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''Contemptus mundi'', the "contempt of the
world The world is the totality of entities, the whole of reality, or everything that Existence, exists. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the world as unique, while others talk ...
" and worldly concerns, is a theme in the intellectual life of both
Classical Antiquity Classical antiquity, also known as the classical era, classical period, classical age, or simply antiquity, is the period of cultural History of Europe, European history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD comprising the inter ...
and of
Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...
, 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 hist ...
. 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 In Ancient Greek philosophy, ( Greek: , from indicating negation or absence and with the abstract noun suffix ), generally translated as , , , or , is a lucid state of robust equanimity characterized by ongoing freedom from distress and wo ...
'', it drew upon the assumptions of
Stoicism Stoicism is a school of Hellenistic philosophy that flourished in ancient Greece and Rome. The Stoics believed that the universe operated according to reason, ''i.e.'' by a God which is immersed in nature itself. Of all the schools of ancient ...
and a
neoplatonism Neoplatonism is a version of Platonic philosophy that emerged in the 3rd century AD against the background of Hellenistic philosophy and religion. The term does not encapsulate a set of ideas as much as a series of thinkers. Among the common id ...
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 (Aramaic language, Aramaic: מָרְתָא‎) is a Bible, biblical figure described in the Gospels of Gospel of Luke, Luke and Gospel of John, John. Together with her siblings Lazarus of Bethany, Lazarus and Mary of Bethany, she is descr ...
and the way of Mary, ''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 compared 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 ...
.


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, orator, writer and Academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises tha ...
'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 ...
'', essays on achieving
Stoic Stoic may refer to: * An adherent of Stoicism Stoicism is a school of Hellenistic philosophy that flourished in ancient Greece and Rome. The Stoics believed that the universe operated according to reason, ''i.e.'' by a God which is immersed i ...
stability of emotions, with rhetorical subjects such as "Contempt of death", was taken up definitively by
Boethius Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius, commonly known simply as Boethius (; Latin: ''Boetius''; 480–524 AD), was a Roman Roman Senate, senator, Roman consul, consul, ''magister officiorum'', polymath, historian, and philosopher of the Early Middl ...
in his '' Consolations of Philosophy'', during the troubled closing phase of
Late Antiquity Late antiquity marks the period that comes after the end of classical antiquity and stretches into the onset of the Early Middle Ages. Late antiquity as a period was popularized by Peter Brown (historian), Peter Brown in 1971, and this periodiza ...
. 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 exposin ...
became a mainstay of Christian penitential literature.


In the Patristic tradition

Among early Christians, Eucherius of Lyon, 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 (; ), also called monachism or monkhood, is a religion, religious way of life in which one renounces world (theology), worldly pursuits to devote oneself fully to spiritual activities. Monastic life plays an important role in many Chr ...
: when
Saint Florentina Florentina of Cartagena (died ca. 612) is venerated as a saint by the Catholic Church. Born towards the middle of the sixth century in Cartagena, Spain, Cartagena, Hispania, she and her family were actively engaged in furthering the best interest ...
, of the prominent Christian family of Hispania, founded her convent, her rule written by her brother Leander of Seville 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'' of ''contemptus mundi'', drawing upon these converging traditions, pagan philosophy and Christian ascetic theology, 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 pl ...
's bitter 12th-century satire '' De contemptu mundi'', 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 "eight moral authors" that formed the central texts of medieval pedagogy. In the early 12th century, when
Adelard of Bath Adelard of Bath (; 1080? 1142–1152?) was a 12th-century English natural philosopher. He is known both for his original works and for translating many important Greek scientific works of astrology, astronomy, philosophy, alchemy and mathemat ...
(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, 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 (; born Lotario dei Conti di Segni; 22 February 1161 – 16 July 1216) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 January 1198 until his death on 16 July 1216. Pope Innocent was one of the most power ...
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 w ...
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 attempt ...
which was roundly condemned, in the instance of the Humiliati, as
heretical Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, particularly the accepted beliefs or religious law of a religious organization. A heretic is a proponent of heresy. Heresy in Christianity, Judai ...
. 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 Fra ...
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 The early modern period is a Periodization, historical period that is defined either as part of or as immediately preceding the modern period, with divisions based primarily on the history of Europe and the broader concept of modernity. There i ...
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 (disease), plague caused by the Bacteria, bacterium ''Yersinia pestis''. One to seven days after exposure to the bacteria, flu-like symptoms develop. These symptoms include fever, headaches, and ...
offered a concrete visitation of the frailty of this life for devotional texts, as early as
John Donne John Donne ( ; 1571 or 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, D ...
. ''Contemptus mundi'' has been criticized as a ''pastoral of fear'' by the historian Jean Delumeau, 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


External links

{{wikiquote Intellectual history Latin words and phrases Monasticism Asceticism Literary motifs Mary of Bethany