“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)
I’ll burn my books—” - Dr. Faustus, (The Tragical History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus)
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| 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.
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| 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.
