Résumé
Throughout the 16th century, which, maybe more than any other, becomes aware of the relativity and the transience of men's lives and accomplishments, scholars strive for repose. We do not use this word with its everyday acceptations it must be understood in the light of the literary, the philosophical, the political and the theological theories of that time. We did not intend to write the history of the material conditions of repose, and this work is not a sociological or an historical study. We tried to reveal the issues, the values and the representations that define the ideal of repose for Renaissance men of letters, indicating the classical and the medieval, the pagan and the christian sources.Partly received as an inheritance from Roman otium, Greek scholè and medieval vacatio, 16th century ideal repose is a matter of salvation : salvation of the Humanists commited in this world, facing the duties of negotium and public life ; salvation of the philosophers and the poets, who seek in hideaways the peacefulness necessary for contemplation and writing ; salvation of the Christians, who set up here below the eternal rest of their souls. The question of repose lies at the crossroad of ethics, politics, theology and metaphysics.What is the time assigned to repose and leisure ? Where and how can one find repose and happiness, without infringing the laws of nature and those of civilization, since man is a social animal ? How can one preserve leisure and peace of mind in an age characterized by a restless mobility ? How can one prevent repose from deteriorating into an inert idleness ? Those are the questions, among many others, we tried to answer.