Abstract
AbstractHumanists seeking to defend the classics in Christian-dominated Europe often reframed ancient philosophers as virtuous proto-Christians. This is particularly visible in the biographical paratexts written for printed editions of ancient philosophers such as Pythagoras, Epictetus, and Democritus, whose humanist editors’ Christianizing claims grew stronger over time. Pious humanists intended and expected the classics to strengthen and reaffirm Christian orthodoxy, but humanists’ own claims that pre-Christian sages, by the light of reason alone, had deduced the central truths of theology and surpassed Christians in the exercise of virtue inadvertently undermined the necessity of scripture and paved the way for later deism.
Publisher
Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Subject
Literature and Literary Theory,Visual Arts and Performing Arts,History
Cited by
3 articles.
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1. Libertines and Libertinism;Encyclopedia of Renaissance Philosophy;2022
2. Skepticism in Early Modern English Literature;2021-04-16
3. Libertines and Libertinism;Encyclopedia of Renaissance Philosophy;2020