Francesco Petrarch Francesco Petrarch has many accomplishments that have gone without recognition for too long. Petrarch is the first man from his time to look back and realize how much has been lost since the time of Augustus. He is the first who can look deep into the human soul and figure out how the lost can be found. He is also the first to collect libraries, bring forth the preservation of manuscripts, and accumulate coins. He should be recognized as an incomparable leader of humanity who dominates the literary life of his time and directs the thoughts of humanity into new channels for ages to follow. He is now known by few as only a poet. Petrarch should be remembered for being the first to realize how much has been lost since the…show more content… Petrarch is the first man to look back and realize how much has been lost since the time of Augustus. Petrarch lived in barbaric times and he despised it. Men from his time lost interest in Greek literature and Roman classics and were more interested in logic. His greatest wish is to change his time to be more like the time of Augustus and he fails to do so. However, he devotes his entire life to making a change for future generations. Petrarch believed that humanity could once more reach the heights of past accomplishments. The doctrine he espoused became known as humanism, and formed a bridge from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance. (“Petrarch Biography”) He was the first to look deep into the human soul and figure out how the lost can be found. Petrarch believes that men are lazy. We take paths that seem easier in fear of difficulties and love of ease. He believes that men cannot fight the urge of manly resistance and admire earthly things rather than the soul. Therefore, man is lost. By climbing Mount…show more content… He collected the words of ancient thinkers and writers to bring the past to life and pass them on to later generations. “He collected books, discovered long-lost writings, and edited texts, especially those of his favorite authors Cicero, Livy, and Virgil.” (Dutschke) He owned one of the largest private libraries in the world, which was intended to become the first public library. However, his books were dispersed and now reside in libraries and collections throughout the world, even the United States. Petrarch is the reason we study the human condition of the past enabling us to engage in the present for a more prepared and successful future. Petrarch is one of the reasons that coin collecting is what it is today. He is the first person ever known to collect coins and do so in a way that is similar to the coin collecting methods used today. People suggest that coin collecting may have started in ancient Rome, however, there is no evidence of modern coin collecting during these times. Most evidence points toward ancient Rome coin collecting being more closely related to hoarding rather than collecting. For this reason, Petrarch is considered to be first and is known to be the father of modern day coin