The genre system of ascetic writing and its features in Syrian literature

A too straightforward understanding of the fundamental principle in medieval writing to strictly follow established literary rules leaves open the question of what in this case allowed the appearance of authors whose works are distinguished by a bright individual style. One of the steps in solving this problem could be an analysis of genre transformations in ascetic writing using the example of the work of St. Isaac the Syrian. The main task is not only to trace how he followed the reader’s expectations, i.e., the aesthetic norms customary for his time, but also, more importantly, how and why he violated them. The description of the genre system involves, firstly, determining the relationship and interaction of genres relevant for the period under study, and secondly, identifying the reasons that allowed each of the literary forms to take its place and determined its function and meaning. The synchronic cross-section serves as a prerequisite for identifying both constant and undergoing transformation elements of the genre structure in a diachronic perspective. In the case of ascetic literature, the problems of both synchrony and diachrony are complicated by the fact that the relationship between the genre systems of the Greek and Syriac traditions cannot be ignored. First, we must decide which works and on what grounds we will classify as ascetic writing. Typically, when studying the history of monasticism, three types of texts are attracted. Firstly, monastic rules, secondly, hagiographic texts and, thirdly, writings containing exhortations to spiritual life, its justification and guidance. Without a doubt, all of them are important for recreating the circumstances in which monastic life took place, the formation and consolidation of its forms took place, but they can hardly be considered as a typologically integral literary complex. The point is not only the difference in the genres represented in these three groups, the fundamental difference is in the dominant function characteristic of each of them. Monastic rules are the most pragmatic; their main task is to regulate life inside the monastery and norms of behavior outside its walls, including relations with non-believers and heretics. Based on the type of text, they are classified as legislative documents. They were written to prevent and resolve specific conflict and controversial situations; their task is not to convince, but to prescribe, prohibit and impose punishment for wrongdoing. This is precisely where their fundamental substantive limitations lie: they can only verify the external behavior of the monks, but they cannot help the monk either determine or evaluate his internal state, or resolve his internal conflicts. Hagiographic texts 1 – group, on the contrary, are necessary and maximally open to artistic treatment. The originality of their genre principles has long served as a stumbling block in their study and evaluation by scientists. These monuments are very different in their literary merits and historical authenticity, but their main task always remains the proclamation of the foundations of faith and forms of piety in the convincing images shown in them. The best proof of truth here is not the impeccability of the conclusion, but the immutability of miracles. The specificity of poetics allows lives to be a source of visual examples, which, as you know, captivate, but, like the rules, they do not contain advice that can be used on the path of conscious internal improvement. The genre system sought for ascetic literature will be determined by the works of the last block. It is diverse in its composition, but all the texts included in it are designed to reflect a single and integral worldview, that is, they complement each other. First, it is necessary to identify the main genres of texts included in this group, their typical features, as well as their interdependence and interdependence with each other. Then trace how they reflected the principles of medieval poetics in particular and medieval culture in general. Finally, to find the reason for the authors’ choice of these particular genres for works of ascetic content in their contemporary practice of monastic life. Based on the analysis of the purpose of writing the essay, its addressee and the methods of constructing the text 2, we can talk about four genres in ascetic writing: Chapters, Questions, Answers, Messages and Teachings. This does not in any way negate their variable diversity in terms of topic (for example, essays in the genre of chapters can have the titles “Chapters on...”, “Exhortations”, “Instructions” and be devoted to both speculative and practical issues), in the way of addressing the addressee (message, personal conversation with an individual monk or a whole group, reflection on a topic), in the starting point for reasoning (a question of a fictitious or real interlocutor, saying from Holy Scripture, quotation from the revered father of the Church). In addition, the identification of these genres does not mean at all that they are found only in monastic literature: with no less frequency they are in demand, for example, when presenting dogmatic issues. It is perhaps more convenient to start with Chapters. This genre is genetically connected with the ancient scientific aphorism, which was intended for a thesis-systematic presentation of a certain amount of empirical knowledge (“Aphorisms of Hippocrates”). It was adopted by monastic writing from the very beginning of its emergence 3 and served as a form of written recording of not scientific, but spiritual experience. The peculiarity of texts of this type is not just laconicism, but extremely informative brevity (less than necessary is said). The acute sensation of the gaping semantic voids not filled by words gives rise to a situation of obligatory individual “speculation”, a special nature of the relationship between the text and the reader, when the latter necessarily becomes the interpreter of each statement. This is probably what St. Petersburg is talking about. Maximus the Confessor in the prologue to his “Chapters on Love”: “...I have reduced the lengthy arguments into a few short chapters so that they are easily visible and better remembered... I think that not everything is understandable for everyone, but many things will require additional research from many” 4 . Moreover, if the reader is outside the tradition that gave rise to the text, most of its meaning is hidden from him, which is also the task of the author. For example, Abba Evagrius in the prologue to “The Monk” 5 warns that he will not tell everything “... what we saw and heard from [the elders], but what, according to their teaching, we can tell others, we hid something, and spoke about something in secret, so as not to give what is sacred to dogs and not to throw pearls before swine 6 . But this will be clear to those who follow in the footsteps of the elders” 7. When discussing the Chapters, it is interesting to recall the two forms of communication proposed by semiotics, which are based on the linguistic model of R. Jacobson 8 and take into account the sender and addressee of the message: “I - he”, “I - I”. Recognizing the apparent paradox of the need to convey a message to oneself, that is, to someone who already knows it, Yu. M. Lotman draws attention to the fact that this case is not so rare and plays an important role in the cultural system 9. Cultures based on autocommunication develop greater spiritual activity in a person, while cultures based on the transfer of information are more dynamic and provide a rapid increase in knowledge, but lead to the passivity of their adherents 10 . Over time, the works that continued to bear the title “Chapters” lost an important and necessary feature of this genre - brevity. They no longer pointed to a phenomenon or concept, naming only its essential features, but presented the problem in the form of reasoning, which fundamentally changed the function of the text. The task became not to remind, but to give a paradigm of the correct vision, attitude and solution to the problem. This does not mean that aphorism and polysemy have completely disappeared from monastic literature. Perhaps Chapters have become less popular and in demand as a separate genre, but they have been preserved as a type of statement and have occupied an important place, first of all, in teachings. Next we'll look at Questions and Answers. Their main external feature is the special construction of the text, which gave the genre its name. For a brief question, sometimes a quote from St. Scripture or the writings of the Father of the Church, there follows a corresponding answer, usually a lengthy one or an interpretation. Within this genre we can talk about two types of text. The first is set by the unquestioning authority of the person being asked and the confidence that he knows the correct answer. The person asking the questions practically does not participate in the development of the topic, since dialogue on equal terms is not expected. The given interpretations and solutions do not require any adjustments or clarifications on the part of the listeners. And although there may be clarifying questions within the block, and sometimes even expressions of bewilderment, misunderstanding or disagreement, all this only serves to make it easier to move on to certain points that require additional clarification. This is the simplest form of the genre under discussion. The texts belonging to it usually do not raise doubts about the unity of the author's intention, the questions most often correspond to the character of the one asking them, and the content of the answer is a direct response to them. Most of the Questions and Answers of the Rev. belong to this type. Isaac the Syrian. The essays of St. Petersburg help to visualize the difference between the second type of Questions and Answers. Maximus the Confessor. These include: “A Sermon on the Ascetic Life”, “On Various Difficult Passages in Saints Dionysius and Gregory” 11 and “Questions to Thalassius”. Despite the fact that they all belong to the same genre, they are fundamentally different from each other in structure and principles of text organization. “The Word on the Ascetic Life” belongs to the first type just discussed, the simplest for realizing the author’s intention. This is a conversation between an elder and a brother who came to him for guidance and teaching. The brother poses exactly those questions that are needed for correct progression in revealing the topic, and the elder’s words sound appropriately weighty and authoritative. But this is an early work by St. Maximus the Confessor. Later he would never write like that. In the next work of this genre - “On various difficult passages in Saints Dionysius and Gregory” - the way the question is posed changes 12. It is no longer a student who comes to a wise mentor for instruction, but a quote from a recognized Father of the Church awaiting its interpretation. Thanks to this, the one who begins exegesis, although according to the laws of the genre retains the leading role of the narrator, finds himself in the position of a person who is trying to reach out to the wisdom of the teacher and is clearly aware of his apprenticeship. The intonation of reflection takes the place of the instructive tone. Finally, having found a tonality consonant with himself, St. In his last work, “Questions to Thalassius,” Maxim begins to interpret St. Scriptures. Mention of the “Word on the Ascetic Life” by St. Maxim in the prologue to his “Chapters on Love” makes you think about the possible connection between Chapters and Questions and Answers. The question arises whether the fact that the monk sends these two texts of different genres together to his addressee named Elpidius together can be considered accidental, whether their connection is due only to the theme of love, which is the main one in both works, or whether there are other reasons for this and what can cause the interdependence of two seemingly dissimilar genres. The basis for such interaction could be one of the main monastic activities - “teaching in the law of the Lord.” There are two opinions among researchers about the nature of this exercise. Some believe that we are talking about the most attentive and concentrated reading of the Holy Scriptures. Scripture as a special type of prayer, from which the practice of mental prayer is believed to have later developed. Others talk not just about reading, but about thinking about the meaning of what they read. Although such an exercise turns out to be akin not to prayer, but to exegetical tradition, we must not forget that the main task of exegesis was to raise the mind to heavenly objects. It seems that these two views do not exclude, but complement each other, but when searching for an answer to our question, the second view turns out to be important. In addition, it must be remembered that in the monastic tradition the range of books intended for reading and reflection is not limited to the biblical canon, but also includes the writings of the revered Fathers of the Church. Chapters and Questions turn out to be two sides of the same coin. The chapters provide an impetus for thought, their main task is to remind the reader of what he himself knows, and the reader’s reaction is, accordingly, not to extract and assimilate something new, but to remember what is outside the message, but presupposes the presence of a certain text as a necessary condition for its actualization. The question answers give examples of techniques and tactics of behavior when extracting meaning from quotes, which in the overwhelming majority, if collected together, taking away the interpretations to them, could form a book of Chapters. The Messages will be considered next. It should be noted that we will not classify as ascetic literature the appeals of hierarchs or respected church leaders to the communities of specific monasteries 13 . These documents are of an official nature and are more important for the external history of monasticism than for understanding the principles of spiritual life. But even with this exception, the question remains open as to how legitimate it is to consider the texts of the Epistles as literary. All of them are written on specific, sometimes the most everyday, occasions, addressed to specific people, and they always offer a completely specific solution on how and what needs to be done. This partly makes them similar to monastic rules. The fundamental difference is that they do not simply prescribe a general norm of external behavior that is binding on everyone, but provide personal advice. In addition, the choice of a mode of behavior is necessarily accompanied by a description of the mode of internal perception of the performer and, finally, a justification is given for the importance and necessity of the proposed choice for the spiritual benefit of the addressee. The last two characteristics give the texts, individual according to the circumstances of their appearance, a general character and make them relevant for every new reader. Yes, St. Theophan the Recluse in his “Philokalia” gives a selection of excerpts from the “Guide to Spiritual Life in Answers to the Questions of Disciples” by St. Barsanuphius the Great and John 14, while he often omits the question, and from the answer selects only those parts that remain intelligible even without knowing who and why they were written 15. If the Messages are included in a collection, they are usually grouped by addressee. This allows you to see to whom letters are, from the point of view of the compiler, of particular value. In addition, a selection of correspondence with the same person clarifies not only the nature of his problems, but very often his own character. Thus, the Epistles combine two possibilities in a unique way. On the one hand, they allow one to draw wisdom that does not depend on time and place, and on the other hand, they serve as living evidence of their era and offer vivid portraits of the participants in the correspondence who lived at a certain time and in certain conditions. Sometimes the same topic is discussed by one author in Epistles to different people. And depending on their level of maturity, different aspects of it come to the fore. For example, the theme of solitude in St. Isaac the Syrian. On one occasion, he refuses the request of his brother, who invites him to visit him, 16 and speaks of silence as a way to gain inner composure. He managed to teach a lesson not only to the overly hospitable monk, how and why one should protect oneself from external distraction, but also to any reader, how not to offend anyone with his refusal. In both cases, an unsightly image of the spiritual weakness of the writer himself, “reeking of ulcers” and in need of “plasters and bandages,” comes to the rescue, which allows him to ask his brother for leniency and at the same time give clear instructions about the benefits of solitude. The other brother, according to St. Isaac, has reached the stage where he can devote himself to silence, so he writes him a detailed letter 17. The entire text is framed as an anthology of sayings of the elders. Since none of them is named, it can be assumed that this reception manifested the desire of the saint. Isaac to maintain his author's incognito. Another brother needed not an explanation of the meaning of silence, but a justification for the legality of not leaving him even under the pretext of helping his brother 18 . Rev. Him Isaac already shows the other side of this feat. At a certain stage of spiritual growth, an almost demonstrative distance from people becomes necessary, although at first glance this contradicts the commandment to love one’s neighbor. St. Isaac substantiates his statement by the behavior of famous ascetics. The paradoxicality of the words of Christ spoken by St. Arseny: “Run people and you will be saved!” - is removed by the understanding that love for God can only be acquired through silence, but it is precisely this that will become the key to love for people. It's time to move on to the last genre - Teaching. It is not addressed to a specific person, although its addressee still has a certain set of qualities. At a minimum, he should feel the need for this kind of reading and, at a maximum, perceive the behavioral paradigm given in the text as an ideal role model. He must strive for its embodiment both in external behavior and in control over internal movements, and in the ability to assess what is happening to him in order to achieve maximum spiritual benefit. Thus, explanation and convincing clarity become the main functions of the text. One could, if we are not afraid of a tautological oxymoron, call the genre of teaching multi-genre. The text is constructed as a contamination of passages belonging to different genres. The same form that the author prefers sets the character and determines the features of his work. But at the same time, seemingly established genres, once in a new context, sometimes undergo a fundamental transformation. Thus, patericon stories are an almost obligatory component of the teachings. But if the originals are brief and expressive sketches of situations, then in the Teachings not a single author confines himself to a simple retelling of apothegmas; he certainly gives extensive and versatile explanations of the meaning of each of them. Let's compare three writers whose works have always been read in Rus' and, moreover, each of them, according to established tradition, was intended for a specific reader, depending on the spiritual experience of the latter. Thus, Abba Dorotheus was advised to beginners, and St. Dorotheus to experienced ones. John Climacus, and only those who succeeded could begin the works of Abba Isaac the Syrian 19. The dominant style in the “Teachings” of Abba Dorotheus is plot-narrative. Nothing is left without explanation; all provisions are illustrated with examples from the patericon with mandatory interpretations. Another sign that the book is intended for beginners is the absence of special chapters devoted to solitude, silence and prayer. The book of St. Petersburg is not so homogeneous. John Climacus. The following features seem significant. It contains chapters written in the same narrative manner as those of Abba Dorotheus. For example, in the chapter “On Obedience” (IV) there is a whole gallery of people whom the author himself met. The stories given allow us to reveal different sides of this virtue. There is no doubt that both in topic and in the manner of presentation, this part is intended for beginners. But often, either completely or for the most part, the Words in “The Ladder” are written in the genre of Chapters, which in itself makes them not always easy to understand. Some of them set a parable, but do not give an interpretation (Word to the Shepherd 4.2) 20. Sometimes the monk himself understands that the image he offers can confuse, for example, the mind seeking God is likened to a cat guarding a mouse. But he still does not explain it, but only states the immaturity of the inexperienced reader (27.7). Sometimes he cites a fact that also seems to require explanation. For example, he says that there were greater ascetics in the Skete than in the monasteries of Pachomius, but he immediately adds that he does not want to say why (27.32). It is in such cases that he says the phrase: “Whoever can understand this, let him understand!” All this indicates that certain parts of the text were intended for people who had already deeply experienced the reality that St. John speaks of. John, and intimately familiar with the tradition and ways of speaking about it. There is one more feature in the structure of “The Ladder” that clearly demonstrates the mnemonic function of the Chapters. After the Words dedicated to active virtues, a brief summary of them is given (26.187–249). But one can hardly see it as a simple table of contents. This part is also written in the genre of Chapters and consists of definitions, comparisons and gnomes. These sayings should help not only to remember what you read, but also to encourage independent reflection on the proposed topic. Only then are Words about silence and prayer given, which necessarily presuppose the reader's experienced knowledge of the subjects under discussion. But as it becomes clear from the analysis, it is not only the subject matter that makes the text St. John Climacus difficult for beginners, but also their very form. When contacting Rev. Isaac the Syrian is immediately attracted by his clear preference for a small volume for his works. Perhaps he could be called a master of the small form: in a limited textual space, he finds the maximum number of genres in demand. At the same time, changing them turns out to be functional and allows you to either move on to considering different aspects of the same problem, or rise to a higher level when discussing it. For example, Words 10–14 21, dedicated to the favorite theme of silence, consist of a series of apothegmas. There are even mocking stories among them. For example, a brother who did not want to give alms under the pretext of his monastic work was reminded, not without bitter irony, that not everyone, but only those who completely neglected their bodily needs, were allowed to do so. In order to understand whether a monk is really like that, it is enough to look at him. Most of them describe meetings with elders of ascetics, for whom excessive concern for the bodily needs of their neighbors is already harmful in the matter of silence 22. St. Isaac, in line with the emerging tradition, spreads apothegmas by reasoning, although he gives it the most laconic form. The last part is written in the form of a Question and Answer, since the author’s task also includes a detailed discussion of the topic. The nature of the narrative forces us to include those texts of St. Isaac, which have come down to us under the name “Chapters” and are even divided according to tradition into centurions (II, 3). The influence of the genre of Chapters was reflected only in the clear and expressive definitions that are found in the words of this Father of the Church. Another genre included in his writings was prayers. In some cases, they are offered to the reader as an example of petitions to God (both in short and in lengthy form); in others, they become structural parts of the text itself, giving it the most personal and emotional character. Thus, the analysis of the writing strategies of St. Isaac the Syrian shows that the difficulties in understanding his thoughts are least of all caused by the literary form he chose for his texts. On the contrary, the author tries to make it as accessible as possible to the reader. One can only be amazed at the depth of experience that he seeks to reveal to us, and at his own inertia and rigidity, which are difficult to overcome, even with such a wise and experienced mentor. Without a doubt, the study of genres, literary in nature, is not useful for mastering the patristic heritage. In the methods of rhetoric, in the individual style of constructing a text, in the principles of selection of vocabulary by the author, philology, semiotics and cultural studies try to see not just a set of rules, but a mechanism for generating meaning. The methods of these sciences turned out to be productive in the interpretation of many phenomena of art. I would like to hope that they will help our contemporaries understand and appreciate the masterpieces of medieval church literature, who, in mastering them, are forced to overcome an additional barrier created by a change in the cultural paradigm. The question remains controversial as to which area of ​​literature to classify apophthegmas. We will leave them within the framework of hagiography. You need to be attentive to the relationship between the title of the work and its genre; they do not necessarily coincide. The manuscript tradition sometimes simply assigns the title "Word" to works and numbers them; sometimes the title reflects the theme of the essay, sometimes the published or real circumstances of its appearance; and only sometimes are they given a definition of the genre. Failure to understand this leads to the fact that texts that are similar in structure may end up in different categories, while fundamentally different ones may end up in one. For the first time in Evagrius of Pontus (IV century). Quote according to the publication: Works of St. Maximus the Confessor. Book 1: Theological and ascetic treatises // Transl., intro. Art. and comment. A. I. Sidorova. M., 1993. P. 96. The full title of this work is “A Word on Spiritual Work, or Monk,” but it belongs to the genre of Chapters. Quote from the ed.: Works of Abba Evagrius: Ascetic and theological treatises / Trans., intro. Art. and comment. A. I. Sidorova. M., 1994. P. 95. In this model, when the sender contacts the addressee, the context of the contact and the code necessary for both encryption and decryption of the sent message are taken into account. See Lotman Yu. M. Inside thinking worlds // Lotman Yu. M. Semiosphere. St. Petersburg, 2010. P. 164. Three works are usually combined under this title - “Ambigva to John”, “Ambigva to Thomas” and “Epistle to Thomas”. The problems of the composition of this work were considered by us in a report at a conference dedicated to the work of St. Maximus the Confessor, which took place in Georgia in 2011. Analysis of quotes, their order and functioning, the correspondence of contexts and meanings in the source and in the interpretation allows us to assert that this work has an inherent plan, the understanding of which is helped by the relationship not of the original passages, but of the author’s parts of the text. Syriac writing is very rich in such documents. The collection was compiled from the answers given to the questions of the brethren by two hermits who labored in the monastery of Abba Serida near Gaza in the 6th century. Due to the circumstances of its appearance, this corpus has an external resemblance to Questions and Answers, which is reflected in its name, but it undoubtedly belongs to the genre of Messages. See Barsanuphius and John, St. Ascetic instructions // Philokalia / Trans. and entry Art. St. Theophan the Recluse. Holy Trinity Sergius Lavra, 1992. T. 2. P. 559–598. See Isaac the Syrian, St. Word 24 // Abba Isaac the Syrian Words of Asceticism / Ed. S.I. Sobolevsky. Sergiev Posad, 1911. pp. 166–117. See Word 42 // Abba Isaac the Syrian Words of asceticism. pp. 176–181. See Word 23 // Ibid. pp. 111–116. It should be taken into account that the books of the first two authors are perceived as compositionally integral and corresponding to the author’s intention, while the teachings of St. Isaac the Syrian is rather a collection of his various works “under one cover” and their order is the result of the work of the compiler. The first number is the word number, the second is the chapter number. Abba Isaac the Syrian Words of asceticism. pp. 48–59. Wed. themes of the above Words of St. Isaac the Syrian.