Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1879-03-10
THE RENAISSANCE.

ry, and the first quarter of the sixteenth;
or, to be quite definite, from the fall of
the Greek or Byzantine empire in l453
to the 1927. But it may, with proprie-
ty, be made to apply to the time extend
ing from the beginning of the fourteenth
century to the middle of the sixteenth.
The word Renaissance means a new
birth. Another form of the word. ere
nascence," lately used by some English
writers, shows more clearly its Latin or
igin.
During the long night of the Middle
Ages ignorance and superstition had
lain like an iron weight upon the hu-
man mind; but now some mighty forces
seemed to be at work, and there was a
great awakening in every direction.
Gunpowder, which came into use
about the middle of the fourteenth Gen.
tury, caused a great change in the art
of carrying on war. and put an end for
ever to the feudal system, which was one
distinguishing characteristic of the Mid
die Ages.
Then there was the invention of the
compass in 1902 by Flavio Gioja, ma
tive of Amalf, village near Naples.
By this it was made possible for sailors
to venture further out to sea, and it
eventually led to the discoveries in
America and the East Indies. The ac-
count of these brilliant achievements
reads almost like page from a fairy
tale.
The Portuguese were the foremost in
all the fifteenth century. They discov-
cred the Madeira Islands, the Azores,
the Cape Verd Islands, and points on
the western coast of Africa. 1t was in
the service of the Portuguese king that
the brave Bartholomew Dias discovered
the southern point of Africa and after
ward, in 1897, that Vasco di Cana first
rounded this cape, which proved. indeed,
to be one of Good Hope, for it was from
here that he sailed to discover the east
ern sea. route to that land of silks and
spices, of gold and diamonds, the East
Indies.
You all know that these bold exploits
of the Portuguese navigators fired the
heart of Columbus with daring to set
sail on an unknown sea in order to find
a westward passage to the Indies. But
his story is so we'll known to you all
that ! need make no more than this
passing allusion to him.
Not only were there great discoveries
made on this lower world of ours, but
more marvellous revelations still were
made in the relm above US. 1t had long
been believed that ''this little round O.
the earth" was the center of all created
things; but Copernicus proved, short
time before his death, 1543, that the
sun was the center of the solar system.
He was aided in his studies by the de-
scription of the telescope, which Roger
Bacon had written IN 1850. 1t is sup
posed that some of these inventions were
known at much earlier date in Asia.
The telescope and gunpowder were
known to the Arabians, and from them,
no doubt, had Friar Bacon derived his
knowledge. It is cerain, too, that the
compass in some rude shape was known
to the Chinese in very early times. They
attributed the invention to Hong-ti,
grandson of Noah, 1l15 B. c.
But still we have to speak of the most
wonderful invention which, more than
any other, helped on the progress of the
Renaissance,-the noble art of printing
The Dutch claim it for their country
man, Laurence Coster of Harlem, while
it is generally agreed that Gutenberg
of Mayence rightfully divides it with his
associates. Faust and Schaeffer. 1t was
the last named who brought metal types
- 800 ho,,& kbo voar 11HO
After the fall of the Greek empire in
1853, numbers of Greek scholars left
their homes in the imperial city of Con-
stantlne, where the barberous Turks had
established themselves.
They carried with them all theil
worldly wealth,-their precious manu-
scripts concealed under the folds of theil
robes. The poor exiles found a warn
welcome and congenial home in Italy
where a taste for classical literature
had lately been awakened.
Now every one seemed smitten with
passionate desire for learning, and ca
gerly embraced the opportunity of pro
fting by the instruction of these "wise
men from the east" Princes, ladie;
and courtiers were alike enthusiastic
Like boy with new toy, they were
filled with delight over some newly dis
covered fragment of an old Greek ol
Latin author Now the lately invented
art of printing came into requisition
Paper had been made from rags since
about the year 1900, and with these
new facilities, copies of the classic au
thors were rapidly multiplied and came
into the possession of those who had never
dared hope to own one. Aldus Manutiu'
set up printing press in Venice 1883,
r..