The paper offers a brief justifcation for a new type of “linguistic-philological” commentary that could be a useful companion for classic Old Chinese texts. Within such a commentary, elements of a purely philological analysis, inherited from the Chinese tradition itself, could be organically and systematically integrated with and cross-checked against the latest achievements in Old Chinese etymology, lexicology, and grammatical studies. More specifcally, I discuss the basic structure of such a commentary for the Shījīng (“Book of Songs”), the oldest and one of the most culturally signifcant collections of Chinese poetry, and one that has been the object of detailed philological study for more than 2000 years, as well as being the principal provider of material for historical studies on Early Old Chinese phonology, grammar, and lexicon in the 20th century. The structure is then illustrated with an actual example (several stanzas from the very frst poem of the Shījīng, Cry of the Ospreys).

The article contains an annotated translation of a fragment of the Buddhist text Saṅghabhedavastu, which recounts а legend about the appearance of the frst people, the formation of social structures and the institutionalisation of royal power. The translation is preceded by an introduction that places the text in the context of other ancient documents that contain this legend and analyzes the fgure of the frst king and its fate in those countries where Buddhism would spread. The introduction also includes some brief information about Saṅghabhedavastu as a whole.

The paper deals with Shasekishū (“Sand and Pebles Collection”, 1279–1283) as a source for studies in Japanese Kamakura Buddhism in its practical dimension. By examining the setsuwa tales in this collection, we may pose and answer questions about the role of diverse buddhas and bodhisattvas in Japanese Buddhist traditions, about the doctrinal bases and ritual practices of respective cults. The case studied in this article is Shakamuni Buddha worship in two aspects: as Indian Dharma transmission founder and as eternal teacher of universe (Shakamuni of Lotus sūtra). We also discuss the rakan (Buddha's disciples) cult and rituals centred on shari (śarīra, Buddha's relics).

In pre-Islamic and Islamic Iran there existed the concept of the ruler as an intermediary between God and humankind. A just ruler was imbued with the grace of God which also extended to cover his subjects. An alternative hierarchy emerged in the course of the development of the mystical tradition in Islam: Suf “saints” took on the role of conduits of God's grace, while the rulers' role was reduced to devotedly listening to and following their teachings and counsels. In the 15th and 16th centuries, there were several attempts to combine the functions of the “saint” and the ruler. Such attempts needed an ideological justifcation. Some traces of the sainthood narrative being inserted into the life stories of rulers can be found in written sources from that period. Shah Tahmasp I's ‘Memoirs' are one of the most representative examples.

The author analyses a number of passages in Herodotus' History containing direct quotations from or allusions to various literary texts. The way Herodotus treats them helps to reveal his general views on literature and language and to contrast them with the ideas of his contemporaries, Democritus and the Sophists. The paper demonstrates that the historian was deeply involved in contemporary intellectual disputes on poetry and on language as such, and shared with the Sophists the idea of internal coherence and consistency as the primary requirement for a literary piece. Moreover, in some instances one can fnd traces of Herodotus' commenting on particular episodes and poetic lines taken from Homer and Pindar. For example, a new interpretation is suggested concerning the sense Herodotus implied into the famous Pindaric verse: “Law is the king of all”.

The paper examines the note by Photius, Byzantine theologian and Patriarch of Constantinople, on the “Metamorphoses” by Lucius Patrensis (cod. 129). The information given by Photius is extremely important for the history of the ancient novel, but in crucial passages of the text Photius' phrasing seems inarticulate. The paper is an attempt to fnd a reasonable explanation of Photius' inarticulate phrasing and to clarify the meaning of the problematic passages.

The paper is dedicated to a reexamination of reconstructions proposed for the Greco-Roman myth about a misdeed committed by the Idaean Dactyl Celmis for which he was metamorphosed into iron. I show that the version that Celmis doubted the divinity of Jupiter is not based on ancient sources. I discuss the relative merits of versions that Celmis was inhospitable towards Rhea and that he attempted to rape the goddess.

Ancient Greek proverbs containing mythological names have been preserved in dictionaries from the Roman and Byzantine eras. They are rarely the subject of analysis. Many explanations given by the lexicographers are obviously false. The name contains a minimized plot or refers to an easily recognizable feature of the mythical image. Sometimes this relationship is supported by etymological play, and on occasion even onomatopoeia underlies a proverb, its image and its plot.

This article puts forward the supposition that Euripides linked the name of Admetus, the main character in Alcestis, with the designation of the house, and examines the major role that the image of the house plays in the tragedy. This image is associated with the main theme of the play, the theme of hospitality, and expresses on stage the moral confict of the work — a confict between moral obligations that contradict each other.

The present paper features a classifcation of lexical items that belong to the semantic feld “Song” in Pindar's early lyrics. Our analysis is based on the principle of the New explanatory thesaurus of the Russian language. It is possible to draw the following conclusions regarding the properties of this feld: 1) it has developed paradigmatic relations: derivation, synonymy, meronymy, conversion, antonyms; 2) this feld has no clearly pronounced dominant, this role is equally claimed by the tokens ἀοιδά and ὕμνος, although the former has a more neutral area of use and a wider range of derivation. However, with such scanty material, it is premature to make more defnitive conclusions; 3) the vocabulary of sound prevails over the vocabulary of dance; 4) there is a tendency to metonymic transitions from sound to a word flled with semantic content; 5) this feld includes vocabulary of different styles; 6) general and abstract concepts are expressed through myth or metaphor.

A research project on hagiographic narrative in Persian literature and culture is now in progress in the Laboratory of Oriental Studies and Comparative Linguistics SASH. Currently, research is centered on studying the frst full-scale collection of sacred biographies, Memorial of God's Friends by Farid ad-Din ʻAttar, and on preparing a commented translation of the book into Russian. The article provides an outline of the main directions of study (narrative patterns at the formative period of Persian hagiographic writing; the sainthood narrative and its impact beyond the genre) and serves as an introduction to the sample translations from ʻAttar's compendium published in this issue of the journal.

The article includes a Russian translation of the chapter devoted to Bishr Haf in Farid al-Din ʻAṭṭār's Memorial of God's Friends. Bishr the Barefoot (d. 842) was an early Suf saint, famous for his righteousness, selfess devotion and asceticism. The chapter is a narration of his spiritual biography. It is comprised of sayings of the mystic and stories connected with his life, which remained in the tradition. The main concepts discussed in the chapter are absolute trust in God (tavakkul), asceticism (zuhd) and contentment (riżā). Bishr Haf is also a character in ʻAttar's poems. The story about Bishr and the name of God can serve as an illustration of ʻAṭṭār's vision of poetry and the poet's role.

The article includes a Russian translation of the chapter devoted to Ahmad ibn Hanbal from Farid al-Din ʻAṭṭār's Memorial of God's Friends. Ahmad ibn Hanbal (780–855), celebrated Muslim theologian, jurist and traditionist, is a founder and eponym of Hanbali school. In this hagiography ʻAṭṭār presents him as an active proponent of the dogma of the eternal essence of the Quran — Ahmad ibn Hanbal preferred tortures and martyrdom rather than rejecting his beliefs.

The paper offers an annotated translation of two hagiographic narratives from Farid ad-Din ‘Attar's Memorial of God's friends, the XII–XIII century compendium depicting the multiple ways of approaching God. The protagonist of the frst life, Sufyan Ṣawri, was the founder of the Ṣauriyya law school, a traditionalist, a translator of hadiths, and an interpreter of the Koran. His life narrative focuses on his signature virtue, the religious scrupulousness and delicacy of conscience, due to which, as his life states, he could enter paradise upon his death. In other lives in the same compendium, he is portrayed as diligently visiting and listening to famous mystics who bestow on him their spiritual lessons. The second life, of Shaqiq Balkhi, the celebrated ascetic and theoretician of Sufsm, focuses on the virtue of absolute trust in God (tavakkul): Shaqiq sought to rigorously apply it to his own actions and was the frst to create the theory of tavakkul. Shaqiq was a preacher and a versatile spiritual writer but, unlike Sawri, he was also an active participant in religious wars.

The article includes a translation of two entries from Farid al-Din ʻAttar's hagiographical anthology “The Memorial of God's Friends”. The frst one recounts the life and sayings of 8th century ascetic Davud Ta'i, while the second one is devoted to the founder of many Suf ‘arts', Harith Muhasibi. The two of them were not entirely satisfed with being a Muslim scholar, so they chose the way of mystical union with God. Their life stories demonstrate how people of the same profession could go entirely different ways, yet at the same time travel on the same Path – to knowledge of God.

The present publication includes a Russian translation of the 28th chapter from ʻAttar's hagiographic collection, Memorial of God's friends (Taẕkiratu'l-awliyā). The hero of this chapter, Sahl of Tustar (d. 896), was a Qur'an commentator and a Suf sheik affliated both with Suf and Islamic Law circles of 9th century Basra. The frst translation of this text into Russian from the Persian original (in M. Esteʻlami's critical edition), supplied with historical and philological commentary, is prefaced by a concise introduction that provides basic data on Tustari's life, teachings and works in Arabic. It is noted that although ʻAttar constructed his narrative by borrowing mostly from Arabic sources, his Persian portrait of Sahl looks different. ʻAttar's narration is an account of self-sacrifcing deeds of a Suf man of faith as well as an account of his homiletic sayings on the benefts of penitence, hunger and trust in God; Tustari's achievements in esoteric interpretation of the Qu'ran are barely mentioned.

The article presents an analysis of short stories concerning animals in one of the most famous fction collections from the Five Dynasties — Early Song era. The author proposes a preliminary classifcation for the animals as characters in the stories. Several groups of story plots have been defned, depending on types of relationships between animals and human beings. The abundance of stories about retribution and about good and bad omens leads us to conclude that Xu Xuan's eclectic worldview combines Buddhist and Confucian elements.

The object of this paper is to look into the traditional Chinese “garden of literati” from the perspective of its functions in the social life of Chinese aristocracy. Based on Ji Cheng's Yuanye and some other original sources on Chinese gardens, such yuanji — the records of gardens made by their owners, – the “garden of literati” appears to be a perfect environment for “leisure practices” of Chinese intellectuals. For many centuries, private gardens accommodated gatherings of offcials, poets, painters, calligraphers and served as an arena for their “enlightened practices”: drinking poetry games, spiritual rituals, connoisseurship etc. The paper includes a translation, with annotations, of the most relevant fragments of Ji Cheng's Yuanye.

The article examines the interpretation of Pompey the Great's (106–48 BC) image, in the medieval chronicle “Estoria de Espanna”, which was compiled in the vernacular (Castilian) language after 1270 at the court of Alfonso X the Wise, king of Castile and Leon (1252–1284). The authors emphasize the fact that, in contradiction to the modern tradition, when describing the confict between Pompey and Caesar, the medieval chronicler sympathizes with the former. The authors explore the causes of this non-traditional interpretation and show the means used to construct the image (primary sources of the chronicle, the manner in which they are analysed, the style and specifc language of the chronicler). The article includes a translation of some chapters from the chronicle (77–80 and 101–105) that present episodes from Pompey's biography.

This paper is a study of the poem that was published in the Magazin svobodno-kamen'shchicheskoi, a Masonic journal, in 1784. As a result of the study I reject the attribution of this poem to Semen Gamaleia and clarify the issue of the date of Gamaleia's birth. Certain lines of the poem are compared with the prosaic utterances of Gamaleia in his correspondence.