Petrarch Ascent of Mount Ventoux
Petrarch and Humanity
Petrarch, an Italian poet, was best known for his works, considered one of the best love poets in the world. His story of climbing Mont Ventoux together with his brother brought a reflection to a couple of matters. After making a few wrong turns looking for a shorter route, Petrarch was sad over his imperfections. He thought of all the shortcomings of men as they were more interested in the earthly material things.
While reading and thinking about Augustine’s Confessions and Apostolic Epistles, Petrarch could not help himself from thinking about human desires. He agreed that spirituality was driven by desire and that human beings did not appreciate life. Petrarch further reflected how it is more important to appreciate the little thing in life, such as art or human feeling, as they brought more meaning to life. From his climb, Petrarch learns that he values the wrong things in life. He saw that satisfying the soul was more important than anything else in the world.
Petrarch and Modernity
Famously known as the father of Humanism, I consider Petrarch’s worldview modern. Unlike many other scholars of his time, there is a lot of available information about Petrarch. His personal information, including his date of birth, location, and the exact dates of all his travels and work, proves him to be a modern man. Although he was medieval, Petrarch’s discovery of the letters of Cicero influenced the spark of the Italian Renaissance. In support of many scholars, this discovery makes him the founder of the modern world.
Petrarch’s story as he climbed the mount relates to modern mountain climbing. He climbed Mount Ventoux just for pleasure from his story, making him a modern person, unlike a medieval person. In the medieval age’s mountain climbing was considered dangerous and was only done for meaningful purposes. During those times, they could not do activities such as mountain climbing or going to the beach for leisure without the modern technology to make it safe. His search for a perfect companion is also another trait that relates him to a modern person. His quality further makes Petrarch’s worldview modern.
Reference
Petrarch, F. (1948). The Ascent of Mont Ventoux. Translated by Hans Nachod. In The Renaissance Philosophy of Man, edited by Ernst Cassirer, Paul Oskar Kristeller, and John Herman Randall Jr, 36-46. http://homepages.gac.edu/~panciera/Petrarchletters.pdf