156 THE FAMILY AND THE NATION 



as fine or finer intellectual heritage than England, 

 found themselves enveloped in the clutches of the 

 Inquisition. Giordano Bruno was burnt in 1600, and 

 a host of mighty men preceded or followed him to 

 the stake, while others kept spiritual company with 

 Galileo in the prisons of the Inquisition. In Spain, 

 says Galton, from 147 1 to 178 1, by martyrdom and 

 imprisonment, the country was drained of freethinkers 

 at the rate of a thousand persons annually, while the 

 monastic orders still flourished to catch any one whose 

 intellectual ardour could adjust itself to the orthodox 

 religion. In France, during the sixteenth century, 

 between three and four hundred thousand Protestants 

 perished in prison, at the galleys, or on the scaffold, 

 while many escaped to England, to the lasting benefit 

 of our race. Italy also was frightfully persecuted, and 

 the episode of the world's history which began with 

 such brilliant promise at the Renaissance was satisfac- 

 torily put a stop to on the Continent of Europe. 



Once again the nations of Western Europe have 

 recovered themselves ; once again in England we boast 

 of the national glories, in literature, art, science, and 

 administration, of the Victorian period ; once again a 

 host of great names crowd upon our memories. But 

 already some have seen signs of decadence. However 

 that may be, we still have great men with us. But 

 we cannot shut our eyes to the perils that lie 

 ahead. And to what must we attribute the danger 

 of a new period of decline and failure ? Not to 

 the magnificent if ill -directed religious fervour of 

 the thirteenth century, nor to the honest if cruel 

 and narrow outlook of Catholic orthodoxy in the 



