Perspective, Petrarch, & Potential

How man viewed himself in the 14^th-17^th centuries largely shaped their actions and their work.  The Italian scholar, Francesco Petrarch, sparked the flame of the Renaissance when he discovered letters written by the Roman philosopher, Cicero.

Petrarch saw in Cicero’s work what he himself felt: potential.  He saw greatness in Cicero—a man whose mastery of Latin was unparalleled and whose philosophies were praiseworthy.  Addressing Cicero, Petrarch exclaims, “O great father of Roman eloquence!” and proceeds to praise his works that enliven and inspire.  Petrarch’s letters are Renaissance-personified.  He laments, “the shame of failing to cultivate [their] talents,” expressing his disappointment in his fellowmen.  So he proceeds to reawaken himself and others to the ideals of humanism and individualism, thus fathering part of the Renaissance.

What Petrarch saw in Cicero was soon manifest in da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, Michelangelo’s sculptures, Shakespeare’s plays, and Thomas More’s Utopia.  It seemed that when society believed in man, and man believed in himself, he rose to the occasion, producing works that reflected those of their Greek and Roman predecessors.  Pico della Mirandola said it best when he declared, “Let a certain saving ambition invade our souls so that, impatient of mediocrity, we pant after the highest of things and…bend all our efforts to their attainment.”  This humanistic belief didn’t cause a disregard for Higher power but rather a different perspective; in Mirandola’s case, the revealing arts and ideas were more reason to recognize Diety.