Page 89 - Beholding Liberty!

PERISTYLE
1.2.19
Panagiotis Kodrikas
Study of the common Greek dialect, vol. I Paris: By the Printing House of I.M. Everhart, 1818 Library of the Hellenic Parliament
PANAGIOTIS KODRIKAS (1762-1827), a scholar who was raised in Constantinople and served the Phanariot leaders, rose to a principal rep- resentative of the Anti-Kantian party.
The two-volume Μελέτη της Κοινής Ελληνικής Διαλέκτου/Study of the Common Greek Dialect, which is dedicated to the Russian emperor, through an overview of the history of the Greek language from the Archaic times onwards, presents the author’s persuasions about language, containing, at the same time, a critique against the «heretic leader» Korais in an almost military tone. It is a text rep-
1.2.20
Veniamin of Lesvos
Elements of Metaphysics
Vienna: By the Printing House of Ioannis Schnirer, 1820 Library of the Hellenic Parliament
VENIAMIN OF LESVOS (1759-1824) re- ceived his elementary education in his birth place and at of age of 17 went to Pantokrator Monastery of the Holy Mountain (Mount Athos), where he was ordained monk. There he received ecclesiastical ed- ucation and continued his studies in European cit- ies. In his teaching career, initially in Kydonies, the content and methodology of his teachings brought upon him the accusation of atheism, because he challenged the cosmology of the Holy Scripture, de- fending the heliocentric system and the existence of a multitude of worlds. Finally, with the mediation of some distinguished friends of his, he was acquit- ted of the accusations. As a member of the Society of Friends, he declared the Revolution in Kydonies in 1821, while he subsequently participated in the
resentative of the ideological and linguistic inter- actions that were taking place in the circles of the Neo-Hellenic Enlightenment.
Kodrikas, more precisely, held the view that the Neo-Hellenic dialect in its scholarly version, which was used in the Patriarchate and the Phanariot lit- erature, is equal to the Ancient one – a position that comes in direct contrast to Korais’ perception. Their fierce confrontation will culminate in successive publications, in response to which Kodrikas publish- es in 1818 the present treatise.
military operations and political developments of the Revolution.
In his work Στοιχεία της Μεταφυσικής/Elements of Metaphysics he focuses on the analysis of cogni- tive procedures, such as perception, consciousness, attention, imagination, memory etc. The writer ap- pears to be anti-metaphysical and empiricist, giv- en that the concept of metaphysics formulates an anthropological cognitive theory that stands as a prerequisite for the perfection of human behaviour. On pages 300-301 a discussion unfolds about man’s self-determination, which is deemed equal to free- dom: according to the writer, man is self-determined by nature, therefore free by nature. On the contrary, «ειμαρμένιοι» (< ειμαρμένη ‘fate, destiny’) are called those «who consider man as non-self-determined».
THE AWAKENING OF HELLENISM From Enlightenment to Patriotism 89