Jeremy Zito
Blanchard, W. Scott. "Petrarch and the Genealogy of Asceticism." Journal
of the History of Ideas 62 (2001): 401-23. http://muse.jhu.edu
This article examines the way in which Petrarch lived his self-proclaimed
ascetic life. Blanchard argues that Petrarch defined his own form of asceticism
throughout his life. He states that one would be "tempted to call [Petrarch]
a 'public intellectual'-and yet who constantly invoked his desire for solitude,
for an escape from the many distractions and seductions that the cities and
courts of his society offered"(401). The author points out the duality of
Petrarch's life. He goes on to analyze Petrarch's writing and how he describes
himself to be completely devoted to solitude and intellectual studies.
Petrarch's public life is then brought to light, one that was very involved in
all aspects of society. To understand Petrarch's unique form of asceticism the
author examines the variations of it held by different groups of people
throughout time. Specifically, the author looks at asceticism in the religious
and classical senses, relating it to the ways in which Petrarch claimed to live.
Blanchard points out that Petrarch's asceticism was under classical influences
as well as the religious influences of his own era. Similarities and differences
between these two forms are discussed, ultimately leading to the ascetic views
that Petrarch held.
Blanchard explains how Petrarch created his own form of
asceticism, citing specific examples from scholarly articles pertaining to
Petrarch's writing and life. I found Blanchard's discussion on the duality of
Petrarch's life interesting because of the way that it relates to the duality of
his works, such as The Secret. The
author also gives insight into the conflict between religion and classical
thought in Petrarch's life. This effectively shows how Petrarch could easily
have had a dual mentality on certain aspects of his writing and life.
Cantor, Paul A. "The Uncanonical Dante: The Divine Comedy And Islamic
Philosophy." Philosophy and
Literature. 20.1 (1996) 138-153. http://muse.jhu.edu
In this article the relationship between Dante and the western canon is
examined. Cantor first defines canonical, deeming it necessary for the context
of his argument. By analyzing Dante's Divine
Comedy Cantor shows the non-western influence on the work. He first examines
the idea of Limbo and Dante's use of pagan figures, such as Socrates and Plato
in his representation of it. Cantor then shows an even more uncanonical example
from the Divine Comedy in which Dante
includes the Muslim figures Averroës and Avicenna in Limbo. Cantor proceeds to
discuss the implications of using such figures in a piece of literature during
the Middle Ages. The author argues that the use of these figures under these
circumstances brings Dante's orthodoxy into question, not to mention his place
as a leading figure in the Western Canon. Cantor closes with advice on studying
the Western Canon, to both those wishing to defend it and oppose it.
Cantor provides an extremely interesting argument on the
place of Dante in the western canon. Using Dante's well known work the Divine
Comedy Cantor cites many specific examples where Dante uses classical and
Muslim figures in his representation of Limbo. I felt that Cantor did not take a
strong stance in his argument and was himself unsure of everything other then
the fact that Dante's work did contain unorthodox figures. Though I do not agree
completely with Cantor's argument (specifically in relation to his definition of
canonical), the question of Dante's place in an orthodox and a highly religious
Western Canon can be seen.
Quillen, Carol E. "A Tradition Invented: Petrarch, Augustine, and the
Language of Humanism." Journal
of the History of Ideas 53 (1992): 179-207.
This article examines the formation of humanism through Augustine's influence
on Petrarch and Petrarch's use of Augustine's ideas. Quillen does this by
presenting an argument on scholasticism in which Petrarch uses Augustine.
"Through this reliance on Augustine, Petrarch initiates certain discursive
practices which…continue to structure the ways in which modern scholars
understand and describe the development of humanism in the
Renaissance"(181). Where "Initiators of discursive practices" is
used by Michel Foucault to "describe those who 'produce not only their own
work, but the possibility and the rules of formation of other texts'"(181).
The form of scholasticism that Petrarch is arguing against is medicine. More
precisely, those who practice it. Quillen examines several letters which
Petrarch and a physician of Pope Clement VI exchanged during and after the
Pope's death. The doctor claims to be a poet and philosopher, which Petrarch
does not believe him to be. Quillen shows how Petrarch uses Augustine's
arguments to make his point. The article then explains how through these ideals
Petrarch sets a precedent for humanism in the Renaissance.
Quillen uses historical criticism of Petrarch's works to
show how they would have influenced the people of the time, and perhaps even
many scholars and humanistic thinkers of today. I found her analysis of Petrarch
and his reliance on Augustine to be accurate and believable. Her argument is
clearly outlined and supported by many excerpts from Petrarch's letters to the
doctor. This article successfully portrays the similarities between both Perarch
and Augustine's thoughts and attitudes on the subject of scholarly studies as
well as the differences between them.
Stock, Brian. "
This article examines reading, ethics, and the literary imagination in two
periods of history, late antiquity and the early Renaissance. Stock uses the
works of Augustine and Petrarch who lived respectively during late antiquity and
the early Renaissance. After defining reading as it was viewed in the respective
eras, Stock argues that a connection between reading and ethics was established
through philosophy and theology during late antiquity. Stock then analyzes
Augustine's attitude toward meditative reading through his work Confessions.
The author then compares the views of the historical Augustine and those of
Petrarch's Augustinus from The Secret.
Petrarch's use of reading and writing as meditative techniques is then examined.
Stock concludes with observations of the last of these techniques in the early
modern period.
Stock's argument provides an intriguing view of Augustine,
as well as an Augustinus influenced by different methods of meditative reading
and writing. I found that Stock's examination of reading, ethics, and the
literary imagination provided much needed insight into the Augustine of late
antiquity and not that of Petrarch's The
Secret. Through quotations of Augustine's Confessions, Stock is able to clearly show the relationship between
reading and ethics that emerged in late antiquity as well as its evolution to
the early Renaissance.
Trinkaus, Charles. "The Tradition of a Double Consciousness." The
Poet as Philosopher: Petrarch and the Formation of Renaissance Consciousness.
New Haven and London:
In this chapter of The Poet as
Philosopher, the author
discusses the duality of the mind as defined in classical terms and how these
views affected the works of later writers such as Augustine and Petrarch. The
author shows how classical writers and thinkers such as Socrates, Plato, and
Cicero perceived the duality of the human mind and opinion. He provides an
example from Socrates who states that if a sick man and a healthy man see
something differently he "cannot conceive that…the sick man because he
has one impression is foolish, and the healthy man because he has another is
wise; but the one state requires to be changed into the other, the worse into
the better"(32). From this classical view duality the author goes to the
involvement of "will" and its role in early Renaissance thinking; and
how this influenced the writings of Petrarch, particularly The Secret.
This chapter shows a subject of classical thought that had an impact on
writings from the early Renaissance. This subject, the "tradition of a
double consciousness", is clearly shown and supported by the author.
Through extensive citations of classical thinkers and writers such as Socrates
and Plato, Trinkus is able to show the presence of double consciousness in the
classical world. I agree with the author's position, the roots of "double
consciousness" can be clearly seen as classical based on the arguments such
as the one that Socrates presents. Through a historical approach, Trinkus is
able to successfully provide a critical analysis of the double consciousness and
it's affect on the writings of Petrarch.