Wesleyan University

Momigliano and de Martino

Author(s): Carlo Ginzburg
Reviewed work(s):
Source: History and Theory, Vol. 30, No. 4, Beiheft 30: The Presence of the Historian: Essays
in Memory of Arnaldo Momigliano (Dec., 1991), pp. 37-48
Published by: Blackwell Publishing for Wesleyan University
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2505511 .
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MOMIGLIANOAND DE MARTINO'

CARLO GINZBURG

Arnaldo Momigliano'sreview of Ernesto De Martino, La terra del rimorso

(Milan,1961)begins,"Questolibro, bellissimoin formae contenuto."2Unconditionalpositivejudgmentsof this sort werenot Momigliano'scustomarystyle.
Clearly,he followed De Martino'swork with close attention. The two men
sharedan interestin themeslike the personand the apocalypse,as Momigliano
himselfobservedtwenty-fiveyearslaterin a posthumouslypublishedessay on
Banfi and De Martino. Aside from the objective reason of their convergent
interests,Momiglianohad anotherand morepersonalmotive:"InDe Martino
I recognizeda parallel,and thereforenon-intersecting,line of divergencefrom
the traditionof Croceanhistoricism,to which I also owed and still owe an
enormousdebt."3
The impulseto investigateone's own self, one's own roots (not exclusively
intellectualones)hadbecomestrongin Momiglianoin his lateryears.Still, with
the exceptionof the shortpreface- also publishedposthumously- to hisPagine
ebraiche(Turin, 1987), his autobiographicalwritingswere channeledinto the
reconstructionof personsand milieus.De MartinoofferedMomiglianoan opportunityto reflecton his own analogousyet differentexperience.It is these
intermingledthreadsthat I proposeto untanglehere.
II

I shouldstate from the outset that De Martino'sdefection from Croceanism

wasonlytemporary-indeed, accordingto some analysts,it wasmoreapparent
thanreal.In II mondomagico(Turin,1948),De Martinopresentedmagismomagicas a philosophicalsystem-as the characteristicspecificto a primordial
historicalage whichprecededthe formationof the categoriesof the spiritas it
1. This essay has appeared in Italian in a special issue, "Arnaldo Momigliano e la sua opera,"

of Rivistastoricaitaliana100 (1988),400-413.
2. Arnaldo Momigliano, Rivista storica italiana 74 (1962), 165-167, quotation on 165; also

publishedin his Quartocontributeallastoriadeglistudiclassic e del mondoantico(Rome, 1969),

quotation on 577.
3. Momigliano, "Perla storia delle religioni nell'Italia contemporanea: Antonio Banfi ed Ernesto
De Martino tra persona e Apocalissi," Rivista storica italiana 99 (1987), 435-456, esp. 436.

38

CARLO GINZBURG

was dominatedby a more elementarytask: that of layingthe foundationsfor

the presenceof the individualin the world. Croce reacted to this move to
historicizethe frameworkof categoriesin a long articleformulatinga number
of objections.At first, De Martinodid not respond. In the succeedingyears,
he grew closer to Marxism,became more activelymilitant, and, in 1949, he
joinedthe CommunistParty. Duringthis time, he disavowedthe theses stated
in II mondo magicoand fully acceptedCroce'scriticisms.4This contradictory
attitudemayhavehiddensome sort of compromisebetweenhis politicalstance
and his culturalposition, not an infrequentoccurrenceamong Italianintellectualsof the Left of De Martino'sandthe precedinggeneration(as withConcetto
Marchesi,for instance). This is conjecture,however, and the episode of De
Martino'sself-criticismstill remainsobscure, although it is clear that subsequentlyhe remainedfirmlyand explicitlyloyal to Croce.
These brief remarksshould explainwhy discussionof De Martinoand his
workhasfor themostpartcenteredon Il mondomagico.For GiuseppeGalasso,
boththatworkandDe Martino'searlierNaturalismoe storicismonell'etnologia
(Bari, 1941)wereproductsof "absolutehistoricism,"varying(if at all) by their
"differentaccentuation."For Galasso,the reflectionof existentialistthoughtin
Il mondomagicooughtnot to be overemphasized:evenDe Martino'sinsistence
on the themesof risk and crisis should be comparedto Croce'sreflectionson
the "vital"duringthe sameperiod,even if De Martinowas to becomeawareof
this connection"only later."5Cesare Cases also acknowledgesDe Martino's
lastingtiesto Croce,buthe seesII mondomagicoas a workof genuinelyoriginal
speculationand one that succeededin expressingthe anguishedexperienceof
the war in a tightly constructed(yet idealistic)critiqueof Europeancultural
ethnocentricity.6

The divergencebetween these two judgmentsexplains why Cases saw De

Martino'sself-criticismas springingfrom a dramaticintellectualisolation,
whereasfor Galasso it was a genuine reversalin his thought. Accordingto
Galasso,De Martino,spurredon by Croce'scriticisms,recognizedthathis book
sufferedfrom the "dialecticalvice"and returnedto the idealistichistoricismin
whichhe hadbeenformedandwhichhadby andlargecontinuedto inspirehim.
Some of Galasso'sstatements,however-that "the genesis of De Martino's
ethnologicalinterests"must be "soughtand discernedcompletelywithin the
4. See De Martino'sprefaceto EmileDurkheim,HenriHubert,and MarcelMauss,Le origini
in the
deipoterimagici,transl.AnnaDe Martino(Turin,1951)andthe "concludingobservations"
appendixto the new edition(Turin,1957)of II mondomagico,whichalso appearsin the reprint
editionof 1973referredto here.Thiseditionalso containsan introductionby CesareCases(which
Saggie interventisullaculturedelNovecento[Turin,
alsoappearsin Cases,II testimonesecondario:
1985], 132-167),to date the best availablestatementon De Martino.In an essay useful for its
bibliographicinformationbut overlyschematicin its interpretation,PietroAngelinistressesthe
importancefor De Martino'scareerof his turn-aboutduringtheyears1949-1950:seeAngelini,"La
collanaviola,"Studie material di storia delle religion 51 (1985),299-339, esp. 311.
5. GiuseppeGalasso,Croce,Gramscie altristorici(Milan,1969),222-235, 258-260, 300-301.
For the expression"ritornostoricistico"see 271, 297.
6. Cases, 147-148.

MOMIGLIANO AND DE MARTINO

39

purviewsof Croceanculture"as mediatedby Omodeo, or that those same

interestsshouldbe seen in termsof "thespontaneouslogic of the development
of the culturalmovementinspiredand guided by Croce"-can properlybe
appliedonly to Naturalismoe storicismo,a stillingenuousandacademicwork.7
Otherelementsandotherexperiences,whichcanonly partiallybe inferredfrom
the few extractsfrom letterspublishedby Galasso, enteredinto the writingof
Il mondo magico.8
A groupof lettersfromDe Martinoto RaffaelePettazzoni,recentlydeposited
in the BibliotecaComunaleof SanGiovanniin PersicetoalongwithPettazzoni's
papersandpartof his privatelibrary,shednewlighton the writingof Il mondo
magico.9Writingfrom Bari on 19 January1939, De Martinotells Pettazzoni
that he has "undertakena generalstudyof numinousenergyamong primitive
peopleswiththe intentionof showinghow, throughthe cycleof representations
and experiencesthat it implies,the functionsof the cultivatedintellectbecome
liberatedand consolidated."This study had resultedin a book, about to be
publishedby Laterza, in which De Martino states he had "provedthat the
religiouslife of theprimitivesforms,in general,a pedagogyfor the powersof the
spiritand, in particular,thatnuminousenergy- in its two aspects,positively,as
manaand, negatively,as taboo- is the pedagogyof the identifyingfunctionof
the intellect."The book in question was of course Naturalismoe storicismo
nell'etnologia,whichcameoff the pressesin October1940.Thesewordsin part
anticipatedthe final page of that work, where De Martino outlines another
study to "determinewhetherand to what extent magismcan be considereda
pedagogyof the identifyingfunction in its practicaluse; whetherand to what
extentmagismhas helpedto liberatethe lay power of the intellect."10
Clearly,
as Casesindicates,De Martinoalreadyhad Il mondo magico in mind.11
The letterto Pettazzonishows, however,that a projectof the sort existed,
at least in embryonicform, earlierthan the definitiveversion of Naturalismo
e storicismo. It is possible that Croce and Omodeo, who had read the first
chaptersof the manuscript(on the prelogicalmentalityin Levy-Bruhl)as early
as January1939,suggestedto De Martinothat he limithimselfto less ambitious
aimsin his firstbook. The fact remainsthat Naturalismoe storicismotook the
form of a discussionof the positions of some of the principalschools of ethnology. Earlyin 1941, when the book was in the processof publication,however, De Martinosent the manuscriptof an essay containingthe first results

7. Galasso,223-224;Cases, 132-135.
8. Galasso,Croce,n. 54, 325-327.
9. My heartfeltthanksto Mario Gandinifor his generouspermissionto consult and quote
materialthat he intendsto publishin its entirety.The file containstwenty-sevenlettersfrom De
Martinowrittenbetween1934and August 1943and sixteendraftcopiesof Pettazzoni'sanswers,
information.Relationsbetweenthe two menseem
whichfor the mostpartcontainbibliographical
to havebeenclose duringthe periodin whichDe Martinowas workingon magic.
10. De Martino, Naturalismo e storicismo nell'etnologia (Bari, 1941), 74-75. The emphasis is

in the text.
11. Cases, 139.

40

CARLO GINZBURG

of his new research to Croce, Omodeo, and Pettazzoni. Extracts from their
responses have already been made known, and the essay has been identified as
the article published in two issues of Studi e material di storia delle religioni
(1942: 1-19 and 1943-1946: 31-84) under the title, "Percezione extrasensoriale
e magismo etnologico."12
It is clear, however, from a letter from De Martino to Pettazzoni (undated,
but certainly immediately preceding 7 April 1941) that the manuscript version
of this essay must have been notably different from the published version. De
Martino writes:
As regardsmy articleon the historicalapproachto the problemof magism,I of course
acceptyour observations:the articlein questionis largelyincompleteand needsfurther
elaboration.I sent it to you only becauseI was nearlycertainof not being able to get
backto it due to pressingevents,and at any rateit seemedto me opportuneto leavein
yourhandsa paperof minethat is morean expressionof workingplansthan a realization-even an approximateone-of thoseplans.... I counton beingable, in good time,
to revisethe articlefor the next issue of SMSR.
In reality, the rielaborazione turned into a genuine rewriting that took until
late 1942.13
At that date the first chapter of II mondo magico (which presents a strong
contiguity, even in form, with the essay, "Percezione extrasensoriale") much
resembled the final version. In the spring of 1941, on the other hand, as the
central portion of the same letter to Pettazzoni shows, De Martino's study,
although fairly well along, was still in the project stage. De Martino states:
A historyof magismas it seemsto me it shouldbe understood- that is, as a contribution to the historyof culture-is an immensetask all the difficultyof whichI feel. Only
the guidanceand the counselof otherscholarscan, at least in part, smooththe way for
me. And for that reasonI have for some time been organizingmy work and choosing
the authoritiesunderthe guidance[patrocinio] of whom I intendto proceed.For the
partthat is most closely connectedwith our civilizationI have turnedto Omodeoand
to Croce,and I havehad from the two mastersnoteworthyleadsand suggestions.I am
also in correspondencewith Cassirer,and I hope at the end of the warto be able to use
the impressivematerialscollectedin the WarburgLibrary.For knowledgeof modern
12. Galasso,325-327. Croce'sand Omodeo'slettersare dated24 February;Pettazzoni'sletter
is dated27 February1941.
13. Theletterto Pettazzonistatingthatthe articlewasbeingsentis dated4 December1942,and
the "eventiincalzanti"mentionedin the quotationwere of coursethose of the war: as discussed
below, De Martinohad been calledto activeservice.The proof that De Martinohad in mind a
"reelaboration"
totally differentfrom the finalproductcan be found in a postscriptto the letter:
"Itis my intentionto enlargethe articlein yourhandsaccordingto the followinggeneralworking
criteria:a) to give examples,with specificreferences,of the inadequacyof currentethnological
scholarship;b) to found my theoryof the points of selectionand crisismore broadlyand more
concretely.For the RenaissanceI am availingmyselfof Croce'sandCassirer'said andcounsel;for
ChristianityI am muchindebtedto Omodeo;for the ethnologicalportionR[enato]Boccassinois,
as I havetold you, generouswithinvaluablebibliographicalsuggestions.I am somewhatat a loss,
however,regarding"ancientreligion."In your opinion, whatwouldbe, for the aims of a history
of magism,the fundamentalpoints of selectionand crisisin the realmof ancientreligion?And
whatgeneraltextsshouldbe readfirst?Heartfeltthanksfor whateveraid you mightbe ableto give
me on these questions."

ANDDEMARTINO
MOMIGLIANO

41

GermanthoughtI am availingmyselfof the aid and counselof Banfiand the groupof

scholarsgatheredaroundthe reviewStudifilosofici.For ethnologicalbibliographyI am
makinguse of the generouscourtesyof RenatoBoccassinoand the materialscollected
in the libraryof the MuseoEtnologicoPigorini.For "ancient"religionI am thinkingof
writingto [Karl]Kerenyi.And I intend to choose similarguides for the domainsof
psychoanalysisand parapsychology(two sectorsof researchof capitalimportance,in
my opinion, for a historyof magism).Now I am takingthe libertyof askingyou for
guidanceandorientationregardingbothreligiousethnologyandancientreligion(always,
obviously,to the purposeof a historyof magism,the presuppositionsand intentionsof
whichwereoutlinedin the paperI sent you).
De Martino was to write only the preamble to the book he sketches here:
indeed, II mondo magico bears the subtitle, "Prolegomeni a una storia del
magismo." The names that De Martino lists for Pettazzoni, however, hint of
a project of broad scope, truly international in outlook, and overstepping the
confines of school and discipline. De Martino's relations with Banfi and the
Studifilosofici group-which Momigliano was quick to note-are enough to
show that his project by that time had parted company with anything resembling
the "spontaneous logic of development" of Crocean thought. Also in 1941,
Croce launched a violent attack on the newly fledged review, Studifilosofici, in
which an equally violent response from Banfi soon appeared. This did not keep
De Martino from publishing in the same review, one year later, a long review
of Remo Cantoni, Il pensiero dei primitive.14
De Martino's letters to Banfi seem to have been lost, with the exception of
one letter dated 12 February 1941 (hence immediately previous to the letter to
Pettazzoni just quoted). It states:
Illustreprofessor,
I much appreciatedyour letter, so rich in valuableinformation.Heartfeltthanks.
Unfortunately,I too have been called to active service,and I am afraidthat for the
momentmy scholarlyworkmustbe interrupted.Your observationson Italianidealism
expressa sentimentand a convictionthat some time ago took form in myself. As an
I haveoften had occasionto observethat
ethnologistanda studentof Kulturgeschichte,
the life of the spiritis in realitysomethingmuch richerand more complicatedthan it
appearswhen one insists on viewing it throughthe "four forms." Only a relatively
limitedhistoricalhorizoncan to some extentexplainsuch a simplisticrestrictionof the
considerationof religionand myth
problematicsof spirituallife. But historiographical
and, above all, investigationof magicalcivilizationsput the scholarinto contactwith
scheme.
spiritualphenomenathatrefuseto be forcedto fitintothe Croceanquadripartite
I stillfirmlybelievethatphilosophymustbe consideredas a methodologyof history,but
preciselybecauseI believethis, I also hold that such a methodologymust be founded
on a broadhistoricalbase andmustbe opento a widevarietyof interestsandproblems.
I am currentlyworkingon a "Historyof Magism"and on a speculativeessay on
the relationbetweentheory and practicein religiousexperience.The inclusionin our

14. B[enedetto] C[roce], La critica 39 (1941), 262-264; A[ntonio] B[anfi], Studi filosofici 2
(1941), 379-381. For De Martino's review of Cantoni, Ilpensiero deiprimitivi, see Studifilosofici

3 (1942), 350-355. It is also availablein an anastaticreprintedition as Studifilosofici:Rivista

trimestrale difilosofia contemporanea, 4 vols. (Bologna, 1972), which contains an introductory
essay by Eugenio Garin.

42

CARLO GINZBURG

horizonof formsof civilizationremotefrom our own-for example,

historiographical
the magical- seemsto be a healthycatalystto counterthe manycurtailmentsof spiritual
life in speculation.
I am much interestedin psychopathologyand in metapsychics.I have becomeconvincedthat somepsychopathicphenomenaand all metapsychicphenomenacanbe consideredas relics, withinWesterncivilization,of magicalcivilization.My work on the
magicaltakesits inspirationfromthisidea(amongothers),whichI considerparticularly
fecund. Severaldays ago I finishedwritinga study entitled "Intornol'impostazione
storicadel problemadel magismo"["Onthe HistoricalApproachto the Problemof
Magic"],but I am much afraidthat furtherrevisionand polishingwill be interrupted
by imminentmilitaryobligations.
In my readingof Cassirer,the only work that is still unavailableis Das Erkenntnisproblemin der Philosophieund Wissenschaftder neuerenZeit, 3 vols. (as well as Zur
EinsteinschenRelativitdtstheorie,1921).I was even willingto buy it or arrangeto have
it acquiredby one of the librariesin my city, but a responsecame from Germanythat
the work is "unavailable."Cassirerwould be willingto sell me a copy of the work for
50 Swedishcrowns, but it seems to me extremelydifficult,at this moment, to find a
booksellerin G6teborgwillingto risk the operation.Before I strikeout on this path,
however,I would like to find out if the universitylibraryhas the workin questionand
if I can find it on the antiquarianbook market.
Oncemore, I thankyou for the indicationsyou have furnishedme and for othersto
come. I hope to profitgreatlyfrom your kindnessin my regard."5
It is clear that during this crucial phase of his intellectual development, De
Martino was moving with great independence, guided by the problems inherent
to the investigation he was conducting. His explicit impatience with Crocean
orthodoxy anticipates nearly word for word a passage in II mondo magico.16
De Martino's interest in Cassirer's work was an equally important influence,
however, and evidently Banfi had already spoken of it in his earlier letters. As
early as his letter to Pettazzoni of 19 January 1939 in which he outlines, in
confused and embryonic form, the themes he later took up in Naturalismo e
storicismo and II mondo magico, De Martino declares his intention to make use
of volume two of Cassirer's Philosophy of Symbolic Forms (more precisely,
15. A postscriptfollows: "P. S. I will writeyou againas soon as I have in some way clarified
my positionregardingmy militaryobligations."The IstitutoBanfiof ReggioEmilia, wherethis
letteris conserved,has no otherlettersfromDe Martinoexceptone note, writtensomeyearslater
to accompanya letterto Remo Cantoni.This informationhas been furnishedme (togetherwith
a photocopyof the letterdated12 February1941)by the Secretaryof the BanfiInstitute,Dr. Luigi
Rustichelli,whomI thankfor his invaluablehelp. The letteris typewrittenand is fadedin places,
requiringminorcompletions.I have also italicizedthe titles of Cassirer'sbooks.
16. See De Martino,II mondomagico,194:"Everyphilosophicalsystemizationthatrecognizes
only the traditionalforms (for example,the Croceansystem of the four forms) expresses,in
substance,the methodologicalmomentof an experiencelimitedto Westerncivilization,and for
humanism.... Thusa lackof humanityin historiographical
thatreasonit drawson a circumscribed
awareness,one of its internallimitations,comesto be hypostatizedin magic:insteadof discovering
the negativeside of a thoughtit is unableto comprehend,the objectnot understoodis considered
reality."This last sentencebetraysan implicitquarrel
as unendowedwith true historiographical
with the positionformulatedby Omodeoin a letterdated24 February1941,an extractof which
is quotedin Galasso,n. 54, 326:"strictlyspeaking,the historyof magismdoes not exist, because
historycan be madeof the positive,not of the negative.Magismis a powerthat is strippedoff in
the processof reason,preciselybecauseit turnsout to be inadequateand not creative."

MOMIGLIANO AND DE MARTINO

43

volume two, part two, chaptertwo, "Foundationsof a Theory of Mythical

Omodeo had alreadysent him other
Forms: Space, Time, and Number")."7
worksby Cassirerin November1940.18De Martinoreadtheseworksat the same
time as workson psychoanalysisand parapsychology,topics that, as we have
seen, he consideredhighlyimportantfor the study of magic.
De Martino became interestedin parapsychology(as we know from the
as an outgrowthof anintensepersonalandintellectual
studiesof R. Di Donato19)
relationshipwith his father-in-law,the historianof comparativereligionsVittorio Macchioro. Through parapsychology,De Martino encountered the
problem(not mentionedin his letterto Pettazzoniquotedabove)of the reality
of magicalpowers.20In the summerof 1941 he must have been concentrating
on this topic. On 4 Octoberhe sent Pettazzonian article,"Etnologiareligious
und Hise storicismo,"the Germantranslationof which, "Religionsethnologie
torizismus,"appearedin Paideuma:Mitteilungenzur Kulturkunde2 (19411943), 178-196. Other articlesthat can be consideredas preparationsfor or
anticipationsof II mondo magico are: "Lineamentidi etnometapsichica,"in
Problemidi metapsichica(Rome, 1942), 113-139;"Di alcunecondizionidelle
sedutemetapsichichealla luce del magismosciamanistico,"Rivistadi antropologia34(1942-1943),479-490;and"Percezioneextrasensorialee magismoetnologico,"alreadycited, sent to Pettazzoniin December1942. His study, begun
towardthe end of 1940, had perhapsalreadyreachedits definitiveform in the
summerof 1943,beforethe harshestphase of the war. We cannot excludethe
possibility,however,that the manuscriptsavedby De Martino'swife from the
ruinsof Cotignola(as we can read in the dedicationof II mondo magico)had
been revisedbefore it was sent to Pavese in August 1946, and perhapseven
duringthe two yearsbetweenthen and when the work was published.21
These considerationscast a differentlight on the relationshipbetween De
MartinoandBanfias well. Momiglianoobservesthat De Martino,whenhe was
writingII mondo magico, "couldnot have known that Antonio Banfi some
years earlier, around 1942-43, had . . . considered as characteristic of the

In reality,the writing
contemporarycrisispreciselythe crisisof the person."22
of Il mondomagicoandBanfi'smanuscriptson thepersonareexactlycontempoFormen,3 vols. (Berlin,1923-1929),available
17. ErnstCassirer,Philosophiedersymbolischen
in Englishas ThePhilosophyof SymbolicForms, transl. RalphManheim,3 vols. (New Haven,
1953-1957).
18. Galasso,n. 54, 326. The editordoes not statewhich books.
19. R. Di Donato,paperpresentedin a seminaron De Martinounderthe directionof Arnaldo
Momigliano,ScuolaNormaledi Pisa, spring1987, forthcoming.
20. De Martinohimselfspeakscritically,in his reviewof Cantoni,Ilpensierodelprimitive,351,
research.
of the lackof discussionin Naturelismoe storicismoon the resultsof parapsychological
21. Omodeo'sletterof 24 November1940,quotedin Galasso,327, representsa terminusante
quem.A copyof Pavese'sletter,dated30 August1946,is conservedin the archivesof the Einaudi
publishingfirm,"DeMartino"file. It is unclearon whatevidenceGalassostates(Galasso,244)that
Il mondo magicowas "alreadywrittenin 1944-45"-a phrasequoted slightlyinaccurately("gih
scrittonel 1944-45"becomessimply"scrittonel 1944-45")in Cases, 139.
22. Momigliano,"Perla storiadelle religioni,"446.

44

CARLO GINZBURG

rary.13We do not know whether the theme of the threat of loss of presence owes
something to De Martino's exchanges with Banfi and his collaborators (first
among them Cantoni). To ascertain this point, we would have to reconstruct
in detail the various stages of a process that we can sense involved feverish
toil - a stratigraphical investigation that might give highly relevant results. One
example of such a reconstruction may suffice.
In a note to "Religionsethnologie und Historizismus," De Martino acknowledges his debt to Cassirer (some of whose major works he refers to) for the way
in which he posed the problem of the essence of magic.24Pettazzoni had asked
De Martino to eliminate Cassirer's name because it was "possibly unwelcome"
(since Cassirer was Jewish) to the German periodical in which the essay was to
be published. De Martino expressed his regret, and although at first he declared
himself willing to accept Pettazzoni's advice, he obviously changed his mind
eventually and decided to retain the note.25
In the other essays that preceded II mondo magico Cassirer'sname also crops
up insistently. In the final pages of his "Lineamenti di etnometapsichica" (1942),
De Martino states that there is also a philosophical argument in favor of the
interpretation of paranormal powers as phenomena that pertain to a bygone
phase of human history. Thanks to Kant's antisubstantialist position, he states:
the possibilityopenedup to considerthe individual/cosmosrelationshipas a dynamic
and functionalrelationin which the cosmos is articulatedaccordingto the modes of
plasmationof the spirit.Anotherpossibilityopenedup as well:that of consideringthe
powersof the subjectover the object, in theirturn, not as univocallydefinablebut as
tendingto evolvehistoricallyin relationto theevolutionof the functionalsubject/object
relation.26
This deliberately anachronistic reading ("doubtless Kant was not fully aware
of his discovery") derives, on the one hand, from Hegel, who took "a notable
step toward historical consideration of the subject/object relationship" and, on
the other, to Cassirer, who, although he failed to confront "the problem of the
powers of the subject over the object," nevertheless "affirmsin the most energetic
fashion and on the basis of a wealth of documentation (even ethnological) the
idea of the functional subject/object relationship."27
23. Antonio Banfi, La persona, ed. Livio Sichirollo (Urbino, 1980). On the dating of these texts
to 1942-1943, see 8-9. The editor's hesitancy ("On the other hand, a simple reference . . . to the
posthumous writings of Husserl might shift the date, even notably"; 9) are unnecessary if Banfi's
allusion to the phenomenological solution of the relationship between the limited nature of experience and the act of reason "already evident in Husserl himself, especially if his posthumous writings
are considered" (37) refers to the volume Erfahrung und Urteil, ed. Ludwig Landgrebe (Prague,
1939). For further support of 1942-1943 as the dates for the final version of II mondo magico, see
also Luciano Eletti, II problema delta persona in Antonio Banfi (Florence, 1985), 76.
24. De Martino, "Religionsethnologie," n., 195.
25. Biblioteca Comunale, San Giovanni in Persiceto, Fondo Pettazzoni, Fascicolo De Martino:
draft of a letter from Pettazzoni to De Martino (20 October 1941) and letters from De Martino to
Pettazzoni (23 October 1941 and 18 February 1942).
26. De Martino, "Lineamenti," 137.
27. Ibid., 138 and n. 2, 138, where he refers to various of Cassirer's works: Die Begriffsform

MOMIGLIANOAND DE MARTINO

45

Cassirer figures equally prominently in the final pages of "Percezione extrasensoriale e magismo etnologico."28The passages of the second volume of Philosophie der symbolischen Formen (which De Martino was trying to persuade
Einaudi to translate at precisely that time)29on the limited validity of the "unity
of the feeling of self' in mythic thought and on the relationship between the I
and external reality conceived as a process rather than as a given come to mind
when we read passages from Il mondo magico like the following:
Kantassumedas a uniformhistoricalgiventhe analyticalunity of apperception-that
is, the thoughtof the I that does not vary in its contentsbut comprehendsthem as its
own, and he posits the transcendentalconditionof this given in the syntheticunity of
apperception.But as elementsand data of consciousnessdo not exist (exceptperhaps
by abstraction),so theredoes not exist any presence,any empirical"beinghere,"that
mightbe a datum,an originalimmediacybeyondall riskandincapablein its own sphere
of any sort of dramaand of any development-that is, of a history.30
The thesis-which Croce sharply criticized-of the historicity of categories
reelaborates, in extreme form, some of Cassirer's positions. Nevertheless, in II
mondo magico, two of the three references to Cassirer'sworks are accompanied
by the expression of reservations, and the third is a simple citation.3' De Martino
gives the impression of having decided at the last minute to imitate the lion of
the fable, who erases his tracks with his own tail.
De Martino was perfectly aware of the direction he was taking. The final page
of his commemoration of Omodeo, his first teacher, states explicitly:
Insubstance,Adolfo Omodeoremainedfaithfulto theidealisticandactualisticapproach
of historicismin the canonicalform that Croceand Gentilehad givenit.... Crocean
methodologywas born as reflectionon a historicalexperiencelimited
historiographical
essentiallyto that segmentof humanhistoryrangingfrom Hellasto our own day. Now
it is clearthatan effectiveincrementto thatmethodology(to the pointof radicalrenewal)
horizon
can be broughtaboutonly by virtueof an enlargementof the historiographical
thanksto the inclusionof formsof civilizationremotefrom our own-the civilizations
encounteredin the historyof religions,ethnology,and paleoethnology.This, then, is
thegreatrevivifyingandremouldingefficacyof an experimentaimedat puttinghistoricist
methodologyto the testin a domainof historicalexperiencefromwhichit didnot spring
in its currentform.32

im mythischenDenken (Leipzig, 1922); the second volume of PhilosophiedersymbolischenFormen

(Berlin,1925);Individuumund Kosmos in der PhilosophiederRenaissance(Leipzig,1927).

28. De Martino, "Percezione," part 2, n. on 82.
29. The project came to naught because Cassirer's widow insisted that the work be translated
in its entirety.
30. Ernst Cassirer, Lafilosofia delleformesimboliche, transl. Eraldo Arnaud, 3 vols. (Florence,
1961-1966); vol. 2 (1964): II pensiero mitico, 2nd ed. (Florence, 1977), 230, 279ff. De Martino, II
mondo magico, 188 (a passage that is also quoted, not totally accurately, in Galasso, 243-244). In
note 1, p. 189 of the same work De Martino writes of his own position as "a further extension and
deeper elaboration of the polemic of modern thought against reality per se."
31. De Martino, II mondo magico, n. 3, 95-96, 135-136, 187.
32. De Martino, "Adolfo Omodeo," Studi e material distoria dellereligioni 19-20(1943-1946),
255-260, quotation on 260.

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CARLO GINZBURG

Studies that culminated in II mondo magico had carried De Martino - albeit

temporarily - outside Croceanism. But not outside historicism.
III

In Momigliano's case, his detachment from Croceanism manifested itself in

much less dramatic though irreversible forms. Others more competent than I
may wish to reconstruct this process analytically; the best I can do here is to
recall a few essential points.33
We may begin with the justly famous essay, "Ancient History and the Antiquarian" (1950).34 By demonstrating that seventeenth- and eighteenth-century
antiquarian erudition had made a decisive contribution to the rise of historiography in the modern sense of the term, Momigliano in fact contradicted the
subordinate function that Croce had assigned to erudition (but which he himself
practiced with highest mastery). This subordination was later reaffirmed by
Momigliano as regards the present, however. The fusion of the antiquarian
method and historiography, first practiced by Gibbon, brought an end to the
autonomous function of antiquarianism, although occasional regressions to
antiquarian attitudes were always possible.
Seventeen years later, his essay "Prospettiva 1967 della storia greca" sounded
a different note. Momigliano follows an ironic description of professors and
students of things classical who accept without batting an eyelash the news that
the Athenians in their symposia ate potato salad and tomatoes and drank coffee
with sugar with a quite serious declaration in which sharp criticism and selfcriticism mingle:
The passionfor abstractwords, of whichwe all havebeen victimsto some extent,is in
greatpartthe resultof . . . simpleignoranceof ancientlife. Hence the importanceof
returningto thetraditionalpublic,private,military,andreligiousantiquities- returning,
that is, withthe precautionof callingthemsociologyand, let us admitit, treatingthem
as sociologistswould.Becausethe sociologists,as I havestatedso manytimes,aremerely
antiquariansarmedwithmodernmethodsforcombattingthe follies,youthfulandsenile,
of historicism."
In 1950,Momigliano declared that the sun had set on the idea of antiquitates;
in 1967 he looked forward to the affirmation of a neo-antiquarianism under
the guise of sociology or its close relative, anthropology. Between these two
divergent statements (which are not formally contradictory, however) we can
locate Momigliano's detachment from Croceanism. It might be seen as coin33. I have made similar observations in "Intorno a storia locale e microstoria," in La memoria

lunga:Le raccoltedi storialocaledall'erudizione

alladocumentazione,
Atti del convegno(Cagliari,
28-30 aprile 1984), ed. P. Bertolucci and Rino Pensato (Milan, 1985), 16ff.
34. Arnaldo Momigliano, "Ancient History and the Antiquarian," Journal of the Warburgand

CourtauldInstitutes13(1950),285-315;alsoin his Contributoallastoriadeglistudiclassici(Rome,

1979), 67-106; in Italian translation in his Suifondamenti della storia antica (Turin, 1984), 3-45.
35. Momigliano, "Prospettiva 1967 della storia greca," in his Quarto contribute alla storia degli
studi classici e del mondo antico (Rome, 1969), 43ff., esp. 52ff.

MOMIGLIANO AND DE MARTINO

47

ciding symbolically with the deeply felt description of De Sanctis and Croce at
the door of the Biblioteca Nazionale of Turin in 1928 that closes the essay
written ten years before, on the death of De Sanctis. Momigliano took his leave
of the teachers of his youth by inserting a few strongly critical notes into his
overall picture of their activities. In the polemical movement to renew Italian
culture, De Sanctis and Croce
wereledintorigidityconcerningcertainelementsof Germanculture,bythenarchaic,that
theyhadabsorbed(theHegelianencyclopediafor Croce;the Boeckhianencyclopediafor
De Sanctis). Thus they undervaluednew currentsof semantic, social, and religious
investigationthat, in spiteof theirinitialcrudity,in fact latercontributedto the renewal
of Europeanculture.
A judgment of this sort presupposes that the person who formulates it has
changed direction in respect to his own earlier formation. Momigliano refers
to it with sober concision in the preface (dated 1958) to his Secondo contribute,
in which the essay on De Sanctis appeared. He states: "For the men of my
generation (especially but not uniquely in Italy) it was their lot, in their mature
years, to have to revise their own critical principles, consequently, to have to
learn new languages, adopt new techniques of research, and meditate upon
new experiences."36The true significance of these sentences emerges when we
compare them with a passage in the paper read before the Congresso Internazionale di Studi Storici in 1955, which they repeat in abbreviated form. In an
attempt to get to the root of "what is perhaps the typical difficulty of our time
in the study of ancient history: how to distinguish between the certain, the
probable, the possible, and the unlikely," Momigliano writes:
Excavationhas accustomedus to unforeseenrevelations:psychology,sociology, and
anthropologyhave opened unexpectedvistas into the world of individualand social
events.Theextensionof researchto prehistoryandamongthenomadpeopleshascarried
us back to social and religiousexperiences,to a lifestyle(as is said today) that we did
not knoworthatwe kepthalf slumberingin oursubconscious.Newlanguageshavecome
to light. This broadeningof our horizonsadds, for the historian,to the oddities, the
horrors,andthe supremeuncertaintiesof otheraspectsof contemporarylife, on which
it is unnecessaryto waste words.37
"More in general," he states some pages earlier, "attention to the transition
from prehistory to history today results from the uncertainty that spreads over
the future of our civilization."38
The connection between the study of prehistory and the threat of the end of
the world and, more generally, the idea that we need to respond to today's crisis
by enlarging historical research to unknown and unpredictable phenomena
might lead us to conclude that at least momentarily Momigliano's and De Martino's paths had touched. In reality, however, as Momigliano lucidly saw, theirs

36. Momigliano, Secondo contribute alla storia degli studio classici [1960] (Rome, 1984),
preface, 9.
37. Ibid., 346-347.
38. Ibid., 329.

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CARLO GINZBURG

were parallelpaths that could never meet. For the De Martinoof II mondo
magico, to abandonCroceanismmeant opting for a more radicalhistoricism
immunefromethnocentriclimitations.It becameincreasinglyclearas the years
passedthat for Momiglianoall formsof historicismwereunacceptablebecause
they werethreatenedby relativism."Justbecausehistoryteachesus how many
moralcodes mankindhas had, we cannotderivemoraljudgmentfrom history.
Even the notion of transforminghistory by studyinghistoryimplies a metaThis is why we sense a
historicalfaith,"he statesin "HistoricismRevisited."39
deliberatelyautobiographicalnote in the wordsthat Momiglianowrote about
JacobBernays:"Havingreceiveda faith, he did not haveto look to historyfor
one, as many of his contemporariesdid."40
Universityof California,Los Angeles
TRANSLATED FROM THE ITALIAN BY LYDIA G. COCHRANE

39. Momigliano,"Historicism
Rivisited,"Mededelingen
derKoninklijkeNederlandseAkademie
van Wetenschappen, Afd. Letterfunde, n. s. 37 (1974), 63-70, quotation on 68; in Italian as
"Stoicismo rivisitato" in his Suifondamenti, 455-464, quotation on 461.
40. Momigliano, "Jacob Bernays," in his Quinto contribute alla storia degli studi classic e del
mondo antics, 2 vols. (Rome, 1975), I, 127-158, quotation on 152; in Italian translation in his
Pagine ebraiche, 157-180, quotation on 179). See also his "Historicism Revisited," 68.