pt. 1. Birth of the humanities in the Renaissance: Humanist transformation of classical antiquity -- Petrarch and the origins of the humanities -- Cicero in grief: the classical soul revealed -- Ancient and modern categories of thought -- pt. 2. Death of the humanities in the modern world: Degeneration from within -- Change from without -- pt. 3. Looking forward: Lessons from the Renaissance -- Relevance of the ancients -- A curriculum for today.
