HUMANISMTHE IDEOLOGY OF THE RENAISSANCE

Study of Classical Greek & Roman Texts AND Early Christian Texts

Religious Reform(Christian or Northern

Humanism)

Individualism

Secularism

Public Involvement(Civic Humanism)

Educational Reform

WHY ITALY?

Vergil

Pericles

Cicero

PlatoCaesar

Augustus

The Revival and Study of Antiquity?

Humanism ReadingsLetter to Livy

Petrarch – The Father of Humanism!

Lorenzo Valla• Italian Humanist• Proved that “Donation of Constantine”

granting the pope all of the Western Roman Empire was a FORGERY

• Although supposedly written in the 4th century AD, the language used indicated that it came from the 8th century AD

A Celebration of the Individual?

WHAT IS THE COMMON LINK?

Humanism ReadingsOration on the Dignity of Man

Pico della Mirandola

An Educational Reform Movement?Humanists sought to change education by …• Better teaching people how to live wise, worthwhile, happy lives• Rhetoric• Writing• Morals

• Urging men to acquire talents in a wide range of activities (Renaissance Man)

WHAT IS ODD ABOUT

THIS PICTURE?

Humanism ReadingsThe Book of the Courtier

Castiglione

A Call to Public Involvement & Action?

Civic Humanists believed that citizens should participate in public affairs and use their

wisdom for the benefit of all.

Machiavelli & The Prince

Machiavelli• Diplomat from Florence• Sought to rid Italy of foreign invaders• Wrote The Prince as a guide for how

rulers could maintain power• A realist – Concerned with how man

really behaved, not with how he should behave

• Believed that man was a selfish creature,and that rulers had to take this into account

• Argued that rulers had to do whatever was necessary to protect their states, regardless of moral considerations

• Looked to Ancient Rome for examples of good leadership & institutions

Humanism Readings“The Fox and the Lion”

Humanism Readings“Willingness to Do Evil”

Humanism Readings“Whether it is Better To Be Loved than Feared”

A Campaign for Religious Reform?

Christian Humanists wanted to use Biblical

teachings as a guide for moral living.

Erasmus• Dutch Humanist• Most famous work: Praise of Folly • Highly critical of the church and

corrupt clergy• Believed church had lost sight of

original purpose, becoming too focused on ceremony, wealth, & politics

• “Philosophy of Christ” – WWJD?• Wrote a new version of New

Testament correcting errors in Latin version (The Vulgate)

• Wanted to correct church from within, but “laid the egg that Luther hatched”

“The Prince of Humanism”

Humanism Readings“Pope Julius II Excluded from Heaven”

Humanism Readings“The Philosophy of Christ”

FIN