What do you think?
Rate this book
400 pages, Hardcover
First published April 1, 2021
‘’Between the birth of Dante in 1265 and the death of Galileo in 1642, something happened which would transform the entire culture of western civilization.’’
When I saw him in that vast wilderness,
‘’Have pity on me,’’ were the words I cried,
‘’Whatever you may be - a shade, a man’’
He answered me: ‘’Not man; I once was man.
Both of my parents came from Lombardy,
And both claimed Mantua as native city.
Dante Alighieri’s La Divina Commedia, Inferno, Canto I, lines 64-70
‘’On the question of whether it is better to be loved than feared, or the reverse, the answer is that one would like to be both the one and the other; but because it is difficult to combine them, it is far better to be feared than loved if you cannot be both…….. The prince must nonetheless make himself feared in such a way that, if he is not loved, at least he escapes being hated’’.
The Prince, Chapter XVII, Cruelty and compassion; and whether it is better to be loved than feared, or the reverse
The establishment of justice in Florence at this particular time begs an important question. Who was the Renaissance for? Who did it benefit? Certainly not the underprivileged. It is arguable that they would benefit from this humanist development in the long run, by the 'trickle-down' effect.But we know that the trickle down effect is an elitist fatamorgana for the wealthy. Does the greatest art benefit the people, who without context would not be able to understand it? It is a good question, though we are tempted to answer that the works of the masters have influenced our history and the historical that comes after.