ABSTRACT
THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND: ROMANTIC HERMENEUTICS
Although the term ‘hermeneutics’ (hermeneutica) is, in its current usage, of early modern origin,1 the practice it refers to is as old as western civilization itself. Under the traditional appellation of ars interpretandi, hermeneutics designates the art of textual interpretation, as instanced in biblical exegesis and classical philology. In modern times, hermeneutics progressively redefined itself as a general, overall discipline dealing with the principles regulating all forms of interpretation. It was put forward as a discipline that is called into play whenever we encounter texts (or text-analogues) whose meaning is not readily apparent and which accordingly require an active effort on the part of the interpreter in order to be made intelligible. In addition to this exegetical function, hermeneutics also viewed its task as that of drawing out the practical consequences of the interpreted meaning (‘application’). This dual role of understanding (or explanation) (subtilitas intelligendi, subtilitas explicandi) and application (subtilitas applicandi) is perhaps especially evident in the case of juridical hermeneutics where the task is not only to ascertain the ‘meaning’ or ‘intent’ of the law but also to discern how best to apply it in the circumstances at hand.
