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The Lusiads by Luis Vaz e Camoes & The Prince

This study will examine The Lusiads by Luis Vaz de Camoes (Camoens) and The Prince by Machiavelli, focusing on the two works as examples naturalism, secularism and individualism. These elements of the two books exemplify the characteristics of the Renaissance.

Both works were written in an era which was casting off the religious elements of the Middle Ages and were practicing instead perspectives on man and the world which saw man instead of God at the center of reality. Camoens' book focuses on the exploits of explorer Vasco da Gama as examples of the individualist and activist encounters with the world of nature, while Machiavelli focuses on the political recipe for a ruthless and successful leader.

Both writers and their perspectives were humanistic in that they saw man as the shaper of his own destiny, instead of being at the mercy of natural or supernatural forces, as the thinkers of the Middle Ages and earlier had believed.

Whereas Machiavelli leaves no doubt that the gods or God have nothing to do with the political affairs of man, Camoens seems to grant that God and Christ play a role in the affairs of man, but the heart and soul of the work is the effort to honor the individualistic exploits of the explorers of Portugal. Machiavelli makes mention of the Church, but only in terms of the role it plays in weakening leaders and creating fear in them which prevents them from leading effectively. He compares such a fearful and compromised position with the bold and fearlessly practical state of mind he advocates in his book for his ideal leader:

Let any one now consider with what little difficulty the king could have maintained his position in Italy had he observed the rules above laid down, and kept all his friends secure and protected; for although they were numerous they were both weak and timid, some afraid of the Church, some of the Venetians. . . . He aggrandised the Church by adding much temporal power to...

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The Lusiads by Luis Vaz e Camoes & The Prince. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 00:49, March 29, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1690677.html