The period 1548-1687, "The Age of the Great Renewal," as
Bacon called those times, is the subject of the first volume of an evidently projected series of four, by Professor Preserved Smith, Hon. Litt. D. Amherst, Professor of History in Cornell University. (The History of Modern Culture, Rout- ledge, 12s. 6d.) The author considers that the Renais- sance by no means deserves the importance usually given to it ; since, as its name implies, it was merely a great revival of past cultures and not a true renewal of cultural energy. This view must surely be accompanied by full acknowledgment that the Renaissance was a powerful stimulant towards further progress ! The gradual emergence of men's minds from the acceptance of purely superstitious beliefs is interestingly dealt with ; and, in this connexion it may be noted that as the outcome of a debate at Oxford in 1621, it was decided that comets did foretell changes in the State. In literature and the drama a great change took place, the romances of chivalry and feudalism being replaced by the ,nevr influences of gunpowder and commerce, and newly developed habits of self-consciousness and introspection; while a sense of nationalism everywhere was both cause and effect of the diminished political influence of the Church and the wane of the Holy Roman Empire. The volume has a very full bibliography and an excellent index, and forms a highly interesting survey of the period chosen.
* S * *
Previous page
