Humanities & Classics 1002
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Renaissance Forum
Humanities & Classics 1002 |
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In Reply to: PLEASE POST YOUR SECOND REQUIRED POSTING AS FOLLOWUPS TO THIS POST posted by Tom Bacig on January 13, 1999 at 21:59:54:
To Alberti a Renaissance man was a person who wasn't afraid to work hard, to try new things and to learn all that he possibly can. Alberti believed that all people need to know mathematics - geometry and the like - poets, orators, and philosophers. Children need to be exposed to all thses things through good teachers so that they will have much broader thoughts and ideas. For Alberti idleness is not acceptable. All people need to learn all that they can about many things so that they can be well rounded individuals. To Alberti "one who lies buried in idleness and sloth and completely neglects good deeds and fine studies is altogether dead." In other words in order to be considered alive one must be able to do a variety of things well.
Unlike Alberti, Castiglione breaks it down into both the Renaissance man and the Renaissance woman. Castiglione believes that the Renaissance man should "cultivate his full potential as a huiman being" and the Renaissance woman "should have a knowledge of letters, music and art, she should be privledged with a humanistic education - but in no way should she violate that 'soft and delicate tenderness that is her defining quality.'" Castiglione believes that a Renaissance person ought to be able to do everything and well too. He ought to be able, not only, to read and play music but write it as well; he ought to be fluent in several different languages; and be able to draw and paint. To Castiglione everybody should be able to do everything and very well at that.
To Machiavelli the Renaissance man is not only to be well studied in the academics but also in warfare and protection. A person has to be well read in the classic writers and poets and must also know how to take over a government. In doing so they ought to be able to make it better and keep everybody happy. In order for someone to be a good ruler and Renaissance person they need "to be compassionate, faithful to his word, kind, guiless and devout." "It is far better to be feared than loved."
Machiavelli and Castiglione both feel that in order to be a good and learned person tat you need to be schooled in the areas that Alberti believes all people should be schooled. All three be that all people should be allowed to be well educated in all areas of education. I agree with that idea. I feel everybody ought to be able to experience a little bit of everything. Everyone should be a scientist, a mathematician, and an artist. Not that I'm saying everyone has to be all that good at it but they should at least try it. Who knows they may even find that they enjoy it.