Title: Humanism
1The Age of Humanism Petrarchs Role
2Beginnings of Humanism
- Early Humanism formed in a culture spiritually
determined by mendicant friars (Dominicans and
Franciscans)
- Voluntary poverty was the center of true
Christian conduct
3- In the fourteenth century scholarship shifted
from the hands of the Church to the hands of
laymen such as lawyers and doctors.
- These men revived the classical studies of Greece
and Rome
- Instead of focusing exclusively on God and
religion they were more interested in human
aspects such as culture society and values.
4Principles of Humanism
- Salutati
- Man is responsible for his good or bad deeds
- God does not control a mans will or morality
- It is better to benefit others by living an
active public life than to live as a monk which
does not benefit anyone other than the monk
5Principles of Humanism
- Bruni
- Medieval values of piety humility and poverty
not important
- Attitudes about wealth credit finances and
usury modified
- Pagan elements introduced into Christian culture
6- Emphasized the dignity and worth of the
individual
- People are rational beings who possess within
themselves the capacity for truth and goodness
- Emphasized the value of the Greek and Latin
classics for their own sake rather than for
their relevance to Christianity
- Collection and translation of classical
manuscripts
- Inspired by Plato (Aristotle inspired medieval
scholarship)
- Centered around education
- Attempted to develop the character and
intelligence of pupils by a general literary
study of the ancient classics
7- Interested in grammar rhetoric poetry history
and ethics as an alternative to the Scholastic
curriculum which laid emphasis on logic natural
philosophy (science) medicine law and
theology - Humanism was mostly a new educational discipline
not a philosophy of life
- To write well and speak effectively it is
necessary to closely study and to imitate the
ancient classics
- Created a new mental outlook by establishing that
the study of ancient literature and the writing
of new works based on this inspiration
contributes directly to the dignity usefulness
and happiness of human beings
8- Stimulated critical attitudes and freed minds
from the old systems
- Lessened the ecclesiastical monopoly of learning
and challenged philosophy to deal with practical
subjects such as ethics
- Revived ancient literary forms such as the
dialogue essay familiar letter comedy
tragedy ode and the literary treatment of
history biography moral philosophy and
political theory - Ideal life is dedicated to scholarship
- Values of the Civis Romanus influenced and
nurtured the idea of ceaseless activity of the
mind
9- New solutions to all political social artistic
and ethical problems could be found in the
classics
- Humanism sought for polish and elegance of
diction ease and wit in expression and at the
same time they wished to avoid involved
argument subtle distinctions and all obscure
terminology - Restored the whole surviving heritage of Greek
and Latin literature edited all of it and
later brought out printed editions of the whole
- Introduced the idea of a lay morality which laid
stress on ethical conduct as an end in itself.
- Increased the sense of the dignity of man and
emphasized what man can do for himself
10Factions of Humanism
- StoicRely on the power of reason alone to
achieve contentment
- Neither material goods nor misfortune should have
any meaning
- Stoicism in a Christian framework was popular in
intellectual circles as a remedy for the affluent
and commercialized age
- Life of poverty is necessary for a wise mans
independence of mind
- Every step from poverty to wealth was bound to
increase human desire greed passion unrest
and misery
- Christian-Neoplatonist
- Aristotelian-Epicurean
11Francesco Petrarch
- Born in Arezzo in 1304 after his father was
banished from Florence
- Began to study law in 1316 because his father
wanted him to
- His father died in 1326 and Petrarch abandoned
his legal studies discovered Cicero Vergil and
the Latin classics began his exclusive devotion
to literature
12- In 1327 he accepted minor ecclesiastical vows but
did not accept powerful or prestigious positions
- Traveled through Europe 1327-1336
- Given the title of Poet Laureate in 1340
- Returned permanently to Italy in 1353
13Two Periods of Petrarchs Life
- Great boldness Influenced solely by ancient
philosophers
- Ignored his true self because of too many
distractions (fame success of Laura sonnets
title of Poet Laureate)
- Awareness of the insufficiency of his earlier way
of life
- Need to identify more closely with contemporary
ways of thinking introduced during the Christian
Era
14The First Modern Intellectual
- Petrarch had a deep understanding of what ancient
Latin and Greek literature had been in antiquity
- He was very interested in making literature the
greatest of intellectual activities
- Founded philology the systematic and scientific
study of all literary and linguistic phenomena
- Made poetry his sole profession
15Petrarch and Politics
- He was not involved in politics
- He had a sentimental and intellectual attachment
to Italy
- He was interested in individual affairs not in
political affairs
- He viewed Italy as a centralized unity under Rome
and influenced by the history of classical
times had ideas of a republic or a universal
empire - Petrarch believed that the Vita solitaria was the
supreme standard for living
- A truly wise man is focused on intellectual and
spiritual matters not distracting political
problems
16Petrarch and Solitude
- He felt that being alone in the absence of
avarice was the secret to happiness
- He was happiest when he lived by himself in his
country home
- He never truly integrated into any group or
society that he joined
- Autonomy and freedom were needed to apply himself
to his humanistic studies
17Petrarch and wealth
- Petrarch hated wealth power and external
honors
- It was not the wealth itself that he hated but
the anxiety toil and trouble connected with it
- He said he would rather live in bitter abject
poverty than be wealthy
- At another time however he said that he would
rather be wealthy because living in poverty is
only bearable for those who do it in the name of
Christ - One should not escape wealth but one should not
possess it with an avaricious mind
18Petrarch as a Humanist
- Belonged to the Stoic faction
- However he often had warm emotional reactions
which are more characteristic of a Christian not
Stoic attitude
- Felt that all of Medieval culture was uniformly
barbarousclassical-minded scholars and poets
were needed to lead humanity away from the arid
Scholastic rationalizing and the cultural
degradation into which it had been sunk ever
since the Barbarian Migrations - Influenced by Horace Lucan Statius Persius
Juvenal Martial Cicero Livy Seneca and Caesar
19- Petrarch wanted to pull himself out of the
physical and mental world around him to live
imaginatively in Roman antiquity
- He loved the classical ways of feeling thinking
and writing
- He admired the polish elegance and perfection
of form of the Classics as opposed to the
un-Roman Latin of the Middle Ages
- He took words methods of sentence structure
figures of speech and stories from the Latin
classics and gave them a new European life
- Petrarch had intellectual autonomy and an
aesthetic political and moral outlook on life
20- He combined Classical-pagan and
Christian-Medieval elements into universal
humanism which states that sentiments
conscience and self-analysis are a part of every
human being not just pagan or Christian
21Petrarchs Works
- All of his works contain self-analysis
meditation internal dilemmas and crisis
concerning moral and cultural values
22Secret Conflict of My Desires
- Petrarch states he had difficulties while
attempting to resolve the inner conflicts between
reason and emotion
- He puts forth the passions which had pushed him
from one false petty goal to another
- Struggles to conquer the passions which stem from
his lower nature
23Canzoniere
- Manifests the beginning of modern consciousness
- An awareness of the end of the great dogma of
divine providence which had held much power
before
- As a result man realizes his tragic destiny his
isolation and analyzes his continuous sense of
dissatisfaction and oscillation between opposing
feelings
24- Petrarch seeks the absolute divine and eternal.
He experiences anxiety because he cannot cast
off his worldly concerns such as fame and glory
and therefore cannot achieve spiritual peace - The surface meaning of the work indicates a story
of unfulfilled love and the different emotions
that the lover goes through however there are
no concrete facts to point to this
interpretation - Petrarchs love for Laura impedes his search for
control over and distancing from his human
aspirations and desires
25- Conflict between divinity (religion and reason)
and humanity (desire passion enthusiasm and
poetic activity)
- Petrarch searches for truth while at the same
time experiencing conflict between what he is and
what he should be
- The style of the work is based on classical Latin
style
26Letter to Posterity
- Autobiography with moral considerations
- Classical style
- Statements about love really concern literature
- I have always possessed an extreme contempt for
wealth not that riches are not desirable in
themselves but because I hate the anxiety and
care which are invariably associated with them.
I certainly do not long to be able to give
gorgeous banquets. I have on the contrary led
a happier existence with plain living and
ordinary fare than all the followers of Apicius
with their elaborate dainties.
27- I fled however from many of those to whom I
was greatly attached and such was my innate
longing for liberty that I studiously avoided
those whose very name seemed incompatible with
the freedom that I loved. - I possessed a well-balanced rather than a keen
intellect one prone to all kinds of good and
wholesome study but especially inclined to moral
philosophy and the art of poetry.
28- Among the many subjects which interested me I
dwelt especially on antiquity for our own age
has always repelled me so that had it not been
for the love of those dear to me I should have
preferred to have been born in any other period
than our own. In order to forget my own time I
have constantly striven to place myself in spirit
in other ages and consequently I am delighted in
history. - I gave up the subject law altogether however
so soon as it was no longer necessary to consult
the wishes of my parents. My reason was that
although the dignity of the law which is
doubtless very great and especially the numerous
references it contains to Roman antiquity did
not fail to delight me I felt it to be
habitually degraded by those who practise it.
29- He offered to bestow that honour upon me at
Naples and urged me to consent to receive it
there but my veneration for Rome prevailed over
the insistence of even so great a monarch as
Robert. - Who nowadays could hope to equal one who in
my judgment was the greatest in an age fertile
in great minds (Augustine)
- Had I been of riper age I should not have
desired it. The aged love what is practical
while impetuous youth longs only for what is
dazzling. The laurel brought me no increase of
learning or literary power as you may well
imagine while it destroyed my peace by the
infinite jealousy it aroused.
30- I believe that I speak but the strict truth when
I claim that as there is none among earthly
delights more noble than literature so there is
none so lasting none gentler or more fruitful
there is none which accompanies its possessor
through the vicissitudes of life at so small a
cost of effort or anxiety.
31Petrarchs Contributions to Humanism
- Recognition of the true features of classical
Latin prose and poetry
- Admiration for Cicero
- Passion for collecting ancient manuscripts
- Perception that the future of classical
scholarship depended upon the recovery of Greek
works
- Support for Humanism among the rich and powerful
- Reconciliation between pagan and Christian ways
of thinking
32Petrarchs Influence on Humanism
- Petrarch was concerned with individual matters
not general problems
- As a consequence few humanists of the next
generations were directly influenced by him
- Petrarch did not influence many of his fellow
humanists either because his life was so
different than theirs (isolationism)
- However Petrarch is still considered to be the
father of Humanism because he broke with
tradition and completely changed the way people
thought learned and lived.