Magdalena Kuran

The article concerns the sermons of baroque preacher Antoni Węgrzynowicz (a member of the Order of the Reformati). These two sermons present completely different pictures of astrology. The first is a kind of small anti-astrological treatise. The preacher applies the rhetorical figure – subiectio. The sermon takes on the form of exchanging questions and answers between the preacher and a fictitious astrologer. Węgrzynowicz uses philosophical, moral and legislative (ecclesiastical and secular) arguments. He tries to invalidate arguments put forward by the followers of astrology.
The other sermon is an example of an astrology which was christianised. The sermonizer uses astrological terms to describe a theological matter. For example, he describes Christ’s life through the signs of the zodiac. Thus, we have two radically different ways of describing astrology. On the one hand, there is a horoscopic astrology which is a deadly sin, a form of evil magic, on the other hand astrology is only a collection of terminological props which are then reinterpreted by the preacher.

The article shows different forms of pictorial thinking, particularly emblematic in funeral sermons, an example is Aleksander Dubowicz oration to honour Janusz Skumin Tyszkiewicz.
In the funeral compositions from the Tyszkiewicz family, we see testimony of transformations, which take place in the early stages of developmental relationships between emblematic culture and occasional literary output. In the Sermon on funeral B. Naruszewiczówna and in Dispatching Person we find some elements, which determine a record of ornamental contents presented in the occasional funeral ceremony. The sermon to honour Tyszkiewicz fits this particular role; it is a prime example of emblematic construction and the function of inscription. The subscription is the praise of the deceased throughout the sermon by illustrating different roles he played in life.
The entire concept of A. Dubowicz sermon is based on world vision as a theatre. He cast God in the role of director and a man as an actor which plays various roles. The orator splits peoples lives like a play, into acts preceded by a prologue and supplemented by an epilogue. In this conceptual world-theatre, A. Dubowicz superimposes a suitable biographical funeral oration schema: “Born gate” serves to display the deceaseds family (leaf B3–Dv); “Youth prologue” characterizes the virtues acquired during the time of education (l. Dv–D4v); “Soldier person” describing courageous service to the king (l. D4v–F); “Senators person” talks about Tyszkiewicz wisdom, which his commitment appears through his affairs of state in the senate and contains laudation to the deceased as learned (l. F–G2); “Epilogue” brings a description of religious death (l. G2–H2), while “Death gate” is a supplement of the allegorical word as theatre (an actor after finishing the spectacle strips of their vestments) and the deceaseds laudatory biography comes to a summary conclusion.
Emblematic thinking is shown on various levels: as preachers exemplum, as a central oratorical idea; organizing whole statement structure by reference to the iconic element, which was located before the oration, like in Dispatching Person.