Francesco Petrarch
Living a fulfilling life is what every man wants. At times there are things that will get in the way of that. Laziness and finding the easy way out, weakness to earthly impulses, and losing sight of the soul all prevent man from living the desired life. However, it can be controlled as long as a man is willing to work hard enough. Then one can live life to their fullest expectation. Petrarch argues, through his Ascent of Mount Ventoux, that men being lazy, weak, and lost at times prevents them from living a fulfilling life.
Petrarch believes that men are lazy. They take paths that seem easier in fear of the difficulties and love of ease. Petrarch chooses to take longer paths through the valleys because it seems easier. Every …show more content…
This means that man is weak. When Petrarch made it to the top of Mount Ventoux, he opens up a copy of St. Augustine’s Confessions and is embarrassed and disappointed. "And men go about to wonder at the heights of the mountains, and the mighty waves of the sea, and the wide sweep of rivers, and the circuit of the ocean, and the revolution of the stars, but themselves they consider not." (Petrarch) This disappoints him because now he realizes that his childhood dream of seeing the view from the top of the mountain was his weakness all along. He was weak and lost himself to the urge of manly resistance only to admire this earthly view. “My only motive was the wish to see what so great an elevation had to offer.” (Petrarch) Rather than losing oneself to the view, one should look deeper to find their soul. “I thought in silence of the lack of good counsel in us mortals, who neglect what is noblest in ourselves, scatter our energies in all directions, and waste ourselves in a vain show, because we look about us for what is to be found only within.” (Petrarch) The perfect example of weakness in men today is adultery. Men and women who commit adultery are weak to the impulse to commit this moral crime. Instead of fighting the urge to do so, they commit to it and hurt themselves and anyone involved. In order to live a fulfilling life one must look deep into oneself and be …show more content…
While climbing Mount Ventoux Petrarch repeats the same mistake over and over again and finally takes a break to think to himself. “After being frequently misled in this way, I finally sat down in a valley and transferred my winged thoughts from things corporeal to the immaterial, addressing myself as follows: - “What thou hast repeatedly experience to-day in the ascent of this mountain, happens to thee, as to many, in the journey toward the blessed life.” (Petrarch) Rather than just thinking to himself though, he looks into himself and realizes that his soul is lost. However, he finds himself by admitting it, and this is the first step to changing. “Much that is doubtful and evil still clings to me, but what I once loved, that I love no longer. And yet what am I saying? I still love it, but with shame, but with heaviness of heart. Now, at last, I have confessed the truth.” (Petrarch) His character is now changed because he has finally learned from his mistakes. He was lost, however now he is found. This has made him capable of passing this knowledge on to prevent others from making the same mistake. It is possible to be helped, however it up to a man to do this on his own. One must admit to what is tainted with their own character before their soul can be found. This is the first step to changing the character of a man. Our soul is our character and character is the hardest thing for someone to change. In order to find the soul one must work hard to do
Living a fulfilling life is what every man wants. At times there are things that will get in the way of that. Laziness and finding the easy way out, weakness to earthly impulses, and losing sight of the soul all prevent man from living the desired life. However, it can be controlled as long as a man is willing to work hard enough. Then one can live life to their fullest expectation. Petrarch argues, through his Ascent of Mount Ventoux, that men being lazy, weak, and lost at times prevents them from living a fulfilling life.
Petrarch believes that men are lazy. They take paths that seem easier in fear of the difficulties and love of ease. Petrarch chooses to take longer paths through the valleys because it seems easier. Every …show more content…
This means that man is weak. When Petrarch made it to the top of Mount Ventoux, he opens up a copy of St. Augustine’s Confessions and is embarrassed and disappointed. "And men go about to wonder at the heights of the mountains, and the mighty waves of the sea, and the wide sweep of rivers, and the circuit of the ocean, and the revolution of the stars, but themselves they consider not." (Petrarch) This disappoints him because now he realizes that his childhood dream of seeing the view from the top of the mountain was his weakness all along. He was weak and lost himself to the urge of manly resistance only to admire this earthly view. “My only motive was the wish to see what so great an elevation had to offer.” (Petrarch) Rather than losing oneself to the view, one should look deeper to find their soul. “I thought in silence of the lack of good counsel in us mortals, who neglect what is noblest in ourselves, scatter our energies in all directions, and waste ourselves in a vain show, because we look about us for what is to be found only within.” (Petrarch) The perfect example of weakness in men today is adultery. Men and women who commit adultery are weak to the impulse to commit this moral crime. Instead of fighting the urge to do so, they commit to it and hurt themselves and anyone involved. In order to live a fulfilling life one must look deep into oneself and be …show more content…
While climbing Mount Ventoux Petrarch repeats the same mistake over and over again and finally takes a break to think to himself. “After being frequently misled in this way, I finally sat down in a valley and transferred my winged thoughts from things corporeal to the immaterial, addressing myself as follows: - “What thou hast repeatedly experience to-day in the ascent of this mountain, happens to thee, as to many, in the journey toward the blessed life.” (Petrarch) Rather than just thinking to himself though, he looks into himself and realizes that his soul is lost. However, he finds himself by admitting it, and this is the first step to changing. “Much that is doubtful and evil still clings to me, but what I once loved, that I love no longer. And yet what am I saying? I still love it, but with shame, but with heaviness of heart. Now, at last, I have confessed the truth.” (Petrarch) His character is now changed because he has finally learned from his mistakes. He was lost, however now he is found. This has made him capable of passing this knowledge on to prevent others from making the same mistake. It is possible to be helped, however it up to a man to do this on his own. One must admit to what is tainted with their own character before their soul can be found. This is the first step to changing the character of a man. Our soul is our character and character is the hardest thing for someone to change. In order to find the soul one must work hard to do