Some of the fathers of the Church were hostile to the use of pagan classics as a means of educa tion. They feared an inroad of paganism. Yet most of the fathers approved of the cultural value of the.study of the ancients, so long as the humanism of antiquity was not allowed to tar nish the beauty of Christian faith and moral ity; and the popes at the dawn of the Renais sance followed the example of fathers so illustrious.
3. VaNa (1405-57) — In the course of time some of the Italian humanists became fanatical propagandists of heathenism, but there were ever contemporary scholars who clung to Christian ideals. Lorenzo Valla, 'De Volup tate> (1431), presents an accurate picture of the false and true Renaissance of the times. The characters of his dialogue are historical personages. L.ionardo Bruni tries to effect a harmony between Christianity and Stoicism. Niccola Niccoli is a Christian humanist who defends the agreement of faith and science. Antonio Beccadelli, an Epicurean and the mouthpiece of Valla, teaches the gospel of pleasure, the gratification of every sense. Through him Valla defends the indulgence of all the appetites. Women have no rights. Adultery is the natural thing for man and woman. Continence is a crime. Sensuality is the highest good. Voluptuousness is an act of worship. Besides championing all this pagan ism and immorality, Valla wielded bis trenchant pen against monasticism, the clerical state and what was called priestly domina tion." His invectives against the papacy were most virulent; and yet this pagan humanist, because of his masterly Latinity, was favored by the popes. Nicholas V made him scripior in the Vatican Library, and later on papal secre tary, and used his genius for the translation of Greek classics. Valla fawned and cringed, like .others of his class, with such success as to receive from Callixtus III a canonry in Saint John Lateran. The papacy of the Italian Re naissance rather favored than opposed the pagan humanists in order to use their brilliant attainments in the cause of learning. Valla's contemporary, Antonio Beccadelli of Palermo, would scarce have been condemned by Eugenius IV bad not his glorified the lowest degradations of unmentionable lust.
4. The Height of the Italian Renaissance (1453-1527).— The University of Paris had be come a papal foundation in 1211. Twenty-eight universities, in various parts of Christendom, received papal charters between 1400 and 1506. The papacy was the main power that brought the Revival of Learning to the height of its glory. Nicholas V (1447-55) founded the Vatican Library, as a means of making Rome the centre of literary culture to the world. At
his death, it contained 824 Latin and 352 Greek manuscripts. Among these latter was the
famous. Vatican Codex, B, of the Greek Bible. The fall of Constantinople (1458) occasioned a rich harvest of manuscripts for the Vatican Library. By 1484, at the death of Sixtus IV, it had a thousand Greek manuscripts of which 58 were Biblical. The library of Saint Mark's, Venice, which Cardinal Bessarion enriched, and the Laurentian Library of Florence
the fruitage of the Italian Renaissance. art of printing soon reached Italy. With papal approval, the printed Latin Vulgate edition of the Bible was spread broadcast. Between the years 1450 and 1500, there were 177 complete editions of the Vulgate printed: 134 in the Latin original, 15 in German, 13 in Italian, 11 in French, two in Bohemian, one in Dutch and one in Spanish. It is a sign of the vigor of the Christian Renaissance that no classic of an cient Rome was printed, until some 12 editions of the Latin Bible had been put through the press. In 1475 the Venetian Vulgate was is sued. The Aldine Press of Venice, between 1494 and 1515, printed 33 first editions of Greek classics. Aldus issued the Septuagint in 1518. The Hebrew Bible was printed at Soncino (1477) and Naples (1486). Meantime, in the papal court, the false Renaissance was repre sented by the ribaldry and innuendo of Poggio, Filelfo, IEneas Sylvan Picolomini (later con verted and raised to the pontificate as Pius II), and Cardinals Bembo and Bibbiena. Vain were the efforts of Giannozzo Manetti, Lionardo Bruni, Ambrogio Traversari, Gregorio Corraro, Maffeo Begio, Vittorino da Feltre, and a host of Christian scholars, to stem the tide of pagan ism. Vain was the thundering of the Francis can and Dominican friars against the obscenity and filth of the false Renaissance. High ecclesiastics and even popes pampered and sup ported the ribald set. In the end, Leo X (1513 21) encouraged the abuses which he should have reformed. Had he done his duty, the Church would not have been dealt the severe blow of the Protestant Reformation. He him self was temperate; and yet revelry and carous ing were characteristic of his court. The loose ness of morals at that court are witnessed to by such immoral plays as Bibbiena's (Calendra) and Ariosto's