To the scholars of the fifteenth century the classics opened up a new world of thought and fancy. They were delighted by the fresh, original, and human ideas which they discovered in the pages of Homer, Plato, Cicero, Horace, and Tacitus. Their new enthusiasm for the classics came to be known as humanism, [5] or culture. The Greek and Latin languages and literatures were henceforth the "humanities," as distinguished from the old scholastic philosophy and theology.
SPREAD OF HUMANISM IN ITALY
From Florence, as from a second Athens, humanism spread throughout Italy. At Milan and Venice, at Rome and Naples, men fell to poring over the classics. A special feature of the age was the recovery of ancient manuscripts from monasteries and cathedrals, where they had often lain neglected and blackened with the dust of ages. Nearly all the Latin works now extant were brought to light by the middle of the fifteenth century. But it was not enough to recover the manuscripts: they had to be safely stored and made accessible to students. So libraries were established, professorships of the ancient languages were endowed, and scholars were given opportunities to pursue their researches. Even the popes shared in this zeal for humanism. One of them founded the Vatican Library at Rome, which has the most valuable collection of manuscripts in the world. At Florence the wealthy family of the Medici vied with the popes in the patronage of the new learning.
211. PAPER AND PRINTING
PRINTED BOOKS
The revival of learning was greatly hastened when printed books took the place of manuscripts laboriously copied by hand. Printing is a complicated process, and many centuries were required to bring it to perfection. Both paper and movable type had to be invented.
INTRODUCTION OF PAPER
The Chinese at a remote period made paper from some fibrous material. The Arabs seem to have been the first to make linen paper out of flax and rags. The manufacture of paper in Europe was first established by the Moors in Spain. The Arab occupation of Sicily introduced the art into Italy. Paper found a ready sale in Europe, because papyrus and parchment, which the ancients had used as writing materials, were both expensive and heavy. Men now had a material moderate in price, durable, and one that would easily receive the impression of movable type.
DEVELOPMENT OF MOVABLE TYPE
The first step in the development of printing was the use of engraved blocks. Single letters, separate words, and sometimes entire pages of text were cut in hard wood or copper. When inked and applied to writing material, they left a clear impression. The second step was to cast the letters in separate pieces of metal, all of the same height and thickness. These could then be arranged in any desired way for printing.