Imparting the Heritage of the Antiquity

Rémi BRAGUE

University of Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne , France

Patrycja MIKULSKA

John Paul II Institute, John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin , Poland

Abstract

In the context of the contemporary crisis of culture, the author reflects on the concept of tradition understood as imparting the cultural heritage of the past. He refers to the examples of ancient Greek and Latin cultures which have undergone several renaissances in history. He also points to the fact that such renaissances have been always motivated by the awareness that the Western culture is veering away from the heritage of the antiquity. The actual danger of the humanity losing the Greek and Roman inheritance lies, in his view, in the fact that there are no mechanisms that safeguard a spontaneous transmission of culture. Drawing on the historical cases of, among others, Boethius’s unfinished project of translating Greek works into Latin or the preparation of the catechism in the countries of Latin-Christian tradition, the author also emphasizes that the survival of a civilization depends on the conscious decisions and actions of particular individuals.

Summarized by Patrycja Mikulska

Keywords:

ancient culture, tradition, renaissance, civilization, Christianity, the crisis of culture