sentience.Wemaythenthinkthat sincewe haveto eatto
survive,andsincewecannoteatwithoutkillingsomethingwe
love,itdoesnotmatterwhichwekill.Possiblyitwasforthis
reasonthatSaintFrancis’sloveforbirdsandoxenappearsnot
tohaveledhimtoceaseeatingthem;andwhenhedrewup
therulesfortheconductofthefriarsintheorderhefounded,
hegavenoinstructionthattheyweretoabstainfrommeat,
except on certain fast days.^19
ItmayseemthattheperiodoftheRenaissance,withtherise
ofhumanistthoughtinoppositiontomedievalscholasticism,
wouldhaveshatteredthemedievalpictureoftheuniverseand
broughtdownwithitearlierideasaboutthestatusofhumans
vis-à-vistheotheranimals.ButRenaissancehumanismwas,
afterall,humanism;andthemeaningofthistermhasnothing
to do with humanitarianism, the tendency to act humanely.
ThecentralfeatureofRenaissancehumanismisitsinsistence
onthevalueanddignityofhumanbeings,andonthecentral
placeofhumanbeingsintheuniverse.“Manisthemeasure
ofallthings,”aphraserevivedinRenaissancetimesfromthe
ancient Greeks, is the theme of the period. Instead of a
somewhatdepressing concentration on originalsin and the
weakness of human beings in comparison to the infinite
power of God, theRenaissance humanistsemphasized the
uniquenessofhumanbeings,theirfreewill,theirpotential,
andtheirdignity;andtheycontrastedallthiswiththelimited
nature of the “lower animals.”
LiketheoriginalChristianinsistenceonthesanctityofhuman
life,thiswasinsomewaysavaluableadvanceinattitudesto
humanbeings,butitleftnonhumansasfarbelowhumansas
they had ever been.