¿Pericles en Gettysburg: un caso de influencia tucidídea?

Lincoln’s «Gettysburg Address» (GA) to the fallen at the Battle of Gettysburg is one of the most celebrated speeches in American oratory. In terms of cultural significance, it has been compared to the funeral oration of Pericles in the second book of Thucydides’ ‘Histories’, for both speeches have shaped the image of their respective political systems, namely the Athenian democracy and the American federal republic. Some scholars have even claimed that Pericles’ funeral oration was the source of inspiration for the GA. To test this hypothesis, this article assesses the feasibility of such an intertextual relation by comparing the textual data and examining the material availability of the Thucydidean text in Lincoln’s time. To this end, I have first situated the GA within the event for which it was intended. Next, I have analyzsed the thematic-structural similarities and differences between the two speeches. Finally, I have interpreted their meaning from a ‘Dionysian’ perspective, that is to say, from a critical, albeit positive, attitude towards patriotism. I conclude that, considering the circulation of the Thucydidean text and their thematic-structural connections, the similarities between Pericles’ funeral oration and Lincoln’s GA are not sufficient to establish a relation of dependence, but only point to their common belonging to the oratorical subgenre of the funeral oration. In the absence of further evidence, an exercise in ‘material philology’ on Lincoln’s works is encouraged to clarify his ‘real’ knowledge of Greek literature, since the lexical, structural, and thematic similarities alone do not prove a direct contact between him and Thucydides.