The dialogic construction of pleasure in Lorenzo Valla’s "De vero bono"
Abstract
The purpose of this article is to analyze the dialogic structure of the De vero bono (also known as De vero falsoque bono and De voluptate, the titles of its first and second version respectively) of Lorenzo Valla (c.1407-1457), with the objective of understanding how different conceptions of pleasure are represented in this text. We will observe the links with the pagan tradition (with special emphasis on Epicureanism, a philosophical school that was being re-evaluated by the humanists in the period in which the work was composed) and with the Christian tradition, both in relation to the formal construction of the dialogue and to the debates about pleasure. In addition, we identify three different approaches to language in the De vero bono: rhetoric, poetic and philosophical. Finally, we discuss the use of various rhetorical devices, in particular, the use of narrative.Keywords
Lorenzo Valla, De vero bono, Dialogue, Renaissance, PleasureReferences
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