The Lorenzo Vala of the Disputations

Lorenzo Vala's fusion of Christianity and Epicureanism is not unique to him, says Francesco Ferello. He argues that if you are in the business of pursuing pleasure, it makes all the difference what kind of pleasure you seek, he writes. Pajobrachanini argued that true nobility consists in virtue rather than an aristocratic lineage. Ennias Silvio Piccolomini put his experience as a courtier to good use with On the Misery of Courtiers.