From Dawn to Decadence by Jacques Barzun (Part 2)

This morning I finished reading the third chapter, The Good Letters.

In this chapter, Barzun talks about Humanism. It's a very boring chapter. Mostly he talks about the early humanists who went back to the classics of ancient Greece and Rome. He contrasts these early humanists who appreciated classical art and its expression of humanity to the more modern humanists who deify Man.

The early humanists were not completely secular, though they were accused of being worldly by those who were more devoted to the spiritual existence. Many of these humanists were churchmen, priests of the Catholic church. In the final sections of this chapter, Barzun even introduces a series of humanist popes. Anyways, I'm quite fuzzy on the details in this section because I was only half paying attention and the rest of my mind was wandering because it was so boring.

There was, however, one very interesting part. Barzun wrote about Petrarch, giving a brief history of his life and work. Petrarch is the Italian poet after whom the Petrarchan sonnet is named. He was a priest, at least at first, and he became a great celebrity in Italy and Europe as a poet and orator. I certainly recommend reading this brief section (maybe one or three pages).

So, until next time!