The Civilisation of the Renaissance in ItalyBurckhardt, Jacob
History
The Civilisation of the Renaissance in Italy
Burckhardt, Jacob
Italy -- Civilization; Renaissance -- Italy
between such a man and the humanists? The latter had more free will,
more subjectivity, than they could turn to purposes of happiness. The
mendicant friar, who had lived from his boyhood in the monastery, and
never eaten or slept except by rule, ceased to feel the compulsion under
which he lived. Through the power of this habit he led, amid all outward
hardships, a life of inward peace, by which he impressed his hearers far
more than by his teaching. Looking at him, they could believe that it
depends on ourselves whether we bear up against misfortune or surrender
to it. ‘Amid want and toil he was happy, because he willed to be so,
because he had contracted no evil habits, was not capricious,
inconstant, immoderate; but was always contented with little or
nothing.’ If we heard Contarini himself, religious motives would no
doubt play a part in the argument--but the practical philosopher in
sandals speaks plainly enough. An allied character, but placed in other
circumstances, is that of Fabio Calvi of Ravenna, the commentator of
Hippocrates.[644] He lived to a great age in Rome, eating only pulse
‘like the Pythagoreans,’ and dwelt in a hovel little better than the tub
of Diogenes. Of the pension, which Pope Leo gave him, he spent enough to
keep body and soul together, and gave the rest away. He was not a
healthy man, like Fra Urbano, nor is it likely that, like him, he died
with a smile on his lips. At the age of ninety, in the sack of Rome, he
was dragged away by the Spaniards, who hoped for a ransom, and died of
hunger in a hospital. But his name has passed into the kingdom of the
immortals, for Raphael loved the old man like a father, and honoured him
as a teacher, and came to him for advice in all things. Perhaps they
discoursed chiefly of the projected restoration of ancient Rome (p.
184), perhaps of still higher matters. Who can tell what a share Fabio
may have had in the conception of the School of Athens, and in other
great works of the master?
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account