his202 essay

Rinascita:

"Human beings are made "in the image of God," meaning that each one has the possibility of being a person of creativity and moral excellence."

we are able to "determine our own destiny."

we are "creators, second only to God; we are the God-appointed governors of the world."

We may "achieve fame - the personal glory attained by an individual who thrusts himself or herself forward in some important, heroic, or prominent way."

p.3-4 B. Thompson, Humanists and Reformers, a History of the Renaissance and Reformation, William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, Cambridge, U.K, 1996

Humanitas:

The word humanitas was created by Cicero to describe a good human. In Cicero's opinion it was a necessity for the education in the Classical studies.
Pliny the Younger defined it as the capacity to win the affections of lesser folk without impinging on greater (Ep. IX, 5).
Very important is the revival of the Classical Antiquity in the Age of Renaissance by the Italian humanists beginning from Francesco Petrarca, who discovered and studied texts by Cicero.
During the Age of Enlightenment in Germany, the term "Humanität" in the philosophical sense of humanity, was used for "a better human being" or Humanism. It is used for example by Johann Gottfried Herder in his "Briefe an die Humanität" and by Friedrich Schiller.

Humanitas. (2009, August 8). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 9:34, November 5, 2009, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Humanitas&oldid=306757227

15 century political unrest/wars

The life of the Italian people, as a story cast around self-determining city-states, came to an end in 1494. In the autumn of that year, Charles VIII of France, in command of an army of 30,000 men, marched through the Savoyard Alps and descended into the peninsula to claim the kingdom of Naples.

By April 1503, large parts of Italy, in the north and south, lay in the hands of governors French and Spanish.

The experience of the Italian wars coloured all of life - most especially that o the dominant social groups, because they were stricken in their leadership.

p.277

Italy had become the playground of the most cynical game that Europe had ever known. No wonder that Machiavelli and poets such as Berni, Folengo, and Aretino came from its midst.

p.283

Lauro Martines, Power and Imagination, City-states in Renaissance Italy, Pimlico, 2002, Sydney

Machivelli:

'A prince also wins prestige for being a true friend or a true enemy, that is, for revealing himself without any reservation in favour of one side against another.' p.72

'Rather, he should select from Severus the qualities necessary to establish his state, and from Marcus Aurelius those which are conducive to its maintenance and glory after it has been stabilized and made secure.' p67.

'strive to demonstrate in his actions grandeur, courage, sobriety, strength.' p.59 obviously showing that his has become disenchanted with the deceitful actions of the Church.

'endeavour to escape being hated' 'honour his word and to be straightforward' p.56

'religion institutions, so powerfully mature that, no matter how the ruler acts and lives, they safe-guard his government.' p. 37

Niccolo Machiavelli, The Prince, Trans. George Bull, Penguin Books, London, 2003.