ABSTRACT
A special kind of similarity is of greater interest: the interpreting epigrapher fills the void, the constructor of a vertical context system does so too, on a concrete, pragmatic level, up to a point unassisted by the actual linear context, for which he or she substitutes another one on an infralevel. Tesauro discussing the marvellous explains the device 'allusione' as one which makes the ingenious mind move towards strange and distant matters. His contemporary Pallavicino similarly stresses the effect on the reader of features in literature which strike him as marvellous and far removed from the ordinary paths taken by the mind. The point is that, in the humanities as in the sciences, a descriptive model is supposed to cover as much material as possible without leaving loose ends lying about. According to Aratus, Zeus bids the Pleiades announce the beginning of summer and their cosmical setting in late autumn is a sign of the sowing-season.
