erence, rather than earnestness
in destroying the old creed.

Two of the most obvious proofs that we can select for proving the
existence of a state of unbelief(302) are, the ridicule of religion
expressed in the burlesque poetry of the time, and the antichristian
sympathies of several distinguished men.

It would be incorrect however to attribute the satirical allusions in the
poetry wholly to the influence of the classical revival; for the romantic
epic in which they occur is the offshoot of the old prose romance of
mediaeval chivalry, which had in earlier ages amused the courts of princes
by directing its banter against ecclesiastical persons and
institutions.(303) But the tone of the poetry is now changed. The satire
is directed against religion itself, not merely against the abuse of it,
or the eccentricities of its adherents. Free thought is not merely
political dissatisfaction, but religious unbelief. And with the alteration
of the tone agrees also the increasing disposition to carry satire into
the domain of the supernatural; which thus witnesses to the widespread
unbelief in the hearers for whom it was designed. Italian critics have
doubted indeed whether these epics are designed to convey a caricature, or
pass beyond lawful satire:(304) yet even when allowance is made for the
fact that they are an historic reproduction, and for the fund presented
for humour by ecclesiastical peculiarities, it seems impossible to
overlook the covert satire intended on church beliefs.(305) The
intermixture of a comic element would not alone prove this. The miracle
plays of the middle ages admitted comedy without intending
irreverence;(306) and a gentle humour pervades many of the Autos of
Calderon, which were acted on solemn festivals.(307) But there exists in
the manner in which the supernatural element is managed by such poets as
Pulci, Bello, and Ariosto, such evident purpose to bring into ridicule the
existence of belief, that its parallel can only be found in the banter
used by their imitator Byron, in his Vision of Judgment, and implies
indifference both in author and reader; the expression of contempt, not of
anger.(308)

The unbelief which existed in the courts for which this poetry was
written, is a specimen of the general incredulity, or indifference to
Christianity, which prevailed among the educated classes, and was fostered
by classical studies and tastes. It seems strange to us, who have been
long accustomed to