La divina huella. Contemplación del mundo y noticia de Dios en la literatura renacentista sobre la dignidad y la miseria del hombre

In this paper, I explore cosmological concepts and metaphors as they were reinterpreted in Renaissance literature to underscore Epicurean theses on man's misery and solitude, based on his contemptible place in the universe. I also examine some counter-arguments defending human dignity, and drawing upon Stoic and Christian theological anthropology. Thus, I propose an analysis of how cosmological ideas and principles were moralized and a reflection on the epistemological role of metaphors and images about human nature. Specifically, I examine the genealogy and rewriting of five motifs or pieces (metaphorical and conceptual) prevalent in early modern "de homine" literature: (1) the notion of the refuse or dunghill of the world, (2) the metaphor of the earth as a point, , (3) the depiction of the uninhabitability of large regions of the earth, (4) the concept of the navel of the cosmos, and (5) the idea of nature's beauty as a divine imprint, , and as evidence of the existence of a provident deity.