1. Renaissance. Italy is located in the south of Europe and is the center of Latin cultural circle. /kloc-Around the 0/5th century, the cultural level of Italians was much higher than that of northern Europeans. Italy has the origin and precious heritage of Roman culture, and the Italian nation is rich in literary and artistic talents. They are individualistic and dare to be the first in the world. It is precisely because of this nationality that Italians were not particularly afraid of Catholic commandments at that time compared with other regions. Their resistance to the Catholic church is to resist the furtive corruption of the church with open corruption. They advocate replacing divinity with humanity, and replacing illusory paradise ideal with realistic human happiness. The theme of the Renaissance is humanism. Peterak once quoted a poem by an ancient Roman poet as the slogan of the movement: "I am a person, and I have everything that a person has." Well, man, you should be confident, complacent and addicted to life. This movement has brought two consequences, one is positive, that is, it exposed and broke through the inhuman, hypocritical and melodramatic spiritual control of the medieval Catholic Church. Another consequence has also led to moral depravity and corruption (a little Roman way ~ ~), which we can all experience in Italy today. Italians are romantic and open. However, it is very casual. 2. The Reformation originated in Germany, which has its historical inevitability. The main reason for Luther's religious reform is his indignation at the corruption of the Roman Catholic Church and his disgust at the hypocrisy of its nominal belief and behind-the-scenes doing bad things. (Generally speaking, Nordic people have a strong sense of justice ~ ~ because Rome, the center of corruption, is less eroded, hehe ~ ~ evil Rome ~) Germany was in a state of division at that time. Hundreds of countries, large and small, typical feudal society. Many German princes have long had conflicts with the Roman church, especially the Saxon elector Friedrich and his son, who are staunch supporters of Martin Luther's reform. And both college students and ordinary people support him. This movement has two consequences, one is positive and the other is negative. On the positive side, it has created a "cheap" religion (people no longer need to buy the atonement book of the Holy See ~ ~). This is especially favored by the emerging bourgeoisie. People are liberated from the complicated religious ceremonies every day, and they no longer need to pay attention to the "spokesman of God" in Rome. Religion belongs to the real inner world, and people can only be saved by their inner beliefs. On the other hand, Luther established a real religious belief in Germany, which hindered the spread of rational spirit and enlightenment thought in Germany in the future. Of course, the acceptance of scientific and technological knowledge and rationalism is a big step slower than that of other countries, which also caused Germany to fall behind in modern times. Let's just say that Martin Luther's religious reform opened the inner spiritual freedom, but ignored the outer practical freedom. Of course, he also shaped the deep, pure, dedicated and introverted national character of the German nation. Why is Germany the most thinker? The answer is here. Some people say that Europeans, only Germans have real "thinking", although it is a bit one-sided, it is also reasonable. 3. The historical role of * * *: The Renaissance centered on Italy and influenced the Latin world in a broad sense, including France and Spain. This movement produced "humanism"; The Reformation centered on Germany, and its influence broadly covered German-speaking countries such as Switzerland, Britain and Northern Europe. This movement produced "spiritual freedom". These two movements * * * isomorphically became an important bridge for the social transition to modernization in the West and China, and became a beginning and starting point for the West to break through the trap of the Middle Ages and move towards modernization. Personally, the Renaissance is basically a cultural movement. The religious reform had a greater impact on later generations. Because it involves some economic reforms, it promotes the economic concept of the emerging bourgeoisie and liberates people's free working hours. The religious reform has played a more important role in promoting the western countries to a capitalist society. This is also the reason why northern Europe surpassed southern Europe after the industrial revolution. In the past, Europe was always richer in the south than in the north, but it collapsed when it entered a capitalist society, both culturally and economically. ~ ~)