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But in questions of this kind it is perilous to grasp too hastily at absolute results。 We might fancy； for example； that the feeling of educated men towards the relics of the saints would be a key by which some chambers of their religious consciousness might be opened。 And in fact； some difference of degree may be demonstrable； though by no means as clearly as might be wished。 The Government of Venice in the fifteenth century seems to have fully shared in the reverence felt throughout the rest of Europe for the remains of the bodies of the saints。 Even strangers who lived in Venice found it well to adapt themselves to this superstition。 If we can judge of scholarly Padua from the testimony of its topographer Michele Savonarola； things must have been much the same there。 With a mixture of pride and pious awe； Michele tells us how in times of great danger the saints were heard to sigh at night along the streets of the city； how the hair and nails on the corpse of a holy nun in Santa Chiara kept continually growing； and how the same corpse。 when any disaster was impending； used to make a noise and lift up the arms。 When he sets to work to describe the chapel of St。 Anthony in the Santo； the writer loses himself in ejaculations and fantastic dreams。 In Milan the people at least showed a fanatical devotion to relics； and when once； in the year 1517； the monks of San Simpliciano were careless enough to expose six holy corpses during certain alterations of the high altar； which event was followed by heavy floods of rain； the people attributed the visitation to this sacrilege； and gave the monks a sound beating whenever they met them in the street。 In other parts of Italy； and even in the case of the Popes themselves； the sincerity of this feeling is much more dubious； though here； too； a positive conclusion is hardly attainable。 It is well known amid what general enthusiasm Pius II solemnly deposited the head of the Apostle Andrew； which had been brought from Greece； and then from San
Maura； in the Church of St。 Peter （1462）； but we gather from his own narrative that he only did it from a kind of shame； as so many princes were competing for the relic。 It was not till afterwards that the idea struck him of making Rome the common refuge for all the remains of the saints which had been driven from their own churches。 Under Sixtus IV； the population of the city was still more zealous in this cause than the Pope himself； and the magistracy （1483） complained bitterly that Sixtus had sent to Louis XI； the dying King of France； some specimens of the Lateran relics。 A courageous voice was raised about thin time at Bologna； advising the sale of the skull of St。 Dominic to the King of Spain； and the application of the money to some useful public object。 But those who had the least reverence of all for the relics were the Florentines。 Between the decision to honour their saint； St。 Zanobi； with a new sarcophagus and the final execution of the project by Ghiberti； ten years elapsed （1432…42） and then it only happened by chance； because the master had executed a smaller order of the same kind with great skill （1428）。
Perhaps through being tricked by a cunning Neapolitan abbess （1352）； who sent them a spurious arm of the patroness of the Cathedral； Santa Reparata； made of wood and plaster； they began to get tired of relics。 Or perhaps it would be truer to say that their aesthetic sense turned them away in disgust from dismembered corpses and mouldy clothes。 Or perhaps their feeling was rather due to that sense of glory which thought Dante and Petrarch worthier of a splendid grave than all the twelve apostles put together。 It is probable that throughout Italy； apart from Venice and from Rome； the condition of which latter city was exceptional； the worship of relics had long been giving way to the adoration of the Madonna； at all events to a greater extent than elsewhere in Europe； and in this fact lies indirect evidence of an early development of the aesthetic sense。
It may be questioned whether in the North； where the vastest cathedrals are clearly all dedicated to Our Lady； and where an extensive branch of Latin and indigenous poetry sang the praises of the Mother of God； a greater devotion to her was impossible。 In Italy； however； the number of miraculous pictures of the Virgin was far greater； and the part they played in the daily life of the people much more important。 Every town of any size contained a quantity of them； from the ancient； or ostensibly ancient； paintings by St。 Luke； down to the works of contemporaries； who not seldom lived to see the miracles wrought by their own handiwork。 The work of art was in these cases by no means as harmless as Battista Mantovano thinks； sometimes it suddenly acquired a magical virtue。 The popular craving for the miraculous； especially strong in women； may have been fully satisfied by these pictures； and for this reason the relics been less regarded。 It cannot be said with certainty how far the respect for genuine relics suffered from the ridicule which the novelist aimed at the spurious。 The attitude of the educated classes in Italy towards Mariolatry； or the worship of the Virgin； is more clearly recognizable than towards the worship of images。 One cannot but be struck with the fact that in Italian literature Dante's 'Paradise' is the last poem in honour of the Virgin； while among the people hymns in her praise have been constantly produced down to our own day。 The names of Sannazaro and Sabellico and other writers of Latin poems prove little on the other side； since the object with which they wrote was chiefly literary。 The poems written in Italian in the fifteenth and at the beginning of the sixteenth centuries； in which we meet with genuine religious feeling； such as the hymns of Lorenzo the Magnificent； and the sonnets of Vittoria Colonna and of Michelangelo might have been just as well composed by Protestants。 Besides the lyrical expression of faith in God； we chiefly notice in them the sense of sin； the consciousness of deliverance through the death of Christ； the longing for a better world。 The intercessiOn of the Mother of God is only mentioned by the way。 The same phenomenon is repeated in the classical literature of the French at the time of Louis XIV。 Not till the time of the Counter…Reformation did Mariolatry reappear in the higher Italian poetry。 Meanwhile the visual arts had certainly done their utmost to glorify the Madonna。 It may be added that the worship of the saints among the educated classes often took an essentially pagan form。
We might thus critically examine the various sides of Italian Catholicism at this period； and so establish with a certain degree of probability the attitude of the instructed classes towards popular faith。 Yet an absolute and positive result cannot be reached。 We meet with contrasts hard to explain。 While architects； painters； and sculptors were working with restless activity in and for the churches； we hear at the beginning of the sixteenth century the bitterest complaints of the neglect of public worship and of these churches themselves。
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