friend (R. 127 a) the enthusiast, Poggio Bracciolini, tells of finding
(1416) the long-lost _Institutes of Oratory_ of Quintilian, at Saint Gall,
and of copying it for posterity. This, and the reply of his friend (R. 127
b), reveal something of the spirit and the emotions of those engaged in
the recovery of Latin literature and the reconstruction of Roman history.

The finds, though, while important, were after all of less value than the
spirit which directed the search, or the careful work which was done in
collecting, comparing, questioning, inferring, criticizing, and editing
corrected texts, and reconstructing old Roman life and history. [7] We
have in this new work a complete break with scholastic methods, and we see
in it the awakening of the modern scientific spirit. [8] It was this same
critical, constructive spirit which, when applied later to Christian
practices, brought on the Reformation; when applied to the problems of the
universe, revealed to men the wonderful world of science; and when applied
to problems of government, led to the questioning of the theory of the
divine right of kings, and to the evolution of democracy. We have here a
modern spirit, a craving for truth for its own sake, an awakening of the
historical sense, [9] and an appreciation of beauty in literature and
nature which was soon to be followed by an appreciation of beauty in art.
A worship of classical literature and classical ideas now set in, of which
rich and prosperous Florence became the center, with Venice and Rome, as
well as a number of the northern Italian cities, as centers of more than
minor importance.

THE REVIVAL OF GREEK IN THE WEST. With the new interest in Latin
literature it was but natural that a revival of the study of Greek should
follow. While a knowledge of Greek had not absolutely died out in the West
during the Middle Ages, there were very few scholars who knew anything
about it, and none who could read it. [10] It was natural, too, that the