THE NEW ERA 111 



munication with the Greek Empire, and Greek works 

 were coming in. From the early thirteenth century- 

 there was a good deal of religious scepticism in Italy, 

 and scholars from Constantinople were welcomed. 

 They had, at least, the old Greek literature, though 

 they had never developed its science and philosophy. 

 This intercourse increased as Rome became more 

 and more relaxed ; and at length, in the fifteenth 

 century, the Turks took Constantinople and drove 

 flocks of Greek scholars to Italy. 



It was the period of the Renaissance — the "re-birth" 

 of letters, art, science, and philosophy. At one time 

 we used to exaggerate the importance of this ; as if 

 Europe had remained asleep until the Greeks awoke 

 it. The truth is, as we saw, that there had been a 

 continuous, though very slow, development in Europe, 

 and the stimulations given to it by the Moors and 

 the Greeks helped it materially, but by no means 

 caused it. From the eleventh century onward Europe 

 had the chief condition of progress — a group of rival 

 cultures (cities, etc.) stimulating each other — set up 

 in it once more, and sufficient peace and prosperity 

 to let it produce its natural effect. It was just the 

 familiar story of the evolution of a human civilization 

 over again. Moral and social progress still lagged 

 far behind artistic ; but that is a normal feature. 



The Middle Age closed, and the Modern Age began, 

 with a veritable splutter of energy on the part of the 

 new Europe. Printing was discovered — a very quiet 

 little invention at the time, but one of tremendous 

 importance in the evolution of the race henceforward. 

 Before that a preacher or a writer (hand-copied) 

 might reach a thousand people. By the eighteenth 

 century he could, like Voltaire, reach a million. 



