but appears in the Stories of Arthur 65 Romances of Chivalry of two Kinds 65 Effect of Difference of Religion upon Poetry 66 General Tone of Romance 66 Popular Moral Fictions 66 Exclusion of Politics from Literature 67 Religious Opinions 67 Attacks on the Church 67 Three Lines of Religious Opinions in Fifteenth Century 67 Treatise de Imitatione Christi 68 Scepticism--Defences of Christianity 69 Raimond de Sebonde 69 His Views misunderstood 69 His real Object 70 Nature of his Arguments 70 CHAPTER III. ON THE LITERATURE OF EUROPE FROM 1440 TO THE CLOSE OF THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY. The year 1440 not chosen as an Epoch 71 Continual Progress of Learning 71 Nicolas V. 71 Justice due to his Character 72 Poggio on the Ruins of Rome 72 Account of the East, by Conti 72 Laurentius Valla 72 His Attack on the Court of Rome 72 His Treatise on the Latin Language 73 Its Defects 73 Heeren’s Praise of it 73 Valla’s Annotations on the New Testament 73 Fresh Arrival of Greeks in Italy 74 Platonists and Aristotelians 74 Their Controversy 74 Marsilius Ficinus 75 Invention of Printing 75 Block Books 75 Gutenberg and Costar’s Claims 75 Progress of the Invention 76 First printed Bible 76 Beauty of the Book 77 Early printed Sheets 77 Psalter of 1547--Other early Books 77