HUMANISM AND RENAISSANCE SHAPING THE HISTORICAL MIND OF ITALY The spirit of Humanism—the veneration for antiquity which animated it—was quite obviously different in Italy from what it was elsewhere. That the difference consisted in the closer affinity of the scholars to the world they studied is obvious also. No greater proof is needed than the difference between the architecture of the twelfth, thirteenth and fourteenth centuries in Western Europe and in Italy. Art, as conceived by modern æsthetics, is that degree of mind, the function of which is neither theoretical nor practical, but consists in expressing through intuition the whole life of the mind. We can, therefore, rightly appeal to art as the most faithful witness to the spirit that animates an epoch. Ample documents illustrating the difference between the spirit of Humanism in France and in Italy can be found in the works of Emile Mâle on the Gothic art of France, and in any illustrated book of Italian mediæval Art, such as the small but excellent album of Ojetti. Romanic architecture flourished in both countries between the eighth and twelfth centuries, and its monuments in France, such as St. Sernin of Toulouse, leave no doubt as to the debt of the country to its Roman conquerors. Even at that time, when the South of France had not yet altogether lost its traditions as the Roman Province, we can see new tendencies at work. In Italy, the contemporary buildings, pieced together with fragments of ancient columns, capitals, architraves, employed as simple building material, point to the more intimate co-existence in Italy of the old and new elements. It is sufficient to recall two churches of the ninth century in Rome, St. Maria _in Domnica_ and St. Prassede, both following the model of the great Constantinian Basilicas. While their architecture is inspired by the classic age of Christian art, and the materials are stolen from Pagan monuments, their mosaics evince a healthy realism that asserts the living tradition of local art, despite the obvious and predominant influence of the East. But this persistence of Roman influences does not exclude those of the North; Carolingian art greatly influenced Italy, especially in certain forms of decorative work. The golden altar of St. Ambrogio in Milan, the canopy above it, and some of the stuccoes at Cividale, prove the force of these influences in districts ethnically and historically favourable to their reception.