Renaissance Humanism and Neoplatonism
Neoplatonism
Neoplatonism defends the beauty of natural things as a reflection of divinity (idealization of the feeling of love). Erasmus advocated for an intimate religiosity focused on the purity of morals.
Admiration for the Classics
Italian city-states, longing to restore classical ideals, made Greek and Latin cultures a benchmark for study. Therefore, imitation of classical authors was considered more prestigious than originality. This imitation and admiration, and the defense of Latin, coexisted with a concern for national languages, regarded as the most natural medium of expression. Additionally, Latin became the language of culture; written works of research and knowledge provided direct access to Homer, Plato, Cicero, Virgil, and Horace, until then only read by a cultured minority.
Principles of Humanism
The Renaissance attached importance to the humanities, comprising grammar, rhetoric, poetry, history, and philosophy, and concern for classical culture. A humanist is a scholar and a critic, based on these principles:
- Deep understanding of ancient Greco-Roman culture
- Longing for the restoration of classical ideals
- Defense of the study, reading, and use of the classical languages
- Enthusiastic assessment of the world and human dignity
This human interest in classical antiquity, combined with concern for the development of science and the study of nature, created this new concept of the world and art which we call the Renaissance.
Renaissance Precursors
- Author Dante Alighieri, with his Divine Comedy, is considered the first modern European writer.
- Francesco Petrarch, the first humanist, who, in sonnets and songs, sings to his beloved Laura, an idealized woman.
Neoplatonism
Neoplatonism defends the beauty of natural things as a reflection of divinity (idealization of the feeling of love). Erasmus advocated for an intimate religiosity focused on the purity of morals.
Admiration for the Classics
Italian city-states, longing to restore classical ideals, made Greek and Latin cultures a benchmark for study. Therefore, imitation of classical authors was considered more prestigious than originality. This imitation and admiration, and the defense of Latin, coexisted with a concern for national languages, regarded as the most natural medium of expression. Additionally, Latin became the language of culture; written works of research and knowledge provided direct access to Homer, Plato, Cicero, Virgil, and Horace, until then only read by a cultured minority.
Principles of Humanism
The Renaissance attached importance to the humanities, comprising grammar, rhetoric, poetry, history, and philosophy, and concern for classical culture. A humanist is a scholar and a critic, based on these principles:
- Deep understanding of ancient Greco-Roman culture
- Longing for the restoration of classical ideals
- Defense of the study, reading, and use of classical languages
- Enthusiastic valuation of the world and human dignity
This human interest in classical antiquity, combined with concern for the development of science and the study of nature, created this new concept of world and art which we call the Renaissance.
Renaissance Precursors
- Author Dante Alighieri, with his Divine Comedy, is considered the first modern European writer.
- Francesco Petrarch, the first humanist, who, in sonnets and songs, sings to his beloved Laura, an idealized woman.