A Filosofia entre a Fábula e o Verso: O Prefácio à Poesis Philosophica, de Henri Estienne

Abstract

This article presents an annotated translation of Henri Estienne II’s Preface to the Poesis philosophica (1573). The Poesis is the first printed anthology of fragments by the early Greek philosophers now associated with the “Presocratic” field. Far from being merely a conventional dedicatory piece, Estienne’s Preface functions as a theoretical intervention into the status of ancient philosophical poetry. Its central question is whether texts such as those of Empedocles and Parmenides, insofar as they deal with natural philosophy and lack fabula in the strict poetic sense, should be considered poetry, versification, or some other discursive form. Estienne’s analysis situates this problem at the intersection of Aristotle, Plutarch, Cicero, Horace, the humanist reception of Aristotle’s Poetics, and the Renaissance defense of the utility of pagan authors. Finally, the article emphasizes how the figure of Empedocles, between physics, poetry, textual relic, and fabulous tradition, condenses the tension that organizes the entire Preface.

Keywords: Henri Estienne. Poesis philosophica. Philosophical poetry. Empedocles. Presocratics.