for knowledge and glory, were not of the kind to give a new impulse to
painting. Nor was the passion for antiquity at all so direct an
inspiration to that art as it was to architecture and sculpture. The
love of glory had, it is true, led such as could not afford to put up
monumental buildings, to decorate chapels with frescoes in which their
portraits were timidly introduced. But it was only when the Renaissance
had attained to a full consciousness of its interest in life and
enjoyment of the world that it naturally turned, and indeed was forced
to turn, to painting; for it is obvious that painting is peculiarly
fitted for rendering the appearances of things with a glow of light and
richness of colour that correspond to and express warm human emotions.

=IV. Painting and the Renaissance.=--When it once reached the point
where its view of the world naturally sought expression in painting, as
religious ideas had done before, the Renaissance found in Venice clearer
utterance than elsewhere, and it is perhaps this fact which makes the
most abiding interest of Venetian painting. It is at this point that we
shall take it up.

The growing delight in life with the consequent love of health, beauty,
and joy were felt more powerfully in Venice than anywhere else in Italy.
The explanation of this may be found in the character of the Venetian
government which was such that it gave little room for the satisfaction
of the passion for personal glory, and kept its citizens so busy in
duties of state that they had small leisure for learning. Some of the
chief passions of the Renaissance thus finding no outlet in Venice, the
other passions insisted all the more on being satisfied. Venice,
moreover, was the only state in Italy which was enjoying, and for many
generations had been enjoying, internal peace. This gave the Venetians a
love of comfort, of ease, and of splendour, a refinement of manner, and
humaneness of feeling, which made them the first really modern people in
Europe. Since there was little room for personal glory in Venice, the
perpetuators of glory, the Humanists, found at first scant encouragement
there, and the Venetians were saved from that absorption in archaeology
and pure science which overwhelmed Florence at an early date. This was
not necessarily an advantage in itself, but it happened to suit Venice,
where the conditions of life had for some time been such as to build up
a love of beautiful things. As it was, the