In the middle ages 157

thought. The most individualistic statesman —

Philip Augustus or St. Louis in France, Simon of

Montfort or Edward I in England, Frederick II

or Rudolph of Hapsburg in Germany, Ferdinand

of Castile — all r ecognized the Cath olic Church as

the necessary foundation of the social"1gtrTic ture.

pvpin wKpn thpir pn|itifs l ed them into ^nnfliot , with

the -P apacy in order to shake off its patron age.

The same ardent faith which had aroused the Cru-

sades also gave birth to the new monastic orders of

Dominicans and Franciscans, who came from the

most diverse social strata, and so raised the level of

belief and morality in the masses. Even the hereti-

cal movement that appeared in Languedoc and

Champagne and Flanders shows the vitality of the

religious sentiment. In spite of the spirit of oppo-

sition to the Church, the century of Philip Augus-

tus remains an epoch of Catholic faith.'' By_its

dogmas and its morality, Christianity penetrates,

the lives of individuals and families_aiid peoples.

Under the influence of Christian ideals and canoni-

cal law, usurj^ and the taking of interest are for-

bidden; just prices and just wages rule trade and

commerce. In_ the corporation, work is a holy

thing, masters are equal, art is allied to handicraft,

the institution of the masterpiece guarantees the

quality of the product. It was because one worked

for God that the thirteen th century could cover,

9 Luchaire, of. cit., p. 318.

158 PHILOSOPHY AND CIVILIZATION

first the soil of France and then that of Germany,

with gigantic cathedrals, chiselled like jewels.

Likewise, the intimate union between religion and

beauty shines forth in the work of the period. The

"Rationale divinorum officiorum" of William (Du-

rand) Bishop of Mende, shows in detail how the

cathedrals are at once marvels of art and symbols

of prayer. The church of Amiens, which was the

most perfect of the great French monuments, is a

striking demonstration of the aesthetic resources of

the original scheme. That of Chartres no less bril-

liantly exhibits its iconographic resources. Each

stone had its language. Covered with sculpture, it

presents a complete religious programme. It is

for the people the great book of sacred history, the

catechism in images. Think of Amiens or Char-

tres, Paris or Laon. In every line appears the

function of a temple destined for the masses ; from

every angle the gaze is drawn towards the altar,

which sums up the idea of sacrifice. The frescoes

and the glass windows of Giotto breathe forth the

perfume of religious life ; the poems of St. Francis,

singing nature, raise the soul towards God; and

Dante wrote to Can Grande della Scala, tyrant of

Verona, that he wished by means of his poems to

snatch away the living from their state of wretched-

ness and put them in the way of eternal happiness.^**

10 Dicenduiii est brcviter quod finis totius et partis est removere

viventes in hac vita de statu miseriae et perducere ad statum

felicitatis. See Dantis Alighieri Epistola X, in opere Latine di

Dante, ed, G. Giuliani, Firenze, 1882, Vol. II, p. 46.