L'esercizio della virtù civica. Letteratura politica, pratiche traduttive e 'transfert' culturale nel tardo Illuminismo tedesco

The paper sets out to explore the role of translation practices in the processes of conceptualizing ‘civic virtue’ (Bürgertugend), chiefly in German Late Enlightenment. It surveys ancient visions of political virtue and shows how they became popular in a range of modern texts and media — notably a series of translations from Latin delivered by Christian Garve and politically oriented essays and translations from English and French by Friedrich Gentz. Specific metaphors borrowed from Greek and Roman traditions are shown to structure the modern concept of civic virtue and the multiple ways it was disseminated through translation in enlightened German-speaking culture. Translations of ancient texts and modern revolutionary speeches given in Paris were supposed to help citizens critically engage with their civic commitments and give substance and communicative power to new political ideals. In activating the imagination, translations made ancient patterns of thought meaningful for the present. Close readings of passages devoted to these issues will feature prominently in the paper.