Afflatus is aLatin term used byCicero inDe Natura Deorum, ("The Nature of the Gods") and has been translated as "inspiration".
Cicero's usage was a literalising of "inspiration", which had already become figurative. As "inspiration" had come to mean simply the gathering of a new idea, Cicero reiterated the idea of a rush of unexpected breath, a powerful force that would render the poet helpless and unaware of its origin.
Literally, the Latinafflatus means "to blow upon/toward". It was originally speltadflatus, made up ofad (to) andflatus (blowing/breathing), the noun form offlāre (to blow). It can be taken to mean "to be blown upon" by a divine wind, like its English equivalentinspiration, which comes frominspire, meaning "to breathe/blow onto".
In English,afflatus is used for the literal form of inspiration. It generally refers not to the usual sudden originality but the staggering and stunning blow of a new idea, which the recipient may be unable to explain. InRomantic literature and criticism, in particular, the usage ofafflatus was revived for the mystical form of poetic inspiration tied togenius, such as the storySamuel Taylor Coleridge offered for the composition of "Kubla Khan". The frequent use of theAeolian harp as a symbol for the poet was a play on the renewed emphasis onafflatus.
Divino afflante Spiritu ('Inspired by the Holy Spirit') is anencyclical letter ofPope Pius XII dealing withBiblical inspiration andBiblical criticism. It lay out his desire to see new translations from the original language instead of the Vulgate.
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