Thesis (doctoral)--Georg-August-Universität, Göttingen. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. [7]).

Thesis (doctoral)--Georg-August-Universität, Göttingen. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. [7]).

This study offers a reinterpretation of the direct tradition of medieval Platonism on the basis of new evidence from the Meno and the Phaedo translated into Latin by Henry Aristippus between 1154 and 1160. In particular, it provides an edition of interlinear and marginal annotations and glosses of the Meno and the Phaedo: the manuscript tradition is particularly useful for understanding which aspects of these two Platonic dialogues were particularly studied during the Middle Ages, as it preserves the considerations of various readers on Platonic philosophy. In the most fortunate cases, it is precisely the manuscript tradition that offers new perspectives that can be used to redesign the networks of reception of the two Platonic texts examined in this study in the centuries following their translation, with particular reference to the 13th and 14th centuries. The research was carried out on unpublished material and manuscript testimonies, with the help of two strategies. First, the medieval sources were submetted to a doxographic analysis, through a bottom-up approach consisting in the identification of the terms ‘Plato’, ‘Meno’, ‘Phaedo’ (or ‘Fedrone’ according to medieval usage). This allowed to understand in which contexts and in relation to which themes the references to the three terms appeared and to provide a list of authors who, between the 13th and the 14th century, had the opportunity to read the Meno and/or the Phaedo in Henry Aristippus’ translation. The second strategy, which we could perhaps describe as ‘inside-out’, was applied in the editing phase of the interlinear and marginal annotations and glosses of the two translations. As an especially important paratextual element, the ‘marginal’ writing proves to be particularly useful for deriving the constituent elements of the two dialogues (inside) that were commented, re-written, re-elaborated and interpreted in the margins of the two texts (outside). By employing both strategies, it is possible to reveal the core concepts of Platonic philosophy that, to a greater or lesser extent, caught the attention of medieval readers of the Latin Meno and the Phaedo.

Ce travail traite de la pensée du plaisir à la fin de la Renaissance et particulièrement dans les Essais de Montaigne, au regard des philosophies hédonistes antiques, cyrénaïsme et épicurisme. Au XVIe siècle, la multiplication des éditions, traductions et commentaires des textes de philosophie ancienne et des recueils doxographiques met au jour les questions éthiques que se posent les auteurs grecs et latins sur la nature et la valeur du plaisir. Nous nous interrogeons sur les liens problématiques entre plaisir et morale à cette époque, marquée par les guerres de religion et la Contre-Réforme ; nous nous demandons de quelle nature et de quelle teneur sont les discours sur le plaisir dans cette période de pénitence. Les traités de civilité prescrivent les plaisirs convenant au gentilhomme, tels les plaisirs de la conversation, de la lecture, du jeu ; ces activités plaisantes et l’agrément qu’elles procurent paraissent nécessaires au développement du gentilhomme. Mais l’expression et la représentation des plaisirs voluptueux est beaucoup plus problématique, comme la référence aux hédonistes antiques, communément représentés comme des impies débauchés. Contrairement à la pensée commune qui déforme souvent les propos et les vies des théoriciens du plaisir, Montaigne se distingue en interrogeant le rapport du plaisir à la morale et en examinant l’expérience du plaisir comme une expérience de soi. L’abondance et la fréquence des citations et références aux hédonistes antiques dans les Essais témoignent certes de leur influence, mais surtout de leur rôle de matériau dans une réflexion critique sur le plaisir. / This work deals with the reflection about pleasure in late French Renaissance, especially in Montaigne’s Essais, considering the ancient Hedonistic schools of philosophy, i.e Cyrenaics and Epicureanism. In the sixteenth century, the increase in numbers of editions, translations and commentaries on texts of ancient philosophy and doxographic collections brings to light the questions of ethics raised by the ancient Greek and Latin writers about the nature and the value of pleasure. We shall explore the problematic links between pleasure and morals at the time of religious wars and Counter Reformation. We shall question the nature and the content of the discourses on pleasure in that period of penitence. Treatises on civility prescribe the pleasures suitable to the gentleman, such as conversation, reading and game. These pleasant activities and the enjoyment they impart seem to be necessary in the making of the gentleman. However, the expression and the representation of voluptuous pleasures is much more problematic, as is shown for instance by the references to the ancient Hedonist philosophers, generally portrayed as impious profligates. In contrast with the common view, often distorting the discourses and the lives of the theorists of pleasure, Montaigne distinguishes himself by questioning the link of pleasure in relation to morals and examining the experience of pleasure as an experience of the self. The numerous and frequent quotations and mentions of ancient Hedonist philosophers in Montaigne’s Essais, testify to their influence but, above all, to their role as material in a critical reflection about pleasure.