Early Humanists Set the Example For Future Revolutions

Early humanists were few and far between. Part of the reasoning for this is that humanists lacked the resources to succeed in helping others on a large scale. There are a few examples in the past of humanist efforts but they lack large-scale efforts to improve life.

This picture depicts an ancient printing press similar to those used by Aldus Manutius

One of the greatest examples of early humanist efforts is that of Aldus Manutius. This is one of the first examples of large-scale operations to improve life for the common man. He invested large sums of money into creating a business based around providing books for the common man. This is unheard of for the upper class to care for the peasant's needs.

Before Aldus, access to books, even printed books, was far out of reach for the common man. Few could afford an expensive book to be copied by hand and even books printed by a press were hard to get hands on. Aldus recognized this as a problem and created a successful company to provide books at a reasonable rate. He was fist a humanist and second a businessman. While he may have been able to increase margins by charging more per unit, he chose to put his products in reach of the lower class. Despite this fairly bad business move, he was incredibly successful.

One thing that makes the renaissance such an incredible time period is the beginning of large-scale humanist efforts such as this. Without heroes like this to lead the cause, it could have been centuries more until a collective consciousness of the basic rights of human beings was accepted. I believe that humanists like this are part of the reason there are still people fighting for rights today.