Oration on the Dignity of Man

The Oration on the Dignity of Man was written in 1486 by the then 23-year-old Giovanni Pico della Mirandola, as an introduction to a public debate he was planning to host in Rome the following year, to discuss with the scholars of his day and the leaders of the Catholic Church (who had near absolute power at the time) 900 theses of his own, on what he considered to be the most important questions concerning the universe, theology and human existence.

Pico was never able to hold his Oration: ...