RENAISSANCE CODE OF

BEHAVIOR“Man is the measure of all things.”

(Protagoras, 490-420 B.C.)

PREOCCUPATION The immanent takes precedence over

the transcendent; in fact, the immanent can be the source of transcendence.

The Renaissance man or woman possesses earthly interests that can bring the realization of the spiritual domain.

Once a “…singularly high capacity for feeling the delight of earthly achievement…” (Mack 1479)

But “…a loss of firm belief in the final unity and the final intelligibility of the universe….” (Mack 1479)

HUMANISTIC CODE OF BEHAVIOR “Human action is judged not in terms of

right and wrong, of good and evil…but in terms of its present concrete validity and effectiveness, of the delight it affords, of its memorability, and of its beauty.” (Mack 1477)

The aesthetic realm (above the moral realm) reveals the harmonious and the memorable, and redeems human life.

Individual human action is its own reward.

THE VIRTUES As opposed to moral virtues,

Renaissance virtues are immediate and personal.Human excellence (Gr., arete), being the

best you can be is the highest virtue.Source: Plato, Republic.

Technical skill (Gr., techne) art, craft, method that one applies to achieve excellence; the exercise of skill that proves excellence.Source: God of the Old Testament

ART: THE DEMONSTRATION OF RENAISSANCE VIRTU Painting

DaVinci Sculpture

Michelangelo Poetry

Petrarch Music

Gaspar Sanz

DAVINCI: MADONNA, CHILD, AND ST. ANNE

MICHELANGELO: PIETA

PETRARCH: SONNET 3 (4/6/1327)It was on the morning of that blessed dayWhereon the Sun in pity veiled his glareFor the Lord’s agony, that, unaware,I fell captive, Lady, to the swayOf your swift eyes: that seemed no time to stayThe strokes of Love: I stepped into the snareSecure, with no suspicion: then, and thereI found my cue in man’s most tragic play.Love caught me naked to his shaft, his sheaf,The entrance for the ambush and surpriseAgainst the heart wide open through the eyes,The constant gate and fountain of my grief:How craven so to strike me stricken so,Yet from you fully armed conceal his bow!