UMBERTO ECO THE INFINITY OF LISTS‘contentsPla nt no cere ‘ietninn dal ech ext Lani me ree sre fre xis pic nds ort ant fs 0 je fh bei an prope (tetra ctesand ener). Whe dit hse come fom? “ene ign er lf them boing i iy ne ogi fpr hth deriv fom i naan na etches nt orf one poe esos mde ‘ace yen lid). rer metal ea eth {ahi te der of np ims Kb pate sat Piped awd unarmed tere TST Sc me por cece Be cate prin Homer Tl from cb oe ok eee “tats me ta fin sherds wad, repre 8 tb ed ord and pd tees of armies mpi ‘ed dar ther ar rein or hres aving een et Fecrhing cect dee prof he era” “Falco martyr hm, Tbe ye hak fm meet carota bch by 1 kro Sree ‘Homer forts prot de) firs nan ofits ng ame rach ‘Ronin whith nd or aicant to mn rig oa) Toe row Sb ppd moh maker ad pad a be errr win sein ny Biro hat ane! tend in bse tht ny a ome dd torino ech oar bt ven Th id inde tele ge etre nt of my explo hi bok ld Satna on end poe ag and mae even “he rept of dg oar gee mab Tf bcs seein net aa er i ie Selinger ope tnd get on eos” af tr a ha ithe ati abo ie ‘tea other ge scsi ye a ed sh hig, in eed re hiker illite al of es revit ite ser of Benya On gine ee his elas ot ersh ‘Rone on obec on apie nal error nina trons ihe ra ied dene Mara Lara od re ‘dra clothe each fr etme amo exiting eerie et co mah Jorvhsr semana sid nt frat gta bad be {ipa Whar any be rst isk cmt od ‘miban cectre‘THE SHIELD AND ITS FORM hile Achilles ir olkingin is tent, prey this grim wrath, Patroclas aes is weapons fights Heceor sled by him, and Achille arm go tothe vewor ‘Bar when Achille decides o return tothe fry his mother Thee asks Hepactus to Forge new arm fr her sn, Hephaesas gets fo work and Homer devotes prt of Book XVII ofthe tid vo description of che shield be casting “ephacsaso Vulcan, divided this immense shield into fee zones, ‘which contain he art these, che sy the sa, he moon, the tars, the Pkades, Orion andthe Gres Be. ealko modelled wo poplous ‘ies onthe sield Tn the First, he portray wedding feast with she bride and groom parading round by torchligh, and yeung men paying pipes and Kitharae "There is alo crowded forum where a Urals carried oo, with lin wicneses, advocaey, ad a gawking ‘rod. The elders are iting ina rte and, 2a certain poi, they rsp the septre and and to pronounce the verdict. The second seme Shows beleaguered caste on the wll, ain Tro, wives, maidens, ind old sen watch the bate, Led by Minerva the enemy advances And, os chey lead their herds toa sive, propare an ambush soon at two unwitting shepherds come along playing tcc pipe, they re asracked and ke, and their herds are stolen. Wreiors on horseback Sally oth froma dhe besieged cyt porsuethe enemy snd along the riverbank the Bre begins moog the ounarane we Strife Rit sud Fate, covered in blood, clawing and seizing the vingand che fea ale ache fighter cyto save the bodies of tron dead Then Hephaerms sculpts fertile, wll-ploughed field of grain with lougimen and ther oxen crossing it from side rosde. Uponreaching one end ofthe Farrow, the ploughimen toast with hss fine before making their way back again. Elsewhere we see she Fel alread fl of erop-wih eaprs at work while others bind the sheaves la their mdse sit the king, whose ervitors ay out meal beneath an oak we, incling newly sacrificed ox, and the women ‘ead lour ro make loaves of bread ‘Wealso see vineyard laden with ripe grapes golden shoots and vines rained on ser poles, sureounded bya wrought ion hedge. Some youths and maidens bring fri ton of them plays the chara, “Then Hephaestos asa herd of eae sulped in gold and tin acing to the pasture along the banks ofa rver whore waters lo shrough the ees: Four herdec, alin geld fallow them, accompanied by fine white masts, But suddenly ro ons appear and pounce on. ‘he heifers and che bul, wouadiagic and draging i along sie Tellows piri By dhe tne the herdsmen approach with heir dogg, the wil beasts are devouring the daembowelled ball while the masts bask a them powers. eplacan’ ical panel dpi ocks of sheep in a bucolic alley landscape dried wit hues and pene and danciag youths and virgin. ‘The later are lain daphanovs robes and gaelnds, the former in doubles wih golden daggers shee sides, hiring round and round ea porters whee. Many people watch the dancing, whichis followed by thee tumbler who sing sty perform ther acrobatics, “The mighty iver Oceans sursounds every scene and separates the shield rom thers ofthe universe Tesi aso macy scones tha, wles we conser infiniesimally minute goldsithery iis fel to immagine the object inal ts wealth of detail; whats nore, the portal does not concern space lone, but lo time, in the seatethat various evens fllow one nother, nif te shield were acineaarreeno alongcartoon strip Indeed, the ars ofthe pst wat capable of portraying sequence of successive scenes sing techies similar t thos ofthe exrton,strip, wid the same character eapparing several mes in diferent times and places (ee, for example, Per dll France's ine Cott cyclein Arezzo). This i pity why the shield ould have more scenes than ic could materially cats. in far, various ats have tied to reproduce Hephaeses work visually, ball they eoanaged (oachieve were rly arto approximations, Aldhough the shield has physially reproducible serait perfec crelaraature suggest tht there is aaching else beyond ‘us bound: ite finite form, Everything that ephacsrus wanted tos son the shield. Thete is no outsides ie cloned world Achill shields cherefore the epiphany of Form ofthe way in which are manager to connrict harmonious representations that establish an order, hierarchy, nd a fgure-o-background relationship beeween the subjects portayed. Note that weare not lking abou aa aesthetic” pint of view: aesthetics tell us hat form an beanie interpreted, new pects nd new relaconships canbe Found every ie, This iru for the ‘Sistine Chapelas well ae monochromatic panting by Klein or Rothko, [everteles, a guraive work of ar (at ella poem ora novel) possesses referer functions narrative tld in words oranges bout the rel oe she imagined world. Tiss the narrative funtion of Achille hil, The referential min-en-fvme does not encourage wt ook for anything ouside of dhe represented scene, Achille shield tellus about his scene and not about another. ttl us nothing about ‘what may lie beyond the circle of Oceanus. This aes not mean tht wecanmot interpret that particular scene ae the universal mel ofa city and ts couneryide, or ce those nage san allegory of good goveramens, of war and pce, or the sate of mature. ‘But the represented universes Limited jt form, ‘This holds ue forall these: alchough there landscape Ihind the Mona Lia tha ruppoedly couiaues beyond the frame, the viewer does noe wouder what ie otside the pairing becuse ‘he eal of form the att ha imped on the psture aes it focused if ie were ound ike chile shield adits iguraive | i | tucles were the center la terse, whea readingio Sendhals The Red andthe Black tht Jlien Sorel’ ist shot st Madame de ‘énalinshe church of Verize mists, we could Faraz (assome thave done) abou where tht fis shot truck, bai reality che questions ireevan: from the standpoiat of Stendhal’ narrative Strategy tha detail isinsignificae, Those who wonder abou the Tiseshor are wasting her tme andar giving upon understanding and enjoying che nove SEER ere‘THE LIST AND THE CATALOGUE omee was ableoconsract er imagine a closed form because belinda clear idea ofthe agpculeural and warrior cleureof his wa day, He knew his world he wi ws, eae nd ees Thine why he was able ogi form “There iy however, anotir mode of arn epeseta where we do not know the boudaries of what we wish o post ‘where we do noe know how ay things we are talking abou and premune ther aamber tobe, if not insite then at east acronomiclly Tange, We cannot provide a definivon by talk about, to make iecomprehensble ori some ‘welt ite popertierand, ar we shale, the af something, frm the Greeks to modern ses, are thought snggetinlnity (the entre history oF aesthetics siterates this). However, te iii of aesthetics isthe ibjectvfelingof than otis an emotional niin, a oenia infin, On he coutasy,the ining we ar talking bout now isan acral infinisy made up of objects that can pethaps be numbered bat tac we cannot number—we fae that theiesueraton (and enameration) may never sop. When Kent gpg wpa the try shy he had the Gbjective) feting chat what he was seing went beyond his he postulated a infinity tha not only our seauneasy pleasure which snakes fe the geatnes of our subjetivy cape of wishing for something we cannot have, The fii of the ecing Kant experience as highty emocional charge and it ‘ould be aesthetically portrayed even by paacing or writing posse description ofa singlets). Invea, ee innusmerbiiy of the ars isan intaicy chat we should cl objective (here woud be blion of storsevenif wedi nt extt)- The artist who attempts ona partial Tis of alte stars in the univer in ome way wiseso make us think of shi objective ining “The infinity ofaestescs ia session that follows from the finite and peste completenes of she thing we admire, while she orer fora of representation suggests infinity almost pica, because face deer aot end, nor doe concen form. ‘We sho call this epreventative mode the fi, or catalgu. ‘ers return othe iad. At one point, Homer was t0 give a sense ofthe immensity of the Gred army Ga Book I of che poem) nd an iden of the mae of men the eriied Trojans see spreading ‘ut along the seashore. At first he temps a comparison: that mass of men, whose arms reflec the sunlight, ke are aging through | 2 orev Tis ikea lock of gese or rane hat seem to crass te sky likes thundersap. But ao anetapbor eames eisai, and he calls ellen, © Moser eho dwell on Olympus, on the Muses forhep Jou seho kw all. you who were dhe leaders and the guides, Of che Danae; shall not call he how by name, oe even had Ten tongues and ten mouths” and rhe prepares onan oly the in andthe ship. took ike 2 shorter bur this shortcut aks im three hundred afi verse ofthe poem, Appareney she is ifiive here thould uot be other eaptaine ad ater ships), but ince he cannot Say how many mn there are for every leader, she mmber he alludes cols is “Arfisesght we might think cht form x charscteritc of marecultures which know the world arouad thes, whote order they Ihave recognized and defined. Contrary to this the ist would sem 0 betypicl of primitive cleres tha sll have an imprevte image oF the univere and imi themeelesolicing a ayo properties a they can name wichou trying to exci hierarchical ‘elaionship among them, For example, we might interpret Hesioa's ‘Theeony inthis ense:iis an inexhansted lit of divine creatures shar cereinly refer toa genealogical tee that a philological patient reading could reconstract, but thie definitely noe the way a whic the eader (even the original reader) reads of litens to the text Je pretens itself ar rather intolerable wars of monstrous and prodigious beings, universe overpopuated with inl individuals that rns parallel o chat of our experience, an whose rots are sank nthe mies of time. ‘Yeethe lis rns up agin in the Middle Ages hen the great Ahcologcl summa and the encyclpacdias claimed to provide Aefntve frm for the material and pial uivere), in the Renaissance and inthe Baroque period rere the fren of the ‘world is thr of anew astronomy), ad especially inthe madera anu post-modern word; sign that we are sbjec tothe infin of ins for many diverse rans esioo cv see. 2) ieooowe vv. Be-es2 tno he arte Orcas (Sornrren sean sean cfemnan avn pet aout lan te eran. soke ‘Hens tf bahrain trot ar ‘pun gre up sneer ethers rie patiencechoca ocr tera Geen esrbes, Coron oats an eshte ‘recrvnsaoun hs rao ‘hepeaen enters on maroon in ators bona mess nth he teaser war st decoy th Sri nr gna ee erhown anata ‘naa ampere naa a anny mame tee ection sea edhe send tg Caan nt Gnintrs of enna re doped ea nn eae tert eu zens ton toe by neh ay Svea ve Ciseana atn, ecomein [oens nea ina coma permanant whsoa ae se (Gaur andthe soa ae wth [rar aned he itor) ma han, ens god or Ores asi {fetwhenoevr ofthe oar was Meth Sts nae ne evn eho ‘Stour oe arr nest ercntran trough that fer ne ‘hepato ay ume them "the na may reasons en taxa Pons como Seared “pe th goes gh alow he beoerina entestin a Oymove Aso she ire Asti Payton en try herr ad onowes needy evonuteer anspor eeu Seng Geese she enon ne ges ‘ray ur ana soar sh sty Sfoanotstenge megan inthe Dressy wth oy ae ori ry the ue Ad sh onto tr ‘Sang farts ely re goour ‘henson termes ep F- ‘tong Doom Soom ean tes ERE nnnWomen wx sc. 8.¢) TRETunD on toner, FROM BOOK, s.1015 [1A some marta hgh oy Toate paca ay win ae, rite nancin As wot ‘tia as ‘hess con ScamancesRowiy sie Ar Pundits sh the ‘eesin sping he nar rn ea fetes rte “hoe cw ky sear erg Strona soem te reson suis Noemininre sat As soph ast hae the mach of he mas, ne tang he Not ane are sdb aban hoe nt\ng ot your St gus By namour ona ba boat ne Coan at hres ay hi ae, ‘aust a acd ow {he are wart wham Boe a ‘Weanoatacosp ate e ‘an io i nary i, Jodie amp py a Secnan al eh be somge Serene [ov osen rd Ocaes ow Sesiosnoes tot ge wrod Ete Coens: Straw rin char and From Paneoes cea the sine Vine Pre, bas Corie oo re lei Loti seo, ‘seni e Ota vlan Shtata dre nna oe ‘ncn sree Thue onaieh meso te Bsus ats oy be, recor on on na ed hte flealngth ince twp crested aan Chat monethee tg hehe {ites efor wre gt Ean ye ‘rotoweshsnarare tot bur oa aiTHE VISUAL LIST‘Awe have sid, even the Mons Lisa i portrayed agin the background of landscape that could abvioualy continue beyond the fame, but noone wonders about how fr the forest behind her ay cote, and ao one thinks thst Leonardo wished io suggest that it extended 0 infinity: Nonehelen, there are ober Figurative works ‘hae make tink thar what we te within defame i otal, burony an example of oality whose numbers hard to calculate, atleast as auch at Hones warriors were “Think of Panne ql ey ae not ince 0 epeesent secely what it showa but loth ext of the (indefinitely Large) Collection of which they ae only an example. Think of Bose» The ‘Garde of Bartel ie west sha che acvels ici at should conti eyo chelins of dhe picture. The same held fr Carpacros The Crcfinin andthe Glarfiaton ofthe Ten Thesend Mergen Maunt Ararat or Pontos Eleven Thowand Marrs Biden, the cid portrayed are nat ten thousand andthe erties re many more dn those shown, bt tis clear chat the paintings are intended to describe eres of ying bodies that continues beyond che boundaris ofthe canvas, andiscems af dhe pictures are inde co expres thie wm incapacty to aie them or, in eter words, show thers all. “The same ching happens with many pictorial epretenatons of bares and armies lined up all acordig tothe Homeric mode, corwith other during quotations of measures het‘THERE ARE LISTS AND LISTS. [hires bore we mn mat aninporan dni, and that isbecween “practical” or pragmatic” and “poetic its (ud by dhe later term we mean any artistic end fr which the lit ‘was propoed and whatever artform ised expres). The practical ican be exemplified by shopping is, the i of ens invited os party, bya brary catalogue, by the iventory of bjecsin anyplace (such as an office, an archive, ora museum), by the Lise fates will, by an invoice for goods reuiring payment, bya reseaucant een, bythe ist of sights eoee in a tour guide, and even by adietionary that ecordell the words inthe lexicon ofa given language “These lists ave thre characteristic: fret hey havea purely referential uncon, in other words they refer objets inthe ove ‘world and have the purely practical purpose of naming and iting ther Gf these objected exe dis ist woulda" make any seve oF ‘we would already bein the pretence of, we shale,» poetic is), Second since they record things that are reilly existent nd known, such ists ae nt, because dey are intended tli all the object t9 ‘which they referandnooherr-and tet bjt if they are physically present somewhere clearly havea defined munber Third they nay bealtered inthe ene thai would be unethical a well as pointes to nchad in museum atloguespintng thats not kept here,‘THERE ARE LISTS AND LISTS. 1 this rgard, however, we nut make an important dsintion, ad that i between Speacial™ or pragmatic” and “poetic” its {andy she ler erm we mean any artistic end for which the lie ‘was proposed and whatever artform is wed ro express)! The paca it can be exemplified bya shopping lis, che List of gusts nvited roa pry by ibrar catalogue, by de inventory of ‘objets in any plac (each sta office, an achive ora maseur), By thelist of asset in a wll by an invoice fr goods reqiring payment bya restaurant menu by thelist of sighs tose ina tourist guide, and even by s dictionary hat econ the words inthe lexicon ofa given language. "Thee lists have chee characteris fie ehey havea purely referential anc, nother word they refer to objes inthe ouside world and have the purely practical purpose of naming ad lining hen (if dese objects dia’ exis this ist woulda’t make any sens of ‘we would already bein the pretence of, re shall se, a oct i), Second since they record things thar are realy exten nd known, sch ie are finite, became they are intended to it al the objects to ‘whic they refer ad nooters-and these abject if they ar ysl prevent somewhere clearly havea defined mimber Third they may noe ‘ealtered ache eae tht it would be unethical a well pines ‘ince ina museum catlogue pining that not kept here Intheir own way practical lit represen form, beste they confer unity ona tof objects that, no matter how dissimilaramong themselves, comply witha contextual pres in other swords they are related for their being (or for being expected tobe found) all ia che same place ort const the goal of certain project. In this way an acceptable sete contitued by all the Books na certain ibrar, the gust is of party, ist of things to buy a the supermarket, and so on. practical ite never incongraots, provided we ean densify che criterion of assembly that governs Fe. There would be nothing incongrunds even about is tat po cogethera broom, an incomplete copy ofa biography of Galen, 2 Toeas preserved ia aleobol or (to quote Lautréamiont) a5, ‘umbrella and an anatomy table It would slice co etal that this was an inventory of objects relegated to the cellar of. medical schoo Belknap (cit p31 thinks ha “pragmatic” iss an be extended ‘olny (and in facea telephone directory cam become larger every ye, juseas we may make a shopping ist longer on oar way tthe hop), whereas she lee calls lira ae in ict closed ing tothe formal constraint ofthe work that oatsins chem (ete, rhyme, sonaet-form and sos) Ieacems oe tha the argument ‘amen be rarned on it head iso a praia lit designate series of things thar, when tel is drawa up are what they are and no more then such its are fst and he elephone directory of che following year esimsply a econ li that differ from the fr) ‘whereas, immaterial ofthe constraint involved i poetic ecniqus, omer could have extended his catalogue of ship to infinity and eekil cold hve added new aibues to che city of Tyre ‘fine model af che practicality even though side ia muse ad ‘verses that of Leporelloin Mozar's Dew Ciena. Don Giovani: Ins seduced great number o eouneywomen, maid, ladies ofthe ‘oven countess, baronewer, marchionses, princess, aud women ofall rank, shapes aad ages but Leporllo a preceebokeeper and his eatalogaeis mathemasclly complete: In Kly sx hundred and forey-in Germany two hundred and chirsy-one—one hundred in France, ninery-one in Turkey—but ia Spain there are already one thousand aad thee” That makes 2,05 al, ot one more and not, one et. f Don Giovanni were to seduce Donna Anaa or Zerlin the next day, then there would bea new li Itisabvious why people make practi snake poctic ones! Inpart, we have already explained thi because we cannot manage 1o enumerate something chat eis oar capacity for control aad Aenomination, and thie wold be the case with Homers catalogue Tins. Bur why do theyships. Now le’ trya mental expertaent: Homer was not interested in koowing and ling us who che aders ofthe Greeks realy were, Heike the bard who came before hi, was inventing “This would not make his i es referential excep orehe fe tha, incead of referring to objet the rea worl, would refer tothe bjs of his epi world. lernaively in inventing or ding those ames in the aanders of che mychologjeal raion, Homer might faye been enamoured ot by the far of his posible world bat by the sound of thse names In that atch would have moved from alist, concerned wih referees and with the rife toa lit concerned ‘vith sounds and phonic value; nother words, with iis “Think ofthe genealogy of Jeu atthe begining ofthe Gospel sccodingco Matthew. Weare free to donbe the historic exinence of ‘many of thoxe ancestors, but etainly Matthew (or someone ia his stead) wanted o introduce “eal” perso inthe world of his belie so thelist hd practical vale and referential function. Moviagon to the Ltanles of he Blessed Vipin, we find lit of properties, seuibutes, and ies in regard tothe Vega. Many are borrowed from pasage of Seriptare, others are taken rom tradition or popular devotion Cin thie regard we alk of pengric enumeration) “They must have beea rected ikea manta, much like he Buds! om man padieb.1docn't matter so mach whether the gis poten oc clemen in any ese, until the Second Vatican Cousil Tans were recited in Latin by ce faithful che majority of whom didnot snderstand that rogue). What matters is being seized by ‘he dizgying wound of heli, Just 3 inthe Lanes ofthe Saint, itis sotto auch which of che names are present or absent ati, ‘heir rhyme enunciation for a uficieatly log period of time.jomncla amaEXCHANGES BETWEEN LIST AND FORM. nasmuch aa lsecharacterizes a (even dsm) cris of objets belonging tothe same context or en fom the sine pine of view (or example, Jesus, Cesar, Cicero, Louis IX, Raymond Lally, Jeanne Ate, Gilles de Rais, Damions, Lineal, Hitler, Musas, enuody, and Saddam Hussein consi homogeneous whole if wwe consider them ax people who didnot dein their beds), confers (and hence shine of frm) co an otherwie disordered set “There are sbiler ways of transforming li ino form, the mort typi example being Arcimboldo, He ook the element froma pose legal the fries o egy in existence cr all hose Fepresened i the frm of lis rom many sl ies, an composed ther into an expected form ln that etan Baroque way af is he tell what you ean afl ps from isto fore The fren that cmergesis diferent, “deformed,” a combination of diverse that wold have been considered lic ou the plates ofa dinner able and seen incongruous in a human face, bu tht was Baroque poetics (the pers sim the wonder at Maino said). Four centuries later we ind certain Kinship with the pocice of pe-Surrelim: to quote Laviréamont again, ike th stable Berween a sewing ms‘THE RHETORIC OF ENUMERATION ine igi src encompa ric SS rcarSiatd ounce inpertat ‘bint a inexhaustible quasiies han to seribae properties 0 things in a tedundant manner, often fr pure lve of eration Tngeneral the various forms ofits would cons of accumulation, on in other words, the roquene and juxtaposition of lings terma belonging tothe stneconcepual phere. In his tess, sccumulatin sauna, which early appears in medieval literate. Thererms of che lt do not seem coherent because twat question of defining te poo cannot be named (according to Pseudo-Dionysus the Arcopagie) unless through dsimilar ages. Kener in che fit cent, God, which, by defncon, Ennodius was to sty that Crist isthe “ource, way, righ, rock, ony lighe-bearer, lamb—door, hope, vitae, word, wisdom, prophet ‘etn scion, shepherd mounts, nets, dove—flme, gat age, spouse, ptience, worm "and in the eleventh centary, Nosker the Stammerer said God was lat, sheep, caf serpent, rm, linn, ‘wornn-mouth word splendour, su, glory, light, image—bread, door rock, sd one and at hin Perr de Corbeil was odeserbe the Trinity a “divinity, teal ‘wey majesty lider, or superior compass pe, path~rone, monatain, rock, sore, river bridge and ile saviou,eeator, love, edeeme, sage, eteralighs... summit chaam, king ofhings, law of laws, avenge angeiclight hero, sun flame ilsos precious flower living dew..." As we have already seen with, the litanis of the Virgin, nich lise are also pempyric or comic. ‘Coherent farms of entation are thoe in Racine’ Pada 22 "Monae, mes jet, oa char, tout inportane”) and this prophetic isrby Calvin in The Man ra Macro (The Memes ofthe Weide contineda describe ite as ie would have evolved onthe tsmergd lands the cies with the foundations of stone that would have arien the roads travelled by camels and horses and dora cat, and Caravan he glad silver mins, andthe Forest of sandalwood and Malas andthe elephants and ce pyramids andthe towers and the dock, atid he ighting conductors and he eam he crane the if, he shyserapers, he Fexoon andthe gon nasonal ids, theligh fal colourson te fades ofthe theatre andthe cinemas that would be reflected bythe pearl necklace on gala evenings” Another form of accumlationishe cnr, a sequence of words or phrase that allonean che same thing, where th same thoughts ‘produced under different arpects. This corresponds othe principle of sree amplifcatio,exazples of which are meta (oe delay, persistence) and paaphraisitelé. By way of example les take the Fist oration against Caine “When, O Cate, wll you stop bosing our paience! For how mach longer wil this of yours tock tI chere no ito your unbridled suds? Are yo lee ‘nated by the nghty guard on the Palatine, by the patrol cat ple the city bythe fears of he peopl, nd al god zens who ‘ome runaingt help], bythe use ofthis well fried place forthe Senate's sembly or by the expresons onthe face of thon present? Do you aot realize hat our plans hae been unmasked?” Andon, Slightly diferent forms are the increment or climax or graderia Eventhough they il refer o che sme conceptual fl, a every snepthey ay something etre or with greater intents ee converse precedareisderimemin or atime). example ofthis an be Found in anocher oration against Catlin: “You can do nating, plot laandcammoraienothing, imagine nothing, cht noe only will waderead i, but ‘venif donot eit wil penetrate iin dept wil ene ‘Classical rhetoric le defines enumeration by anaphora and ‘eoumerationsby arden oc plymdeton. Anaphor ithe epson ofthe ame word atthe beginning of every phrase or inthe eat of pocty atthe Beginning of every verte This doesn always etablish 1 lis Gee for examplein Jacopone da To, where he simply ecerates ‘a invection: "0 son, 99, 0n,—Fn, loving yt—Son, who gee ‘counsel ay anguished here? Son, of merry eye #00, hy do you answer nott—Son, why do you hide—from the Brese that socked you in Liberte by Elard in "Poubley” by Wit Szymbors. Agneta typical malty of ist with no conjanctions 9, Sometimes instead ie x actualy ee star ofa it a6 linking the element of phrase se for example the clase opening, words of Orlande Furia “OF ladies, knight, arms loves, atog—of ‘courtesies and teld deeds The opposite of amd, bua nechaais allowing fo itll these, paodtn, whieh ca besea for ‘example in Milton's Paraire Lot (Il, 949-950), where he Bis vere seats with an agndetnfllowed by pobondeton that also dominates the second vers: *With hea, hands, wings, o et pursues his way / ‘And swims or sinks or wade, o reps oF Hes” ‘But ia traditonal shetoric hee io intersting definition of what strikes us asthe dizaying vorsciousnes of thei, expecially of fairly long, dvere in of differen shige (albeit rendered hoaogeaeous by a singe univers of diacoure, ich a drink ‘money found inthe Carmina Burana, creatures Laer, in hit shor pase fom Calvin's Phe Noreen Knight You mast sympathize: wear countcy gis. apar from religious tervices, tea, novenas, work inthe eld, theeshing, the vintage, the whipping of wervants incest fires, hanging invading amie, ack, rape, and pestilence, we have sen nothing”) or in he clasticaur ewuao Cont sat pike cons) ene roe Sheepmeeatves Saiebrce wage Saha ee as atone fear tels ery trent oes) Feteresootane {frter oer "tg sn ori \pttelsrctne ato |e Son wih wernoes a | teri oe serine we are ‘rer once "earn hme ern Eee eet mae eas mer raceLISTS OF MIRABILIA,Te seen that medieval encyclpaedis ls had exemely vague danfctoy criteria and represent simple lists of dxconneted information. In his Bbmaleier, dor of Seville considers the seven liberal arts, grammar hetorc, dialectics mi, arithmetic geomecy, astronomy, medicine, eclesisial law, beaks and offices, languages, people, and armies, words, ma, animals, che world, buildings, stones and mel, grculare, wars, games, the chests, ship, clothing, the home and domestic tasks, One wonders what der can underlie such a it, in which for example the part about snimale is divided into Beat, Small Anis, Soake, Worms, Fish, Binds and Small Winged Ani smongthe Fish, But in bidore's day bic education was divided alt, while he crocodile ie cli ico Trivium: and Quadevium, and in fact sidore devotes heist. books co these subjects, with the inclusion of medicine. The chapters that fellow, on eclesisntiel ws and offices, represen because he ‘rat alt writing forthe learned, jis, and monks. tmmediacely ‘ereafier comes another order this begins in Bok VIC with God the angel and the sins, beove saving onto man and the animal, wile in Rook XI he considers the world and its pars, winds, in Book X¥, we come fo inanimate but arching, ie. othe various ar, Although Iidoreuxcaposes two rte yuerettcaly, he doe not seuatabe at ruadost sndinche second pat he follows derening order of dignity, ftom God down domestic utenti Hence thet enyclopaedispresed (o ail looked foc) fora, lho because their organivation had 3 mem incon things in ven order help us to remember them by remembering the place they cupid inthe image of ee world. But this happened, ft happened, ony fo highly specialized readers. The others were probably; and ae sil fscinaed bythe it of mba pearing jn many Hellenic collections, auch athe De Mirai atebuted co detotle (of which the anthology gives ony 18 prodigies out of the 178 listed), by he lis of portent sad monstrous ings in Isidore of Seville’ Liber moro diver generis, in Mandevlle's Travel in Morbodus of Rennes’ lis of gems, ori Gervat of Tbury's Oz inperiala Among ater ching, the aushor mentions the magees, Agigenine alt, abeson, the Bgypian ig, he fis of Pentapoi, the stone tha fllows the ycleof the monn, the net of Nepes that cannot ro, the baths of Poszuoi th upside-down bein the ges of hell the Holy Face of Edessa, the combat of betes, hor sands, the windows at which ladies appar, water that never bis, sill, Aolphins, mermaids, the fo, the equnocephali, Bearded women, the phoenix men with eight fet, accra arc, he crows gg in he Mors nest, and birds born of ree, “The list of mirabilaakes ona portly pote function in modern thors who use ancien information knowing that heist refer to nothing exten and are pure catalogues ofthe imagination, enjoyablesolely because they ae case of fla ei And, in is Book of Imaginary Beng, Borges ive pygmnies, dragons, btu ad An the elephant tha foretold the birth of Budd, elves, ap, the banshee, Haokab, god of thunder, gnome, Lith, the Chinee for, ‘Youwarke, the Cheshire eat and ee Kilkenny cts nymphs, the double, Fasizocaén, the angel ad demons of Swedeabor, the Lasned ‘Wathiks, brownies, Valkyries, the Noms, the demons of Hebraixm, Hochigan, the Bai snd the Merlocks, roll ures ais, lems, ‘he uate, sty the heavenly cockere, the rain ied and soon 3 sanssronuecn can cent. 20) [AUSCULTATIONIBUS", CHAPTERS 7-20 spabseaern tera at, eatin Gyn ac Up thy esau het ty Sly cet geen et whe SophiaCOLLECTIONS AND TREASURES objects that exist ina predetermined place, and, a iy finite But how should we cousider a museum peWhat's more, sve for highly pecibied casey, clleeions always ‘eege on the incongruous space ravelernawae of our concep fat would wonder whi the Louveecontaias tiles ia commen tse such as vases, plates, Or sl llr, com of ges suchas the Venus de Milo, representation of landicapes, peri of normal people, grave goods and mummies, portals of monsrous creatures, ‘bjs oF worship, image of aman beings suffering torture, accounts oft, nodes aleolate to arout esa teraction and even archacologial finds, ‘We don't even ned to angie a ristor fom space. 13923 Pa {iléry expressed his irrieation with maeums do’ ike musenms muck. There are some admirable ones, but none i dlighl. The ideas of clasication, of conservation and public uli, which are correct and clear have itl odo with deli [1 nd nye in 2 tumult of frozen creature, cach af which demands, without ‘brining it the inexintence ofall he ober] Astrange organized Aisorder spread ont before me am seized by ably dread. My git ‘becomes religious My voice changes, becoming ite higher as if Tree in cure, buclower dha isin ie Soon Tno longer know ‘what I eame odoin his waxen solide redolent of the temple and the salon, the cemetery and schoo [.] What an effort tll myself ‘vat babar! All hiss inhuman. Its nor pure. This onset of Independens and nical marvel and the more inimical she more they sesemble one another, paradox [.]-The ear would not bea ten occestras playing at once The spirit cannot fllow many Alisinc operation, there ate no smulaneons argamenrs, But hert the ee as soon a it pevsives, finds ite obliged to adie | | portrait ad sestape, kitchen aed triumph, characters the Inos diverse pots and conditions od nous his, it mus also | trabrace inthe same glance harmonics and ways of panting that | tude comparison with one another [..]preductions that devour one i | i Another [J But ur heritage crather ws. Modern man, exhausted bythe enormousners his technial mean, is impoverished by she ‘ery excess of his own ices] An exeesive capital and therefore sles one”echap Valery was in abad mood tht das given tha outeen ers ater he wat to write forthe figae of the Fass de Challe beter jamais ance nes ~ tate cre ui ot au monde), Ba, fa the ci senemmen aonb: ~ nro Pl regeder~ cme traditional seus i concerted, he certainly grarped three harateities (ities ilen, dark, uniendly ambience, (iD ‘where the ek of context for sng works made hard wo perceive ther individually oe memorize them al and (i) is roraioutnese was opprsiv. Today developenents nn naar hat Vly fir wo objec uv oggnizaion have eno lager apply: museums have become bright, say, fad, welcoming, andthe dieribuion ofthe rooms almost always favours the relationship between the ‘work adits conte But we ar slew the problem of dhe hind ‘aracteraiin fcr people ist uscumspreciely becaure uch institions are voracious by defisivon. This is becaute hey spring from private collections, and private collections sping fom pin, the pols of wa. Pliny (Nat is 1-14) sae “TewasPompey's ‘etry that created the fio for peal and gms thot of Scipio and Malas rated she fa for tooled silverware, Atal clothe and ‘tclnia adorned with bronze; anda tha of Lucas Memes ‘created the fahion for Corinthian vases and pings” From chit bor Cor if you prefer the right of conquest) sprang the accumulation of important objets, and a pride in inereaing shat accualaton According to Kryeatof Pomian heres inl fr people collected religiously, and in private places, grave- goods (we need ‘aly think ofthe treasures buted with he pharsob), o gilts ‘received rom the temple, colleton very soon rrned ro objet that he calls semiphoria" In other words, hing—often over nd above thei sling value—tha were ign, witness o xomeching es, 0 the past they come from, roan exoric word of which they are the ‘only documents, the ive world. ‘hile we know ie of che collection ofthe Roman pasicins ‘weave more information about the medieval efor secumsltion Tn the Sirensaries” ofthe period we ind eli, precious ones,curious, surprising, marvellous and unexpected items, Many of these treasures have aow disappeared or have been dispestd, such sethe Ducde Berry's renowned collection or tat of the Abbey of Saine Deis whose abbot the rvelth century was the gree Sugen a refined collecr, devote of gems, peal iores, golden candeabr, Ihsrriated alerpeces, anda man who had mades sor of eligon anda mystico-pilesophical cheory ou of the cllction of precios objects. The beat of Suge ealecson ws dpered daring the French Revolution, and the abor-bithops famed chalice is now in Lona, Mose of the surviving prt isin the Louve, The most venerated marvels of che medieval ereaturie were the relies. The cal of relict eno jst Chitin phenomenon, ad Pliny resus of elie that were dea othe Greco-Roman word: Orpheus! lyre, Helens sandal or dhe bones ofthe monster that tacked Andromeda. The pretence ofa rele wasa boon fora cty ora church inthe Middle Ages, because it was no just sacred object bur alo a valuable rouriat triton aS. View Cathedral in Prague, yon can find he crainans of Se. Adalbere and St. Wenceslas, St Stephen's sword Fragen ofthe oss the table lah used forthe Las Supper, ne of Se. Margae's teeh, a ragmen of Se Vitali! shinbone, one ofS Sophias ribs, ‘St Bebaa’s chin, Mors rod the Virgin's dre The catalogue of ce ake de Berry's fabulous collection including St. Jouph's engagement ng is now dispersed, but in Vienna you can il admire apiece of| the mangerin Bethlehem, St. Stephen’ ure, the spar that struc Jesus inthe side (pins nail rom the Cros), Charlemagne’ sword, ‘one of on the Bap’ tect, one of Se. Anne's arm bone the chains ofthe apotles, x piece of fbn the Bapi' robes, and anor piece oF the rbleloth wed forthe Last Supper. No should we Forge che larynxcof St, Charles Brromnea tobe found in the tresry ofthe Milan Ciehedral. Indeed, on consulting that atheras inventory (Ctwventarie de parame dle oupeleili sacre del Dam diDilan) we realize dat~apar from splendid ein, ass, iove, ‘snd gold the various series hold some thors from the Crown ‘of Thorns, a piece ofthe Cross, various it and piece of Se. Agnes, Se. Aguha, Se Catherine, Se. Praseder and ofthe Saints Simpliianss Cains, and Gerontive. The fact ith even an uabeliver cannot eit the finaion ‘feo portents Firs of ll the bjet tel hove anonym, yellowing peseofeartage, mystcally repugnant, pahecc and mysterious; the scrap of clothing, from goodness kuows what period, faded, dacoloured, threadbare, omen rolled up in a phil ike some srange mesage ina bole, material ha isofen ‘ruubling sway to lend in with the fabric and the metal o the tone they Hein. And then the containers often incredibly precious, seted by a pion bricsleur who uted bit of cher relic ia the form of tower i athedals with pinnacles and capo at to mention certain Baroque lice (he finest cam be found in Vienna, which area fret of tiny sculprues, nd lock ike clock, music boxes, or maj bexes, Sore will rend loves of smodera art of Joop Cornel’ sure boxes, Amat’ eabinesfal of game and watches, o thos of Damien Hirall elquaricy, bat they reveal the same tate or worn out, dusty tuatril orn any cat, fora kindof mad accumulation The ancient chronicles ay chat in the ewelth century a German cathedral held the sll of fbn che Bape at age wel. Even without ‘ver having teen i, we can imagine rhe pinkish treks gine he eyish background he arabesque of crumbling, cosoded cranial, seams the dnlay caine tha contains adorned with blue enamel like the altar of Verdun and the lle cushion in yellowing silk covered wh ihe rots, deprived fr ar we thous yeas romebilined ina vacuum, before the Baptist grew up andthe headuma’sswoed took that other older cranium, which snow kein the caurch of San Silvenro in Capite in Romie eventhough a previous tradition ‘would have ns belicv it was in Amicus Cachedrl) In any even, he skull prin Rome would be without its jawbone sid tobe conserved in the Cathedeal of Saint Lawrence in Viterbo. The plate dha held he Bapi's ead isin Geos, nthe resury ofthe Cathedral of Sane Lawrence rogether with the inches but a part of these ashes arealao kept inthe ancient Church of the Benedictine Monastery ia Loan, while a figer apparently in the Museo dell pera inte Florence Cathedral, an arm in the Siena Cathedral, OF the eth, one isin the Ragusa Cathedral and another, cogether with lock of hie iu Monza “The search fr precious tone ad heir divers ypesisone of the favourite amusement of treasury enthusiast, beens its not oly mae of recognizing diamonds or ubiesoremersls bit alo she stones abeays measionedin the sacred texts, sac opal, caraophrse, beryl agate, joes, and sardonpss generally pes the god tone frm the fake ones il ince Mila teesury thee a are silver wave of St Charles Bocrome, froma the arose period and, since the patos or donors thought silver wae sill:o0 cheap a ater the statu bears pectoral cross ha isa alice wih gems According to che catalog, sme are gene, others are merely coloured cept, But our coos regarding mere commodivies Should wot distract us from the enjoyment fle by she orginal collectors, who sought ro achieve an overall eet of parking, sumpesous welt ‘The same taste forthe accumulation of gems, here the plensure taken inthe precious materia iindiinguishable from the astete pleasure taken inthe frm given iti found in modern decadent ‘whom Wilde authors such s Huyamans snd Wilde, where the forme imieaced fairly shamelenly, made no secret ofthe medieval origin of histones,eS) is >Soa He apenesthe waa at tie shih meta ck mee cons thee rence Bac intetrn be speeoof does eer the en oor ee tt ‘eon sae ange 5b) cence tem aa movements tt nce tach he der ope ton Plo etme Des anerten oper roa mer Srrenone nomadnon ocene ert {Sinema bry csc fr nae tranest ard whey um rate ‘tthe scan sarge! woes ‘Shae mouoy mao te ae ‘ers coud iy ur pt rans pera a a tra wy {feito ond geri ch aedenoh i ieotycumintatng ep topcase spk te minor Sermotesn conc eee ‘ae pnts onc same re retest ellonng he coos “Soporte ending trai Na ter reste ret compoen ‘Se tnas fig tn hare Stat you mr pst nett scan on rae ots ayo Bosorom by soaowne atte gaze! oun won an oscar woe ‘The PICTURE OF CORIAN GRAY PROM CHAPTER XI 090) prot Tne ard nso ie auonn serdar oy Theetvereen cnet ae 2 ‘oscar wn aio aces rues Siaecea a ‘neon pny nes the eee? oof tery ob Reo ore ott ots h Notaros Cercle {Srnten epee anger each Provoke, ee sat ove ‘ona sneha dope te (Wrtcecons tines enter fected ay tne odes Lonard Cars a pe y “rokngsf cols rode teas icy that omen mit bra poset Over Atopsio mer "two aden apn nner (teins cate sia ow pty ‘roby dy ante concer by mg {arbres pea foe ee {eng eins anaassiinoneet one Paar (Some ss cap cob rast root a est ine SeTHE WUNDERKAMMER Angier facings an ci From the Renaissance onward marvel were ma longer those ‘rom dasane ands (ohich gradually, a ett fom heen of the 15° century, were no longer the ruff of legend but reality), uriostes forthe ri of sins, but che wonder ofthe man body ad is reese ha ad ben sere ws then. Within the framework of this secularand scien standing, change came owe regarding the ae for pores, Firs they had been seas premeritory signs frome exraordinary cvent—ad in this sense te Pradigiram a sstentor chron of Conrad Lyconthenes (1957) sil renowned ‘ample. Bur now people began ose them a object of ceifie ‘aria alent pre-aceaic culty Now ther alk ofp ‘ven hongh the concept of pyc" itl barre, and Pres ron swatches ofthe menuneatl work (one thou sx undeed pager with dozene and dozens of engraving) bythe Jnsit Caspar Scliot (1862), hich ontsne a dscipion of al the psa ‘monstrosities known athe ime. The tex eal ony oeaionlly with exorc animal ike elephanes and giraffe bats more inerested in eaks of nur and certain creaures that che sailors or travellers ‘who sa them froma distance (and who superimposed upon them ‘memorie of ale shou legendary monkers) ound to monsters, ofthe bescaree. Aa esl, normal dgongy wer taken or mermaids ‘Among the any books on hi sbjet we might mention Der momtreset prodige by Bmbroiae Park (571), the Hiram anal by Conrad Geter (591-158), the Monro bse by Ulise Aldovandi (1642), the Hira matali Jo Jonson (1653),‘and Demonsrsby Fortunato Licet (1665). While they indulged in the repretentaton of monsters these authors madea Fundamental ‘contribution tothe development ofthe biological sciences, “There books, rinming wit llstatons are repertorie or Lt of extraordinary things. Ther equivalent, in the world of objec, ‘were the tadeanmers, o wonder abet, a exits of curiosities the forerunners of our natural cence museums, where some tried to systematically elle al the things that ough tbe ‘known, while others collered things chat seemed extraoninary ‘unheard of including bizare objets or amazing tems such a2 stuffed crocodile, which way hung fom keystone dominatiog, ‘the entire room Tn macy of thee cllcions, sch asthe one put. together by Peter the Great in Se Petersburg, monstrous foeises, sere carefully preserved in spirits, che waxwork inthe Museo della Specoain Florence area collecion of anatomical marvel, hyper- alte maserpines of bodies viscerated and lid bare, ina tytphony of eves ranging from pak o dark redand thence down (othebrowns of incies livers, lange, stomachs and pee ‘Mot of chat which remain ofthe Wanderkammern ae pictorial representations or etchings in their catalogue. Sometine they were made up of hundred of day selves holding tone sel che skeletons of eurious animal and sometimes maerpices ofthe eaxidermin’s arecapable of producing non-existent animals, Ober tn hey are ‘cupboards, ike miniazre museums fll of compartments contig, items tht, emoved from their orginal contex, ee cel enelss orincongruous tories From ilutrated exalogues such ache Muro Coleberimion by de Sepibus (1578) andthe acum Kircher by Bona (1709) ‘we lea that in che collection put ogtherby Kiccer inthe Calle Romano there were ancien satus, pogan elt objets cole, Chinese idol votive tables, wo tablets showing the ily incarnations ‘of Brahma, Roman tomb inscigionsy anes, ings, seas, buckles aril, ight bls stones and esis with ange images produced bpnarure engraved on thei surface exo objects x wri bila ‘allen, containing the bles of Brazilian native adorned with che tech of devoured veins, exotic hinds and other safe animals,Sook from Malar made of palm leaves, Turkish atefiss, Chinese stale tartasian weapons, dan fit he at ofa Egan mam, Feces fom forty days to seven oaths, skeletons of eagles, hopes, magic truss Beavilian monkeys, casand mice, moles, porcupine frog, chameleons, sharks aswell as marine plans, 2 el’ toot, 2 «roodile an armadillo, a arn, hipa's hed a rhinoceros, hotn, monstrous dog nave preserved in a alm acon, giant’ bones, msi ane matherstical instrament, experimental Droiccison perpen motion, suzomatone and ater device along de Tnesof the machines ade by Archimedes and Heron of Alexandss, cochleasan octagonal eatoprie device that enlpied alle noel ‘ephant so tha Sit retores the image of «herd of elephants that ‘ered to have bee caleted rom al of Asa and aca, yale machines telescopes and microscopes with nirencopic observations ofinsets globes arilary sper, strobes, planispers, sla, Ihydeule, mechanial nd magne clocks, eases, hourglass, ineruments for meaning iemperaure ad huni various latings and inages of mouaaious precpcs, winding channels in ‘alleys, wooded labyrinth, foaming wares, whirlpools, il, schtecral peeves uns ance monuments bay, meses, ‘uel eiamphs, palaces, biblel meri, and Fig of god, Ini lanai eclectic the Wanderkammer was intended sybliresdream of etal siete knowledge wtopalyporeayed by France con in his New deni excepe that his howe of marvels ‘wat nota collecton of zara finds bce ofthe pod by whic human ingenuity bad ae hse ubjogaed and modified nace