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13
TRANSITION
WE have seen how, after Greek and Roman civilization was
almost overwhelmed by repeated floods of barbarism, it
managed to survive, in strangely altered but still powerful forms;
how its influence continued to exist throughout the Dark Ages;
and how it was one of the great currents which flowed with in-
creasing strength through the Middle Ages, until at last it became
one of the most powerful urges in that tidal wave of energy,
emotion, and thought which we know as the Renaissance. We have
now to trace its power, sometimes diminishing, sometimes
increasing, always changing, and never dying, throughout the
literature of modern Europe and America. Within this period-
from the end of the Renaissance to the present day--we can make
a rough but useful division. The first part, which ran from about
1600 to about 1770, can be called the age of monarchies, or the
Counter-Reformation, or, comprehensively, the baroque age.
The second part is the truly modern age, from the American and
French revolutions and the industrial revolution down to our own
times.This twofold division is not merely a convenience. It reflects
a real change both in the nature of our civilization and in the power
exerted upon it by classical culture. Since about 1850 the whole
tone, much of the purpose, and many of the methods of literature
have undergone a revolution of great importance: not an abrupt
shallow transformation, but a strong and permanent change of
direction. This change accompanied and was conditioned by the
great novelties of the nineteenth century:
industrialism and the rise of applied science;
a tremendous increase in the actual population of Europe and
America;
a move away from government by inherited privilege--
monarchy, aristocracy, landed property, inherited capital--
towards government by the people or through the people
--democracy, socialism, communism, and fascism;

-255-

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Publication Information: Book Title: The Classical Tradition: Greek and Roman Influences on Western Literature. Contributors: Gilbert Highet - author. Publisher: Oxford University Press. Place of Publication: New York. Publication Year: 1985. Page Number: 255.
    
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