Ad Fontes is a Latin phrase that means “back to the sources”. During the Renaissance period, many scholars sought primary sources in an effort to rediscover the language and thoughts of antiquity. The words of ancient texted breathed new life into society. They used these words to seek answers to newer problems.
Recently I was witness to an example of this return to the sources. Doctor Oliver Crisp came to Brigham Young University this past Thursday and gave a talk titled “Honoring Christ Understanding Christology”. It was a fascinating topic and he was an excellent speaker. What struck me the most, however, was how well the speech embodied the spirit of the Renaissance and Reformation.
He cited ancient documents, sometimes even quoting them in their original Greek or Latin. The authors of these original texts were debating very sensitive and important issues in the Catholic church. He dug deeply into who these writers believed Christ to be, how he was both human and divine. These debates themselves were new to that era as more and more people were able to become educated because of the printing press.
I’m glad to see that ad fonts never goes out of style. It was good to feel that intellectual excitement that came from hearing from those primary sources.
Image Credit: Image of Christ, Wikipedia public domain
Professor Burton often reminds the class to relate the topics we learn in class to our own life. I enjoyed how you accomplished this and brought this concept of Ad Fontes from our class notes to a real, intellectual experience that happened right here on BYU's campus. I think this is a great example of why society continues to study antiquated concepts because it helps us understand the experiences that we have in the present day.
ReplyDeleteIn the exposure that we received in class I felt something similar to what you are describing. In the past I have had a fairly negative attitude about reading primary sources in my classes because it is often more difficult to understand. But as I have come to learn more about them I am realizing how much power there is in going directly to the source!
ReplyDeleteI honestly agree with you that the best way to get the truth of a subject and to experience a real perspective is to go straight to the source. For example, with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, there is a lot of derogatory material out there, but when you go straight to the source, (aka the Book of Mormon) you learn the truth about the church.
ReplyDeleteAd Fontes will always be a part of a true scholarly way of life. I think looking backwards is very important for any endeavor because you can see what people did in the past and start there. You can see what worked and what didn't and go from there. I think there is a lot of humility in ad fontes.
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