of any prey. The limited man, the man of a single interest, had disappeared; in his stead came the complete, the universal man. Dilettanteism had begun: that man was called "virtuous" who knew something of everything, to whom nothing was new.
While versatility was represented by men of the prodigious energy of Alberti and Leonardo, it was by no means vain, but when small spirits attempted all things, spoiled all things, and belittled all things, then versatility led to decadence.
Even Alberti's versatility was more apparent than real, was a matter rather of letters than of practice. He wrote on many topics, but he did not actually do many different things. He formulated precepts for painting and for sculpture, but he left neither paintings nor statues. He designed many buildings, but he brought only a few to completion. His writings are numerous: his only practical activities are his journeys and his service as secretary of the Papal chancery.
His universality, then, was more verbal than concrete. He produced instructions rather than works; he was more disposed to say what should be done than to act himself. And he thus reveals the aristocratic instinct transmitted to him by the rich and powerful family from which he sprang. In the field of art his attitude is that of the condescending nobleman, not that of the busy
