Loys le Roy is aware that the time he is living in is one of historical change. The Renaissance was a time that embraced the innovative growth of the Latin language and literature, beginning with the revival of learning based on classical sources, as well as letters being discovered and being used again. Le Roy offers a summary of some of the phenomenal characteristics of the Renaissance. He states several times that the efforts of multiple scholars and philosophers have essentially led to all the success that they are experiencing during his time and that all the success has led them to be known as the most learned time there ever was. Notably, Le Roy claims that printing is the most important advancement of the era due to “its excellence, utility, and the subtlety of craftsmanship …. [Which lets more work be] accomplished in one day than many diligent scribes could do in a year… The invention has greatly aided the advancement of all disciplines”. The second most influential invention of the age according to Le Roy was the marine compass, which he praises for the successful navigation of unknown parts of the world, while the third item on his list is cannonry.
Concerning philosophy, Le Roy complains that scholars of his time “spend their lives sheltered by the academic shade without acquiring any practical affairs, although learning is imperfect without application ” and that this is the reason why they do not have famous people in philosophy like Pythagoras and Plato. However, Le Roy also praises the improvement in mathematics during this time period although this is mainly thanks to the work of astrologers and cosmographers.
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Jacques LeFevre D’Etaples was another Renaissance writer who believe that the time he was living in was a time of fundamental changes. In 1522, he wrote “The Restoration of the gospel” and in his works, he states that “by this divine light many have been so greatly illuminated that… there has not been greater knowledge of languages more extensive discovery of lands… than in these times”. Like Le Roy, Jacques believed that times were changing for the better. The language was improving, especially Latin and Greek, due to its return after Constantinople was captured. Its return was seen as important since Latin had been essential to learning, religion, and government, and with its return during the Renaissance, scholars sought to restore a reliable Latin language based firmly on the work of ancient authors. Another thing that he shares with Le Roy is that new lands were discovered due to the creation of navigational items such as the marine compass. This was important since with more lands discovered due to exploration there was a “wider diffusion of the name of Christ in the more distant parts of the earth ” than ever before. With the name of Christ being propagated by the Portuguese, Spaniards, and France, the Church became even more powerful.
Both writers seek to inform people about how they view the world they are currently living in and how is it changing. While many people viewed this era as a time for negative changes, they both saw it as a time of great change that was characterized by its advancements in language, literature, mathematics, and technologies. To a person reading this message in the 21st century, it serves as a way to remind us that, in the middle of our technologically advancing world, the important changes in the way that people interact and communicate have long encountered a combination of dread for the advancements and eagerness to see what has been created and how it will benefit us. Le Roy embraces the new advancements of the age and he acknowledges that his own knowledge and education were only possible thanks to the invention of the printing press which made it possible for more books to be created and distributed to the public. At the same time, LeFevre embraces the changes since it spreads the religion all over the globe as well as the restoration of the Latin language, which was the main language of the church.
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