Synopses & Reviews
One of the great poets of the 14th century, Italian scholar Francesco Petrarch is also regarded as the father of the humanist movement.
The Secret Petrarch’s autobiographical treatise translated here from the Latin, represents a "humanist manifesto" central to understanding European culture during the early modern period. Carol Quillen’s introductory essay to this volume illuminates the development of humanist practices, Petrarch’s role in the dissemination of humanist ideas, the importance of
The Secret as a humanist text, and the enduring historical significance of the humanist tradition in Western thought and culture. Also included are several illustrations, a chronology, a selected bibliography, and questions for consideration.
About the Author
CAROL E. QUILLEN (Ph.D., Princeton University) is associate professor of history at Rice University and currently holds an I Tatti fellowship from Harvard University's Center for Italian Renaissance Studies in Florence, Italy. The author of Rereading the Renaissance: Petrarch, Augustine, & the Language of Humanism (1998), her work focuses on early modern European history, European intellectual history, and feminist theory.
Table of Contents
Foreword Preface
PART ONE: INTRODUCTION
Petrarch and the Humanist Movement
A Crown for a Poet
The Lure of the Past
Petrarch and the Ancients
Defining Humanism
Humanism After Petrarch
The Secret
A Humanist Manifesto
The Composition and Structure of The Secret
Augustinus
Augustinus and Franciscus
Laura
Franciscus
The Legacy of The Secret
Note on the Translation
PART TWO: THE SECRET
Prologue
Book I: The First Dialogue
Book II: The Second Dialogue
Book III: The Third Dialogue
PART THREE: RELATED DOCUMENTS
Petrarch's First Letter to Cicero
Augustine's Confessions
Virgil's Aeneid
Augustine's The City of God
Appendixes
Glossary of Names
A Petrarch Chronology (1304-1374)
Questions for Consideration
Selected Bibliography
Index
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