What possible similarity, one might be tempted to ask, could exist
             between the apparently profoundly secular author of "Letter to Peregrino
             Zambeccari" the Italian humanist and proto-nationalist Coluccio Salutati,
             whose life was filled chiefly by political and administrative matters and
             the holy order of the unworldly French Trappists' However, despite the
             apparent incongruity of comparing the author of such a text, the points of
             view espoused within the "Letter to Peregrino Zambeccari," and the full
             catalogue of Trappist philosophies and modalities of religious existence,
             there is also a profound similarity in terms of the mutual stress upon
             thrift, practicality, and a common-sense view of the world between Italian
             humanism and Trappist thought. Ultimately, both stress a physical and
             active life as the best way of accessing God. A physical and lived
             existence in the world is the best way of accessing God's love and the
             Trappist Physical Life and Mercantilism
             True, the "Letter to Peregrino Zambeccari," is mainly concerned with
             relating to the world in an earthly context, while the Trappist view
             focuses on the relationship between the human and the divine, and how best
             to achieve that connection and relation during the limited time human
             beings dwell upon the earthy. But the "Letter" is not merely an economic
             or political manifesto. It places the philosophy of mercantilism and
             Italian nationalism in a larger Roman political tradition and history.
             Also, Trappist belief structures were quite detailed in their physical as
             well as their philosophical nature, as only through regulating the body
             properly could one gain full access and love of Godâ€"as "Letter to Peregrino
             Zambeccari" suggests that only through proper regulation of the economic
             and political body can the full range of Roman principles be realized in
             By and large, the views of Salutati, as e...