The school of humanism provided a major intellectual foundation for the Renaissance. Humanism was not so much a defined philosophy as it was a program of study. Humanists believed that by looking to writers and thinkers of the classical past for models, students could acquire the necessary tools to improve both themselves and society. In reaching back before the life of Christ for inspiration, the humanists were not rejecting Christianity. Humanists stressed the synthesis of human knowledge. Thus, while many found the methods of medieval Scholastics objectionable, they shared the Scholastics’ conviction that there was no essential conflict between faith and reason. As you read the documents included in this feature, pay particular attention to how the authors deal with the relationship between Christian and classical works. What distinctions, if any, do they make between them?