Description

Immediate dispatch from Somerset. Nice older book in good condition. Pages in great condition. Nice tan to page edges. Some dustmarking on top. No notes or highlighting. See images. Fantastic book.

About the book >.>.> The main concern of this book is the role of reason in the Decameron as a civilising force that guides and controls the satisfaction of natural instinct. To underline the significance of this theme the author sets it in the context of critical opinion on the historical position of the Decameron and the question of the morality of the work assesses the extent of Boccaccio’s under- standing of human nature and his appraisal of human society and examines the main characteristics of the resulting sense of moral values. Within this framework he provides a definition of the place and function of reason in the Decameron and an interpretation of the distinctive notion of virtue that arises from it. The central point is reinforced by consideration of a number of particular moral issues. A review of the evidence in conclusion suggests that the Decameron occupies an inter- mediate position between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. All quotations are given both in the original and in transla- tion and there is an appendix on the place of discussion groups in the culture of the time. (MP)