During the renaissance, there was a renewed interest in the arts, and the traditional views of society came into question. People began to explore
             the power of the human mind. A term often used to describe the increasing interest in the powers of the human mind is humanism. Generally,
             humanism stresses the individual's creative, reasoning, and aesthetic powers. However, during the Renaissance, individual ideas about humanism
             Writers and philosophers of the Renaissance time period expressed their opinions about human nature and human's roles in the universe through
             their writings. Pico della Mirandola's "Oration on the dignity of man", which glorifies humanity and praises the human ability to reason, offers
             the opposing view to Shakespeare's Hamlet and Montaigne's essay "Man's presumption and Littleness" which both suggest that humans are no
             higher in the universal order of things than any other of God's creatures.
             Pico begins his essay by informing his readers that he knows where humans stand in the divine order of the world. Pico believes that humans
             were the last creatures created by God, and that God's purpose, in creating them, was to fulfill his desire for someone to appreciate the great
             wonders and beauties of his world:
             When the work was finished, the Craftsman kept wishing that there were someone to ponder the plan of so great a work... therefore... he finally
             took thought concerning the creation of man. (Mirandola 224)
             It is also Pico's belief that when Humans were created, they were given qualities both divine and earthly, and could become whatever they chose:
             We have made thee neither of heaven nor of earth, neither mortal nor immortal, so that with freedom of choice... thou mayest fashion thyself in
             whatever shape thou shalt prefer. (Mirandola 225)
             Pico's conclusion about human ranking amo...