Primary Document: Gender and Society
Men in Renaissance Society
Vergerius to Ubertinus of Carrara
CONCERNING CHARACTERYour grandfather, Francesco I, a man distinguished for his capacity in affairs and for his sound judgment, was in the habit of saying that a parent owes three duties to his children. The first of these is to bestow upon them names of which they need not feel ashamed. For not seldom, out of caprice, or even indifference, or perhaps from a wish to perpetuate a family fortune which clings to him for life. The second obligation is this: to provide that his child be brought up in a city of distinction, for this not only concerns his future self-respect, but is closely connected with the third and most important care which is due from father to son. This is the duty of seeing that he be trained in sound learning. For no wealth, no possible security against the future, can be compared with the gift of an education in grave and liberal studies. By them a man may win distinction for the most modest name, and bring honor to the city of his birth however obscure it many be. But we must remember that whilst a man may escape from the burden of an unlucky name, or from the contempt attaching to a city of no repute, by changing the one or quitting the other, he can never remedy the neglect of early education. The foundation, therefore, of this last must be laid in the first years of life, the disposition moulded while it is susceptible and the mind trained while it is retentive. In judging character in youth, we recognize, first of all, that it is a mark of soundness in a boy's nature that he is spurred by desire of praise: upon this rests Emulation, which may be defined as rivalry without malice. Next we notice the quality of willing and ready obedience, which in itself is full of promise for future progress, while, combined with the love of approbation, it suggests the possibility of the highest excellence. For, as yet, the boy is not of an age to be stimulated by the dictates of reason, which would be, doubtless, (as Plato and Cicero said) the surest motive, but emulation, going along with obedience, supplies that which reason is as yet too weak to give. Again, we prize every sign of alertness, of industry, of thoroughness, in the growing character. As in a horse the mettle which needs neither whip nor spur, so in a boy eagerness for learning, marks a temper from which much may be hoped. Where all these qualities are found united we need have little anxiety as to character at large. Again, we may feel confidently about a boy who shows signs of due shame at punishment or disgrace, or who respects his master in spite of it. The boy, too, who is naturally of a friendly disposition, forgiving, sociable, taking all that is said and done in good part, gives good promise for the future. Perhaps we may add, with Aristotle, that excessive physical energy rarely goes with keen intellectual tastes. Arguments drawn from physiognomy I prefer to leave to others. But we have said enough to show how bent of character may be recognized in early years.
MORAL CHARACTERIt is especially necessary to guard the young from the temptations natural to their age. For, as has been said, every period of life has its own besetting sins. Manhood is the age of passion: Middle-life of ambition: old age of avarice. I speak, or course, in general terms. So, too, we find faults common to boyhood, which are obvious subjects for Regulations. In order to maintain a high standard of purity all enticements of dancing, or suggestive spectacles, should be dealt at a distance: and the society of women as a rule carefully avoided. A bad companion may wreck the character. Idleness, of mind and body, is a common source of temptation to indulgence, and unsociable, solitary temper must be disciplined, and on no account encouraged. Harmful imaginations in some, moroseness* and depression in other, result from want of healthy companionship. Tutors and comrades alike should be chosen from amongst those likely to bring out the best quantities, and even then carefully diluted, with water in the larger proportion. But in no case is it allowable to eat, drink or sleep up to the point of complete satisfaction: in all bodily pleasures we must accustom our children to retain complete and easy control of appetite. Above all, respect for Divine ordinances is of the deepest importance; it should be inculcated* from the earliest years. This reverential temper, however, must not be forced in such a way that it pass into unreasoning superstition, which engenders* contempt rather than faith. Profane language is to be held an abominable sin: and disrespect towards the ceremonies of the Church or vain swearing must be sternly repressed. Reverence towards elders and parents is an obligation closely akin.
CONCERNING LIBERAL STUDIESWe call those studies liberal which are worthy of a free man; those studies by which we attain and practice virtue and wisdom; that education which calls forth, trains and develops those highest gifts of body and of mind which ennoble men, and which are rightly judged to rank next in dignity to virtue only. For to a vulgar temper gain and pleasure are the one aim of existence, to a lofty nature, moral worth and fame. It is, then, of the highest importance that even from infancy this aim, this effort, should constantly be kept alive in growing minds. For I may affirm with fullest conviction that we shall not have attained wisdom in our later years unless in our earliest we have sincerely entered on its search... ...We come now to the consideration of the various subjects which may rightly be included under the name of "Liberal Studies." Amongst these I accord the first place to History, on grounds both of its attractiveness and of its utility, qualities which appeal equally to the scholar and to the statesman. Next in importance ranks Moral Philosophy, which indeed is, in a peculiar sense, a "Liberal Art," in that its purpose is to teach men the secret of true freedom. History, then gives us the concrete examples of the precepts inculcated* by philosophy. The one shows what men should do, the other what men have said and done in the past, and what practical lessons we many draw therefrom for the present day, I would indicate as the third main branch of study, Eloquence, which indeed holds a place of distinction amongst the refined Arts. By philosophy we learn the essential truth of things, which by eloquence we so exhibit in orderly adornment as to bring conviction to differing minds. And history provides the light of experience--a cumulative wisdom fit to supplement the force of reason and the persuasion of eloquence. For we allow that soundness of judgment, wisdom of speech, integrity of conduct are the marks of a truly liberal temper. ...The Art of Letters, however, rests upon a different footing. It is a study adapted to all times and to all circumstances, to the investigation of fresh knowledge or to the re-casting and application of old. Hence the importance of grammar and of the rules of composition must be recognized at the outset, the foundation on which the whole study of Literature must rest: and closely associated with the art of Logic and Disposition ... After Eloquence we place Poetry and the Poetic Art, which though not without their value in daily life and as an aid to oratory, have nevertheless their main concern for the leisure side of existence. ...As to Music, the Greeks refused the title "Educated" to anyone who could not sing or play. ...Arithmetic, which treats of the properties of numbers, Geometry, which treats of the properties of dimensions, lines, surfaces, and solid bodies, are weighty studies because they possess a peculiar element of certainty. ...I may here glance for a moment at three great professional Disciplines: Medicine, Law, Theology.
|
Top of page