e that the revival of learning, and all that it
implies, might have been delayed until too late."

His influence was especially felt by those who followed him, and his
enthusiasm made him a successful promoter of the new learning.

But it remained for Boccaccio, who was of a more practical turn of mind
than Petrarch, to systematize the classical knowledge of antiquity. If
Petrarch was an enthusiastic collector, Boccaccio was a practical
worker. With the aid of Petrarch, he was the first to introduce a
professor of Greek language and literature into Italy, and through this
influence he secured a partial translation of Homer. Boccaccio began
at an early age to read the classical authors and to repent the years
he had spent in the study of law and in commercial pursuits. It was
Petrarch's example, more than anything else, which caused Boccaccio to
turn his attention to literature. By persistence and vigor in study,
he was enabled to accomplish much by his own hand in the translation of
the authors, and in middle life {367} he began a persistent and
successful study of Greek. His contributions to learning were great,
and his turn toward naturalism was of immense value in the foundation
of modern literature. He infused a new spirit in the common literature
of the times. He turned away from asceticism, and frankly and openly
sought to justify the pleasures of life. Although his teaching may not
be of the most wholesome kind, it was far-reaching in its influence in
turning the mind toward the importance and desirability of the things
of this life. Stories of "beautiful gardens and sunny skies, fair
women and luxurious lovers" may not have been the most healthful diet
for universal consumption; they introduced a new element into the
literature of the period and turned the thoughts of men from the
speculative to the natural.

A long line of Italian writers followed these three great master
spirits and continued to develop the desire for classical literature.
For such power and force did these men have that they turned the whole
tide of thought toward the masterpieces of the Greeks and Romans.

_Relation of Humanism to Language and Literature_.--When the zeal for
the classical learning declined somewhat, there sprang up in Italy a
group of Italian poets who were the founders of an Italian literature.
They received their impulse from the classical learning, and, turning
their attention to the affairs which surrounded