Diatribe

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The diatribe ( ancient Greek διατριβή diatribḗ , literally "pastime", "teaching") was one of Hellenistic philosophers (especially the Cynics ) in the 3rd century BC. A form of moral-philosophical speech created in the 4th century BC , which is addressed in a relaxed, often popular tone to a broad lay audience in order to educate them through entertaining instruction.

Their most important representatives were Horace , Seneca , Persius , Juvenal , Musonius , Dion Chrysostom , Epictet and Maximus of Tire .

In modern Greek , diatribe refers to the scientific dissertation for obtaining a doctorate .

Since the term diatribe also occurs in English and French and means diatribe or hate speech there , this meaning is also common in German, but - closer to the Greek model - weakened to "learned polemic".

literature

  • Peter M. Schon: Preliminary Forms of the Essay in Antiquity and Humanism. A contribution to the genesis of the essays by Montaigne. Franz Steiner Verlag, Wiesbaden 1954 (Mainz Romance Works, Vol. 1).

Individual evidence

  1. Dictionary entry. In: dict.leo.org. Retrieved May 20, 2019 .
  2. Dictionary entry. In: dict.leo.org. Retrieved May 20, 2019 .