Turbulenqe,  not  the  turbulence  of  a  medieval  barony,
but  the  turbulence  of  artists,  lovers,  pleasure- seekers,
aspirants  after  pomp  and  spiritual  empire,  ruffled  the
ocean  of  existence.  The  characters  of  men  were  harshly
marked,  and  separated  by  abrupt  distinctions.  They
had  not  been  rubbed  down  by  contact  and  culture  into
uniformity.  Not  conformity  to  established  laws  of  taste,
but  eccentricity  betokening  emergence  of  the  inner  self,
denoted  breeding.  To  adopt  foreign  fashions,  to  cut
the  beard  into  fantastic  shapes,  to  flourish  in  parti-
coloured garments,  to  coin  new  oaths,  to  affect  a  style
of  speech  and  manner  at  variance  with  one's  neigh-
bours, passed  for  manliness.  Everyone  lived  in  his
own  humour  then,  and  openly  avowed  his  tastes.  You
might  distinguish  the  inhabitants  of  different  countries,
the  artisans  of  different  crafts,  the  professors  of  different
sciences — the  lawyer,  the  physician,  the  courtier,  or
the  churchman — by  their  clothes,  their  gait,  their  lan-
guage. Instead  of  curbing  passions  or  concealing
appetites,  men  gloried  in  their  exercise.  They  veiled
nothing  which  savoured  of  virility  ;  and  even  conver-
sation lacked  the  reserve  of  decency  which  civilised
society  throws  over  it.
A^y,uLu^     ^.j4a,kj^      /uUdtlL    h^.  IK^XU^.  /—

V7      l'c^~i^^  JUv-L,


PERSONALITY  TN  THE  RENAISSANCE.  31


IV.
