“Do we have to be educated to be human beings?”
“Yes, that was the thought. But before we take a closer look at the ideas of
Renaissance humanism, we must say a little about the political and cultural back-
ground of the Renaissance.”
Alberto rose from the sofa and began to wander about the room. After a while
he paused and pointed to an antique instrument on one of the shelves.
“What is that?” he asked.
“It looks like an old compass.”
“Quite right.”
He then pointed to an ancient firearm hanging on the wall above the sofa.
“And that?”
“An old-fashioned rifle.”
“Exactly—and this?”
Alberto pulled a large book off one of the bookshelves.
“It’s an old book.”
“To be absolutely precise, it is an incunabulum.”
“An incunabulum?”
“Actually, it means ‘cradle.’ The word is used about books printed in the cradle
days of printing. That is, before 1500.”
“Is it really that old?”
“That old, yes. And these three discoveries—the compass, firearms, and the
printing press—were essential preconditions for this new period we call the Ren-
aissance.”
“You’ll have to explain that a bit more clearly.”
“The compass made it easier to navigate. In other words, it was the basis for the
great voyages of discovery. So were firearms in a way. The new weapons gave the
Europeans military superiority over American and Asiatic cultures, although firearms
were also an important factor in Europe. Printing played an important part in
spreading the Renaissance humanists’ new ideas. And the art of printing was, not
least, one of the factors that forced the Church to relinquish its former position as sole
disseminator of knowledge. New inventions and instruments began to follow thick
and fast. One important instrument, for example, was the telescope, which resulted in
a completely new basis for astronomy.”
“And finally came rockets and space probes.”
“Now you’re going too fast. But you could say that a process started in the
Renaissance finally brought people to the moon. Or for that matter to Hiroshima and
Chernobyl. However, it all began with changes on the cultural and economic front. An
important condition was the transition from a subsistence economy to a monetary
economy. Toward the end of the Middle Ages, cities had developed, with effective
trades and a lively commerce of new goods, a monetary economy and banking. A
middle class arose which developed a certain freedom with regard to the basic
conditions of life. Necessities became something that could be bought for money.
This state of affairs rewarded people’s diligence, imagination, and ingenuity. New
demands were made on the individual.”
“It’s a bit like the way Greek cities developed two thousand years earlier.”
“Not altogether untrue. I told you how Greek philosophy broke away from the
mythological world picture that was linked to peasant culture. In the same way, the
Renaissance middle class began to break away from the feudal lords and the power of
the church. As this was happening, Greek culture was being rediscovered through a
closer contact with the Arabs in Spain and the Byzantine culture in the east.”