Иностранный язык. Мартемьянова Н.В - 35 стр.

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THE CLASSICS
But the literary bequests of antiquity , Greek as well as Latin, were of far more importance
than architectural, and indeed than all the artistic remains which it had left. They were held in
the most absolute sense to be springs of all knowledge. The literary conditions of that age of
great discoveries have often been set forth; no more can here be attempted than to point out a
few less-known features of the picture.
Great as was the influence of the old writers on the Italian mind in the 14th century and
before, yet that influence was due rather to the wide diffusion of what had long been known
than to the discovery of much
that was new. The most popular Latin poets, historians, orators and letter-writers, together
with the number of Latin translations of single works of Aristotle, Plutarch, and a few other
Greek authors, constituted the treasure from which a few favoured individuals in the time of
Petrarch and Boccaccio drew their inspiration. The former, as is well known, owned and kept
with religious care a Greek Homer, which he was unable to read. A complete Latin
translation of the Iliad and Odyssey, though a very bad one, was made at Petrarch's
suggestion, and with Boccaccio's help, by a Calabrian Greek, Leonzio Pilato. But with the
15th century began the long list of new discoveries, the systematic creation of libraries by
means of copies, and the rapid multiplication of translations from the Greek.

II Roleplay
You are a famous scientist in antiquity. Mark the following statements as true or false,
according to the contents of the article.
1. The most important heritage of antiquity in Italy was architecture.
2. The Greek and Latin writers’ influence on the Italian mind in the 14th century was great
due to the discovery of new conception.
3. Only some privileged Latin writers can draw their inspiration from the ancient treasure.
4. Petrarch worshiped Homer as he could read Homer’s works in the original.
5. A complete Latin translation of Homer’s Iliad was not a good one.
6. The 15th century saw a real boom in the field of translation from Greek in Italy.



Reading and speaking
TEXT 1
I Read and translate the text. Consult a dictionary. Learn the text by heart. Compare
the primitive community with the utopian society.
The primitive Community
The history of mankind begins with the primitive community. The appearance of new tools
and new methods of labour led to the replacement of the human herd by the clan. Several
clans, that is communities, or related individuals formed a tribe. Both the tribe and the clan
were governed by elders who were chosen foe their life experience and knowledge. The
human herd and the clan were two consecutive stages in the development of primitive
society.
The related members of the clan jointly owned their hunting grounds and the lands which
they tilled. They lived and worked together, and consumed in common the products of their
labour. Since they lived together in groups, they could provide themselves with food and
keep fires burning.
The primitive human herd possesses the simplest tools: a hand-axe, a digging stock and a
wooden club. Thousands of years passed before stone tools were replaced by those made of
metal (bronze, iron). When people invented the harpoon, they took up fishing. The invention