First of all, I have to say that I struggled with reading the “De Studiis et Litteris” and “Oration on the Dignity of Man.” They felt cumbersome and I found myself loosing focus quickly. I decided to do a little research to establish some background and that seemed to help. Placing these writings in context of their impact at the time and the continued contribution to the humanities made these texts more “readable” to me. It also helped with my understanding of the Renaissance which, honestly, I’ve completely misunderstood up to this point. The 3 items provided in our course material are pivotal works, ideas, and places that trace back to the beginning of this era. I was able to best identify with Giovanni Pico della Mirandola’s “Oration on the Dignity of Man.” This text was written when he was 23 and has become known as "Manifesto of the Renaissance." Wikipedia has a great summary of his life and writings.
Mirandola suggests that man was created as an afterthought to the universe, earth, and all other creatures because God “still longed for some creature which might comprehend the meaning of so vast an achievement, which might be moved with love at its beauty and smitten with awe at its grandeur.” Man was then given free will to interpret the world around him and either “descend to the lower, brutish forms of life” or “rise again to the superior orders whose life is divine.'' He delves into Greek mythology for some of his sources and illustrations while offering comparisons and examples from other religions, including Hebrew, Christian, and Islam, to support his thesis that man is unique and gifted in his ability to change and, based on my take, is precluded from determinism. He proposes that higher intellectual thought is in itself a form of ascension where man becomes a “higher divinity, clothed in human flesh.”
He then explores how we achieve this greater state of being through acts of charity, intellectual pursuits, and a sense of justice. He also recognizes that man can’t apply these concepts to things he doesn’t understand or know and we must “attain such knowledge by our own efforts.” Basically, “you don’t know what you don’t know.” He argues that we improve through thought and debate. He encourages the study of the liberal arts and how our understanding of those can open up our understanding of deeper things.
The Oration does seem to attempt to influence the ideals of higher education through dogmatic discussions of using intellect to ascend to a pre-described concept of Heaven rather than a more ubiquitous spiritual enlightenment. He does say that theology is the way to peace, a concept that still seems to allude us, but the overall text seems to be kept in check through Catholic theology. Is that a function of his religious beliefs and an appeasement to the Church? He obviously had a respect and appreciation of ideas and religions that were counter to those being practiced around him; so, did he write for his audience and may it have diminished the Oration? I know he must have considered this when he stated: “Lest we be satisfied to consult only those of our own faith and tradition...” And again when he said that his “study of philosophy (such is the unhappy plight of our time) is occasion for contempt and contumely, rather than honor and glory.” Was he being sincere or was is a a device to influence the reader when he wrote that he would “concern myself less with whether I am well thought of than whether what I do or say is evil.” I only ask because I pondered this question while reading the portions of text prior to his long justification. Actually I struggled to find my muddiest point because he seemed to anticipate them and offer some reasonable explanation. The religious and philosophical aspects appear to be so intertwined, that they are not easily separated, and rely on each other to support the Oration. So, at the risk of being rhetorical, my muddiest point question is this: Given the historical time that this was written, and knowing that Mirandola was under scrutiny from religious and political forces, is his message limited or is it universal?
