The Renaissance was a rebirth of classical textual scholarship, as well as new thought brought about by such prototypical philosophers as Machiavelli, Erasmus, and Sir Thomas More. These three philosophers can be thought of as Renaissance Italys greatest thinkers, and that these three men all left a legacy behind them and their ideas. Hardly any of the Italian Renaissance thinkers were truly original, but the same cannot be said for Italys greatest political philosopher, Niccol Machiavelli. In 1498, Machiavelli became the secretary of the newly found republic of Florence. In 1512, the Medici overthrew the republic, and Machiavelli was removed from his position. He spent the remainder of his life devoting his time to writing. Perhaps his most celebrated work was a short, controversial piece, called The Prince. The Prince was Machiavellis attempt to condense his research on the factors behind political success and failure to a series of principles.
Machiavelli was practical in thinking when he wrote this, and described the policies of government as they actually were (Lerner 410).
Another mastermind of the Renaissance was Desiderius Erasmus. Erasmus was born near Rotterdam in the mid 15th century, and was forced into a monastery when he was a teenager. Erasmus was a Christian humanist, and he believed that the corruption and immorality was a result of the society forgetting the basic teachings of the Gospels. Erasmus had three different categories of publication: clever satires meant to show people the error of their ways, serious moral treatises meant to offer guidance toward proper Christian behavior, and scholarly editions of basic Christian texts (Lerner 425.) One of Erasmus most famous works belonged to the first category, The Praise of Folly, in which he ridiculed Scholastic pedantry and dogmatism, as well as the ignorance and superstitious credulity of the masses (Lerner 425.) Even with Erasmus highly impressive literary creations, his textual scholarship can be considered his greatest achievement. Erasmus brought out reliable editions of many Christian works, and he also correctly translated the New Testament, for he thought that no one could be a good Christian without being certain of exactly what Christs message really was (Lerner 425.) This translation was one of the most significant milestones of biblical scholarship of all time. One of Erasmus closest friends was an Englishman named Sir Thomas More.
The Essay on A Christian Perspective on Political Thought
Civil disobedience is state in which people do not follow the rules and laws of a country as a form of political protest. The people who practice civil disobedience refuse to disperse; they block access to some buildings and block some roads or may disobey the laws of the country. A good example of civil disobedience in the Bible is when Jesus shut down the temple. Scholars say that this was one ...
Mores most renowned publications, was a work called Utopia. Utopia was a critique of contemporary society (Lerner 426.) The book is about an indictment of the glaring abuses of timeof poverty undeserved and wealth unearned, of harsh punishments, religious persecution, and the senseless slaughter of war (Lerner 426.) Mores Utopia clearly meant to imply that if these Utopians could manage their society so well without the Christian Revelation, than Europeans who knew the Gospels should do much better (Lerner 426.) These three Renaissance philosophersMachiavelli, Erasmus, and Moreall made major contributions to their nationhood, as well as most of Europe. Without them, the Renaissance in Italy might not have been as much of a golden age as these three men made it..
