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Eastern knowledge had reached Italy during the thirteenth, 
fourteenth and fifteenth centuries owing to the trade carried on 
between Italian cities and the East. Then, at the fall of Greece 
and Constantinople into the hands of the Turks, refugees fled 
into Italy taking with them Greek manuscripts, dramas, 
histories, philosophies and specimens of sculpture. They 
imbued the Italians with their ideas of life arid culture, and 
a marvellous change came over Italy. It was indeed a 
Renaissance ; not merely a revival of learning, but a revival 
of living, and humanity rejoiced in its emancipation. To 
appreciate the change properly it is necessary to contrast 
the radically different conceptions of life of the Eastern 
Empire, which had preserved the tradition and the remains 
of Greek culture in its palmiest days, and of Western Europe, 
which was dominated largely by the Roman Church. 
The essence of the monastic ideal was renunciation. This 
is seen in Dante’s conception of life ; it whs the main idea 
of S. Francis of Assisi, and was the theological basis of the 
writings of the Fathers of the Church. The Greek, however, 
had a frank, glad acceptance of life as a gift of the grids to 
be enjoyed to the uttermost. The root word of Greek phil- 
osophy was that untranslatable word “sophrosyne,” which may 
be defined as “ moderation,” “ the happy mean,” “ everything 
right in its place,” or “ the perfect balance.” The knowledge 
of Greek literature and arts opened men’s eyes to the dignity 
and worth of human life, and the monastic ideal was 
abandoned. 
Thus the first result was the Emancipation of Reason. 
Men were filled with an eager curiosity to learn all they could 
of the world in which they lived, and gave themselves up 
to the pursuit of knowledge. Schools, academies, and uni- 
versities were founded, paper and printing were invented, 
Copernicus explored the heavens and modern astronomy 
was founded, the first mariner’s compass was made, and 
gunpowder was adapted to firearms. The most astonishing 
achievements of the Renaissance were in the fine arts, and 
the artists set the standard so high that no succeeding genera- 
tion has ever attained to their level. All arts received a 
tremendous impetus. In architecture a new type of building 
resulted, in sculpture a new idea of the meaning of form, 
and in painting a perfect equipment, and a corresponding 
increase in the powers of expression. 
The second great result of the Renaissance was the Emanci- 
pation of Conscience. As the new learning gradually per- 
meated the minds of all classes, men clearly recognised that 
