Humanities & Classics 1002
|
|
Renaissance Forum
Humanities & Classics 1002 |
    |
|
In Reply to: Renaissance post 2 posted by Jennifer Warrick on January 19, 1999 at 01:14:13:
: The Renaissance ideals of the Prince and the courtier can be seen in the writings of many great authors including, Machiavelli, Castiglione and Alberti. I will first address the writings of Alberti. When Alberti speaks of education, he writes that it is the fathers responsibility to see that his son is properly educated. Alberti believes that the ideal Renaissance person should know letters, write correctly, read perfectly, know arithmetic and geometry and should then turn to poets, orators, and philosophers. The student should have good teachers, learn excellent customs and be acustomed to good authors. They must learn grammar from Priscian and Servius and become familiar with the works of Cicero, Livy and Sallust to learn elegant Latin tongue. The Renaissance person must avoid all crude and inellegant writers. Alberti wrote that they can't achieve honors and dignity without the study of excellent arts, assiduous work and striving in difficult manly tasks. He also says that if one wishes to gain praise and fame, he must abhor idleness and laziness for they are deadly enemies and idleness gives rise to dishonor and infamy. Idleness is the cause of many evils and must be hated by all good men. Furthermore, Alberti asks what man would want to spend his life without using his mind and every faculty? He relates the idle man to a tree trunk, statue, and a putrid corpse. Alberti enen goes so far as to say, "the person who neglects good deeds and fine studies is altogether dead," and "one who does not give himself body and soul to the quest for praise and virtue is to be deemed unworthy of life." Alberti writes that man is created by nature to use and reap the benefits of all things and born to be happy and please God. Alberti also discusses occupations to make money such as buying, selling, lending and collecting. He says some say these are noble liberal occupations, but in actuality they involve dishonesty and numerous lies and often entail dishonest agreements and fraudulent contracts. The use of riches as Alberti sees it is so that you can help those in need and gain friends praise, fame and prestige by using your wealth for great and noble projects. Overall, the most important idea that Alberti puts forward is that man can do anything he wants, if he sets his mind towards it and works hard towards it.
: Catiglione starts out by saying that the proffession of a courtier should be that of arms, which he should follow actively above all else. He should be know as bold, strong and loyal and if he at all tarnishes his reputation with cowardice or disgrace, he will forever remain infamous. Therefore, the more a courtier excells in this art, the more he will be worthy of praise. Castiglione goes on to describe the body and physical attributes the Renaissance man should be endowed with. He should be not too short or too tall, but better short than tall because tall people are dull of intellect and clumsy. Furthermore, he must demonstrate exercises of agility, be well built, shapely of limb, have strength, lightness, suppleness and know all exercises and tools of war. He must use these tools well and understand the advantages of each. The ideal man must also know how to wrestle, understand quarrels and differences and be quick to seize an advantage. He must not be too ready to fight but when honor demands it. He must be learned in hunting, swimming, leaping, running, and throwing stones in order to win favor. Tennis is a game one must be good at for it brings together the qualities of all the exercises. Vaulting on a horse although difficult and fatiguing is recommended because it shows lightness and grace. Yet, summersaults, ropewalking and the like are to be avoided because they have little benefit. Castiglione speaks of diversifying life with various occupations. He also says one must laugh, jest, banter, frolic, and dance in a way that he will always appear genial and discrete, stamped with grace. The ideal man also needs to speak and write well and express word and ideas well to exalt them. He must have a good voice and be passably accomplished in letters and Latin and Greek language. He must be well versed in poets, orators and historians and able to write verse and prose. Furthermore, the ideal man must be a musician, know how to read notes and play music and know how to draw and paint. The Renaissance person must do each of these things required of him in a way that does not boast and gives the impression that each is done with little effort.
: The Renaissance woman according to Castiglione must have ways, manners, words and gestures that are dainty, tender and sweet. Faculties of the mind and accomplishments are important. A woman must be of gentle birth, avoid affection, be naturally graceful, mannerly, clever, prudent, not arrogant, not envious, not slanderous, not vain, not quarrelsome, and not silly. In addition, beauty is important for the ability to win and keep the favor of people. A woman must have the good sense to discern the quality of him with whom she is speaking, but knowledge of many things in order to entertain him graciously. She must have good conversation skills, not do violent dances or play harsh instruments, but dainty and soft ones. The Renaissance woman should let herself be urged or show shyness when dancing or making music. She must have knowledge of letters, music, painting and know how to dance and make merry. She must entertain appropriately and in her talk, laughter, play, and jesting, always be graceful.
: Machiavelli has a less idealized view of man. In his book, THE PRINCE, Machiavelli writes that a prince should have no care or thought but for war. He said that a Prince must be proficient in war and not seek pleasure instead or he will lose his dominion. He also says that since it is impossible for a prince to be everything that is considered good, he must avoid reproach for those things which are bad. Machiavelli says that sometimes it is the virtuous line of conduct which will lead you to ruin and the course with the appearance of vice which will secure your safety and well being. Since love and fear cannot co-exist, it is better to be feared than loved. For when everything is well and danger is at a distance, men will be devote and willing to sacrifice, but when danger is near, they will turn against you. Yet, if one if feared, men are bound by the apprehension of punishment. A prince however, should inspire fear without bringing out hate. He can be feared and not hated by not meddling with the women and property of his citizens and if he need use death as a punishment, only do so when there is valid justification. Furthermore, Machiavelli writes that a prince must use both man and beast in his dealings, which represent the law and force respectively and know when to use them. The lion, and fox must be his models and deception used when it is necessary. A prince must keep and follow good courses when he can, but know how to follow evil if he must. Consequently, Machiavelli says, "if a prince succeeds in establishiing and maintaining his authority, the means will always be judged honorable and approved by everyone."
: The kind of education Alberti calls for can be translated into the characteristics of the ideal Renaissance person explored by Castiglione and the ideal prince, explored by Machiavelli. The overall idea that Alberti puts forward is to be educated in every possible way and subject, to the best of your ability. He believes that your education must follow the idea that man can do anything he wants. Man should be good with words, writing, reading, all kinds of mathematics and philosophy, to name a few. These are encorporated into Machiavelli's ideas that a prince must be cunning, and master of every situation he encounters as well as know how to handle various tasks. By being self sufficient in every art, like Alberti calls for, a Prince will not have to rely on or trust others, which Machiavelli warns against. Machiavelli and Alberti alos coincide on their ideas of abhoring idleness and believe a man or prince must always be alert, on his toes and taking some sort of action. This will bring prestige and guard against danger as well as expand one's knowledge. In these ways, Alberti's ideas can be applied to Machiavelli's opinions and beliefs.
: Alberti's thought that man can do all things, also relates to Castiglione's writing. For instance, Castiglione believes the physical aspects of man should encompass all necessary and proper attributes and sport which will build a man's reputation. Castiglione speaks of varying one's occupation and having an academic knowledge that encompasses all subjects in order to be well rounded and present a positive public image. Likewise, Alberti speaks of being well-rounded in all things. An interesting point that I found in these authors writings was that they both make an analogy comparing a womans loss of purity to the loss a man will suffer if they lose their fame or dignity, in essence, it can never be recovered. Overall, Castiglione uses the same basic idea of Alberti, which is being a master at all things, to present a good social image and portray to others that you are an "ideal" person.
: The main difference I notice in these Renaissance thinkers is between Machiavelli and the other two as a unit. Alberti and Castiglione have the same general ideas, to be a good, morally sound, well-rounded and ideal person without presenting an image of "cockiness" or self-rightousness. Machiavelli on the other hand, makes no effort to hide his beliefs that sometimes man must be cruel to get what he wants. A prince must also often go against ethical and moral values in order to advance their own causes and interests. The idea of being a well-rounded person is still present, yet the underlying theme of always doing what is right is gone in Machiavelli's work. In conclusion, Alberti, Castiglione and Machiavelli each give us a good understanding of what ideas and themes characterized the Renaissance era.