In spite of its carefully planned - and fully justified - modesty, the title of this book might very well surprise more than one potential reader. It is not normal to see such controversial concepts as "Renaissance," "Renaissance Thought," "Spanish Renaissance," or even "Spanish Thought" freely linked together in the crowded intimacy of one single printed line. The author of these essays is painfully aware of the com plexity of the ground he has dared to cover. He is also aware that all the assumptions and connotations associated with the title of this book have been the subject of great controversy among scholars of high repute who claimed (and probably had) revealing insight into human affairs and ideas. That these pages have been written at all therefore needs some justification. I am convinced that certain of the disputes among historians of ideas do not touch upon matters of substance, but rather reveal the taste and intellectual idiosyncracies of their authors. Much of the disagreement is, I think, a matter of aesthetics. Those who find special gratification in well-defined labels, clear-cut schemes, and compre hensive generalizations, can hardly bear the company of those who insist upon detail, complexity, and organic growth. The nightmarish dilemma, still unresolved, between Unity and Diversity, between the Universal and the Individual, haunts the History of Ideas."

Humanism has constantly proclaimed the belief that the only way to improve man's life on earth is to make man himself wiser and better. Unfortunately, the voice of the humanists has always been challenged by the loud and cheap promises of scientists, by the inflammatory tirades of politicians, and by the apocalyptic visions of false prophets. Material greed, nonsensical chauvinism, racial prejudice, and religious antagonism have progressively defiled the inner beauty of man. Today's bankruptcy of man's dignity in the midst of an unparalleled material abundance calls for an urgent revival of humanistic ideals and values. This book was planned from its very start as a modest step in that direction. It is not my intention, however, to attempt, once again, a global interpretation of Humanism in general, or of Renaissance Humanism in particular. I have been dissuaded from such a purpose by the failure of contemporary scholars to agree on such basic issues as whether the Renaissance was a total break with or a continuation of medieval culture, whether it was basically a Christian or a pagan movement, whether it was the effect or the cause of the classical revival. Instead, then, of discussing the significance of sixteenth century humanism, this book concentrates upon the life and the thought of a single humanist.

In spite of its carefully planned - and fully justified - modesty, the title of this book might very well surprise more than one potential reader. It is not normal to see such controversial concepts as "Renaissance," "Renaissance Thought," "Spanish Renaissance," or even "Spanish Thought" freely linked together in the crowded intimacy of one single printed line. The author of these essays is painfully aware of the com plexity of the ground he has dared to cover. He is also aware that all the assumptions and connotations associated with the title of this book have been the subject of great controversy among scholars of high repute who claimed (and probably had) revealing insight into human affairs and ideas. That these pages have been written at all therefore needs some justification. I am convinced that certain of the disputes among historians of ideas do not touch upon matters of substance, but rather reveal the taste and intellectual idiosyncracies of their authors. Much of the disagreement is, I think, a matter of aesthetics. Those who find special gratification in well-defined labels, clear-cut schemes, and compre hensive generalizations, can hardly bear the company of those who insist upon detail, complexity, and organic growth. The nightmarish dilemma, still unresolved, between Unity and Diversity, between the Universal and the Individual, haunts the History of Ideas."

Humanism has constantly proclaimed the belief that the only way to improve man's life on earth is to make man himself wiser and better. Unfortunately, the voice of the humanists has always been challenged by the loud and cheap promises of scientists, by the inflammatory tirades of politicians, and by the apocalyptic visions of false prophets. Material greed, nonsensical chauvinism, racial prejudice, and religious antagonism have progressively defiled the inner beauty of man. Today's bankruptcy of man's dignity in the midst of an unparalleled material abundance calls for an urgent revival of humanistic ideals and values. This book was planned from its very start as a modest step in that direction. It is not my intention, however, to attempt, once again, a global interpretation of Humanism in general, or of Renaissance Humanism in particular. I have been dissuaded from such a purpose by the failure of contemporary scholars to agree on such basic issues as whether the Renaissance was a total break with or a continuation of medieval culture, whether it was basically a Christian or a pagan movement, whether it was the effect or the cause of the classical revival. Instead, then, of discussing the significance of sixteenth century humanism, this book concentrates upon the life and the thought of a single humanist.