The symbol of "heart" in the linguophilosophical concept of H. Skovoroda

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L. Ruskulis, Rodionova, R. Maiboroda

THE SYMBOL OF «HEART» IN THE LINGUOPHILOSOPHICAL CONCEPT OF H. SKOVORODA

The article examines the linguistic and philosophical research of H. Skovoroda - a symbolic perception and interpretation of the world around. It was found out that the thinker sought to allegorically interpret the Bible, which he perceived as the only reliable source of happiness, he believed that the world of the Bible is the ideal otherness of the human world (microcosmos) and the universe (macrocosmos). The authors of the article analyzed one of the brightest symbols of the linguist - the symbol of the heart, which is the basis of all human actions, bad and good thoughts, the place where thoughts and feelings are born and grow, where the truth opens, this symbol is the center of human moral actions, his inherent thinking and will.

Key words: linguophilosophy, «philosophy of the heart», the symbolic world of the Bible, topos, eidos, heart.

The subject of modern linguistic philosophy is a deep study of the Ukrainian artists' works, whose search carries a kind of national worldview. Thus, we can convincingly state the fact that the concept of H. Skovoroda is a very unique phenomenon in both Ukrainian and world culture, because it is filled with a constant search for happiness, spiritual and soul balance. Joining the Divine essence, the union of the soul with God is a complex philosophical search, insight into which is a symbolic perception and interpretation of the world. Professor V. Shaian, researcher and commentator of H. Skovoroda's philosophical system, states that «Skovoroda's philosophy (...), revealing the deeper laws of reality, is entirely aimed at the manifestation and development of the greatest values of life» (Yaremenko, Fedorenko, compiler., 1994, p. 601). It is from him that the line of longevity and kinship of thoughts that expressed the spiritual principle begins. We believe that his views and guidelines are of paramount importance for the development of Ukrainian spiritual history, which can be further traced in the works of G. Kvitka-Osnovianenko, M. Kostomarov, I. Kotlyarevsky, P. Kulish, T. Shevchenko, P. Yurkevych; later manifested in the poetry of the twentieth century by P. Tychyna, Ukrainian «neoclassicists» and «poets of sixties». In particular, the worldview of the Ukrainian philosopher, whose main dominant was «spiritual improvement» and finding harmony between man and the universe» (Klen, 1991, p. 16), proved to be immanent for those artists whose work stated the essential expediency of «cordocentrism» for the development of national culture. This line of longevity of philosophical lyrics from the concept of H. Skovoroda is noted by most Ukrainian researchers (T. Bovsunivska, E. Solovey, L. Ushkalov, V. Shaian, V. Shevchuk, etc.). And it is not even an appeal to the poet- philosopher, but, as E. Solovey notes, it is in the «irrevocable presence of Skovoroda as part of national spirituality» (Solovei, 1998, p. 257).

Despite the large number of articles, essays, literary-critical reviews, some aspects of H. Skovoroda's creative work need further research. The aim of our research seems to be relevant - to study the main trends of H. Skovoroda's linguistic-philosophical concept by analyzing the symbolic world of the Bible.

It is worth recalling important within the discourse V. Shevchuk's statement about «the sign-symbolic way of H. Skovoroda's artistic thinking» (Shevchuk, 2008, p. 110) and L. Ushkalov's statement on the ideas of «two natures» and «three worlds» of the artist. Accordingly, the essence of the latter idea, in particular, the author reduces to the fact that «nature, the human heart and the Bible are three «books-worlds», reading which, man is worthy to know the essence of things» (Ushkalov, 2003, p. 11). The linguophilosopher built a specific theory of verbal signs-symbols of the Bible, where each symbol, according to F. Batsevych, contributes to the knowledge of the beginning, invisibility. At the same time, the researcher notes that according to H. Skovoroda's concept «not every single sign-symbol in the Bible is the bearer of its spirit, the word of God, but its whole system, the whole system of signs- symbols, like a text, a certain discourse - God's revelation» (Batsevych, 2008, p. 132).

Obviously, this is the reason for H. Skovoroda's constant attempts to interpret the Bible allegorically, which he perceived as the only reliable source of happiness and called this Book a «mistress» who called him on journeys during which his «children» - poems, treatises, etc. - were born. It is the Bible that becomes the core of his philosophical consciousness.

H. Skovoroda proves that the world of the Bible is the ideal otherness of the worlds of man (microcosm) and the universe (macrocosm). It is a symbolic world, where celestial, earthly and deep creatures are gathered in order to become the basis that leads our thought to the concept of eternal nature, hidden in the perishable as a drawing in paints (Skovoroda, 1973). These worlds, according to the thinker, are represented as interdependent and very similar in content, encompassing the opposition of eternal and perishable. The linguophilosopher notes that the whole world consists of two natures - the first (visible) - «a creature», the second (invisible) - God: «This invisible nature, or God, sees and holds all the creatures; he has always been, is and will be everywhere. For example, the human body is visible, but the contemptuous and restraining mind is not visible» («Tsya nevydyma natura, chy Boh, usyu tvar prozyraye y utrymuye; skriz' zavzhdy buv, ye i bude. Napryklad, tilo lyuds'ke vydno, ale prezyrlyvoho y utrymuyuchoho yoho rozumu ne vydno») (Skovoroda, 1973).

H. Skovoroda sees a great power that enables a person to know a higher principle, eternal, ideal and indestructible, in the sacred word, adding the epithet «God» to the token «word». According to the linguophilosopher, the «word of God» is person's thoughts and experiences, his inner world. The symbolism of the word, its figurative form is a bunch of conceptualization of the world, which helps to understand the world around him. The linguist-philosopher was convinced that a person goes to the higher world with the help of a ritual, divine word, which is the beginning and end of all prophetic books, because «Forever, Lord, your word abides» (Skovoroda, 1973). It should be also noted that H. Skovoroda, in order to avoid contradictory explanations of the text of the Bible, rejects its literal meaning, emphasizing that it is not the ultimate truth, but only the way to go.

On the basis of biblical texts, which the artist understood as a set of symbols and signs that have a secret, hidden meaning, there is an interpretation of a specific and unique symbolic world, which reveals the possibility of knowing the essence of God and divine truth. It should be emphasized that the Baroque exegetical practice widely operated with the symbol as the main means of artistic and philosophical expression. In H. Skovoroda's work it is necessary to distinguish precisely such an understanding of the symbol that gave the poet the opportunity to express individual worldview, while combining the real, historical, foreign and conditional. V. Petrov, the author of a thorough study of the worldview of the Ukrainian philosopher and aesthetic phenomena associated with him, drew attention to «the sharpened dialectical antinomy of Skovoroda's philosophical worldview» (Petrov, 1927, p. 33).

The essence of this dialectic, according to Yu. Barabash, is in two human natures: connected and at the same time independent. Thus, for H. Skovoroda «the true person is his invisible nature, spirit, and the nature visible, a body, is only a shadow (...) which has no own existence» («istynna lyudyna- tseyiyi nevydyma natura, dukh, a natura vydyma, tilo, ye lyshe tinnyu (...), shcho ne maye vlasnoho buttya») (Barabash, 1989, p. 203).

All symbols interpreted by H. Skovoroda can be divided into primary, established (ring, ball, sun, eye, garden, earth, moon, sun) and secondary, introduced in accordance with the religious and ethical ideas of the time (animals: ox, snake, monkey, deer, camel; birds: stork, turtle dove, pigeon, stork, nightingale; fantastic animals: sphinx, mermaid, phoenix; plants: willow, grain, beans). In each symbol there are three degrees of being, namely: a simple creature; a creature that is able to imagine figuratively; hidden meaning of the image.

In our opinion, one of the brightest symbols of the linguophilosopher is the symbol of the heart, which is interpreted in such treatises and dialogues as «Entrance door to Christian charity», «Conversation of five travellers about true happiness in life», «Friendly conversation about the psychic world». «The heart is a human being, and without it he is a stuffed animal and a stump... Without a grain a nut is nothing, and without a heart a man is nothing». Thanks to H. Skovoroda, the concept «philosophy of the heart» («cordocentric philosophy») is developing, according to which a man is a microcosm, and the main message is the connection of «inner» man with a «pure heart». «Judge not for the face, but for the heart», «all our outward components keep their hidden essence in their heart, as wheat straw is held in its grain»; «The true man is the heart in man, and the deep heart is known only to God» - these and many other statements of H. Skovoroda, undoubtedly, became the leitmotif of his work and built a system of his linguistic and philosophical pursuits.

The token «heart» has a broad interpretation. In particular, the «Great Explanatory Dictionary of the Modern Ukrainian Language» defines the «heart» as the «central organ of the circulatory system» (Busol, ed., 2005, p. 1310). In addition, the secondary meanings («the ability to feel and understand others; sensitivity, cordiality; the inner mental state of a person, his moods, experiences, feelings» (Busol, ed., 2005, p. 1310)) emphasize that it is the core of experiences and feelings. The Etymological Dictionary of the Ukrainian Language also emphasizes the centrality of this organ and represents the following interpretation: «soul, spirit, thought, feelings, desires, anger» (Melnychuk, ed., 1983, p. 222), and also emphasizes the concept of «tree core» (Melnychuk, ed., 1983, p. 222). This understanding of the word «heart» is explained by cultural tradition and allows us to find out the symbolic load in the works of H. Skovoroda.

According to the «Encyclopedic Dictionary of Symbols of Culture of Ukraine», the heart is a symbol of the Center; God; life; mind; caresses; love, compassion; in Christianity - a symbol of joy and sorrow; understanding; courage; religious devotion; purity» (Kotsur, Potapenko, and Kuibida, ed., 2015, p. 737). H. Skovoroda emphasizes that it is the basis of all human actions, bad and good thoughts, the place where thoughts and feelings are born and grow, where the truth is revealed, as well as the center of human moral actions. The thinker convinces the reader that the knowledge of man is realized by the heart, only with its help he will be able to know his own essence, truth and draw closer to God, because «Numerous bodily needs await you, and there is no happiness, but for your heart the only thing you need. God is there and happiness is near you. It is close. In your heart and in your soul» («Chyslenni tilesni neobkhidnosti chekayut tebe, i ne tam shchastya, a dlya sertsya tvoho yedyne ye na potrebu, i same tam Boh i shchastya nedaleko vono. Blyzko vono. Usertsi i v dushi tvoyiy») (Skovoroda, 1973). For the artist, the «heart» is the highest category of ethics, the foundation of happiness, which is manifested when the heart is «pure» and «bright», full of love, humanity. Such a heart is the way to the «heart of God», the way to the knowledge of God: «O pure heart! You are the new age, the eternal spring, the beautiful sky, the promised land, the clever paradise, the joy, the silence, the peace of God, the Sabbath and the great day of Easter» («0 sertse chyste! Ty noviy vik, vichna vesna, blahovydne nebo, obitovana zemlya, ray umnyy, radist, tysha, spokiy Bozhyy, subbota ta velykyy den Velykodnya») (Skovoroda, 1973).

The image of the «heart» is closely intertwined with the image of the «road», «path» as a movement from the periphery to the center, testifying to the anthropocentric aspect. This idea is condensed in the moral and ethical imperative of the lyrical hero of Song Twenty-two: «Love the narrow path, flee from the wide, common path...» (Skovoroda, 1973), it is about the image of the «left» («wide») and «right» («narrow») roads of human life, established in the Ukrainian Baroque literature, - the ways of sinners and the righteous.

The desire to find mental balance, joy of heart, the dream of heavenly peace motivate a person to go on a journey. And in these journeys of life (spiritual improvement) not the least role is played by a prayer. As V. Antofiychuk notes, «during his existence man has not found a more perfect than a prayer, a form in which one could express the most secret, decide on openness, sincerity and immediacy of self-expression» (Antofiychuk, 1996, p. 5). Such a sincere prayer to Jesus Christ is heard in Song Eight: «0h my joy!Give me healing from my passions, Do not let the abyss forever» («0 moya vidrado! Day meni stsilennya vid moyikh prystrastey, Ne day navikpropasty») (Skovoroda, 1973, p. 23).

Not to succumb to the world of evil, immorality, injustice, vanity and arbitrariness, instead - to maintain a clear conscience and a clear mind, cultivating Christian virtues - this is his happiness and the essence of the moral vocation. Once again, the lyrical hero-narrator of the works pays special attention to the image of Jesus Christ, which for him becomes a source of life.

In his works H. Skovoroda finds out that the heart is characterized by its thinking and will: «Everyone is the one whose heart is in him: the heart of a wolf is a true wolf, even if it is a human face; a beaver heart belongs to a beaver, although he looks like a real wolf; a boar heart belongs to a boar, although he looks like a real beaver. Everyone is the one whose heart is in him» («Kozhen ye tym, chyye sertse v nomu: sertse vovche - b istynnyy vovk, khoch oblychchya lyudske; sertse bobrove - ye bober, khocha vyhlyad vovchyy; sertse veprove - ye vepr, khoch vyhlyad bobrovyy. Kozhen ye tym, chyye sertse v nim») (Skovoroda, 1973). Thus, for H. Skovoroda, the man of the heart is a true man, constant and unique.

The heart is endowed with such functions and imperatives that contribute to a comprehensive depiction of human existence. To paraphrase the words of B. Pascal, we can say: thanks to the heart the truth of existence is known, that is, there comes a moment of «spiritual enlightenment». Here is what the poet and philosopher said about it: «We are to you, born, blessed guest, 0pen our hearts, inviting you to the house of the soul, Singing and rejoicing the song Because God is with us!» («My zh tobi, rozhdennomu, hostevi blazhennomu, Sertsya nashi odkryvayemo, v dim dushevnyy zazyvayemo, Pisnyu spivayuchy y raduyuchysya - Bo to z namy Boh!» (Skovoroda, 1973, p. 20).

Thus, the symbol «heart» in the work of H. Skovoroda is not only the center of man, his being, the essence of existence, but also the source of knowledge, spiritual origin, because as noted by Z. Henyk-Berezovska: «The realm of his knowledge is connected with the heart in which he sees the essence and guarantee of achieving his own goal - happiness, joy, inner peace» (Henyk-Berezovska, 2000, p. 66).

To sum up, H. Skovoroda sought to define the special role of words-symbols that represent a specific way of worldview of the Ukrainian people's national way of thinking. The thinker convincingly argued that man must comprehend the Divine wisdom, understand the Bible through its symbolic perception, because everything is known only in God and through God. To reach this purpose, he outlined the spiritual guidelines that helped to realize the desired ideal. Among them are the following: person's awareness of the meaning of his life, its purpose and place in the universe; «strength of heart» as a crucial component of mental and spiritual life.

H. Skovoroda insisted on the multistructural nature of the human essence, and since the soul of the lyrical subject of his poetry became the first step from which the knowledge of the universe begins, and the heart was recognized as the center of human centers, thus the poet proved the need for contemplation, comprehension and analysis of the realities of his time.

The proposed model of the symbol «heart» in the linguistic and philisophical concept of the Baroque poet does not claim to be a comprehensive study of the problem under consideration. The characteristics of Skovoroda's Christology and biblical hermeneutics need further development. The analysis of pictorial and expressive means of lyrics also needs further clarification.

skovoroda philosophical linguistic symbol heart

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Л.В. Рускуліс, І.Г. Родіонова, Р.В. Майборода

СИМВОЛ «СЕРЦЕ» В ЛІНГВОФІЛОСОФСЬКІЙ КОНЦЕПЦІЇ Г. СКОВОРОДИ

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