The Myth of Sisyphus: Renaissance Theories of Human PerfectibilityThe myth of Sisyphus symbolizes the idealization of human excellence as a perpetual process of becoming over the impossibility of absolute achievement. In Stoic philosophy, the writing of the Early Church Fathers, and in its allegorical interpretations in medieval and renaissance mythologies, Sisyphus is the archetypal model of human perfectibility. This Sisyphean archetype is a principal theme in renaissance theories of astral magic in the works of Pico, Ficino, Reuchlin, Paracelsus, Agrippa, and Dee. Erasmus, Melanchthon, and Ascham, and in utopian thought from More to Bacon. Sisyphus illuminates the sacred mysteries of life in the works of Philo Judaeus, Plato, Nicholas Cusanus, and Ficino; the spiritual and sensual contraries of love in the dialogues of Leone Ebreo, Bembo, and Bruno; and the tribulations of the unrequited lover in the works of Petrarch, Ronsard, and Sidney. |
From inside the book
Results 1-5 of 78
Page
... punishment au- thorizes his eternal reengagement with the burden of his assertion of rational and moral excellence . The Stoic Sisyphus , obedient to the divine will , symbolizes the primary para- digm of aspirations and frustrations ...
... punishment au- thorizes his eternal reengagement with the burden of his assertion of rational and moral excellence . The Stoic Sisyphus , obedient to the divine will , symbolizes the primary para- digm of aspirations and frustrations ...
Page 18
... punished by the divine agencies of the celestial and generative Venus and the perniciousness of Cupid . Sisyphus as lover aspires to a heav- enly love that transforms his human nature into a perfected state of being . Intellectual and ...
... punished by the divine agencies of the celestial and generative Venus and the perniciousness of Cupid . Sisyphus as lover aspires to a heav- enly love that transforms his human nature into a perfected state of being . Intellectual and ...
Page 23
... punishment for human transgressions as in the case of Adam after his expulsion from the Garden of Eden ( Genesis 3:19 ) , they may also be seen as a challenge to human strength and ingenuity as in the case of the twelve labors of ...
... punishment for human transgressions as in the case of Adam after his expulsion from the Garden of Eden ( Genesis 3:19 ) , they may also be seen as a challenge to human strength and ingenuity as in the case of the twelve labors of ...
Page 27
... punished and blessed with the task of pushing a rock up a mountain in Tar- tarus only to have it roll back before he can reach the summit , but he was empowered by the gods with a superior strength and fortitude to repeat this cycle ...
... punished and blessed with the task of pushing a rock up a mountain in Tar- tarus only to have it roll back before he can reach the summit , but he was empowered by the gods with a superior strength and fortitude to repeat this cycle ...
Page 29
... punishment for those human beings who trespass on divine mysteries . Sisyphus escalated his conflict with the gods by defending himself against death . He outwitted Thanatos with his superior intellect and clev- erness by persuading ...
... punishment for those human beings who trespass on divine mysteries . Sisyphus escalated his conflict with the gods by defending himself against death . He outwitted Thanatos with his superior intellect and clev- erness by persuading ...
Contents
27 | |
50 | |
The Patristic Sisyphus | 67 |
Sisyphus in Medieval and Renaissance Mythography | 86 |
Sisyphus as Astral Magician | 110 |
Sisyphus as Humanist | 136 |
Other editions - View all
The Myth of Sisyphus: Renaissance Theories of Human Perfectibility Elliott M. Simon No preview available - 2007 |
Common terms and phrases
achieve actual Aeschylus appears archetypal argues ascending aspirations assertion attempt attributes authority beauty become believed beloved body Books Cambridge Chicago Christian created creative cyclical death descending desire divine earthly edited English Erasmus eternal evil excellence existence experience expression faith fall forms frustrated gods grace heart hero heroic human being's human perfectibility idea ideal identified imagination imperfect inspired intellectual interpretation John justice Knight knowledge labor language Laura laws living London lover magic means mind moral mysteries myth myth of Sisyphus nature never Oxford perfectibility perpetual person Petrarch Philip philosophy physical poem poet Poetry Princeton punishment Queene quest rational reason Reformation Renaissance reveal rhetorical rock-burden sensual Sidney Sisyphean Sisyphus social society soul Spenser spiritual Studies summit symbolizes things Thomas thought tion transcendent transformed Translated true truth ultimate University Press Utopia virtue vision whole wisdom York Zeus