“Vetus melius est.” Allegations of Novelty and Apology of Tradition in the Sixteenth-Century Quarrels between Humanists and Scholastics

The paper presents the 16th-century dispute between scholastics and humanists over the proper shape of intellectual tradition. Each side, using the motto “vetus melius est”, accused the other of inexcusable innovation. The first group reveals strong unwillingness to any change and fed conviction that only maintaining of status quo will secure the Christianity. The second pointed to the poor memory of scholastics, who forgot the real ancient culture, and proclaimed that the change is not an innovation, but a restoration. In the end of the paper the author suggests an existence of possible relation between the humanist attitude toward tradition and the emergence of modern idea of progress.Udostępnienie publikacji Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego finansowane w ramach projektu „Doskonałość naukowa kluczem do doskonałości kształcenia”. Projekt realizowany jest ze środków Europejskiego Funduszu Społecznego w ramach Programu Operacyjnego Wiedza Edukacja Rozwój; nr umowy: POWER.03.05.00-00-Z092/17-00