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comparing Castiglione's Book of the Courtier with Paul's first letter to Timothy


VampireAngel 5 / 8 1  
May 25, 2014   #1
I need to make sure that all of my citings are accurate enough to be in MLA format

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Justin Graham
Prof. Jill Foltz
HUMA 1301-C70
May 27, 2014

Essay #1: Civic Philosophies

By using, The Book of the Courtier, by: Count Baldesar Castiglione and Paul's first letter to Timothy, this essay will be discussing the difference of opinion of the authors on the various topics of gender roles, education and wealth levels, and the way one needs to be viewed in society. Paul's first letter to Timothy is a sacred text that talks about how the church and the followers should behave, act, and conduct service. The Book of the Courtier is an account of the Courtiers who came after the knights yet still held the same esteem.

Throughout history, women have been lower in the eyes of most. The Standard English Version of the Bible even says "...that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire, but with what is proper for women who profess godliness-with good works. Let a woman learn quietly with all submissiveness. I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet. For Adam was formed first, then Eve; and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor. Yet she will be saved through childbearing-if they continue in faith and love and holiness, with self-control." (1 Timothy 2:9-15). Whereas in The Book of the Courtier, the Magnifico was the one ho stated that, "'If in every age you will compare women's worth with that of men, you will find that they have never been and are not now at all inferior to men in worth; for leaving aside the times that are so ancient, if you come to the time when the Goths ruled in Italy, you will find that there was a queen among them, Amala- sontha,"' who long reigned with admirable wisdom; then Theo- dolinda, queen of the Lombards, of singular worth; Theo- dora," " the Greek empress; and in Italy among many others the Countess Matilda was a most illustrious lady...'" (201-202, Book 3, section 34). Castiglione, it seems, had such a high respect for women, that he even had them "...[rush] to the walls in arms, and[fight] so fiercely that in a short time they drove Philip off with disgrace and loss: which their husbands had not been able to do" in his Book of the Courtier, instead of having the men do it themselves (200, Book 3, section 32). Paul, on the other hand, did not hold women to the same regard, with this evidence, it can be determined that Paul did not think of women as anything other than child bearers, he even goes on saying that, "...she who is self-indulgent is dead even while she lives," meaning that women could not take care of themselves, they must instead be a burden on another man (or a believing woman who is more than likely married) and in doing so, "Let the church not be burdened,..." (1 Timothy 8:6) (1 Timothy 8:16).

The elite that these two had in mind were different as well. Castiglione wanted his Courtier to, "'... be nobly born and of gentle race; because it is far less unseemly for one of ignoble birth to fail in worthy deeds, than for one of noble birth, who, if he strays from the path of his predecessors, stains his family name, and not only fails to achieve but loses what has been achieved already; for noble birth is like a bright lamp that manifests and makes visible good and evil deeds, and kindles and stimulates to virtue both by fear of shame and by hope of praise.'" (22, Book 1, section 14). Whereas Paul, "...[urged] that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved..." (1 Timothy 2:1-4). Castiglione, on one hand, wanted his Courtiers to be of noble birth whereas Paul treated all men equal and wish for everyone to look at each other the same way and be partial to no one.

Castiglione's Courtiers need to be, "...endowed by nature not only with talent and beauty of person and feature, but with a certain grace and (as we say) air that shall make him at first sight pleasing and agreeable to all who see him; and I would have this an ornament that should dispose and unite all his actions..." (23, Book 1, Section 14). The representatives who Paul calls for, "...must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God's church? He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil. Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil," (1 Timothy 9:2-7). It seems that certain qualities are required to be in each group, yet Castiglione's requirements are more nurture and how the person looks whereas Paul wants people to grow into his representatives no matter how they look.

The list could go on, but this essay has discussed enough information to show how Castiglione's The Book of the Courtier differs from the English Standard Version of the Holy Bible's first letter to Timothy from Paul. The view for their representatives is somewhat similar but all in all, the two documents contradict each other on a much grander scale, such as when talking of how to treat women, Paul writes about how they should be modest and not revealing at all, which seems similar to another religion that has a reputation for having problems accepting everyone else, and the other case presented where Castiglione wanted noble births to fill his elite class and have everyone else below them aside from everyone on the high court.

Works Cited

Castiglione, Baldassarre. The Book of the Courtier. Trans. Leonard Eckstein Opdycke. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1903. Open Library. Internet Archive, 2008. Web.
ESV: Study Bible: English Standard Version. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2007. Print.


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