Category Archives: Renaissance

Philosophy, History and Eloquence

“For to the truly noble mind, and to those who are obligated to involve themselves in public affairs and human communities, knowledge of history and the study of moral philosophy are the more suitable subjects. The rest of the arts are called … Continue reading

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Studies of Free Individuals

“We call those studies liberal, then, which are worthy of a free [liber] man: they are those through which virtue and wisdom are either practiced or sought, and by which the body or mind is disposed towards all the best … Continue reading

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Christ and Cicero

“If to admire Cicero means to be a Ciceronian, I am a Ciceronian.  I admire him so much that I wonder at people who do not admire him.  This may appear a new confession of my ignorance, but this is … Continue reading

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He almost loved Luther

“I know of no one who loathes the ambition, the avarice, and the sensuality of the clergy more than I–both because each of these vices is hateful in itself and because each and all are hardly suited to those who … Continue reading

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Grammar is the Foundation

“From the first, stress must be laid upon distinct and sustained enunciation, both in speaking and and in reading.  But at the same time utterance must be perfectly natural; if affected or exaggerated the effect is unpleasing.  The foundation of … Continue reading

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Passion for Learning

“Let me, at the outset, begin with a caution.  No master can endow a careless and indifferent nature with the true passion for learning.  That a young man must acquire for himself.  But once the taste begins to develop, then … Continue reading

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Early Elementary Teaching

“One must lead the child to declensions and to conjugations at the same time as he is learning his letters.  Because, from the fact that the same word changes case and gender, that the first syllables remain and that the … Continue reading

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Persevere in the study of literature

“To desert our studies shows want of self-confidence rather than wisdom, for letters do not hinder but aid the properly constituted mind which possesses them; they facilitate our life, they do not retard it.  Just as many kinds of food … Continue reading

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Study as Eating

“Study is, so to speak, the pabulum of the mind by which the intellect is trained and nourished.  For this reason, just as gastronomes are careful in the choice of what they put in their stomachs, so those who wish … Continue reading

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Books & Memory

“For although written records are very valuable indeed for other purposes, they are especially valuable for preserving the memory of the past, as they contain the deeds of mankind, the unhoped-for turns of fortune, the unusual works of nature, and … Continue reading

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