Learn Good from the Past and Discover Good in the Future

In my salon group, the Manifesto or the Oration on the Dignity of Man by Pico Della Mirandola was brought up.  As we were discussing the different themes of our class so far, one thing became very apparent to me as I was listening to the discussion.

One of my classmates who was in the group, Joseph, asked why we focus so much on the printing press as being the main force driving the Renaissance.  Of course, as Joseph pointed out, it was a huge development that obviously aided the Renaissance greatly.  Without the printing press, it would have been difficult for some of the great writings and ideas from the Renaissance to become so widespread.  However, as Joseph got to the point of why he was asking why the printing press is so largely credited for the Renaissance and nothing else seems to be, he pointed out that the Renaissance actually started about a century before the printing press was invented.

Up to this point, we had still mostly been focusing on the idea of going back to the sources and discovering the ancient works and philosophies and trying to be great like ancient peoples and cultures.  I know that discovering the past was a main focus of the Renaissance, but I think (and I was thinking during our discussion) that there is something more to the Renaissance and why it was great than just discovering the past.

When asked, Joseph pointed out that he thought that the Renaissance originally started because of people traveling and discovering different peoples and cultures.  We also discussed the idea of the Bubonic plague, and its effect on the people of Europe considering the devastation of losing a third of the population.  That, along with different warring countries, caused a lot of discussion and debate, and it changed the way people thought about things.  This went along more with what I was feeling about the Renaissance.

I have a brother who received a Master’s degree in History from the University of Reading in Reading, England.  My brother’s thesis focused on ancient Rome and how the founding fathers of the United States of America used what they knew about ancient Rome and its government to establish the government of the USA.  Our founding fathers learned much of what they used to form the government of this country by studying ancient Rome.

However, the founding fathers included the amendment process.  They knew that they couldn’t expect everything, so they allowed for the government in the future to make changes according to new ways of thought.

My feelings on the Renaissance are that it was a time not only to discover the good of the past, but to focus on the new things that are good as well.  We often don’t notice good, new things that could really benefit us until we go out and discover them, as Petrarch did.  So, I think that the Renaissance is an example not only of discovering the good of the past and applying it to our lives, but also discovering new things that are good and applying them to our lives as well.

Advancement?

“There’s a dichotomy of simplicity and complexity that is embodied in the Renaissance.” –Stephanie Roberts

           

            As Stephanie, Jacob, Devan, Kevin, Sean and I sat talking, discussing the various aspects of the Renaissance, I was struck by the dual personality that this era seems to have. On one hand there seems to be this emphasis on making things simple, clearer. The Protestant Reformation sought to make religion more accessible to the common man. Sola scriptura, Sola fide—only scripture and only faith were necessary for salvation. Gone were the Catholic sacraments.

            But on the other hand, some things seemed to get increasingly more complex. The list of expected qualities in a courtier began expanding. Not only was one expected to be sociable, wellborn, and smart, but they also needed to be a master of fencing, horseback riding, bull fighting, hunting, etc. And to top it all off, they had to make it look effortless.

            That need to make it seem effortless is perhaps the truest symptom of this split. When both simplicity and complexity are valued, the complex must be made to appear simple.

The Role of the Past: Essential or Prevalent?

“Ugly hell gape not! Come not, Lucifer! 
I’ll burn my books—” - Dr. Faustus, (The Tragical History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus)

Dr. Faustus makes a fatal deal

            If someone as rooted in the humanistic ideals of the renaissance, as the fictional character of Dr. Faustus was, can turn on all of their vast knowledge they had gained to turn back to God truly the idea of returning to the past had perhaps the largest implications during the renaissance time period. Christopher Marlowe’s character is clear evidence that Psalm 42 (from the Vulgate Bible) had major relevance during the renaissance time period, which states in English “In the same way that the stag is drawn unto the sources of water, so is my soul drawn unto you, God.” In considering this, how big of an effect did the past have upon the other themes present during the renaissance? My initial conclusion was this: without the ideas of the past (Greek and Roman rhetoric, religious traditions of medieval and Christian eras) that the other major themes present during the renaissance such as exploration, humanism, and the rise of the reformation would have never came to be.

            With similar fire that Martin Luther had in his response to Erasmus of Rotterdam on the topic of free will, I brought these thoughts to my classmate’s attention. Of those of whom I was discussing the importance of returning to the past, Kekoa asked a question that forced me to reconsider my previous position, and reevaluate the important role that the past had during the renaissance. He proposed, “Is it really that the other themes would not exist without the role of returning to the past, or is it simply the most overlapping theme of the period, with respect to the other themes?” What a question! The studied carelessness of his question really pushed me into a corner, which soon opened up into a brand new space full of what was most likely a more appropriate idea concerning this theme of returning to the past.

Mount Ventoux

            Rather than being the keystone to the other themes of the renaissance, the idea and importance of returning to the past for many of the major figures during this time period was that of a basis to build their own ideas. Petrarch climb up Mount Ventoux is very illustrative of what the past’s role was in all the other themes of the renaissance. There Petrarch could see back and forth, past and future, and see things from a far, which allows the eye to pick out the good and leave the bad. Much of the returning to the past done during the renaissance and reformation was done in this light. Erasmus of Rotterdam clearly returned to reason over scriptural testimony in his address on free will. Erasmus is one who clearly had respect for and a desire to understand the rhetoricians of the past, giving much respect to the systematized rhetoric of Aristotle. The act of reflecting on the sources, and returning to the past completely shaped the way that humanistic ideas formed, as well as other themes present during the reformation and renaissance.

Remember the Past to Build the Future

“Those who cannot remember the past, are condemned to repeat it”

Quoted by George Santayana in the year 1905. As a philosopher, essayist, poet, and novelist living in Italy, George spoke the words of one bouncing off renaissance and reformist ideas. If one had no knowledge of the past, or did not learn enough, repeated mistakes are bound to happen. I am reminded of an example of my brother in high school getting pulled over by the same cop, in the same spot, for the same mistake (not wearing a seat belt), at the same time back to back days. He obviously did not learn from the past, and therefore was condemned to repeat it.

Pondering over this quotation, I found that it linked quite well with what was taught by Martin Luther in the late 15^th/early 16^th century. He quoted the Vulgate Bible in Psalm 42 that stated “in the same way that a stag is drawn unto the sources of water, so is my soul drawn unto you, God.” This German reformer who opposed the Catholic