The bale and the thread: against the tide of the historiographical procession

Abstract

The present essay reflects on the assumptions of the dialogue between “Ancients and Moderns” in the skyline of historiographic thought. The intriguing issue in such dialogue, by which the contributions of the Ancients are made present among the Moderns, is evoked in the opposition between the “bale” and the “thread” in contrast to the idea of historia magistra vitae. The “thread”, (re)though as a metaphor for the historiographic grasping of the “bale”, is brought into question to ask what relation the Moderns have established with the Ancients. A reconfiguration is suggested by the idea of unrolling the bale so that the reflexive trajectory may move against the tide of the historiographic procession. The essay’s reasoning takes inspiration from a construction similar to Hesiod’s narrative: a series of “mythical” intrigues (or histories) are presented in succession to bring a new approach to the theme, in such way that the meaning of each subsequent “myth” has a repercussion on the previous one, thus retaking and enriching it, and modifying it with this renewed meaning. In so doing, the links of the concatenated intrigues have the effect of advancing the comprehension of the theme inasmuch as it is questioned.