Languages and human affairs
Humanists valued language training, history, poetry, rhetoric and moral questions, using Greek and Roman works to cultivate expression and judgment. Attention extended to wording, style and circumstances of composition. These studies had particular educational aims and textual traditions rather than covering every branch of natural investigation.
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Finding and comparing texts
Ancient works survived through copies that could contain omissions, errors and additions. Humanists searched for manuscripts, compared readings, translated and prepared texts for readers. Books became both models to emulate and historical evidence whose wording could be examined, rather than authorities transmitted without attention to their material history.
Classrooms, letters and public business
Training served teaching, diplomatic correspondence, histories and civic affairs. Classical rhetoric furnished resources for public expression, while patronage linked studies with urban institutions. Artists also drew on ancient subjects and objects. The work depended on teachers, copyists, collectors and patrons as well as individual scholarly accomplishment.
Distinguishing later meanings
Many humanists were religious, and classical learning could serve Christian writing. They did not share a uniform programme of rejecting religion. Modern humanism may designate secular or ethical positions with different concerns. Keeping the historical educational and textual practices in view clarifies their variety and connections with Renaissance art.