In this first comprehensive study of the effect of Lucretius's De rerum natura on Florentine thought in the Renaissance, Alison Brown demonstrates how Lucretius was used by Florentine thinkers--earlier and more widely than has been supposed--to provide a radical critique of prevailing orthodoxies. To answer the question of why ordinary Florentines were drawn to this recently discovered text, despite its threat to orthodox Christian belief, Brown tracks interest in it through three humanists--the most famous of whom was Machiavelli--all working not as philologists but as practical administrators and teachers in the Florentine chancery and university. Interpreting their direct use of Lucretius within the context of mercantile Florence, Brown highlights three dangerous themes that had particular appeal: Lucretius's attack on superstitious religion and an afterlife; his pre-Darwinian theory of evolution; and his atomism, with its theory of free will and the chance creation of the world. The humanists' challenge to established beliefs encouraged the growth of a "Lucretian network" of younger, politically disaffected Florentines. Brown thus adds a missing dimension to our understanding of the "revolution" in sixteenth-century political thinking, as she enriches our definition of the Renaissance in a context of newly discovered worlds and new social networks.
具体描述
读后感
评分
评分
评分
评分
用户评价
Lucretius's appeal (more than voluptas): against fear of death, primitivism and civilization, atomism... the Epicurean/Atheist problem; “Lucretian networks”; Florence's disillusionment
评分Lucretius's appeal (more than voluptas): against fear of death, primitivism and civilization, atomism... the Epicurean/Atheist problem; “Lucretian networks”; Florence's disillusionment
评分Lucretius's appeal (more than voluptas): against fear of death, primitivism and civilization, atomism... the Epicurean/Atheist problem; “Lucretian networks”; Florence's disillusionment
评分Lucretius's appeal (more than voluptas): against fear of death, primitivism and civilization, atomism... the Epicurean/Atheist problem; “Lucretian networks”; Florence's disillusionment
评分Lucretius's appeal (more than voluptas): against fear of death, primitivism and civilization, atomism... the Epicurean/Atheist problem; “Lucretian networks”; Florence's disillusionment
相关图书
本站所有内容均为互联网搜索引擎提供的公开搜索信息，本站不存储任何数据与内容，任何内容与数据均与本站无关，如有需要请联系相关搜索引擎包括但不限于百度，google,bing,sogou 等
© 2025 book.wenda123.org All Rights Reserved. 图书目录大全 版权所有