Leonardo Bruni: biography, philosophy and main ideas

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:41

Thanks to the philosophical works of the humanist Leonardo Bruni, people were able to look at society and interaction in it from a different perspective. He was a follower of Salutati. The main works of Leonardo Bruni and information about his life are presented in the article.

About the life of a philosopher

According to historical reports, the humanist was born around 1370. His birthplace is Arezzo. Initially, he showed a special interest in jurisprudence. Leonardo Bruni studied it in Florence and Ravenna.

After talking with Emanuel Chrysolor, he decided to take up classical antiquity seriously. An important stage in his life is serving as papal secretary. The year 1415 is significant in the biography of Leonardo Bruni in connection with his participation in the Cathedral of Constance. There he accompanied Pope John the 23rd himself.

After the deposition of the pope, the philosopher moved to Florence, where he delved into the affairs of the republic. The result of his work was an important work for the state Historiarum Florentinarum libri XII. It not only demonstrated the main ideas of Leonardo's philosophy, but also provided him with a Florentinecitizenship. Subsequently, the humanist was awarded the post of State Secretary of the Republic and held it until the end of his days.

Worldviews of Leonardo Bruni

To briefly describe all his thoughts is certainly impossible. The works of the philosopher are based on the conviction that every person has unlimited creative potential. Based on this statement of his, he suggested that people throughout their lives should strive for comprehensive development. Faith in goodness and the denial of asceticism also occupied a serious place in the works of the philosopher. These directions can be called the main ideas of Leonardo Bruni.

The difference between Bruni and the philosophers of the Renaissance and the Middle Ages

The majority of philosophers of that time preferred contemplation. Leonardo, on the other hand, believed that only active existence is true. In his opinion, idleness should be alien to the wise. But useful communication that can increase the level of horizons has always been valuable to him.

As for the attitude to the family and children, here Bruni's views differed from those of his contemporaries. In those days, society did not pay due attention to home building, and caring for children was compared with unfavorable behavior. Leonardo did not share this opinion. He not only had a positive attitude towards legal marriage and the cultural upbringing of children, but also noted the need for these processes for the worthy development of society.

Thoughts of a humanist that came to him due to long service in the republican government

Various positions had to be held by Leonardo during his life. The longest was his work as a republican chancellor. It was these seventeen years of service that gave rise to the most popular and important thoughts for humanity in him.

1. Patriotic ideas. Most vividly, his vision is presented in the work "Praise of Florence".
2. Translation activities. At one time, Bruni actively adopted knowledge of the Greek language from Manuel Chrysolor. This knowledge has become very useful both for the development of humanism and for the generation of a new scientific direction. So, Leonardo is considered one of the founders of the translation activity. It was by his forces that Latin translations of the works of such great philosophers as Plato, Aristotle, Demosthenes, Plutarch appeared. These translations made it possible to take a fresh look at ancient times.
3. Civil position. His attitude to the state and society was similar to the opinion of ancient philosophers. Bruni stated that the highest level of morality is the doctrine of the state and its management. In his opinion, there is nothing more beautiful than a happy person. And if it's so wonderful to make one person happy, then why not make a whole group of people happy too. But, despite his desire to unite into a single society, he argued that only what was happening within his native city was important to him. Life outside of it, he says, is of no interest.
4. Philological reflections. In this direction Bruniworked very extensively. He even wrote a whole series of reflections on humanistic education. Within the framework of this work, classes were prescribed that could improve and improve a person. According to him, everyone needs to have grace and noble directness. Leonardo proposed not to study one specific area, but to combine knowledge gained from history, philosophy, philology, literature and oratory. It is worth noting that the philological views of the philosopher were extremely extensive and were not at all limited to grammar, as was customary in those days.

The thoughts of Leonardo Bruni have always found a lot of followers and like-minded people. His opinion on valor and morality is still valuable among philosophers.

Interaction with other philosophers

Leonardo was extremely lucky with his contemporaries. At different times, he was honored to communicate with the elder Medici Cosimo and Pope Eugene IV. They not only respected the work of Bruni, but also repeatedly turned to him for help. So, he translated the letters of Plato precisely at the request of the Medici. As for the pope, for him, Leonardo set out in writing his view of the absence of contradictions. The pope, in turn, offered the philosopher the post of secretary of the papal curia.

An important place in the life of a humanist was occupied by the Malatesta family, which was very influential in the fifteenth century. The wife of the head of the family was an extremely educated and versatile woman for those times. After talking with her, Bruni came to write his essay onthe need to improve the education of noble ladies.

Compositions

The number of his compositions is almost impossible to count. Their main share is occupied by works about the state and its structure. He wrote them at different times, and the best of them are Historiae Florentini populi, Epistolae familiares, De bello italico adversus Gothos.

Besides polytechnical writings, the biographies of such outstanding philosophers as Petrarch and Dante take their due place in the list of Leonardo Bruni's works. And his view on the theory of translation became the first work in this direction.

The relevance of his works is confirmed by the fact that their study is carried out to this day. The list of his top works includes books en titled "The Dispute of Nobility and Nobility" and "Introduction to the Science of Morality".

Departure

The philosophy of Leonardo Bruni was close to many of his contemporaries and followers. Therefore, after his death, there was a real struggle for the right to organize his funeral. The main contenders for this ceremony were two important cities - Florence and Arezzo. They wanted to hold a majestic farewell and immortalize the philosopher with a monument. The Florentine Basilica of Santa Coroche was chosen as the place of his burial.