The Man in the Panther Skin (Shota Rustaveli, The Man in the Panther Skin, Text and Versions, Edited by Akaki Shanidze and Alexandre Baramidze, Tbilisi, 1966)

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Author	Shota Rustaveli
Epoch	XII-XIII
Work	The Man in the Panther Skin (Shota Rustaveli, The Man in the Panther Skin, Text and Versions, Edited by Akaki Shanidze and Alexandre Baramidze, Tbilisi, 1966)
Type	Poetry
Quote	“Death draws nigh to me, leave me alone, I shall tarry but a little while;” […] (Stanza 885, 2) “My constituent elements will disassemble [me to pieces]; I'm starting to join the category of spirits”. (Stanza 885, 4)
Term	category of spirits ( Plato, Neoplatonists ) elements ( Empedocles, four essences )

Nike. Vani. II-I BC, Bronze, 22 x19 cm. The Georgian National Museum.

Comment	“My constituent elements will disassemble me [to pieces]” – “elements”, that is, four essences: air, fire, water and earth (see: E. Khintibidze, The World View of Rustaveli’s “Vepkhistqaosani” (“The Man in the Panther Skin”), Tbilisi, 2009, pg. 522, note 1; Shota Rustaveli, “The Man in the Panther Skin”, School Edition with Introduction, Literary Review, Dictionary and Commentary, Edited by N. Natadze, II edition, Tbilisi, 2006, pg. 265, 479; see also in the present encyclopedia: all four elements: air, fire, water and earth (Empedocles, four essences). Commentary: “I'm starting to join the category of spirits” – through the word - "Category" of the English translation is transmitted Georgian word "Sira", which corresponds to the ancient Greek term "Seira" and it is found in the philosophical works of Neoplatonist Proclus; one of the main meanings of the ancient Greek "Seira" is “category” (see N. Natadze, op. cit.). In the opinion of some researchers, it is also possible to interpret this line differently, namely on the basis of Plato’s philosophy (see E. Khintibidze, op. cit.). [Z.Kh.]

Comment

“My constituent elements will disassemble me [to pieces]” – “elements”, that is, four essences: air, fire, water and earth (see: E. Khintibidze, The World View of Rustaveli’s “Vepkhistqaosani” (“The Man in the Panther Skin”), Tbilisi, 2009, pg. 522, note 1; Shota Rustaveli, “The Man in the Panther Skin”, School Edition with Introduction, Literary Review, Dictionary and Commentary, Edited by N. Natadze, II edition, Tbilisi, 2006, pg. 265, 479; see also in the present encyclopedia: all four elements: air, fire, water and earth (Empedocles, four essences).

Commentary: “I'm starting to join the category of spirits” – through the word - "Category" of the English translation is transmitted Georgian word "Sira", which corresponds to the ancient Greek term "Seira" and it is found in the philosophical works of Neoplatonist Proclus; one of the main meanings of the ancient Greek "Seira" is “category” (see N. Natadze, op. cit.). In the opinion of some researchers, it is also possible to interpret this line differently, namely on the basis of Plato’s philosophy (see E. Khintibidze, op. cit.). [Z.Kh.]

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