths of
the heritage of Antiquity. This one in turn is devoted to the heritage of the
Middle Ages. It begins with a conversation that Philippe Sainteny held with
two notable historians who specialize in that epoch: Georges Duby and
Bronislaw Geremek. Then Czeslaw Deptula recalls the vision of history and
the Universe as it emerges out of the culture and popular beliefs prevalent in
the Middle Ages. Stefan Wilkanowicz and Jerzy Kloczowski consider the
inspirations as well as perils born of that epoch, especially as regards the
state-Church relations. Jan Drabina's essay treats of the religious heritage of
the Middle Ages and delineates the picture of the Chl'rch of that day. In the
author's opinion, the Christianity of that period was subject to the adverse
influences exerted by "the spirit of the time", which left little room for
tolerance, but at the same time in this very epoch Christian spirituality
flourished ever so splendidly. A text by Hilda Graef tells of one of its finest
achievements, the work of Bernard of Clairvaux.
Three articles that follow next depict the heritage of the Middle Ages'
culture. Gerhart B. Ladner re-creates the image of man as it was rooted in
the theology and the spiritual atmosphere of that epoch. Wojciech Ballis
looks for the roots of one of "the cardinal sins" that are ailing modern
culture, namely boredom, tracing them back to the Middle Ages; boredom
used to be referred to as "acedia" by the sages of the soul. Zygmunt Kubiak
in his turn reflects upon the affinit ies between Dante's Divine Comedy and
ancient poetry. The whole group of texts focused around the heritage of the
Middle Ages ends with Krzysztof Kowalski's sketch on Christopher Columbus
seen as one who sought after a paradise on Earth.
The second part of the issue centers around Jozef Czapski, an illustrious
painter and writer. Krystyna Czerni writes about the connections between
Czapski, who lived abroad, and post-war Polish art. Janusz Marciniak
reveals Czapski's vision of art as a metaphysical necessity, while Tomasz
Gryglewicz ponders the meaning of the term "cultured" as applied to
Czapski's painting .
. ' In the "Subjects and Reflection" section readers will find an essay by
Andrzej C. Leszczynski on the need to work out a model of everyday culture
in response to social ills, Jan A. Kloczowski considerations of the symbolic
meaning of fire, and Michal Heller's remarks on the cosmological background
of modern physics.
The "Events-Books-People" section contains Stanislaw Primus' essay on
Edward Hopper's painting, reviews of Louis Dupre's On the &sence of
Religion (by Ireneusz Zieminski), Julian Stryjkowski's Survivor in the East (by
Anna Nasilowska), and Battista Mondin's St. Thomas' Dictionary (by Janusz
Krolikowski); finally, Zdzislaw Kijas OFM presents and comments on the
attitude of Latin American bi shops towards the problem of inculturation of
the Gospel.