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interest them。 The schoolmen were losing ground rapidly。 Here
and there they scored a short victory。 They combined forces
with those fanatics who hated to see other people enjoy a
happiness which was foreign to their own souls。 In Florence；
the centre of the Great Rebirth； a terrible fight was fought
between the old order and the new。 A Dominican monk； sour
of face and bitter in his hatred of beauty； was the leader of
the mediaeval rear…guard。 He fought a valiant battle。 Day
after day he thundered his warnings of God's holy wrath
through the wide halls of Santa Maria del Fiore。 ‘‘Repent；''
he cried； ‘‘repent of your godlessness； of your joy in things
that are not holy！'' He began to hear voices and to see flaming
swords that flashed through the sky。 He preached to the
little children that they might not fall into the errors of these
ways which were leading their fathers to perdition。 He organised
companies of boy…scouts； devoted to the service of the
great God whose prophet he claimed to be。 In a sudden moment
of frenzy； the frightened people promised to do penance
for their wicked love of beauty and pleasure。 They carried
their books and their statues and their paintings to the market
place and celebrated a wild ‘‘carnival of the vanities'' with holy
singing and most unholy dancing； while Savonarola applied his
torch to the accumulated treasures。
But when the ashes cooled down； the people began to realise
what they had lost。 This terrible fanatic had made them destroy
that which they had come to love above all things。 They
turned against him； Savonarola was thrown into jail。 He was
tortured。 But he refused to repent for anything he had done。
He was an honest man。 He had tried to live a holy life。 He
had willingly destroyed those who deliberately refused to
share his own point of view。 It had been his duty to eradicate
evil wherever he found it。 A love of heathenish books and
heathenish beauty in the eyes of this faithful son of the Church；
had been an evil。 But he stood alone。 He had fought the
battle of a time that was dead and gone。 The Pope in Rome
never moved a finger to save him。 On the contrary； he approved
of his ‘‘faithful Florentines'' when they dragged Savonarola
to the gallows； hanged him and burned his body amidst
the cheerful howling and yelling of the mob。
It was a sad ending； but quite inevitable。 Savonarola
would have been a great man in the eleventh century。 In the
fifteenth century he was merely the leader of a lost cause。
For better or worse； the Middle Ages had come to an end when
the Pope had turned humanist and when the Vatican became
the most important museum of Roman and Greek antiquities。
THE AGE OF EXPRESSION
THE PEOPLE BEGAN TO FEEL THE NEED OF
GIVING EXPRESSION TO THEIR NEWLY
DISCOVERED JOY OF LIVING。 THEY EXPRESSED
THEIR HAPPINESS IN POETRY
AND IN SCULPTURE AND IN ARCHITECTURE
AND IN PAINTING AND IN THE
BOOKS THEY PRINTED
IN the year 1471 there died a pious old man who had spent
seventy…two of his ninety…one years behind the sheltering walls
of the cloister of Mount St。 Agnes near the good town of
Zwolle； the old Dutch Hanseatic city on the river Ysel。 He
was known as Brother Thomas and because he had been born
in the village of Kempen； he was called Thomas a Kempis。
At the age of twelve he had been sent to Deventer； where
Gerhard Groot； a brilliant graduate of the universities of
Paris； Cologne and Prague； and famous as a wandering
preacher； had founded the Society of the Brothers of the
Common Life。 The good brothers were humble laymen who
tried to live the simple life of the early Apostles of Christ
while working at their regular jobs as carpenters and house…
painters and stone masons。 They maintained an excellent
school； that deserving boys of poor parents might be taught
the wisdom of the Fathers of the church。 At this school；
little Thomas had learned how to conjugate Latin verbs and
how to copy manuscripts。 Then he had taken his vows； had
put his little bundle of books upon his back； had wandered to
Zwolle and with a sigh of relief he had closed the door upon a
turbulent world which did not attract him。
Thomas lived in an age of turmoil； pestilence and sudden
death。 In central Europe； in Bohemia； the devoted disciples of
Johannus Huss； the friend and follower of John Wycliffe； the
English reformer； were avenging with a terrible warfare the death
of their beloved leader who had been burned at the stake by order of
that same Council of Constance； which had promised him a safe…conduct
if he would come to Switzerland and explain his doctrines to the Pope；
the Emperor； twenty…three cardinals； thirty…three archbishops and bishops；
one hundred and fifty abbots and more than a hundred princes and
dukes who had gathered together to reform their church。
In the west； France had been fighting for a hundred years that
she might drive the English from her territories and just then was
saved from utter defeat by the fortunate appearance of Joan of Arc。
And no sooner had this struggle come to an end than France and Burgundy
were at each other's throats； engaged upon a struggle of life and death
for the supremacy of western Europe。
In the south； a Pope at Rome was calling the curses of
Heaven down upon a second Pope who resided at Avignon；
in southern France； and who retaliated in kind。 In the
far east the Turks were destroying the last remnants of the
Roman Empire and the Russians had started upon a final
crusade to crush the power of their Tartar masters。
But of all this； Brother Thomas in his quiet cell never
heard。 He had his manuscripts and his own thoughts and
he was contented。 He poured his love of God into a little
volume。 He called it the Imitation of Christ。 It has since
been translated into more languages than any other book
save the Bible。 It has been read by quite as many people
as ever studied the Holy Scriptures。 It has influenced the
lives of countless millions。 And it was the work of a man
whose highest ideal of existence was expressed in the simple
wish that ‘‘he might quietly spend his days sitting in a little
corner with a little book。''
Good Brother Thomas represented the purest ideals of the
Middle Ages。 Surrounded on all sides by the forces of the
victorious Renaissance； with the humanists loudly proclaiming
the coming of modern times； the Middle Ages gathered
strength for a last sally。 Monasteries were reformed。 Monks
gave up the habits of riches and vice。 Simple； straightforward
and honest men； by the example of their blameless
and devout lives； tried to bring the people back to the ways of
righteousness and humble resignation to the will of God。 But
all to no avail。 The new world rushed past these good people。
The days of quiet meditation were gone。 The great era of
‘‘expression'' had begun。
Here and now let me say that I am sorry that I must use
so many ‘‘big words。'' I wish