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25
2.
“CORSO” AND “RICORSO” OF NATIONS/CULTURES:
SEGMENTS
A
AND
A’
The very beginning of
Scienza nuova
is likely one of the reasons
why its readers have found it so difficult to come to grips with
24
.
In the first place, from a purely literary standpoint, it is uncon-
ventional, to put it mildly, placing a table and accompanying ex-
planation at the most exposed place in a book, supporting mate-
rial that normally would be relegated to an appendix. Secondly,
and perhaps more significantly, it contrasts sharply with the
placement of similar material, although expanded, in
Scienza nuova
of 1725
25
. In the latter, a chronology-based exposition occupies
the very opposite place, namely the end of the book, more in line
with common expectations of where such subject matter would
fit naturally
26
. Our working assumption is, therefore, that the
Chronological Table and Notes on the Table at the beginning of
Scienza nuova
of 1730 and 1744
27
represent a radical decision on
the part of Vico, a kind of “symmetry-breaking”. In our view, it
is grounded in, and justified by, the overall ring-like framework
of
Scienza nuova
. In this framework, the
inclusio
formed by the be-
ginning and conclusion propound the key theme(s) of the
work
28
. This entails that the beginning, in the case of
Scienza
nuova,
the Chronology and Notes, need to be examined in con-
junction with the concluding segment of the work, which is
claimed to be Book V. Book V then serves as a prism through
which to examine the first part of
Scienza nuova.
Vico’s idea of
ricorso
with respect to the proclivities and
tendencies of human culture that is the subject of Book V, likely
has received more attention and treatment than any other part of
his
oeuvre
, and therefore will not be recapitulated here
29
.