In truth it did come down out of Heaven, and also arose from
the depths of the Italian soul. It was under the divine stimulus of the
Christian faith that the Italian spirit became creative of these
magnificent forms through which the truths of Religion appealed,
and must ever appeal most effectively to souls whose highest en-

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dowment is in the art-i)roducing and art-appreciating quality of the
mind.
Thus with this people there was matured the outer rhythmic
form of the Christian Religion. What charmed them chiefly was
the element of outward Beauty which this faith, shining through
their souls, presented.
On the other hand, as soon as the Teutonic people came to
have a really vital appreciation of Christianity, they found this cere-
monial worship altogether ioreign to their mental constitution. The
pomp and pageant so dear and even so necessary to the Italian
mind, only obscured instead of revealing the essence of this faith
to the Teutonic inteUigence.
The Italian mind was eagerly perceptive and imaginative. The
Teutonic mind was self-restrained and predominantly reflective.
Hence to the Teuton the highest religious experience was, to feel
the presence of the Divine in his own soul. The outer show was to
him a hollow mockery.
Thus, through mutual exclusion the religion of the Teuton came
to consist almost solely of the inner Power of Godliness, while that
of the Italian tended more and more to confine itself to the outward
Beauty of Holiness.
