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struse political motives, for actions that are natural. It is 

 not wonderful, that people, who were bred up in idleness, 

 and had few means of filling the void of time, should 

 eagerly catch at every species of amusement, which lay 

 within their reach. In fact, there was no amusement, how- 

 ever puerile, coarse, and indecorous, which the monks 

 thought they could enjoy without detection, to which they 

 did not recur. The ancient sculptures, the works of monks 

 for the most part, which are yet to be seen, in various 

 places, shew the temper and character of the monks of 

 this period. Instances of this may be seen, in the chap- 

 ter-house of York, and in the halls of some of the cha- 

 pels of Oxford. It appears, that, though the spirit and 

 institutions of religion gave a certain degree of encourage- 

 ment to the arts; the benefit, which they derived from 

 thence, was but imperfect and limited. The monkish ar- 

 biters of elegance were gross in their tastes, and easily sa- 

 tisfied. Under their superintendence, the arts stopt half 

 way in their progress to perfection. The spirit of ecclesi- 

 astical decoration produced works, vastly inferior to those 

 which proceeded, at the same time, from rising taste, and 

 rational magnificence, in the free states of Italy. Liberty 

 was at least equally munificent with bigotry; but she 

 proved a much more eflScient and useful patroness. She 

 enlarged the understanding, and refined the taste, both of 

 the workman and the critic; while she extended rewards, 

 to stimulate the exertions of the former. We are enabled 

 to institute some comparison on this subject. The paint- 

 ings 



