Book Description

Excerpt from Savonarola: The Florentine Martyr This dark hour symbolizes the reigns Of the Popes Sixtus IV., Innocent VIII., and Alexander VI., at Rome - the rallying-point for all the wily priest craft Of the earth; and the rule of Cosmo, Lorenzo, and Pietro de Medici, at Florence - then the center of art and learning in Italy. Of that era one has remarked: Italy, then, was the most corrupt por tion of Christendom. Another has added: The external garb of society was elegance. The condi tion of its heart was rottenness. It was the day of Bartolommeo, foremost of Florentine painters of Baldini, the inimitable illus trator of Dante; of Michael Angelo, in whom painting, sculpture, and architecture were almost personified, and who chiseled marble furiously, during the very days, when Savonarola, using the sword of truth, endeavored to shape anew the hearts Of the Florentine multitude. Most inaptly was that period called The Era of the New Learning, or The New Birth of Learn ing; for In fact the mightiest efforts of all its men of genius were put forth, only to infuse new life into the old paganism, and to render its glory the more effulgent by robing it in the dress of Christianity. The new learning was simply greater devotion to pagan authors and artists, and an intensified desire to make larger collections of their works. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.