WOMAN'S LONG STRUGGLE 65 



suicide. These facts are commended to the consideration 

 of our modern opponents of the higher education of women 

 and to those militant conservatives and old-time reaction- 

 aries who are still averse to opening the doors of some of 

 our older universities to women even such universities as 

 Oxford, several of whose colleges were founded on the reve- 

 nues derived from suppressed educational institutions 

 which had been built and used for generations for the sole 

 behoof of women. 



But distinguished as were the women of Italy for their 

 culture and scholarship, they were yet more distinguished 

 as patrons of learning, as leaders and inspirers of the emi- 

 nent men who were the chief representatives of the Renais- 

 sance. Reference has already been made to the influence of 

 Vittoria Colonna on Michaelangelo "who saw with her 

 eyes, acted by her inspiration, was lifted by her beyond 

 the stars" but this is only one of many similar instances 

 that might be adduced. Indeed, to the student of the Ital- 

 ian Renaissance, the most interesting feature of it was, not 

 its women doctors and professors, but those noble and ac- 

 complished ladies who made the courts of Ferrara, Mantua, 

 Milan and Urbino the most noted intellectual centers of 

 Europe. 



The most beautiful ornaments of the first three courts 

 were Renee, duchess of Ferrara ; Isabella d 'Este, marchion- 

 ess of Mantua, and Beatrice d'Este, duchess of Milan. 

 They were all women of exceptional learning and culture, 

 and each was the center of a galaxy of talent such as is 

 rarely witnessed in any one place. 



Among the men attracted to their courts were the most 

 illustrious scholars, artists, poets and musicians of the 

 Renaissance. Here they found congenial homes and 

 breathed an atmosphere made fragrant by the appreciation 

 shown by their charming hostesses for their power and 

 genius. Here they found inspiration and a stimulus that 

 spurred them on to their greatest achievements. In Fer- 



