The Renaissance brought about an entire revolution.
the humanities, the individual being superhuman because of the revival of the ancient .
Greek and Roman philosophies. "They felt that God-given ingenuity could, and should be .
used to unravel the secrets of God's universe; and that, by extension, man's fate on earth .
could be controlled and improved." (Davies 471) The humanist devoted his life to the .
study of liberal arts hoping to spread the ideas through teaching and lecturing. Education .
was a vital part to the individual's life. New forms of study emerged which always .
stressed the individual over materialistic values. "The principal part of the new thinking .
lay in a growing conviction that humanity was capable of mastering the world." (Davies .
471) The role of man in the family heightened because of all of the responsibilities he .
would need to take part in, specifically finance and good judgment for his children. .
The individual focused on the newfound ideas of the ancient Greek and Romans. .
Marsilio Ficino revived Plato's philosophy by translating all of his dialogues and works, .
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which came to be known as Neoplatonism. Neoplatonism was based on two main ideas, .
the Neoplatonic hierarchy of things and the concept of spiritual love. Ficino stated, "He .
who governs the body in so many and so important ways, and is the vicar of the immortal .
God, he is no doubt immortal- (Aspects 412) Like Ficino, Pico della Mirandola .
devoted his life to search for "the common nuggets of universal truth", (Spielvogel 317) .
which was the core of God's revelation to humanity. In his famous Oration on the .
Dignity of Man he states, "For it is on this very account that man is rightly called and .
judged a great miracle and wonderful creature indeed." (Aspects 410) Micino and .
Mirandola solely devoted their lives to the main theory that man is in essence .
"superhuman" and the closest thing to God, whereas each individual has the ability to .
