''Contemptus mundi'', the "contempt of the

world In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...

" and worldly concerns, is a theme in the intellectual life of both

Classical Antiquity Classical antiquity (also the classical era, classical period or classical age) is the period of cultural history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD centred on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ...

and of

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

, both in its mystical vein and its ambivalence towards secular life, that figures largely in the Western world's

history of ideas Intellectual history (also the history of ideas) is the study of the history of human thought and of intellectuals, people who conceptualize, discuss, write about, and concern themselves with ideas. The investigative premise of intellectual histor ...

. In inculcating a turn of mind that would lead to a state of serenity untrammeled by distracting material appetites and feverish emotional connections, which the Greek philosophers called ''

ataraxia ''Ataraxia'' (Greek: ἀταραξία, from ("a-", negation) and ''tarachē'' "disturbance, trouble"; hence, "unperturbedness", generally translated as "imperturbability", "equanimity", or "tranquility") is a Greek term first used in Ancient Gre ...

'', it drew upon the assumptions of

Stoicism Stoicism is a school of Hellenistic philosophy founded by Zeno of Citium in Athens in the early 3rd century Common Era, BCE. It is a philosophy of personal virtue ethics informed by its system of logic and its views on the natural world, asser ...

and a

neoplatonism Neoplatonism is a strand of Platonism, Platonic philosophy that emerged in the 3rd century AD against the background of Hellenistic philosophy and Hellenistic religion, religion. The term does not encapsulate a set of ideas as much as a chain of ...

that was distrustful of deceptive and spurious appearances. In the familiar rhetorical polarity in Hellenic philosophy between the active and the contemplative life, which Christians, who expressly rejected "the World, the Flesh and the Devil", might exemplify as the way of

Martha Martha (Hebrew: מָרְתָא‎) is a biblical figure described in the Gospels of Luke and John. Together with her siblings Lazarus and Mary of Bethany, she is described as living in the village of Bethany near Jerusalem. She was witness to ...

and the way of

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...

, ''contemptus mundi'' assumed that only the contemplative life was of lasting value and the world an empty shell, a

vanity Vanity is the excessive belief in one's own abilities or attractiveness to others. Prior to the 14th century it did not have such narcissistic undertones, and merely meant ''futility''. The related term vainglory is now often seen as an archaic s ...

In classical antiquity

In the classical canon,

Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the estab ...

's ''

Tusculanae Disputationes The ''Tusculanae Disputationes'' (also ''Tusculanae Quaestiones''; English: ''Tusculan Disputations'') is a series of five books written by Cicero, around 45 BC, attempting to popularise Greek philosophy in Ancient Rome, including Stoicism. It is s ...

'', essays on achieving

Stoic Stoic may refer to: * An adherent of Stoicism; one whose moral quality is associated with that school of philosophy *STOIC, a programming language * ''Stoic'' (film), a 2009 film by Uwe Boll * ''Stoic'' (mixtape), a 2012 mixtape by rapper T-Pain *' ...

stability of emotions, with rhetorical subjects such as "Contempt of death", was taken up definitively by

Boethius Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius, commonly known as Boethius (; Latin: ''Boetius''; 480 – 524 AD), was a Roman senator, consul, ''magister officiorum'', historian, and philosopher of the Early Middle Ages. He was a central figure in the tr ...

in his '' Consolations of Philosophy'', during the troubled closing phase of

Late Antiquity Late antiquity is the time of transition from classical antiquity to the Middle Ages, generally spanning the 3rd–7th century in Europe and adjacent areas bordering the Mediterranean Basin. The popularization of this periodization in English ha ...

. The Latin tradition of dispraise of the public world adapted by Christian moralists, focused especially on the fickleness of Fortune, and the evils exposed in the Latin

satire Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming ...

became a mainstay of Christian penitential literature.

In the Patristic tradition

Among early Christians,

Eucherius of Lyon Eucherius (c. 380c. 449) was a high-born and high-ranking ecclesiastic in the Christian church in Roman Gaul. He is remembered for his letters advocating extreme self-abnegation. From 439, he served as Archbishop of Lyon, and Henry Wace ranked h ...

, an aristocratic and high-ranking ecclesiastic in the fifth-century Christian Church of Gaul, wrote to his kinsman a widely read letter ''de contemptu mundi'', an expression of the despair for the present and future of the world in its last throes. Contempt for the world provided intellectual underpinnings for the retreat into

monasticism Monasticism (from Ancient Greek , , from , , 'alone'), also referred to as monachism, or monkhood, is a religious way of life in which one renounces worldly pursuits to devote oneself fully to spiritual work. Monastic life plays an important role ...

: when

Saint Florentina Florentina of Cartagena (died ca. 612) is venerated as a saint by the Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . ...

, of the prominent Christian family of Hispania, founded her convent, her rule written by her brother

Leander of Seville Leander of Seville ( es, San Leandro de Sevilla; la, Sanctus Leandrus; 534 AD, in Cartagena – 13 March 600 or 601, in Seville) was the Bishop of Seville. He was instrumental in effecting the conversion of the Visigothic kings Hermengild and ...

explicitly cited contempt for the world: ''Regula sive Libellus de institutione virginum et de contemptu mundi ad Florentinam sororem''.

Medieval ''contemptus mundi''

The medieval ''

trope Trope or tropes may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Trope (cinema), a cinematic convention for conveying a concept * Trope (literature), a figure of speech or common literary device * Trope (music), any of a variety of different things ...

'' of ''contemptus mundi'', drawing upon these converging traditions, pagan philosophy and Christian

ascetic theology Ascetical theology is the organized study or presentation of spiritual teachings found in Christian Scripture and the Church Fathers that help the faithful to more perfectly follow Christ and attain to Christian perfection. Christian ascetici ...

, was fundamental to a medieval education. A classic Christian expression is

Bernard of Cluny Bernard of Cluny (or, of Morlaix or Morlay) was a twelfth-century French Benedictine monk, best known as the author of ''De contemptu mundi'' (''On Contempt for the World''), a long verse satire in Latin. Life Bernard's family of origin and place ...

's bitter 12th-century satire ''

De contemptu mundi ''De Contemptu Mundi'' (''On Contempt for the World'') is the most well-known work of Bernard of Cluny. It is a 3,000 verse poem of stinging satire directed against the secular and religious failings he observed in the world around him. He spares ...

'', founded in a deep sense of the transitory nature of secular joys and the abiding permanency of the spiritual life. His text made one of the ''

Auctores octo morales The ''Auctores octo morales'' (Eight Moral Authors) was a collection of Latin textbooks, of an elementary standard, that was used for pedagogy in the Middle Ages in Europe. It was printed in many editions, from the end of the fifteenth century. At ...

'', the "eight moral authors" that formed the central texts of medieval pedagogy. In the early 12th century, when

Adelard of Bath Adelard of Bath ( la, Adelardus Bathensis; 1080? 1142–1152?) was a 12th-century English natural philosopher. He is known both for his original works and for translating many important Arabic and Greek scientific works of astrology, astronom ...

(c. 1080 - 1152) allegorized two contrasting figures to dispute ''De eodem et diverso''; they were ''Philosophia'' and ''Philocosmia'', "love of wisdom" and the "love of the world". Adelard's contemporary,

Henry of Huntington Henry of Huntingdon ( la, Henricus Huntindoniensis; 1088 – AD 1157), the son of a canon (priest), canon in the diocese of Lincoln, was a English historians in the Middle Ages, 12th-century English historian and the author of ''Historia Anglo ...

, in the dedicatory letter to his ''Historia Anglorum'' referred in passing to "those who taught the contempt of the world in schools". An aspect of contempt for this world reflects upon the ephemerality of all life, expressed in the literary rhetorical question of '' ubi sunt''. Even as worldly a pope as

Innocent III Pope Innocent III ( la, Innocentius III; 1160 or 1161 – 16 July 1216), born Lotario dei Conti di Segni (anglicized as Lothar of Segni), was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 January 1198 to his death in 16 J ...

could write an essay "On the Misery of the Human Condition", ''De miseria humanae conditionis'', which

Geoffrey Chaucer Geoffrey Chaucer (; – 25 October 1400) was an English poet, author, and civil servant best known for ''The Canterbury Tales''. He has been called the "father of English literature", or, alternatively, the "father of English poetry". He wa ...

is reputed to have rendered in English, in a translation now lost. The theme had political ramifications within the Roman Church, as it was inextricably bound up with questions of

apostolic poverty Apostolic poverty is a Christian doctrine professed in the thirteenth century by the newly formed religious orders, known as the mendicant orders, in direct response to calls for reform in the Roman Catholic Church. In this, these orders attempted ...

which was roundly condemned, in the instance of the

Humiliati The Humiliati (Italian ''Umiliati'') were an Italian religious order of men formed probably in the 12th century. It was suppressed by a papal bull in 1571 though an associated order of women continued into the 20th century. Origin The origin of ...

, as

heretical Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, in particular the accepted beliefs of a church or religious organization. The term is usually used in reference to violations of important religi ...

. The waning of the dominant attitude of ''contemptus mundi'' that had informed elite culture, a development that gathered impetus during the second half of the 14th century, was a precursor to the emergence of the modern secular ethos, encouraging men to study material things with greater lucidity than before, as

Georges Duby Georges Duby (7 October 1919 – 3 December 1996) was a French historian who specialised in the social and economic history of the Middle Ages. He ranks among the most influential medieval historians of the twentieth century and was one of Franc ...

has observed, noting the turn taken in painting and sculpture toward the realistic delineation of aspects of material life.

Early modern culture

The theme of ''contemptus mundi'' continued to inform European poetry into the Early Modern period. ''Contemptus mundi'' is a running theme in the poetry of

William Drummond of Hawthornden William Drummond (13 December 15854 December 1649), called "of Hawthornden", was a Scottish poet. Life Drummond was born at Hawthornden Castle, Midlothian, to John Drummond, the first laird of Hawthornden, and Susannah Fowler, sister of the ...

, and Burton's ''

The Anatomy of Melancholy ''The Anatomy of Melancholy'' (full title: ''The Anatomy of Melancholy, What it is: With all the Kinds, Causes, Symptomes, Prognostickes, and Several Cures of it. In Three Maine Partitions with their several Sections, Members, and Subsections. Ph ...

'' and the devotional verse of

Jeremy Taylor Jeremy Taylor (1613–1667) was a cleric in the Church of England who achieved fame as an author during the Protectorate of Oliver Cromwell. He is sometimes known as the "Shakespeare of Divines" for his poetic style of expression, and he is fr ...

would serve as further examples. The recurrence of

bubonic plague Bubonic plague is one of three types of plague caused by the plague bacterium (''Yersinia pestis''). One to seven days after exposure to the bacteria, flu-like symptoms develop. These symptoms include fever, headaches, and vomiting, as well a ...

offered a concrete visitation of the frailty of this life for devotional texts, as early as

John Donne John Donne ( ; 22 January 1572 – 31 March 1631) was an English poet, scholar, soldier and secretary born into a recusant family, who later became a clergy, cleric in the Church of England. Under royal patronage, he was made Dean of St Paul's ...

. ''Contemptus mundi'' has been criticized as a ''pastoral of fear'' by the historian

Jean Delumeau Jean Léon Marie Delumeau (18 June 1923 – 13 January 2020) was a French historian specializing in the history of the Catholic Church, and author of several books regarding the subject. He held the Chair of the History of Religious Mentalities ( ...

, and M. B. Pranger found the ''trope'' "Speaking of God after Auschwitz" to function as a "modern form of ''contemptus mundi''".Pranger, ''The Artificiality of Christianity: Essays on the Poetics of Monasticism'' 2003:26.

Notes

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