Compare And Contrast Machiavelli And Renaissance Humanism

In Fourteenth and Fifteenth Century Europe, the Renaissance or rebirth occurred; and this brought up new ideas for artwork and various movements. Renaissance humanism was a movement based on the learnings of Classic literary works called the humanities, composed of grammar, rhetoric, poetry, moral philosophy or ethics, and history. Humanists held teaching and secretary jobs, and almost all humanists were not part of the clergy, or the Church. Humanism would also evolve from the ideal being a solitary individual, to becoming an active member in their own society, this is called civic humanism and starts out in Florence. In artwork, the works of Leonardo da Vinci and others would begin a new outlook on art being extra realistic which would split …show more content…
There were two types of political powers in Europe during the Renaissance, the large monarchical states such as France and Spain, and little states such as Florence and Venice in Italy. Machiavelli would be the first to suggest changes to the Italian states, saying that they were no match for the large monarchical states outside their borders and he created ethical rules that a ruler should follow if they wish to be an excellent and effective ruler. Humanism is a reflection of Machiavelli’s ideas that would change politics. Several of Machiavelli’s ideas came from his knowledge of Ancient Rome, similar to how Humanism is based on classical works of ancient times. Machiavelli also says that a ruler must put the state he rules for first, regardless of consequences to himself or how the people react to his actions. Civic Humanism would clearly reflect this also as it urges the ideal of the best citizen being one that proactively helps in his community, and does what is right for his state. Humanism would clearly reflect the changes in politics during the Renaissance, which would ultimately lead to the creations of large monarchical powers or …show more content…
Similar to how new techniques in art perspective comes about, new machinery and other technology rises to dig deeper mines, or better purify minerals. The sheer amount of artwork created during this time shows that the economy was strong enough to support large amounts of people devoting their lives to create luxuries. People were also able to take part in intellectual movements such as Humanism, which was unheard of during the plague as people were forced to do backbreaking work for the little food that would help them survive. The economic recovery during the Renaissance is integral to allow art and intellectual movements to flourish, and how well those luxuries thrived reflects on how well the recovery