81 / 298
Vico’s Ring
81
149
The term «model» is used by W. H. Walsh,
The Logical Status of Vico’s
Ideal Eternal History,
in
Giambattista Vico’s Science of Humanity
, cit., pp. 141-153,
p. 147.
150
In § 294, appended to Axiom XCVI, Vico himself denotes the block of
material of Axiom LXVI (§ 241) to Axiom XCVI, as «the principles of the
ideal eternal history», one of the most significant assertions of which is of the
birth, growth, maturity, decline, and fall of every nation (§ 245, Marsh transla-
tion). As an aside, it should be mentioned that various Vico readers consider
Axiom LXV (§§ 239-240) as the first in the series, including the Bergin-Fisch
translation, adhering to Nicolini’s edition, as seen in their annotation of § 245
by specifying Vico’s reference to «the preceding axioms» as being Axioms
LXV-LXVII, although this is not expressly stated in the original (see
La Scien-
za nuova. Le tre edizioni
,
cit., p. 877). This editorial choice is not without exeget-
ical consequences, as is shown in Cristofolini’s Vico commentary (Id.,
La Sci-
enza nuova
di Vico,
cit., pp. 105-109). Axiom LXV reads, in part: «This was the
order of human institutions: first the forests, after that the huts, then the vil-
lages, next the cities, and finally, the academies» (§ 239). Cristofolini character-
izes this series of developments as indicating a «linearly ascending» order or
rhythm. On the other hand, the next three Axioms in the group (LXVI-
LXVIII) present a rather different picture, namely of both progression and
decline
which Cristofolini memorably compares to a «parabola» that is not only
rising but also «descending». In order to resolve the tension between these
two conceptions, Cristofolini argues for restricting the “ascending” realm of
Axiom LXV to the evolution of language: «La degnità XLV dunque, al di là di
ogni apparenza, non concerne le forme di vita materiale umana se non medi-
atamente: il suo oggetto specifico è l’evoluzione del linguaggio, che fa da
sostrato alla storia delle istituzioni e delle forme di vita, ma non si identifica
con essa (Axiom LXV, therefore, by all appearances, does not concern the
forms of material human life save in a mediated way: its specific subject is the
evolution of language which forms the substrate of the history of the institu-
tions and forms of life but is not identical with them)». This interpretation al-
so provides a basis for Cristofolini to add Axiom LIII («Men at first feel with-
out perceiving, then they perceive with a troubled and agitated spirit, finally
they reflect with a clear mind», § 218) to this block or grouping of material on
«the ideal eternal history», although it appears in a different context.
See also S. Caianiello’s concurring comments in Id.,
Filologia ed epoca in Vi-
co
, in
Vico nella storia della filologia. Atti del Seminario Internazionale, Napoli, 21 no-
vembre 2003,
ed. by S. Caianiello and A. Viana, Naples, Alfredo Guida, 2004,
pp. 139-175, p. 158, footnote 60; p. 162, footnote 71.