His202

The tennsion in Europe late 15, early 16th century is part of a large complex issue whilst also so are the human tendencies of the humanist intellectuals, all of this feeds into our understanding of the reformation.

Boccacio - 15th century.

Machiavelli - early 16th

These works highlighted the issues which gave rise to the reformation.

The most dramatic example of the anxiety is both the rise and the fall of Savanarola in Florence. This moral imperative to look towards a charismatic monk in a time of some peril in Florence and at the same time that revulsion of just a few years later of that charismatic monk when things were going well. The easy tendency to view clerical monks, bishops, popes as humans, they are fallible. Religious tension.

Marsilio Ficino - egyptian contemporary of Moses.

Hermetic writings are more in the style of the Gnostic traditions - not 17th century writings. (Neo platonism)

The gnostics sought the truth out themselves. They took it quite far.

Separation of mind and body. The idea of the soul being present inside of the body but separate from physical corruption of the body.

These texts were used to challenge Aristotelian theories with more emphasis placed on 'magic' - astrology, alchemy, medicine, application of mystical cures.

A philosophy of nature that embraces everything.

Hermes Trismegistus is represented as a magician. Finding the balances and harmonies between all natural and supernatural things.

The whole universe is subject to this harmony of sun, moon and earth.

There are several images of Hermes balancing all these ideas.

There is an appeal of Hermetic philosophy in this period - 15th and 16th centuries. They argued that their way of thinking was more compatible with Christian values rather than Aristotelianism or Thomism.

In Aristotelianism God did not move. The ambiguity of this is somewhat of a problem - so the hermetic, gnostic approach nullifies that problem. So it chimed in with many Christian values. Many people believed that hermetic philosophy would complete Christian theology.

*refer to picture of alchemist's lab* the musical instruments are there because you find harmony in the mathematical precision of music and this mirrors the idea that you can find harmony in the universe via mathematics.

this picture is an excellent example of perspective. Also light and darkness.

It is a scene full of life - in a sense that there are things that are happening in it - natural things.

He is alone - it is the individual that seeks achievement.

On the curtain: 'when we attend strictly to our work - God himself will help us"



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By the mid to late 17th century natural magic was beginning to lose its appeal to more orthodox ideas. People were finding spiritual englightenment through rational thought and empirical work - rather than just burning chemicals and such. In any case in the 15 and 16th century it was taken seriously as a way to find natural and divine knowledge. So Christian humanism is clearly evident in the revival, intepretation and use of hermetic texts.

The rise of hermeticism is an important development as it makes up the rich fabric of Christian humanism.

Reaching a spiritual communion with good, how is this done? Through what institution? Through what means? Through what text?

Because by the mid to late 17th century people started talking about science being more mechanical, less spiritual... we can't separate hermeticism and its Christian directive from the broader reformist movement.

Some hermetic elements would be re-used amongst other schools of theology.

disenchantment.