The wisdom of Narcissus: Martianus Capella, vanity and learning as a glorification of the self

This paper examines the educational thought of Martianus Capella, a fifth-century Carthaginian writer, through his only surviving work The Marriage of Mercury and Philology. The didactic handbook is an ode to learning, adorning a faltering introduction to the liberal arts with baroque mythological ornamentation. The paper highlights Capella's unique approach to the liberal arts, framed within a Neo-Platonic context, that views knowledge as a means of embellishment, self-glorification and ascension. The paper discusses the allegorical elements of Capella's text, interpretations of its significance, and its implications for the modern academic, particularly regarding the interplay between the pursuit of knowledge and vanity.