Author Archives: Matthew Phillips

How Students Deceive Themselves

Posted on February 28, 2021 by Matthew Phillips

“For the first step in learning is the capacity to doubt, nor is there anything so inimical to learning as the presumption of one’s own erudition or excessive reliance upon one’s own wits: the one takes away our interest in … Continue reading →

Posted in Learning, liberal arts, Pietro Paulo Vergerio, Renaissance, teaching | Leave a comment

The Perversity and Ingratitude of the World

Posted on January 31, 2021 by Matthew Phillips

“For the perversity and ingratitude of the world is so great that it often repays evil to those who have deserved good from it and sometimes even treats them very rudely; on the other hand, it elevates and honors the … Continue reading →

Posted in Martin Luther, Reformation | Leave a comment

Delusion Makes You Happy

Posted on December 18, 2020 by Matthew Phillips

“If Folly is any judge, that man is the happiest who is most thoroughly deluded.  May he remain in that state which comes from me alone and is so widespread that I doubt whether there can be found one person … Continue reading →

Posted in Erasmus, happiness, Renaissance | Leave a comment

Burning the Bull

Posted on December 10, 2020 by Matthew Phillips

“Greetings.  On December 10, 1520, at nine o’clock in the morning, all the following papal books were burned in Wittenberg at the eastern gate near the Church of the Holy Cross: the Decretum, the Decretals, the [Liber] Sextus, the Clementines, … Continue reading →

Posted in Martin Luther, Reformation | Leave a comment

The Origin of Indulgences

Posted on November 30, 2020 by Matthew Phillips

A close reading of Martin Luther’s Ninety-Five Theses demonstrates that he was calling into question not only the doctrine of indulgences but also the late medieval sacrament of penance. Luther focused on the interior nature of repentance instead of sacramental penance … Continue reading →

Posted in Crusades, Martin Luther, medieval, Peter Abelard, Reformation | 2 Comments

Defy Everything: Martin Luther in 1520

Posted on October 31, 2020 by Matthew Phillips

“Let us…commit the affairs of men to God in faithful prayer, and be calm.  What can they do? Will they kill [me]?  Will they revive [me] again in order to kill [me] again? Will they brand me [me] a heretic?  … Continue reading →

Posted in Martin Luther, Reformation, theology | 1 Comment

Fortune Grows Cruel

Posted on October 21, 2020 by Matthew Phillips

“Fortune began to grow cruel and confuse everything.  Men who had easily endured hard work, dangers, uncertainty and adversity found that leisure and wealth, things desirable at other times, were a burden and the cause of misery.  And so, at … Continue reading →

Posted in Rome, Sallust | Leave a comment

Love and Rewards

Posted on September 26, 2020 by Matthew Phillips

“God is not loved without a reward, although he should be loved without regard for one.  True charity cannot be worthless, still, as ‘it does not seek its own advantage,’ it cannot be termed mercenary.  Love pertains to the will, … Continue reading →

Posted in Bernard of Clairvaux, Cistercian, Love, medieval | Leave a comment

Rewarding Merit and Confronting Evil

Posted on August 22, 2020 by Matthew Phillips

“The only proposals in the senate that I have seen fit to mention are particularly praiseworthy or particularly scandalous ones.  It seems to me a historian’s foremost duty to ensure that merit is recorded, and to confront evil deeds and … Continue reading →

Posted in Rome, Tacitus | Leave a comment

The Meaning of Words

Posted on July 31, 2020 by Matthew Phillips

“The meaning of words should be carefully analyzed, and one should diligently ascertain the precise force of each and every term, both in itself and in the given context, so that one may dispel the haze of sophistries that would … Continue reading →

Posted in John of Salisbury, languages, liberal arts, writing | Leave a comment