Category Archives: liberal arts

Gluttony Over Glosses

“For clerks of our own day follow more readily the schools of Antichrist than Christ, are rather given to gluttony than glosses; they collect pounds rather than read books…now all learning goes cheap, all reading is half-hearted; there is no-one … Continue reading

Posted in Alan of Lille, education, liberal arts, medieval, teaching, theology | Leave a comment

How Students Deceive Themselves

“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 Meaning of Words

“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

Studies Burdensome to Youth

One may wish to be learned in old age, but it is not easy to achieve this unless we have nurtured learning in ourselves from our earliest years with zealous effort.  So we need to prepare in youth those consolations … Continue reading

Posted in Learning, liberal arts, Pietro Paulo Vergerio | 2 Comments

Rhabanus on Rhetoric and Preaching

“According to the statements of teachers, rhetoric is the art of using secular discourse effectively in the circumstances of daily life.  From this definition rhetoric seems indeed to have reference merely to secular wisdom.  Yet is is not foreign to … Continue reading

Posted in liberal arts, Rhabanus Maurus, rhetoric | Tagged | Leave a comment

The Exercise of the Mind

“I think to myself how many men exercise their bodies, and how few their intellects; what a great gathering there is to see an unreliable show put on in play, and what a great isolation around the noble arts; how … Continue reading

Posted in liberal arts, Seneca, virtue, will | Leave a comment

Unlock the Hidden Places of Learning

“A certain wise man, when asked concerning the method and form of study, declared: A humble mind, eagerness to inquire, a quiet life,                                   … Continue reading

Posted in Hugh of St Victor, Learning, liberal arts, teaching | Leave a comment

Reading the Best Authors

“This then will be our first study: to read only the best and most approved authors.  Our second will be to bring to this reading a keen critical sense.  The reader must study the reasons why the words are placed … Continue reading

Posted in languages, Leonardo Bruni, liberal arts, reading, Renaissance | Leave a comment

Career Advice from the Renaissance

“To decide which is the most suitable career to himself, a man must take two things into account: the first is his own intelligence, his mind and his body, everything about himself; and the second, the question requiring close considerations, … Continue reading

Posted in education, Leon Battista Alberti, liberal arts, Renaissance | Leave a comment

Reading Needs Memory

“Reading needs the aid of memory, and even if memory is sluggish, it is sharpened by frequent meditation, and recovered by assiduous reading.  Often a prolix reading will overwhelm the memory with its length, but if it is short, and … Continue reading

Posted in Isidore of Seville, Learning, liberal arts, reading, teaching, wisdom | Leave a comment