Theological Origins of Modernity

88 chapter three
Others, unwilling to abandon the search for a universal truth, persisted
in the investigation of both nature and man but fell increasingly under
the spell of skepticism, which had returned to modern world with the
reappearance of Cicero’s Academica in 1471. Th is skepticism grew and
spread within the humanist movement. It did not deny the possibility of
all knowledge but only suspended judgment about the truth of things and
relied on probable rather than absolutely certain or apodictic reasoning.
Even so, it helped augment the sense of aimlessness and crisis that played
an important role in the period leading up to the Reformation. 64
In this context, the humanist project as Petrarch had imagined it began
to dissolve. Th ree diff erent paths presented themselves, corresponding to
the three elements that Petrarch had emphasized in his late thought. One
possibility was to emphasize an Augustinian piety above all else, abandoning
both Platonism and martial virtue. A second possibility was to emphasize
the martial virtues of the Romans and deemphasize or abandon
both Christian piety and Platonism. Or fi nally, one could take a generally
Neoplatonic approach to Christianity and abandon both piety and martial
virtue. Th e fi rst was the path of Savonarola (and later Luther), the second
the path of Machiavelli, and the third the path of Erasmus.
Trained in the Aristotelian and Averroist tradition, Savonarola (1452–
98) had no love or even tolerance for humanism. 65 Savonarola underwent
a sudden religious conversion at the age of twenty-two, joined the Dominicans,
and began to live and preach a life of mortifi cation and selfdeprivation.
He was appalled by the corruption of the Florentine humanists
led by the Medici and (rightly) considered the curia under Alexander VI
to be simply a den of iniquity. His theology (like that of Luther twenty
years later) was apocalyptic and rigorous. He attacked the paganism of the
humanists, the corrupting impact of wealth on the ruling classes, and the
unconstitutional domination of Florence by the Medici. Aft er the death of
Lorenzo the Magnifi cent and the intervention of the French to drive the
Medici from the city, Savonarola became the head of a quasi-theocratic republic
that in some ways anticipated Calvin’s Geneva. He ruled from 1494
to 1498. While he was a superb orator and preached against irreligion, economic
corruption, and the misuse of political power—all popular issues—
he was politically inept. His power grew out of his charismatic rhetoric
and thus rested almost entirely on the enthusiasm of his followers. Having
come to power by these means, he made no eff ort to secure his position by
institutional reform. He then angered Pope Alexander VI with his constant
criticism, and the pope consequently deprived him of his authority to
preach. Unable to use the pulpit to enthuse and mobilize his supporters, he