The Good Letters

pp.43
Individual's untrammeled (自由自在的) relation to god ----->leads to the proliferation of sects---->leads to individualism
这是个个人意识觉醒的时代：人们信仰的自由导致了个人意识的觉醒

pp.44
Humanist的来历：
The term humanist was first applied by German scholars of the early 19C to writers who in the 14C and 15C rejected parts of the immediate past in favor of the culture they perceived in the classics of ancient Rome. they were particularly keen about the Latin style of these classics.

Humanism的最初定义:
It originally described the style of the ancients: LITTERAE HUMANIORES, the more human letters, meaning a literature less abstract than medieval philosophy and expressed in a more elegant grammar and concise vocabulary. These qualities defined what the humanists liked to call the "good letters". By comparison, the prose of the medieval scholastics was barbaric and fit only for discussing theology. It was far from ignoring Man, but it was logic-chopping and it linked all human concerns to the hereafter.
下一段继续表明了Humanists 对古典文明的态度：
For the original Humanists, the ancient classics depicted a civilization that dealt with the affairs of the world in a man-centered way. Those books - poems and plays, histories and biographies, moral and social philosophy - were for the ancients guides to life, important in themselves, rather than subordinate to an overriding scheme that put off human happiness to the day of judgment.
这解释了文章的章节名字的意思。
Cicero became the humanists' culture hero.
补充材料：Cicero
马库斯·图利乌斯·基凯罗（Marcus Tullius Cicero，前106年1月3日－前43年12月7日），或依英语音译西塞罗，罗马共和国著名演说家和政治家，被誉为“拉丁语雄辩家”、散文家。也被认为是三权分立学说的古代先驱。

pp.45
讲到humanists主要是学拉丁语而非希腊语。每个educated man都应该知道拉丁语，而对希腊语的要求则没有那么严格。不过作者又写
But throughout, the highly educated were supposed to have mastered both the ancient languages, and the clergy must know Hebrew in addition. It is a noteworthy feature of 20C culture that for the first time in over a thousand years its educated class is not expected to be at least bilingual.

另外这里作者引用的一句quotation超级有趣!
”The new degree of Bachelor of Science does not guarantee that the holder knows any science. It does guarantee that he does not know any Latin."
                    ---Dean Briggs of Harvard College (c.1900)

pp.45-46
Humanists的思维方式非常深刻地影响着现代生活的方方面面：
If we look for what is common to the Humanists over the centuries we find two things: a body of accepted authors and a method of carrying on study and debate. The two go toghether with the belief that the best guides to the good life are Reason and Nature.
...
As for the Humanist method, it is the one still in universal use. Its conventions are commonplace everywhere: in government, business, the weekly magazines, and even in schoolwork -  who has escaped "research"? Who dares ignore exact quotation and date, consulting previous work, citing sources, listing bibliography, and sporting that bade of candor, the footnote?
在读西方史的时候，经常有很深的感叹，就是原来一切都是有根可循的。现代文化的一切可以追溯到很远很远的地方。这种有根可循令人心安。当然，也不免感叹中国古典文化随着西方文化的强烈冲击和侵略，已经断掉了。这也是没有办法的事情吧。

pp.47
中世纪的人也很好地保留着古希腊和古罗马的作品，但是为什么在那个时候没有产生Humanists呢?作者打了个比方：古代作品就像一座山，呈现出不同的面貌。而看山的人却根据自身经历往往只看到其中几面，却"take a few of these as a whole"。不同时代的人看同样的作品，看到的却是不同的东西。

比如
For the early Humanists, the aspects that shone out in the works of antiquity were the beauty of the language and the novel features of a vanished civilization. Both gave rise to a new sense, the sense of history, which may be defined as the simultaneous perception of difference and similarity between pass and present.
所以说，对“历史"的存在感的发现，是中世纪之后才开始的。

其实文艺复兴从意大利开始，移到其他国家也花了2个世纪多。摘录原文
The Italian Petrarch [彼特拉克（1304-1374,意大利诗人,学者、欧洲人文主义运动的主要代表）] in the 14C is deemed the first full-blooded Humanist. "Renaissance" painting is the great achievement of the 15C. Erasmus, Ariosto, Tasso, Rebelais, Montaigne, Shakespeare, and the Pleiade poets in France are all labeled Renaissance writers, and they belong to the 16C. So does Renaissance music. As we saw, Erasmus, arriving in England in 1497, was glad to find that English scholars were now abreast of " the good letters." in short, the culture features of the so-called Renaissance moved north and west from Italy during a culture lag of some two and a half centuries.

的确啊，去national gallery看14世纪的意大利绘画，还在没完没了的画神；14世纪后期开始慢慢出现希腊罗马神话诸神的主题。到了15世纪，画人的就越来越多了。看这本书的同时去National Gallery慢慢跟着书本的年代去看画，真是相得益彰啊！！
我不知道现在还算不算是个”哲学家改变世界“的年代 （现在恐怕更多是科学家吧。不过科学家也算是哲学家的一种了）。但是在古代，真的是哲学家改变世界。读《苏菲的世界》的时候就深深地感到这点。一个新思想的诞生可以带动这么多东西 - 音乐美术文学...这不知道为什么总是让我觉得神奇。

pp.49
这里作者主要在讲Petrarch(彼特拉克）-他是早起的产生自我觉醒的学者:
He declared that art is an individual matter, not something with the reach of all professionals. "Everyone should write in his own style." The theme to note here is SELF-CONSCIOUSNESS. It is allied to INDIVIDUALISM but it differs from it in being not a social and political condition but a mental state.

pp.50
原来是皮特拉克这货完善了十四行诗！！(Sonnet)
In Petrarach's day sonnets - verses to be sounded, to be sung - were of various lengths. The now traditional length (指十四行诗）is just right for a small oration - exposition, development and conclusion. And that classical form, so closely studied and practiced by the Humanists, has remained a pattern that governs western creations, from public speaking to poetry, drama, prose and the symphony.
想起《傲慢与偏见》里的对话 （大概记忆啦）
宾利：”我一直以为诗歌是爱情的源泉。“
达西（还是伊丽莎白?)：”那得是健康的爱情才行...否则，一首出色的十四行诗就能把它断送掉。“
=P

pp.53
这一段我觉得特别有趣
To be fashionable in some particular foreign way has been a recurrent phenomenon in the west: After Italy, it was Spain that radiated light; then France imposed its ways and later went Anglophile, not once but twice. After a short-lived Germanism in England and France, the Orient, and last the United States have been the irresistible model, followed even when denounced.
其实这一段也可以看出欧洲各国繁荣的更替啊。

pp.53-54
文艺复兴对政治/经济的影响
At the beginning of the successive "ages of the Renaissance" north and west of Italy, when Italian poetry, drama and prose fiction were taken as models, together with the Humanist scholarly methods, attention to the written word affected enlightened opinion on law, history, politics and religion. Establishing a text by comparing sources, verifying dates, weighing evidence and witnesses' credibility, while also analyzing usage, impressed on the European mind the effect of the passage of time: documents began to be read critically; oral traditions lost authority unless confirmed. The age of indispensable literacy had begun.
也就是说，”笔头记录“第一次成了不可或缺的东西。

pp.54
继续之前的话题,"笔头记录”对教会的影响
In general, 16C scholarship strengthened the Protestant idea that the gospel, not the church, was the fount of doctrine. It is a Humanist principle that if you want to know the truth, go to the sources, not the commentators. 

pp.55
提到了"bonfire of the vanities"
背景资料：
Bonfire of the Vanities (Italian: Falò delle vanità) refers to the burning of objects that are deemed to be occasions of sin. The most infamous one took place on 7 February 1497, when supporters of the Dominican priest Girolamo Savonarola collected and publicly burned thousands of objects like cosmetics, art, and books in Florence, Italy, on the Mardi Gras festival.[1] Such bonfires were not invented by Savonarola, however. They were a common accompaniment to the outdoor sermons of San Bernardino di Siena in the first half of the century.
The focus of this destruction was nominally on objects that might tempt one to sin, including vanity items such as mirrors, cosmetics, fine dresses, paintings, playing cards, and even musical instruments. Other targets included books that were deemed to be "immoral," such as works by Boccaccio, and manuscripts of secular songs, as well as artworks, including paintings and sculpture.

从这页开始，非常有趣的我无法一言总结的关于柏拉图和亚里士多德的比较.
为什么会突然开始讨论这个呢?无法总结。引用作者原话：
Good Christian Humanities were moral beings of the conventional sort, but their trained minds wanted something more: a metaphysics that would reformulate or at least parallel in classical terms the Catholic theology. Most of them found it in Plato.

柏拉图
He had taught that human beings are in a cave with their backs to the entrance and looking at the inner wall, which reflects dimly the reality outside. Interpreted, this means that the senses give an imperfect copy of the eternal forms of being. These are the proper object of human attention. By steady effort, the individual can raise his sight from the love of earthly things to the love of eternal beauty, which consists of those pure forms. Such is the Platonist's grace and salvation.

这里，为了加强理解，引用《苏菲的世界》第九章
“ 柏拉图认为，自然界中有形的东西是“流动”的，所以世间才没有不会分解的“物质”。属于“物质世界”的每一样东西必然是由某种物质做成。这种物质会受时间侵蚀，但做成这些东西的“模子”或“形式”却是永恒不变的。”

“为何全天下的马儿都一样?你也许不认为它们是一样的，但有些特质是所有的马儿都具备的，这些特质使得我们可以认出它们是马。当然个别的马是“流动”的，因为它会老、会瘸，时间到了甚至会死。但马的“形式”却是永恒不变的。 
　　 因此，对柏拉图而言，永恒不变的东西并非一种“基本物质”，而是形成各种事物模样的精神模式或抽象模式。 ”

“ 柏拉图因此得出一个结论：在“物质世界的背后，必定有一个实在存在。他称这个实在为‘理型的世界’，其中包含存在于自然界各种现象背后、永恒不变的模式。”这种独树一格的观点我们称之为“柏拉图的理型论”。 ”

“我们已经见到柏拉图如何认为实在世界可以分为两个领域。 
　　 其中一个是感官世界。我们只能用我们五种并不精确的官能来约略认识这个世界。在这个世界中，“每一件事物都会流动”，而且没有一个是永久不变的。这里面存在的都是一些生生灭灭的事物。 
　　 另外一个领域则是理型的世界。我们可以用理性来确实认识这个世界。我们无法用感官来察知这个理型的世界，但这些理型(或形式)是永恒不变的。 
　　 根据柏拉图的说法，人是一种具有双重性质的生物。我们的身体是“流动”的，与感官的世界不可分割，并且其命运与世界上其他每一件事物(如肥皂泡)都相同。我们所有的感官都是以身体为基础，因此是不可靠的。但我们同时也有一个不朽的灵魂，而这个灵魂则是理性的天下。由于灵魂不是物质，因此可以探索理型的世界。 ”

“柏拉图同时认为，灵魂栖居在躯体内之前，原本就已经存在(它和所有的饼干模子一起躺在橱柜的上层)。然而一旦灵魂在某 一具躯体内醒来时，它便忘了所有的完美的理型。然后，一个奇妙的过程展开了。当人类发现自然界各种不同的形式时，某些模糊的回忆便开始扰动他的灵魂。他看到了一匹马，然而是一匹不完美的马。(一匹姜饼马！)灵魂一看到这匹马，便依稀想起它在理型世界中所见过的完美“马”，同时涌起一股回到它本来领域的渴望。柏拉图称这种渴望为eros，也就是“爱”的意思。此时，灵魂体验到“一种回归本源的欲望”。从此以后．，肉体与整个感官世界对它而言，都是不完美而且微不足道的。灵魂渴望乘着爱的翅膀回“家”，回到理型的世界。它渴望从“肉体的枷锁”中挣脱。 ”

“柏拉图用一个神话故事来说明这点。我们称之为“洞穴神话”。 ”

“柏拉图想说的是：黑暗洞穴与外在世界的关系就像是自然世界的形式与理型世界的关系。他的意思并非说大自然是黑暗、无趣的，而是说，比起鲜明清楚的理型世界来，它就显得黑暗而平淡。同样的，一张漂亮女孩的照片也不是单调无趣的，但再怎么说它也只是一张照片而已。 ”

然后，作者开始谈亚里士多德
Aristotle was a physicist, biologist, social scientist, and aesthetician. His system gave matter basic importance. He taught that wealth, friends, and comfort were part of the good life and prerequisites of virtue; for every ideal possibility rests on a natural (material) base.

Humanists 里面有一小批人是信奉亚里士多德的，"especially those attracted by the new findings in science"

现在引用《苏非的世界》里关于亚里士多德的介绍 （第11章）
“ 我们可以说柏拉图太过沉迷于他那些永恒的形式(或“理型”)，以至于他很少注意到自然界的变化。相反的，亚理斯多德则只对这些变化(或我们今天所称的大自然的循环)感到兴趣。 ”

“柏拉图和他的前辈一样，想在所有变化无常的事物中找出永恒与不变之物。因此他发现了比感官世界层次更高的完美理型。他更进一步认为理型比所有的自然现象真实。他指出，世间是先有“马”的理型，然后才有感官世界里所有的马匹，它们就像洞壁上的影子一般达达前进。因此“鸡”的理型要先于鸡，也先于蛋。 
　　 亚理斯多德则认为柏拉图将整个观念弄反了。他同意他的老 师的说法，认为一匹特定的马是“流动”的，没有一匹马可以长生不死，他也认为马的形式是永恒不变的。但他认为马的“理型”是我们人类在看到若干匹马后形成的概念。因此马的“理型”或“形式” ”

“所以，亚理斯多德并不赞成柏拉图主张“鸡”的理型比鸡先有的说法。亚理斯多德所称的鸡的“形式”存在于每一只鸡的身上，成为鸡之所以为鸡的特色”

“在柏拉图的理论中，现实世界中最高层次的事物乃是那些我们用理性来思索的事物。但对亚理斯多德而言，真实世界中最高层次的事物乃是那些我们用感官察觉的事物。”

“ 在批评柏拉图的理型论后，亚理斯多德认为实在界乃是由各种本身的形式与质料和谐一致的事物所组成的。“质料”是事物组成的材料，“形式”则是每一件事物的个别特征。 ”



然后，从这个时候开始，柏拉图派和亚里士多德派就争论不休了。

然后，作者写了一段很有启发性的关于米开朗基罗（柏拉图派）的文字.
pp.56
Michelangelo, for example, whose hand was subdued to matter like any ditch digger's, valued his works not for their artistic merit, as we do, but for the ideal beauty that he put into them and that, for him, made their materiality disappear.
也就是说，米开朗基罗试图制造柏拉图所说的一个事物的“完美形式”。有趣！

然后，又一段有趣的关于“柏拉图爱情”的话
It is too bad that in popular use "Platonic love" means only absence of sexual relations. That typical reduction of an important idea prevents one from using the term conveniently to denote a recurrent striving in occidental culture, the longing for the Pure. Individuals and movements, not all rooted in religion or metaphysics, have repeatedly proclaimed their pursuit or their achievement of pure love, pure thought, pure form in art. 
其实人家柏拉图追求的是“纯粹”，而不仅仅是“无性”啰。

pp.62
This first generation of international publishers did not merely make and sell books; they were scholars and patrons who translated the classics, nurtured their authors, and wrote original works. Their continual redesigning of letter forms gave rise to the new art of typography. Dozens of fine artists since 1500 have created typefaces for every kind of use without making the earliest ones obsolete.
这就是印刷体历史的开始啊！15世纪末16世纪初。好神奇。