Skip to main content

How do the views and outlooks and accomplishments of Greece and Rome compare to those of Western Europe during the Middle Ages and Renaissance?

This question seems to be addressing the intellectual and cultural achievements of the classical world versus those of medieval and Renaissance Europe. So this answer will not include a discussion of the military, diplomatic, or, for the most part, political achievements of either. The simplest way to answer such a broad question is to say that the cultural achievements and indeed the outlook of the medieval period and Renaissance era were heavily influenced by the Greeks and the Romans. While we usually associate the medieval period as a sort of intellectual backwater, it actually featured a great deal of creative thought. While the outlook was decidedly religious in nature, tending to regard mankind as debased in comparison with the divine, it nevertheless drew on a classical worldview advanced by Aristotle. The medieval philosophy known as Scholasticism, often associated with Thomas Aquinas, for example, was strongly influenced by Aristotle. 


The most explicit evocation of Greek and Roman thought, however, came with the Renaissance. Humanism, the philosophy that guided Renaissance thinkers, writers, and artists, emphasized a return to what were believed to be the classical ideals of the ancient Greeks and Romans. Scorning what they thought to be medieval ignorance, they turned especially to Roman writers like Livy and Ovid to celebrate man, his achievements, and his potential. They viewed Greek and Roman philosophers and writers as possessing knowledge that had been lost during the Middle Ages. In terms of outlook, we must speak very generally, but it is safe to say that the worldview of the Italian Renaissance in particular had more in common with the secularism of some Greek and Roman philosophers (Epicurus, for example) than that of the medieval period. The critical worldview embraced by the Greeks in particular resonated with Renaissance philosophers, and the example of participatory government based on a virtuous citizenry set by Romans of the Republican period was emulated by Machiavelli, among others. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

etymology - Origin of the greeting "Sweet dreams".

Does anybody know the etymology of the phrase "sweet dreams"? I tried googling but did not find anything satisfying. Is this a relatively new phrase of the modern world or has this been in use for some time? I think it's the latter one. Answer The OED has the interjection as "a farewell to someone going to bed" from the 20th century: 1908 Sears Roebuck Catal. 198/1 Tenor Solos..Good Bye, Sweet Dreams, Good Bye. But it goes back until at least the 19th and possibly 18th centuries. John Wolcot, writing under the pseudonym of Peter Pindar, used it in his poem "Orson and Ellen; A Legendary Tale" published in 1801: Also from 1801 in The infernal Quixote (Page 287) by Charles Lucas: In the March 1776 of The Universal Magazine was published "The Serenade. A Pastoral Tale. From the German of Gesner" , where the shepherd Daphnis watches over his beloved as she sleeps and sings: The same tale appears in 1776's as Idyl XI, " Daphnis ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Is there a word/phrase for "unperformant"?

As a software engineer, I need to sometimes describe a piece of code as something that lacks performance or was not written with performance in mind. Example: This kind of coding style leads to unmaintainable and unperformant code. Based on my Google searches, this isn't a real word. What is the correct way to describe this? EDIT My usage of "performance" here is in regard to speed and efficiency. For example, the better the performance of code the faster the application runs. My question and example target the negative definition, which is in reference to preventing inefficient coding practices. Answer This kind of coding style leads to unmaintainable and unperformant code. In my opinion, reads more easily as: This coding style leads to unmaintainable and poorly performing code. The key to well-written documentation and reports lies in ease of understanding. Adding poorly understood words such as performant decreases that ease. In addressing the use of such a poorly ...
Post a Comment
Read more

What are the similarities between the relationships of the characters in The Outsiders and Romeo and Juliet?

At first glance, it might appear as if the characters in  The Outsiders  by S. E. Hinton and  Romeo and Juliet  by William Shakespeare do not have much in common; however, when one isolates the core of the conflicts, it becomes clear that the relationships in both stories are rooted in rivalry and secrecy.  In both  The Outsiders  and  Romeo and Juliet , an overarching theme is rivalry. While   socioeconomic status separates the greasers from the Socs in The Outsiders , last names separates the Montagues from the Capulets, who appear to be relatively equal in terms of socioeconomic status. Due to these rivalries, there are instances of deadly interactions in both stories. In  The Outsiders , Johnny kills Bob (whether his actions were justified or not is debatable). In  Romeo and Juliet , Romeo kills Tybalt and Paris, and Tybalt kills Mercutio. These deaths have profound effects on the main characters. In Ponyboy's case, the Johnny's death and other events in the novel inspire h...
Post a Comment
Read more