The contribution starts from the different meaning - in classical and christian antiquity - of the Latin terms valetudo and salus. For the ancient Greeks, health and physical form converged in an ideal of beauty and perfection (καλός καί ἀγαθός), where beautiful and good (also in ethical sense) coincided. In the Catholic tradition, instead, the most important thing is not the valetudo (physical form) of the body, but the salus (i.e. eternal salvation) of the soul. The body becomes a means and not an end: and the article analyzes more passages of the canon law where this assumption is evident. So, the valetudo, for example, is a mere prerequisite for the assumption of sacred orders and a necessity for the strong lifestyle sometimes required (especially in the past) in the Institutes of religious life; and illness and physical degradation reflect the fragility of man that God also experienced in the passion of Christ. The contrast with the current prevailing hedonistic culture is evident. Here, the salus is absorbed by the valetudo: and the well-being (wellness) becomes the only imperative dictated by a body that has long since taken leave of the soul.
Il contributo prende le mosse dal diverso significato, nell’antichità classica e cristiana, dei termini latini valetudo e salus. Per i greci la salute e la forma fisica convergevano in un ideale di bellezza (καλός καί ἀγαθός), dove bello e buono coincidevano. Nella tradizione cattolica, invece, la cosa più importante non è la valetudo (forma fisica) del corpo, ma la salus (cioè la salvezza eterna) dell’anima. Il corpo diventa un mezzo e non un fine: e l’articolo analizza diversi passaggi dell’ordinamento canonico dove questo assunto diventa evidente. Così, la valetudo è un mero presupposto per l’assunzione degli ordini sacri e una necessità per la condotta di vita esigente richiesta talvolta (soprattutto in passato) negli Istituti di vita religiosa; e la malattia ed il degrado fisico riflettono la fragilità dell’uomo che anche Dio ha provato nella passione di Cristo. Il contrasto con la cultura edonistica imperante è evidente. La salus viene assorbita dalla valetudo: lo star bene (wellness) diventa l’unico imperativo dettato da un corpo congedatosi ormai da tempo dall’anima.
Valetudo et salus: un orizzonte oltremondano
Zanotti, Andrea
2020
Abstract
The contribution starts from the different meaning - in classical and christian antiquity - of the Latin terms valetudo and salus. For the ancient Greeks, health and physical form converged in an ideal of beauty and perfection (καλός καί ἀγαθός), where beautiful and good (also in ethical sense) coincided. In the Catholic tradition, instead, the most important thing is not the valetudo (physical form) of the body, but the salus (i.e. eternal salvation) of the soul. The body becomes a means and not an end: and the article analyzes more passages of the canon law where this assumption is evident. So, the valetudo, for example, is a mere prerequisite for the assumption of sacred orders and a necessity for the strong lifestyle sometimes required (especially in the past) in the Institutes of religious life; and illness and physical degradation reflect the fragility of man that God also experienced in the passion of Christ. The contrast with the current prevailing hedonistic culture is evident. Here, the salus is absorbed by the valetudo: and the well-being (wellness) becomes the only imperative dictated by a body that has long since taken leave of the soul.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
