O naukowej polszczyźnie humanistycznej złotego wieku : Wujek - Budny - Murzynowski

Abstract

Renaissance Bible commentaries of Stanisław Murzynowski, Szymon Budny and Jakub Wujek were created in relation to text translations which constituted a core subject of interest by contemporary philology and theology. Their crux of the matter constituted philological‑critical considerations and establishments, formulated with the use of terminology adjusted to the academic‑research tool in this field of knowledge, that is a theological and philological, grammatical, textological and translatological in a typically academic language, meaning Latin or Polish. A research technique of biblical philologists is rich in source texts in biblical languages constituting the basis of translation. What is described is the certainty (authenticity) of texts, books, biblical places, and opinions leading to authoritative decisions. What is taken into account is a Polish tradition with the latest achievements in translation, an extrabiblical comparative literature, patristic commentaries (mainly by Wujek), contemporary philological, theological and nature works by Suidas, Calepin, Gesner, Perottus, Plinius, Budeus, Erasmus, Calvin, Luther, Bullinger, as well as rethoric works by Cicero and philosophical ones by Socrates. References to the establishments made by the researchers from contemporary or earlier epochs, as well as other places of texts commented upon or commenting on, typical of academic genres, constitute a thick intertextual network linguistically expressed in an already conventionalised way. The texts under investigation have qualities typical of their times: 1) terminology that is not conventionalized yet, 2) explicitness of many metatextual formulas, structured in a syntactically developed way, 3) a different text shape depending on its syntactic (in)dependence, 4) interactivity of a colloquial type, 5) expression of courtesy and a friendly attitude towards readers. A 16th century biblical commentary is given qualities considered nowadays as characteristic of an academic style: an intellectual nature, objectiveness, logic, abstractedness, concision, precision, coherence, clarity, comprehension and intellectual and emotional expressiveness. Taking care of concision and logic of the lecture, especially visible in Budny and Wujek, proves an important dividing line of academic communication in national languages in the 16th century. Its dominant cognitive function is without a doubt, even when taking account an accompanying persuasive function, justified in a text directed at polemics and taking existential reception for granted. Aiming at objectivism and text truth is accelerated by the exponents of certainty, confirmation and negation. At the level of text organization and its intellectual‑logical coherence, an academic nature is reflected in an expositional‑argumentative structure of consideration/ comprehension/ argumentation which is a stylistic determinant of this genre and determines a high level of a mental text organization. At that time, other academic texts were finished with descriptions and were devoid of considerations. It is proved by numerous formulas of proving, concluding and other logical operations. Generalizations, problematization, translation from one national system into another, numerous definitions are used. Graphic functional differentiations of separate parts of a text and margins around a biblical text and comments serve the exposition of a rich supportive tool. Lists and explanations of critical (also nonverbal) footnotes and qualificators, bringing a biblical text closer to an original version, that is possibly untouched, tables, comparative and subject indexes (registers) make it possible for a reader to read a thoroughly intellectualized text, as well as give a sense of the logic and coherence of a notional system. Budny and Wujek in particular worked out an academic and functionalised style maintained within a discipline of an academic genre. Both deserve the attributes of the clarity of thought and precision of expression proving a high culture and mental discipline. Wujek’s contribution to the development of an academic style consisted in a consolidation of style features thanks to a developed part of a commentary. Wujek’s text is struck by conciseness, clarity of arguments and system of intertextual references, both in comments under the text and in margin glossaries. Hence, the very author is mentioned in the first place in the subtitle. Undoubtedly, the Polish Renaissance already possesses a humanistic discourse (a community system of thinking and communicating) based on an ancient tradition and stretching over a general vision of the world nowadays. Cognitive strategies at the beginning of an academic (also humanistic) Polish combine an academic and colloquial interpretative perspective. A penetration of commentaries allows for a statement that the level of Polish has raised thanks to a versatile insight into the Holy Bible translated and described in the manner of faith. An important factor in developing a Polish language and culture was Latin, uniting a European community of spirit, intellect and values. Its treasury was books, treating about the value of humankind, since the Ancient times, and above all dignity of humankind immersed in God, that is the Bible since Christian times. The genre of a biblical commentary of the “golden age” hides a deeply intellectualized humanistic Polish language that nothing compares to in the so called profane literature, unquestionably efficient in the function of an academic language, and it should be appreciated in the history of language, Polish thought and culture.