Humanists

Humanists (Lat. literæ humaniores, 'polite letters')—whence the title Humanity for the professorship of Latin in Scottish universities; Ital. umanista), the name assumed at the revival of learning by those who looked upon the cultivation of classical literature as the most valuable instrument of education, in opposition to those who clung to the ancient methods of the Scholastics (q.v.). In their modes of thought also the tendency of the humanists was to exalt Paganism at the expense of Christianity. In the 18th century the name became a word of reproach for those who showed a blind zeal for the classics as the sole educational subject, opposing the Philanthropists, who asserted the value of mathematics, science, modern languages, and history. The name is often given to the foremost representatives of classical learning from the time of the Renaissance (q.v.) onwards, such as Erasmus, Sir Thomas More, Ulrich von Hutten, George Buchanan, &c.