We Could Be Heroes
In today’s multi-media world, the concept of a hero has often been watered-down to include star athletes, pop-culture celebrities, and those on the local news who perform a single gallant act. To the 18th-century professor of Latin Eloquence at the University of Naples in Italy, Giambattista Vico, a hero and particularly, the heroic mind, had a much deeper significance. Vico sees the heroic mind with an unquenchable hunger for knowledge. In this quest, he challenges the student body in an oration delivered to the Royal Academy of Naples in 1732 to strive for the heroic mind for the benefits of humanity. While influenced by the deep-rooted Catholic culture of the time, Vico also weaves the broad spectrum of thought presented in the Age of Enlightenment of the period. Thus, to portray the near-divine nature of the heroic mind, Vico draws from biblical themes such as original sin. Also, he includes references to the “old gods” of myth and Roman deities, including Jove (Jupiter) and Minerva, the god of wisdom. Vico stresses education for wisdom’s sake over material gain. Skillfully, he personifies Wisdom and Fortune as if dualistic fabled deities. All the while, Vico, cautions against the pursuance of a single field of knowledge. Somewhat like an 18th-century …show more content…
He warns against complacent scholars with “petty minds” that preach learning has reached its apex, already concluding perfection. Instead, after citing significant discoveries and inventions in the previous 700 years that led to the Renaissance period and the Age of Reason, Vico contends that countless possibilities and even greater discoveries still abound (p. 243). He urges the students to pursue new inventions for the well-being of mankind with a voracious appetite, for such is a product of the heroic
In today’s multi-media world, the concept of a hero has often been watered-down to include star athletes, pop-culture celebrities, and those on the local news who perform a single gallant act. To the 18th-century professor of Latin Eloquence at the University of Naples in Italy, Giambattista Vico, a hero and particularly, the heroic mind, had a much deeper significance. Vico sees the heroic mind with an unquenchable hunger for knowledge. In this quest, he challenges the student body in an oration delivered to the Royal Academy of Naples in 1732 to strive for the heroic mind for the benefits of humanity. While influenced by the deep-rooted Catholic culture of the time, Vico also weaves the broad spectrum of thought presented in the Age of Enlightenment of the period. Thus, to portray the near-divine nature of the heroic mind, Vico draws from biblical themes such as original sin. Also, he includes references to the “old gods” of myth and Roman deities, including Jove (Jupiter) and Minerva, the god of wisdom. Vico stresses education for wisdom’s sake over material gain. Skillfully, he personifies Wisdom and Fortune as if dualistic fabled deities. All the while, Vico, cautions against the pursuance of a single field of knowledge. Somewhat like an 18th-century …show more content…
He warns against complacent scholars with “petty minds” that preach learning has reached its apex, already concluding perfection. Instead, after citing significant discoveries and inventions in the previous 700 years that led to the Renaissance period and the Age of Reason, Vico contends that countless possibilities and even greater discoveries still abound (p. 243). He urges the students to pursue new inventions for the well-being of mankind with a voracious appetite, for such is a product of the heroic