Constantin Duca în opera lui Dimitrie Cantemir şi Radu Rosetti. Sub zodia Echităţii şi a Vidrei
Constantin Duca in the writings of Dimitrie Cantemir and Radu Rosetti. Under the sign of Equity and of the Otter

Summary/Abstract: Dimitrie Cantemir’s “Hieroglyphic History”, written in Romanian in Constantinople between 1703 and 1705, is a first attempt of outlining a political and social novel. In it, boyar parties take allegorical form, every nobleman or gentleman being represented by the image of a creature from real or fantastic fauna. As a dynamic work it finds its main engine in a struggle involving a substantial number of characters. The Cantemirian work opposes major philosophical axioms which are found in the narrated events. Main groups revolve around centers represented by the Unicorn and the Raven. In addition, in this dispute, the paper outlines reflections, maxims and proverbs that reflect the influence of poetry and folk elements.In the same vein, legal powers (but in the opposite direction) are exercised by Constantin Duca in the work of Radu Rosetti. He drew up a short story about the times when Constantin Duca was on the throne; a politician, historian, writer and genealogist, Rosetti dedicated the work to Duca and analysed his character in the novel, from the opposite angle of view. It is true that the age when Rosetti wrote the novel, the political context in which he operates and the cultural scale were different from the age of Dimitrie Cantemir. He tried to write a short story which is totally different to those of Dimitrie Cantemir, positioning his approach much differently.

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