But culture, as soon as it freed itself
from the fantastic bonds of the Middle Ages, could not at once and
without help find its way to the understanding of the physical and
intellectual world. It needed a guide, and found one in the ancient
civilization, with its wealth of truth and knowledge in every spiritual
interest. Both the form and the substance of this civilization were
adopted with admiring gratitude; it became the chief part of the
culture of the age. The general condition of the country was favourable
to this transformation. The medieval empire, since the fall of the
Hohenstaufen, had either renounced, or was unable to make good, its
claims on Italy. The Popes had migrated to Avignon. Most of the
political powers actually existing owed their origin to violent and
illegitimate means. The spirit of the people, now awakened to self-
consciousness, sought for some new and stable ideal on which to rest.
And thus the vision of the world-wide empire of Italy and Rome so
possessed the popular mind that Cola di Rienzi could actually attempt
to put it in practice. The conception he formed of his task,
particularly when tribune for the first time, could only end in some
extravagant comedy; nevertheless, the memory of ancient Rome was no
slight support to the national sentiment. Armed afresh with its
culture, the Italian soon felt himself in truth citizen of the most
advanced nation in the world.
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