9
Fiery Tongues and Minds Afire
Christian Humanism’s Legacy in Renaissance Poetry
Brett Foster
This volume is dedicated to the appropriation of Christian humanism for our
time. The importance of grasping the nature and importance of Renaissance
humanism for this project can hardly be overestimated. In this contribution,
I want to reflect on what this legacy of Christian humanism means for us today
by focusing on the passion of Renaissance humanists for poetry and education.
Today we no longer necessarily consider poetry or literature essential to higher
education. Yet as long as universities present themselves, in some form or
another, as liberal arts institutions, this unique vision of higher education
remains centrally informed by the achievements and, yes, the anxieties of
Renaissance humanists, most of whom were Christian scholars of the most
admirable sort. It is my hope that their anxieties, intentions, and compromises
can still speak to us today. More positively, I hope that we might have occasion
to think about how attention to tradition and community might spur us to
think more deeply about our roles as students and teachers in a liberal arts
context. How might we strive to enhance our experiences in higher education
and our goals for it, and carry these goals past the college or university world
into society at large? We will assess the legacy of Christian humanism in the
Renaissance in two steps. First, I will deal with three characteristic aspects of
Renaissance humanism that show us how they, as Christian poets, engaged
culture and thought about education. These three interconnected aspects are
syncretism, imitation, and collaboration. Second, after dealing with each of
Editor’s note: Brett Foster tragically died of cancer before he could provide a polished version
of his lecture for publication. In order not to lose his rich insights into Renaissance humanism,
and to honor him as a scholar and friend, I edited a transcript of his lecture for this volume but
have not indicated ammendations or changes in order to allow for the best possible reading
experience.