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LJgRARYCAUrON


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THEEARLY RENAISSANCE

IN

ENGLAND.


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aottton : C. J. CLAY and SONS,CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS WAREHOUSE,AVE MARIA LANE.

5la8flofa: 263, ARGYLE STREET.

iLeipjifl: F. A. BROCKHAUS.0,tbi Sotft: MACMILLAN AND CO.


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THEEARLY RENAISSANCE

IN

ENGLANDTHE REDE LECTURE

DELIVERED IN THE SENATE-HOUSEON JUNE 13, 189s

BYMANDELL CREIGHTON, D.D.

LORD BISHOP OF PETERBOROUGH.

CAMBRIDGE:AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS.

1895


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CambriligePRINTED BY J. C. F. CLAY,AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS.


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THE EARLY RENAISSANCEIN ENGLAND.It is sometimes worth while, even for a

lecturer, to look at the rock whence he washewn, and to content himself with explainingwhy he exists. This is the humble purposewhich I have set before myself Other lecturers,in their yearly courses, have celebrated theadvance of science, or have unfolded the de-velopment of thought. I would ask you to goback with me and consider some of the causeswhich made this progress possible, some ofthe labours of forgotten men by whose good-will and zeal our intellectual heritage has beenslowly built up. When Sir Robert Rede foundedthis lectureship in 1518 he did so because


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lo THE EARLY RENAISSANCEhe wished to enrich the University with oppor-tunities which it had not possessed before. Hewished to broaden its studies by favouring thatNew Learning which was changing men's viewsabout the world and life. My object thismorning is to discover the motives whichprobably weighed with him and explain themeaning of what he did.

The Renaissance is a familiar theme ; andits history in Italy has been elaborately studiedof late years. Perhaps so much has beenwritten about it that its main features have beensomewhat obscured. Italy was the home of theRenaissance movement, and attention has beenchiefly given to the most exaggerated formswhich it there assumed, while its simpler, Imight almost say its normal, development, hasbeen somewhat overlooked. Let me try andput before you in its simplest form the chiefobject of that intellectual movement which wehave agreed to call the Renaissance.

The great formative power of ancient life


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IN ENGLAND.was the culture derived from Hellas. Cultureafter all means an attitude towards life, and theattitude expressed by Hellenic thought was oneof clear outlook upon the world, frank accept-ance of things as they were, and resolutenessin clothing them with beautiful form. Thesequalities of the Hellenic mind were to somedegree impressed upon the sterner and morepractical mind of Rome, which gave them widedominion. But Rome, with all its capacity foraction, lacked the faculty of preserving byperpetual readjustments the spiritual concep-tions on which natural life must ultimately bebased. Each step in Rome's expansion leftit poorer in actual contents, till it fell throughsheer exhaustion. In the downfall of materialcivilization, in the miseries of barbarian in-vasions, the new power of Christianity alonesurvived and was strong enough to build upagain the life of man upon an enduring basis;but the task was enormous, the struggle wasarduous, and amid the general wreckage only


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8 THE EARLY RENAISSANCEsuch elements of the old civilisation survivedas had been absorbed by Christianity. Thisrevived society bore manifold traces of theconflict which had been necessary to trainand discipline the conscience to an abidingsense of duty. But as society became moresettled, as material civilisation was again re-covered, as men had more leisure, and life grewricher, the need was felt for fuller recognition ofthe primary and immediate objects of that lifeof the thoughts and fancies and passionsof which each man was directly conscious in hisindividual experience. There had been such anexpression once ; it must be recovered. Italy,as the most ancient nation, felt most keenly theneed of regaining its forgotten treasures. TheRenaissance was the movement for this purpose.

At first the movement was unconscious, andit is difficult to fix upon a time which madeit definite. But it seems to me that the im-portant crisis in the fortunes of any movementis that which impresses its aim upon the


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imagination of the multitude. Such an im-pression was made by one who is not muchrecognised in this connexion, by Francis ofAssisi. The unconscious purpose of his lifewas to find peace for himself by freedom fromall common ties and conventions, so he mightlive unfettered and unhindered in joyous com-munion with God and man. All the worldwas his, because he called nothing his own : allmen were his brothers ; the delights of outwardnature, the companionship of birds and beasts,were his to the full, for God bestowed themupon him. His life was a poem which toldof the joys of liberty, of earth's loveliness, ofthe delight of human intercourse founded onpure love. Francis announced, in a way thatcould not be forgotten, that it was possibleto have a clear outlook on the world, to seein things as they were a promise of what theyshould be and to clothe them with beauty. Iadmit that his message was delivered fantastic-ally, that its method was impossible for ordinary


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THE EARLY RENAISSANCEmen, but it was a message none the less. Itsspirit was not forgotten. It created the greattheologians of the succeeding age : it lies atthe bottom of all that is loftiest in Danteit inspired the art of Giotto. It went far tomake all these men possible, because it preparedmen's minds to understand their object, andsympathise with their efforts to set forth theunity yet variety of life. Be this as it may,there was ever after the time of Francis aconstant endeavour to grasp human characterwith all its powers and capacities ; and thescientific means towards this end was the studyof classical literature. Italy gave itself to thisobject, and its separate states vied with oneanother in their zeal. Plato lamented that inhis days the study of geometry was neglectedbecause no state held it in sufficient repute.The Italian city communities were convincedthat the pursuit of classical culture was anobject of political importance. Scholars wereesteemed as public benefactors ; they enjoyed


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exceptional advantages ; they were freely sup-plied with leisure for their studies ; their lectureswere crowded. It was as disgraceful for a manof position not to be a patron of scholarship, asit would be nowadays if he refused to subscribeto the local hospital ; everyone was boundto be interested in literature, and show hisgood taste by some addition to the beautyand enjoyment of the common life.

The band of scholars which was thus pro-duced was divided into two great parties, adivision which seems to be inevitable in all thatman attempts. The object of their efforts wasto explain and set forward the individual. Howwas this to be done } by taking the existingindividual and developing its powers ; or bythe creation of a new form of character, eman-cipated from existing shackles, and franklyformed upon the antique model t This wasthe question which divided the Humanists.Both parties were agreed about the paramountimportance of classical studies, both were


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12 THE EARLY RENAISSANCEopposed to the old-fashioned modes of thoughtand means of education. But one party wishedto expand, the other to subvert ; one party wasChristian and progressive ; the other was revo-lutionary and pagan.

It was only in Italy that this pagan partyfound strong support, and expressed itself withfreedom. All movements tend to be judged bytheir extreme representatives. Much that hasbeen written about the Renaissance in Italytreats its most extravagant exponents as typicalof all, and does not adequately distinguish.But when we attempt to consider the influenceof the Renaissance outside Italy, as I am tryingto do, we must clearly differentiate three classesof students. First of all, there were the men ofthe old school, who were assiduous students ofclassical literature, but used it as a help to theirown pursuits. Secondly, there were the Hu-manists, who wished to extend the old studies,and improve the old methods of education, andtake a freer outlook over the world. Thirdly,


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IN ENGLAND. 13there were the Poets and rhetoricians, who carednothing for the contents of life, but taking them-selves as they were, strove only after beautifulexpression, and gloried in a freedom from pre-judice which they would have all men follow.

It is a matter of some interest to see howEngland was affected by this movement. Thefirst class of scholars was, I think, stronglyrepresented, and English writers early show theinfluence of considerable reading of the Classics.For instance, the chronicler William of Malmes-bury, who died in the middle of the twelfthcentury, tells us that his object in writing wasbarbarice exarata Romano condire sale, toseason with classical flavour the barbarouschronicles of his predecessors. The object andphrase in which it was expressed are alikeworthy of a Florentine of the best period. Ihave come across one testimony to a knowledgeof classics in England in early times which is soremarkable, and so difficult of explanation, thatI think it worth mentioning even at the risk of

^


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14 THE EARLY RENAISSANCEseeming pedantic. ^Eneas Sylvius, who certainlyknew MSS., says that in the Library of St Paul'sin London he found an ancient history, written,according to its colophon, six hundred yearsbefore, that is, roughly speaking, about 800 to850 B.C. The writer of this history, he goeson, was noted as the Greek Thucydides, whomwe know by report to have been famous: Ifound, however, no translator's name. Englandwas indeed far in advance of the rest of Europeif at that early date it possessed a studentcapable of translating Thucydides. Howeverthis may be, England produced in the fourteenthcentury one of the earliest collectors of books.Richard of Bury, bishop of Durham, was a typeof the omnivorous student: even on his journeyshe carried a library with him and sat surround-ed by piles of books so that it was difficult toapproach him. He left his large library toDurham College, Oxford ; both college andlibrary have passed away, but the treatise whichhe wrote on the care of books and the proper


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IN ENGLAND. 15ordering of a library still remains and gladdensthe hearts of librarians. Moreover Richardvisited Italy and was a correspondent of Petrarch.Yet we cannot class him as a Humanist. Hisconduct towards Petrarch shows a lamentablewant of interest in the problems which exercisedthe men of the New Learning. Petrarch meet-ing an inhabitant of the distant north enquiredeagerly his opinion about the identification ofthe island of Thule. Richard answered thatwhen he had returned home he would consulthis books, and would then be able to satisfy hisenquirer's curiosity. This we now know to be -t~the proper answer for a professor to give, butwholly unsuited to a University Extensionlecturer and still more to a man of letters.Further, though Petrarch frequently wrote toremind Richard of his promise, he received noanswer : so that, he sadly remarks, myEnglish friendship brought me no nearer toThule. It may be urged that Richard knewnothing about the subject on which his opinion

J.


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i6 THE EARLY RENAISSANCEwas asked ; but the duty of a scholar was todisguise his ignorance by drawing attention tothe beautiful style in which he could clothe itwith irrelevant remarks about everything else.Certainly a man who lost an opportunity ofwriting a long and elegant Latin letter toPetrarch, even though he had nothing to say,has no claim to be considered a Humanist.

Indeed this story shows that England, evenat that time, exercised great caution in receivingforeign influences. Englishmen, when abroad,were doubtless as sympathetic as their pro-verbial stiffness enabled them to be ; but whenthey returned home external impressions rapidlypassed away and insular stolidity again possess-ed them. This is seen in the case of HenryBeaufort, bishop of Winchester, who visitedConstance during the Council in 1417. Heposed so successfully as a man of letters thatthe great Florentine scholar Poggio Bracciolinitrusted to his vague promises and came toEngland hoping to enjoy the benefits of his


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IN ENGLAND. 17patronage. But Poggio's sojourn was one con-tinued disappointment. Such of the monasticlibraries as he searched contained no classicalMSS. The English nobles lived in the country,occupied in agricultural pursuits, and were woolmerchants instead of patrons of letters. Theirchief enjoyment was eating, and they caredmore about the quality of the food than therefinement of the repast. Poggio found nosympathetic souls, and after waiting for eighteenmonths to see what the bishop of Winchesterwould do for him, the mountain produced amouse. He was offered a small benefice, miser-ably below his expectations. He was so dis-appointed that he did not choose to allude muchafterwards to his English experiences, and weare deprived of an interesting record of ourilliterate forefathers.

But better days were at hand ; and it isstrange that no rumour reached the ears ofPoggio of the literary taste shown by HumphreyDuke of Gloucester, who provided what Eng-


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i8 THE EARLY RENAISSANCEland had not hitherto enjoyed, a distinguishedand wealthy patron for scholars. Where Hum-phrey acquired his fondness for letters it is hardto say. He was educated at Oxford, and in hislifetime enriched the University with so manyvaluable books that he may be regarded as thefounder of the Bodleian Library. We know,however, of no teacher in Oxford who canhave turned his mind towards the New Learningand his busy and adventurous life seems aversefrom literary pursuits. Yet Humphrey is thenearest approach in England to an Italianprince, and he was recognised as a congenialsoul by Italian scholars. He set himself tobring Italian influences into England, and hesucceeded in turning the attention of sometowards the acquisition of a polished style.

In this he was helped by the fact that theCouncil of Basel drew many Englishmen abroad,and brought them into personal contact withItalian scholars. One of these Italians es-pecially, .^neas Sylvius Piccolomini, had a


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IN ENGLAND. 19happy geniality of manner, and a power ofexhibiting the practical value of that versatilityof character which is the result of culture.

iEneas had his way to make in the world,and early learned to turn his hand to anythingthat needed doing. He was a keen observer, aman of ready sympathy, an excellent exponentof the substantial value of a good education toenable you to find plausible reasons for what itwas expedient for you to do. Amongst otherswhom he trained in the art as well as thescience of scholarship was an Englishman,Adam de Molyneux, who died in 1450 as bishopof Chichester and Keeper of the Privy Seal. Ido not know that the temper of New Learning,or the hopes of its followers in England, can bebetter expressed than in a somewhat patro-nising letter which ^Eneas wrote to his Englishdisciple

I read your letter with eagerness, andwondered that Latin style had penetrated eveninto Britain. It is true that there have been

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20 THE EARLY RENAISSANCEamongst the English some who have cultivatedthe eloquence of Cicero, amongst whom commonconsent would place the Venerable Bede. Peterof Blois was far inferior, and I prefer yourletter to any of his. For this advance allgratitude is due to the illustrious Duke ofGloucester, who zealously received polite learninginto your kingdom. I hear that he cultivatespoets, and venerates orators ; hence manyEnglishmen now turn out really eloquent. Foras are the princes so are the people ; and ser-vants progress through imitating their masters.Persevere therefore, friend Adam. Hold fastand increase the eloquence you possess : con-sider it the most honourable thing possible toexcel your fellows in that in which men excelother living creatures. Great is eloquencenothing so much rules the world. Politicalaction is the result of persuasion ; his opinionprevails with the people who best knows howto persuade them.

Let me remark in passing that these words


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IN ENGLAND.were written in 1444. They may make usdoubt if the growth of democracy has done somuch as we commonly think to develop themethods of politics.

I will not weary you by any account of theItalian scholars whom Duke Humphrey patro-nised. It is enough to say that he did every-thing which befitted a literary prince. He hasthe merit of causing Latin translations to bemade of two such works as the Politics ofAristotle and the Republic of Plato. Besidestranslations he encouraged the writing of suchtreatises as the age enjoyed, discussions ofquestions of no particular meaning for the sakeof gathering round them a certain amount ofrecondite knowledge, of exercising dialecticalskill and exhibiting the beauty of a classicalstyle. The subjects resemble those whichvirtuous schoolboys might presumably choose ifthey were left to select topics for essayse.g.the difference between virtues and vices: or, acomparison of the life of a student and that of


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22 THE EARLY RENAISSANCEa warrior. Besides receiving such compositionsfrom others Humphrey was himself a letter-writer, and sent presents of books to otherprinces, with appropriate remarks on the fitnessof the work for the character of its recipient.Further he welcomed in England an unknownItalian, who took the high-sounding name ofTitus Livius, and constituted himself the bio-grapher of Henry V. Nor did Humphreyneglect English writers ; he befriended Pecock,Capgrave and Lydgate. I do not see that heomitted anything which became one who formedhimself on the best Italian model.

In this endeavour he was followed by anobleman who went to Italy and there studiedto perfect himself in his part, John Tiptoft,Earl of Worcester. Tiptoft attended lectures atVenice, Padua, Florence and Rome. He rambledalone through the streets of these cities, goingwhere chance led him, and drinking in the in-herent charm of Italy. He addressed .^neasSylvius, who had become Pope Pius II., in a


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IN ENGLAND. 23speech of such exquisite Latinity that it broughttears into the eyes of that too susceptible pontiff.He was a good customer to the great Florentinebookseller, Vespasiano di Bisticci, who has placedhim, as the only Englishman, among the greatscholars of the time whose lives he wrote.

But Tiptoft learned more from Italy thanEnglishmen approved of Into the unscrupulouspolitics of the dark days of Henry VI. heintroduced an Italian carelessness of humanlife. The people hated him for his cruelty andcalled him the butcher of England. HisItalian biographer tells us that, when he wasbeheaded on Tower Hill in 1470, the mob criedout that he deserved to die because he hadbrought to England the laws of Padua. I thinkthat this is an undue charge against Englishinsularity, great as it was ; and that the mobcried out against his use of the treacherousmethods of Italian politics. Anyhow Tiptoft isa conspicuous example of that truth, so oftentaught and so constantly disregarded, that


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24 THE EARLY RENAISSANCEwhen a scholar takes to politics his scholarshipdoes not save him from occasionally losing hishead.

The troubled times of the Wars of the Rosesdashed the prospects of court patronage; butthe tradition still remained. Even so staid aking as Henry VII. had a court poet andhistorian, Bernard Andre, a native of Toulouse.Andre's poetry is irrepressible. We wish hehad told us more facts and sung us fewer Sap-phic odes, which are at best an imperfect mediumfor conveying accurate information. MoreoverHenry curiously favoured some Italians whocame to England in the unpopular capacity ofcollectors of the papal dues. One of them,Giovanni dei Gigli, did his best to throw someromance over Henry's prosaic marriage by afervent Epithalamium, which gave England someexcellent political advice. For this and otherservices he was made bishop of Worcester, inwhich office he was succeeded by his nephew,and afterwards by another Italian, Gerolamo


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IN ENGLAND. 25Ghinucci. The practical sense of English kingscombined patronage of Humanism with require-ments of diplomatic service, and paid for bothout of the revenues of the Church. Yet thesemen were useful in their way as means ofliterary communication with Italy. Ghinucciengineered at Rome Wolsey's plan for foundingCardinal College out of monastic revenues, andwas employed to seek for books, and ordertranscripts of Greek MSS. He even sentWolsey catalogues of the Libraries of theVatican and of Venice, that he might select suchbooks as should be most useful for the Libraryof his College. Another Italian, Polidore Vergilof Urbino, was not so fortunate in winningWolsey's favour ; but he avenged himself bywriting a history of England in which Wolsey wassteadily depreciated. Its graceful Latinity madeit for a long time the current history of Englandon the Continent, while England refused tobelieve that a foreigner could really understandits affairs. In yet another quarter Italian in-


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26 THE EARLY RENAISSANCEfluences directly operated on England. It waslong before natives could write Latin letters withfreedom; and Henry VIII.'s Latin Secretary,Andrea Ammonio of Lucca, was a close friendand a kindly instructor of the eminent Englishscholars of his time.

I have said enough about the foreign side ofthe Renaissance in England. English learningwas not affected by courtly patronage, nor wasit much influenced by the presence of foreignscholars. The pursuit of style had little attrac-tion for Englishmen, nor did those who stroveafter it acquire any great facility. Very few, ifindeed any, seem to have learned from theItalian scholars who were brought to gracecourtly society. Such Englishmen as wished tolearn went for that purpose to Italy, where theyprepared themselves to vie with the Italians ontheir own ground. In the middle of the fifteenthcentury we find a small body of Oxford men whoresponded to the impulse given by the Duke ofGloucester, and wandered to Italy to seek there


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IN ENGLAND. 27that instruction which England could not give.These self-selected Humanists have scarcelybeen appreciated as they deserve, and I wouldventure to trace the outlines of their careers. Ithink the first to set the example was WilliamGrey, of the family of Lord Grey of Codnor,who after learning what he could at BalliolCollege went to Cologne, which was in advanceof England in logic, philosophy and theology.But Grey had a desire for classical culture, whichCologne could not supply, and resolved to seekit in Italy. Being a man of wealth, he livedwith some state; and the burghers of Colognefound him so profitable a resident, that theywere unwilling to let him go. To escape fromtheir embarrassing hospitality he had to feign aserious illness, and then flee by night with hiscomplaisant physician, both disguised as Irishpilgrims. He went to Florence, where he ordereda library of books : thence to Padua, and finallyto the great Italian teacher, Guarino, who wasthen lecturing at Ferrara. He was made by


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28 THE EARLY RENAISSANCEHenry VI. his representative at the papal court;and the great literary pope, Nicholas V., soadmired his learning that he nominated himbishop of Ely in 1454. It is to be fearedthat bishop Grey's scholarly tastes found noresponse in the University of his diocese. Atall events he passed by Cambridge, and set hishopes of a classical revival on his old Collegeat Oxford, to which he gave a large sum for thepurpose of building a library, which was to holdthe literary treasures acquired in Italy. Hiscollection amounted to two hundred MSS.,many of which still remain.

It would seem that Grey had made friendsat Balliol of men likeminded with himself, wholistened to his enthusiastic reports of the excel-lence of Guarino's teaching and set out to jointheir comrade at Ferrara, The first of these wasJohn Free, a poor student whose expenses wereprobably paid by Grey. Free, besides Latin andGreek, learned botany and also medicine, whichhe both taught and practised at Padua and


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IN ENGLAND. 29Florence. He was, however, above all things ascholar, made several translations from the Greek,and wrote a cosmography. He went to Romewhere Pope Paul H. testified to his merits byappointing him bishop of Bath in 1465, but hedied before consecration.

Free, in his turn, invited to Italy anotherBalliol friend, John Gunthorp, who as soon as hehad learned to make Latin speeches returned toEngland, was employed by the king for thepurpose of going on complimentary embassies,which the decorum of the fifteenth century rigor-ously demanded, and finally was made dean ofWells. There he built the deanery house, muchof which still remains, bearing clear traces of theinfluence exercised by Italian architecture onthe new houses which were beginning to replacethe castle. Gunthorp has some interest for us,for he was for a time Warden of King's Hall(which was absorbed into Trinity College) andbequeathed some of his MSS. to Jesus College,which was founded a year before his death. He


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30 THE EARLY RENAISSANCEobviously had greater hopes of Cambridge thanhad his friend Grey.

There is yet another who belonged to thiscurious band, Robert Fleming, who stayed athome till he was appointed dean of Lincoln,and then joined his friends at Ferrara. Thencehe went to Rome and was in time appointedEnglish representative at the papal court. Hehad a country house at Tivoli, where he com-posed a long Latin poem in honour of PopeSixtus IV., to which he gave the title Lucubra-tiones TiburtincB, to mark, I suppose, that it wasthe work of a busy man in villeggiatura.

I have wearied you with these details. Butthey were necessary to prove my conclusion.There was no real interest in scholarship inEngland. Patronage could not create it, norcould foreign example plant it and make itgrow. The only result of the attempt was tokindle interest in a chosen few, who went toItaly in search of a career, and when theyreturned to occupy eminent posts at home felt


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IN ENGLAND. 31that they had left their literary life behind them.All that they could do was to provide booksand leave them where others in happier timesmight read them. England was exceptionallycallous to the attractions of culture, as such.

These men were Latin ists, stylists, engagedwith form rather than content, opening out nonew intellectual horizon. It was not till thevalue of Greek thought became in some degreemanifest that the New Learning awakened anyenthusiasm in England. An increase of know-ledge was worth working for, not a developmentof style. Englishmen were little moved bypurely aesthetic perceptions. They were willingto accept what was proved to be useful, or true ;they were not much affected by what was onlybeautiful. English society in the fifteenth cen-tury was engaged in developing trade, and itstone was eminently practical. The nobles whofollowed the Italian model in developing theirindividuality were not appreciated and endedill. The New Learning, if it was to take root


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32 THE EARLY RENAISSANCEin England, must come into definite connexionwith English life and temper.

It was another band of Oxford men whogave it this form, and so secured for it anabiding home. The first Englishman whostudied Greek was William Selling, of AllSouls College, afterwards Prior of ChristChurch, Canterbury. In the monastery schoolhe breathed his own enthusiasm into one of hispupils, Thomas Linacre, who with two friends,William Grocyn and Thomas Latimer, went toItaly for the special purpose of learning Greek.These men differed from their predecessors inthat they were not wandering scholars, but wereacademic to the core. When they had learnedwhat they wanted, they returned to Oxford andtaught. Moreover they applied their learningto practice. Latimer and Grocyn were theolo-gians ; Linacre was the most eminent physicianof his day. Grocyn showed what a knowledgeof Greek could do for theology by proving thatthe treatise on The Ecclesiastical Hierarchy,


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IN ENGLAND. 33attributed to Dionysius the Areopagite, couldnot have been written by him. This was theintroduction of criticism into England. Linacrerevived classical medicine, by his translation ofGalen, and so prepared the way for its morescientific study. He left a considerable estatefor the foundation of three lectureships in medi-cine, two at Oxford, and one at Cambridge.

This brings me to a point which is of im-portance. As soon as it was seen that the NewLearning had a vivifying influence on thought,an attempt was made to provide for it in theUniversities. Doubtless this was largely dueto the academic patriotism shown by Linacreand Grocyn. Their predecessors tried toleaven English life directly; they trusted tohigh, position, to patronage, to their personalreputation, to their practical success. Theyentirely failed to produce any effect. Englandwas slow to move, and was not to be fascinatedby brilliancy. Culture did not radiate from theroyal court or from the efforts of stray bishops.

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34 THE EARLY RENAISSANCEEnglishmen in a dim way seemed to agree thatthe Universities were the organs of national lifefor the purpose of promoting learning. In factI think that nowhere does the English tempershow itself more clearly than in its relation tothe Universities. Two centres of intellectuallife came into being, we can hardly say how:but so soon as two existed, great objection wasfelt to the creation of any more. They wereenough for local convenience. They wereenough to excite emulation and display slightlydifferent tendencies. Attempts to add to thenumber were rigorously suppressed. It seemsas if the notion of two parties, to keep oneanother in order, was an ideal of early growth,and was dimly felt in the domain of learningbefore it was extended to the domain of politics.Anyhow England looked coldly on the NewLearning till it forced its way into the Univer-sities and proved its practical utility. When ithad thus attracted attention, had shown itspower, and had declared its combativeness, it


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IN ENGLAND. 35received ready help. There was a desire togive it a fair chance, and allow it to prove itsmettle in the places where questions respectinglearning ought naturally to be decided.

Perhaps one cause of the lethargy whichcertainly settled on the Universities in thefifteenth century was an uneasy feeling that theintellectual future belonged to the Humanists,who lived outside their influence and whom theycould not assimilate. The Oxford Hellenistsreassured men's minds of their loyalty to theirAlma Mater, and a system of University Ex-tension was begun in consequence. In thisCambridge slowly and tentatively, with an eyeto strictly practical results, took the lead underthe influence of John Fisher. He was backedby a powerful patron, the Lady Margaret, whosegenerosity he cautiously diverted into academicchannels. He began on a small scale with anobject of immediate usefulness, the foundationof divinity professorships at Oxford and Cam-bridge, which should aim at teaching pulpit


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36 THE EARLY RENAISSANCEeloquence. On this point the adherents of theold and the new learning might agree. If stylewas to be attended to, if rhetoric was to flourish,it might as well be applied to the great engine ofpopular education. The professorship at Cam-bridge was soon supplemented by the Lady Mar-garet preachership, the holder of which was to gofrom place to place and give a cogent exampleof the new style of pulpit oratory, which wasordered to be free from cavillings about wordsand parade of sophistry, and was to recommendGod's word to men's minds by efficaciouseloquence. I need not remind you that theLady Margaret was so well pleased with theresults of her new venture that she went on tofound the colleges of Christ and of St John.Patronage had now been successfully divertedto enrich and extend the resources of theancient seat of learning.

It must, however, be admitted that theanimating motive of Fisher's endeavours was alaudable desire to raise Cambridge to the level


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IN ENGLAND. yjwhich Oxford had already reached. The ex-ample of the early Hellenists still survived, andJohn Colet followed the example of his teachersGrocyn and Linacre. in spending three years inItaly. On his return in 1496 he went to Oxfordand as a volunteer delivered a course of lectureson S. Paul's Epistle to the Romans, in which heabandoned the scholastic method of interpretingsentence by sentence, or word by word, andendeavoured to discover the meaning of thewhole. It is most probable that the effectproduced by Colet's lectures suggested to Fisherthe foundation of a professorship at Cambridge,by which the new method might have a securefooting and not depend on the personal effortsof individuals. Be this as it may, the fame ofColet, Grocyn and Linacre, to whom was addedan attractive youth, Thomas More, made Oxfordrenowned, and drew thither the eager scholar,Erasmus of Rotterdam, who gives a charmingpicture of the delights of academical society. When I listen to my friend Colet, he wrote,

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38 THE EARLY RENAISSANCE I seem to be listening to Plato himself. Whodoes not admire in Grocyn the perfection oftraining ? What can be more acute, moreprofound, or more refined than the judgementof Linacre ? What has nature ever fashionedgentler, sweeter or pleasanter than the dispo-sition of Thomas More ? Such a body ofscholars, living and working together, sufficedto establish the reputation of Oxford, especiallywhen such a man as Erasmus sang their praisesto the learned world.

Fisher steadily kept before his eyes a likepossibility for Cambridge, and in 15 ii sum-moned Erasmus to teach Greek and lecture onthe foundation of the Lady Margaret. I neednot speak of this interesting episode in ourhistory, as it is not long since Professor Jebbbrought before you its picturesque significance.Erasmus tells how within the space of thirtyyears the studies of the University had pro-gressed from the old Grammar, Logic, andscholastic questions to some knowledge of


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IN ENGLAND. 39polite letters, mathematics, the renewed studyof Aristotle, and the study of Greek. Cambridgehas so flourished, he adds, that it can vie withthe chief schools of the age.

In fact, if the revival in Cambridge wasslower and less brilliant than at Oxford, it wasmore secure, for it rested on the cautious andcareful supervision of Fisher, who had the influ-ence of the Lady Margaret's new Colleges at hisback. In Oxford the departure of Linacre,Grocyn, and Colet removed the spell of domi-nant personalities, which strangely enough hasat many times lent a picturesque interest toOxford which Cambridge can rarely claim.With their departure the glory of the NewLearning departed also, as they left no equallydistinguished successors. It was clear that, ifOxford had given the stimulus to new studies,Cambridge was more skilful in providing forthem a permanent home. If progress was to bemade, Oxford must copy the methods of Cam-bridge. The man who grasped this fact, and


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40 THE EARLY RENAISSANCEtaught it to Wolsey, Richard Fox, bishop ofWinchester, had special means of knowing it,as he had been Chancellor of Cambridge andMaster of Pembroke. In 1516 Fox foundedCorpus Christi College at Oxford, avowedly inthe interests of the New Learning. But hereagain we may notice a characteristic differencebetween the two Universities. Fisher had gonehis way quietly, without laying down new prin-ciples in such a shape as to awaken antagonism,content with slowly breaking down barriers andfinding room for the new studies by the side ofthe old. Fox on the other hand blew thetrumpet of revolt, and his statutes breathe notesof defiance. His College is to be a beehive ; itslecturers are gardeners who are to providewholesome plants on which the bees maybrowse. They are to root out barbarism fromthe garden and cast it forth, should it at anytime germinate therein. When metaphors aredropped, provision is made, for lecturers whoare to teach Greek and Latin Classical authors.


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IN ENGLAND. 41This, be it noticed, is the first establishment of ateacher of Greek in England, as previous effortshad been voluntary or else temporary. Stillmore significant was the provision for a Readerin Divinity, who is to follow the ancient doctors,both Latin and Greek, and not the Schoolmen,who are pronounced to be both in time andlearning far below them. This was a bolddeclaration of war both in its depreciation ofthe Schoolmen, and in its recognition of Greektheology. It led to a formidable rising of theOld Learning, whose supporters dubbed them-selves Trojans, and assaulted the audaciousGrecians in the streets. Fox's beehive was in asorry plight, and its bees found it difficult togather honey. More had to interpose withWolsey, and Wolsey sent a royal letter com-manding all students in Oxford to study Greek.It was the handful of dust necessary to restrainthe buzzing of the angry insects. But Wolseymade the matter sure by proceeding with thefoundation of Cardinal College.


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42 THE EARLY RENAISSANCEThus both Universities were brought into

line, and the position of the New Learning wassecured. It is not my purpose to carry itsprogress further. It was just at this time, inthe year 1518, that Sir Robert Rede, who hadbeen a fellow of King's Hall, and died as LordChief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas,bequeathed by will to the University a smallsum of money for the endowment of lecturersin philosophy, logic, and rhetoric. His bequestwas an indication of the revived interest whichwas felt in the Universities, and of the desirethat room should be found in them for everybranch of knowledge. The spirit of his intentionhas been observed by the institution of thisannual lecture, which recognises the usefulnessof an occasional divagation from the ordinarycourse of studies, an occasional invitation to themembers of the University to ramble into fieldswhich are not mapped out and enclosed for thatcareful and methodical tillage which a TriposExamination necessarily entails.


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IN ENGLAND. 43The history of Scholarship is generally dis-

regarded. We commemorate our founders andbenefactors without troubling ourselves abouttheir immediate purposes and motives. It isenough for our gratitude to know that we arebecause they were, I fear that I may seempedantic in having attempted the impossibletask of condensing into an hour's lecture thebeginnings of the New Learning in England.I did so from a sense of natural piety ; and Ihope that I have established some links betweenthe present and the past. England in the pastshowed much the same characteristics as Englandof to-day. It was not to be captivated by bril-liancy. It did not care for mere graces of style.It was unmoved by attractive novelties till theyhad showed a capacity for sending their rootsbelow the surface, and gave promise of fruit aswell as flower. Nor would England receive itslearning from abroad. If there was anythingworth having beyond the seas, let Englishmengo and bring it back, and adapt it to the shapein which it was fitted for home consumption.


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44 THE EARL Y RENAISSANCE.Patronage and court favour might foster anexotic culture, but in that shape it would notspread. Further, England in a dull sort of way-trusted its national institutions, even when theywere little worthy of trust. Learning was amatter for the Universities ; if they were notdoing what they ought to do, those who wereinterested in the matter must set them right.Questions concerning learning must be decidedin the places set apart for that purpose fromtime immemorial. New inventions were goodwherever they came from, if they were proveduseful ; but the goods for English consumptionmust be manufactured by the old establishedfirms, and their premises must be enlarged forthe purpose. Again I say, England trusted itsUniversities in the past. It is in consequenceof that trust that I have had the privilege ofaddressing you to-day. I thought that I couldnot use the opportunity better than by recallinga fact which brings with it an abiding sensealike of dignity and of responsibility.Cambridge: printed by j. c. f. clay, at the university press.


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