FRA BARTOLOMMEO.
CHAPTER I. THOUGHTS ON THE RENAISSANCE.
It seems to be a law of nature that progress, as well as time, should be marked by periods of alternate light and darkness—day and night.
This law is nowhere more apparent than in the history of Art. Three times has the world been illuminated by the full brilliance of Art, and three times has a corresponding period of darkness ensued.
The first day dawned in Egypt and Assyria, and its works lie buried in the tombs of prehistoric Pharaohs and Ninevite kings. The second day the sun rose on the shores of many-isled Greece, and shed its rays over Etruria and Rome, and ere it set, temples and palaces were flooded with beauty. The gods had taken human form, and were come to dwell with men.
The third day arising in Italy, lit up the whole western world with the glow of colour and fervour, and its fading rays light us yet.
The first period was that of mythic art; the world like a child wondering at all around tried to express in myths the truths it could not comprehend.