It has altogether lost the Christian sense of _virtue_, and retains only so much of the Roman _virtus_ as is applicable to the courage, intellectual ability, and personal prowess of one who has achieved his purpose, be that what it may.

The upshot of this state of things was that individuality of character and genius obtained a freer scope at this time in Italy than during any other period of modern history.
[1] 'Very few indeed have those been, whose motive for tyrannicide was a pure love of their country's liberty; and these deserve the highest praise.' [2] It is quite impossible to furnish a complete view of Italian society under this aspect.

Students must be referred to the stories of the novelists, who collected the more dramatic incidents and presented them in the form of entertaining legends.

It may suffice here to mention Bartolommeo Colleoni, Angelo Poliziano, and Pontano, all of whom owed their start in life to the murder of their respective fathers by assassins; to Varchi and Filelfo, whose lives were attempted by cut-throats; to Cellini, Perugino, Masaccio, Berni, in each of whose biographies poison and the knife play their parts.

If men of letters and artists were exposed to these perils, the dangers of the great and noble may be readily imagined.
At the same time it must not be forgotten that during this period the art and culture of the Renaissance were culminating.