The Politically Incorrect Guide to Western Civilization (Politically Incorrect Guides) (56 page)
Read The Politically Incorrect Guide to Western Civilization (Politically Incorrect Guides) Online
Authors: Anthony Esolen
BOOK: The Politically Incorrect Guide to Western Civilization (Politically Incorrect Guides)
9.71Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
Chapter Six
The Renaissance: It’s Not What You Think
1
According to Georges Duby, these popular reforms “helped create a space in which communal gatherings could take place,” encouraging the growth of villages “in the shadow of the church, in the zone of immunity where violence was prohibited under peace regulations.” See
A History of Private Life, II: Revelations of the Medieval World
(Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1988), 27.
According to Georges Duby, these popular reforms “helped create a space in which communal gatherings could take place,” encouraging the growth of villages “in the shadow of the church, in the zone of immunity where violence was prohibited under peace regulations.” See
A History of Private Life, II: Revelations of the Medieval World
(Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1988), 27.
2
Thomas Aquinas,
Summa Theologica
1.109, 114; 2.1.80.
Thomas Aquinas,
Summa Theologica
1.109, 114; 2.1.80.
3
The work is by Jacobus Sprenger and Heinrich Kramer (1486); see the translation by Montague Summers (London: Folio Society, 1968).
The work is by Jacobus Sprenger and Heinrich Kramer (1486); see the translation by Montague Summers (London: Folio Society, 1968).
4
See Thomas S. Kuhn,
The Copernican Revolution
(Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1957), 217–19.
See Thomas S. Kuhn,
The Copernican Revolution
(Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1957), 217–19.
5
The meditations are Donne’s
Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions
(1624); Izaak Walton tells of his shroud portrait at the end of his
Life of Dr. John Donne
(1640); see Alexander M. Witherspoon and Frank J. Warnke,
Seventeenth Century Prose and Poetry
(New York: Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich, 1963), 269.
The meditations are Donne’s
Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions
(1624); Izaak Walton tells of his shroud portrait at the end of his
Life of Dr. John Donne
(1640); see Alexander M. Witherspoon and Frank J. Warnke,
Seventeenth Century Prose and Poetry
(New York: Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich, 1963), 269.
6
See Eugenio Garin,
Prosatori Latini del Quattrocento
(Milan: Ricciardi, 1952), 829–31; translation mine.
See Eugenio Garin,
Prosatori Latini del Quattrocento
(Milan: Ricciardi, 1952), 829–31; translation mine.
7
See William Ellery Leonard and Stanley Barney Smith, eds.,
T. Lvcreti Cari De Rervm Natvra Libri Sex
(Madison, Wis.: University of Wisconsin Press, 1942), 108–110.
See William Ellery Leonard and Stanley Barney Smith, eds.,
T. Lvcreti Cari De Rervm Natvra Libri Sex
(Madison, Wis.: University of Wisconsin Press, 1942), 108–110.
8
See David M
.
Whitford, “The Papal Antichrist : Martin Luther and the Underappreciated Influence of Lorenzo Valla,” in
Renaissance Quarterly
61.1 (Spring, 2008), 26–52. Valla’s
Dialogue on Free Will
(1439) set the stage both for Renaissance skepticism regarding man’s freedom and the Protestant assertion that unredeemed man’s will was wholly bound by sin.
See David M
.
Whitford, “The Papal Antichrist : Martin Luther and the Underappreciated Influence of Lorenzo Valla,” in
Renaissance Quarterly
61.1 (Spring, 2008), 26–52. Valla’s
Dialogue on Free Will
(1439) set the stage both for Renaissance skepticism regarding man’s freedom and the Protestant assertion that unredeemed man’s will was wholly bound by sin.
9
See
The Divine Weeks,
tr. Josuah Sylvester; ed. Susan Snyder (New York: Oxford University Press, 1979).
See
The Divine Weeks,
tr. Josuah Sylvester; ed. Susan Snyder (New York: Oxford University Press, 1979).
10
For the yawn with which the Church greeted the heliocentrism of Nicholas of Cusa, see Kuhn,
The Copernican Revolution
, 197, 233–35.
For the yawn with which the Church greeted the heliocentrism of Nicholas of Cusa, see Kuhn,
The Copernican Revolution
, 197, 233–35.
11
See Kuhn,
The Copernican Revolution,
188, 193.
See Kuhn,
The Copernican Revolution,
188, 193.
12
The famous dictum is “
Pluralitas non est ponenda sine necessitate
,” meaning, roughly, that the rule of parsimony is to be used in explaining phenomena.
The famous dictum is “
Pluralitas non est ponenda sine necessitate
,” meaning, roughly, that the rule of parsimony is to be used in explaining phenomena.
13
In Book One of
The Advancement of Learning
(1605), Bacon accuses the Aristotelians of having spun out “laborious webs of learning” on “vermiculate questions.” He does not so much argue against them as ridicule.
In Book One of
The Advancement of Learning
(1605), Bacon accuses the Aristotelians of having spun out “laborious webs of learning” on “vermiculate questions.” He does not so much argue against them as ridicule.
14
The anecdote is well known, but it may be an invention. There was a meeting in 1802 between Laplace and Napoleon, nor was the tyrant entirely pleased by the “mechanics” of the heavens. That at least is the account given by the astronomer William Herschel, who was present. See Constance Lubbock,
The Herschel Chronicle
(1933), 310.
The anecdote is well known, but it may be an invention. There was a meeting in 1802 between Laplace and Napoleon, nor was the tyrant entirely pleased by the “mechanics” of the heavens. That at least is the account given by the astronomer William Herschel, who was present. See Constance Lubbock,
The Herschel Chronicle
(1933), 310.
15
Richard M. Weaver,
Ideas Have Consequences
(Chicago and London: Chicago University Press, 1948), 3.
Richard M. Weaver,
Ideas Have Consequences
(Chicago and London: Chicago University Press, 1948), 3.
16
The Portuguese missionary was Francisco d’Alvarez. The 1533 Basel edition of Robert the Monk’s account of the First Crusade,
Bellum Christianum principum
, includes letters from one David, the chief of the Nestorian Christians in Ethiopia, appealing to his comrades in the faith to unite with him against the Muslims.
The Portuguese missionary was Francisco d’Alvarez. The 1533 Basel edition of Robert the Monk’s account of the First Crusade,
Bellum Christianum principum
, includes letters from one David, the chief of the Nestorian Christians in Ethiopia, appealing to his comrades in the faith to unite with him against the Muslims.
17
See “On Cannibals,” in
Montaigne: Selected Essays,
tr. William Hazlitt, ed. Richard Bates (New York: Modern Library, 1949), 74–89.
See “On Cannibals,” in
Montaigne: Selected Essays,
tr. William Hazlitt, ed. Richard Bates (New York: Modern Library, 1949), 74–89.
18
Lawrence Washington bought Sulgrave Manor in 1539.
Lawrence Washington bought Sulgrave Manor in 1539.
19
Note the expression of potent desire in Saint John of the Cross’s best known poem, “En un noche oscura”:
Note the expression of potent desire in Saint John of the Cross’s best known poem, “En un noche oscura”:
On a night of darkness, kindled with the flames of longing in love, oh blessed chance!I left, and no one knew, for all my house was stilled in sleep. (translation mine)For John’s poetry in Spanish and English, and for an excellent discussion of the Carmelites, see Gerald Brennan,
St. John of the Cross: His Life and Poetry
(Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1973).
Chapter Seven
The Enlightenment: Liberty and Tyranny
1
Kant,
What Is Enlightenment?
From
Kant,
ed. Gabriele Rabel (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1963), 140.
Kant,
What Is Enlightenment?
From
Kant,
ed. Gabriele Rabel (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1963), 140.
2
Burke,
Reflections on the Revolution in France
(London: J. M. Dent, 1910), 84; Burke was writing in 1790.
Burke,
Reflections on the Revolution in France
(London: J. M. Dent, 1910), 84; Burke was writing in 1790.
3
See Luther’s 1545 Preface to his
Complete Latin Writings,
from
Luther’s Works,
vol. 34, ed. and trans. Lewis W. Spitz (Philadelphia: Muhlenberg Press, 1960), 327–38.
See Luther’s 1545 Preface to his
Complete Latin Writings,
from
Luther’s Works,
vol. 34, ed. and trans. Lewis W. Spitz (Philadelphia: Muhlenberg Press, 1960), 327–38.
4
The slogan attributed to the Dominican friar Johann Tetzel epitomized the sale of indulgences: “As soon as the coin in the coffer rings, the soul from purgatory springs.” That prompted a reply from numbers 27 and 28 of Luther’s famous Ninety-Five Theses (1517).
The slogan attributed to the Dominican friar Johann Tetzel epitomized the sale of indulgences: “As soon as the coin in the coffer rings, the soul from purgatory springs.” That prompted a reply from numbers 27 and 28 of Luther’s famous Ninety-Five Theses (1517).
5
I’m not being fair to Pelagius (c.350–c.418), the monk for whom the heresy is named. He believed that Augustine’s doctrine that we must rely wholly upon God’s grace provided people with an excuse for moral laxity. He, as much as anyone, would despise what has come to be called Pelagianism—the belief that we are all naturally good and can merit salvation by our own middling efforts: “If it should be thought to be nature’s fault that some have been unrighteous, I shall use the evidence of the scriptures, which everywhere lay upon sinners the heavy weight of the charge of having used their own will and do not excuse them for having acted only under the constraint of nature” (Letter to Demetrias, 7).
I’m not being fair to Pelagius (c.350–c.418), the monk for whom the heresy is named. He believed that Augustine’s doctrine that we must rely wholly upon God’s grace provided people with an excuse for moral laxity. He, as much as anyone, would despise what has come to be called Pelagianism—the belief that we are all naturally good and can merit salvation by our own middling efforts: “If it should be thought to be nature’s fault that some have been unrighteous, I shall use the evidence of the scriptures, which everywhere lay upon sinners the heavy weight of the charge of having used their own will and do not excuse them for having acted only under the constraint of nature” (Letter to Demetrias, 7).
6
From the Council of Trent (1547): “When the Apostle says that man is justified by faith and freely, these words are to be understood in that sense in which the uninterrupted unanimity of the Catholic Church has held and expressed them, namely, that we are therefore said to be justified by faith, because faith is the beginning of human salvation, the foundation and root of all justification, without which it is impossible to please God and to come to the fellowship of His sons; and we are therefore said to be justified gratuitously, because none of those things that precede justification, whether faith or works, merit the grace of justification” (Session 6; Decree Concerning Justification, ch. 8).
From the Council of Trent (1547): “When the Apostle says that man is justified by faith and freely, these words are to be understood in that sense in which the uninterrupted unanimity of the Catholic Church has held and expressed them, namely, that we are therefore said to be justified by faith, because faith is the beginning of human salvation, the foundation and root of all justification, without which it is impossible to please God and to come to the fellowship of His sons; and we are therefore said to be justified gratuitously, because none of those things that precede justification, whether faith or works, merit the grace of justification” (Session 6; Decree Concerning Justification, ch. 8).
7
Calvin, see
Commentary on Saint John
, 6:41–45;
Institutes of the Christian Religion
, 3.21, on efficacy of grace; 3.19, on the fact that even the saintly Christian merits nothing by his works.
Calvin, see
Commentary on Saint John
, 6:41–45;
Institutes of the Christian Religion
, 3.21, on efficacy of grace; 3.19, on the fact that even the saintly Christian merits nothing by his works.
8
Thomas Middleton wrote a rakish satire against them,
The Family of Love
(1608). The Familists were followers of one Hendrik Niclaes, a Dutch merchant. He urged all men and women, from all nations and faiths, to join him in discarding dogma and living in peace. Christopher Hill gives the Adamites and other sexual radicals a great leftist cheer in
The World Turned Upside Down: Radical Ideas During the English Revolution
(London: Penguin, 1975).
Thomas Middleton wrote a rakish satire against them,
The Family of Love
(1608). The Familists were followers of one Hendrik Niclaes, a Dutch merchant. He urged all men and women, from all nations and faiths, to join him in discarding dogma and living in peace. Christopher Hill gives the Adamites and other sexual radicals a great leftist cheer in
The World Turned Upside Down: Radical Ideas During the English Revolution
(London: Penguin, 1975).
9
Hobbes,
Leviathan,
1.13.
Hobbes,
Leviathan,
1.13.
10
“When Brutus inspired the Romans with a boundless love of liberty,” wrote Bossuet, thinking not of the saintliness of kings but of God’s providential order, “it did not occur to him that he was planting the seeds of that unbridled license through which the very tyranny he wished to destroy was one day to be restored in a harsher form than under the Tarquins” (
Discourse on Universal History,
3.8; trans. Elborg Forster [Chicago: Chicago University Press, 1976]), 375.
“When Brutus inspired the Romans with a boundless love of liberty,” wrote Bossuet, thinking not of the saintliness of kings but of God’s providential order, “it did not occur to him that he was planting the seeds of that unbridled license through which the very tyranny he wished to destroy was one day to be restored in a harsher form than under the Tarquins” (
Discourse on Universal History,
3.8; trans. Elborg Forster [Chicago: Chicago University Press, 1976]), 375.
11
Lucretius,
On the Nature of Things,
1.418–48, 2.62–141.
Lucretius,
On the Nature of Things,
1.418–48, 2.62–141.
12
From “Mock On, Mock On, Voltaire, Rousseau”, 9–12 (ca. 1810).
From “Mock On, Mock On, Voltaire, Rousseau”, 9–12 (ca. 1810).
13
Cragg,
The Church and the Age of Reason, 1648–1789
(Hammondsworth: Penguin, 1960), 12.
Cragg,
The Church and the Age of Reason, 1648–1789
(Hammondsworth: Penguin, 1960), 12.
14
See Norman L. Torrey, ed.,
Les Philosophes
(New York: Capricorn Books, 1960), 185.
See Norman L. Torrey, ed.,
Les Philosophes
(New York: Capricorn Books, 1960), 185.
15
Not until 1828 did Roman Catholics in England enjoy full voting rights; by then, toleration would be championed not by the crown but by the many and various sects of dissenters from the established Church of England.
Not until 1828 did Roman Catholics in England enjoy full voting rights; by then, toleration would be championed not by the crown but by the many and various sects of dissenters from the established Church of England.
16
The businessmen of Manchester were the economic and social liberals of the day, the egalitarians, who understood equality only as leveling. See chapter four, “Romantics and Utilitarians,” in Russell Kirk,
The Conservative Mind: From Burke to Santayana
(Washington, DC: Regnery, 1986), 99–129.
The businessmen of Manchester were the economic and social liberals of the day, the egalitarians, who understood equality only as leveling. See chapter four, “Romantics and Utilitarians,” in Russell Kirk,
The Conservative Mind: From Burke to Santayana
(Washington, DC: Regnery, 1986), 99–129.
17
The story of Father Ricci (1552–1616) is told by Jonathan D. Spence, in
The Memory Palace of Matteo Ricci
(London: Penguin, 1985).
The story of Father Ricci (1552–1616) is told by Jonathan D. Spence, in
The Memory Palace of Matteo Ricci
(London: Penguin, 1985).
18
See Bernal Diaz,
The Conquest of New Spain,
trans. J. M. Cohen (Hammondsworth: Penguin, 1963).
See Bernal Diaz,
The Conquest of New Spain,
trans. J. M. Cohen (Hammondsworth: Penguin, 1963).
19
Burke accepted Franklin’s views on the unfairness of British taxation of America; see Carl Van Doren,
Benjamin Franklin
(New York: Viking, 1938), 331–35.
Burke accepted Franklin’s views on the unfairness of British taxation of America; see Carl Van Doren,
Benjamin Franklin
(New York: Viking, 1938), 331–35.
20
John Witherspoon, for instance, was a Presbyterian minister; the bold John Hancock was a deeply devout man who implored his fellow members of the First Continental Congress to turn remorsefully to God for forgiveness in their troubled times. The presidency, and the accident of its being occupied by Christians more or less veering away from Trinitarianism, has tended to overshadow who the rest of the men were and what they believed.
John Witherspoon, for instance, was a Presbyterian minister; the bold John Hancock was a deeply devout man who implored his fellow members of the First Continental Congress to turn remorsefully to God for forgiveness in their troubled times. The presidency, and the accident of its being occupied by Christians more or less veering away from Trinitarianism, has tended to overshadow who the rest of the men were and what they believed.
21
Jefferson called it “The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth,” and “offered it as proof that he whom the priests and Pharisees called an infidel was ‘a true Christian’ in the only sense that mattered” (Merrill D. Peterson, in
The Portable Jefferson
[New York: Penguin, 1977], xxxviii.)
Jefferson called it “The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth,” and “offered it as proof that he whom the priests and Pharisees called an infidel was ‘a true Christian’ in the only sense that mattered” (Merrill D. Peterson, in
The Portable Jefferson
[New York: Penguin, 1977], xxxviii.)
22
Adams to Jefferson, in their very old age, January 22, 1825: “The Europeans are all deeply tainted with prejudices both Ecclesiastical, and Temporal which they can never get rid of; they are all infected with Episcopal and Presbyterian Creeds, and confessions of faith, They all believe that great principle, which has produced this boundless Universe. Newtons Universe, and Hershells universe, came down to this little Ball, to be spit-upon by Jews; and untill this awful blasphemy is got rid of, there never will be any liberal science in the world.” From
The Adams-Jefferson Letters
, ed. Lester J. Capon, vol. 2 (Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 1959).
Adams to Jefferson, in their very old age, January 22, 1825: “The Europeans are all deeply tainted with prejudices both Ecclesiastical, and Temporal which they can never get rid of; they are all infected with Episcopal and Presbyterian Creeds, and confessions of faith, They all believe that great principle, which has produced this boundless Universe. Newtons Universe, and Hershells universe, came down to this little Ball, to be spit-upon by Jews; and untill this awful blasphemy is got rid of, there never will be any liberal science in the world.” From
The Adams-Jefferson Letters
, ed. Lester J. Capon, vol. 2 (Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 1959).
23
See Locke,
Second Treatise on Government,
ch. 6, “Of Paternal Power.”
See Locke,
Second Treatise on Government,
ch. 6, “Of Paternal Power.”
24
See
The Federalist
, no. 55.
See
The Federalist
, no. 55.
25
In 1787, Adams in fact writes a
Defence of the Constitutions of Government of the United States of America
against the radical French democrat Turgot, who criticized it for its system of checks and balances, blending monarchy, aristocracy, and democracy.
In 1787, Adams in fact writes a
Defence of the Constitutions of Government of the United States of America
against the radical French democrat Turgot, who criticized it for its system of checks and balances, blending monarchy, aristocracy, and democracy.
26
The infamous Peter Singer, co-editor with Paola Cavalieri of
The Great Ape Project: Equality Beyond Humanity
(London: Fourth Estate, 1993).
The infamous Peter Singer, co-editor with Paola Cavalieri of
The Great Ape Project: Equality Beyond Humanity
(London: Fourth Estate, 1993).
27
It is the academic liberal, not the conservative, who nowadays writes with glee about the racism of the Enlightenment, tainting everyone from Locke (who profited indirectly by the slave trade), Voltaire, the American Founders, Kant, Hegel, and many others. It is interesting that for two hundred years, the more
conservative
societies of Catholic Spain and Italy will suffer the same rationalist judgment of inferiority; cf. the appreciative but almost insufferable condescension of the great Hawthorne towards Italy in
The Marble Faun.
It is the academic liberal, not the conservative, who nowadays writes with glee about the racism of the Enlightenment, tainting everyone from Locke (who profited indirectly by the slave trade), Voltaire, the American Founders, Kant, Hegel, and many others. It is interesting that for two hundred years, the more
conservative
societies of Catholic Spain and Italy will suffer the same rationalist judgment of inferiority; cf. the appreciative but almost insufferable condescension of the great Hawthorne towards Italy in
The Marble Faun.
28
Aristotle,
Nicomachean Ethics,
1.3.1095a.
Aristotle,
Nicomachean Ethics,
1.3.1095a.
29
See D. E. Smith,
History of Mathematics
(New York: Dover, 1958), 382.
See D. E. Smith,
History of Mathematics
(New York: Dover, 1958), 382.
30
Hume,
An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding,
section 4, “Sceptical Doubts Concerning the Operations of the Understanding.”
Hume,
An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding,
section 4, “Sceptical Doubts Concerning the Operations of the Understanding.”
31
See Kant,
Foundations of the Metaphysics of Morals,
trans. Lewis White Beck (Indianapolis: Bobbs Merrill, 1959), 37.
See Kant,
Foundations of the Metaphysics of Morals,
trans. Lewis White Beck (Indianapolis: Bobbs Merrill, 1959), 37.
32
Boswell,
The Life of Samuel Johnson
(New York: Modern Library, 1952), 807.
Boswell,
The Life of Samuel Johnson
(New York: Modern Library, 1952), 807.
33
Opposing the American argument for independence, Johnson wrote, “How is it that we hear the loudest yelps for liberty among the drivers of negroes” (
Life of Samuel Johnson
, 747–48). Boswell continues, giving us Johnson’s empassioned argument against what Boswell called a “humanely regulated” British slave trade (748–50).
Opposing the American argument for independence, Johnson wrote, “How is it that we hear the loudest yelps for liberty among the drivers of negroes” (
Life of Samuel Johnson
, 747–48). Boswell continues, giving us Johnson’s empassioned argument against what Boswell called a “humanely regulated” British slave trade (748–50).
Other books
Saving Graces by Elizabeth Edwards
Burnout: the mystery of Space Shuttle STS-281 by Stephanie Osborn
Necropolis by Anthony Horowitz
Reprisal by Colin T. Nelson
The Shattered Sylph by L. J. McDonald
Echo Six: Black Ops 7 - Tibetan Fury by Eric Meyer
Unbound: (InterMix) by Cara McKenna
Charming (A Seven World Novel) by Dannika Dark
Ravensclaw by Maggie MacKeever
Crown of Cinders (Imdalind Series Book 7) by Rebecca Ethington