The Renaissance · School
Humanism
Returned to classical texts and centred on human dignity, education and freedom; Erasmus and Pico were its exemplars.
Representative figures · 4
Pico della Mirandola皮科·德拉·米兰多拉
At twenty-three he challenged all Europe to debate nine hundred theses; his Oration on the Dignity of Man declared that humans may make of themselves whatever they choose.
Erasmus伊拉斯谟
Prince of the northern humanists, who edited the Greek New Testament, mocked the whole age in The Praise of Folly, and defended free will between Luther and Rome.
Niccolò Machiavelli马基雅维利
Stripped politics of morality and asked only how power is won and kept; The Prince still unsettles its readers.
Michel de Montaigne蒙田
Invented the essay, took 'What do I know?' as his motto, and made himself the subject of a book about humanity.