Rodolphus Agricola
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- This article is about the humanist scholar. For other people with this name see Agricola (disambiguation).
Rodolphus Agricola (February 17, 1444 – October 27, 1485) was a Dutch scholar, humanist, and musician. He is best known to us as the author of De inventione dialectica, the father of northern European humanism and a zealous anti-scholastic in the late fifteenth century.
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[edit] Biography
Born in Baflo, near Groningen, Agricola was originally named Roelof Huysman.
Educated first in the celebrated St. Maartens school in Groningen, he matriculated at the universities of Erfurt and Louvain, where he won renown for the purity of his Latin and his skill in disputation. He concentrated his studies on Cicero and Quintilian, and during his university years added French and Greek to his ever-growing list of languages.
After earning his Master of Arts degree, he travelled to Paris, where he worked with the scholars Heynlin von Stein - the classics specialist - and John Reuchlin - whose expertise was in Eastern literature.
In 1470, he taught a deaf child how to communicate orally and in writing. De inventione dialectica documents this pioneering educational effort.
In the 1460s Agricola travelled to Italy, where he associated with humanist masters and statesmen. In 1468 he studied jurisprudence at the University of Pavia, and later went to Ferrara, where he became the protegè of Prince d'Este of Ferrara, was a pupil of Theodor Gaza and attended lectures by the famous Battista Guarini. He devoted himself wholly to the study of classical texts. He won renown for the elegance of his Latin style and his knowledge of philosophy. Also while in Ferrara he was formally employed as the organist to the ducal chapel, which was one of the most opulent musical establishments in Europe. He held that post until 1477, after which he returned to Germany.
Once in Germany again, he spent time in Dilligen, where he corresponded with humanist friends and colleagues throughout Europe, promoting interest in his project to promote the study of classical learning and the studia humanitatis. He remained an independent scholar, unattached to a university or religious establishment - this independence became a hallmark of humanist scholars. It was in Dilligen in 1479 that Agricola finished De inventione dialectica (On Dialectical Invention), which argued for the preeminence of logic over rhetoric.
In 1481, Agricola spent six months in Brussels at the court of archduke Maximilian (later Maximilian I, the Holy Roman Emperor). Friends attempted to dissuade him from accepting the archduke's patronage; they were afraid the archduke's influence would undermine his philosophical ideals.
In 1482, Agricola accepted the invitation of John of Dahlberg, the Bishop of Worms, to lecture at the University of Heidelberg. The two men had met in Pavia, and they became close friends in Heidelberg; the bishop was a generous benefactor of learning. At this time Agricola began studying Hebrew, and published an original translation of the Psalms. In 1485, Dahlberg was sent as an ambassador to Pope Innocent VIII in Rome. Agricola accompanied him and was struck gravely ill on their journey.
He died shortly after their return to Heidelberg.
[edit] Influence
De inventione dialectica was very influential in creating a proper place for logic in rhetorical studies, and was of great significance in the education of early humanists. It is a highly original, critical, and systematic treatment of all ideas and concepts related to dialectics. "The significance of De inventione dialectica for the history of argumentation is that it assimilated the art of dialectic to that of rhetoric. Argumentation focused not on truth but on what might be said with reason. Accordingly, Agricola focused on the Topics rather than the Analytics of Aristotle and Cicero but also the writings of historians, poets and orators. Thus, for Agricola, dialectic was an open field; the art of finding 'whatever can be said with any degree of probability on any subject.'"(Hamilton, David. "From Dialectic to Didactic.")
Erasmus greatly admired Agricola, eulogizing him in "Adagia"; he called him "the first to bring a breath of better literature from Italy." Erasmus claimed him as a father/teacher figure and may have actually met him through his own schoolmaster Alexander Hegius (who was possibly also one of Agricola's students) at Hegius's school in Deventer. This is a demonstration of Agricola's real legacy: his importance should not be measured so much by what he wrote, but rather by his personal influence over others, and his power stimulus - he was truly a great teacher and model humanist. Nevertheless, Erasmus made it his personal mission to ensure that several of Agricola's major works were printed posthumously.
[edit] Works
- De inventione dialectica (philosophy): This is the work Agricola is particularly known for. There is a recent edition by Lothar Mundt, Rudolf Agricola. De inventione dialectica libri tres (1992).
- Letters: The letters of Agricola, of which fifty-one survive, offer an interesting insight in the humanist circle to which he belonged. They have recently been published and translated in: Agricola, Letters; edited by Adrie van der Laan and Fokke Akkerman (2002).
- A Life of Petrarch
- "De Navitate Christe"
- "De studie formando"
- His minor works include some speeches, poems, translations of Greek dialogs and commentaries on works by Seneca, Boethius and Cicero
[edit] Sources
- Agricola, R., from "Three Books Concerning Dialectical Invention." Renaissance Debates on Rhetoric. ed. & trans. W.A. Rebhorn. pp. 42-56. Ithaca, NY: Cornell U P. 2000.
- Gallaudet University Library: - Earliest Known Deaf People: http://library.gallaudet.edu/dr/faq-earliest-deaf.html
- Hamilton, David. "From Dialectic to Didactic." http://faculty.ed.uiuc.edu/westbury/textcol/HAMILTO1.html
- The History Guide - Renaissance Humanism: http://www.historyguide.org/intellect/humanism.html
- Jardine, Lisa. Erasmus, Man of Letters: The Construction of Charisma in Print. Princeton: Princeton UP. 1993.
- New Advent Catholic Encyclopedia - Rudolph Agricola: http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01231b.htm
