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Darcy Allison HIS 324, Summer 2001 Professor Soergel The Prince and The Book of the Courtier One of the great things to ponder when snow is quietly falling so heavily that vision is limited to the nose on one’s face, is how each snowflake is different from any of the others. It has also been said that each human being is also a unique creation amongst humanity, which surround that individual. Of a truth, each person is endowed with a certain amount of freedom, whether a slave or master, child or parent. One’s opinion and thoughts are his/her own. Baldesar Castiglione and Niccolo Machiavelli, the two authors of the two most popular books of the Renaissance both make comments of the individual in society. Both follow the opinion that each individual is intimately connected to the society in which that individual resides. The people who surround an individual drive much of what that person decides to do with their own will, opinions, and their success in life. The two writers agree that society sets the ideal for the individual to reach in their personal progress, recognize the pressure that the social order places on the distinctive person and celebrates those who, through unusual virtue achieve their desires, and that the influence of a person can be felt on certain realms in society and that those realms also control a person. Most people work in their lives to become better. Presumably, the ultimate goal is to eventually run out of things to improve in and reach perfection, or at least perfection in one particular specialty. During the Renaissance, the invention of the printing press opened up a wealth of accessible knowledge to people. If one has visited any of the great libraries, it is hard not to feel dwarfed by several floors filled with stack after stack of books. Truly, the amount of things to know in the world far exceeds a person’s capacity to learn it all. What then defines perfection? Is it to just know everything? Castiglione gives his answer by saying, “it is so difficult to know what true perfection is that it is nearly impossible, and this is due to the diversity of our opinions.” (p. 208) In other words perfection is defined by someone’s particular view. Machiavelli is concerned with only the appearance of perfection, but is still concerned about it nonetheless. He defines it by saying that one “should appear…to be all mercy, all faithfulness, all integrity, all kindness, all religion.” These qualities are desirable because then the opinion of society of that person would be that they are perfect, or close to it because, “men in general judge more by their eyes than their hands; for everyone can see but few can feel.” (p.
Approximate Word count = 1791
Approximate Pages = 7.2
(250 words per page double spaced)
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