rtal
souls and they did not like to be funny about matters which they
considered holy and sacred. The "humanistic" part of the Renaissance,
the books, the studies of ancient authors, the grammar and the
text-books, interested them greatly. But the general return to the
old pagan civilisation of Greece and Rome, which was one of the chief
results of the Renaissance in Italy, filled their hearts with horror.

But the Papacy and the College of Cardinals was almost entirely composed
of Italians and they had turned the Church into a pleasant club where
people discussed art and music and the theatre, but rarely mentioned
religion. Hence the split between the serious north and the more
civilised but easy-going and indifferent south was growing wider and
wider all the time and nobody seemed to be aware of the danger that
threatened the Church.

There were a few minor reasons which will explain why the Reformation
took place in Germany rather than in Sweden or England. The Germans bore
an ancient grudge against Rome. The endless quarrels between Emperor and
Pope had caused much mutual bitterness. In the other European countries
where the government rested in the hands of a strong king, the ruler
had often been able to protect his subjects against the greed of the
priests. In Germany, where a shadowy emperor ruled a turbulent crowd of
little princelings, the good burghers were more directly at the mercy
of their bishops and prelates. These dignitaries were trying to collect
large sums of money for the benefit of those enormous churches which
were a hobby of the Popes of the Renaissance. The Germans felt that they
were being mulcted and quite naturally they did not like it.

And then there is the rarely mentioned fact that Germany was the home
of the printing press. In northern Europe books were cheap and the
Bible was no longer a mysterious manu-script owned and explained by
the priest. It was a household book of many families where Latin was
understood by the father and by the children. Whole families began to
read it, which was against the law of the Church. They discovered
that the priests were telling them many things which, according to the
original text of the Holy Scriptures, were somewhat different. This
caused doubt. People began to ask questions. And questions, when they
cannot be answered, often cause a great deal of trouble.

The attack began when the humanists of the North opened fire upon the
monks. In their hea