Humanities & Classics 1002
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Renaissance Forum
Humanities & Classics 1002 |
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In Reply to: PLEASE POST YOU FIRST REQUIRED POSTING AS A REPLY TO THIS posted by TOM BACIG on December 13, 1998 at 19:30:06:
There were two significant contrasting points in the work of Thomas a' Kempis (Imitaition of Christ) and Pico della Mirandola (Oration on the Dignity of Man). First, they have a different view on the relationship between mankind and nature.Second, they disagree on mankind's ability to transcend.
A)Humans and Nature
1)Kempis wants people to focus their attention on God. The world around them should not concern them. Instead of looking down at earth, humans should focus their gaze upwards, towards the heaven. This is showen in two of Kempis' quotes:
"Our Lord saith that the kingdom of Heaven is with in you. Turn thyself to God with all thine heart and forsake this wretched world and they shall find rest."
AND
"...In heavenly things ought to be thine habitation, and all earthly things are to be considered as in a matter of passing; for all things pass, and thou also with them. Look that thou cleave not to them, lest thou be taken with them and perish."
On the other hand, Mirandola wants people to also look at nature. He thinks that humans have an important duty to look at the worl around them. To him, that is one of their most important features. This is showen in two of Mirandola's quotes:
"...Man is the intermediary between creatures, the intimate of gods, king of the lower beings, by the acuteness of his senses, by the discernment of his reason and the light of his intelligence the interpreter of nature..."
AND
"I have set thee at the world's center, that thou mayest eaisly observe whatever is in the world."
2)The difference between Mirandola and Kempis on nature and mankind is parallel to the difference between Platonic and Aristotelian thought on the same subject. (On a side note-I think that it is odd, that medieval thought sided with Plato and not Aristotle.)
Plato thought that man should not hold much stock in nature. He thought that there were different layers of reality, and that some layers were more real than others. Plato thought that man should not concern himself with nature and instead have a gretaer focus on the "form" of the "Good." (Which seems like Kempis' God)We should only look towards "Forms" and more specifically to the form of the "Good." Since the things around us are only "attributes" of the the "forms," the things should not be trusted. This is showen in Plato's (Republic) during the allergory of the cave (Republic 514a-517c). This view seems tied to Kempis's view.
Aristotle, on the other hand, was a natural scientist. He claimed that man had better access to the world around him then to the mysterious "forms." He thought that we should study nature becuase we are apart of it (Parts of Animals 644b-645a). Mirondolla seems to side with Aristotle. Tey are both empiricists who like nature.
3)In "The Name of the Rose," William of Baskerville is the persinification of Aristotle's/Mirandola's view. The monks around him are the representatives of Plato's/Kempis' view. Baskerville brings equipment with him to measure nature (The navigational equipment). Therefore he knows that knowledge of nature can be helpful. Plus, when the Benidictine monk enters his room, he has to hide the equipment. The monk probably had the opposite view of nature.
B) To Transcend or Not to Transcend
1)Kempis wanted people to be meek. He wanted them to submit to the higher authority of God. People should not question their role in life even if they are suffering, and be subservient to God. You, as a person, are not to transcend the lot given to you. These ideas are captured in this qoute:
"If thou canst be still and suffer, thou shalt see without any doubt the help of our Lord; he knoweth the time and manner of helping thee, and therefore thou oughtest to reserve thyself for him."
Mirandola, on the other hand, thinks that reason can allow man to transcend his normal lot. If man can really focus his free will and intellect, then nothing can prevent his transcendence to the level of angels. He states:
"...Let us, incapable of yeilding to them (angels) and intolerant of a lower place, emulate their dignity and their glory. If we have willed it, we shall be second to them in nothing."
2) In "The Name of the Rose," Jorge is the manifestation of Kempis when he states the "knowledge is to be perserved and not discovered." He is implying that knowledge will not help you transcend from anything.According to him , we already have all of the knowledge. We have to preserve it, in order not to fall from grace. All the knowledge in the world will not make you rise to a different level, it will just prevent you from falling to a lower one.
Baskerville, however, takes Mirandolla side. He wants those books, more than he cares about his life. In fact, he risked his life trying to save them. He totally believes in the improvement of knowledge for the betterment of humanity.