In tristitia hilaris, in hilaritate tristis: Lope de Vega y la figura de Demócrito y Heráclito

Abstract

Put in the context of the crisis of the European episteme, during which the principles of Aristotelian aesthetic based on unity and separation of genres got challenged, Giordano Bruno’s phrase In tristitia hilaris, in hilaritate tristis works as an introduction to what could be considered as its associated image: the figure formed by the philosopher who laughs and the philosopher who cries, Democritus and Heraclitus. It seems as well that within the frame of representations, the union of the two philosophers stands for a figure of resistance to Aristotelian logic, as it points to the possibility that identity can be dual, a reunion of the extremes: Democritus and Heraclitus are different, yet similar. The figure of Democritus and Heraclitus has known a wide diffusion in 16th and 17th century Europe, and holds a special place in the works of another figure of resistance to Aristotelian principles: Lope de Vega. The analisis of two texts in which the philosophers’ figure is quoted and in which Lope de Vega appears himself, either directly or under the mask of a character (e.g. Don Fernando in La Dorotea), unveils how the use of the ancient topos by the poet goes well beyond the mere erudite reference: the figure of Democritus and Heraclitus appears as the poet’s double and an aesthetic operator deeply rooted in Lope de Vega’s works.